My Dear People of God,

The doctrine of the Trinity means there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one and three in person. These definitions express three crucial truths: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons, each Person is fully God. There is only one God.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons. Are these just three different ways of looking at God or simply ways of referring to three different roles that God plays? The answer must be no because the Bible also indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons. For example, since the Father sent the Son into the world, He cannot be the same person as the Son. Likewise, after the Son returned to the Father, the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world. Therefore, the Holy Spirit must be distinct from the Father and the Son.

In the baptism of Jesus, we see the Father speaking from heaven and the Spirit descending from heaven in the form of a dove as Jesus comes out of the water, affirming that Jesus is God; and, at the same time, that He was “with God,” thereby indicating that Jesus is a distinct Person from God the Father. We see also that although there is a close unity between the three persons, the Holy Spirit is also distinct from the Father and the Son.

The fact that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons means, in other words, that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. Jesus is God, but He is not the Father or the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God, but He is not the Son or the Father. They are different Persons, and not three different ways of looking at God.

Often it is suggested: “If Jesus is God, then He must have prayed to Himself while He was on earth.” But the answer to this objection lies in simply applying what we have already seen. While Jesus and the Father are both God, they are different Persons. Thus, Jesus prayed to God the Father without praying to Himself. In fact, it is precisely the continuing dialogue between the Father and the Son that furnishes the best evidence that they are distinct Persons with distinct centers of consciousness.

The Holy Spirit is a person just as the Father and the Son are. The fact that the Holy Spirit is a Person, not an impersonal force (like gravity), is also shown by the fact that He speaks, reasons, thinks, understands, wills, feels, and gives personal fellowship. These are all qualities of personhood. Personhood of the Holy Spirit is distinct from the Personhood of the Son and the Father. They are three real persons, not three roles God plays.

While the three members of the Trinity are distinct, this does not mean that any is inferior to the other. Instead, they are all identical in attributes. They are equal in power, love, mercy, justice, holiness, knowledge, and all other qualities.

The Bible is clear that all three Persons are each one-hundred-percent God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each fully God. For example, Colossians 2:9 says of Christ, “in Him all the fullness of        (continued on page 4)                       deity dwells in bodily form.” We should not think of God as a “pie” cut into three pieces, each piece representing a Person. This would make each Person less than fully God and thus not God at all. The divine essence is not something that is divided between the three persons, but is fully in all three persons without being divided into “parts.”

If there is one passage which most clearly brings all of this together, it is Matthew 28:19: “Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” First, notice that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinguished as distinct Persons. We baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Second, notice that each Person must be deity because they are all placed on the same level. In fact, would Jesus have us baptized in the name of a mere creature? Surely not. Therefore, each of the Persons into whose name we are to be baptized must be deity. Third, notice that although the three divine Persons are distinct, we are baptized into their name (singular), not names (plural). The three Persons are distinct, yet only constitute one name. This can only be if they share one essence.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Vincent Clemente