Source for number of persons in Trinity

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Quick question, does anyone have a source of the Church teaching that there are only 3 persons in the Trinity, no more and no fewer?

Thanks
 
We firmly believe and openly confess that there is only one true God, eternal and immense, omnipotent, unchangeable, incomprehensible, and ineffable, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; three Persons indeed but one essence, substance, or nature absolutely simple…
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…the sacrament of baptism, which by the invocation of each Person of the Trinity, namely of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost…
Laterin-4 (AD 1215), Canon 1​
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And thus in God there is only trinity, not quaternity, because each of the three persons is that entity, namely, substance, essense, or divine nature, which alone is the principle of the universe and besides which there is no other.
Ibid, Canon 2
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Quatsch said:
Quick question, does anyone have a source of the Church teaching that there are only 3 persons in the Trinity, no more and no fewer?

Thanks
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Is there anything that specifically says that there are not more than 3?
 
Jesus commanded his Apostles to Baptize in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Blessings!

🙂
 
Was there ever a moment in time when the Trinity temporarily cease being triune? (hint: from 4BC-29AD)
 
meltzerboy said:
Is that true according to Catholic theology?
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NO. I do not know what user Robert_ is hinting at. God’s nature does not change. The Trinity was the Trinity even when the Son assumed a human nature on Earth, and even as He has a human nature in Heaven now.
 
…smartass comment coming…wouldn’t a Trinity by definition always be three persons?

That being said, based on how we describe the nature of God, couldn’t it only be a Trinity? The giver of Love (Father), the receiver of that Love (the Son) and the Spirit which comes forth from that Love. There is no room for anything else. Isn’t this the great mystery that spousal love reveals as mentioned by Paul in Ephesians?
 
We know of the trinity by the bible. Genesis 1:26 uses the word ‘us’. From what I understand, the use of plural was in the original Hebrew. The Trinity always was.

The understanding that there is one God and three persons was worked out later in the Church (with much dispute). I would suggest you research the Arian heresy and the Council of Nicaea.

As far as there not being any more than 3 persons, I have never heard of that being brought up. I don’t think there is any public revelation that would lead to that conclusion.
 
God began to reveal the Trinigy in Genesis.

Then the LORD God said: "See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is bad! (Genesis 3:22)

God continued to reveal the Trinity to mankind through Abraham, when he appears as three men and Abraham greets the men in the singular.

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, he said: "Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant. (Genesis 18:1-3)

Jesus fully revealed the Trinity to us, saying that he himself is Truth, that the Father will send his spirit which is the Spirit of Truth, and that he and the Father are one.

***Jesus said to him, “I am **the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. … Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. … And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.(John 14:6,9,16-17) *

Thus, Peter the Pope understood the Trinity.

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen sojourners of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, in the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification by the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ: may grace and peace be yours in abundance. (1 Peter 1:1-2)

The Trinity is all over the Bible.

-Tim-
 
McDale721 said:
…smartass comment coming…wouldn’t a Trinity by definition always be three persons?

That being said, based on how we describe the nature of God, couldn’t it only be a Trinity? The giver of Love (Father), the receiver of that Love (the Son) and the Spirit which comes forth from that Love. There is no room for anything else. Isn’t this the great mystery that spousal love reveals as mentioned by Paul in Ephesians?
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This is a very good post.

-Tim-
 
Quatsch said:
Is there anything that specifically says that there are not more than 3?
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I know that the Trinity is all over the Bible, etc… but I’m just curious as to whether anyone has a source from a council or something that states that there are not possibly more than 3 persons with the Divine nature.
 
Quatsch said:
I know that the Trinity is all over the Bible, etc… but I’m just curious as to whether anyone has a source from a council or something that states that there are not possibly more than 3 persons with the Divine nature.
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It appears you’re looking for something rather unusual. If the Hebrew Bible suggests a Triune G-d according to Christianity (not according to Judaism!) and Jesus Himself speaks of a trinitarian divine relationship, as well as the Nicene Creed and the Church Fathers expressing a belief in the Trinity, why should any of these sources deny the existence of more than a three-Person G-d, unless they are responding to a heretical belief? There were and still are, I believe, a small minority who believe in a binatarian G-d, the Father and the Son, without the Holy Spirit, and there are also the Oneness Pentecostals; but has there ever been a belief in a quarternary G-d?
 
Quatsch said:
Quick question, does anyone have a source of the Church teaching that there are only 3 persons in the Trinity, no more and no fewer?

Thanks
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By definition Trinity means there cannot be more or less than three!!!
 
catholic1seeks said:
NO. I do not know what user Robert_ is hinting at. God’s nature does not change. The Trinity was the Trinity even when the Son assumed a human nature on Earth, and even as He has a human nature in Heaven now.
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You do not know what I’m hinting at? Simply asking if the Trinity remained triune while Jesus was down here fulfilling his mission. Next time I’ll use the word “clue” to avoid confusing you. Plain and simple question, no ulterior motive, no hinting at anything else beside what the words say.
 
Robertanthony said:
You do not know what I’m hinting at? Simply asking if the Trinity remained triune while Jesus was down here fulfilling his mission. Next time I’ll use the word “clue” to avoid confusing you. Plain and simple question, no ulterior motive, no hinting at anything else beside what the words say.
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To answer your question: yes. God after all could not cease to be God. 😉
 
Quatsch said:
I know that the Trinity is all over the Bible, etc… but I’m just curious as to whether anyone has a source from a council or something that states that there are not possibly more than 3 persons with the Divine nature.
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As DavidFilmer wrote above, the 4th Laterin Council affirmed there was exactly 3 persons:
We firmly believe and openly confess that there is only one true God, eternal and immense, omnipotent, unchangeable, incomprehensible, and ineffable, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; three Persons indeed but one essence, substance, or nature absolutely simple…
Click to expand...
…the sacrament of baptism, which by the invocation of each Person of the Trinity, namely of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost…
Laterin-4 (AD 1215), Canon 1
Click to expand...
And thus in God there is only trinity, not quaternity, because each of the three persons is that entity, namely, substance, essense, or divine nature, which alone is the principle of the universe and besides which there is no other.
Click to expand...
Ibid, Canon 2
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Quaternity means 4 persons.
 
Robertanthony said:
You do not know what I’m hinting at? Simply asking if the Trinity remained triune while Jesus was down here fulfilling his mission. Next time I’ll use the word “clue” to avoid confusing you
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Sheesh, no need to get nasty about it. I did not correctly interpret the nature of your question when I made my reply. I thought you may have been wondering if the Trinity might have MORE than three Persons (despite the flippin’ obvious name “Trinity”). Simply because we name the “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” does not (in itself) preclude other Persons, unless we specifically state that there are ONLY these three persons (and no others). That’s why I cited the Council that I cited.

I later gathered that you were asking if the triune nature of God was “temporarily diminished” during Jesus’ time on earth (ie, if it became a duality instead of a trinity, since one Person was “absent”). My original answer (which I thought was pretty good, and which required a bit of research) was, thus, completely irrelevant to the actual intent of your question, and my time and effort in replying to you was completely wasted.

You have still not plainly stated your question (though I think I have done so on your behalf). I think you would have received better responses if you had asked a better question.

And I think your question is actually quite good and thought-provoking. But I think that this thread has been burned. I encourage you to open another thread and plainly state your question so that it may receive an appropriate response.
 
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