The Triune God (*long* pseudo-philosophical, quasi-theological ramble)

[Neithan]

I was just contemplating the Blessed Trinity, and wanted to share some thoughts. This is a bit of a ramble…

Many Christians wisely do not try to tackle the Trinity with their own intellects, nor try to understand Him, which of course we can never do–it is a great mystery; *however *many brilliant theologians have demonstrated that the Trinity is understandable to an extent, though it tests the farthest possible reaches of the human mind. Many pure monotheists attack the Triune dogma and argue that it simply doesn’t make sense. Many Christians will agree and demand that it be accepted purely on faith. While I do not deny that faith is an absolute requirement for this primal revelation, I disagree that it doesn’t make sense. It makes perfect sense. It makes more sense than anything else in the world! I think the best way to grasp it is by following the hint given in Genesis: we are in the image of God. This is profound. This implies that by understanding ourselves we can understand something of God Himself. I take a vastly simplified Thomistic approach, in keeping with the theme of God’s perfect simplicity

Human beings are spiritual creatures, and all spirits are grounded in a self, a *person, *a central consciousness from which springs the intellect and the *will, *the two divisions of the soul (or mind). Every movement of the mind follows the order of intellect first, then will. We think something, then we will something. I think about getting out of bed, then I will it (this is the most profound act of the will in my entire day, I think).

God the Creator is a pure spirit, and–since we are in His image–He also has a Divine Intellect, and a Divine Will. Like our own, His will is governed by His intellect. He *thinks *of something, and then He *wills *it.
The Creator is the Divine Source of all things, He is source itself. All existence has its source in Him, including Himself. It is nonsense to say “God did not create Himself” because God *is '*to create’ That idea we have in our minds, the one called up the word ‘create’–God IS that. HE IS the Creator. He is the the source of source itself.

Whatever God* thinks*, exists as a thought in His mind, and when he *wills *a thought, it exists, on its own, for its own sake (apart from God). As the Bible reveals to us, this is how God creates. All things are created by His Divine Will through His Divine Intellect. God thought of the angels, they existed in His mind in Himself; then God willed the angels, and they existed on their own, for their own sake. God thought of the physical universe, then He willed it. God thought of Adam and Eve, and then He willed them. God thought of you, you existed in His mind, and then He willed you, and you existed on your own, for your own sake. Each of us and everything began as a thought of God, willed by Him to be.

[Continued]

 

[Neithan]

Now, God the Creator also thinks of Himself. He has always thought of Himself, and He continues to think of Himself for all eternity. When God *thinks *of Himself, He exists as a thought of Himself in His mind. The thoughts of God are perfect, and His thought of Himself contains everything that He is; therefore, when God thinks of Himself, He perfectly mirrors Himself. He creates a mirror image of Himself already simply by thinking of Himself. We now have two equal selves of God, two persons. But God’s thought of Himself is in His own mind, therefore these two *selves *are both the same pure spirit–the same God. God’s mirror image of Himself is wholly equal to Himself but still exists within Himself. God now has two equal Persons within Himself.

This Second Person is the eternal “reproduction” of God the Creator through His Divine Intellect. We call this Person the Logos, literally, the Thought of God. God the Thought (also called the Word). Everything the Creator thinks is in the Word, because the Word is His Thought. Everything the Creator creates is from the Word and comes to be through the Word, because everything always exists first as a thought of God. The Word has always been with the Creator, because the Creator is always thinking of Himself.

The Word and the Creator are two Persons in one God (John 1:1-3).

So, as God the Creator *thinks *of Himself He already has a mirror image of Himself. God thinks of Himself eternally, and from thinking of Himself, He wills Himself. God wills Himself to be, on His own, for His own sake. God has always willed Himself, and He continues to will Himself for all eternity. The intellect of God perfectly mirrors Himself in His thought and contains everything that He is; therefore, when God wills His thought of Himself He creates *another *mirror image of Himself. We now have **three **equal *selves *of God, three persons. But God cannot be apart from Himself, and by willing Himself, on His own, for His own sake, he exists again within Himself. Therefore these three *selves *are all the same original pure spirit–they are all one and the same God. God’s will for Himself is exactly what He already is in Himself as well as His Thought of Himself; His Will for Himself is wholly equal to Himself and His Thought of Himself. God now has three co-equal Persons within Himself (please excuse the excessively repetitive pronouns).

This Third Person is the eternal “replication” of God the Creator *from *and *through the Divine Intellect by the Divine Will. Because the intellect always precedes and governs the will, the Second Person, the Word, *who generates purely from the Divine Intellect, is essentially involved in this process. The Third Person is God’s Will for Himself, Who always proceeds from and through God’s Thought of Himself (the Second Person, the Word). This Third Person we call the Love, the Will of God.

Why is He called Love? Love is the essence of a spirit’s willpower. Every movement of our will is powered by love. We think of something, perceive it as good, and subsequently will it. This is love: the movement of the will toward some perceived good. Every spiritual act can be broken down into these three things; think, good, will. *Thinking *and loving. This is what we are created for. As I type, I think of what I want to say, perceive it as good, and will it. Every single thing we do is powered this way. Every single thing we do is some kind of love. Love is action itself. Remember, we are in the image of God (not a mirror image of course! ), and this is also true of Him. Every act of God, every movement of His will, is love. The ultimate love, because God is the ultimate good. Therefore, the Will of God for Himself is simply called the Love (known as the Holy Spirit). Everything the Creator wills is through the Word and by the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is His Will, which is moved by the Word, His Thought (Divine Will follows Divine Intellect). Everything the Creator creates is by the Holy Spirit (from and through the Word), because every creation is an act of the will of God, an act of love. The Holy Spirit has always been with the Word and the Creator because the Creator is always willing Himself from and through the Word. The Creator is always willing Himself from and through the thought of Himself. The Divine Intellect continually mirrors God in thinking Himself, and perpetually moves the Divine Will to mirror God again by willing Himself.

The Holy Spirit, the Word and the Creator are three Persons in one God.

[Continued]

 

[Neithan]

The Creator is the Divine Source of God (and Source itself). The Word is the Divine Thought of God (and Thought itself). The Holy Spirit is the Divine Love of God (and Love itself). The Word generates from the Creator alone (as thought generates solely from self); and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Creator through the Word (as love is the action from *self *through thought). Three Divine Persons in one Divine Nature. Three equal selves in one and the same ultimate pure spirit. The Triune God.

So we see that there must be at least three Persons in God, but there can be no more than this. There can not be a fourth or fifth person in God because of the unity of His spiritual Nature. God cannot be separate from Himself and remains one pure spirit. All spiritual creatures are made in His image, and all have only three discernible aspects: the central consciousness or self, the intellect and the will.

As described above, the Creator thinks of and reproduces Himself through His *intellect *in the Word, Who is God Thought of Himself. The Word is a second *self *with a second intellect and will, but they are exactly the same as the Creator. When the Word thinks of Himself, He thinks of the Creator, as they are identical selves; but the Creator already is, and therefore only one Divine Person is generated from the Divine Intellect.

The Word and the Creator simultaneously will each other: the Creator wills Himself in the Word, and the Word in the Creator. The action of their united will replicates the Holy Spirit, Who is God Willed for Himself (i.e. the Love of God). The Holy Spirit is a third self, with a third intellect and a third will, but they are identical to both the Word and the Creator. The Holy Spirit thinks of Himself and reflects either the Word or the Creator, who both already are. The Holy Spirit wills Himself through either the Word or the Creator, but this reflects the other Who already is; therefore only one Divine Person is produced from the Divine Will.

God the Creator *thought *of each one of us. We each existed as a thought of God, within Himself, in the Word. God the Creator, through and with the Word *willed *each of us. We each came to exist on our own, for our own sake as a will of God, apart from Himself, by the Holy Spirit. All things, everything is from the Creator; through, with and in the Word, by the Holy Spirit; even God Himself! God simply IS. Ens. ‘Being’. He IS ‘to be’.
God *thought *of us, perceived us as good, and willed us. We are each a product of God’s thought and love.

Everything God *thinks *has its source in Himself, it is from Him; therefore everything God *wills *is perceived as a good by Himself, it is for Him. We are created from God and for Him. We are created from a thought of God by His love, to think of and to love Him in return. This is why we exist (please excuse the excessive emphasis on prepositions).

Phew… I think I’ll stop here… I’m in way over my head. Hic taceat omnis lingua: Here let every tongue be silent.
You’re probably wondering how the heck I have all this time on my hands: I’m a student and suffer from insomnia :yawn:

If you’ve taken the time to read this (wow) I would love***** to hear any comments\criticism and your own philosophy on the Blessed Trinity!

*Glory to the holy and undivided Trinity, now and for ever. *

*****[or rather: “perceive as *good and *will” *]
P.S. It goes without saying that I am a huge nerd.

 

[thistle]

Neithan:

The Creator is the Divine Source of God (and Source itself). The Word is the Divine Thought of God (and Thought itself). The Holy Spirit is the Divine Love of God (and Love itself). The Word generates from the Creator alone (as thought generates solely from self); and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Creator through the Word (as love is the action from *self *through thought). Three Divine Persons in one Divine Nature. Three equal selves in one and the same ultimate pure spirit. The Triune God.

So we see that there must be at least three Persons in God, but there can be no more than this. There can not be a fourth or fifth person in God because of the unity of His spiritual Nature. God cannot be separate from Himself and remains one pure spirit. All spiritual creatures are made in His image, and all have only three discernible aspects: the central consciousness or self, the intellect and the will.

As described above, the Creator thinks of and reproduces Himself through His *intellect *in the Word, Who is God Thought of Himself. The Word is a second *self *with a second intellect and will, but they are exactly the same as the Creator. When the Word thinks of Himself, He thinks of the Creator, as they are identical selves; but the Creator already is, and therefore only one Divine Person is generated from the Divine Intellect.

The Word and the Creator simultaneously will each other: the Creator wills Himself in the Word, and the Word in the Creator. The action of their united will replicates the Holy Spirit, Who is God Willed for Himself (i.e. the Love of God). The Holy Spirit is a third self, with a third intellect and a third will, but they are identical to both the Word and the Creator. The Holy Spirit thinks of Himself and reflects either the Word or the Creator, who both already are. The Holy Spirit wills Himself through either the Word or the Creator, but this reflects the other Who already is; therefore only one Divine Person is produced from the Divine Will.

God the Creator *thought *of each one of us. We each existed as a thought of God, within Himself, in the Word. God the Creator, through and with the Word *willed *each of us. We each came to exist on our own, for our own sake as a will of God, apart from Himself, by the Holy Spirit. All things, everything is from the Creator; through, with and in the Word, by the Holy Spirit; even God Himself! God simply IS. Ens. ‘Being’. He IS ‘to be’.
God *thought *of us, perceived us as good, and willed us. We are each a product of God’s thought and love.

Everything God *thinks *has its source in Himself, it is from Him; therefore everything God *wills *is perceived as a good by Himself, it is for Him. We are created from God and for Him. We are created from a thought of God by His love, to think of and to love Him in return. This is why we exist (please excuse the excessive emphasis on prepositions).

Phew… I think I’ll stop here… I’m in way over my head. Hic taceat omnis lingua: Here let every tongue be silent.
You’re probably wondering how the heck I have all this time on my hands: I’m a student and suffer from insomnia :yawn:

If you’ve taken the time to read this (wow) I would love***** to hear any comments\criticism and your own philosophy on the Blessed Trinity!

Glory to the holy and undivided Trinity, now and for ever.

*****[or rather: “perceive as *good and *will” *]

P.S. It goes without saying that I am a huge nerd.

You might be interested in the book Theology for Beginners by F.J. Sheed and the sections on the Trinity.

 

[Neithan]

thistle:

You might be interested in the book Theology for Beginners by F.J. Sheed and the sections on the Trinity.

I will definitely be looking into this book! It’s funny you should mention it, because it was a quote from Mr. Sheed posted in these forums in another thread that got me contemplating the Trinity in the first place.

 

[Vouthon]

I know that you wrote this 5 years ago Neithan abut I have just found it and read it and I think it is an incredible description of the innermost workings of the Triune God…although it is at first rather confusing to read, when properly reflected upon and digested it does make sense and it has helped me make intelligible sense of the the Most Blessed Trinity.

Thank you.