Trinity in New Testament and Tanakh

[Jim_Baur]

I am puzzled by how the Trinity relates to the attributes of God.

I am confident that some of you out there will have a concise answer.

In the Holy Bible how is the Trinity related to the attributes of God?

Same question said differently, how are the Persons of the Trinity related to the attributes of God?

This is not homework. THANKS!!!

 

[sirach2v4]

I seem to think that it is St. Jerome who says “the New Testament is hidden in the Old, the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament.”

So, you may be referring to the attributes of God that are revealed in the Old Testament and trying to make a connection to the revelation of the Trinity in the New Testament, is that the subject?

At one level of the discussion, the Pontifical Biblical Commission issued a document on the linkage of the two Testaments here ewtn.com/library/CURIA/PBCJWSCR.HTM.

This is a long document, covers a variety of subjects, but is the Church’s first attempt in modern times (I think) to address your question.

Another perspective on the same thing is given particularly in the first volume of Pope Benedict’s Jesus of Nazareth, where he tells how the gospels reveal Christ, in terms of the Old Testament. That Jesus IS the new Temple, he IS the Torah, he is fulfillment of the Day of Atonement described in the OT, etc.

Your question is a theological question. My experience is that there is nothing concise in theology. It gives me headaches.

 

[Jim_Baur]

sirach2v4

THANKS!

I also suffer from headaches.

My question is really simple, but the answer is difficult to find.

Please do not laugh, I want a quick and direct answer: how have the Christians aligned the Persons with the attributes?
HOWEVER, I wanted it to be from the Bible only. That is from where I am coming.

Again, THANKS! I guess in this area I am tested by fire. However, I am not golden.

 

[Cranch]

In the Holy Bible how is the Trinity related to the attributes of God?

Same question said differently, how are the Persons of the Trinity related to the attributes of God?

I do not know if Scripture overtly relates certain divine attributes exclusively to a particular Person of the Trinity. Am I correct in assuming you want to know which Person is responsible for a particular attribute of the Godhead? I don’t think the matter can be neatly parsed in that manner. As the Preface of the Holy Trinity from the EF mass says in part:

O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored.

In any case, here are a few scriptural references to God’s attributes. God is:

Love
He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for God is charity. —1 John 4:8

Omniscient
Great is our Lord, and great is his power: and of his wisdom there is no number. —Psalm 146 (147):5

Eternal
You have hoped in the Lord for evermore, in the Lord God mighty for ever. —Isaiah 26:4

All-powerful and Merciful
God hath spoken once, these two things have I heard, that power belongeth to God, And mercy to thee, O Lord; for thou wilt render to every man according to his works. —Psalm 61 (62):12-13

 

[Hunho]

I am puzzled by how the Trinity relates to the attributes of God.

I am confident that some of you out there will have a concise answer.

In the Holy Bible how is the Trinity related to the attributes of God?

Same question said differently, how are the Persons of the Trinity related to the attributes of God?

This is not homework. THANKS!!!

What attributes are you asking about? Please state specifically what you consider to be the “attributes of God”?

 

[Jim_Baur]

Love, Mercy, Truth (TRUTH IS EASY), Power, Forgiveness, Knowledge, Eternity, Immutable, Perfection, Creation, Salvation, Justification, (the Gifts of the HOLY SPIRIT are easy), Wisdom, and the like.

THANKS!!!

 

[Jim_Baur]

Some easy ones:
Holy Spirit: the gifts and fruits

The Word/Jesus: the Way, the Truth, the Life, Salvation, The Father’s love sent into the world

 

[jcrichton]

I am puzzled by how the Trinity relates to the attributes of God.

I am confident that some of you out there will have a concise answer.

In the Holy Bible how is the Trinity related to the attributes of God?

Same question said differently, how are the Persons of the Trinity related to the attributes of God?

This is not homework. THANKS!!!

Hi, Jim Baur!

…I’m not sure what you are seeking… but if you are looking to find out how the Triune God is revealed in Scriptures it is simple: Scriptures state that there’s only One God as Yahweh God reveals that He Alone is God and that He does not Share His Glory (Power/Omnipotence/Authority) with anyone:

10 You yourselves are my witnesses, declares Yahweh, and the servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that it is I. No god was formed before me, nor will be after me. 11 I, I am Yahweh, and there is no other Saviour but me. 12 I have revealed, have saved, and have proclaimed, not some foreigner among you. You are my witnesses, declares Yahweh, I am God, 13 yes, from eternity I am. No one can deliver from my hand; when I act, who can thwart me? (Isaiah 43:10-13)

I am Yahweh, that is my name! I shall not yield my glory to another, nor my honour to idols. (Isaiah 42:8)

It is Yahweh God Who reveals that Jesus, His Only Begotten Son, is God:

5 To which of the angels, then, has God ever said: You are my Son, today I have fathered you, or: I shall be a father to him and he a son to me? 6 Again, when he brings the First-born into the world, he says: Let all the angels of God pay him homage. 7 To the angels, he says: appointing the winds his messengers and flames of fire his servants, 8 but to the Son he says: Your throne, God, is for ever and ever; and: the sceptre of his kingdom is a sceptre of justice; 9 you love uprightness and detest evil. This is why God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness, as none of your rivals. 10 And again: Long ago, Lord, you laid earth’s foundations, the heavens are the work of your hands. 11 They pass away but you remain, they all wear out like a garment. 12 Like a cloak you will roll them up, like a garment, and they will be changed. But you never alter and your years are unending. 13 To which of the angels has God ever said: Take your seat at my right hand till I have made your enemies your footstool? (Hebrews 1:5-13)

…and Jesus transfers God’s Dinine Status to the Holy Spirit:

28 ‘In truth I tell you, all human sins will be forgiven, and all the blasphemies ever uttered; 29 but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin.’ (St. Mark 3:28-29)

12 I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you to bear now. 13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the things to come. 14 He will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. 15 Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. (St. John 16:12-15)

…if you are asking which particular elements apply to which person of the Holy Trinity… there’re only two distinctions:

Pre and Post Incarnate Word and Incarnate Word–the Triune God shares everything in the Pre and Post Incarnation of the Word; the Incarnate Word has a very distinct and separate charge: the Lamb of God (Isaiah’s Suffering Servant–Isaiah 52:13-15 through 53:1-12) is to offer Himself (human body) as the Perfect Sacrifice to expiate the sin of the world.

Other than this very distinct and exact episode, there’s no separation in the functions (attributes) of God:

1 Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array. 2 On the seventh day God had completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he rested after all his work of creating. 4 Such was the story of heaven and earth as they were created. At the time when Yahweh God made earth and heaven (Genesis 2:1-4–the Father)

21 And now I understand everything, hidden or visible, for Wisdom, the designer of all things, has instructed me. 22 For within her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, incisive, unsullied, lucid, invulnerable, benevolent, shrewd, 23 irresistible, beneficent, friendly to human beings, steadfast, dependable, unperturbed, almighty, all-surveying, penetrating all intelligent, pure and most subtle spirits. 24 For Wisdom is quicker to move than any motion; she is so pure, she pervades and permeates all things. 25 She is a breath of the power of God, pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; so nothing impure can find its way into her. 26 For she is a reflection of the eternal light, untarnished mirror of God’s active power, and image of his goodness. 27 Although she is alone, she can do everything; herself unchanging, she renews the world, and, generation after generation, passing into holy souls, she makes them into God’s friends and prophets; (Wisdom 7:21-27–the Holy Spirit)

10 And again: Long ago, Lord, you laid earth’s foundations, the heavens are the work of your hands. (Hebrews 1:10–Christ)

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[Jim_Baur]

jcrichton

thanks!

and thanks to all of you