Trinity I

The Most Holy Trinity.
#I. Revised
The Oneness of God

The Most Holy Trinity is the core Teaching of Christianity. It is the One thing that links all Mysteries of Faith and Life to one another.


"The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith" (General Catechetical Directory 43)."

The Catholic Church sees that Jesus Christ is God and thus it is an Objective Truth to the Church. If this is not so, many of Her Doctrines would not make any sense, it would makes Jesus some crazy man and or liar, thus making Him not the Person we know as Jesus Christ.

The Dogma of the Catholic Church has been one of great studies on behalf of those who learned the Truth and kept it for 2014 years. This is not a dogma that just came out of nowhere. It came from great men that did some serious deep thinking and studying. This Dogma is seen within both Scripture and Tradition. We look at the Whole Bible and the Church for a better understanding of the Word of God.

Let's begin with some Scripture.

There are many clues within the text of both the Old Testament and New Testament that point to The Most Holy Trinity, one just needs to study and look deeper into both Scripture and Tradition. I find it very interesting that there are verses that link both the OT to the NT. As St. Augustine said, "The New Testament lies hidden in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New Testament". We are first looking at the Book of Revelation which is link to Exodus, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. As Catholics we do not only look at one verse nor one passage to understand Scripture nor do we use Scripture alone. Here I will use the New Testament and show how it is linked together with the OT.

These verses that are coming up, when read in context as a Whole shows us that when read properly they are very Trinitarian and are shown to give us the distinctions between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Reading it together with the OT it puts the figures in their proper settings and allows us to speak of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit distinctively and as One.

Here is the first Scripture we will look at, Rev. 1:8, 17-18; 21:6 and 22:13 in these verses we are seeing the "Alpha and the Omega". One will not find a reference to the "Alpha and Omega" in the OT and for the reason that they are the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet. As many of us know the OT was written primarily in Hebrew. So this here will not be seen in the OT.

Rev 1:8, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." {Of course this verse speaks of God the Father.}

Rev 21:6, "And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water without price from the fountain of the water of life." {God the Father and Jesus Christ who gave us water from His side}

Rev 22:13, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." {Now this verse is speaking of Jesus The Christ.}

Now when we look at;

Rev 1:8, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God" Yes here one can say it is speaking of God Father. But this verse does not stand alone if one keeps reading down to verses 17&18 we read, "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, "fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades." {Who was it that died here??? Of course it was Jesus The Christ, because God the Father has never and can never die. Keep in mind that Jesus Christ's human nature died.}

So in verse 8 we see God identifying Himself as the "Alpha and the Omega",   and in verse 17 as , "the first and the last". But in verse 18 as I understand it says this, "I died, and behold I am alive for evermore."

And reading on to Rev 2:8 we read,

"And to the angel of the Church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and come to life,'" {Jesus The Christ}.

Yes, Our Lord God is "the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega". But who is the One they speak of that Died and came to Life??? It was Jesus The Christ.

     The Book of Revelation is very interesting when it is read in context. St John is instructed to write to the Churches of Smyrna and Thyatira in (Rev 2:8-11 and 2:18-29), we can see the Trinity being identified:

Rev 2:8, "The words of the first and the least {God the Father} who died and came to life {Jesus}".

Rev 2:11, "He has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." {Holy Spirit}

And

Rev 2: 18, 23,29, "And to the Angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The word of the Son of God (Jesus), who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze…23.,I am he who searches mind and Hearts," {God the Father} 29 Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches." {Holy Spirit}

Farther in

Rev 2:18,23, we read, "And to the Angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The word of the Son of God {Jesus}, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze (This to me kind of sounds like something in the OT, Book of Daniel) …23.,I am he who searches mind and Hearts," {God the Father}

Verse 18 clearly is speaking of Jesus Christ and in verse 23 if we keep reading Jesus is speaking as God did, which is seen in the OT,

Jeremiah 17:10, "I the LORD search the mind and try the heart,…".  {God the Father}

Here is a link to the OT, Jeremiah and Revelation connects the NT to the OT. To me it is where I see that both Jesus and God the Father are One of the same Divine Nature and yet they are two distinct persons. They both speak as one another did thus they speak as One and are One in God.

Now let me go back just a bit to the Alpha and Omega and work on linking those to the OT.
Revelation 21:6, "And he said to me, "It is done! I Am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water without price from the fountain of the water of life."
Rev 22:13, "I Am the alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

Now these verses speak of the Alpha and the Omega which link Rev 1:8 with 21:6. Rev 1:8 speaks of God the Father while Rev 21:6 speaks of Jesus The Christ. In Rev 22:13 we see something different from the other verses which is, "the first and the last". This verse is linked to Rev 2:8 and that is linked to the OT Is 41:4; 44:6; 48:12.

Is 41:4, "Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first and the last: I am He."

Is 44:6, "Thus says the Lord, Israel king and redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; there is no God but me."

Is 48:12, "Listen to me, Jacob Israel, whom I named! I, it is I who am the first and also the last am I."

Rev 2:8 "And to the angel of the Church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and come to life,'"

Rev 22:13, "I Am the alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

So now that we see and know that God the Father and Jesus Christ are both, the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, we can keep going now.

Let's look at the verse in Revelation 22:12-13 much closer,

"Behold, I am coming soon {Jesus Christ}, bringing my recompense, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

Verse 12 is most definitely speaks of Jesus Christ and when we keep reading verse 16 states,

16 "I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star."

SO through all this we see that Jesus The Christ is giving the same title of Alpha and Omega as God the Father in Rev 1:8 thus showing us that He too is of the same Divine LORD.

Questions:

Are their two Alphas and Omegas?  NO

Are their two creations? NO.  

It only makes sense here that their is only One Alpha and Omega, One First and Last and ONLY ONE Creator, One that Beginnings it all and One that Ends it all things. He is the One God of everything visible and invisible. So if God the Father and Jesus Christ are both Alpha and Omega and Creator the conclusion then should be One in essence/nature/being. God's Oneness -His Unity- is a Mystery to men, it is something that our minds can not grasp in its fullness here on earth, because of our finite minds.

So now that we see that both Jesus and God the Father (with the Holy Spirit) are both Alpha and Omega… and so on, I will now try to look at why is God One in Three Persons. We as Catholics call His Oneness, substance or nature and in Greek consubstantial. In the Old Testament we see that God is Only One and so to in the New Testament. The verses are, Deut 6:4, Mk 12:29, 1 Cor 8:4-6 and 1 Tim 2:5.

Deut 6:4, "Hear, O Israel ‘The LORD our God is One LORD,"

Mk 12:29, "Jesus answered, "The first is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One,"

1 Tim 2:5, "For there is One God, and there is One mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,"

1 Cor 8:4-6, "Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that an idol has no real existence, "and that there "there is no God but One," For although there may be so called gods in heaven or on earth -as indeed there are many "gods" and "lords" yet for us there is One God the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and One Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."

“1  Cor 8:6, One God… One Lord: St Paul distinguishes the Christian faith from paganism, which venerated many gods, and from Judaism, which declined to accept the messianic Lordship of Jesus. St Paul alludes to the monotheistic creed of Deut 6:4, but he applies its two divine titles to two distinct Persons, "God" is linked with the Father, the divine Source from whom all creation originates, and "Lord" is linked with Christ, the divine Mediator through whom all things were made. This is one of the clearest Pauline passages to assent both the deity and the divine activity of Jesus Christ (Col 1:15-17).” (Note from my Catholic Bible study),

Col 1:15-17, "He{Jesus} is the Image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in the him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones of dominions or principalities or authorities all things were created through him{Jesus} and for him{Jesus}. He{Jesus} is before all things, and in him{Jesus} all things hold together."   
   

Col 1:18-20, "He{Jesus} is the head of the body, the Church; he{Jesus} is the beginning the first-born from the dead, that in everything he{Jesus} might be pre-eminent. For in him{Jesus} all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him{Jesus} to reconcile to himself all thing, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his{Jesus} cross."

Col 1:15-20, is an ancient hymn that extols Christ's deity and supremacy over creation Emphasis is placed on His role as Creator, (Which there is only One Creator), through whom all things were made (Col 1:15-17), and as Redeemer, who renews all things with His Grace (Col 1:18-20). As the preeminent Lord, Christ is enthroned far above every power on earth and every order of angels in heaven. He has neither rival nor peer, and his redeeming work transforms the old creation into a new creation through His Body, the Universal Church (Col1:18; 2Cor5:17; Gal 6:15). The preexistence of Christ from eternity and his active role as Creator together recall biblical poetry that personifies God's "wisdom" as the divine architect of heaven and earth (Prov8:22-31;Wis7:22-28). St. Paul associates Christ with "Wisdom" also in Col2:3 and 1Cro1:24,30 (CCC299). (Note from my Catholic Bible study),

Verse 15 we clearly see that Jesus is the Image of God, He makes visible the life and love of the invisible God (Jn 1:18; Rom 5:8). His humanity is thus the sacrament that brings the Father into view (Jn 14:9). Although man was created in God’s image something more is said of Christ, who is that image in the most perfect sense (2Cor4:4; Heb1:3). ∙The hymn may allude to the creation of Adam, the first man to bear the image of God (Gen 1:26) and pass it alone to his progeny (Gen 5:3). Because the image Adam bequeathed to the human family was damaged and disfigured by sin, Christ comes to reverse what Adam did by reshaping our image in likeness of his own (Col 3:10; Rom 8:29; 1 Cor 15:49). ∙Christ is the image because He is of one substance with the Father from Him, since the nature of an image is to copy the original and to be named after it (St. Gregory Nazianzen, Orations 30). The first born: The term for an elder child, with the emphasis on his legal right of inheritance (Deut 21:15-19). Since Christ is the first and the only (natural) Son begotten of the Father, he is the designated heir of the Father's estate, which is the entire cosmos (Heb 1:2). St. Paul's point is not that Jesus is noblest part of creation, but that Jesus has the filial right to possess all of creation as his inheritance. ∙ The apostles call him the first-born, not the first created, that we may believe he is begotten in virtue of his eternity (St. Ambrose, on the Faith 1, 7), (*notes from my study Bible pg366,*).

    Hopefully you now know that God is One and only One, these next verses make more sense when read in Context with the other verses, please remember to read them and see them together as a Whole and not as separate individual passages and verses. Here are some more verses that show us that Jesus and God the Father are One (consubstantial).  Ex 3:14, John 1:1,14; 8: 5,58; 10:30; 20:28. There are more verses like Mt 1:23 and 28:8 and others like them that make sense when read properly.

Let me get this straight before I keep going, God is One with Three distinct Persons. God is Father Son and Holy Spirit. God the Father is not Jesus the Son nor is He the Holy Spirit and the Son is not the Father nor is He the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son. This here is why it is a mystery to us men and our finite mind cannot grasp nor comprehend this well.

John 8:5 Jesus speaks and says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."

Here Christ invokes and applies to Himself the personal name of God the Father which is seen in Ex3:14.

We also see in St John's Gospel 20:28 St. Thomas falls to his down in front of Jesus saying, "My Lord and My God!" in the Greek language we read, "Ho Kurios mou kai ho Theos mou-” which literally should be translated to this, "The Lord of me and the God of me!"
   

We also see verses such as Mt 1:23, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" which means, God with us."

The name Emmanuel is perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Because He is the Incarnation His ongoing presence in the world is both ecclesial (Jn 18:20; 28:20) and Eucharistic (Jn 26:26).

John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." {Jesus}

And then in John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, {Jesus} full of grace and the Truth; we have behold his glory, glory as of the only begotten Son from the Father."

John 10:30, "I and the Father are One." {When this is read in FULL context with everything else, as a Whole, we see the One as One in being (existence itself), essence, substance or nature thus equal to one another. All that is who is.}

John 16:15, "All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that He will take what is mine and declare it to you."

Jesus puts Himself equal the Father.

John 17:5. "And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was made." {Only Jesus Christ preexisted.}

Now to me and I am sure the Church as well sees these verses as one that God can not be divided nor separated. Everything I have written so far points to there being One God only. To me all these verses explain the Oneness of God.

This is a doctrine, Dogma of the Church which is seen by, Catholic, Orthodox and all Protestant Christians. Those who believe in the Trinity are rightfully call Christian because of Believing and like I said at the beginning of this whole essay, this Teaching is the core of Christianity and all its Teachings.

The Church Fathers