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The Trinity is not that hard to understand. The Father is God the Infinite. He is beyond anything that we can know, understand, or experience. That is why the Apostle John wrote,
It is impossible to know the Father directly. He is Infinite. There is no other beside Him. To achieve union with the Father would mean your annihilation. That seems to be the absurd goal of eastern religion. In Christianity, your personhood is meant to be eternal. That is why you will never have union with the Father in this life or the next.
The Infinite Father enters the finite through the Holy Spirit, Who is the invisible presence of God throughout finite creation. You can be indwelled by the Holy Spirit and experience His direct presence. The Spirit of God became human and walked among us as a Man; that Man, Jesus Christ.
These three eternal forms of God are simultaneous and eternal. The Father does not quit being the Father to enter His universe as the omnipresent Spirit. The Spirit does not quit being the Spirit to become the Son. That is why Jesus could and did pray to the Father. That is why the three forms of God can be spoken of as three different Persons.
The Catholic West added a phrase to the Nicene Creed known as the Filioque, which says that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. The Eastern Orthodox Church was correct in rejecting the Filioque. The Filioque reverses the order of progression. The Infinite Father enters the finite as omnipresent Spirit. The omnipresent Spirit became a Man, Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
It is impossible to know the Father directly. He is Infinite. There is no other beside Him. To achieve union with the Father would mean your annihilation. That seems to be the absurd goal of eastern religion. In Christianity, your personhood is meant to be eternal. That is why you will never have union with the Father in this life or the next.
The Infinite Father enters the finite through the Holy Spirit, Who is the invisible presence of God throughout finite creation. You can be indwelled by the Holy Spirit and experience His direct presence. The Spirit of God became human and walked among us as a Man; that Man, Jesus Christ.
These three eternal forms of God are simultaneous and eternal. The Father does not quit being the Father to enter His universe as the omnipresent Spirit. The Spirit does not quit being the Spirit to become the Son. That is why Jesus could and did pray to the Father. That is why the three forms of God can be spoken of as three different Persons.
The Catholic West added a phrase to the Nicene Creed known as the Filioque, which says that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. The Eastern Orthodox Church was correct in rejecting the Filioque. The Filioque reverses the order of progression. The Infinite Father enters the finite as omnipresent Spirit. The omnipresent Spirit became a Man, Jesus Christ.
* posted by Robert on Sat, Jun 25, 2022
