Sunday, January 23, 2011



We, however, in conformity with our belief in that doctrine, which we assuredly hold to be divinely inspired, believe that it is possible in no other way to explain and bring within the reach of human knowledge this higher and diviner reason as the Son of God, than by means of those Scriptures alone which were inspired by the Holy Spirit, i.e., the Gospels and Epistles, and the law and the prophets, according to the declaration of Christ Himself. Of the existence of the Holy Spirit no one indeed could entertain any suspicion, save those who were familiar with the law and the prophets, or those who profess a belief in Christ. For although no one is able to speak with certainty of God the Father, it is nevertheless possible for some knowledge of Him to be gained by means of the visible creation and the natural feelings of the human mind; and it is possible, moreover, for such knowledge to be confined from the sacred Scriptures. But with respect to the Son of God, although no one knows the Son save the Father, yet it is from sacred Scripture also that the human mind is taught how to think of the Son; and that not only from the New, but also from the Old Testament, by means of those things which, although done by the saints, are figuratively referred to Christ, and from which both His divine nature, and that human nature which was assumed by Him, may be discovered. (Book I, Chapter 3, Part 1)

Of the three hypostases (ὑπόστᾰσις) with which we speak of the trinity, I feel most familiar with the Son.

Regarding the Father, there is a sense of separation spawned by a gulf in capacity and context.

Regarding the Spirit, there is a mysterious otherness, an uncanny character that both attracts and differentiates.

But regarding Christ - or more precisely, Jesus - there is a sense of shared experience and common concern.

It is also possible to speak of me being Father, Son, and Spirit... each has reality. But alone none captures my ousia (oὐσία), my full being. And even taken together, this is only part of the whole person.

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