Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
If the Father, Son and Spirit have a life and existence of their own, and if each is God, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, then you believe in three God's, not one. Jesus said "I and the Father are one", indicating the inseparable unity between the Father, Son and Spirit, such that if one ceased to exist, the others would cease to exist as well.
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Evangelical, in my humble opinion, you hold a modification of Modalism when you say that the Father is the Son. But God is not a chameleon or someone with a reversible jacket. He doesn't change disguises.
"One in essence, God is Trinity in Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Trinity one in essence and indivisible." In these few words is expressed the core of the Christian teachings of the Most Holy Trinity."
I believe that the Holy Trinity, is three distinct, divine persons (hypostases), without overlap or modality among them, who share one divine essence (ousia Greek οὐσία)— uncreated, immaterial and eternal.
And you believe that Christ didn't exist as Christ, the Son of God. For you, Christ is just a manifestation of God the Father.
Can you say that "
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."? (John 3:16)
How do you understand this verse?
You believe in "a God who is not truly self-revealed in the history of Israel and its Messiah, Jesus Christ: the biblical presentation of "Father," "Son, and "Spirit" are but temporary manifestations of deity, with the true deity ultimately hidden behind them.
Modalism is a seductive heresy because it seems to make sense of Scripture, yet it ultimately relativizes Scripture and invites us to search for a deity who, like the Wizard of Oz, ultimately remains hidden behind the biblical curtain. If modalism is true, there is no reason to believe that God is anything like our Lord Jesus Christ."
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Only the mystery of the Triune God provides the answer to these indicated difficulties. It reveals that the love of God has never been inactive, without expression: The Persons of the Most Holy Trinity from eternity live one with another in continuous contact of love. The Father loves the Son (John 5:20, 3:35), and calls Him beloved (Mt. 3:17, 17:5 et al). The Son says of Himself: "I love the Father" (John 14:31). Deeply true are the short, but expressive words of the blessed Augustine: "The mystery of the Christian Trinity is the mystery of Godly love. You see the Trinity, if you see love."