On the Triune God . . .
I have come to realize that the confusing analysis provided in the Athanasian creed is almost more meaningful than the standard evangelical doctrine of the trinity. And much more on the mark than Lee's "they're just one."
I got more on board with the idea that there is a separation in their unity when I read the following in John 17:11
Quote:
|
Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.
|
If this is what we know about the "oneness" of the Father and the Son, then if they are simply the same "person," then how are we one like that? There is something in this statement that makes our ability to be one (in this world in this age) like the oneness of the Father and the Son. We know this says something about our oneness. But does it also say something (not everything) about the oneness of God?
I realize that this is just one statement of several from which we learn about the nature of God. And each is given in a context and is not revealing everything about what we call the Trinity (and therefore cannot be construed as simply the rest of the story). But this claim of a well-defined doctrine of the Trinity is more like a committee effort. Lee's was worse than the regular definition. But Athanasius got it better than either. It is Three, and it is One. Don't conflate the one or compress the three. Accept it as it is . . . something beyond our understanding. Triune is not "simply one." Nor is it simply three. It is Three and it is One — in a way that we cannot fully comprehend.