IV. OF THE DIVINE PERSONS
What is meant by saying that God is a spirit in three persons?
By this is meant that each of these three persons is the self-same spirit, who is God, with all the attributes of divinity
What are the names of the three persons?
They are called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Who is God the Father?
God the Father is He who, without principle Himself, begets the Son, and from whom proceeds the Holy Ghost.
Who is God the Son?
God the Son is He who is begotten of the Father, and from whom (with the Father as co-principle) proceeds the Holy Ghost.
Who is God the Holy Ghost?
The Holy Ghost is He who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Are these three divine persons distinct from God Himself?
No.
Are they distinct from each other?
Yes.
What is understood by saying that the divine persons are distinct from each other?
By this is understood that the Father is not the Son nor the Holy Ghost; that the Son is not the Father nor the Holy Ghost; and that the Holy Ghost is not the Father nor the Son.
Can these three persons be separated from each other?
No.
Were they together from all eternity?
Yes.
Has the Father, in relation to the Son, all that we have affirmed of God?
Yes.
And have the Son in relation to the Father, and the Father and Son in relation to the Holy Ghost, all that we have affirmed of God?
Yes.
And in relation to the Father and the Son, has the Holy Ghost likewise all we have affirmed of God?
Yes.
Are these three, thus related to each other from all eternity, three Gods?
No. They are not three Gods, but three persons, each of whom is identified with the self-same God, and yet withal remain distinct from each other.
Do these three persons form a veritable society?
Yes, they form a veritable society, and such as is the most perfect of all societies
Why is this society the most perfect of all societies?
The reason is because each of these three is alike infinite in perfection, in duration, in knowledge, in love, in power, and in happiness; and hence their joy in each other is infinitely rapturous.
How do we know there are three persons in God?
We know this by faith.
Could reason, without the help of faith, know that there are three persons in God?
No
When faith tells us there are three persons in God, can reason understand this?
No. Even though faith tell us this, reason fails to understand
What are these truths called that are beyond reason's grasp and are known by faith only?
They are called mysteries.
Is the doctrine of the three Divine Persons a mystery?
Yes; and it is the most inscrutable of all mysteries.
What is this mystery of the three Divine Persons called?
It is called the mystery of the Holy Trinity
Shall we ever come to know the Holy Trinity in itself?
Yes, some day we shall know the Holy Trinity in itself, for this knowledge will constitute our eternal happiness in heaven.
Is it possible on earth to get a glimpse of the beauties of this mystery of the Holy Trinity by a consideration of those actions which are proper to intellectual beings?
Yes, for these actions imply in an intellectual being the twofold relation of principle and term whether the action be one of thought or of love; for faith teaches us that in God in the act which is thought, the Father has the nature of the principle that expresses and the Word the nature of the term expressed; and in the act which is loving, the Father and the Son are co-principles of love in relation to the Holy Ghost who has the nature of the one loved.
What then is the ultimate reason of the mystery of the Holy Trinity in God?
It is the infinite richness or fecundity of the divine nature which demands the existence of these mysterious processions, which are called processions of origin
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