Day 23

As we talked about a few days ago, we have seen how the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, appeared at times in the Old Testament. So often, God as Trinity, is considered to be something that was revealed with the birth of Jesus Christ and completed at His Baptism. We now begin to understand that this truth about God has been shown to the world throughout man's history. I feel that it is a good time to examine this fundamental theology of our Faith.

The Church worships the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity. We are taught that the Trinity is three divine persons (the Greek term used is hypostases) who share one essence (Greek = ousia). It can be difficult to understand this but it is how God has revealed Himself to us over time. This is exactly what we are learning in these mediations. All three persons are consubstantial with each other, in other words, they are of one essence. (This is referred to as homoousios).

While this can be a very difficult concept to understand, we must remember that we are created in the image and likeness of God. So in some way, we must mirror God. We are made up of three parts: body, mind and spirit. Those three things make us who we are, the singular person that we are. This is an image of Trinity. If we were to take this analogy further, the Father would be the mind, the Son the body (incarnate) and the Holy Spirit our spirit. Admittedly, it is a simple explanation, but one that helps us understand.

Our full belief about the Trinity can be found in the Nicene Creed that we recite together at every Divine Liturgy. Let's be reminded of the pertinent parts:

I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages...consubstantial with the Father...

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father...

Who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified. 

So this profession of Faith, that is a centerpiece of our primary worship of Divine Liturgy, spells out for us that all three persons of the Holy Trinity have existed before all ages. It is in this belief that we see these manifestations of the Son of God in the Old Testament. 

Tomorrow, we will look at the Pre-Incarnate Son of God as the Angel of Great Counsel. We will examine this manifestation in the events in the book of Daniel, namely, the three Holy Youths in the fiery furnace.

In Christ

Fr. David