Nicene
Creed
We/I believe in one God, the
Father Almighty, maker of heaven and
earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the
only begotten Son of God, and born
of the Father before all ages. God from God, light from light, true God from
true God. Begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom all
things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven.
And was incarnate of the Holy Spirit
and of the Virgin Mary and was made man; was crucified also for us under
Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried; and the third day rose again according
to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the
Father, and shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of
whose Kingdom there shall be no end. And we/I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father (and the Son), who together with the Father and
the Son is to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the Prophets. And one
holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We/I confess one baptism for the
remission of sins. And we/I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life
of the world to come. Amen.
Who
or What is God? What does God know?
God is the infinite being.
The creator of all things visible (Material things/world) and invisible (Spirit
things/world).
1.
Omnipotent – almighty
or infinite power; having very great or unlimited authority or power;
2.
Omniscient –
Infinite knowledge and wisdom;
3.
Omnipresence –
present everywhere at the same time
4.
Sovereignty –
Power to govern without external control; total control on everything that
happens;
5.
Holiness –
absolutely no sin or evil thought.
God is a Trinity. This means that God is three persons, not
three gods. Technically, the doctrine of
the Trinity states that in the one God is the person of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Each is not the
same person as the other; yet there are not three gods but one.
God was never created, is
completely loving, completely just, completely holy, completely merciful, and
that He desires the best for us.
What
is a Trinity or Triune God?
Trinity
(latin trinitas = the state of being
threefold) -- God is only one, but he exists in three persons.
Triune
God
-- the same reality as Trinity, emphasizes God's unity, the other the
distinction of persons in Him; is the unfathomable mystery of the Trinity.
The mystery of the Most Holy
Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery
of God in Himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of
faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential
teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith". The whole history of salvation is identical
with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to me "and reconciles and unites
with Himself those who turn away from sin". [CCC 234]
Why
is God "The Father"?
We revered God as Father
first of all because He is the Creator and cares lovingly for His creatures.
Jesus, the Son of God, has taught us, furthermore, to regard His Father as our
Father and to address Him as "Our Father". [CCC 238-240].
God (Father) is the first
origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at the same
time goodness and loving care for all children. ... God transcends the human distinction
between the sexes. He is neither man nor woman: He is God. He also transcends
human fatherhood and motherhood, although he is their origin and standard. No
one is father as God the Father. [239]
His the Father of creatures
-- all the Heavenly Hosts and all the people.
Why
is God "The Son"?
- He is the "Word", "I Am", the
"Alpha and Omega" -- already existed before the creation of
Heaven and Earth.
John 1:1-3: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with
God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing
came into being. What has come into being "
John 8:58: 58 Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I
tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Revelation 22:13: 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
- God addresses Jesus as Son which is superior to
Angels [Hebrew 1:1-8]
- He is the fulfilled prophecy that God will be with
His people, the Prince of Peace [Isaiah 7:14, 9:6]
- The Son and the Father is one [John 10:30-33]
- He is the mediator to the Father. [John 14:6]
- He is our Savior, Redeemer of our sins, the New
Covenant, hope of the Gentiles.
Why
is God the "Holy Spirit"?
- The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy
Trinity and has the same divine majesty as the Father and the Son. [CCC
243-248, 263-264]
- Before his Passover, Jesus announced the sending of
"another Paraclete" or "Advocate", the Holy Spirit.
- The eternal origin of the Holy Spirit is revealed in
His mission in time. The Spirit is sent to the apostles and to the Church
both by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son in person, once
He had returned to the Father. The sending of the person of the Spirit
after Jesus' glorification reveals in its fullness the mystery of the Holy
Trinity.
- proclaim blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit as the unforgivable sin. [Matthew 12:31-32]
- He is the "Spirit of Truth" that will
guide us into all truth and He will testifies for Jesus. [John 16:13-15]
- Through Him, overshadow Mary bore the Son of God --
the Word became flesh dwelt among us. [Luke. 1:35]
- The Holy Spirit descend to Jesus after His baptism [Matthew
3:17 Mark 1:11 Luke 3:21-22]
Genesis 1:26 – 26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind[a]
in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the wild animals of the earth,[b] and over every creeping thing that creeps
upon the earth.”
Matthew 28:19 – 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
1 John 5:7 – For there are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
John 14:26 – But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 16:13-15 –
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he
will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will
declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he
will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is
mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to
you.
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 –
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are
varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of
activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.
Trinity
and Consubstantial:
Consubstantial (adjective) -- of one and the same substance,
essence, or nature.
St. Patrick would hold up a shamrock and challenge his hearers,
"Is it one leaf or three?" "It is both one leaf and three,"
was their reply. "And so it is with God," he would conclude.
Water,
Ice and Steam is different in form but the same substance but
we
are NOT talking about Modalism
here!!! Modalism is a heresy in Catholic Church.
You can compare it with Atomic particle. Nucleus is God particle composed of Neutron
(Father) and Proton (Son) and binding them together by the Electron (Holy
Spirit).
A Neutron can be split to Proton and Electron.
Theoretically, Neutron is the combination of Proton and Electron. A Proton, though, cannot be converted into a Neutron
(theoretically, it can combine with an Electron to form a Neutron).
The Trinity is a mystery of
faith in the strict sense , one of the "mysteries that are hidden in God,
which can never be known unless they are revealed by God." ... But the
inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone
or even to Israel's faith before the Incarnation of God's Son and the sending
of the Holy Spirit. [CCC 237]
† In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
Glory be to the
Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. As it was the beginning is now,
and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Reference:
Catechism of the Catholic
Church
Bible Gateway (New Revised
Standard Version Catholic Edition)
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