Today’s Aquinas: One God in Three Persons

Last updated on: November 16, 2015 at 6:00 am by willduquette

Today’s Aquinas: One God in Three Persons 2015-11-14T13:04:14-05:00 willduquette

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We’re blogging through St. Thomas Aquinas’ Compendium Theologiae, sometimes called his Shorter Summa. Find the previous posts here.

Today’s post is from Chapter 55, “Personal Distinction in God through the Relations”.

Thomas continues his analysis of the Trinity by affirming that the three members of the trinity are persons, and are so precisely because the relations that define them are subsistent.

Since distinction in the Godhead is accounted for by relations that are not accidental but are subsistent, and since among beings subsisting in an intellectual nature personal distinction is discerned, it necessarily follows that personal distinction in God is constituted by the relations in question. Therefore the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are three persons, and also three hypostases, since hypostasis means something that is subsistent and complete.

We have run into the term subsistent before: a thing is subsistent if it has its own nature and existence. An apple is a subsistent thing; the apple’s state of ripeness is not, as it does not exist apart from the apple. Thus, by using the term subsistent, Thomas is saying that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit truly are distinct. St. Patrick famously used the shamrock to describe the Trinity, containing as it does three leaves; but the leaves have their existence only as parts of the whole. The Trinity is truly One in one way and truly Three in another in a way that the shamrock is not.

Next we come to the term person. For Thomas, a “person” is a being having intellect, the power to know, and will, the power to choose. We are persons; angels are persons; God is Three persons.

Finally, we have the term hypostasis. So far as I can tell, hypostasis is simply the Greek equivalent of the Latin word translated here as “substance”. It’s an important word in Christian theology; we usually come across it in the phrase “hypostatic union”, which is the doctrine that Jesus Christ has two natures, human and divine, perfectly joined in one person, one substance, one hypostasis.

____

photo credit: Public Domain; source Wikimedia Commons

Believing Thomas

compendium theologiae

Thomas Aquinas

trinity

Previous Post

November 14, 2015

On Being A Turtle

Next Post

November 23, 2015 Today's Aquinas: Why a Trinity? Why not a Quaternity?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Admin App o' the Morning Ask the Dogmat Believing Thomas Bits of Fiction Blasts from the Past Bootstrapping the Interior Life Catholic Mom Christian Living Deep Thoughts from the Doghouse Dominicana Evangelii Gaudium Interviews It Was A Dark and Stormy Night Links to This and That Lumen Fidei Meme Watch On Writing Operation Gratitude Pedant Errant Photography Quill Random Barkings S'Mary's World Shakers of Salt Software Development The Dog Whistler The Dogmat Sez Third Orders Thomas Aquinas Uncategorized Vikings at Dinos Woof Guide to Cinema Woof Guide to History Woof Guide to Literature Woof Guide to Obscure Catholic Music Woof Guide to Philosophy Woof Guide to Popular Music Woof Guide to Technology Woof Guide to Theology Words I Wish I'd Written Works For Me

Select a Month September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which letter contains a hymn about Christ emptying Himself and being exalted?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Philippians Titus Romans Ephesians