Q. What does Faith mean ?
A. It means belief in the heart, and confession by the tongue, of all that the divine Evangelical law has revealed of the articles of faith even if they are above our natural comprehension. We should believe in them confident of their truth, because they come from God Who is very truth.
Q. How many are the divisions of the Christian faith ?
A. Two : the first deals with the most Holy Divinity, which is the subject of our consideration here, and the second deals with the spiritual mysteries and the great Resurrection, of which we shall treat later on.
Q. How many mysteries are there in the doctrine of the Divinity ?
A. Two ; the mystery of the Trinity in Unity and that of the glorious Incarnation.
Q. What do we believe of the mystery of Trinity in Unity ?
A. Firstly, we believe in the one Eternal and Everlasting God, the one only perfect Being. Secondly, that He is one Being in three Persons. Thirdly, that He alone is the Creator of all things and the Governor of the universe.
Q. What is meant by “ the only perfect Being ” ?
A. This means that He alone possesses the personal perfections which no one shares with Him. He is the self-existing, the only One holy in His person and attributes, most good and benevolent, Almighty and all-powerful, supreme in wisdom and knowing all things, the One Whose will is done and Whose glory, majesty, and sovereignty are supreme, the One distinguished above all others, the Pure One, the Incomprehensible One, the One near to all and ever present, the Author of every existing thing.
Q. What is meant by His being “ One Being in Three Persons ” ?
A. That He is One Being of one substance, but of Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Q. Are the Persons equal in perfection ?
A. Yes ; equal in eternity, in self-existence, in holiness, in glory, in goodness, in wisdom, in will, in power, in immortality, and in all perfect attributes : for their substance is one, their divinity is one, and their sovereignty is one.
Q. Then the Three Persons are no more than one God ?
A. Yea verily, for the Three Persons are God, His eternal Word, and His Holy Spirit. These, although different personalities, are one Being, for there can be no separation in substance between God, His Word, and His Holy Spirit.
Q. What is the meaning of different personalities ?
A. The meaning is that the first Person is distinguished by being the Father, for both the Word and the Holy Ghost came from Him. He was neither begotten, nor proceeding, but begetting. The second Person is distinguished by being the Son, for He is the Word from everlasting, begotten from God the Father from eternity in an incomprehensible manner. To bring nearer to our understanding the mystery of incomprehensible begetting, we may instance articulation which is begotten from the mind and the rays begotten from the sun. Thus the Word is neither begetting, nor a source of procedure, but a son. The third Person is distinguished by having proceeded from eternity from the Father. Thus, the Holy Ghost is neither begetting nor begotten, but proceeding. As the divinity of the Persons is one, they are, therefore, One God.
Q. Give me an approximate example of Trinity in unity of substance ?
A. Consider the sun, which is one of the visible things, as it affords you a wonderful example of the mystery of the Trinity. You see that the sun has a disc, rays, and heat. With the existence of these three distinct things in the sun, the body is not three distinct suns, but one only ; and, although the disc is the cause, and both the heat and rays are effects of it, yet the three are equal in existence, for the disc cannot exist separately from the rays and heat, but the three exist at the same time and in an equal degree. This wonderful example which God has made of the sun makes you understand in the best way possible the above-named Divine mystery.
Q. Who guided us to this mystery ?
A. The Son, or Word, Himself—i.e., the Lord Christ, Who delivered this article of faith plainly to His Apostles, saying, “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ” (S. Matt. xxviii. 19).
Q. Cannot those who do not believe in this mystery be saved ?
A. No ; for the Lord Christ has decidedly warned us of this by saying to His Apostles, “ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned ” (S. Mark xvi. 16).
Q. Where does God exist ?
A. As He is (may He be glorified) a Spirit-eternal, infinite, and incomprehensible, He exists everywhere, and is comprehended in all existing things. He is beyond being confined by space ; He cannot be defined, nor can the senses perceive His being, nor can the thoughts of creatures know His infinity.