Agreeing on the Essence of God taught through the Incarnation of Jesus Christ

Agreeing on the Essence of God taught through the Incarnation of Jesus Christ

No matter if you are Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian or Methodist, the belief of our salvation is not based upon a particular dogma, but on the grace that comes through our Savior and his Passion.

Our basic understanding of God is found in the Divine Revelation.  “God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth; that is, of Christ Jesus.  Christ must be proclaimed to all nations and individuals, so that this revelation may reach to the ends of the earth.”  (CCC 74).  

“In keeping with the Lord’s command, the gospel was handed on in two ways:  orally by  the apostles who handed on , by the spoken word of their preaching, by the example they gave, by the instructions they established, what they themselves had received - whether from the lips of Christ, from his way of life and his works, or whether they learned it at the prompting of the Holy Spirit.”  in writing by those apostles and other men associated with the apostles who, under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, committed the message of salvation to writing.”  (CCC 76).

The one Truth about God is found strictly and essentially in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.  “Many religions invoke God as Father.  The deity is often considered the father of gods and of men.  In Israel, God is called Father in as much as he is Creator of the world.  Even more, God is Father because of the covenant and the gift of the law to Israel, his first born son.  God is also called the Father of the king of Israel.  Most especially he is the Father of the poor, of the orphaned and the widowed, who are under his loving protection.”  (CCC 238).

Unfortunately, there are some religions who claim to be Christian in name, but fail to adhere to the fact that without the premise of three persons in the Godhead they are seriously mistaken.  “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.  Then God said, “Let there be light, and there was light,”   (Gn 1: 1 - 3).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.  What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  (Jn 1: 1 - 5).

Putting these two scripture passage together, like placing two truths into one basket, the mystery of the Holy Trinity becomes visual and factual, even if some have difficulty  discerning its structure, the two cannot be separated from the birth of the world while all three persons were, and are, always present in every work that God performs.  

First, the Person of God represents all three persons, collectively.  The Word of God is Christ himself and the mighty wind is the Holy Spirit rending the emptiness to come alive with all sorts of living things.  Through Christ, who is the Light of God, has spoken and the darkness was overcome  by the Light that is God, pure, holy, and alive forever.  This life is eternal and that is God creating everything through this existence of the Holy Trinity.

From the beginning, the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church’s living faith, principally by means of Baptism.  It finds its expression in the rule of baptismal faith, formulated in the preaching, catechesis, and prayer of the Church.  Such formulations are already found in the apostolic writings, such as this salutation taken from the Eucharistic liturgy:  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  (CCC 249).

As Christian believers, and especially of Catholics, we believe totally in the truth that Christianity is fully committed to the presence of the Holy Trinity in everything we have and do, spiritually and our endeavors in all we are as human beings.  

“The Incarnation of God’s Son reveals that God is the eternal Father and that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, which means that, in the Father and with the Father, the Son is one and the same God.”  (CCC 262).

“The mission of the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in the name of the Son and by the Son from the Father reveals that, with them, the Spirit is one and the same God.  With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.”  (CCC 263).

“Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do,  But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son’s Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  (CCC 267).

Of all theological thoughts regarding God, the Holy Trinity is a required belief that none of us can refute as the one truth about who God is.  Any denomination that does not accept this teaching is not a true believer in Jesus Christ and the mission  of the Cross promoted by the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

Ralph B. Hathaway