The Holy Trinity

[Lutheran021342]

I am going to admit I have a hard time forming a good comprehension of the full Holy Trinity. Both God and Christ Jesus have roles and concepts that are easy enough for me to understand, but the Holy Spirit seems rather less defined both physically and conceptually, abet well defined in role. I am interested in how people here view the Holy Spirit.

 

[alexnbethmom]

I am going to admit I have a hard time forming a good comprehension of the full Holy Trinity. Both God and Christ Jesus have roles and concepts that are easy enough for me to understand, but the Holy Spirit seems rather less defined both physically and conceptually, abet well defined in role. I am interested in how people here view the Holy Spirit.

taken from lcms.org:

With the universal Christian Church, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.


this is exactly how i view the Holy Spirit, and i would venture a guess, that's how everybody here in TCL views the Holy Spirit.

 

[Shane R]

Most Lutheran pastors will probably point you to the Athanasian creed for this discussion. If you don't understand, ask questions. Read some of the ancients like Maximos the Confessor or Gregory the Theologian as they wrote of the Holy Spirit.

 

[Lutheran021342]

I have to say, I have read and discussed the Athanasian creed, however, I think that the part that gets me is the reference to "three persons". Generally, this seems to connect God more closely with humanity, but of the three components only two have names that mentally correlate to a "person". Understanding that this is a semantic difficulty, not a theological one, how does one explain the triune God using the "person" role or should I encourage a different word choice to facilitate a better understanding?

 

[DaRev]

I have to say, I have read and discussed the Athanasian creed, however, I think that the part that gets me is the reference to "three persons". Generally, this seems to connect God more closely with humanity, but of the three components only two have names that mentally correlate to a "person". Understanding that this is a semantic difficulty, not a theological one, how does one explain the triune God using the "person" role or should I encourage a different word choice to facilitate a better understanding?

"Person" is an appropriate word to use. Each person of the Holy Trinity has specific roles and responsibilities. The important things is the work of the Triune God, not the human word used to describe.

 

[bach90]

I know that there were/are many Christian theologians who subscribed to an "economic subordination" in terms of the Trinity. Three co-eternal Persons, One God, but the Father is the head of the Son, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.