Replies

The three are not subordinate in being the one to the other, though it may be said that in order of existence the Father is first, the Son second, and the Holy Spirit third, an order which is also reflected in their work.

That's interesting, I didn't know that. Do you know how this fits in with "In the beginning was the Word"? Is this a legitimate reference to before the beginning?

HarleyD: The three [Hypostases] are not subordinate in being the one to the other, though it may be said that in order of existence the Father is first, the Son second, and the Holy Spirit third, an order which is also reflected in their work.

Forest Keeper: That's interesting, I didn't know that. Do you know how this fits in with "In the beginning was the Word"? Is this a legitimate reference to before the beginning?

Wrong again. The generation of the Word (Jesus Christ) and procession of the Holy Spirit by the Wisdom (Father) is not temporal but eternal, and always simultaenous. God the Father existed before all ages and so did the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are co-substantial, sharing one essence or nature -- Divine -- as three distinct Persons, not "forms" as Harley's theology states somewhere earlier.

They are distinct in that the Father is the source of everything and all, including the Divinity. The Son is generated and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (and the Latins will say 'and from the Son'). In this last detail the Orthodox and the Latins have not been able to reconcile their difference in terms of terminology and theology, although the Latin Church does not use the "and from the Son" (filioque) in all places (i.e. the Vatican and the Eastern Catholic Churches).

All three are distinct in God's accomplishment of our salvation (aka Divine Economy), in created time and space.