2 ATHANASIAN CREED — the TRINITY After the Apostle’S Creed, the Early Church Formed Several Other Important Creeds
Stage 3: Doctrine Lesson 2 ATHANASIAN CREED — THE TRINITY After the Apostle’s Creed, the early Church formed several other important creeds. One primary issue of debate was whether or not Jesus and the Holy Spirit were equal to God the Father. There was a lot of arguing over this issue and a man named Athanasius wrote a creed to clarify the nature of God, i.e., the doctrine of the Trinity.1 All of Christianity hinges on our view of God so we will take this lesson to focus on the doctrine of the Trinity, starting with Athanasius’ creed.2 ATHANASIAN CREED We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity; neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being. For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another. But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, the Son is, and so is the Holy Spirit. Uncreated is the Father; uncreated is the Son; uncreated is the Spirit. The Father is infinite; the Son is infinite; the Holy Spirit is infinite. Eternal is the Father; eternal is the Son; eternal is the Spirit.
THE TRINITY The Christian doctrine of the Trinity embodies four affirmations, depicted by this diagram: 1. There is one and only one true and living God. 2. This one God eternally exists in three persons — God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. 3. These three persons are completely equal in attributes, each with the same divine nature. 4. While each person is fully and completely God, the persons are not identical.
1 Some scholars debate whether or not Athanasius actually wrote the creed, but that is irrelevant for our purposes. 2 The doctrine of the Trinity is probably the hardest concept to grasp, along with the dual nature of Christ (which we will focus on in the next lesson). However, it is also the most important. Remember, humans, who are finite beings, will always have difficulty in describing God, who is infinite. If you struggle with this, good! You are in company with Christians for thousands of years. What an incomprehensible and indescribable God we serve!