Isaiah 6.1-8; Romans 8.12-17; John 3.1-17

According to the Book of Common Prayer, there are 13 occasions in the year when the Athanasian Creed should be used, rather than the more usual Apostles or Nicene Creeds. One of those occasions, and probably in fact, the only occasion these days when anyone really thinks about this creed is today – Trinity Sunday.

I’m going to read a section from it, which I’ve also copied for you because it might be easier to get your head round what I’m reading, if you see it in front of you.

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance.

For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father incompre-hensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.

The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one Eternal.

As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one Uncreated, and one Incomprehensible.

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Spirit Almighty. And yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three gods, but one God.

So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord. And yet not three lords, but one Lord.

For as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge each Person by Himself to be both God and Lord, so we are also forbidden by the catholic religion to say that there are three gods or three lords.

The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.

And in the Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another, but all three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.

Somewhere in the middle of that lot it mentions that God is incomprehensible, i.e. impossible to understand. And that, of course, is true – we can never totally understand God, since God is God and we are human – to understand God fully would make us gods ourselves.

To say God is incomprehensible also means that God cannot be fully known on this earth – think about St Paul’s – Now we see in a mirror dimly, then we shall see face to face; now we know in part, then we shall know in full.

The creeds developed out of years of discussion about what God was like, at heart, all based on people’s experience of God, and on what Jesus taught and what’s laid out in Scripture. But ultimately we cannot confine God’s being to words.

But the Athanasian Creed does, in spite of this, state some of what we know about God.

First, that we believe in one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity. Our God is three in one and one in three.

Those three – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – are God – separate but one. God the Father is transcendent. God the Father is whom Isaiah encounters in our first reading – a God surrounded by seraphs who continually proclaim God’s holiness.

God the Father sits on a high and lofty throne, and is so great in Isaiah’s vision that the whole temple is filled by just the hem of his robe – remember that the Temple was by far the largest building that would have been known to people at the time if Isaiah.

In our Gospel reading, we encounter Jesus – God in human form; Jesus the Son is immanent. In Jesus God comes to earth to interact with human beings. We see him here with Nicodemus, who has come at night, in the darkness of not understanding.

John uses the contrast of light and dark in his Gospel a number of times – Jesus brings light to those who have not yet understood and who are therefore living in darkness.

Jesus talks of his own role – in being sent to the world to save it.

What joins the Father and The Son, the transcendent and the immanent is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity.

Second, the Creed reminds us that God the Trinity is eternal. No one created God: Father, Son or Holy Spirit. That’s important because if someone made them, then there is someone of something that is greater than God and our worship should be addressed at that being, not at the God we know now. God’s eternity means that God existed before the creation of the world;

God’s eternity means that God will still exist after the world has ended. And each Person of God will remain in existence. When Jesus died, that was not the end; he was raised and then ascended to be seated at God’s right hand.

Third, this Creed reminds us that there is no hierarchy of status within the godhead. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are equal.

This all sounds very theoretical – what can it do for us right now?

There are some important things we can draw out of this, though discussion of the Trinity could go on and on without end. 

First, a highly significant feature of the Trinity is that God lives in relationship, in community. We are made in God’s image – therefore we are also made to live in relationship with others. Even before the foundation of the world, God was revealing Godself and communication within the Trinity was an essential characteristic of the God whom we worship. God’s very being is bound up with relationship and communication – and that extends to us. God cannot live except in community.

Because God lives in community, we too can be drawn into that community. God’s nature is communication within the community; that overspills to God’s desire to communicate with us.

Because God lives in community, God was able to limit his own powers so that Jesus could come and dwell among us and to be God in the human world. The transcendent God and the immanent God could co-exist.

Second, God is eternal. That should imbue us with great hope. If we look to God’s promises about the future, we cannot despair for God’ nature is love and that love is eternal. The world in which we live may wear out, but God will always be. Nothing can separate us from God’s love – ever.

Third, because the beings of the Trinity all have the same status, and because we are made in God’s image, it’s important to remember that all human beings are equal in status before God’s eyes. God doesn’t write us off, or grade people as important or not important.

In God’s eyes, everyone has a place; everyone is loved; everyone has gifts and talents to be used for God’s glory.

And that, too, brings hope. I am no worse than my neighbour. I am not worthless or useless however much I may believe it. But nor am I a higher species than my neighbour – I’m not worse than him or her, but nor am I better. I am still a human being in need of love and forgiveness, and created and to view others in this way.

As we sit, let us pray that God will bless us, and give thanks for God’s relationships both within the godhead and with us. Amen.