The Mystery of the Trinity Part 3

Part 3: Processions and the Inner Life of God

We have seen that God is one in essence but exists as three persons. These persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are not roles, parts, or divisions of God, but real subjects who each possess the one divine nature fully. But how can we say this without dividing God or multiplying His essence?

The answer lies in the processions within God. These are not physical or temporal events. They are eternal and immaterial realities, acts of knowing and loving within the one divine being. These eternal processions reveal how the persons of the Trinity are distinct without introducing change, time, or division into God.

What Is a Procession?

In ordinary life, a procession involves movement or change. But in God, who is immaterial, simple, and eternal, procession has a different meaning.

A divine procession refers to the origin of one person from another within the inner life of God. These processions are not external actions, and they do not unfold in time. They are eternal, internal, and changeless.

This is a crucial point. The Father does not come before the Son, and the Spirit is not younger than the Father and the Son. There has never been a time when God was not Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The processions do not occur in sequence. They are fully actual and eternal. God has never existed in any other way than as this perfect communion of three divine persons.

The Procession of the Word: Generation

The first procession is the procession of the Word, which arises from God's act of intellect.

God knows Himself perfectly. In that act of self-knowledge, He expresses His entire being in a perfect, eternal Word. This Word is not a sound or idea, but a living person, the Son, who is eternally begotten by the Father.

This generation is unlike anything in creation. It involves no change, no time, no movement from potential to act. It is an eternal act of knowing in which the Father communicates the entire divine essence to the Son. The Son is not made. He is not caused in a creaturely sense. He is begotten—receiving the same essence, perfectly and eternally.

The Son is distinct from the Father in person, but fully one with Him in being.

The Procession of Love: Spiration

The second procession arises from God's will, which is the source of love. The Father and the Son, in perfectly knowing and delighting in one another, eternally breathe forth a third person—the Holy Spirit.

This is not emotional or symbolic. It is a personal act of love so perfect and complete that it is itself a person. The Spirit is not created. He proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son, not as from two separate sources, but from them as one principle of love.

This procession is called spiration, from the Latin spirare, to breathe. The Spirit receives the same divine essence and is fully God, equal to the Father and the Son in all things except relation.

Two Processions, Four Relations, Three Persons

From these two eternal processions—generation and spiration—we identify four real relations within God:

• Paternity (the Father to the Son)

• Filiation (the Son to the Father)

• Active spiration (the Father and Son to the Spirit)

• Passive spiration (the Spirit from the Father and Son)

In creatures, relations are accidental. They depend on changeable circumstances. In God, however, relation is not something added. It is identical with the divine essence. Because God is simple, each divine person is a real and eternal relation that subsists.

Among these four relations, only three sets are opposed to each other:

• Paternity is opposed to filiation

• Active spiration is opposed to passive spiration

• There is no opposition between paternity and active spiration

This is why there are only three persons. Where there is no real opposition, there is no distinction of persons.

Why It Matters

This teaching protects the unity of God while allowing us to affirm the real distinction of persons.

• God is not divided in being or composed of parts

• The persons are not roles or phases, but true, eternal persons

• God is not solitary or needy, but eternally full of life, knowledge, and love

The Trinity shows that God is not just loving toward others. He is love within Himself. The Father knows and loves. The Son is the eternal Word. The Spirit is the eternal Gift of Love. This is not added to God- it is who God is.

Bonus: A Note on Common Misunderstandings

The doctrine of divine processions is sometimes misunderstood. Here are a few key errors to avoid:

• Temporal Confusion

The processions are not events in time. The Father does not come before the Son. The Spirit is not a later addition. All three persons exist eternally. There has never been a time when God was not Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

• Subordinationism

The Son and Spirit are not lesser than the Father. Each person is fully divine, possessing the entire divine essence. Their distinction lies only in relation, not in rank or power.

• Tritheism

We do not believe in three gods. The Father, Son, and Spirit are not three separate beings. They are three distinct persons who share the one identical divine essence.

• Modalism

The persons are not masks or roles that God plays. The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Spirit. The Spirit is not the Father. These persons are truly distinct and coexistent.

• God Is Not Lonely

God did not create because He was missing something. He is already a perfect communion of love. The Trinity reveals that God is self-sufficient and lacks nothing. Creation was a free act, not a necessity. God created not to gain anything, but to share His goodness. As the classical tradition says, the good is diffusive of itself. God is the Good, and He created so that creatures might share in His being and joy.

Looking Ahead

In the next part, we will explore how these processions result in real distinctions of person, not by dividing God’s essence, but through relations of origin that are eternal, personal, and essential to our faith.

At the conclusion of the series, we will dedicate a full essay to major Trinitarian heresies, both ancient and modern, to help readers recognize and avoid common errors while deepening their understanding of true doctrine.

“The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Spirit. The Spirit is not the Father. And yet, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God. Not three Gods, but one.”—Athanasian Creed