Athanasius' explanation of the mystery of the Trinity was
called forth by the Arian controversy. His work is largely an examination of the
Scriptural passages which the Arians used to support their arguments, which
Athanasius refutes. At the same time, Athanasius' trinitarian doctrine is the
result of his own personal needs. It is the foundation of his faith and hope for
salvation.
The false teaching of the Arians negates the work of Christ. A
creature could not have true knowledge of God, could not overcome death, and
could not unite us with God. "If the Word which became man was a creature, then
men would not be deified and joined with God." It is only the Savior's
consubstantiality which establishes the contact between men and God. Only a
consubstantial Spirit unites us with the Father. In his dogma of
consubstantiality Athanasius is defending the reality of salvation.
God as the Goodness and Fullness of Being.
The starting point of Athanasius' trinitarian doctrine is the
concept of God as the goodness and fullness of being. As a simple, holy and
incomprehensible Being, which is higher than any fence, God is beyond human
understanding. The perfect simplicity arid inner fullness of Divine Being and
Life is the basis for Athanasius' teaching on the eternal generation and
consubstantiality of the Only-Begotten, the Son and Word. The Word is rated by
the Father and from His essence: He is the "proper generation of His essence."
Everything which is generated is always consubstantial with that which engenders
it. This is the feature of generation which distinguishes it from other modes of
origination, and especially from creation. That which is created always
originates either from some preexisting matter or from nothingness. It always
remains unlike and external to its creator, "of another essence."
The Son is generated. His being is a necessity of the Divine
nature, which is fertile and fruitful in and of itself. "The substance of the
Father has never been incomplete, and that which is proper to it has never come
to it at a later time." The denial of the Son's eternity and coeternity with the
Father is blasphemy not only against the Son but also against the Father. It
diminishes the dignity of the Father and negates His immutability. It supposes
that "He once was without His own Word and Wisdom, that there was light which
had no rays, that there was a spring which was dry and without water."
God is eternal, the source is eternal, and therefore the
Wisdom-Word and His generation must also be eternal. If there was a time when
the Son did not exist, then there was a time when God the Father and the Trinity
did not exist. It would be as if "at one time the Trinity did not exist, but a
Unity existed; as if there once was an incomplete Trinity, which at one time
became complete." In this way the Trinity would be divided and corn posed of
things which once had no existence, "of natures and essences that were alien
among themselves." If this were true, the Trinity would have had an origin. It
would be a complex "creation" which was composed through connection and
adhesion. Athanasius uses this reasoning to show that the "mystery" of Arianism
is a denial of the Divine Trinity. In fact, Arianism is a reversion to abstract
monotheism. It rejects the knowledge of God as the Trinity, which is the highest
truth of Christian revelation.
Athanasius stresses that the Father is immutable. He has always
been the Father of "His own Son." There can be no question of succession in the
relation of Father and Son, and there is not "interval" or "distance" between
them. They are completely and perfectly coeternal. The possibility of a temporal
relationship is excluded because it is impossible to designate the eternal and
unchanging Father and the Son Who always abides in
Him with temporal definitions. This eternity and coeternity means that the Son
is generated, not created. Since He is generated, He is “from the essence,” εκ
της ουσια. The Son is thus consubstantial with the Father, ομοουσιος. “That
which proceeds from someone by essence is truly generated." Generation
takes place "by nature," and not by will or desire.
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