AFC 201 Package by St. Timothy & St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church

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Ancient Faith Class 201:

Who is God?

at St. Timothy & St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church

AFC 201: Who is God? Outline

AFC 201 Prologue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 I. Existence of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 II. Knowledge of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 III. God, the Father. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 IV. God, the Son. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 V. God, the Holy Spirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 © 2016 STSAchurch.org/AFC

Ancient Faith Class 201: Who is God? Prologue from An Introduction to God By Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He rose from the dead. Humanity can therefore be saved. Those three sentences constitute the core narrative of the Gospel, the good news according to the Orthodox Christian faith. Orthodox Christians have affirmed this story as a sacred history for twenty centuries, and entering into this story is what constitutes the spiritual life for us. I know you may not believe any of this, but I include it here because this sacred history is what’s in the background for this book. The following is a basic outline of that history. Giving it here is not meant to be a didactic lecture but rather to explain what is the core of the Orthodox Christian story, which informs everything we are. In the beginning, God created the universe, including mankind, whom He placed at the center of the creation. He created us to live forever, without sickness, suffering, or death, and in perfect, ever-‐deepening communion with Him. But because Adam and Eve, the first parents of mankind, chose to sin—to miss the mark of God’s design for them—corruption and death entered into man. This is called the “Fall of mankind.” And because mankind was chosen by God to act as the priest of this world—offering up the creation to God and then receiving it back as a means of blessing—the creation also fell away from the harmonious peace God had designed for it. This happened because God is the Giver of life and the Creator of order, so when humanity cut itself off from God, death and chaos were introduced into humanity and, through us, into the rest of the world. Over time, as corruption and death touched everything mankind did, the world came to be ruled by violence and oppression. God began a process of revealing to humanity the way out of this corruption, the way to reconnection with the life of God. He did this first through a man He chose especially for this task, Abraham, and then by giving a way of life to Abraham’s descendants, who were first called Hebrews and then later Jews. God spoke to these chosen people first through the Prophet Moses and then through other prophets. To Moses, God revealed that He was to be known to the Hebrews as Yahweh, which means “I am.” This showed that the way of life He was revealing was intended to enable people to know who God is, not just intellectually, but in a true and personal way. This way of life revealed through Moses had only one purpose: to teach the Hebrews and the nations around them how to get back in connection with God so that they could truly know Him. And He showed Himself to Israel not only as their deity, but as their Father, which spoke of His desire for an intimate and close connection. Over the centuries that followed Abraham and Moses, the nation of the Jews, called Israel, was sometimes faithful to God but often lost its way.

About two thousand years ago, a young virgin named Mary, a descendant of David, the greatest of the kings of the Jews, was betrothed to an old, pious man named Joseph, also a descendant of David. Because of her purity of heart and her willingness to do as God asked her to do, she was chosen by God to give birth to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. She willingly assented to this pregnancy, which was announced to her by the Archangel Gabriel, and the One born of her was called Jesus, which means “Yahweh saves.” Jesus was not only the Son of the Father but was also God Himself, and He revealed that God is the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three divine Persons who share one essence, one God in three Persons. And when Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb—miraculously, without any earthly father—He who had been fully God also became fully human, taking His humanity from her. Because of who Jesus was (and is), both God and man, humanity has the possibility of being restored to full communion with God. Through His humanity, we can access His divinity. The gap opened by Adam and Eve has been bridged. During His ministry on Earth, Jesus taught the people the way God wants us to live, healed them of their physical and spiritual sicknesses, and forgave them of their sins. He especially focused His ministry on twelve disciples, who were not members of the religious or intellectual classes but mostly fishermen. When His mission drew to a close, He was betrayed by Judas, one of these twelve, and was arrested by the Roman authorities. The Romans were acting on behalf of the religious leadership of the Jews, who saw Jesus as a threat to their established order. Although He had done nothing wrong, He was convicted as a blasphemer and crucified—nailed to a large wooden cross to suffocate to death—by the Roman imperial government on behalf of the Jewish leaders. Jesus died on a Friday, the day before the Jews’ greatest annual holy day, the Passover, a day that commemorated the delivery of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, Sunday. Through this voluntary death and resurrection, Jesus broke the power of death over all mankind forever. After His resurrection, He was seen alive by many, including the eleven disciples (Judas, in his remorse for betraying Christ, had meanwhile committed suicide) and many others. He spent another forty days on Earth, further instructing His eleven disciples to help them become apostles, a word which means “those sent out on a mission.” After those forty days, He physically ascended into heaven while the apostles watched. The apostles, following the instructions Jesus gave them, began to travel throughout the known world, preaching the Gospel everywhere, telling anyone who would listen the good news and baptizing them into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This good news is that, by repenting of sins (turning away from all the ways we miss the perfection God created us for) and being baptized into membership in the Church—which Jesus Himself called His “Body”—it is possible for a person to conquer death, just as Jesus did through His sacrifice on the cross. We can make the passage into death a passage into resurrection, because incorporation into the ongoing life of the Church is participation in Christ. This is what it means to be “saved”.

Someday, Jesus will return again, and time as we know it will end. Everyone will be resurrected bodily at the end of time, but only those who are “in Christ” will be raised to a resurrection of eternal life with God. Those who reject Christ and do not partake of what He offered will be raised to a resurrection of judgment. This judgment is essentially a continuation of existence cut off from the life that God gives—dying eternally instead of living eternally. Jesus therefore is the fulfillment, the full revelation of all that God began through Abraham and Moses, showing a way of life that made possible direct communion with God. The Church is therefore also the fulfillment of the chosen community that was ancient Israel, a real community of people called to live in harmony together, communing with God and each other through the primary means God provided for His presence to be manifested among His people: the holy mysteries, also called sacraments. These sacraments include baptism, the Eucharist (also called the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion), marriage, and others. The apostles were the first to administer these mysteries in the Church. Part of their ministry was to ordain the next generation of Christian leaders as bishops. These bishops in turn ordained presbyters (priests) and deacons to help them with the work. As the Gospel spread throughout the world, new bishops were ordained by the apostles and their successors to lead the Church, which will continue its work until its fulfillment when Jesus returns at the end of time. Jesus founded only one Church to be His Body, not the multitude of competing Christian denominations we see in our own day. Only one Church has maintained that continuous existence through all the centuries since the Resurrection of Christ, teaching and believing and living the same Christian life throughout history. That Church is the Orthodox Church. Orthodox Christians do not know the fate of those who believe in Christ yet belong to groups that have broken away from the historic Orthodox Church. We know only that we must be faithful to what we have received so that we may pass it on to the next generation, to anyone who will hear and believe. This is the core of what Orthodox Christians believe. The rest of this book proceeds from this essential Gospel story. It is an attempt to grapple with some of the primary difficulties people encounter when trying to access this story.

I. The Existence of God Recap AFC 101: The Message of the Gospel Ξ Act 1: God’s Original Plan Ξ Act 2: Man’s Free Will Ξ Act 3: The Sentence of Death Ξ Act 4: The Process of Redemption

“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” John 1:18

Goal of AFC 201: Knowledge? Or HEALING? Jesus: “I have come that they may have LIFE and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

“We think now that salvation means believing Orthodox dogmas. We are like idolaters who take dogmas, put them in the cupboard and sit there prostrating ourselves before the dogmas, which we do not live in our lives. Dogma is not to be believed but to be experienced. Dogma without experience is heresy. The worst heresy is for people to sit at their desks and assume that they can reflect deeply and think great thoughts about dogmatic issues. That is the greatest stupidity.” Fr. John Romanides, Empirical Dogmatics Volume I

"It is impossible to express God and even more impossible to conceive Him." -‐St. Gregory the theologian “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’”-‐Psalm 14:1 “My goal isn’t to study medicine. My goal is to be healed.”

The Existence of God: 4 APPROACHES 1. Philosophical/Intellectual Approach: INTELLIGENT DESIGN “Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion. God governs all things and knows all that is or can be done.” Sir Isaac Newton “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent Being. … This Being governs all things, not as the soul of the world, but as Lord over all; and on account of his dominion he is wont to be called Lord God “Pantocrator”, or “Universal Ruler”. The Supreme God is a Being eternal, infinite, absolutely perfect. Opposition to godliness is atheism in profession and idolatry in practice. Atheism is so senseless and odious to mankind that it never had many professors.” Sir Isaac Newton “When it comes to the origin of life on earth, there are only 2 possibilities: creation and spontaneous generation – there is no other possible way. Spontaneous generation was disproved over 100 years ago – so that leads to only one conclusion, that of supernatural creation. We can’t believe that for philosophical reasons so we choose to believe the impossible – that life arose spontaneously, by chance.” Anonymous Scientist

2. Scientific Approach: BIG BANG & ENTROPY

“The existence of God can be deduced from the existence of good.” -‐Immanuel Kant “I believe in God as I believe that the Sun has risen not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” -‐C.S. Lewis

“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” Dr. Robert Jastrow, NASA "What we have found is evidence for the birth of the universe...It's like looking at God." George Smoot, project leader of Big Bang Discovery Team “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” -‐Psalm 33:6 See Exodus 19:18-‐19, 20:18-‐19 © 2016 STSAchurch.org/AFC

3. Moralistic Approach: A MORAL LAW GIVER

“As an atheist, my argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing the universe with when I called it unjust?”-‐ C.S. Lewis

4. Experiential Approach: TO KNOW GOD

“And this is eternal LIFE, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3

The goal of theology is to make theology useless.

Supplemental reading assignment: Read chapter 1 &2 (pages 27-‐69) From An Introduction to God by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Entropy and causality used as a proof for God's existence by Matt Slick, Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry 1. The universe is not infinitely old because it has not "run down." A. If the universe were infinitely old, it would have reached a state where all usable energy was gone. B. But, we are not in this state; therefore, the universe is not infinitely old and must have had a beginning.

2. Because the universe had a beginning, it is not infinite in size. A. It would require an infinite amount of time to become infinite in size. Since the universe had a beginning, it has not had an infinite amount of time to expand; therefore, it is finite in size.

3. All events have causes. A. There cannot be an infinite regress of events because that would mean universe were infinitely old. i. We've already established that the universe cannot be infinitely old. ii. If it were infinitely old, the universe would be in a state of unusable energy, which it is not. iii. If it were infinitely old, the universe would be infinitely large, which it is not.

4. Since the universe is finite and had a beginning and there cannot be an infinite number of regressions of causes to bring it into existence, there must be a single uncaused cause of the universe. A. A single uncaused cause of the universe must be greater in size and duration than the universe it has brought into existence. i. Otherwise, we have the uncaused cause bringing into existence something greater than, or equal to, itself. B. Any cause that is natural to the universe is part of the universe. i. An event that is part of the universe cannot cause itself to exist. ii. Therefore, there must be an uncaused cause outside the universe.

C. An uncaused cause cannot be a natural part of the universe, which is finite. i. An uncaused cause would be infinite in both space and time since it is greater than which it has caused to exist. D. An uncaused cause would be separate from the universe. i. Being separate from the universe, which was caused to be, it would not be subject to the laws of the universe since it existed independent of the universe and its laws. ii. This would mean that entropy need not be required of the uncaused cause.

5. This uncaused cause is supernatural. A. By supernatural, it is meant completely 'other' than the universe and is not the product of it. i. This uncaused cause must be incredibly powerful to bring the universe into existence.

6. The Bible teaches that God is uncaused, is not part of the universe, created the universe, and is incredibly powerful. A. God's existence (in Christianity) is not an event but a state. B. Psalm 90:2 says that God is God without a beginning. C. This means that God is uncaused. 7. Therefore, the God of the Bible is the uncaused cause of the universe.

II. The Knowledge of God

What is God like?

“If someone says that the Essence of God is incomprehensible, then why do we speak about Him? But is it really true that because I cannot drink the whole river I will not take water from it in moderation for my benefit? Is it really true that because my eyes are not in a condition to take in the whole sun, I am therefore unable to behold as much as is needful for me? If, when going into some great garden, I cannot eat all the fruits, would you wish that I go away from it completely hungry?” -‐ Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Sixth Catechetical Lecture

What do we know about Him? God is. . . •

Spirit o “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” -‐John 4:24. o “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” -‐2 Corinthians 3:17.

• Eternal o “Before the mountains were born you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” -‐Psalm 90:2 o But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” -‐2 Peter 3:8

“Now to the eternal king, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.” -‐1 Timothy 1:17

“...who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen” -‐1 Timothy 6:16 “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” -‐Hebrews 1:1-‐2

Omniscient= “All-‐knowing”

•

o “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” -‐Hebrews 4:13. o “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.... Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.” (Psalm 139:1-‐4,6-‐8). •

Pantocrator = “All-‐mighty”

•

o God is “all-‐mighty” and the Lover of mankind. o “Christ is the icon of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” -‐Colossians 1:15

Unchangeable o “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” -‐James 1:17

o “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8

“But neither do we know, nor can we tell, what the essence of God is, or how it is in all, or how the Only-‐ begotten Son and God, having emptied Himself, became Man of virgin blood, made by another law contrary to nature, or how He walked with dry feet upon the waters. It is not within our capacity, therefore, to say anything about God or even to think of Him, beyond the things which have been divinely revealed to us, whether by word or by manifestation, by the divine oracles at once of the Old Testament and of the New.” -‐ St. John of Damascus, Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith

“The Father is ineffable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible, ever-‐existing and eternally the same.” -‐St. John Chrysostom.

How do I get to know Him? Studying the map vs. taking the journey.

The Sources of Knowing God • • • • • • •

Through the mysteries of the Orthodox Church Scripture Writings of the Church Fathers Through the lives of the saints Iconography Hymnology My personal life experience

What does God desire? “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me.” — Revelation 3:20

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” -‐Romans 1:20 “One blade of grass or one speck of dust is enough to occupy your entire mind, in beholding the art with which it has been made.” -‐St. Basil the Great

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III. God, the Father How can I know God as the Trinity? "If you deny the Trinity, you lose your soul. If you try to understand the Trinity, you will lose your mind" St. Augustine …no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him (Matthew 11:27)

I cannot know God except through His revelation of Himself to me

What has He revealed about Himself? The Trinity is one God who eternally exists as three distinct persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are each fully and equally God. Perichoresis-‐ divine diversity in unity One God There is one God: The Father, the source, who begets His Son and breathes forth His Spirit There is only one nature of God even though there are three Persons. The presence of three does not divide the unity of God

Fully God All three Persons are co-‐eternal and co-‐equal. They are not “forms” of God. Their unity does not diminish their personal distinctiveness Each person contains the fullness of the essence of God

Equally God Even though the Father is the source, the Son and Spirit are no less God than the Father The Trinity and its three Persons are eternal; they exist out of time. Even though the Father is the source, He did not exist before the Son or the Spirit

We believe in one God, THE BEING, who eternally exists as three Persons each fully and equally God

“Anyone who wishes to understand… must first cleanse his own life, and approach the saints by copying their deeds. Thus united to them in the fellowship of life, he will both understand the things revealed to them by God and, thenceforth escaping the peril that threatens sinners in the judgment, will receive that which is laid up for the saints in the kingdom of heaven.” -‐St. Athanasius, on the Incarnation Ch. 57

“Each of the three is fully and completely God. None is more or less God than the others. Each possesses, not one third of the Godhead, but the entire Godhead in its totality; yet each lives and is this one Godhead in his own distinctive and personal way.” -‐St Gregory of Nyssa

Yet, although the three persons never act apart from each other, there is in God genuine diversity as well as specific unity. We experience God as Three-‐in-‐one, and we believe that this threefold differentiation in God’s outward action reflects a threefold differentiation in His inner life. (The Orthodox Way page 30)

Living the Trinitarian Life The Christian life is the life of God accomplished in men by the Spirit of Christ. Men can live as Christ has lived, doing the things that he did and becoming sons of God in Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, once more, the Christian life is a Trinitarian life.

Daily Life

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” -‐Matthew 20:19

“For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” -‐1 John 5:7

Individuality à Personhood God Himself is not an individual. He is a communion of Love.

Marriage For the family of many persons united in one truth and love is indeed the created manifestation of the one family of God’s Kingdom, and of God Himself, the Blessed Trinity.

The Church

“Make us all worthy, O our Master, to partake, of your holies unto the purification of our souls, our bodies and our spirits. That we may become one body and one spirit, and may have a share and an inheritance with all the saints…”

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” -‐2 Corinthians 13:14

The Fathers of the Church: St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Cyril, St. John of Damascus, and St. Maximus the Confessor came up with a word that describes the dynamics between the Persons of the Holy Trinity: Perichoresis

God the Father “God above us, God in us, God with us” The Father is the Fountain of the Godhead, the source, cause, or principal of origin for the other two persons without any time separation. • The Son is begotten by the Father • The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father

The Love of the Father For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16) for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. (John 16:27) I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me (John 17:23)

How should I react to His Love? We ought then, beloved brethren, to remember and to know, that when we call God Father, we ought to act as God’s children; so that in the measure in which we find pleasure in considering God as a Father, He might also be able to find pleasure in us. -‐St. Cyprian

Jesus Christ is a Son of the Father by nature. We are called to be sons of God by grace

Supplemental reading assignment: Read Chapter 3 (pages 69-‐102) From An Introduction to God by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

“The Individual is growing in a perverted way. He moves toward himself in a selfish progress which is dominated by the self love above anything else, which leads to death. For he takes of himself and gives to himself, and he does not allow any fellowship except when it enriches his selfishness only. “ -‐Father Persnophious

"As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” -‐John 15:9-‐10

“The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” -‐Romans 5:5

“In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” -‐1 John 3:10

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IV. God, the Son “The Holy Trinity, God above us, God with us and God in us” –Kallistos Ware

A. Why Did God Choose to Dwell Among Us?

The Simple Answer is LOVE: John 3:16 “The text, ―God so loved the world, shows such an intensity of love. For great indeed and infinite is the distance between the two. The immortal, the infinite majesty without beginning or end loved those who were but dust and ashes, who were loaded with ten thousand sins but remained ungrateful even as they constantly offended him. This is who he ―loved. For God did not give a servant, or an angel or even an archangel ―but his only begotten Son. And yet no one would show such anxiety even for his own child as God did for his ungrateful servants....He laid down his life for us and poured forth his precious blood for our sakes—even though there is nothing good in us” -‐St John Chrysostom Some of the early Church teachers, such as St Isaac the Syrian and St Maximus the Confessor, taught that His love for us was so great that He would have wanted to share our humanity even if we had never sinned. St Isaac referred to the coming of Christ as “the most blessed and joyful thing that could possibly have happened to the human race.”

B. Why Did He Come?

Scene 1: God gave man freewill out of Love Scene 2: Man was meant to live forever with God Scene 3: Man freely chooses to sin and death enters the world. Scene 4: God desires to restore Humanity to its original state

E “He lost nothing of his divinity when he saved me, when like a good physician he stooped to my festering wounds. He was a mortal man, but he was also God. He was of the race of David but Adam‘s creator. He who has no body clothed himself with flesh. He had a mother who, nonetheless, was a virgin. He who is without bounds bound himself with the cords of our humanity. He was victim and high priest—yet he was God. He offered up his blood and cleansed the whole world. He was lifted up on the cross, but it was sin that was nailed to it. He became as one among the dead, but he rose from the dead, raising to life also many who had died before him.” -‐St Gregory of Nazianzus

“O God the Great and the Eternal, who formed man in incorruption, and death which entered into the world by the envy of the devil, you have destroyed, by the life-‐giving manifestation of your Only-‐Begotten Son, our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ” Liturgy of St Basil.

C. What is His Essence? “We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-‐Begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not created, of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made”– The Nicene Creed.

D. What is His Nature? The Divinity of Christ Light of Light/ True God of True God/ Begotten not Created “He was

begotten outside time from the Father without a mother, and he was begotten within time from his Mother without a father. This belief in the Virgin Birth does not, however, in any way detract from the fullness of Christ’s humanity.” -‐Bishop Kallistos Ware. “The Orthodox Way.” If a man and woman beget a child, the resulting child is not some other kind of animal, rather, that child is a human. The same is true with Jesus. Because he was eternally begotten of the God the Father, he is a Divine person. “We do not create our children we beget them. What we create is cake. God creates us doesn’t beget us, He does however beget His Son” -‐Fr. Anthony Messeh

“Because He is a God of love. Love implies sharing, and love also implies freedom. As a Trinity of love, God desired to share his life with created persons made in his image, who would be capable of responding to him freely and willingly in a relationship of love. Where there is no freedom, there can be no love. Compulsion excludes love; God can do everything except compel us to love him. God, therefore desiring to share his love created, not robots who would obey him mechanically, but angels and human beings endowed with free choice. And thereby, to put the matter in an anthropomorphic way, God took a risk: for with this gift of freedom there was given also the possibility of sin. But he who takes no risks does not love. -‐Kallistos Ware

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” -‐John 1:1-‐3

The Humanity of Christ “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” -‐Hebrews 4:15 “Jesus became fully human by being born of a human vessel (Mary); He received his humanness from Mary. This is the entire reason a human vessel was necessary. He was united as one person in two natures: 100% human and 100% God. Whatever it means to be human, Jesus became. He not only had a divine nature and a divine will, but also a human nature, human will, human soul, and a human mind.” He grew (Luke 2:40: Increased in Wisdom and Stature) He grew tired (John 4:6: Wearied for His journey to Samaria) He got thirsty (John 19:28: Thirsted on Cross) Grew hungry (Matthew 4:2: 40 days 40 nights hungered) He became physically weak (Matthew 4:11: Angels ministered to Him)

D. Controversies "St. Anthony...knew that Arius was a heretic from his own experience. When he had a vision of God he did not see a created Word”. He saw that he was uncreated. Nicaea (325 AD) The Council declared that the Son was true God, co-‐ eternal with the Father and begotten from His same substance, arguing that such a doctrine best codified the Scriptural presentation of the Son as well as traditional Christian belief about him handed down from the Apostles. This belief was expressed by the bishops in the Creed of Nicaea, which would form the basis of what has since been known as the Nicaean Creed.

“There never was a time when [the Father] was without his Word, or when he was not the Father”. St Gregory of Nazianzus Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted. -‐Hebrews 2:17-‐18 Arianism is the non-‐ Trinitarian teaching attributed to Arius (c. AD 250–336), a Christian presbyter in Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of God the Father to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Arius asserted that the Son of God was a subordinate entity to God the Father.

Council of Constantinople (381) repudiated Macedonianism declared that Christ is "born of the Father before all time", revised the Nicene Creed in regard to the Holy Spirit’s divinity. At Ephesus (431 AD), the Virgin Mary was given the title ‘Mother of God’ or in Greek ‘Theotokos’. This was to emphasize that her child was God and He assumed His Humanity from her.

E. Why is this important for us today?

1. Becoming a divine-‐human conduit: a. “I cannot believe that it is possible for a man to be saved if he does not labor for the salvation of his neighbor.” -‐ St John Chrysostom b. The Calling of Priesthood 2. Incarnational life: a. The incarnation and Life of Christ gives us Life and hope for the Resurrection and life to come. This should motivate us to care for the salvation of others in our city with a burning desire. b. "Pray for the salvation of this city of ours" -‐ Liturgy of St. Basil. This is meant to be God, save Arlington and use us in the process.

“The way to God lies through love of other people, and there is no other way. At the Last Judgment, I shall not be asked if I was successful in my ascetic exercises or how many prostrations I made in the course of my prayers. I shall be asked, did I feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners: that is all I shall be asked.” -‐Fr Theoklitos

Supplemental reading assignment:

Read chapter 4 (pages 103-‐-‐-‐132) From An Introduction to God by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Macedonius and his followers were taught that though the Son was eternal, He was not of one essence with the Father but of like essence with the Father. They also taught that the Holy Spirit was not eternal and consubstantial with the Father and the Son but a creation of the Father and an action of the Son. Thus, the Macedonians denied that the Holy Spirit was a person, of the Holy Trinity. However hard I try, I find it impossible to construct anything greater than these three words, “Love one another”—only to the end, and without exceptions; then all is justified and life is illumined, whereas otherwise it is an abomination and a burden.” -‐ St Isaac the Syrian Dionysiou

V. God, the Holy Spirit

FATHER (above us)

Begotten from

Proceeds from

GOD

SON (beside us)

Sends

HOLY SPIRIT

(inside us)

1. How is the Holy Spirit equal to the other Persons of the Trinity?

‘coessential’: united or inseparable in essence or being, having the same substance or essence ‘coeternal’: equally eternal; existing with something else eternally “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” Romans 8:9

2. How is the Holy Spirit distinct/unique? Begotten vs proceeds vs sends (see diagram above)

“Although we have been taught that there is a distinction between begetting and procession, what this distinction consists of, and what is the begetting of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father – this we do not know.” St. John of Damascus “When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” -‐John 15:26

“For there are three who “For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7 are one.” -‐1 John 5:7

“In the beginning God

“In the beginning God created the heavens and created the heavens and the earth. The earth was the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the God was hovering over the face of the waters.” face of the waters.” -‐Genesis 1:1 -‐Genesis 1:1

“The wind blows where it

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” who is born of the Spirit.” -‐John 3:8 -‐John 3:8

“But the anointing which

“But the anointing which you have received from Him you have received from Him abides in you, and you do abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach not need that anyone teach you; but as the same you; but as the same anointing teaches you anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” you will abide in Him.” -‐1 John 2:27 -‐1 John 2:27

3. What is the Holy Spirit’s role (mission)?

a) The Life Giver ‘regerneration’: the act of being formed or created again “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” John 3:5 “...not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” Titus 3:5

b) The Source of Truth

“Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:12-‐ 15

“The Holy Spirit renews us in baptism through his godhead, which he shares with the Father and the

Son. Finding us in a state of deformity, the Spirit restores our original beauty and fills us with his grace, leaving no room for anything unworthy of our love. The Spirit frees us from sin and death, and changes us from the earthly humans we were, men of dust and ashes, into spiritual humans, sharers in the divine glory, sons and heirs of God the Father who bear a likeness to the Son and are his co-‐heirs and brothers and sisters, destined to reign with him and to share his glory.”

– St. Didymus the Blind

c) The Paraclete (Helper)

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

“Saint Paul writes: As we behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, that glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit, transforms us all into his own likeness, from one degree of glory to another. Does this not show that the Spirit changes those in whom he comes to dwell and alters the whole pattern of their lives? With the Spirit within them it is quite natural for people who had been absorbed by the things of this world to become entirely other-‐ worldly in outlook, and for cowards to become men of great courage. There can be no doubt that this is what happened to the disciples. The strength they received from the Spirit enabled them to hold firmly to the love of Christ, facing the violence of their persecutors unafraid. Very true, then, was our Saviour’s saying that it was to their advantage for him to return to heaven: his return was the time appointed for the descent of the Holy Spirit.” – St. Cyril of Alexandria

d) The Guarantee of our Inheritance

“...you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession” Ephesians 1:13-‐14 “Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 5:5 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7

The Holy Spirit makes God PERSONAL to me Supplemental reading assignment: Read chapter 5 & conclusion (pages 133-‐168) from An Introduction to God by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

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