Is Homoousiousness Commutative?

[hammondjones]

Integer addition is commutative by nature. 3+4=4+3
(Godly) marriage is commutative by nature. I am married to my wife, and she is married to me.
Human love is not necessarily commutative by nature. I may love someone unrequitedly.

In the realm of Trinitarian relations...

The Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father (perichoresis).
The Father grants the Son to have life in himself, but the Son does not grant the Father to have life in himself.

We confess that the Son is of consubstantial with the Father (ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί). Is the Father consubstantial with the Son?

 

[Cymro]

The Father gives life to the Son in His capacity as Mediator.
Gives Him all power, authority, judgment and eternal life,to
dispense to all those that hear Him.(context-John 5:24,25,27)
As to Divine life ,that is essentially His, being God Himself.
(auto Theos).
Isaac Ambrose wrote:- "The essence of the Son is from Himself,
and for this reason may be said to be God Himself. The Son, as He is God
of Himself, without beginning, even as the Father. But as He is the Son,
He is not of Himself, but the Son of the Father, begotten of Him; and
hereupon it follows, that the Son is begotten of the Father as he is a Son,
but not as He is a God.

 

[timmopussycat]

The Father would have to be cosubstantial with the Son if the Son is cosubtantial with the Father. The word cosubstantial sets up the commutative relationship.
Yet not all aspects of a commutative relationship are shared, so we should limit our exploration of the cosubtantiality of Father and Son to what the Scriptures say and I don't think we can answer purely on the grounds of consubstantiality that the Son grants the Father to have life in himself. I suspect the answer may be no since Jesus is clear that "the Father is greater than I."

 

[MW]

We confess that the Son is of consubstantial with the Father (ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί). Is the Father consubstantial with the Son?

What is stated concerning "substance" must retain its "unity." So yes, the Father is consubstantial with the Son. Anything connected with the person, such as begetting, must terminate on the person; it cannot be applied to the Godhead without making more than one God. So the begetting of the Son, together will all personal properties and relations, is categorically different to issues relating to consubstantiality.