Ben Chomp
Puritan Board Freshman
Brothers, please help me with my Trinitarian orthodoxy.
My understanding of perichoresis is that while the persons in the Trinity are distinct, they are inseparable. They each indwell the others. The Son is in the Father, the Father is in the Son, both are in the Spirit, etc. The Son never acts alone, but always does what his Father does. As Athanasius taught, every act of the Son is also an act of the Father.
At the same time we do not say that the Father was incarnate, but only the Son. The Father did not assume a human nature, but the Son did. The Father did not suffer on the cross, but the Son did. The Father was not raised again from the dead, but the Son was.
Yet it is not correct to say that the Son suffered the wrath of the Father only. Stuart Townend's famous song "How Deep The Father's Love For Us" might be a bit misleading in this area when it says: "The Father turned his face away." It is more accurate to say that the Son suffered the wrath of the Triune God on the cross.
It's also not quite right to say that the Father planned salvation and the Son merely carries it out. The decrees of God are not the decrees of the Father only, but the decrees of the Triune God. Salvation was also the plan of the Son.
How can we affirm perichoresis but also say that only the Son became incarnate and only the Son suffered?
Maybe I've made a big mistep in my Trinitarian thinking and I'm looking forward to correction and insight. Thanks!
My understanding of perichoresis is that while the persons in the Trinity are distinct, they are inseparable. They each indwell the others. The Son is in the Father, the Father is in the Son, both are in the Spirit, etc. The Son never acts alone, but always does what his Father does. As Athanasius taught, every act of the Son is also an act of the Father.
At the same time we do not say that the Father was incarnate, but only the Son. The Father did not assume a human nature, but the Son did. The Father did not suffer on the cross, but the Son did. The Father was not raised again from the dead, but the Son was.
Yet it is not correct to say that the Son suffered the wrath of the Father only. Stuart Townend's famous song "How Deep The Father's Love For Us" might be a bit misleading in this area when it says: "The Father turned his face away." It is more accurate to say that the Son suffered the wrath of the Triune God on the cross.
It's also not quite right to say that the Father planned salvation and the Son merely carries it out. The decrees of God are not the decrees of the Father only, but the decrees of the Triune God. Salvation was also the plan of the Son.
How can we affirm perichoresis but also say that only the Son became incarnate and only the Son suffered?
Maybe I've made a big mistep in my Trinitarian thinking and I'm looking forward to correction and insight. Thanks!