What is the ontological Trinity?
Ontology is the branch of metaphysics that deals with the nature of being and making connections between different components within one domain. So, referring to the ontological Trinity, sometimes called the "immanent Trinity," is a formal way to refer to the specific component of the Trinity that pertains to the nature of God. It's an endeavor to describe what God is like.Each person of the Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is equal in nature and qualities. According to the teachings on the ontological Trinity, each of these three Persons share the same abilities, power, wisdom, strength, importance, and glory as the others. Another name for the ontological Trinity is the "essential Trinity," frequently mentioned alongside the "economic Trinity." The economic Trinity has a different focus than the ontological Trinity. While the ontological Trinity focuses on who God is, the economic Trinity focuses on God's actions, for example the role of each person of the Trinity in creation, salvation, and sanctification.
The ontological Trinity is a part of standard doctrine within Christianity and is crucial to Christian belief, because if affirms the equality of the nature of each Person of the Godhead. The Persons of the Trinity share the same nature, because they are all God. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." Jesus affirms this in John 10:30 when He says that He and the Father are one, meaning of one nature. Throughout the Gospels we see the uniform nature and coexistence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:21–22; John 1:1). Even now, all three Persons of the ontological Trinity use their uniform nature to speak to us, reminding us that if we are in Jesus Christ, we are God's children: "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'" (Galatians 4:6).
What is the Trinity?
Is the Trinity really tritheism?
How can there be subordination in the Trinity?
The Godhead — What is it?
What are some of the key things to know about the nature of God?
Truth about God
