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Objection 1: It would seem that it was not necessary for salvation
to believe explicitly in the Trinity. For the Apostle says (Heb.
11:6): "He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and is
a rewarder to them that seek Him." Now one can believe this without
believing in the Trinity. Therefore it was not necessary to believe
explicitly in the Trinity.
Objection 2: Further our Lord said (Jn. 17:5,6):
"Father, I have manifested Thy name to men," which words
Augustine expounds (Tract. cvi) as follows: "Not the name by
which Thou art called God, but the name whereby Thou art called My
Father," and further on he adds: "In that He made this world,
God is known to all nations; in that He is not to be worshipped
together with false gods, 'God is known in Judea'; but, in that
He is the Father of this Christ, through Whom He takes away the
sin of the world, He now makes known to men this name of His, which
hitherto they knew not." Therefore before the coming of Christ it
was not known that Paternity and Filiation were in the Godhead: and
so the Trinity was not believed explicitly.
Objection 3: Further, that which we are bound to believe explicitly
of God is the object of heavenly happiness. Now the object of
heavenly happiness is the sovereign good, which can be understood to be
in God, without any distinction of Persons. Therefore it was not
necessary to believe explicitly in the Trinity.
On the contrary, In the Old Testament the Trinity of Persons is
expressed in many ways; thus at the very outset of Genesis it is
written in manifestation of the Trinity: "Let us make man to Our
image and likeness" (Gn. 1:26). Therefore from the very
beginning it was necessary for salvation to believe in the Trinity.
I answer that, It is impossible to believe explicitly in the mystery
of Christ, without faith in the Trinity, since the mystery of
Christ includes that the Son of God took flesh; that He renewed the
world through the grace of the Holy Ghost; and again, that He was
conceived by the Holy Ghost. Wherefore just as, before Christ,
the mystery of Christ was believed explicitly by the learned, but
implicitly and under a veil, so to speak, by the simple, so too was
it with the mystery of the Trinity. And consequently, when once
grace had been revealed, all were bound to explicit faith in the
mystery of the Trinity: and all who are born again in Christ, have
this bestowed on them by the invocation of the Trinity, according to
Mt. 28:19: "Going therefore teach ye all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost."
Reply to Objection 1: Explicit faith in those two things was
necessary at all times and for all people: but it was not sufficient at
all times and for all people.
Reply to Objection 2: Before Christ's coming, faith in the
Trinity lay hidden in the faith of the learned, but through Christ
and the apostles it was shown to the world.
Reply to Objection 3: God's sovereign goodness as we understand it
now through its effects, can be understood without the Trinity of
Persons: but as understood in itself, and as seen by the Blessed,
it cannot be understood without the Trinity of Persons. Moreover the
mission of the Divine Persons brings us to heavenly happiness.
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