Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the
Trinity defines God as three consubstantial persons, expressions, or
hypostases: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; "one God in three persons". The three persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature". In this context, a "nature" is
what one is, while a "person" is
who one is. According to this central mystery of most Christian faiths, there is only one God in three persons: while distinct from one another in their relations of origin and in their relations with one another, they are stated to be one in all else, co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial, and "each is God, whole and entire". Accordingly, the whole work of creation and grace is seen as a single operation common to all three divine persons, in which each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, so that all things are "from the Father", "through the Son" and "in the Holy Spirit". Many concepts seen as essential elements of the Christian faith, such as "monotheism", "incarnation", "omnipotence", are denoted by terms not found in the Bible, although Christians consider the concepts to be contained in the Bible.