The richness in the Trinity provides resources for a rich view of the Trinity. This paper considers a specific case, how appropriate metaphysics deriving from the Trinity helps assess Calvin’s view of the Son as “autotheos.”
A key source for an appropriate metaphysics is the fact that the Father as Original reflects himself in the Son as Image (Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3). This archetypal reflection has ectypal reflections in God himself and in God’s speech, which creates and sustains the world. Reflections of the Trinity include some triads of perspectives that show the structure of reality.
For the purposes of this paper, the most relevant triad is Kenneth L. Pike’s triad of perspectives for analysis of language. It includes three perspectives: the particle view, the wave view, and the field view. Pike’s triad is reflective of the Trinity. Its connection to the Trinity can be seen by using another triad, the triad for personal action, consisting of the planning perspective, the accomplishment perspective, and the application perspective. All the persons in the Trinity participate in the acts of God in the world. But God the Father is preeminently associated with the planning perspective, because God the Father is preeminently the source of the plan of God for all of history. God the Son is preeminently associated with the accomplishment perspective, because it is the Son who executes the plan of the Father in the world. He is sent by the Father into the world. God the Holy Spirit is preeminently associated with the application perspective, because it is the Holy Spirit who applies the work of Christ to believers. Pike’s triad is a reflection of the triad for personal action. As a result, it is also reflective of the Trinity.
Pike’s triad can itself be applied to aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity. The ontology of the Trinity–substance and subsistence–is in focus in the particle view or static perspective, which focuses on permanent wholes. The processions are in focus in the wave view, which focuses on processes. And the coinherent relations between persons are in focus in the field view, which focuses on relations. Each of these perspectives presupposes the others, by virtue of a reflection of the principle of coinherence.
In particular, each of two aspects, ontology and the processions, is properly articulable only by presupposing the other two perspectives. This methodological approach can be used to re-examine Calvin’s view of the Son as autotheos. Calvin’s concern for the full deity of the Son, as autotheos, uses ontology as the starting perspective. Using the processions as the starting perspective leads to the Nicene Fathers’ view that the Father communicates his essence to the Son in the act of begetting. Each in fact implies the other. The fullness of God is present in the act of generation, and the act of generation is present in the fullness of God. At the end, the paper suggests relevance of the same method for assessing the filioque controversy.