¶1Theologians typically differentiate between the ontological Trinity and the economic Trinity. The ontological Trinity is the Trinity in and of itself, God existing without creation. All three of the persons are equal and share the same essential properties of moral perfection, omnipotence, omniscience, eternity, necessity, and so forth. The economic Trinity, however, is the different roles assumed by these persons in relation to creation, particularly in relation to the plan of salvation. In the economic Trinity, the Father sends the Son into the world.
¶2The Son becomes incarnate and dies on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. The Holy Spirit assumes the ministry of the Son after his ascension into heaven to guide the church until the return of Christ. So, the economic Trinity is different than the ontological Trinity in terms of the roles that each of the persons plays. Now, the question is, to what degree does the ontological Trinity reflect these different roles in the economic Trinity? Could the Son instead be the one who sends the Father into the world and who dies on the cross for our sins?
¶3Or could it be the Father who comes after Christ to guide the church um in its in its mission? In a sense, one is asking, could these persons have assumed different roles? Maybe the first person of the Trinity could have been the Son, and the second person of the Trinity could have been the Father, or maybe the third person of the Trinity could have been the Father. Now, in classical Trinitarian theology, this is impossible because of the doctrine of the inner-Trinitarian processions. The Father is the only person in the Trinity who is unbegotten.
¶4>> [clears throat] >> The Son is begotten eternally from the Father in his divine nature, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and maybe from the Son as well. And so, in the ontological Trinity, there is already a differentiation of these persons that is expressed in the economic Trinity. But, if we think that the ontological Trinity is not characterized by these relations of procession, which seem to have no firm basis in the New Testament, then is it possible that the Trinitarian persons could have assumed different roles? Certainly, they've had those roles eternally. But, is there another possible world where say, there is no creation?
¶5And so, there is no sending of the Son into the world to die on the cross. Or in another world where the first person of the Trinity is the one that's sent into the world. I don't know what to say in answer to these questions. It's hard to rule it out. It's hard to see why that is metaphysically impossible.
¶6And so this is one of those unanswerable questions that I think we just leave as a mystery. I I don't know how to answer the question whether it is metaphysically possible that [music] the persons of the Trinity could have assumed different roles in the economic [music] Trinity.