Book
VII.
————————————
The question is explained, which
had been deferred in the previous book, viz. that God the Father,
who begat the Son, His power and wisdom, is not only the Father of
power and wisdom, but also Himself power and wisdom; and similarly
the Holy Spirit: yet that there are not three powers or three
wisdoms, but one power and one wisdom, as there is one God and one
essence. Inquiry is then made, why the Latins say one essence,
three persons, in God; but the Greeks, one essence, three
substances or hypostases: and both modes of expression are shown to
arise from the necessities of speech, that we might have an answer
to give when asked, what three, while truly confessing that there
are three, viz. the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit.