Line 24 of the Athanasian Creed says what one would imagine need not be said: That there is one Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; not three Fathers, Sons, and Spirits. And yet, several years ago, a certain televangelist made the bold claim that there are nine Persons in the Trinity, because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all Triune beings. So, the Creed helps us dispense easily of such foolishness.

Lesson from the Creed

Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers;
there is one Son, not three sons;
there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.

Athanasian Creed, line 24

Exposition from Scripture

This line of the Creed wasn’t written to address the bizarre doctrine espoused by the televangelist, mentioned above. But that situation demonstrates the resiliency and manifold relevance of the Creed. Proven in combat against ancient heresies, it also withstands new ones.

So, if the Creed isn’t addressing the belief in a nine-Person Godhead, what is it teaching us? It’s summarizing what we have learned in vv21-23: Although the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit share one divine substance, yet they are three distinct Persons, distinguished by their various relationships to one another (eternal relationships of origin). Three Fathers would be redundant. There is unity in the Trinity; not redundancy.

This is easily shown from Scripture: yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live (1 Corinthians‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV). ‬‬One Father, one Son. And: by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit (1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). One Holy Spirit.

And again: There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬). The one Lord is Jesus Christ, the Son, as in 1 Corinthians 8:6. So here again, we see one Father, one Son, and one Holy Spirit.

Scripture teaches that true testimony is established by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; 2 Corinthians 13:1). Thus, these three Scriptures, which together bear witness to the Creed’s confession twice; are sufficient for establishing the truth of line 24 of the Creed.