How does a Trinitarian explain the role each "person" of the Trinity plays, in the creation of Adam or an animal?

Question

Trinitarians believe that God exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There is also a belief amongst Trinitarians that Jesus is both the Son of God and God, that he existed before his birth by Mary as "the Word".

Trinitarians and many other Christian denominations believe that Jesus was a key figure in the creation of all that exists.

According to Colossians 1:16:

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

See also Romans 11:36:

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.

My questions:

Do we have any scripture or other earlier sources explaining the particular or exact role of each member of the Trinity in creation? What would have been the exact role of God ("the Father"); of Jesus (the Son/Word); and of the Holy Spirit in the creation of Adam or the creation of an animal such as a cow?

Answer 1

It is not the purpose of the Trinity doctrine to "explain the role of each 'Person' of the Trinity" in... anything. The doctrine was formulated to counteract the heretical teaching of some that Christ Jesus was a creature, created by God, and thus, not God. There were, for example, followers of Arius who taught that only the Father is God in the fullest sense; the Son and the Spirit are ontologically inferior (which means that Arianism is also called 'Subordinationism'.) This book explains:

"[Arius] took a step beyond Origen, denying the essential unity of the Son with the Father. Arianism taught that there was a time when the Son did not exist. It was chiefly this heresy that the early creeds targeted when they affirmed that the Son is consubstantial - that is, of the same essence (Greek, ousia) or substance (Latin, substantia) with the Father (and the Spirit). Thus, according to Arians, the Son is God's first creation, through whom he then created the world." Pilgrim Theology, p.178, Michael Horton, Zondervan 2011

Given that during the century before Arius, the Christian Church already believed in "Jesus Christ, true man and true God", the clash with what Arius taught centered on whether the Logos / Word / Son of God had been created by God the Father, or not. A mantra of Arius was, "There was when the Son was not". But here is the irony - Origen never tired of emphasizing that the Logos / Word is God's very Son and in no way created or begotten in time, yet Arius claimed Origen as the source of his subordinationism of the Son!

But, back to the question, now that I've explained what the purpose of formulating the Trinity doctrine was, the simple answer is this. Trinitarians who uphold the Bible as the foundation for their belief in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all being involved in the creation of everything, have no need to explain the "role" of each in creation. The Bible does not give details further to Genesis chapter 1 and John's gospel chapter 1.

The Colossians and Romans verses cited by the OP do not explain their roles in creation, therefore, neither can we. We simply accept that all three were involved, in utter unity and oneness of purpose.

Answer 2

And God said, Let there be ______ and there was ______. - Genesis 1

The Father thinks and speaks the Word. The Word goes forth and, in the Spirit's power, accomplishes that for which it was sent. This is the creating process.

The question seems familiar with Trinitarian belief but if a specific verse is needed for each of the three following things let me know in comments and I will make an edit:

1. God is Father and "invented" it all and then spoke it into being.
2. The Word never fails to accomplish the sending purpose.
3. The Spirit is the operating power

Electron, cow, Adam, gravity, it makes no difference...God created it all. He thought it all up (Logos is both the word that is spoken and the rational mind behind speaking), then He spoke it and the Word went forth in the power of the Spirit.

I just tried to make a cheeseburger appear in my hand. I had the idea and I said the word but I don't have the power.

Answer 3

Man, made in the image of God, is body, soul and spirit and yet reckoned one. So also with God.

The Father being analogous to the soul The Son being analogous to the body The Spirit being analogous to the spirit

Or another analogy is the sun.

The Father is analogous to the object in space far away as the Father is spoken of as being in heaven

The Son is analogous to sunlight. It travels all the way from the Sun to the earth. If you look at the sun in the sky and call that the sun, what you are actually calling "the sun" is sunlight, much as Jesus also said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." John 14:9 and as it is also written, "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory" Heb 1:3

The Spirit is analogous to the heat that comes from the sun, and once again it travels all the way from the sun to earth as the Spirit does. While we don't see it, we "feel" it. The Spirit works in conjunction with the Word of God giving us intuition as to the meaning and works on our conscience convicting us of sin, righteous and the judgment to come, much as our spirit involves our intuition and conscience.