The Monarchy of the Father and Divine Simplicity

Question #51: How can the one, undivided divine essence be fully expressed in the Monarchy of the Father and his Person without implying any composition or fragmentation in God?

To answer this question I wrote an essay called, “Reformulating the Monarchy of the Father through Personalistic-like Theology: A defense of the Self-Standing Givenness Theology”

Below is said essay. Patience, however, it all comes together eventually, I promise.

Introduction

The way I see it, we encounter the divine mystery with two inseparable themes: the unbroken oneness of God and the wondrous revelation of that one essence in the form of three inexhaustible eternal Persons. My theological side project, the Self‑Standing Givenness Ontology endeavors to articulate this tension—not by dissecting God into parts, but by showing that each divine Person fully and uniquely embodies the one pure actuality. Said theology, is basically a personalistic-like revision of theology proper if you will. But my intuitions and focus has been to said task rooted in the legacy of classical theism, Aquinas’s enduring insights, and to enrich all that with and by modern developments in metaphysical primitives and phenomenology; thus, the SSGO, I think, reveals how relationality itself is the manner in which God is disclosed. Central to this vision is the “monarchy of the Father,” wherein the Father’s identity arises not from a mere collection of attributes but from his unbegotten, foundational stance within the eternal communion of the Godhead. When I first heard of this idea in a modern context I was challenged. Over time I began to see it’s a quintessential expression of good theology or the lack there of. Hopefully, this piece errors on the side of the Good.

Divine Simplicity and the Triune Expression

The timeless claim of divine simplicity affirms that God’s essence is utterly indivisible—His being is not an assemblage of parts, nor is it subject to any potential that might render Him incomplete. Scripture proclaims, “The LORD is one,” and this oneness undergirds our understanding of God as actus purus, wholly actual and free from any external dependency. Yet the biblical witness also presents a triune reality, where the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each fully God. Within SSGO, the traditional descriptors—unbegotten, begotten, and spirated—are reimagined as self‑standing relational modes. Each Person is not a mere fragment, but the complete divine essence lived out in its own distinctive relational expression. Thus, the Father, in his unbegotten mode, emerges as the primary relational stance from which the other modes flow without diminishing the fullness that is manifest in the Son or the Spirit.

A Legacy of Classical Theism

SSGO is deeply indebted to the heritage of classical theism. Early Church Fathers and medieval theologians envisioned a God who transcends the limitations of created categories—a God whose simplicity and immutability stand in stark contrast to the composite nature of the created order. Thinkers such as Athanasius and Augustine insisted on the absolute oneness of God, a conviction that laid the foundation for later theological reflection. This classical vision—where God’s attributes are not separate additions but are identical with His essence—remains a vital touchstone for SSGO, affirming a mystery that is as intellectually formidable as it is spiritually uplifting.

The Enduring Teachings of Aquinas

Central to SSGO is Aquinas’s systematic exposition of divine simplicity as found in his Summa Theologiae. For Aquinas, God is actus purus—a being whose essence is completely identical with His existence, free from any potentiality. This insight safeguards the idea of God’s absolute unity and underscores that each relational mode of the Trinity expresses the full actuality of the divine. Aquinas teaches that any hint of composition or division within God would compromise His perfection. SSGO embraces this understanding, asserting that the Father’s unbegotten nature, the Son’s begottenness, and the Spirit’s procession are not supplementary attributes of a composite God but the very means by which the one, indivisible essence is fully manifested. By doing such, SSGO attempts to bolster its own inherent personalism, and also address the potential concerns some have that wish Aquinas had given a more robust Trinity formulation to bolster simplicity.

Modern Insights into Metaphysical Primitives

Modern philosophical inquiries—especially those exploring hyperintensionality and metaphysical primitives—have enriched the SSGO framework. Thinkers like Jiri Benovsky have demonstrated that certain relational concepts function as irreducible explanatory units, or primitives, that capture distinctions no further analysis can simplify. SSGO leverages these insights to show that the vocabulary of “modes” and “vantages” is not mere abstraction; rather, it is a precise tool for articulating the subtle yet robust ways in which the one divine essence is dynamically self‑given. This modern refinement validates the classical intuitions of early theologians while engaging contemporary analytic discourse, offering language capable of expressing the mystery of the Trinity without resorting to mere semantic play.

Relationality as the Disclosure of the Divine

At the heart of SSGO is the conviction that relationality is not an accidental or secondary quality—it is the very means by which God is disclosed. Human identity, in our limited experience, is formed within the context of relationships; we are shaped by how we give of ourselves and are received by others. Similarly, God’s eternal self‑givenness is fundamentally relational. The Father’s unbegotten mode does not simply precede the Son in a temporal sequence; it is the foundational relational stance that makes possible the full, simultaneous revelation of all three Persons. This dynamic disclosure is inherently exocentric, reaching outward and inviting creation into a transformative communion. In this light, the relational modes are the channels through which the infinite mystery of the divine is made manifest, inviting both deep reverence and active participation.

Embracing “Nothing” as the Measure of Divine Fullness

Our finite language struggles to capture the ineffable nature of God, and the concept of “Nothing” has long served in apophatic theology as a pointer to the divine transcendence beyond all human categories. John Scotus Eriugena’s Periphyseon illuminates this idea by teaching that the “Nothing” of ultimate Goodness is not a mere absence but the super‑essential, supernatural fullness of the Divine Goodness—a reality that surpasses all created categories while remaining immanent. In SSGO, “Nothing” is rearticulated not as a void but as a horizon against which every relational mode is measured. It reminds us that although each Person of the Trinity reveals a distinct facet of the one divine essence, the totality of God’s being is so complete that it eludes all finite conceptualization. This notion of “Nothing” subtly echoes Cyril O’Regan’s insight: Augustine, in his profound self‑recognition of sin and unlovability, experienced healing and transformation through the gift of another’s love—an experience that underscores the transformative power of self‑disclosure. Just as Augustine was made lovable through receiving another’s love, so too does the divine “Nothing” invite us into the inexhaustible mystery of God’s fullness, a fullness that cannot be reduced to any particular relational aspect but is instead the dynamic, radiant background of all divine self‑givenness.

Subtle Responses to Critiques of Abstraction

Some critics contend that the hyperintensional vocabulary of SSGO risks reducing the mystery of the Trinity to an elaborate conceptual scheme. Yet terms such as “self‑standing relational mode” are not mere linguistic ornamentation but precise tools for expressing how the one divine essence is fully present in each Person, without implying composition or fragmentation. This vocabulary, enriched by ideas like exocentricity and “Nothing,” provides a framework that is both intellectually rigorous and spiritually resonant. It acknowledges the limitations of our finite language while remaining open to ongoing dialogue and refinement—a model that invites deeper exploration rather than closing off further inquiry.

A Quiet Affirmation of the Monarchy of the Father

Within this refined framework, the monarchy of the Father emerges as a quietly transformative truth. His unbegotten nature is not simply one attribute among many; it is the foundational relational mode from which the entire tri‑personal self‑givenness unfolds. The Father’s identity, expressed through his unique mode, is the source of the dynamic communion that characterizes the Godhead. In this vision, each Person of the Trinity fully embodies the undivided divine essence, while their distinct relational stances serve only to reveal the inexhaustible unity of God. The harmonious interplay within the Trinity is not a mechanical division of substance but an eternal, dynamic orchestration that remains ever open to mystery, inviting both critical engagement and humble participation. Hopefully expressing this truth in my own weird technical way helps one see this insight in a more coherent and mysterious way. Afterall, as I learned from reading Cyril O’Regan, mystery is where the soul is converted, so God can be all in all. John 3:16 God bless.