104. A similar thing would happen to us if we were to embrace the faith of the new church but also hold onto the faith of the former church regarding the assignment of the Lord’s justice or merit, since from the latter concept as from a root all the tenets of the former church have risen up like shoots.

If this were to happen, it would be like people escaping from three of the dragon’s heads but entangling themselves in the other four. It would be like running away from a leopard but stumbling onto a lion. It would be like climbing out of a dry pit only to fall into a water-filled pit and drown.

(The truth of this statement will be further shown after the discussion of the next proposition [§§109– 113], where the topic of being assigned spiritual credit or blame is taken up.)

32. The existence of the divine Trinity is made very clear by the Lord’s words in Matthew:

Jesus said, “Go forth and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

The existence of the Trinity is also made clear by the following words in Matthew:

When Jesus was being baptized, behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Holy Spirit coming down like a dove upon him; and a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16, 17)

The reason why the Lord sent his disciples forth to baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was that this divine trinity existed within him in his then-glorified state. In the verse preceding the quotation from Matthew 28 just given, the Lord says, “All power has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18); and in the verse following, he says, “Behold I am with you all the days, even to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:20). In these verses, then, he mentions only himself and not three persons. In John we read, “There was not the Holy Spirit yet because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). He made the statement in Matthew after he was glorified, and his glorification was when he became fully united with his Father, the divinity that had been inside him since conception. The Holy Spirit was the divine quality that emanated from him once he was glorified (John 20:22).