“Supreme,” that is, the highest.  “Equal,” when two are equal one has everything the other has.  You could say one pen is the equal of another if it is just as nice and will write just as well; one mechanic is the equal of another if he can do the work equally well.  Two boys are equal in class if they have exactly the same marks at the end of the month or year.  You could not have two persons chief.  For example, you could not have two chief generals in an army; two presidents in the nation, or two governors in a state, or two mayors in a city, or two principals in a school, unless they divide equally their power, and then they will be equals and neither of them chief.  God cannot divide His power with anyone—­so as to give it away entirely—­because we say He is infinite, and that means to have all.  Others have only the loan of their power from God.  Therefore, all power and authority come from God; so that when we disobey our parents or superiors who are placed over us, we disobey God Himself.

23 Q. How many persons are there in God?  A. In God there are three divine persons really distinct and equal in all things—­the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

“Distinct,” not mingled together.  We call the first and second persons Father and Son, because the second is begotten by the first person, and not to indicate that there is any difference in their age.  We always see in the world that a father is older than his son, so we get the idea perhaps that it is the same in the Holy Trinity.  But it is not so.  God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost existed from all eternity, and one did not exist before the other.  God the Son is just as old as God the Father, and this is another great mystery.  Even in nature we see that two things may begin to exist at the same time, and yet one be the cause of the other.  You know that fire is the cause of heat; and yet the heat and the fire begin at the same time.  Though we cannot understand this mystery of the Father and Son, we must believe it on the authority of God, who teaches it.  First, second, and third person in the Blessed Trinity does not mean, therefore, that one person was before the other, or brought into existence by the other.

24 Q. Is the Father God?  A. The Father is God and the first Person of the Blessed Trinity.

25 Q. Is the Son God?  A. The Son is God and the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

26 Q. Is the Holy Ghost God?  A. The Holy Ghost is God and the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.

27 Q. What do you mean by the Blessed Trinity?  A. By the Blessed Trinity I mean one God in three Divine Persons.

28 Q. Are the three Divine Persons equal in all things?  A. The three Divine Persons are equal in all things.

29 Q. Are the three Divine Persons one and the same God?  A. The three Divine Persons are one and the same God, having one and the same divine nature and substance.