At the top of the hierarchy, there is the supreme principle, which
- has no limitations, divisions, attributes or qualifications
- transcends any conceivable reality, so that it may be said to be “beyond being”
- is called “the One” to designate its complete simplicity
- is called “the Good” as the source of all perfection and the ultimate goal of return
- can only be known if it raises the mind to an immediate union with itself, as it cannot be imagined or described otherwise
The lowest level of being is the physical universe, which exists in time and space.
The Neoplatonic Trinity is a fusion of the New Testament association of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit with the Neoplatonic concept of being.
The transcendent God, the Father, is the supreme principle, which is beyond all being, all rationality and all conceptuality. It “fathers” the Logos or the “word,” which Plotinus called the “Son” who goes forth from the Father.
Therefore, the Son is of the same essence or same ousia as the Father, but is a separate entity or hypostasis from the transcendent God.
So, Christian theology took the Neoplatonic metaphysical concept of ousios and its doctrine of hypostases to contrive a divine relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
However, to avoid the Neoplatonic hierarchy of gods, Neoplatonic Trinity stated the sameness of essence, or homoousia, of the two Persons, or hypostases, of God.
The Gospel of John provided the first traces of the Neoplatonic concept of Prophet Jesus as the Logos:
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.[22]
But then, this would mean three equally ranked gods, which would displace the idea of the oneness of God.
Therefore, Neoplatonic Trinity could not be reconciled with monotheism. It was polytheism or more accurately tritheism.
However, there is also a problem with translation. The Greek word used for “God” in the phrase “and the Word was with God” is hotheos which means “the God.” However, in the phrase “And the Word was God,” it is tontheos which means “a god.”
Therefore the literal translation should read:
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with the God and the Word was a god.
So, the literal translation would contradict the homoousia of the Son and the Holy Spirit with the Father, but confirm the Neoplatonic hierarchy of gods. However the Neoplatonic hierarchy of gods displaces the idea of the oneness of God even more emphatically, because each god then has a distinctly divine but different essence than the others.