And he took butter, honey, and milk, and set it before them, and they ate, while he himself stood beside them" (cf. Gen. 18:1-8). All three sat together, equal in glory, equal in honor, none greater or less than the Others; Abraham served Them equally and honored Them equally. If it were God with two angels, would the angels dare to be co-throned with God? Nowhere in Scripture will you find evidence that angels are ever co-throned with God, but only the Son and the Holy Spirit are co-throned with the Father, as the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments testify.

Thus says the wise Paul about Christ: "We have such a High Priest, Who is seated at the right hand of the throne of majesty in heaven..." (Heb. 8, 1.) "And he, having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever at the right hand of God, waiting then until His enemies were made His footstool" (Heb. 10:12-13). And again says the holy Apostle Paul: "Of the angels it is said: Thou makest spirits by Thy angels...

And of the Son, Thy throne, O God, for ever and ever; the scepter of Thy kingdom is the scepter of righteousness. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: wherefore hast thou anointed thee, O God, thy God, with the oil of joy more than thy fellow-partakers" (Heb. 1:7-9). Wishing to show the glory of the Only-begotten Son of God, the Prophet David says: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever" (Psalm 44:7, we quote from the Slavonic text of the Psalm; in the Synodal Russian translation of the Bible, the same passage is quoted by Apostle Paul (Heb. 1:8)

coincides with the Slavonic Bible; In the Psalm itself, the translation gives: "Forever." – Ed.). Interpreting the Psalmist, the Apostle Paul says: "Of the angels it is said, 'Thou makest spirits by Thy angels' (Ps. 103, 4. In the Synodal translation, in the text of the psalm, it is "Thine," and in the quotation of Ap. Paul — "by his own"; In the Slavonic text of the psalm, there is no discrepancy with the quotation of the Apostle. – Ed.) ...

And about the Son: Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever" (Psalm 44:7). Lest anyone say that the words are addressed not to the Son, but to the Father: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever," a little further the Prophet David says: "Therefore Thy God hath anointed Thee, O God, with the oil of joy more than Thy fellow-partakers" (Psalm 44:8). Nowhere in Scripture does it say that the Father was anointed, only the Only Begotten Son of God was anointed in His human nature.

The same prophet says of the Only-begotten Son of God: "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 109:4). If He was a Priest, He was anointed. Just as Melchizedek was not a priest according to the law of Moses, so was the Lord Christ, of whom the Apostle Paul says: "But Christ, the High Priest of good things to come, having come with a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of such a dispensation, and not with the blood of goats and bulls, but with His own blood, entered once into the sanctuary, and obtained eternal redemption" (Heb. 9:11-12).

Of Him also the prophet David says: "Therefore I have anointed Thee, O God Thy God." For the Lord's Flesh was anointed by the coming upon Him of the Holy Spirit, Who is "the oil of joy," and the words "greater than Thy fellow-partakers" are spoken of all men, for all men are given in part the communion of the Holy Spirit. Having descended upon the Son of God, the Holy Spirit "dwelt upon Him" (John 1:32), as John said, and did not fly away from Him, being of one essence with Him.

Someone may say that this is said of a king or of a bishop ordained by the law: "Therefore I have anointed Thee, O God, Thy God," for they also were called gods. But if this had been said of a king, or of a bishop ordained by the law, the prophet would not have said, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever," for their throne is not eternal, but their throne has vanished with their kingdom.

One Only-begotten Son of God and our Lord Jesus Christ has a throne forever and ever, and it is said to Him: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever." Likewise, the Prophet David goes on to say: "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make Thy enemies Thy footstool" (Psalm 109:1). "How long" is not said about time, but as it is usually said in the Holy Scriptures.

For example, God said through the prophet: "I am, I am, and to your old age I will be the same" (Isaiah 46:4). It is clear that the existence of God does not cease with man's old age. Further, let no one think that it is said to the common man, and not to God, "Sit at My right hand, until I make Thy enemies Thy footstool," and that the dwelling at the right hand of God the Father is not eternal, but is limited in time, since there is the word "as long as there is."

Wishing to show that these words are addressed to God and that the dwelling of God the Son at the right hand of the Father is eternal, the prophet says a little further: "From the womb before Lucifer I begat Thee" (Psalm 109:3). The words "before Lucifer" mean that the Only-begotten Son of God was before all years and before the ages; the words "from the womb" testify to the unity of the Essence and Nature of the Father and the Son — thus the Father says: "Not in any other way, but from My Nature was born the Son."

Being of One Essence and of One Essence with the Father, the Son is co-enthroned with Him. Thus you see that the Son is co-enthroned with the Father, and not with the angels. Likewise, the Holy Spirit, equally worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke through the prophets, is equal to and co-throned with the Father. The chief Apostle Peter testifies of Him: "For prophecy was never uttered by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:21).

Likewise, the all-wise Paul says of Him: "And there is one Holy Spirit, in Him are all things, and we are in Him. For the Spirit searches all things, and the depths of God... No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God" (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:10-11). And David says: "Thou shalt send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be built" (Psalm 103:30). Similarly, Job says: "The Spirit of God created me" (Job 33:4). Joel says: "I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and they will prophesy" (Joel 2:28).

And Isaiah testifies: "The Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit" (Isaiah 48:16). And further: "The Spirit of the Lord led them to rest" (Isaiah 63:14). And again: "But receive My words and My decrees, which I have commanded through My Spirit to My servants the prophets" (Zech. 1:6). From this you see that the Son and the Holy Spirit are of one essence with the Father and have equal glory and honor with Him. If They are of one essence and have equal honor and glory, then all three are co-throned.