The answer
God is one, in one unique, undivided, and inseparable essence; a Trinity of Hypostases359 that can be distinguished from one another; eternal Hypostases with no beginning, belonging to a single essence, and having a single will. The apostle Paul speaks of “one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:6). “Above all” refers to the Father who is the source of all; “and through all” refers to the Son or “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24); and “in you all” refers to the Holy Spirit who perfects all and sanctifies all.
Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty
Notes
359 The term hypostasis (plural: hypostases) is derived from two words: hypo meaning “under,” and stasis meaning “standing.” Thus, the literal meaning of this term is “standing under,” or that which stands or is set, under a foundation. In Alexandrian theology, it is the preferred term for denoting the three members of the Holy Trinity, i.e., the three Hypostases of the Father, Son, and Holy Trinity, who are one ousia, meaning “being” or “essence.” See Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, The Terms Physis and Hypostasis in the Early Church, ed., Maryrose Halim, (1986): p. 40.