“The doctrine of the Trinity is difficult and perplexing to us,” wrote R.C. Sproul.[1]
No kidding!
As Tim Keller once said, the doctrine of the Trinity overloads our mental circuits.[2]
Yet, it’s crucial that we understand the basics about the Trinity. For one thing, understanding what God reveals about Himself is important. But the Trinity also affects how we live as Christian men.
The doctrine of the Trinity holds two biblical truths in tension at the same time:
- First, God is one. “Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). There are not multiple gods; there is only one true God.
- Second: this one God exists as three Persons. We see this in several biblical passages. For instance, Jesus told us to baptize people “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Paul ended one of his letters, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14). Throughout the Scriptures, you see the three Persons of the Trinity at work in various ways.
God is one in essence and three in Person. As the New City Catechism explains, each Person is “the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”[3] As an old hymn puts it, “God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!”
It seems contradictory at first, but it’s what Scripture teaches. It’s not contradictory; it just challenges our understanding.
Kevin DeYoung says that seven statements capture the biblical teaching of the Trinity:
- God is one. There’s only one God.
- The Father is God.
- The Son is God.
- The Holy Spirit is God.
- The Father is not the Son.
- The Son is not the Spirit.
- The Spirit is not the Father.
“If you get those seven statements, then you’ve captured the doctrine of the Trinity—what it means when we say there is one God and three Persons,” he says.[4] It isn’t easy to comprehend, and yet it’s essential that we grasp this vital truth.
Here are three reasons why understanding the Trinity matters.
It humbles us.
I used to have a dog. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get my dog to understand certain things because there’s a difference in our capabilities. But of course, the difference between God and us is even greater than the difference between me and my dog.
“The LORD is great and is highly praised; His greatness is unsearchable,” the Psalmist said (Psalm 145:3). It shouldn’t surprise us that God is beyond our understanding. We can know Him because He’s revealed Himself, but we will never fully comprehend Him (1 Corinthians 13:12).
I used to think that we would fully understand God in eternity. Now, I believe we will spend eternity getting to know God, but there will always be more to learn.
Biblical teaching about the Trinity humbles us. It reminds us that, however well we get to know God, God is far above us.
We can still know God, but we will never fully understand Him, and that should make us humble.
It shapes the Christian life.
Tim Chester writes, “There is a trinitarian structure to every part of Christian truth and Christian living.”[5]
The three Persons of the Trinity work together. The Father initiated our salvation; Jesus accomplished it; the Spirit applies it. Jesus’ grace helps us experience the Father’s love, leading to an ongoing fellowship with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). As you read the Bible, pay attention to the work that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do in the world and your life.
We also relate to the three Persons differently. Generally speaking, we pray to the Father through the mediation of the Son with the help of the Spirit (Matthew 6:9; John 16:23; Romans 8:14-16). The more you look, the more the Trinity shapes how we live.
It includes us.
Before the world was made, the perfect community of love existed. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit communed with each other. Love lies at the center of the universe.
God made the world to extend that community of love. The God who is Love (1 John 4:8) created us so we could be loved by Him. You were made to share in this perfect relationship of joy and delight, enjoying the love that exists between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This is the reason for your existence: to love the Triune God and to be loved by Him so that you can be deeply satisfied for eternity.
The Trinity isn’t some abstract truth. It’s life-changing. It’s important because we’re meant to know God. It’s also important because it humbles us, shapes our Christian lives, and brings us into the divine community that existed before time.
“At the center of the universe is a Relationship,” writes Darrell Johnson. “And through Jesus Christ I have been included. And so have you.”[6]
We may never fully understand the mystery of the Trinity, but we can still grasp it and enjoy it. You’re included!
[1] Sproul, R.C. Essential Truths of the Christian Faith (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992).
[2] Keller, Timothy. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. Pg 215.
[3] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/new-city-catechism/how-many-persons-are-there-in-god/
[4] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/new-city-catechism/how-many-persons-are-there-in-god/
[5] Chester, Tim. Delighting in the Trinity. The Good Book Company. Kindle Edition location 86.
[6] Johnson, Darrell. Experiencing the Trinity: Living in the Relationship at the Centre of the Universe (Canadian Church Leaders Network, 2021), 111.
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