We believe in the God of the Bible, the Author of our salvation. Which means we believe in a Trinitarian God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We confess, with the ancient Church in our creeds, that “we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity.”
The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to our faith, and yet often when we think about it or try to explain it, we are prone to shy away. This is because we know there is high theology here, and with that comes deep cliffs of heresy. There are big theological words like essence, substance, subsistence, persons, filiation, spiration… shouldn’t we leave this to the experts? But my encouragement this morning is because of the deep mystery here, you are to lean in all the more. Yes, you must do so with precision, with the help of Scripture and the creeds, but you absolutely should learn to embrace the Trinity with simple joy.
One reason for this is that your salvation is tied up in the doctrine of the Trinity, in the undivided work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In fact, His salvific work in history is how He has revealed this doctrine to His people. God the Father so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, and the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Spirit who was also given to us (Jn. 3:16, Rom. 5:5). Salvation is nothing more than being united to the Triune God. You are made partakers of His divine nature and are given access to this great mystery, to God Himself.
Can your finite minds fully comprehend what it means to believe in one God in three Persons? No, for we are talking about the infinite God in Himself. Should that then dissuade you from contemplating Him? Consider these words from C.S. Lewis, “You may ask, ‘If we cannot imagine a three-personal Being, what is the good of talking about Him?’ Well, there isn’t any good talking about Him. The thing that matters is being actually drawn into that three-personal life, and that may begin any time…”
So the exhortation is this: Confess this great mystery. Believe in the holy Trinity. Pray to the Father, in the name of the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. And simply love your Triune God, in whose name you have been baptized, who has made you His.
Shawn Paterson – May 26, 2024
