The Trinity: Father, Son & Holy Spirit Even though the word “Trinity” is not in the Bible, we see evidence of a Triune God throughout the old and new testaments. This begins in Genesis 1:1 when it says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The word God in this instance is “Elohim” which is a plural noun. God is in an intimate relationship, a fellowship, and a community of love. There is one God (Deut 6:1), but He has never been alone. Father, Son, and Spirit are eternally related AND subsist in one divine essense. Out of this perfect community of love, God the Father sent His Son to be born to humanity through the power of the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Trinity has been explained in many ways, but all of them fall short. For example, the early church fathers described “The Dance of the Trinity”, called Perichoresis, which tried to explain how the three divine Person made up one essence in God. Others try to explain with science, citing water in it’s three forms of liquid, vapor, and solid. That doesn’t work either because those three forms are not all existing at the same time. Timothy Keller describes the Trinity like this: ” Each of the divine persons centers upon the others. None demands that the others revolve around Him. Each voluntarily circles the other two, pouring love, delight, and adoration into them. Each person of the Trinity loves, adores, defers to, and rejoices in the others. That creates a dynamic, pulsating dance of joy and love.” Jesus speaks to the Trinity through the great commission (Matt 28:19-20) when He says, “go therefore and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” He perfectly understands the union of Himself, and teaches us to search deeply to understand how to love one another by pointing each other to Him. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he writes to us to understand the love of the Triune God to us in Eph 3:14-20. Paul’s desire is that we experience the fullness of life in and with the Triune God “so that”: We might be strengthened with power in the inner person through the Spirit. Power to endure difficult situations – we can’t in our own strength Power to be patient in everyday situations Power to trust God’s plan – not the plan we would always choose… Power to forgive Power to love We have Christ dwell in our heart, His permanent residence, and know the extent of His love. To comprehend His love for us To overcome any resistance, fear, or doubt of His love We are filled up with the fullness of God. This does NOT make us God, but it does make us godly Experiencing the Trinity is a lifetime of allowing us to grow into all God longs for us to be. We can find satisfaction and fulfillment in Him. Questions to Consider: Knowing that God is love and that love is His essence, do you believe in the deepest part of your soul that He loves you? Why? How does understanding the doctrine of the Trinity help you in your everyday life? Re-read Tim Keller’s quote above and let your imagination try to picture what that looks like! Knowing that in Christ, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, how does the perfect relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit show you how to be in community with your other relationships?