When the Church hears the word “God,” they should automatically think Trinity. We don’t want to fall prey to speaking about the Trinity in abstract and philosophical terms. Our liturgy speaks of Father, Son, and Spirit in concrete and relational terms. The Triune God is not Aristotle’s unmoved mover; the Triune God moves. The Triune God is not Islam’s un-relational God; the Triune God relates and loves to be in relationship with His people. The Trinity is an incomprehensible mystery – but it is a mystery of glory and light, not obscurity and darkness – ’tis only the splendor of light hideth thee,’ as the hymn puts it.
In our religiously pluralistic cultural environment, it is important to stress that the Trinity alone is the true God. Lesslie Newbigin once said, “…there is no way to preach Jesus without preaching the Trinity.” The Trinity is not only a doctrine to be believed but a God to be loved. When we see Christ, we see the Father; to adore Christ is to adore the Spirit whom he sent. To be Trinitarian is to simply to be Christian. As Darrell Johnson notes,
“This controversial, mind-stretching doctrine we call “the Trinity” did not emerge out of an ivory-tower think-tank. It emerged out of the life and mission of ordinary congregations.”
It was a comforting and living truth for the early Church, and it is a comforting and living truth for us today. The Trinity is not meant to remain on a 700-page systematic theology; it is intended to be a part of your life and the life of the body. Thinking Trinitarianly has serious consequences for us as a people. The Psalmist tells us that you are what you worship, which means that who we worship shapes the world around us.
Do not be deceived by the world’s cry that relationships are private and that sexual mutilation and transformation are personal decisions without consequence to society. We know that is a lie because the Trinity—the source of all reality–is not private, nor should your relationship with ethics be. You don’t need to find yourself in a tik tok video; you must find God and his people.
The Triune God alone gives meaning; apart from him, we are eternally lost. Let us come and find union in communion with the Father, Son, and Spirit.
Happy Trinity Sunday!
