John 3:1-20 The Doctrine of the Trinity in Retrospect

John 3:5  “. . . Jesus . . . God . . . Spirit . . .”

The Doctrine of the Trinity came to have meaning for me only after I had been a Christian for several years. In retrospect I came to realize that the Trinity undergirded my faith; the Trinity gave me an intellectual framework for life; the Trinity gave guidance to my relationships in family and at school and with friends. However, these blessings from the Trinity I understood only at a later time when I was better prepared to wrestle with the challenges of paradox.

I became a Christian as a child. For me, life was simple. Everything for me as a Christian was about Jesus. Only as I matured did I come to think about God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Of course, as a child I heard the word Trinity, and with my home church in worship I sang regularly the Doxology and the hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” In fact, this great nineteenth century hymn which has the concluding phrase, “God in three persons, blessed Trinity,” was placed first in our Baptist Hymnal. So, I knew the word Trinity, but not until adulthood did I begin to appreciate the way the doctrine of the Trinity enriched my life as a Christian.

First, it was the doctrine of the Trinity that protected the message of Jesus as Lord and Savior. The doctrine of the Trinity laid the foundation for my understanding that Jesus was God in flesh, in person. Without the doctrine of the Trinity the church can lose its Gospel message that Jesus is Lord. Only as Lord can he, also, be Savior.

Second, the doctrine of the Trinity enabled me to understand that God was with me in power through the work of the Holy Spirit. God was not a distant creator; Jesus was not just an historical figure. The Holy Spirit, I learned through the doctrine of the Trinity, was the way that salvation transformed me and gave me a new birth from on high.

Third, the doctrine of the Trinity taught me that within God’s very being there is relationship. God in his revealed nature has modeled for us the essential reality of relationships of love. So, I came to understand that loving family, church, friends and all others was a way of reflecting the image of God.

Fourth, the doctrine of the Trinity humbled me as I began to explore its riches. God’s ways are above our ways. We cannot fully fathom God the Father who is transcendent. Yet, we rest in this doctrine because God has revealed his love for us and his power to redeem us. How can God be one in three persons? No one has fully explained this mystery, yet those who are Christians have come to understand that this doctrine provides an essential foundation for faith and a practical guide to the life of faith.

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Grandchildren. This week Sweetie Pie and Mr. Happy came to our house for a sleep over. After a full day of play, dinner out and a bath in Gal and Pal's big tub the grandchildren were ready for bed. Judy read to them from Charles Dickens, "The Life of Our Lord," a book he wrote originally not for publication but just for his own children.  Mr. Happy and Sweetie Pie listened with rapt attention to the story of Jesus' birth described in the words of a great writer. Judy helped me to see that children can stretch to appreciate good literature, and when good writing is combined with the most important account of all history it continues to bless each new generation.