The Significance of the Trinity
The uniquely Christian teaching of “One God in Three Persons” is an absolutely essential truth that provides the foundation for many other truths. In this short post, we will explore the significance of the Trinity, especially as it relates to the profound truth: “God IS LOVE.”
In the Bible, we see that there are three persons who are God – The Father, The Son (Jesus) and The Holy Spirit. There is One God in essence, who exists as three persons. This is hard for us to comprehend because we are so physically minded. But, God is spirit and He is not confined by space as we are. You must also try to understand that the “oneness” of God is mathematically unrelated to the “3” that make up His personality. These are 3 different people, but they are all made of the same essence.
The truth of the Trinity is not something that you will ever be able to comprehend, which is to say, your will never be able to “get you mind around it.” You CAN understand the importance and significance of the Trinity, however. There is a difference between knowing and comprehending. I know that the image on my TV is produced by electrons bombarding a screen. Do I comprehend how this works? Absolutely not! All I know is that when I turn on my TV I can watch movies and shows. This is the way we should approach the Trinity. We can know about it without comprehending it in all of its mystery.
God has always existed as three persons. This means that He has always existed within Himself as a relationship, a fellowship. In Acts Paul says,
Acts 17:24-25
The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things. . .”
In this statement, Paul understands that God does not need anything, He is totally self-sufficient. This does not mean that God is cold and harsh and shut off from everything else. Instead, His sufficiency flows from His existence in a completely satisfying relationship. And this relationship of the Father, Son, and Spirit gives God the ability to love, or even more to the point, defines God as LOVE. So, now let’s explore the question, “How does the Trinity relate to God being love?”
Love Desires the Beloved
In order to love, we need someone to love. That should be profoundly obvious! To love someone means to treasure that person and to serve that person for his good and for his benefit. God has forever existed not as a single individual who needs others outside of Himself to love and to be loved, but as a unity of three persons who love one another and are loved by one another. The Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, just as the Spirit is loved by the Father and Son and also loves the Father and Son.
In 1 John 4:8 John tells us that “God IS love.” He does not say that “God loves,” He says that, “God IS love.” Love defines God’s very nature, His very character. Think about what this means. The Father, Son, and Spirit have never been “alone” they have always and ever experienced life in fellowship, working together, serving one another in all that they do.
This makes God a complete being in and of Himself. This would also mean that He is stable, trustworthy, and “un-needy”—not depending on anything outside Himself. Older theologians referred to this idea as the eternal blessedness of God. He lives and loves the life that He lives in and of Himself. God is totally satisfied by Himself and within Himself.
God Wants to Love
As we think on the One True God as the Creator, the Great Author of the Sacred Story, it is important that we understand our Creator’s eternal blessedness. If God is satisfied with all that He is, then as He creates, He creates because He wants to, because He desires to. When the Father working in Christ through the Spirit created us, he gave us the ability to share and take part in His life so that we too may get a taste of His eternal blessedness, His “eternal kind of life.” This has direct significance to our existence. God has created humanity, God created us, because He desires that we share in His blessed, glorious, joyous, and loving type of life. Being caught up in this glorious type of love is the only thing that will fully satisfy our souls. We are here on planet earth to experience and express the love of God the Father made available to us in Jesus Christ through the work of His Holy Spirit. Remember what Jesus prayed for us all:
John 17:5, 24
(Jesus said,) “And now, Father, glorify me at your side with the glory I had with you before the world was created. …17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”
Jesus was glorified and loved by the Father before the creation of the World! Also notice that Jesus was with the Father before the World was created. We get a glimpse at reality before creation in Jesus’ worlds and He speaks of it in terms of glory (something that is profoundly beautiful and worth talking about) and love.
Bringing this all together, we see that God existing as Father, Son, and Spirit is essential to His love and faithfulness to us. His great desire is to share His love with us so that we may experience His love and express that same quality of love in all that we are and do:
1 John 4:7-11
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God. 4:8 The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 4:9 By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him. 4:10 In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 4:11 Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another.
