We are always in his mind
The doctrine of the Trinity has been a central element of the Christian tradition for more than 1600 years. For many Christians, it is a natural part of their faith, even if they rarely think deeply about it. Regardless of individual understanding, one thing remains clear: the triune God is unwaveringly committed to including us in the amazing fellowship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Divine Community
The doctrine of the Trinity states that there is one true God, who is united in perfect love as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." (Joh 10,30)There is no Father without the Son and the Spirit, no Son without the Father and the Spirit, and no Holy Spirit without the Father and the Son. Whoever entrusts themselves to Jesus is received into Christ and thus into the fellowship of the Triune God. The love that God showed in the incarnation of Jesus Christ is eternal and unwavering. God declares that you belong to him and are of great importance to him. The Christian life always revolves around an intimate relationship with the Triune God.
Mutual indwelling
The early Church referred to this communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as perichoresis, which means mutual indwelling or oneness in one another. It reflects the dynamic, loving relationship between the three divine persons. In the Gospels, this unity is made clear by the words of Jesus: “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or if not, believe on account of the works themselves.” (Joh 14,11).
Early Christian theologians use the term perichoresis to explain the profound and intimate communion between the three persons of the Trinity, engaged in an eternal "dance of love." In the Gospels, we see Jesus in a dynamic, loving relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. God is present in his entirety in each of the three persons, while at the same time being distinct from one another as persons. Their true relationship and genuine exchange binds them together forever. The Athanasian Creed sums it up: The unity of God is a Trinity and the Trinity of God is a unity. This truth describes the Trinity.
The woven blanket
The theology of the Trinity may seem complicated. But our being bound up in the Trinity of God can be compared to a fabric. In weaving, warp and weft threads are interwoven to create a woven fabric. In this analogy, God is one thread and humanity the other, both woven together. Paul explained this image to the Gentiles in Athens: “For in him (God) we live and move and have our being; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” (Apg 17,28)In the finished woven fabric, the individual threads are no longer visible. Jesus prayed for his disciples shortly before his death: "And I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one." (Joh 17,22).
The God in whom we live and have our being is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; each exists in the other in intimate communion and love: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (Joh 14,6-7)We learn about God's revelation through his Son Jesus: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father, who lives in me, does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or if not, believe on account of the works themselves.” (Joh 14,10-11).
The Son of God becomes human so that we humans may willingly join this positive community of love: “I do not pray for them alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (Joh 17,20-21).
Salvation flows from God's absolute love and faithfulness to humanity, not from a desperate attempt to repair the damage of sin. God's gracious plan for humanity existed before sin even came into being: "For in him he chose us before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." (Eph 1,4)We often forget this, but God never does.
In his embrace
Through the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ, according to the Father's will, we sinful humans are lovingly held in the divine embrace of the triune God. This is precisely what the Father ordained for us from the beginning: "He predestined us to be his children through Jesus Christ, according to his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." (Eph 1,5-6).
God created us for this reason—so that we might be his beloved children in Christ. This was God's will for us before creation. Through the atoning incarnation of the Son, humanity has already been forgiven, reconciled, and saved in him. Divine amnesty has been proclaimed for all humanity in Christ. The sin that entered human nature and experience through Adam cannot compare with the overwhelming flood of God's grace through Jesus Christ. "Therefore, just as through the sin of the one man (Adam) condemnation came to all people, so also through the righteousness of the one man (Jesus) justification and life came to all people." (Röm 5,18).
Universal salvation?
Will everyone automatically – perhaps even against their will – enter into the joy of knowing and loving God? This is a contradiction in terms, for it is impossible to love someone against their will: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (Joh 12,32)God wants everyone to come to faith, but he doesn't force anyone: "Who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth?" (1. Tim 2,4).
God loves every person, but he doesn't force anyone to love him: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (Joh 3,16)Love is voluntary and freely given; if it is not, it is not love.
Always in his mind
The doctrine of the Trinity goes far beyond a mere profession of faith or formal words on a declaration of belief. Through his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, our Savior Jesus has received us into this divine communion and allowed us to share in it: “The life has appeared, and we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and has appeared to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you also may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (1. Joh 1,2-3).
Before the foundation of the world was laid, the Triune God decided to include humanity in the indescribable life, fellowship, and joy that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share together as the one true God: “He predestined us to be his children through Jesus Christ, according to his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished on us in all wisdom and understanding.” (Eph 1,5-8).
In Jesus Christ, the Son of God in the flesh, we are included in the fellowship and joy of the shared life of the Trinity: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in heaven in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2,4-6).
The chasm has been bridged. The price has been paid. The way is open for humanity—like the prodigal son in the parable—to come home. Salvation is the result of the Father's everlasting love and power, demonstrated through Jesus Christ and mediated to us through the Holy Spirit. It is not our faith that saves us. It is God alone—Father, Son, and Spirit—who saves us. God gives us faith as a gift to open our eyes to the truth of who He is—and who we are, as His beloved children: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Röm 8,32).
When we trust in Jesus as our all in all, it is not an empty trust. In Him, our sins are forgiven, our hearts are renewed, and we are included in the life He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. God's eternal and almighty word of love and inclusion for you will never be silenced: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Röm 8,38-39).
Dear reader, through Jesus Christ you belong to God's Trinity, nothing in heaven or on earth can separate you from the love of God! Do you believe that?
by Joseph Tkach
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