The Triune God is a communal being. This relational God has never been alone and turned in on himself. He has always been a communion of three persons mutually indwelling one another in love. Within this communion of three persons, there is a single purpose for us arising out of the communal life of the three. And the three persons are always together in achieving this single purpose.

What is this purpose shared by the three? We might say what the purpose is in a single word – inclusion. As an expression of overflowing joy within the communion the three want to open up their life to include us. The three want to open the circle and bring us in so that we actually participate in their shared life and love.

We can also say what the single purpose is in another word -adoption. Paul tells us that before God made the world he destined us for adoption (Ephesians 1:5). The NLT puts it this way, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure”.

Humanity chose to reject God’s purpose and go the way of independence. We wanted to live our own way apart from God. But the Triune communion did not give up on the eternal purpose of adoption. Together the three said we love them so much that we refuse to exist without them. We are determined to go after them and bring them into the communion.