LIFE IN THE TRINITY

Paul speaks graphically about Creation groaning for its future liberation from bondage into the freedom and glory of the children of God.  Creation yearns to share in our future liberation.  We too are groaning for that day of liberation. We are yearning deeply for our own freedom and the freedom of all creation (Romans 8).

Where does all this groaning come from?  Paul is clear that it comes from God’s Spirit.  We are groaning because the Spirit himself is groaning within us for our future liberation and of all creation.  We groan with the Spirit as he groans within us.

So the Spirit who hovered over the formless and empty earth at the start of creation is now groaning over creation in bondage to decay and ruin.  And His groaning takes place within us as we groan with the Spirit over the brokenness and bondage of all around us. The Spirit’s groaning is expressed in and through us as we pray over the ruined world with sighs too deep for words. 

The Father Almighty moves creation towards its destiny. And we participate in the action.  We don’t simply observe the activity of God within his creation. We participate in the struggle as weak people groaning with the Spirit for our liberation and of all things.  We do so in the sure hope that Jesus, the new man, will finally free the whole of creation by the power of the Spirit.

In the universe many diverse things move and turn and spin. And yet, amazingly, they all hold together and move as one cosmic system. How can such diverse and dynamic things hold together? Well, speaking of Jesus, the Son, Paul says,

“…in him all things hold together”.

Jesus is the “Word”  through whom God first spoke all things into existence and he is the One in whom all things now hold together.

Just one person holding all together!  And the Son who now holds all together is the very One who became flesh. That means the Son who holds all things together is not someone above and beyond creation but rather the one who has become part of his own creation. That is true unless we believe that the exalted Son is no longer human.

As the Word spoke all things into existence the Wind/Spirit of God moved over the waters bringing all to life.  The Spirit is also the breath of God that continues to breathe through all creation giving his life to all living things. Now, God our Father holds all things together in a personal way through the crucified Jesus as exalted Lord and by his Spirit.  Together, the three uphold and sustain creation beyond its own power.

Now, as God’s creatures, we live in wonder before our Father glorifying him with His Son as the breath of God breathes his life through us.

In the past I tried to grasp something of God’s power by imagining His unlimited strength.  Now I see that we only learn what God’s power really is as we see it portrayed in the lowly man Jesus serving his Father under the Spirit. In his story we see the distinctive kind of power that God is, which is the very opposite of what we would ever imagine.

Consider the conception of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit came to a humble girl.  The power of the Most High conceived within her a human embryo that was God himself as human. The almighty power of God that created the entire universe was now acting within human lowliness to bring into being the One in whom the whole universe will be reconciled to God.

The child was born and grew into the man Jesus.  He was the Father’s unique Son who came into the world to serve his Father on behalf of the world.  He did so as a lowly servant in the presence and power of the Spirit.  He healed the sick, drove out demons and even raised the dead by the power of the Spirit.  He offered himself as atoning sacrifice on the cross through the eternal Spirit.  He was declared to be Son of God in power according to the Spirit by his resurrection from the dead. As ascended Lord he poured out the Spirit on his own.  Now they would know him in the Spirit and share in his mission as the Spirit enabled.

The Almighty Father’s purpose for the world continues through weak and frail humans just like us in the power of the Spirit.

The crucified Jesus was the power of God in weakness ending once and for all the reign of sin and death. Following this act of power in weakness the Father raised Jesus by the Spirit from death itself having destroyed death in him. He raised Jesus as the new man, indeed the new creation.   In the dying of Jesus the old is gone.  In the rising of Jesus the new has come. And in the new creation Jesus is the Son of God in power.  (Romans 1: 4)

Paul is full of wonder as he speaks of the mighty strength that the Father exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  Yes, the Father’s Son who became human is now the exalted Lord of all creation as human. For The Son of God who went down the lowest place in weakness is now exalted to the highest place in power.  And we are exalted with him as our lives are hidden with him in God.

By his once and for all death on the cross all things have been reconciled to God.  By his continuing rule, within creation, all things will reach their fulfilment according to God’s eternal purpose.  And that purpose is Jesus himself.  He is the first and last; the origin and the goal.

Jesus is God as human living among us in human frailty. The Creator himself became a creature without ceasing to be the Creator.  The high and holy one stooped low without ceasing to be who He is in majesty. The mighty God reveals himself as the one who has the inconceivable power of becoming little and low in human weakness.

Having made himself lowly by becoming human the majestic and all powerful One entered into the abyss of death for our sake. In this single act of total self-giving he disarms all the forces of evil that hold humanity under oppression.  Indeed, He actually brings to an end the old age of sin and death under which all humanity was held in bondage.  This is the manifestation of divine power in which God-crucified dies our death in order to reconcile us to Himself. In human weakness God shows his Lordship over death.  For the death of Jesus was the death of death.

In weakness and suffering on the cross Jesus demonstrated God’s distinctive kind of power.  This power is so unique that we cannot describe it by comparing it to any other kind of power. In weakness, God acts mightily to destroy the powers of darkness.  In lowliness, God acts mightily to remove all evil oppression.  God Himself becomes what we are in our helpless condition in order to liberate us and reconcile us to Himself.

This is an act of astonishing divine power in which God reveals that He loves us more than we can ever say.

Father, Son and Spirit act as One.  That means in Jesus, the Almighty acted among us in lowly weakness.  In the utter weakness of the cross God completely destroyed the power of sin and death. These are the greatest powers that oppress us.  And the Almighty wiped them out in Jesus.  He did so in weakness. This is the power of God Almighty that was demonstrated in Jesus the crucified Lord of glory.

The power of God expressed in the lowly weakness of Jesus demands a complete overhaul in our thinking about power.  We are still affirming that all power belongs to God but we are saying it differently.

Father, Son and Spirit act as One.  That means the Almighty comes to us personally in the presence of the Spirit.  Yes, the Almighty power of God Himself is expressed within our human weakness as the Spirit strengthens our inner beings with power so that Christ himself may dwell in our hearts.

In this way, the power of the Triune God is revealed to be essentially personal.  This personal power does not crush and coerce forcing us to conform.  Rather it is gracious power that sets us free to willingly serve God just as Jesus was always free for His Father in the Spirit.

 Again,  the power of God expressed in our human weakness demands a complete overhaul in our thinking about power.  It is always power expressed in and through the weak and lowly liberating and transforming us from the inside out.

Father, Son and Spirit act as One.  That means in Jesus, the Almighty acted among us in lowly weakness.  In the utter weakness of the cross God completely destroyed the power of sin and death. These are the greatest powers that oppress us.  And the Almighty wiped them out in Jesus.  He did so in weakness. This is the power of God Almighty that was demonstrated in Jesus the crucified Lord of glory.

The power of God expressed in the lowly weakness of Jesus demands a complete overhaul in our thinking about power.  We are still affirming that all power belongs to God but we are saying it differently.

Father, Son and Spirit act as One.  That means the Almighty comes to us personally in the presence of the Spirit.  Yes, the Almighty power of God Himself is expressed within our human weakness as the Spirit strengthens our inner beings with power so that Christ himself may dwell in our hearts.

In this way, the power of the Triune God is revealed to be essentially personal.  This personal power does not crush and coerce forcing us to conform.  Rather it is gracious power that sets us free to willingly serve God just as Jesus was always free for His Father in the Spirit.

 Again,  the power of God expressed in our human weakness demands a complete overhaul in our thinking about power.  It is always power expressed in and through the weak and lowly liberating and transforming us from the inside out.

We believe in God the Father Almighty.  But how do we view this Almighty Father?   I used to simply project onto God the greatest power I could imagine.  As the God who is unlimited in power He is able to do anything. But my mind was projecting onto God a kind of power that is not His power at all.  God is certainly the supreme power.  But that does not mean we have said what is most important when we declare that God is the Almighty who can do anything

I now know that I can only see the true nature of God’s power as I stay within the biblical story focussing on the decisive expression of the power of God in the death and resurrection of Christ.  According to this Triune Drama, the Father acts powerfully through His Son and by His Spirit to create, redeem and complete the world in a personal way that liberates others rather than, exploiting, controlling or forcing them. The power of God made known through Jesus by the Spirit is not abstract omnipotence but omnipotent love that reconciles, redeems and restores. And that does so even in weakness and lowliness.

 The Triune Drama has completely transformed my thinking about power in general and God’s power in particular.

John says, “God is love”.  If we did not have the Jesus story we would say that among many other things God is loving. God is the great power, the supreme mover of all. God is the great judge to whom we are all answerable etc.  And this all-powerful judge is also in some way loving.  So we would remain unacquainted with the God who is love.

God is the love that brought the Father’s Son into our world as a helpless baby.  He was conceived in power as the Holy Spirit will come on Mary, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her.  And yet, the child conceived in power was born in weakness totally dependant on his mother’s care.  This helpless baby was all-powerful love among us.

God is the love that took the Father’s Son to the cross in order to restore our union and communion with God.  Yes, while we were yet sinners, alienated from the God who is love, His love was demonstrated towards us in the event of  Christ dying and rising for us.  He loved us unto the deep and dark abyss of death so that we might be raised with him into the very life of the triune God who is love.

Now, the God who is love pours His love freely into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  And together we say, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

John says, “God is love”.  If we did not have the Jesus story we would say that among many other things God is loving. God is the great power, the supreme mover of all. God is the great judge to whom we are all answerable etc.  And this all-powerful judge is also in some way loving.  So we would remain unacquainted with the God who is love.

God is the love that brought the Father’s Son into our world as a helpless baby.  He was conceived in power as the Holy Spirit will come on Mary, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her.  And yet, the child conceived in power was born in weakness totally dependant on his mother’s care.  This helpless baby was all-powerful love among us.

God is the love that took the Father’s Son to the cross in order to restore our union and communion with God.  Yes, while we were yet sinners, alienated from the God who is love, His love was demonstrated towards us in the event of  Christ dying and rising for us.  He loved us unto the deep and dark abyss of death so that we might be raised with him into the very life of the triune God who is love.

Now, the God who is love pours His love freely into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  And together we say, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”