LIFE IN THE TRINITY

Paul spoke about “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.   To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27) .

The mystery of Christ is now open to us.  Nevertheless, we recognise that there are depths to the mystery of Christ that will always be beyond our knowing.  T. F Torrance continually reminds us that we can apprehend something of who Jesus is, but we can never comprehend him.

So we must avoid becoming too rational trying to gain mastery over the mystery.  Instead, depending fully on the Spirit, we gaze in wonder before the One who is open to us and yet always beyond us.   We give less attention to explaining the mysteries of our faith and more to adoring the God of mystery.

Christ himself is the mystery.  How can it be that God becomes human?  How can it be that God lives and moves and dies as human?  How can it be that God remains human so that one of the Triune Communion is actually human forever? We do not try to answer these “how” questions with rational analysis.  We rather gaze into the mystery of who he is with awe and wonder.

In the Jesus’ story we see the true God as human in lowliness. In the same Jesus’ story we see the true human who shows what it means to be human.

Jesus is the true God with humans and for humans.  He is also the true human with God and for God.  He is the true human who  lives in trustful obedience towards His Father in the Spirit. And he lives this way in joyful thanksgiving to the Father in the Spirit.   So, looking at Jesus, we see what it means to be truly human.  He shows us that real human existence means existence in relationship to God.

We may want to define ourselves as humans in all sorts of ways, but with our eyes fixed on Jesus we  only define true human life as life towards the Father in the Spirit.  With Jesus in view, can we really understand ourselves or explain ourselves in any other way?

 Joined to this true human in the Spirit, we live as true humans towards our Father. We do so as Jesus lives his own life towards the Father in and through us by His Spirit.  Of course, we continually we fail to live towards the Father like Jesus and yet we have full assurance knowing that Jesus is the true human before the Father on our behalf.  All that Jesus is in the presence of the Father we are in union with him by the Spirit. In Jesus, the true human, we are always fully loved and accepted as those who participate in his own life with the Father.

When the time had fully come the Father sent His Son among us as one of us. In this event we see the eternal will and purpose of God become actual among us. Yes, as we fix our eyes on this one man, we know what was the will of God at the beginning of all time, and even before time.  We see opened to us the eternal purpose- God with us and we with God in union with the Father’s Son.

But surely we get to know God’s eternal will and purpose by studying bible texts that speak about His eternal decrees.  God has decreed certain things before the foundation of the world.  We simply look at the texts that speak about these eternal decrees and make logical deductions from them.  I used to approach God’s eternal purpose this way.  I ended up with a warped view of God.  A God who fixes the eternal destiny of individuals before they are even born.   A God who has to be difficult to trust.  You can never really be sure if He has fixed your own destiny as one of the chosen ones.

Now I see that there is only one revelation of the eternal will and purpose of God.  The revelation of God Himself in the man Jesus.  So if we try to invent a doctrine of God’s eternal decrees apart from Jesus we will end up with an idol.  And not a very attractive one!  But with our eyes fixed on Jesus we are drawn into assured fellowship with our Father in the Spirit.  We know for sure that Jesus is the Father’s chosen one and in union with him, by the Spirit, we share in His close relation with the Father.

The biblical drama unfolds with so many ups and downs and twists and turns. But in all the many changes there is just one goal-Jesus.  Everything is moving towards him and climaxes in him. Jesus is the last thing in the whole drama, the ultimate intention.

That is true.  But Jesus isn’t only the last thing; he is also the first. Even before the world was made God decided to be with us as one of us.  He never wanted to be God without us.  Before we humans came into existence God had already decided to be in the deepest fellowship with us.  And this decision happens in Jesus.

Only in the Jesus’ story is God’s original decision opened to us.  We  have no other way of knowing what God first decided . We certainly do not speculate above Christ or behind him to an eternal decree of predestination apart from Christ.  No!  We fix our eyes on Jesus and see God’s eternal purpose unfold in his story.  

This focus sets me free from all uncertainty.  Now I do not look back to a horrible and absolute decree that says God might not actually want me.  With Jesus before me as both the first and the last, I know for sure that God only wants to be God in fellowship with me in Jesus.

Jesus is the Father’s original decision and ultimate intention and so are we in union with Jesus by the Spirit.  We may assure our hearts in that beautiful Triune Reality.

From the fullness of His Grace, the Father gives His Son as free gift for us.  From the same fullness, the Father gives His Spirit as free gift in us. And in giving His Son and Spirit the Father gives Himself to us. So Fullness of Grace comes from the Father, through the Son and in the Spirit.  The three persons move indivisibly as the one expression of grace from the one fountain of grace.

The same grace that moves from God towards us moves back from us towards God.  It does so as gratitude in the Spirit through the Son to the Father.  In the Spirit, we see with wonder the indescribable gift of all surpassing grace.  And the same Spirit moves us to express our thanks for this gift, through Jesus, the one who is the indescribable gift.  Yes, through Jesus, we have free access in the Spirit to express our thanks to the Father from whom all the grace comes flowing freely to us. And so all this thanksgiving is itself grace.  Grace in us by the Spirit flowing freely to the Father in the Sprit through the Son.

Grace and Gratitude are indivisible in this two-way movement bringing two-way blessing.  In grace, God blesses us; in gratitude we bless God

Grace evokes gratitude like  the voice an echo.

Gratitude follows grace as thunder follows lightning

Karl Barth

The word translated “grace” in the New Testament is “charis”.  This word is also embedded in the word “eucharisteo” usually translated, “thanksgiving

In 2 Corinthians chapters 8-9 Paul writes repeatedly of charis,  and eucharisteo showing the inseparable relationship between grace and gratitude. Towards the end of chapter 9, he speaks of “…the surpassing grace of God upon you” (v14).  Not just grace, but surpassing grace. Then Paul goes on,  Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift (v15)! Not just gift, but inexpressible gift.

What is this gift that is beyond expression?  It is the gift of Christ, the Father’s Son, and all the giving that comes to us in him.  Human words can never describe the height and depth and length and breadth of this free gift of grace.  The gift is too wonderful for words!

What is our response? Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!  The word translated ‘thanks’ here isn’t the word eucharisteo it is actually charis  Why charis?  Isn’t charis the grace that God shows to us?  Yes. But it seems that here Paul sees grace and gratitude as so indivisible that surpassing grace  comes to us from the Father through the inexpressible gift (Jesus) and returns to the Father in our gratitude by the Spirit.

When considering God’s Grace we may reach for a definition of grace.  Some define grace as God’s underserved favour.  This definition may be helpful, in its own way, but is it really adequate?  What we find in Scripture is not a definition of grace, but rather a Triune Drama in which the God of grace gives HIMSELF freely to us. Dramatically, God’s Grace unfolds from the Father, through the Son and in the Spirit.

In grace, the Father initiates the drama generously giving the indescribable gift of His Son.

In grace, the Son gave himself freely and fully for us.  “Though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that we through his poverty might become rich.”  This is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that we know with wonder.

In grace, the Spirit brings Christ to us personally and us to Christ personally so that we are united with Christ participating in all the riches found in Him.

It is grace, grace, grace from beginning to end.

Furthermore, in the fullness of His Grace, the Father continues to shower grace upon us through Jesus and in the Spirit. From Him, who is the fountain of grace, the fullness continually overflows giving all good to us.  For the Father gave Jesus as the indescribable gift of grace and along with him He freely gives us all things in the Spirit.

So, when considering God’s grace we don’t reach for a definition of grace.  We  rather contemplate the unfolding grace-drama as those who participate in the drama personally.