Communion With the Christ:: The Trinity a Matter of the Heart

“that all of them maybe one, as you Father are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us” Jhn: 17:21a-b.

Trinity Sunday is observed the Sunday following Pentecost in the liturgical calendar of many Christian Churches.

The Holy Trinity, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is a hall-mark of the Christian faith and life. The Holy Trinity is found emerging from the pages of the Holy Bible and is enshrine and affirmed in all the major orthodox Christian Creeds and statement of beliefs dating from the Apostolic time to our own.

The Divine Holy Trinity maybe one of the most difficult truths to grasp, after all how can one God be in three divine “persons?”

Many, Theologians, Clergy and Laity alike have wrestled with and attempted to understand this reality of the one true God being the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord Jesus commissioned his Disciples throughout the ages to go forth into all the world and carrying the Gospel message to the ends of the Earth in and by the authority of the divine Trinity.

“There go into all the Earth and make Disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” Matt: 28:19

The Greek grammatical sentence structure and the focus on the “name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” is singular and which means that, “the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” is the singular name of the one God. What this tells us is, that though he is one, he is three, triune in nature, not just “one” who acts as three or has three ways of relating and interacting with us, nor three separate “gods” or “divine beings” who agree to form a holy cooperative union, this view would make God “three in one” but God is rather “one in three”. This may seem a small distinction but it is rather very important. No, the Trinity is far greater than these concepts and a far deeper mystery.

Over the years Christians have attempted to construct theological models to enable us to try to have a grasp on this reality, yet they all have their limitations and are inadequate to the truth of who God is, they all fall short.

None Like God

As it says in the Holy Scriptures regarding our God.

“To whom will you compere me, or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we might be compered?” Isa: 46:5

We are assured through the sacred writ that there is none like God that he is unique, not just in power and glory but in his very divine nature, and that he defies humanity’s understanding.

Again, from the Holy word of God we have this declaration in the historical book of 1 Chronicles.

“O Lord there is none like you, nor is there any God beside you, according to all which we have heard with our ears” 1Chr:17:20

The God which speaks to us from the pages of all the Bible is above and beyond us.

It is true, that we , as limited mortals can never truly grasp the wholeness of who and what our God is, we will never truly be able to apprehend all that he is.

Yet, paradoxically when we come to see this Holy reality it answers so many questions for us and opens our understanding to an even greater depth. The Trinity gives us access to come to an understand God’s holy purpose for creation and for each and all of us and for the entrance into human history of Jesus the eternal Son of God through the incarnation.

St. Paul wrote, that God has been revealed to us in and through Jesus, in one of the earliest known Apostolic Creedal hymns found within the Scriptures.

“By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: God who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory” 1Tim:3:16

The Heart of the Trinity

It would be possible to spend untold hours in research and study of and about the related Scriptures through which we see the evidence of the Trinity of God emerge. But the Trinity, however is far more than a technical theological concept or idea or way of entering into discussions about our God or an explanation of his divine nature, it is rather a revelation of God’s desire for us and his holy and unwavering love.

What this means is, if we look at the truth of the Trinity as mater of the heart rather than of the mind, and understand the nature of the Trinity in terms of relationship we see something deeply profound which we have all been invited to be an eternal part of through Jesus and the Holy Spirit as manifested on the day of Pentecost.

The eternal God, the Holy Trinity has, through Jesus, offered each and all humanity to enter into this deep personal relationship which God has within himself.

This is what Jesus came for and has offend to us all. Jesus, the incarnate Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity is God reaching out to us and inviting us to share in this divine holy relationship. This holy relationship which we are all invited to be a part of was called by the ancient church Perichoresis, which means, to eternally dance around one another in joy.

This entrance into the divine relationship of the Trinity, the Perichoresis, is what Jesus came to do for each and all of humanity, to invited us into this joyful relationship. This is what St. John declares in his Gospel account regarding the eternal Word of God‘s entrance into the stream of human history through the incarnation.

“But as many as who received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God even those who believe in his name” Jhn:1:12

This “right” of which Jesus has given us is the “right” of a full member of the household, it is reality not just a theoretical relationship position but an actual one granting full access to all that a Father of a given household would dispose to his children.

The truth of the relationship which the Father has invited us into, all through his beloved Son, the Holy Spirit assures us of and confirms to us and is conveyed to us in a deep and personal way through the Holy Spirit’s presence

This is what St. Paul is writing to Christians about in his epistle to the Romans.

“The Spirit himself testifies to our spirit that we are the children of God.” Rm: 8:16

It is God’s heart that all humanity would freely receive this invitation given to us all through Jesus and affirmed to us through the Spirit. It is the heart of God that all would enter this relationship of love, joy and peace that God has within his very self which the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit share so fully and freely within the Trinity.

The Trinity Relationship

This Trinity relationship is one of perfect love of mutual regard and adoration, of unhindered bounding with full union of common essence yet, with recognition of distinction without diminishing.

This is part of what our Lord Jesus meant when his spoke of the Father and he being “one”.

“The Father and I are one” Jhn: 10:30

This just does not speak to only to assenting or agreement to a task or will, but to essence and being and relationship and fellowship. The fellowship of common essence. Oneness, wholeness.

With this fellowship of common essences each is equally valued and participate, yet distinct with no diminishing among the relationship of the Trinity. This relationship is found hinted at within the words of Jesus as he expounds upon the Holy Spirit’s role in the lives of his Disciples just shortly before he would face arrest and crucifixion.

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father-he will testify about me” Jhn: 15:26

Here, in this statement and others spoken by Jesus, is the Trinity in full view and each’s distinct place within the Trinity relationship. The Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus from the Father to us for the purpose of giving us revelation about Jesus all in full oneness.

Jesus prayed that we all could have this same relationship among ourselves and all humanity. Praying to the Father, Jesus requested that the same relationship that is shared within the Holy Trinity can be fully our own experiences here and now and on into eternity.

“that all of them maybe one, as you Father are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us” Jhn: 17:21a-b.

In this prayer of our Lord, Jesus is asking more than just cooperation and agreement among believers. Jesus is asking that we all might enter and be a apart of the Trinity relationship, the Perichoresis, among ourselves here and now and always.

The Lord is One

This relationship of love of the Trinity is even found in the Shema Creed found in the Scripture.

“Hear O Israel the Lord our God is One” Deut: 4:6

This being “one” is not a numerical reference to the Lord being a singular, but the Hebrew rather, speaks of wholeness and self-unity found with in God himself. This wholeness of relationship is what we are invited to and what Jesus has called us to and prayed for us all to have.

This is the Heart of the Trinity relationship which our God has made us to live within now and for all eternity.

This is what Trinity Sunday celebrates not just an explanation of the nature of God’s divine self, but the eternal holy divine relationship of love and joy. This is the Heart of the Trinity.

Benediction: May we each and all fully live and be deeply within the relationship to which our God lives and offers so freely to each and all of us through his divine Holy Son Jesus Christ, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.