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On The Trinity: Life and Love


In The Name of the Father, and of The Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Life and Love Within the Trinity
God is love, let heaven adore him.  These words were written by Timothy Rees and are now found in the 1982 Hymnal.  This simple statement speaks volumes towards the life and love that exists within the Holy Trinity.  The Trinity has been such an important topic that the early Church doctors spent most of their theological work coming to an understanding of this great mystery.  The ancient creed Quicunque Vult, unfortunately relegated to the Historical Documents section of the present Book of Common Prayer, describes its importance this way, “Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith … And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship on God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance.”


I always point out that this sounds great in heady theological discussions, but how does this concern the everyday Christian.  This definition was never meant to be a spiritual handgun that says, “Believe or else.”  What I will claim though, is that the Trinity is the very essence of the Christian faith and life.

Dr. Robert Kellemen in Soul Physicians describes the Trinity as an Eternal Love Story.  Before creation, Dr. Kellemen suggests that between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, “were experiencing constant, uninterrupted, intimate relationship. (Soul Physicians pg 62.)” When I first read this book, my mind brought me to two separate Biblical accounts that illustrate what we’re talking about.

The first is The Baptism of Christ.  Which ever account you consider, be it Matthew, Mark, or Luke’s, a common image is that of the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and the voice of God the Father saying, “This is my Son, my beloved.”  (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-23) 



The second account is similar: The Transfiguration of Christ.  Here Jesus is on a mountain with Peter, James, and John, and a cloud envelopes them.  This should bring to mind the cloud that Moses entered into to speak with God during Israel’s forty years in the wilderness.  From there they heard a voice, again saying, “This is my Son, my beloved.  Listen to Him.” (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36)  Consider both of these events from the perspective of love and relationship.  The Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus like a dove is a very intimate, and gentle act.  The words of The Father are of the utmost love, affection, and affirmation.  This is the kind of relating that human beings crave at their very core.  If Dr. Kellemen’s thesis is correct, love to this degree is occurring continually throughout eternity.


 And yet, these three persons, with their continual exchange of love, affection, affirmation, respect, etc. constitute not three gods, but one God.  That in the oneness of God there exists all of these qualities that require both subject and object.  The three are never confused, nor is the substance divided, and only in this way, can perfect love actually exist.

God is love, let Heaven adore Him.  This is the essence of the Christian faith.  Jesus commands us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:35-40).  But God does not command us to do that which God does not already do as Trinity.  This is wonderful news, and the news keeps getting better.  In future posts, I’ll demonstrate how through Christ’s incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension, we can not only imitate this Trinitarian love, but actually experience it and be a part of it.  Until then, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, be with you always.

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