How the Trinity Changes Everything (Issue 1)

W INTER 2019 • THEOLOGYM AG.COM

HO W TH E TRIN ITY CH A N G ES EV ERYTH IN G FRED SANDERS

AMY GANNETT

T heWor d Bec ameF l es h8

MI CHAELREEVES

Whyt heT r i ni t y i ss oDel i ght f ul17

BRANDON O' BRI EN

Madei n God' sI mage 24

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These two books give a biblical perspective on race and how the good news of Jesus Christ brings about reconciliation. Through rich illustrations and approachable text, both books convey big ideas in an engaging, gospel-centered way.

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Contents Letter from the Editor

4

Intro to the Athanasian Creed

6

by R.C. Sproul

Athanasian Creed

10

How the Trinity Changes Everything

15

by Fred Sanders

The Triune Shape of Christian Theology

20

by Marcus Johnson

Why the Trinity is so Delightful

24

by Mike Reeves

“The Old Testament Trinity”: Behind Theology Magazine’s Cover, A Rublev Painting

28

by Frederica Mathewes-Green

Made in God’s Image

34

by Brandon O’Brien

Jesus in African-American Spirituals

39

by James Earl Massey

The Doctrine of the Trinity: No Christianity Without It

42

by Kevin DeYoung

Preaching the Trinity

43

by Chris Rappazini

The Word Became Flesh

46

by Amy Gannett

Teaching the Trinity to Youth

53

by Austin Hey

Letting Go of Trying to Be the 4th Member of the Trinity, a Prayer

by Scotty Smith

57

Letter from the Editor

BY B R A N D O N O ’ B R I E N

C

ommunication technology—from word

to preach and teach about it. They talk about the

processing to social media—has made

imaginative power of the Trinity in visual art and

it possible for more people to find their

in African-American slave songs. In other words,

voice and contribute to important

they bring the doctrine of the Trinity down to earth,

conversations. Industry insiders estimate that

where it belongs.

nearly a million new books are published in the United States every year. The blogging platform

Far from being abstract or arcane, the doctrine

WordPress hosts more than 75 million websites.

of the Trinity is essential to Christian belief and

While this is great news for writers and thinkers, it

behavior. If you’re not convinced that’s true, I

creates a challenge for readers. Limit your search

encourage you to jump in and let these articles

to theology resources and you’ll find thousands

change your mind.

of blogs and books and podcasts. How do you find and filter the best of what’s around when there’s so much to choose from?

Theology Mag aims to be a digest of clear thinking and fresh perspectives on essential theological subjects. It points you to both classic and emerging voices that have something meaningful to say.

This inaugural issue starts at the beginning with “theology proper”—discussions about the nature of God himself—and a focus on the Trinity. The capable authors in the pages that follow address the biblical doctrine of the Trinity from several angles—what it is, where it came from, how it shapes us, and how

B R A N D O N J. O ’ B R I E N is director of content development and distribution at Redeemer City to City in Manhattan and author most recently of Demanding Liberty: An Untold Story of American Religious Freedom (InterVarsity Press, 2018).

4

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Intro to the Athanasian Creed

BY R. C. S P R O U L

Q

uicumque vult— this phrase is the

Athanasius died in 373 a.d., and the epithet that

title attributed to what is popularly

appeared on his tombstone is now famous, as it

known as the Athanasian Creed.

captures the essence of his life and ministry. It

It was often called the Athanasian

read simply, “Athanasius contra mundum,” that

Creed because for centuries people attributed its

is, “Athanasius against the world.” This great

authorship to Athanasius, the great champion of

Christian leader suffered several exiles during

Trinitarian orthodoxy during the crisis of the heresy

the embittered Arian controversy because of the

of Arianism that erupted in the fourth century. That

steadfast profession of faith he maintained in

theological crisis focused on the nature of Christ

Trinitarian orthodoxy.

and culminated in the Nicene Creed in 325. At the Council of Nicea of that year the term homoousios

Though the name “Athanasius” was given to the

was the controversial word that finally was linked

creed over the centuries, modern scholars are

to the church’s confession of the person of Christ.

convinced that the Athanasian Creed was written

With this word the church declared that the second

after the death of Athanasius. Certainly, Athanasius’

person of the Trinity has the same substance or

theological influence is embedded in the creed, but

essence as the Father, thereby affirming that the

in all likelihood he was not its author. The present

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equal in

title, Quicumque Vult, follows the custom in the

being and eternality. Though Athanasius did not

Roman Catholic Church that is used for encyclicals

write the Nicene Creed, he was its chief champion

and creedal statements. These ecclesiastical

against the heretics who followed after Arius, who

affirmations get their name from the first word

argued that Christ was an exalted creature but that

or words of the Latin text. The Athanasian Creed

He was less than God.

begins with the words quicumque vult, which means “whoever wishes” or “whosoever wishes,” inasmuch as this phrase introduces the first

6

assertion of the Athanasian Creed. That assertion is

central importance. As the Athanasian Creed in

this: “Whosoever wishes to be saved must, above

one sense reaffirms the doctrines of the Trinity set

all, keep the catholic faith.” The Athanasian Creed

forth in the fourth century at Nicea, in like manner

seeks to set forth in summary version those essential

the strong affirmations of the fifth-century council

doctrines for salvation affirmed by the church with

at Chalcedon in 451 are also recapitulated therein.

specific reference to the Trinity.

As the church fought with the Arian heresy in the

With respect to the history of the origins of the

fourth century, the fifth century brought forth

Athanasian Creed, it is generally thought now that

the heresies of monophysitism, which reduced

the creed was first written in the fifth century —

the person of Christ to one nature, mono physis,

though the seventh century is also given its due,

a single theanthropic (God-man) nature that

since the creed does not show up in the annals of

was neither purely divine or purely human. In

history until 633 at the fourth council of Toledo. It

the Monophysite heresy of Eutyches, the person

was written in Latin and not in Greek. If written

of Christ was seen as being one person with one

in the fifth century, several possible authors have

nature, which nature was neither truly divine nor

been mentioned because of the influence of their

truly human. In this view, the two natures of Christ

thought including Ambrose of Milan and Augustine

were confused or co-mingled together. At the same

of Hippo, but it likely was the French saint, Vincent

time the church battled with the monophysite

of Lérins.

heresy, she also fought against the opposite view of Nestorianism, which sought not so much to blur

The content of the Athanasian Creed stresses the

and mix the two natures but to separate them,

affirmation of the Trinity in which all members of

coming to the conclusion that Jesus had two natures

the Godhead are considered uncreated and co-

and was therefore two persons, one human and

eternal and of the same substance. In the affirmation

one divine. Both the Monophysite heresy and the

of the Trinity the dual nature of Christ is given

Nestorian heresy were clearly condemned at the

7

Council of Chalcedon in 451, where the church,

Orthodoxy. Eastern Orthodoxy to this day has not

reaffirming its Trinitarian orthodoxy, stated their

embraced the filioque idea.

belief that Christ, or the second person of the Trinity was vere homo and vere Deus, truly human and

Finally, the Athanasian standards examined the

truly God. It further declared that the two natures

incarnation of Jesus and affirmed that in the

in their perfect unity coexisted in such a manner

mystery of the incarnation the divine nature did

as to be without mixture, confusion, separation,

not mutate or change into a human nature, but

or division, wherein each nature retained its own

rather the immutable divine nature took upon itself

attributes. So with one creedal affirmation, both

a human nature. That is, in the incarnation there

the heresy of Nestorianism and the heresy of

was an assumption by the divine nature of a human

Monophysitism were condemned.

nature and not the mutation of the divine nature into a human nature.

The Athanasian Creed reaffirms the distinctions found at Chalcedon, where in the Athanasian

The Athanasian Creed is considered one of the

statement Christ is called, “perfect God and perfect

four authoritative creeds of the Roman Catholic

man.” All three members of the Trinity are deemed

Church, and again, it states in terse terms what is

to be uncreated and therefore co-eternal. Also

necessary to believe in order to be saved. Though the

following earlier affirmations, the Holy Spirit is

Athanasian Creed does not get as much publicity in

declared to have proceeded both from the Father

Protestant churches, the orthodox doctrines of the

“and the Son,” affirming the so-called filioque

Trinity and the incarnation are affirmed by virtually

concept that was so controversial with Eastern

every historic Protestant church.

DR . R . C. S PROU L was founder of Ligonier Ministries, founding pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., and first president of Reformation Bible College. He was author of more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God. This article was originally published in Tabletalk Magazine. Used with permission. The Athanasian Creed, Copyright 2007 by Dr. R.C. Sproul, Ligonier.org.

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PARTING WORDS TO THE CHURCH ON RACE AND LOVE “John Perkins reminds us of a hope far below the skin.

Under our skin-deep differences lies a weighty commonality: we are one blood.”

Jon Foreman

Available at

onebloodonechurch.com 9

The Athanasian Creed Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith.

Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally.

Now this is the catholic faith: That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence.

For the person of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, and that of the Holy Spirit still another.

But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.

What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has.

The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated.

The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.

The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal.

And yet there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being.

So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;

10

there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.

Similarly, the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty.

Yet there are not three almighty beings; there is but one almighty being.

Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet there are not three gods; there is but one God. Thus the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord.

Yet there are not three lords; there is but one Lord.

Just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually as both God and Lord, so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords.

The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone.

The Son was neither made nor created; he was begotten from the Father alone.

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The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten; he proceeds from the Father and the Son. Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers; there is one Son, not three sons; there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.

Nothing in this trinity is before or after, nothing is greater or smaller; in their entirety the three persons are coeternal and coequal with each other.

So in everything, as was said earlier, we must worship their trinity in their unity and their unity in their trinity.

Anyone then who desires to be saved should think thus about the trinity.

But it is necessary for eternal salvation that one also believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully.

Now this is the true faith: That we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is both God and human, equally.

He is God from the essence of the Father, begotten before time; and he is human from the essence of his mother, born in time; completely God, completely human, with a rational soul and human flesh; equal to the Father as regards divinity, less than the Father as regards humanity.

Although he is God and human, yet Christ is not two, but one.

He is one, however, not by his divinity being turned into flesh, but by God’s taking humanity to himself.

He is one, certainly not by the blending of his essence, but by the unity of his person.

For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh, so too the one Christ is both God and human.

He suffered for our salvation; he descended to hell; he arose from the dead; he ascended to heaven; he is seated at the Father’s right hand; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

At his coming all people will arise bodily

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13

How the Trinity Changes Everything

BY F R E D S A N D E R S

14

T

he doctrine of the Trinity is no secret.

Oh sure, it’s about a mystery: it’s a doctrine about an infinitely majestic God whose being is ineffable, whose

nature is incomprehensible, whose wisdom is unfathomable, and whose ways are unsearchable.

But it’s no secret. The trinitarian doctrine about that triune God is both clear (the one God eternally exists in three persons) and public. Everybody knows it’s what Christians believe about God, and every orthodox Christian holds it as an article of faith.

It’s the common property of all Christians through the centuries and around the world, across the denominational divisions and above the noise of our differences. We might even call it the birthright of all believers, or at least the birthright of the second birth. We are baptized “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19).

Still, there seems to be a difference between Christians who never quite grasp why the Trinity matters, and those who do. This is a real divide among us, and once you notice it, it explains a lot about the varieties of Christian experience.

It’s not a difference between people who don’t understand the doctrine on one hand, and those who do understand it on the other. Most Christians understand the basic doctrine of the Trinity, as long as we let the word “understand” mean no more than what it usually means: that they know that God is one being in three persons, and can recall some of the key passages of Scripture on which this belief is founded. We might decide to raise the bar for what counts as understanding, but if we do that we’ll have to admit that nobody understands much of anything (said the human creature as his blood silently circulated and he manipulated technology to express ideas to other souls via letter sequences).

No, the difference I’m describing is between the kind of Christian who thinks of the Trinity mainly as a dark riddle perpetually in search of a solution, and the kind of Christian who instinctively recognizes, with confidence and joy, that what is at stake here is something that supports their existence and flourishing as believers.

15

The first kind hears the word Trinity, nods in

that same habit (and you are being guided by II

assent, and immediately asks, “Wait, but why

Corinthians 13:14). If you hear the word and think

does this matter?” The doctrine is to them an itch,

“Ah yes, through Christ hostile groups lay down

not a scratch. They are vulnerable to any cheesy

their enmity and have access in one Spirit to the

explanation, application, or analogy that comes

Father,” then you get it (and you get Ephesians

along, and gullible toward whatever far-fetched

2:18). If these are the things you have learned to

fads or fancies are offered on this week’s episode, as

associate with the name of the triune God, then a

long as it is brought to them by the number three.

sure trinitarian instinct keeps you in touch with the

The reason some Christians are so easily misled by

spiritual reality of a great salvation grounded in the

trendy revisionist accounts of the Trinity (it’s a club,

great God.

it’s a round dance, it’s an energy flow, it’s a political blueprint, it’s a family structure, it’s a group

Christians who are mentally and emotionally

therapy meeting, it’s quantum physics) is that they

immersed in this kind of gospel trinitarianism

have been waiting in suspense for so long to be given

are no longer creeping around on the surface

the answer to the riddle of the Trinity. That’s the

wondering what’s beneath. They are no longer

underlying problem: the sense that the word Trinity

clinging to the outside of the doctrine, waiting to be

holds open a space for an answer to be provided

told why they are there. They have made it inside,

later; significance sold separately. When the answer

and they get it. What they get is an understanding

comes –any answer—they take it eagerly.

that the God who is eternally triune in his own eternal life has shown himself to be triune for us,

But the second kind of believer hears the word

in the gospel of salvation. The one God was always

Trinity and is aware, even if only out near the edge

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but did not display that

of their consciousness, almost subliminally, that

truth conspicuously until the fullness of time, when

they have just received a signal about the great open

the Father sent the Son and the Spirit. The salvation

secret of the glory of God and the depth of salvation.

and the revelation were bundled together in

For this kind of Christian, any hint of the Trinity is

history, and are bundled together now in Christian

evocative: it strikes a chord and resonates. “Deep

experience. Theologian Gerald Bray describes

calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls,” said

knowledge of the Trinity “inside knowledge” of

the Psalmist (Ps 42:7), and this kind of Christian is

God’s life, and even affirms that in knowing the

stirred to the depths by the deep things of God.

Father, Son, and Spirit, “Christians have been admitted to the inner life of God.” Of course he

What these Christians instinctively do, without

doesn’t mean that we enter the divine essence!

necessarily working out all the theological details,

But he does mean we become intertwined in the

is associate the Trinity with the gospel. That

divine fellowship: that the eternal relations of life,

associative move is the whole trick: Trinity and

light, and love which characterize the fellowship

gospel belong together, and anyone whose habit

of the three persons have now been opened up for

of mind is trained to keep them close together is

our participation. “The God who appears as One to

constantly in touch with the deep grounding of the

those who view him on the outside, reveals himself

Christian spiritual life. If you hear the word Trinity

as a Trinity of persons, once his inner life is opened

and immediately think, “Ah yes, the Father sent the

up to our experience. The Christian doctrine that

Son and the Holy Spirit to save sinners,” then you

has resulted from this is nothing more nor less than

have learned the Christian habit of linking Trinity

a description of what that experience of God’s inner

and gospel (and you are being guided by Galatians

life is like.” These are big claims. But they would

4:4-6). If the word makes your heart respond,

have to be, since they are about the nature of God

“Ah yes, the Son’s grace, the Father’s love, and

and the scope of the gospel.

the Spirit’s fellowship,” then you are practicing

16

Whenever I describe this connection between God

reference to the Father, Son, and Spirit. When the

and the gospel, I do my best to make sure it doesn’t

Philippian jailer asked Paul what to do to be saved,

sound like a sales job. The last thing I want is to

Paul responded quickly and bluntly, “believe in

be the next pitchman in line, hawking some kind

the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” Similarly,

of doctrinal or experiential panacea, straining my

Christians in many settings may find it helpful

powers of persuasion to talk spiritual consumers

to use short formulas to describe salvation: to

into adding my product to their lives. The ever

be forgiven, to be born again, to be converted,

popular “add my clever idea to your spiritual life

to become a disciple of Jesus, to be reconciled to

and watch the results” appeal is not only tacky; it’s

God, and so on. Any one of these can suffice to

dangerous. It tends to denigrate the completeness

introduce the subject. But there are three reasons

of salvation and undermine the sufficiency of

that finally compel us to keep going until we make

scripture. But by arguing for a close connection

explicit reference to the Trinity when talking about

between the Trinity and the gospel, I am attempting

salvation.

the opposite: my point is not that you need to add something new to your Christian life, but that you

First, we are compelled to ground our salvation

already have the thing you need most. You have God

in the Trinity because all these ways of speaking

revealed in the gospel.

briefly about salvation must somehow go together.

What will happen when we try to account for how

In 2010 I wrote a book on this subject: The Deep

being adopted by God, redeemed by Christ, and

Things of God. Authors don’t always get to name

born of the Spirit, are all aspects or moments of

their own books, but in this case, the publisher

one inseparable reality? We will put the package

(Crossway) liked my suggested title. Taken from 1

together conceptually and end up confessing the

Corinthians 2:10, the phrase is meant to indicate

Trinity. The only way to avoid this is to suppress all

that God’s very heart was made known when the

curiosity about the coherence and completeness of

Father sent the Son and the Spirit. But the editors

salvation; that is, to resist faith’s inherent drive to

did want to change my original sub-title, which was

seek understanding.

something so dull, clunky, and academic that even I can’t remember it anymore. They recommended the

Second, we are compelled to ground our salvation

sub-title “How the Trinity Changes Everything.”

in the Trinity because nearly all of the brief ways of

At first, I thought it sounded too much like ad

naming salvation are shorthand. They are highly

copy for my nifty new idea. It also seemed like an

compressed versions of complex ideas that need

exaggeration: surely the Trinity doesn’t change

to be unpacked, and as soon as we unpack them,

how we put on our shoes, fry an egg, or brush our

we find trinitarianism inside. It’s simple enough to

teeth, so how can we say it changes =? But the more

say that God adopts us as his children, but the full,

I thought about the sub-title, the more I realized

biblical scope of this expression is vast: the eternal

that it really did evoke the tremendous explanatory

Son of the eternal Father took on human nature

power of understanding the connection between

to live out his sonship as a creature, overcoming

the Trinity and the gospel. That connection works

human rebellion (bad sonship; unsonlikeness) and

in two directions simultaneously: it colors the

sending the Spirit of adoption into our hearts crying

whole doctrine of God with the tones of salvation,

“Abba, Father.” It’s simple enough to say that God

and it elevates soteriology to the heavenlies. There

forgives us, but the New Testament elaboration

is nothing in the life of the Christian that remains

of that fact is that God the Father so loved the

unchanged by such a connection.

world that he set forth his only-begotten Son as a propitiation, who offered himself to the Father

Consider salvation itself. It is easy enough to

through the eternal Spirit to atone for our sins.

describe salvation briefly in ways that omit any

Nearly any short account of the nature of salvation

17

turns out to be, when examined in light of the

history in light of the eternal character of God (“the

full counsel of Scripture, an abbreviated way of

mystery hidden for ages in God…so that through the

referring to something that involves the personal

church the manifold wisdom of God might now be

presence and work of the Father, Son, and Holy

made known;” Ephesians 3). Paul habitually took

Spirit.

these three steps from the gospel to the Trinity, following the same trinitarian instinct that has

Third, we are compelled to ground our salvation in

guided the church into truth and that guides readers

the Trinity because we cannot avoid the question

of Scripture now.

of how the nature of salvation correlates with the nature of the God who saves. The biblical account of

Flowing from salvation, all the practices of the

salvation is not just a string of events in a convoluted

Christian life are marked by the presence of the

plot that is developing toward some uncertain end.

Trinity. Prayer is speaking to God the Father on the

It presents itself as a single, well-ordered sequence

basis of adoptive sonship by the Spirit of adoption.

of purposive actions with a goal that points beyond

Encountering God in the Bible is hearing the voice

itself to its author. Theoretically, God could have

of the Father in words inspired by the Spirit which

accomplished salvation in any number of ways.

testify to Christ. Evangelism may not immediately

But the actual history of salvation is an economy, a

involve speaking explicitly about the doctrine of

parceling out of one great thing in a progressively

the Trinity, but it always and only works because

unfolding series that moves toward its end. That

the Father is drawing people to the Son, the Son is

end, expressed in the Father’s sending of the Son

making the Father known to seekers, and the Holy

and the Spirit, is not only an economy of salvation

Spirit is enabling them to confess that Jesus is Lord.

but an economy of revelation. God not only saves us

This is how the Trinity changes everything. There

but does so in a way that makes his eternal character

is a profound connection between the gospel and

and identity manifest. The God who exists in the

the Trinity, and to understand it is to enter a realm

depths of his own eternity as Father, Son, and Holy

of spiritual reality, insight, and power that are the

Spirit saves us by being Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

birthright of all those who are born again.

for us and for our reconciliation. There might be a way to reflect on salvation without coming to conclusions about the God of salvation, but that is not the Christian way.

F R E D S A N D E R S is professor of theology at Biola University’s Torrey Honors Institute. A popular

Starting from salvation and following these three

blogger and speaker, Sanders has written, edited,

lines of thought leads to the Christian doctrine

or contributed to several books, including The Deep

of the Trinity. Though the trinitarian confession

Things of God. He blogs at www.scriptoriumdaily.

became more explicit and elaborate in the early

com.

centuries of the church, the movements of thought we have just traced are already present in the Bible itself. Though it was Paul who told the Philippian jailer simply to “believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved,” it was also Paul who spoke in a wide variety of ways about that salvation (chosen, predestined, redeemed, forgiven, adopted, sealed, and so on; Ephesians 1); who analyzed some of these terms more closely (access to God is Spiritempowered, Christ-enabled access to the Father; Ephesians 2); and who pondered all of salvation

18

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The Triune Shape of Christian Theology

BY M A R C U S J O H N S O N

W

hen God the Son came to make

revelation of God given to them by and in Jesus.

His Father known He did so

What they recalled and reported is incoherent

through the power and presence

and indecipherable apart from their experience

of the Holy Spirit, and the

of coming to know the never-ceasing joy and

people of God have never been the same. In and

unending life they found with the Father, in Jesus

through Christ Jesus, the Church’s doctrine and

Christ, through the communion of the Spirit. The

doxology, her praise and prayer, her worship and

witness of these Apostles is a (New) testament to

witness, became – and has remained — melodiously

the incarnate mission of the Son of God, which we

Trinitarian. Jesus, we are right to say, taught His

may put as precisely as possible: to make His Father

Church to sing in a Trinitarian key. In each and

known in the Spirit. In all that Jesus proclaimed and

every instance in Holy Scripture where His Apostles

performed as the living embodiment of the good

declare the name of the Father, Son, and Holy

news – whether forgiveness, peace, love, mercy,

Spirit, that declaration is always set to the tune of

righteousness, kingdom, heaven, life, or truth – the

praise, adoration, wonder, mystery and joy. There

singular design and purpose in it all was to bring

are no exceptions. The revelation of the Triune God

humanity to experience the unfathomable depths

in the Holy Scriptures is always very good news,

of His Father’s love through the Spirit. Who Jesus

and it is always reality-altering. A host of modern

is, and what Jesus did, cannot be rightly understood

Christians might find such an exception-less truth

apart from this decisive and definitive truth.

rather surprising, owing perhaps to their particular

Through His conception and birth, by His baptism

experience of a “doctrinaire” Trinitarianism,

and life, in His death, resurrection and ascension,

couched as it often is in dry, pedantic, and even

Jesus secured in our humanity a living Way to His

apologetically tortured treatments, which are out of

Father through the Spirit. This, he knew above all

touch and tune with the doxological exclamations of

things, was the highest possible blessing, the kind of

the Apostles and their Savior.

blessing that would re-create the Cosmos, bringing it into new and unending life. This life of which

Peter and Paul, John and Jude, Matthew and Luke,

Jesus spoke is the life He has eternally known as

one and all, set their minds and hearts to the

His Father’s Son – their Life together in the Spirit

20

life that He is. No amount of shame and disgrace, no laws of physics or logic, no authorities in heaven or earth (from Satan or Caesar or Sadducee), and no degree of humiliation, torture, and death, could keep Jesus from making peace and restoring fellowship between God and man. Jesus Christ is God’s settled determination to bring us to know and experience a love that has no end precisely because it had no beginning. The eternal life and love of God is the life and love the Father has for the Son in the Spirit, which had no beginning and will never end. It was this life, this love, this all-encompassing reality, which Jesus brought among us and in us.

God the Son was sent – indeed, it was his principle mission from the Father – to bring the un-ending joy and ecstasy, the eternal freedom and holiness, the everlasting pleasure and peace, of God’s triune existence into the world as a gift.

Jesus is the eternal life He gives, and that life is the glorious experience of knowing His Father.

“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17: 1-3). The eternal life that Jesus Christ secures for us in His birth, life, baptism, death, resurrection and ascension is the life of God in our humanity. We could hardly do better than to join Martin Luther, who expounded upon the robustly Trinitarian articles of the Apostle’s Creed as follows, – a life that brought everything and everyone into

For in all three articles God himself has revealed

existence from the beginning of time, a life that

and opened to us the most profound depths

would now elevate that existence into the thrice-

of his fatherly heart and his pure, unutterable

holy euphoric love of the One, eternal God.

love. For this very purpose he created us, so that he might redeem us and make us holy, and,

The incarnation marks the entrance of God’s eternal

moreover, having granted and bestowed upon us

loving communion as Father, Son, and Spirit into

everything in heaven and earth, he has also given

the sphere of human life alienated from that triune

us his Son and Holy Spirit, through whom he

love; human life which is condemned, corrupted,

brings us to himself.1

and dead in sin. When the eternal Word and Son of God became flesh, God proved that no one and no-thing would deter Him from bringing us into the eternal blessedness of knowing Him as the eternal

1 Martin Luther, “The Large Catechism,” in The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Edited by Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert. Translated by Charles Arand, Eric Gritsch, Robert Kolb, William Russell, James Schaaf, Jane Strohl, Timothy J. Wengert (Minneapolis: Fortress Press), 439.

21

It is difficult to read these words without hearing an echo of the Apostles, who took a similar joy from their experience of the Father’s pure and unutterable love in Christ. Our common confession that God is Father, Son,

and Spirit is a confession that spans creation and redemption - it is the sort of declaration that describes reality.

From beginning to end, the hope and happiness of all Christians that God not only creates us, but also seeks to make us His forever, is grounded in God’s Triunity.

M A R C U S P E T E R J O H N S O N (PhD, University of Toronto) is assistant professor of theology at Moody Bible Institute. Along with writing his doctoral dissertation on union with Christ in the theology of John Calvin, he is also the author of One with Christ: An Evangelical Theology of Salvation and the coauthor (with John C. Clark) of The Incarnation of God: The Mystery of the Gospel as the Foundation of Evangelical Theology. He and his wife, Stacie, live in Chicago with their son, Peter, and are members of Grace Lutheran Church.

This essay is an excerpt from an upcoming book from John Cark and Marcus Johnson, A Call to Christian

22

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23

Why the Trinity is so Delightful

BY M I K E R E E V E S

“It is not to be expected that we should love God

A L L C H A N G E!

supremely if we have not known him to be more

How wonderfully different it is with the triune

desirable than all other things.” So wrote the great

God revealed in Jesus Christ! In John 17:24, Jesus

hymn writer, Isaac Watts. And of course, he was

prays, ‘Father, you loved me before the creation of

quite right, for we always love what seems most

the world.’ Here we meet the triune, living God: a

attractive to us. Whether it be God, money, sex or

Father, whose very being has eternally been about

fame, we live for and love what captures our hearts.

loving his Son, pouring out the Spirit of love and life on him. As 1 John 4:8 has it, here is a God who

But what kind of God could outstrip the attractions

is love, who is so full of life and blessing that for

of all other things? Could any single-person god?

eternity he has been overflowing with it. As the

Hardly, or at least not for long. Single-person gods

puritan preacher, Richard Sibbes, put it: ‘such

must, by definition, have spent eternity in absolute

a goodness is in God as is in a fountain, or in the

solitude. Before creation, they must have been

breast that loves to ease itself of milk.’ Here in the

entirely alone. Love for others, then, cannot go very

triune God, in other words, is an infinitely satisfying

deep in them if they can go for eternity without it.

God, one who is the very fountainhead of all

And so, not being essentially loving, such gods are

goodness, truth and beauty.

inevitably less than lovely. They may demand our worship, but they cannot win our hearts. They must

That means that with the triune God there is great

be served with gritted teeth.

good news. For here is no mean and grasping God,

24

but a Lord of grace and mercy – one, in fact, who

loves me, he loves me not’ relationship whereby

offers a salvation sweeter than any non-triune God

I have to try and keep myself in his favour by

could ever imagine. Just imagine a single-person

behaving impeccably. No, ‘to all who did receive

god: having been alone for eternity, would it want

him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to

fellowship with us? Most unlikely. Would it even

become children of God’ (John 1:12) – and so with

know what fellowship was? Almost certainly not.

security to enjoy his love forever. The eternally

Such a god might allow us to live under its rule and

beloved Son comes to us to share with us the very

protection, but little more. Think of the uncertain

love that the Father has always lavished on him.

hope of the Muslim or the Jehovah’s Witness: they

He comes to share with us and bring us into the

may finally attain paradise, but even there they will

life that is his, that we might be brought before the

have no real fellowship with their god. Their gods

Most High, not just as forgiven sinners, but as dearly

would not want it. But if God is a Father, whose

beloved children sharing by the Spirit the Son’s own

very life has been about loving and delighting in

“Abba!” cry.

his precious Son, then you begin to see a God who would have far more intimate and delicious aims;

In other words, the God who is infinitely more

aims to draw us into his life and joy, to embrace us

beautiful than all the gods of human religion offers

with the very love he has for his dear Son.

an infinitely more beautiful salvation. Here is a God who can win back wandering hearts by the mere

Indeed, this God does not offer some kind of ‘he

opening of eyes to who he is, who can give the

25

deepest hope and comfort to the stumbling saint.

R E A L L I F E A N D J OY The Trinity, then, is not some awkward add-on to God, the optional extra nobody should want. No, God is beautiful, desirable and life-giving precisely because God is the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

Only here can be found the God who is love, and who shares with us his very own life and joy. Only here can be found the God who it is eternal life to know.

John Calvin once wrote that if we try to think about God without thinking about the Father, Son and Spirit, then ‘only the bare and empty name of God flits about in our brains, to the exclusion of the true God’. Quite so, and that means that if we content ourselves with speaking of God vaguely or abstractly, without the Father, Son and Spirit, we will never know the life, beauty and comfort of knowing the true God. Here and here alone is the God our hearts were made for, the God who can win our hearts away from the desires that enslave us, the God who is endlessly, unsurpassably satisfying.

The tragedy is that we all naturally tend to think of ‘God’ in the abstract. But from there it really doesn’t take long before you find that you are just a whole lot more interesting than this God. And could you but see yourself, you would notice that you are fast becoming like this God: all inward-looking and fruitless. The twentieth-century Russian theologian, Vladimir Lossky, put it like this: ‘If we reject the Trinity as the sole ground of all reality and all thought, we are committed to a road that leads nowhere; we end in an aporia [a despair], in folly, in the disintegration of our being, in spiritual death.

Between the Trinity and hell there lies no other choice.’

The choice remains: which God will we have? Which God will we proclaim? Without Jesus the Son, we cannot know that God is truly a loving Father.

Without Jesus the Son, we cannot know him as our loving Father. As Martin Luther Luther once said, through Jesus we may know that God is a Father, and ‘we may look into His fatherly heart and sense how boundlessly He loves us. That would warm our hearts, setting them aglow.’ Yes it would, and more: it would bring about reformation.

M I C H A E L R E E V E S (PhD, King’s College) is an author, theologian, historian and professor who teaches at Wales Evangelical School of Theology (WEST) and is the director of Union, a WEST initiative that puts the theological academy back in the local church context.

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27

“ T H E O L D T E S TA M E N T T R I N I T Y ”

Behind Theology Magazine’s Cover

BY F R E D E R I CA M AT H E W E S- G R E E N

The “The Old Testament Trinity,” by the Russian monk St. Andrei Rublev, is a very beloved icon, one that has become known all over the world. But you might well wonder what the “Old Testament Trinity” is. There’s a rule, in painting icons that we are not to depict scenes from our imagination. You sometimes see images depicting Jesus embracing a new arrival in heaven, for example; another image, popular a few decades ago, showed Jesus knocking on the UN building—as tall as the building, and knocking on its side. That’s allowed, in Western Christian art, but in the iconographic tradition you’re supposed to restrict yourself to only that which has been visible in history.

That rule is intended to be a safeguard against idolatry, and was one of the outcomes of the 8th9th century iconoclast controversy. Iconographers should paint only those things God has visibly shown us. Christ appeared in human form; we can depict him in human form. In that regard, an icon fulfills the role of a page out of the bible (and in eras where most people are illiterate, can function as a picture bible.) An icon tells the same stories the bible does, but in paint or mosaic rather than in written words. For that reason, icons are supposed to follow specific patterns. An icon of the Transfiguration will always show the same characters arranged in pretty much the same way. We don’t want an artist to get creative and introduce new elements into the story, not any more than we’d want a Bible translator to do it.

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If you need to draw on visible history, how can you depict the Trinity? We do see the Trinity, in a way, in icons of Christ’s baptism; we can see the Son, and the Spirit descending as a dove, though the Father is not visibly depicted. He is represented by a half circle of light at the very top of the image, shooting a beam down to the Son. But is there any historic incident that provides a way to depict the Trinity? Genesis 18:1-2 “The Lord appeared to [Abraham] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him.”

This mosaic comes from the Church of St. Mary Maggiore in Rome, and was made in the 400’s. As we see at the top, Abraham rushes toward them.

He begs the three men to stay and rest, and have “a morsel of bread” to eat. Then he prepares a feast: 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes.” 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. (Gen 18:6-8 RSV) You can see at the bottom of the image that it is like a double-exposure: Abraham is standing next to the table, placing a dish upon it, and he is also turning and gesturing toward Sarah, who is preparing the food in the house.

9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”

And he said, “She is in the tent.”

Abraham points to the left, “She’s over there.”

10 The LORD said, “I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Gen 18:9-10 RSV)

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Sarah laughs, and then denies that she laughed.

depict light; he painted with clarity, and an ethereal

When her son is born she names him “Isaac” which

touch that few could equal. There is nothing

means “laughter”.

sentimental about his painting, but instead a great sense of freshness.

This icon is from Constantinople, late 14th c, and shows how the event came to be depicted, with

There are not many details in the image besides

Abraham and Sarah both leaning in with platters.

the three commanding figures. We can see in the

This model of icon is called “the Hospitality of

background the oak of Mamre; the Holy Land is

Abraham.”

such a treeless place that a stand of oaks would be a well-known landmark. The three figures sit

What Rublev did was to take that ancient depiction

around a stone table that early Christians would

of the “Hospitality of Abraham” and remove

have recognized as an altar. The niche in the front

Abraham and Sarah. He found within the image a

represents a tomb; not only the empty tomb of

meditation on the Holy Trinity that had not been

Christ, but also the Christian custom, from the age

seen before. In the Christian West this is one of the

of the catacombs, of placing the bones of departed

best-known and most-admired icons.

believers beneath their altars. On the table is a gold

St. Andrei Rublev was a Russian monk, who lived at

chalice containing red wine mixed with bread.

the monastery of the Holy Trinity north of Moscow.

Eastern Orthodox receive communion this way,

Since his monastery was named for the Holy Trinity,

from a spoon, after the bread and wine have been

he had reason to think about the mystery of the

combined in the chalice.

Trinity, and painted this icon probably in 1410.

The abbot of the monastery, St.Sergius, had died

As we look at this icon, can we tell which is the

not long before, in 1392, and he is one of the most

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Theologians would

beloved of all Russian saints. Rublev painted this

warn us against it; distinguishing the three into

icon to hang over St. Sergius’ tomb; now it is in the

separate bodies undermines the unity of the Trinity.

Tretyakov museum in Moscow.

It would be safer, perhaps, to understand that all three in combination somehow represent the whole

It’s somewhat unusual that we know the name of

Trinity.

the person who painted this icon. Icons are usually left unsigned, out of humility. The icon-painter’s

As I look at this icon, though, I think that Rublev

role is like that of a calligrapher who helps produce

intended for us to recognize three different

a hand-lettered bible. Unlike contemporary artists,

members of the Trinity. The Father is on the left. His

an iconographer doesn’t seek self-expression in her

robe is iridescent, shifting from glowing golden-red

work. Her job is to accurately pass on the faith she

to azure blue, a triumph of the painter’s art. “You

has received, following in the footsteps of icon-

robe yourself in light as in a garment” (Ps 104:2).

painters throughout the ages. But her icon will vary just enough from anyone else’s to reveal the

The Son and Holy Spirit both gaze toward him,

uniqueness of God’s work in her soul. The depth

inclining their heads. There is an expression of

of her prayer-life, and her wrestling with fasting

deference, which is reflected in the version of the

and prayer while painting it, will shine from the

Nicene Creed that Rublev would have recited daily:

completed icon.

the Son is begotten of the Father, the Spirit proceeds from the Father. If we imagine this theology of the

So, although through history most icons have been

Trinity represented as a triangle, the point is clearly

unsigned, and the name of the artist forgotten,

on the top: the father is the “arche,” the source, and

those by Rublev have continued to bear his name,

both Son and Spirit originate in Him.

because of his rare gift. He had an unusual ability to

30

The Son, in the middle, is wearing a robe of deep

around a candle flame. All three gesture toward the

purple-red; this is the purple of royalty, rather than

chalice with their right hands; the Father and the

the lavender or so-called “royal purple” we think of

Son holding their fingers in the form of a blessing.

today. Purple fabric was very expensive—remember Lydia in the book of Acts (Acts 16:14), who dealt in

Though I have been referring to the three figures

purple goods. The source of purple dye was a tiny

as Father, Son and Spirit, you’ll notice that they all

gland at the back of the head of the murex snail,

look alike. The Son is not depicted in the familiar

and only the wealthiest could afford it, hence the

likeness of Jesus; this visitation to Abraham took

association with royalty. Over his purple tunic the

place many centuries before the Incarnation.

Son wears a blue mantle, indicating divinity. Both

Instead, Rublev has taken the indication that the

Father and Spirit wear their blues as a tunic.

three resembled angels, and depicted them as angels usually appear in iconography: as resembling

I should note that, when you’re looking at ancient

young, beardless men with long, curly hair pulled

art, you shouldn’t get too fixed on assigning

back, and gold wings.

symbolic meanings to colors. The artist could not just run down to the local hobby hut and buy more

Notice, too, what Rublev has done with perspective.

Blue # 3. If the plants or minerals necessary for a

The top of the table, and the tops of the pedestals

color were not available or too expensive, he would

the Father and Spirit rest their feet upon, tilt toward

have to alter the color scheme to suit what he had.

us dramatically, as if we are looking down on the

Some colors predominate in certain geographic

scene from above. At the level of the figures’ faces,

areas for this reason, based on soil and climate

however, we seem to be looking at them directly

conditions. But in some cases, as here, we can

from about shoulder height.

draw some inferences about the colors used by this masterful painter.

This was not a matter of incompetence. A painter who can handle drapery and color as well as

The green mantle of the Spirit is another of Rublev’s

Rublev does is not ignorant of perspective. As is

achievements, scintillating with light. Green

often the case in iconography, perspective has

belongs to the Spirit because he is the source of

been intentionally distorted it in order to give us a

life. On the Feast of Pentecost, Western churches

sensation that the scene is bursting out toward us.

decorate with red, for the flames that descended to the apostles. But Eastern churches decorate

You recall from elementary school art class that,

with green, bringing boughs and branches into the

as the railroad tracks go away from you, far in the

church, and worshippers wear green clothing. The

distance they converge; this is called the “vanishing

Orthodox prayer to the Holy Spirit speaks of his

point.” In icons, however, the painter may play

filling Creation and being the source of life:

with reversing or distorting perspective, in order to give the viewer a sense of being off-balance in an

“O Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth,

unfamiliar, powerful world. Sometimes the painting

who are everywhere present and fills all things,

is carefully arranged so that everything gets larger

Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life…”

as it goes back, and smaller in the foreground, so that the “vanishing point” is right about where you

Son and Spirit, as I said, both bow their heads to the

are standing. You are the vanishing point; if God did

Father. But all three show equality in other ways.

not sustain us, we would vanish.

Each of them carries a slim red staff, an emblem of authority. Each has a halo, which should not be

There has always been a strong theme in Christian

understood as a flat disk behind the head, but as a

spirituality of the necessity of humility. That’s one

globe of light encircling the head, like the sphere

of the lovely things about this icon; the gentleness of

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these figures, the gracefulness of the bowed heads,

One more thing about this icon: none of the figures

depict a form of humility that his not obsequious,

is speaking. Despite the momentous nature of this

not self-loathing, but somehow radiant. It is simple;

historic moment, they are tranquil and silence.

simplicity is a significant element of spiritual

It’s a good example for us to follow. If we make use

growth. Complicated, ambivalent humility, on the

of the example these figures give us, and practice

other hand, is not much better than pride, and it has

both their humility and their silence, it may lead

confusing effects on others and their spiritual lives.

us further into understanding the mystery of the

Seek humility, of the sort we see here, a humility

Trinity.

that is gentle and tranquil, that is filled with love.

F R E D E R I CA M AT H E W E S- G R E E N writes mostly about the Eastern Orthodox Church; she and her family converted in 1993, and her husband, Fr. Gregory Mathewes-Green, is pastor of Holy Cross Orthodox Church which they founded near Baltimore. They have three children and 14 grandchildren.

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AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE BOOKS ARE SOLD

Made in the Image of God

BY B R A N D O N J. O ’ B R I E N

I

entered my first semester of teaching confident in my ability and smug about my qualifications. After four years of study in biblical languages and English literature, I

figured I knew my stuff. I failed to take one thing into consideration: the students.

Seventh graders, it turns out, are not impressed with credentials. They do not fall into hushed silence or stand at attention when their 20-something teacher enters the room. Sure, most of my students were respectful. But they were not impressed.

One student, whom I’ll call Stewart, was particularly unimpressed. He was the only son of a single mom and he attended our small Christian academy because his grandmother believed it would do him good. I wonder if she ever considered how much good it would do the rest of us. He didn’t

answered number four.”

listen. He could not sit still. He had the inside voice of a lawn tractor. And in his mind, he was always

“Okay.” He pauses. “I went shopping with my

a victim. As for me—I had been taught to diagram

grandmother.”

sentence and parse dead languages, but I had no training in classroom management.

“Stewart,” I interrupt. I’m in control.

If this conversation never took place, it might as well have:

“And she bought me this jacket to wear when I’m riding my dirt bike.”

“Stewart,” I say as if I’m doing him a great honor.

“How did you answer number four?”

“Stewart.” (Less calmly.)

“Mr. O’Brien!” he says as if he’s seeing me for the

“And then we went out for pizza.”

first time in ages. “Guess what I did last night.”

“Stewart!” I pound my desk. The other students “No, Stewart. I want you to tell me how you

34

look down at their desks, embarrassed.

“Geez.” He slumps in his chair. “Why are you

It didn’t work. It’s true, of course, but it didn’t

always so mad at me?”

offer me any specific direction. And that set me on a course to rethink what this doctrine might mean in

“Stewart, just answer number four.” I repeat the question: “What is a noun?”

“A comma. No, wait—it modifies something. No, I

a situation like this.

FLEXIBLE DOCTRINE Christians have struggled for nearly 2,000 years to

don’t know. Running. Is running a noun?»

pin down what the Bible means when it says that

My left eye begins to spasm.

Beginning with Irenaeus in the second century,

For most of the first semester, I tried to summon

essential part of the human makeup. It›s something

the patience to deal with Stewart by appealing to an important Christian doctrine. “He deserves my respect”, I told myself, “because he’s made in the image of God.”

humans are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). theologians have thought of the imago dei as an every person—however righteous or despicable— »possesses.» For the early church fathers, the evidence of the divine image was human reason or will or moral capacity. Contemporary theologians don’t disagree but have added the human impulses

35

for creativity and community to the list of evidences

cathartic conversations probably violated James 3.)

that we bear God’s likeness.

The passages from James and Genesis only told me what I couldn’t do. They set necessary limits. But

When I tried to apply this understanding of the

that’s all they did.

divine image with Stewart, the emphasis fell on his dignity as a human person. If the imago dei highlights the ways we are «like God,» then every person on the planet deserves to be respected,

T U R N I N G T H E TA B L E S Then the Holy Spirit did a remarkable thing. He

protected, and valued.

brought two biblical concepts together for me in a

The more I thought about it, though, the clearer it

from the apostle Paul: “[Christ] is the image of

became that we apply this doctrine with remarkable flexibility. We say everyone bears the divine image, yet we think differently about unborn children and convicts, our grandmothers and disrespectful seventh graders. It’s easy to treat people with dignity if they reciprocate. But when someone breaks the cycle—a convict commits another crime, an unruly student doesn’t respond to patience or kindness, or someone makes your life a living hell—you suddenly need something more to work with than “he deserves my respect.” Such was my experience, anyway. So I turned to the Bible for help.

My search of the Scriptures turned up only two passages that addressed the proper treatment of image bearers. The first was in James: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. … My brothers, this should not be” (3:910). This set a boundary: I was not to slander the

way I had not considered before. I read these words the invisible God” (Col. 1:15a), and “we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).

Together these passages helped me to recognize two things. First, for the most part, the New Testament does not speak of humans bearing the image of God. It speaks instead of Jesus incarnating the perfect image of God. And it speaks about people being transformed into the image of Christ. That suggests that the image of God is not simply something I have; it’s something I am called to embody in increasing measure.

This realization put me in good company. The Reformers were convinced that humans all but lost the divine image after Adam’s fall in Eden.

Echoes of God’s likeness remained in every person, but the divine image was, in John Calvin’s words, “frightfully deformed.” The only way to restore it

boy.

was to be hidden in Christ and transformed into his

The second reference was all the way back in

pleasure in restoring this work of his [humanity

Genesis: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man” (9:6). This set me another

likeness. Martin Luther explained that God “takes in his image] through his Son and our Deliverer, Christ.”

boundary: I shouldn’t kill him.

The upshot was this: I realized that my behavior

By Christmas, it had become difficult for me to

his status as an image bearer but by my status as

keep either command. Because I was completely stymied by Stewart’s conduct, I found some consolation in recounting his bad behavior to my fellow teachers. All of them had had him in class.

They understood. (Now that I think about it, those

36

toward Stewart should not be determined by an image bearer. Jesus alluded to this when he commanded his disciples to love their enemies. As sons and daughters of our God, Jesus tells us to be perfect as God is perfect (Matt. 5:48). Being perfect means treating the unrighteous just as you would treat the righteous—not on the basis of their sin but

based on your “perfection.” For me, this meant that I was called to bear the image of God to Stewart, however he behaved.

This perspective on the image of God has broader implications than the fair treatment of seventh graders. We’re often encouraged to recognize that the immigrant or refugee or sex worker is made in the image of God. But what about the dictator or the rapist or the convict? How would our ministry change if we focused on incarnating the image of God to the poor and the oppressed as well as to the powerful and the offender? It seems to me that the doctrine of the imago dei has less to do with who we serve and more to do with how.

I found a wealth of direction from Scripture on how to apply this new insight. If God is slow to anger and abounding in love (Ps. 86:15), then I should be too (James 1:19). If he opposes the proud but gives grace

1 Pet. 5:5). In short, because I am called to display the image of God, I should imitate him, with the Holy Spirit’s help. This is not an easier calling. It’s actually much more demanding. And it doesn’t provide concrete guidelines about what to do next in any given situation. But still, it’s clearer than “treat him with respect” and more helpful than “don’t slander” and “don’t kill.”

I wish I could report that this revelation made everything better. It didn’t. I still struggled with Stewart on a near-daily basis. But I realized, at last, that my struggle wasn’t really with him at all. It was with me. And as soon as I recognized how far I had to go to be an accurate representation of Christ, I became much more gracious about Stewart’s faults.

He served quite a lot of detention. But I served it with him, because I realized that I, too, am in need of transformation.

to the humble (Prov. 3:34), so should I (James 4:6;

B R A N D O N J. O ’ B R I E N is director of content development and distribution for Redeemer City to City in Manhattan and author most recently of Demanding Liberty: An Untold Story of American Religious Freedom (IVPress 2018).

This article was originally published in Christianity Today. Used with permission.

37

NEW

from

I V P ACA D E M I C

E VA N G E L I C A L THEOLOGICAL METHOD

N E W T E S TA M E N T CHRISTOLOGICAL HYMNS

Edited by Stanley E. Porter

by Matthew E. Gordley

and Steven M. Studebaker “The go-to book on the texts often

“Anyone wishing to understand

cited as New Testament hymns.”

evangelical theological method or to

LARRY HURTADO, University of Edinburgh

work their own method is strongly recommended to read this book.”

TONY LANE, London School of Theology

CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON

APPROACHING THE STUDY OF THEOLOGY

by Haley Goranson Jacob

by Anthony C. Thiselton

“I urge all students of Paul and of

“An exciting new series that will

Romans to work carefully through

provide orientation and essential

the step-by-step presentation of

information for students.”

the case.”

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N. T. WRIGHT, University of St. Andrews

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW T E S TA M E N T

E A R LY C H R I S T I A N READINGS OF GENESIS ONE

by David A. deSilva

by Craig D. Allert

“Unquestionably the best

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features of patristic exegesis.”

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ivpress.com

Jesus in the African-American Spirituals

BY JA M E S E A R L M A S S E Y

T

he most important thing one can say

who created and sang the spirituals. Knowledge

about the representation of Jesus in the

of that nation’s deliverance by God from struggles

spirituals is that they never view him

helped the singers to discern the nature of God

as a distant figure, or only an object of

and to trust God’s power: But while Old Testament

faith, but always as a living person whose warmth,

narratives provided dramatic resources for faith,

concern, love, trustworthiness, helpfulness,

the New Testament story about Jesus sensitized the

power, steadiness, example, and availability we

slave singers, especially accounts of his arrest, trial,

can experience. The spirituals understand that

and crucifixion. Jesus’s approach to his experiences

Jesus is Son of God and Christ. Although these titles

informed them for facing and handling their

basically describe his personhood, they do not

experiences. The identified with Jesus, deeply aware

adequately convey his personality as the singers

that he had already identified himself with them:

experience and regard him. By “personality” I refer to the personal attributes and traits that allow us to

Dey crucified my Lord,

anticipate and value his behavior toward those who

An’ he never said a mumbalin’ word.

in openness and faith approach him.

Dey crucified my Lord, An’ he never said a mumbalin’ word.

The spirituals evidence a relationship with Jesus, a

Not a word—not a word—not a word.1

valued familiarity and companionship with him as religious subject. Jesus is the one who knows life as

Among the many other oft-sung elegies about

the singers knew it, and one who knows them as

our Lord’s ordeal as suffering Savior, there is

suffering suppliants as well.

that unique and universally beloved spiritual that asks, “Were You There When They Crucified My

We can readily trace the impact of the circumstances and plight of the Hebrews upon those 1 “He Never Said a Mumbalin’ Word,” in Lovell, Black Song, 261.

39

Lord?”2 In that spiritual, the singers confessed their

But He ain’t comin’ here t’ die no mo’,

understanding and voiced their lament concerning

Ain’t comin’ here t’ die no mo.4

that processed event Jesus underwent: they speak of Jesus being “nailed to the tree,” “pierced in the

Several spirituals treat the Lord’s resurrection,

side,” and “laid in the tomb,” and they responded

but representative of the note of victory sounded

to the meaning of it all with full openness of soul:

in them all is the spiritual “Dust an’ Ashes,” also known as “An’ de Lord Shall Bear My Spirit Home.”5

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

First the spiritual acknowledges that death does

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

its work on all humans: “Dust, dust an’ ashes fly

Oh, sometimes it caused me to tremble, tremble,

over on my grave.” It goes on to voice faith that

tremble.

death is not the end: “An’ de Lord shall bear my

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

spirit home.” Successive stanzas picture the Lord’s

crucifixion, the burial of his body in Joseph’s tomb,

In his autobiography Howard Thurman tells about

the descent of an angel to roll the stone from the

the visit he and his wife, Sue, had with Mahatma

entrance, and then—death’s loss:

Gandhi while in India in 1935 as guests of the Student Christian Movement of India, Burma, and

De cold grave could not hold Him,

Ceylon. After a long visit with deep conversations,

Nor death’s cold iron band,

as their allotted time with Mahatma came to a

An’ de Lord shall bear my spirit home,

close, Gandhi asked the Thurmans not to leave

An’ de Lord shall bear my spirit home.

before favoring him by singing one of the Negro spirituals. He specifically requested that they sing

He rose, He rose, He rose from de dead.

“Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”

He rose, He rose, He rose from de dead,

with the comment, “I feel that this song gets to

He rose, He rose, He rose from de dead.

the root of the experience of the entire human

An’ de Lord shall bear my spirit home.

race under the spread of the healing wings of suffering.” Mrs. Thurman, an Oberlin Conservatory

The point of witness is clear: what God did for Jesus,

of Music graduate, led in singing that spiritual as

God is going to do for those who believe in Jesus.

Gandhi and his associates bowed their heads in prayer3. Although Gandhi sensed something of

Regarding the Christian life, the creators of

universal import in the undeserved suffering Jesus

spirituals were deeply concerned about the inner

underwent, we lament that he missed the expiatory

life of the soul. They sensed, quite rightly, that

meaning of Jesus’s death. The slave singers did not

sincere religion and courageous living call for a

miss that meaning. They understood his death as

heart that God has touched and controls. Being

an atoning deed, and they rejoiced about it as a

enslaved, oppressed, and unfairly treated, there

completed task:

were times when the heart’s attitudes provoked alarm and dismay, times when the impulse to deal

Halleujah t’de Lamb,

with the things on a purely selfish basis was strong,

Jesus died for every man.

so a penitent appeal was made to God or Jesus for

But He ain’t comin’ here t’ die no mo’,

help:

Ain’t comin’ here t’ die no mo.

‘Tis me, ‘tis me, ‘tis me, O Lord, He died for de blind, He died for de lame,

Standin’ in the need of prayer.

He bore de pain an’ all de blame.

2 Johnson, Books of American Negro Spirituals, 2:136-7.

3 Thurman, With Head and Heart, 134.

40

4 “But He Ain’t Comin’ Here t’ Die No Mo’,” in Religious Folk-Songs of the Negro: As Sung at Hampton, ed. R. Nathaniel Dett (Hampton, VA: Hampton Institute Press, 1927), 103.

5 “Dust an’ Ashes,” in ibid., 213-18.

‘Tis me, ‘tis me, ‘tis me, O Lord, An’ I’m standing in the need of prayer.

When troubles are near me, 6

You’ll be my true friend.8

The singers knew that God and Jesus give aid for

Given the peace and hope from an experienced

character change. That was the concern behind

relation with Jesus, the spirituals did not even

these lines:

view dying as an ultimate threat:

Lord, I want to be a Christian

You needn’t mind my dying,

In-a my heart, in-a-my heart,

You needn’t mind my dying,

Lord, I want to be more loving

You needn’t mind my dying,

In-a my heart.

Jesus goin’ to make up my dying bed.9

I don’t want to be like Judas In-a my heart.

This attitude of confidence in God and sense of

Lord, I want to be like Jesus

companionship with Jesus, including even in the

In-a my heart.7

hour of death, is never absent from the spirituals.

Urgency of need and sincere longing of soul made

The insistence was always upon faith in Jesus, trust

these seekers strive for survival, courage, solace,

in Him as a concerned helper, an understanding

stability, and meaning. To gain these benefits the

companion, a brother, although he is also Lord.

sufferers had to reach for the ultimate. In seeking the ultimate, informed by biblical truths, they

Oh, Jesus my Saviour,

found the Triune God. Thus comes the Christian

On Thee I’ll depend,

orthodoxy these songs reflect.

6 “’Tis Me,” ibid., 183 7 “Lord, I Want to Be a Christian,” in ibid., 50-51.

8 “I’m Troubled in Mind,” in ibid., 236.

9 “Jesus Goin’ to Make Up My Dying Bed,” in Lovell, Black Song, 319.

D R. JA M E S E A R L M A S S E Y is Dean Emeritus of Anderson School of Theology in Anderson, Indiana. For fifty years he has been an extraordinary Christian communicator in both the pulpit and classroom.

Timothy George, God the Holy Trinity, Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group,” 2006, Used with permission. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com.

41

The Doctrine of the Trinity NO CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT IT

BY K E V I N D E YO U N G

I

f any doctrine makes Christianity Christian,

talk of essence and persons and co-this and co-

then surely it is the doctrine of the Trinity. The

that seem like theological gobbledy-gook reserved

three great ecumenical creeds—the Apostles’

for philosophers and scholars-maybe for thinky

Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian

bookish types, but certainly not for moms and

Creed—are all structured around our three in

mechanics and middle-class college students.

one God, underlying the essential importance of Trinitarian theology. Augustine once commented

So in a few hundred words let me try to explain

about the Trinity that “in no other subject is error

what the doctrine of the Trinity means, where it is

more dangerous, or inquiry more laborious, or the

found in the Bible, and why it matters.

discovery of truth more profitable.” More recently, Sinclair Ferguson has reflected on “the rather

First, what does the doctrine mean? The doctrine of

obvious thought that when his disciples were about

the Trinity can be summarized in seven statements.

to have the world collapse in on them, our Lord

(1) There is only one God. (2) The Father is God. (3)

spent so much time in the Upper Room speaking to

The Son is God. (4) The Holy Spirit is God. (5) The

them about the mystery of the Trinity. If anything

Father is not the Son. (6) The Son is the not the

could underline the necessity of Trinitarianism for

Holy Spirit. (7) The Holy Spirit is not the Father. All

practical Christianity, that must surely be it!”

of the creedal formulations and theological jargon and philosophical apologetics have to do with

Yet, when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity,

safeguarding each one of these statements and doing

most Christians are poor in their understanding,

so without denying any of the other six. When the

poorer in their articulation, and poorest of all in

ancient creeds employ extra-biblical terminology

seeing any way in which the doctrine matters in

and demand careful theological nuance they do so

real life. One theologian said, tongue in cheek, “The

not to clear up what the Bible leaves cloudy, but

trinity is a matter of five notions or properties,

to defend, define, and delimit essential biblical

four relations, three persons, two processions, one

propositions. The Athanasian Creed puts it this way:

substance or nature, and no understanding.” All the

“Now this is the catholic faith: That we worship

42

one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither

members of the Godhead are, to quote a leading

blending their persons, nor dividing their essence.

Mormon apologist, “three distinct Beings, three

For the person of the Father is a distinct person, the

separate Gods.”

person of the Son is another, and that of the Holy Spirit, still another. But the divinity of the Father,

Second, where is the doctrine of the Trinity found in

Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their

the Bible? Although the word “Trinity” is famously

majesty coeternal.”

absent from Scripture, the theology behind the word can be found in a surprising number of verses.

The two key words here are essence and persons.

For starters there are verses that speak of God’s

When you read “essence”, think “Godness.”

oneness (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6; 1 Tim. 1:17). Then there

All three Persons of the Trinity share the same

are the myriad of passages which demonstrate that

“Godness.” One is not more God than another.

God is Father (e.g., John 6:27, Titus 1:4). Next, we

None is more essentially divine than the rest.

have the scores of texts which prove the deity of

When you read “persons”, think “a particular

Jesus Christ, the Son—passages like John 1 (“the

individual distinct from the others.” Theologians

word was God”), John 8:58 (“before Abraham was

use these terms because they are trying to find a

born, I am”), Col. 2:9 (“in Christ all the fullness of

way to express the relationship of three beings

Deity lives in bodily form”), Heb. 1:3 (“The Son is

that are equally and uniquely God, but not three

the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint

Gods. That’s why we get the tricky (but learnable)

of his being”), Tit. 2:13 (“our great God and Savior

language of essence and persons. We want to

Jesus Christ”)-not to mention the explicit worship

be true to the biblical witness that there is an

Christ willingly received from his disciples (Luke

indivisibility and unity of God, even though Father,

24:52; John 20:28) and the charges of blasphemy

Son, and Holy Spirit can all be rightly called God.

leveled against him for making himself equal with

The Persons are not three gods; rather, they dwell

God (Mark 2:7). Then we have similar texts which

in communion with each other as they subsist in

assume the deity of the Holy Spirit, calling Him

the divine nature without being compounded or

an “eternal Spirit” (Heb. 9:14) and using “God”

confused.

interchangeably with the “Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 3:16 and 1 Cor. 6:19; Acts 5:3-4) without a second

Sometimes it’s easier to understand what we believe

thought.

by stating what we don’t believe.

The shape of Trinitarian orthodoxy is finally •

•

Orthodox Trinitarianism rejects monarchianism

rounded off by texts that hint at the plurality of

which believes in only one person (mono) and

persons in the Godhead (Gen. 1:1-3, 26; Psalm 2:7;

maintains that the Son and the Spirit subsists in

Dan. 7), texts like 1 Cor. 8:6 which place Jesus Christ

the divine essence as impersonal attributes not

as Lord right in the middle of Jewish Shema, and

distinct and divine Persons.

dozens of texts that speak of the Father, Son, and

Orthodox Trinitarianism rejects modalism

Holy Spirit in the same breath, equating the three

which believes that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

in rank, while assuming distinction of personhood

are different names for the same God acting in

(Matt. 28:19; Gal. 4:6; 1 Cor.12:4-6; 1 Peter 1:1-2; 2

different roles or manifestations (like the well-

Cor. 2:21-22; 13:14; Eph. 1:13-14; 2:18, 20-22; 3:14-

intentioned but misguided “water, vapor, ice”

17; 4:4-6; 5:18-20; 6:10-18).

analogy).

• •

Orthodox Trinitarianism rejects Arianism

The doctrine of the Trinity, as summarized in the

which denies the full deity of Christ.

seven statements earlier, is not a philosophical

And finally, orthodox Trinitarianism rejects all

concoction by some over-zealous and over-

forms of tri-theism, which teach that the three

intelligent early theologians, but one of the central

43

planks of orthodoxy which can shown, explicitly or

in any kind of meta-unity. Christianity, with its

implicitly, from a multitude of biblical texts.

understanding of God as three in one, allows for diversity and unity. If God exists in three distinct

Third, why does any of this matter? There are lots

Persons who all share the same essence, then it is

of reasons, but borrowing from Robert Letham’s

possible to hope that God’s creation may exhibit

work, and in Trinitarian fashion, let me mention

stunning variety and individuality while still

just three.

holding together in a genuine oneness.

O N E, T H E T R I N I T Y M AT T E R S F O R C R E AT I O N

T H R E E, T H E T R I N I T Y M AT T E R S F O R R E L AT I O N S H I P S .

God, unlike the gods in other ancient creation stories, did not need to go outside himself to create the universe. Instead, the Word and the Spirit were like his own two hands (to use Irenaeus’ famous phrase) in fashioning the cosmos. God created by speaking (the Word) as the Spirit hovered over the chaos. Creation, like regeneration, is a Trinitarian act, with God working by the agency of the Word spoken and the mysterious movement of the Holy Spirit.

T WO, T H E T R I N I T Y M AT T E R S F O R E VA N G E L I S M A N D C U LT U R A L E N GAG E M E N T.

We worship a God who is in constant and eternal relationship with himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Community is a buzz word in American culture, but it is only in a Christian framework that communion and interpersonal community are seen as expressions of the eternal nature of God. Likewise, it is only with a Trinitarian God that love can be an eternal attribute of God. Without a plurality of persons in the Godhead, we would be forced to think that God created humans so that he might show love and know love, thereby making love a created thing (and God a needy deity). But with a biblical understanding of the Trinity we can

I’ve heard it said that the two main rivals to a

say that God did not create in order to be loved, but

Christian worldview at present are Islam and

rather, created out of the overflow of the perfect

Postmodernism. Islam emphasizes unity—

love that had always existed among Father, Son,

unity of language, culture, and expression—

and Holy Spirit who ever live in perfect and mutual

without allowing much variance for diversity.

relationship and delight.

Postmodernism, on the other hand, emphasizes diversity—diversity of opinion, belief, and background—without attempting to see things

K E V I N D E YO U N G (MDiv, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is senior pastor of Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, board chairman The Gospel Coalition, assistant professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte), and a PhD candidate at the University of Leicester. He has authored numerous books, including Just Do Something. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have seven children.

This article was originally published in The Gospel Coalition. Used with permission. The Doctrine of the Trinity, Copyright 2011 by Kevin DeYoung, thegospelcoalition.org.

44

Recent releases in biblical studies from Kregel

Mark Through Old Testament Eyes “Le Peau has woven together a fascinating and illuminating tapestry of Mark’s Gospel, not only letting us marvel at the number and color and richness of the multiple threads that Mark draws from the Old Testament, but pausing regularly to survey the broader patterns and structures that Mark creates in order to introduce readers to the full significance of Jesus within the whole Bible story.”

—chRistophER J. h. WRight, Langham Partnership

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—octavio JaviER EsquEda, Talbot School of Theology

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Faithful books engaged with the academy and culture45

Preaching the Trinity

BY C H R I S R A P PA Z I N I

A

s a teacher of preaching, I have had

are God clearly imply this view.”1 In other words,

the privilege of listening to thousands

if the pastor is preaching verse-by-verse through a

of sermons from students, chapel

book of the Bible, the doctrine of the trinity may be

speakers, pastors, and sermon

missed. Perhaps it would benefit the congregation,

podcasts. Those sermons have consistently fed my

if every now and again the pastor broke from

life and soul. However, I can honestly say, I cannot

preaching through a book of the Bible and preached

recall any sermon preached on the doctrine of the

a sermon, or series, on specific core doctrines of the

trinity. I recall several times it was mentioned, but

faith like the trinity.

never as the main point of the sermon. I would like to suggest several reasons why pastors tend to

THE TRINITY IS COMPLEX

avoid preaching on the doctrine of the trinity, and

Some pastors avoid preaching the trinity because

propose why they should reconsider such a noble

the doctrine can be confusing. If we are truly honest

task.

with ourselves, the trinity is not a simple concept to grasp. Most pastors learn the intricacies of this

T H E R E L I A N C E O N P R E AC H I N G V E R S E-

doctrine and its historical significance in seminary

BY-V E R S E T H R O U G H B O O K S O F T H E

by spending time with an experienced theology

BIBLE

professor, doing in-depth studies, and conversing

I will be the first to take responsibility for the lack

back and forth with peers. Thomas F. Torrance

of sermons on the trinity. In my classes, I tend to

writes, “The doctrine of the Trinity is the central

emphasize the value of preaching verse-by-verse

dogma of Christian theology, the fundamental

through a book of the Bible. However, perhaps one

grammar of our knowledge of God.”2 Unfortunately,

of the unintended consequences of this approach is

some pastors today are foregoing these types of

the sacrifice of doctrines that do not clearly appear

experiences and their knowledge of the trinity is

in one portion of Scripture. Of course, there are

minimal.

parts of Scripture (Matthew 28 or the introductory

Theological training in venues where dialogue and

remarks in the epistles) that mention every member

discussion can be seamless is vital for the next

of the Godhead, but one will be hard-pressed to find

generation of preachers. Pastors need to be able to

a periciope that encompass the full doctrine of the

converse with their congregation from the pulpit

trinity. Millard Erickson admits, “The Bible does not explicitly teach the trinitarian view of god, but the teachings that God is one and that three persons

46

1 Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. Baker Academic, 1998, p.

346.

2 Thomas F. Torrance, Trinitarian Perspectives. T&T Clark, 1994, p. 1.

and in the hallways about this important doctrine.

based on each person of the trinity. The trinity has

Having a robust theological education from experts

more application than one would think, it just takes

may make this task less intimidating and more

hard work and creativity of the pastor to draw those

attainable.

application principles out.

IT IS CHALLENGING TO FIND

S O M E T I M E S D E N O M I N AT I O N S

S U F F I C I E N T I L L U S T R AT I O N S

E M P H A S I Z E A C E R TA I N P E R S O N O F T H E

Even if pastors understand the doctrine of

GODHEAD

the trinity, it is a tall task to communicate it.

Whether we like to admit it or not, the pastor’s

Illustrations are the tools in the preacher’s toolbox

denomination may have a historical tradition of

but most, if not all, illustrations on the trinity

putting an emphasis on one person of the Godhead

break down. Useful illustrations are hard to find.

over the others. While there is little doubt that

Nevertheless, if a pastor is going to preach on

denominations believe in each member of the

the trinity, illustrations are essential. Instead

Godhead, sometimes one member dominates

of relying on one illustration, pastors could use

the sermon more than the others. For instance,

multiple illustrations in one sermon. This gives the

in general, Episcopal and Anglican churches

listeners several opportunities to comprehend the

tend to focus on God the Father, Baptist, non-

complexity of the trinity. I personally believe it is

denominational, and Reformed churches tend to

most helpful if the preacher can use multiple visual

concentrate on God the Son, and more Pentecostal

aids (such as an egg, an apple, or H20) along with

and charismatic churches center on God the Spirit. I

verbal illustrations to help explain and prove the

doubt pastors highlight one member of the Godhead

magnificence of the trinity.

over another to negate the importance of the trinity, but rather have been accustomed to their

I T D O E S N O T S E E M P R AC T I CA L

denomination’s tradition. It is important for pastors

Pastors preach towards application. Paul tells

to become aware of their denomination’s traditions

Timothy that believers are to be doers of the Word,

and how that may influence their preaching. Being

not just hearers only (1 Timothy 1). When preaching

mindful of this could possibly help sermons be more

on forgiveness or loving one another, it is easy to

balanced regarding the Godhead.

draw implications. However, if one were to preach on the doctrine of the trinity, application may be

CONCLUSION

more challenging.

Preaching the trinity is not easy and it is understandable why pastors tend to avoid the

Even so, this should not hinder pastors from

subject in their sermons. However, the doctrine

preaching the trinity. Dallas Willard writes, “In

of the trinity is essential to the Christian faith and

faith we rest ourselves upon the reality of the Trinity

history of the church. It is also vital for the life of the

in action—and it graciously meets us. For it is

future church. The next generation needs to hear,

there. And our lives are then enmeshed in the true

learn, and apply the doctrine of the trinity and it is

world of God.”3 I would encourage pastors to allow

the pastor’s responsibility to preach it.

the trinity to be the foundation for a multitude of application principles. For instance, the sermon could support why the trinity is the reason believers

C H R I S R A P PA Z I N I teaches preaching and

ought to evangelize. Or maybe the sermon can be

pastoral studies at the Moody Bible Institute. He

about how believers can structure their prayers

serves on the Board of the Evangelical Homiletics Society and has ministered at several churches across the nation. Chris has a passion for preaching

3 Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. Harper Collins, 2009.

that takes Scripture seriously and works hard to make it applicable to everyday life.

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Madef orc hur c hes .

MeetPod, t henewoer i ngba s k et .

Choos eas i de

I ns er tyourc a r d

Pa s si ta l ong

L ea r nmor ea tpodgi vi ng. c om/ t heol ogy

The Word Made Flesh

How the Incarnation Informs our Theology of Embodiment

BY A M Y GA N N E T T

W

e live in a body-embarrassed

uncontrollable reality of the body, we offer

culture. We airbrush and edit

alternatives – alternatives that, for all appearances

as we edge the uncomfortable

sake, have the same value, but relinquish us from

bits of our humanity further and

the bondage of embodiment. This is our modern

further out of view. Bodies are unpredictable, and

Gnosticism.

we live in a world that much prefers control.

Yet, for all our efforts, we have not, in reality, And our ever-hiding, putting-away of the human

succeeded. We have not actually escaped

body, necessitates that our culture start offering

embodiment. I can think of nowhere this is more

alternative versions of experiences in which the

poignant than in the pornography industry.

body is essential. We offer sex without a body on

Though pornography offers the illusion that we can

every pornographic website. We offer community

consume in isolation and without the sociological,

without bodies every time we “meet” friends on

relational and physical messiness of another body,

social media. In an effort to escape the imposing,

a body must still be involved. Somewhere on the

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other side of the screen is a man or woman – a male

glory of the Incarnation is that God intrinsically and

or female body. No matter how virtual the reality

unrelentingly became human. Without losing deity,

on our screen might seem, we have not succeeded

without forfeiting Trinitarian Godhood, Jesus Christ

in escaping embodiment. Because, we can’t have

became a body. He did not put on a body or inhabit

sex without embodiment; the body is absolutely

a body (Docetism), but he became flesh. And, in

essential to sex, sexuality, and sexual intimacy. In

doing so, he communicated God to humankind

our impulse to remove the essential-ness of the

in essential flesh-and-blood terms, becoming the

body from sex, we have both created a counterfeit

Word of God that graciously dwelt among us.1

version of sex and also misunderstood and misused the body.

The radical nature of the Incarnation is that God ordained that this Incarnated body is indispensable

Our impetus to body-escapism doesn’t stop in the

to salvation. Christ’s body is not a sub-point of

digital world or in society, but we can find it right

our salvation, but a central crux of God’s plan

at the heart of our western Christian tradition.

of redemption for the fallen world. In essence,

In many ways, the human body still makes us

our salvation is born through a body: the body of

somewhat theologically uneasy. Though we gladly

the Son of God. Through his bodily death, bodily

believe that the body is good, we are less easily

resurrection, and bodily ascension that ushered

convinced that the body is essential. We read the

human flesh into the presence of God once again,

creation narrative with familiarity and savor the

Christ has gained our freedom from sin. He is the

“very goodness” of God’s creative power expressed

final, physical sacrifice that covers the nakedness of

in our human form, but we are less delighted with

our shame, clothing us with his own righteousness.

the re-creative act God does in the Incarnation, the process by which very God became very man

When we remove the essential-ness of the body

– in a body. In the periphery of our theology we

from the Gospel narrative, we have both created a

agree with God that the body is a created good,

counterfeit version of the redemption story and also

but a quick inventory of our primary soteriology

misunderstood and misused the body. Just as porn

reveals how little we think of the bodiliness of the

offers a falsified vision of sex, the Gospel without an

Incarnation as the crux of our salvation.

Incarnated God offers us a sterile Messiah, a bloodless death, and a tomb that doesn’t stink of decay

To speak of salvation in physical, bodily terms

of death that has just been defeated. Just as porn

makes us a little uncomfortably. In part, this is

teaches us to misunderstand and misuse the body, a

because the Incarnation is a profound mystery and,

salvation void of the Incarnation obscures our own

in being so, it rightfully mystifies us. But it also

sanctification into an asceticism without the rigor

unsettles us to think of a bodily salvation because

of physical discipline. Without the Incarnation – the

our surrounding culture winces at experiences of

fleshy, bodily coming of our Savior – the Gospel is

the human body. We find the body uncontrollable,

loosed of its power and glory.

unflattering, and just a bit embarrassing. Like our mother and father in the garden, we look at

But rightly understood, the Incarnation moves

our human form and shudder, quickly grabbing

us beyond passively affirming that the body is a

whatever we can to cover ourselves (and insisting

part of the goodness of creation and entices us to

that others do the same). It is no surprise, then, that

embrace a robust theology of embodiment. With the

when we think on our Savior, we would prefer to do

Incarnation in view, we understand our own bodies

so in less-bodily ways than the Incarnation allows.

as the location of our sanctification, the means by which God makes us holy as we tame our tongues

But central to our salvation is the reality of the Incarnation: the Word made flesh. The mystery and 1 John 1:14

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and capture our thoughts. We put our own physical

when he calls us, the Church, his body, and hear the

suffering in its rightful place, joined in union

words of the creed:

with the suffering of our Savior, giving savor and substance to the words of the Supper, “This is my

“For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man;

Body, broken for you.” And in our dying days, when

so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for

our breath gets weighty and our eyelids droop, it is

our salvation; descended into hell; rose again

the Incarnated Christ that gives us the confidence

the third day from the dead. He ascended into

that one day, “All who are in tombs shall hear his

heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of God the

voice.”2

Father Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming

The Incarnation, essential to our salvation, teaches

all men will rise again with their bodies…”3

us what it means to be saved and what it means to be human. In our increasingly disembodied culture, there is no better time us to look to the body of

3 The Athanasian Creed

Christ and re-learn the mystery of what he means

2 John 5:28-29

A M Y GA N N E T T is a Bible teacher and writer with a passion for teaching theology and biblical literacy in the local church. She and her husband, Austin, are co-church planters in eastern North Carolina. She writes regularly at amygannett.com.

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Yournewoer i ngbas ket .

Ones ec ondc a r ddona onsf orc hur c hes .

Choos eas i de

I ns er tyourc a r d

Pa s si ta l ong

L ea r nmor ea tpodgi vi ng. c om/ t heol ogy

Teaching the Trinity to Youth

BY AU S T I N H E Y

W

hen it comes to teaching youth anything, it can be a difficult road to navigate. Whether you are a parent, teacher, youth

leader, or pastor, you have at some point experienced the difficulty of teaching a teenager. Whether it’s getting them to understand a complicated subject or helping them not get distracted or keeping them engaged despite their short attention span, teaching youth is difficult. And so as we broach the subject of teaching youth theology, particularly the theology of the Trinity, it may seem we have an impossible task in front of us. If it’s hard enough to teach students things like math and proper manners, how then will we properly teach them something that has confounded theologians for centuries?

As a nerd myself, I enjoy reading theology, studying theology, and listening to lectures on theology.

However, this is not the case for most people. Instead, a love for deep Biblical theology doesn’t come naturally for the masses, and is mostly an acquired taste that people simply aren’t willing to put the

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time in to love. They think it’s stuffy, boring, and

reference to three persons within the Godhead: God

not relevant to their everyday life. Sadly, theolo-

the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

gy to them is something reserved for the pastor or

We see all of them perhaps most clearly at Jesus’

professor.

baptism. In Luke 3:21-22 it says:

Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the

Now when all the people were baptized, and

truth. Theology is not simply reserved for those who

when Jesus also had been baptized and was

are paid to think about it; it’s for everyone. And the

praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy

best theology is not one merely discussed or pon-

Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a

dered upon; it’s a theology that works itself out into

dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are

a changed life. I make this distinction because as we

my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

discuss the doctrine of the Trinity with teenagers, we should move beyond mere knowledge and intel-

Here we clearly see all three persons of the Trinity

lect and actually point to how it changes the way we

present: God the Father speaking words of identity

live. If we are to do our best to teach students about

and truth to God the Son, all while God the Holy

the Trinity, it needs to find its vigor and fruit in real,

Spirit observes and gives Jesus supernatural power

everyday life. Otherwise, it bound to be just another

to begin and sustain His earthly ministry. When we

boring lecture that will be easily forgotten.

think of Trinity, it’s perhaps easiest to think of it as the Community of God.

With this article, I don’t pretend to exhaust the subject of how to teach youth the Trinity. However,

This is not to say that the God of the Bible is multi-

I hope the idea that follows provide some insight

ple gods, for it is clear over and over again that our

and encouragement to take a positive step towards

God is One (Deut. 6:4, Mark 12:29, 1 Cor. 8:6, 1 Tim

teaching the teenager in your life more about the

2:5,). However, it’s important to make the distinc-

Triune God, and in doing so to help them not just

tion that while we were created by and created for

understand, but to delight in this doctrine and actu-

one God (singular), that God exists as three persons.

ally live differently because of it.

While this can be a confusing fact and one that is beyond complete comprehension for our finite

T R I N I T Y: G O D’ S C O M M U N I T Y

minds, thinking of the Trinity as the community of

In the beginning of the Bible, we meet the main

God has proved helpful, particularly as it relates to

character of the book, God himself. We get a few

teaching youth.

hints early in chapter 1 that give us our first clues of exactly who this God is. We learn that He is not

Teaching the Trinity firstly as the community of God

only creative and altogether unique, but that He is

is an effective way to teach youth because teenagers

more than one. In verse 26, as God is crowning his

understand community. They live for it. They thrive

universe with the creation of humanity. God says

in it. They are wired to experience it. They crave it.

these words:

Teenagers, like all humans, are wired for connection and community. In the Genesis 1 verse referenced

“Let us make man in our image, after our like-

earlier, God made mankind in His image, meaning

ness.”

that we reflect aspects of the God who made us. This mean that in our individual DNA, the very thing

From this verse we learn that God not only imprints

that makes us human, is a God-given desire and

His unique image on man and woman, but that this

need to be connected to others. Like the God who

God exists as a community. At this point in Scrip-

made us, we were created to live in community. No

ture, we aren’t clear exactly who is included in this

matter how introverted someone may be, they were

community, but throughout the Bible there’s clear

created for human connection.

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Teaching youth the Trinity through this lens is

at the same time physically and emotionally discon-

helpful because it’s language they can understand.

nected generation to ever live. They are a generation

For today’s teenager, community is something they

who desperately needs to know how God made

experience on a regular basis, going even beyond

them and how to enjoy positive, God-honoring

face-to-face interaction and found in places like

relationships in real life, not just over their devices.

social media and online gaming. Within each of

While there is no replacement for simply speaking

these experiences, the entertainment value goes up

to teenagers about the Biblical truths about who

because of the connectivity the student feels to the

God is as the Trinity, perhaps an even better way to

community around them, even if it is a virtual one.

ensure lasting learning is to model real, authentic,

Understand this, we can use the language of com-

godly community for them. In this way, theology

munity to help students draw connections to who

will begin to move from a mere intellectual discus-

God is as a Trinity, the community of God.

sion into a changed life. The best learning isn’t just agreeing to a statement of beliefs; it’s applying truth

Not only that, however, but teaching the Trinity this

to life and relationships and seeing God transform

way also gives youth a clear picture of exactly what

them from the inside out.

kind of community they should strive to experience. The Trinity not only shows us that God lives

B E C R E D I B L E!

in community, but it reveals a perfect example of

As you seek to teach the youth around you about

what our human community should resemble. The

God as the Trinity, my hope is that you yourself

three persons of the Trinity live in perfect, life-giv-

would first find great joy in the God who made you.

ing relationship. They submit to one another. They

Through your personal reflection on this amazing

honor one another. They respect one another. They

doctrine, may you have patience with the students

give and sacrifice for one another. What a model for

who are learning from you. And may your life match

what our human relationships should look like!

your words, so that you don’t live one way and

As we teach students the doctrine of the Trinity,

teach another. Do all you can to model well and be a

not only can we help them understand and delight

credible example, for that will always speak louder

in this wonderful creed, but we can also help them

than any words you use.

live out their theology by pursuing good, godly, life-giving relationships of their own. The current Generation Z (or IGen as some have called them) are perhaps the most technologically connected and yet

AU S T I N H E Y has been a Student Pastor for the past 7 years after graduating from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL. He currently resides in Kansas City with his wife, Sara, and three daughters. He writes regularly on the subjects of parenting, student ministry, and the next generation and blogs at austinhey.com.

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Letting Go of Trying to Be the 4th Member of the Trinity, a Prayer

BY S C O T T Y S M I T H

56

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Rev. 22:13 (NIV) When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

Ps. 94:19 (ESV) You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Isa. 26:3 (NLT)

H

eavenly Father, it’s time for us to shift

us. Though the cares of our hearts are many, your

our focus from the immediacy of our

consolations way outnumber them.

fears, hurts, and disappointments, to the permanency of who you are. It’s

When we fix our thoughts on you—as opposed to

one thing to be lovingly concerned about a matter,

fixating on messy situations and messy people, your

and another to anxiously obsess about it. Praying

peace centers, settles, and liberates us. So as this day

without ceasing is awesome, vexing without

begins, and continues, we choose liberation over

sleeping isn’t.

consternation; we choose to count blessings over messes; we choose to believe the gospel over trying

So, with palms up, we release our burdens and

to be our own savior, or anybody else’s. So very

worries to you, Lord. Not that we’ll care less, but

Amen we pray, in Jesus’ wonderful and merciful

we will trust more. You are God, and we are very

name.

much not so. In your time, and on your dime, you’ll finish the good work you started in your children, creation, and history. Though our unbelief says otherwise, you’re neither AWOL or disinterested,

S C O T T Y S M I T H is the founding pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee.

bored or negligent. About everything, you say, “I’ve got this one.”

This article was originally published on The Gospel Coalition website. Used with permission. Letting

You are the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the

Go of Trying to Be the 4th Member of the Trinity,

Last, the Beginning and the End, and everything

Copyright 2017 by Scotty Smith, thegospelcoalition.

in between. You are Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—

org.

perfect Trinity, and you’re not looking to make a Trio into a Quartet. You don’t need us; you love

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