As we journey into summer and the season after Pentecost, we follow the arrival of the Holy Spirit with a celebration of the mysterious Trinity. The idea of the Trinity has surely inspired volumes of works simply to explain its theological concept. It is difficult for us to understand how God can be both infinitely whole and also three completely separate persons (Creator, Christ, Spirit). Perhaps the phrase from John below says it well: “you can’t handle it now.” And perhaps embracing both/and might help us to grow in our faith and so much more…
Romans 5:1-5 (CEB)
1 Therefore, since we have been made righteous through his faithfulness, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand through him, and we boast in the hope of God’s glory. 3 But not only that! We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance,4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 5 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
John 16:12-15 (CEB)
12 “I have much more to say to you, but you can’t handle it now. 13 However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you in all truth. He won’t speak on his own, but will say whatever he hears and will proclaim to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and proclaim it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine. That’s why I said that the Spirit takes what is mine and will proclaim it to you.
- One of the core truths of believing in the Trinity is that God, by nature, is relational. What does it mean to you that God’s nature is relational?
- If we understand God as relational, and we believe that humans are created in the image of God, what could that mean for how we understand the nature of humanity? For the Christian community? For our growth as disciples of Jesus Christ?
- What could that mean in terms of our relationship with God?
- How does the relational nature of God give us a model for how Christians engage in witness? (Note: Remember our Membership covenant to support Christ’s church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness)
- How would our culture shift if we took the relational dynamic of humanity seriously (as opposed to prioritizing individuality and autonomy)? How would our church community look if we were serious about embodying the relational understanding of God and one another?