Does The Trinity Matter?

By Dan Franklin, Pastor of Teaching 

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the 

fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 

Simplifying the Complex 
Whenever I have to explain something to my son, I am faced with the challenge of simplifying the complex. Sometimes I joyfully find myself cutting through the complexities and giving good explanations on questions about marriage or death or racism or other tough subjects. Other times I find myself stumbling along, trying to use words and ideas that make sense to a child.

Giving simple explanations to my kids has made me realize how often I accept certain ideas without understanding them at their most foundational level, without asking why I believe them or whether or not they even make sense. In the end, it is hard to embrace something when you don’t understand it at its most foundational level. A surface understanding only allows for a surface-level embrace.

Un-simplifiable? 
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most complex and confusing ideas ever posited. One God and three persons?! How can three be one? How can one be three? How can Jesus be equal to the Father and yet distinct from the Father? The Trinity is such a confusing idea that some consider it an outright contradiction. Others follow the adage, “The Trinity is the most mysterious doctrine in the Bible, and thus best left alone.”

The doctrine of the Trinity, however, is so core to the Christian faith that throughout history it has been considered a watershed issue. While Christians disagree on church structure and end times events and spiritual gifts, the Trinity is not a take-it-or-leave-it teaching. To deny the Trinity is to deny a central tenet of the Christian faith and a foundational reality about God. Throughout history men and women have chosen death rather deny that God is Triune.

Does This Really Matter? 
Many Christians affirm the Trinity, but don’t necessarily see the practical importance of the doctrine. We accept this confusing idea that there is one God and three persons, but it is only a surface acceptance.

However, it seems unlikely that a doctrine worth dying for wouldn’t have a practical impact on how we live and think and act. The fact is that the Trinity is not simply a theoretical doctrine. Far from it. The Trinity provides the basis for the nature of God, that he is not an individual in isolation, but a community of persons. It provides the basis for the nature of mankind, that we are created in God’s image as relational beings.

And it provides the basis for relationship, that we can be one as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one.

The implications of the Trinity are so far-reaching that when we ignore it, it is to our own peril. We end up living with an inferior view of God, of humanity, and of the great work of salvation that God has accomplished. But when we embrace the Trinity, we are set free to live and love in ways that we never would have thought imaginable.

In November, we will spend three weeks prayerfully and carefully approaching the biblical teaching on the Trinity and its implications for our lives. Invite someone to join us!