A Note on the Trinity (2)

This post follows on from my last and briefly addresses the practical aspect of the Trinity. It is the second part of a two part response to the questions:

Is the Trinity understandable? Is the Trinity practical?


Read the first part here.
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The Trinity expresses God as relationship. Empathy and openness is the basis for all relationships. It is the basis for love itself, and God is love. To love, one must be in relationship, and God being love, rather than simply loving, explains that God is in relationship.

In fact, God is relationship, without remainder. The Father, Son and Spirit are in relationship with one another in such a way that there is no part of one that is not given to the others in relationship. This relationship was in existence before the dawn of time and space, showing that relationship is fundamental to all reality.

This understanding of the Trinity means that it is not just a theological truth to be learnt, but it is an ethical truth to be lived out. The way we think of God impacts on the way we live our lives, the things we do and the things we say. As Christians, we are caught up in the Trinitarian relationship, the eternal dance of perichoresis.

We live our lives in communion with God: Father, Son and Spirit. Our worship is offered to God, Three-in-One; our prayers are offered to Father, Spirit and Son. More than this, as Trinitarians, we live our lives in community with each other, reflecting God’s relational communion. This does not mean uniformity or conformity, but rather relationship embracing diversity, bringing unity.

Relationship without remainder.

Trinitarians.

A Note on the Trinity

As part of my studies in theology, questions about the Trinity have been posed for reflection and response. The following is my response to the question:

Is the Trinity understandable? Is the Trinity practical?

The response is in two parts. The first part (this post) responds to the first question. The second (see the next post here) suggests how that might play out for us, very briefly.

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The Trinity is a description of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It comes from the Latin word Trinitas, first introduced by the theologian Tertullian who lived between 160 and 225AD. Tertullian was trying to explain how God is one being and yet three persons.

The Father, Son and Spirit are not three separate and independent “Gods”; nor are they three different “states” of the one God. They are three persons-in-community, living as equals with each other as one God. They are inseparable, living in unbreakable communion with one another. One cannot be isolated from another. There is no first or last, no authority over another, no conflict or rivalry. More than that, they live in and dwell in each other, so much so that they are one.

The Greek word perichoresis, meaning mutual interpenetration, best describes this “living in each other”. It expresses the eternal dance that the Trinity is engaged in whereby the Father continually envelopes and embraces the Son who continually envelops the Spirit who continually envelops the Father who continually envelops the Son, and so on. This dance, going before the dawn of time, will continue for eternity.

The Trinity is all about relationship. The Father, Son and Spirit live in communion with one another, engaged in an eternal dance where they continually envelop and penetrate one another. God is relationship without remainder.

Three-in-one relationship.

Trinity.