God Becomes Human: The Trinity at Work
Texts: Galatians 4:4-7; John 1:1-2, 14; Hebrews 2:14-18
Days 30-32 in Around the Bible in Eighty Days.
Trinity is often either avoided or ignored; it is misunderstood or denied. The confession of one God who subsists in three “persons” (or relations) is a difficult topic.
As we seek to live within the biblical narrative, the three-fold action of God for the redemption of the world seems to play out rather explicitly in the writings of the New Testament.
- The Father sends the Son into the world, born of woman, and then sends the Spirit into our hearts, crying “Abba.”
- The one who was with God in the beginning and is identified as God is also the one who became flesh by the power of the Spirit.
- Becoming flesh, the Son was made like other humans in every way in order to, in the power of the Spirit, conquer the power of the devil and make atonement for the sins of the people in service to God.
When we think of “Trinity” in terms of the work of God in managing the world for the sake of its redemption (what theologians call the “economic Trinity” where economic refers to management of a household), we see the three-fold work of God. The Father initiates the drama of redemption; the Son incarnates, embodies the life of God, and makes atonement; and the Spirit empowers and rests upon the Son.
We also see this economic Trinity in our own lives. The Father elects us; the Son effects forgiveness and righteousness for our sake; and the Spirit indwells and transforms us.
This lesson is the beginning of a Trinitarian journey into the redemptive work of the Triune God for our sakes. The Trinity is the subject of the rest of the story!
For a brief summary of the theology of the Trinity, see this blog post.