1 + 1 + 1 = 1
It is true that proper worship of God must spring from a proper understanding of God. How can we worship someone who we don’t know or we don’t get? Now let’s be honest, we can all get a little foggy when it comes to our understanding of the Trinity. As Christians, we believe and confess that God exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not multiple gods, but one God, existing eternally in three distinct persons. Well-meaning teachers have tried to illustrate the Trinity in various ways; for example: the different stages of water, a shamrock, or an egg (yoke, white, and shell). But as the scholar Dr. Bruce Ware has said, “All of the analogies of the Trinity are all great analogies of one heresy or another.”
Beginning July 22, we are going to begin a four-week sermon series on the Trinity entitled Triune. A four-week study on this subject matter may make those who are theologically minded salivate, while the pragmatists among us are now planning a four-week vacation. Although the Trinity can be a real mind-bender, there is great benefit in understanding the distinction, role, and relationship of the Trinity.
Honestly, God has given the church a great blessing by revealing to us something so glorious about Himself, namely, He is triune. If He revealed it to us, He must consider it important and valuable for our relationship with Him. God loves us deeply. He wants our relationship to be intimate and deep so He gives us precious insights into who He is.
The pragmatists among us can rest assured that this study will have immense practical applications. Getting to know God better actually makes for profound and practical change in our everyday lives. Knowing the love of God is the very thing that makes us loving. Sensing the glorious nature and desirability of God inflames our affections for Him, alters our preferences and inclinations, and transforms our behavior. Comprehending God’s revelation of Himself to us causes us to begin wanting God more than anything else. It transforms the very way we look at the world around us. Knowing God better makes us more godly believers, better spouses and parents, and more faithful friends, neighbors and church members. No exaggeration: the knowledge of our glorious God turns lives around.
We hope you join us over the next four weeks at our weekly worship gatherings and our community groups as we dive into a sermon series aimed to help us understand who God is — a God who has revealed Himself as Triune.