Trinity

This Sunday we shall be looking at the Trinity. It is a difficult and complex topic to get our minds around, but the Bible gives us beautiful pointers to the mysterious beauty of this God whom we worship who is one in three and three in one.

In Genesis 1: 1-3, we read, “1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ³ And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

This shows us the actions of God in creation: bringing order out of chaos by the spoken word and the Spirit who hovered over the waters. Here the Father is the one on whom we focus, but we see the involvement of the Word and the Spirit in creation.

Then in Mark 1:9-11, Mark tells us about the baptism of Jesus in the following words: “⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”

Again God is involved in this dynamic process – Jesus the Holy Son receives the affirmation from the Holy Father and is filled with the Holy Spirit in order to bring redemption to a fallen humanity. God, Father, Son and Spirit are involved in the great task of saving human beings and restoring us to a full relationship with God. Here the Son is central, but we see the action of the Father and the Spirit in redemption.   

We read in Acts 2:1-4 about the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost: “2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Once again the action is God’s action. The disciples who are gathered are disciples of the Son who have been brought into a relationship with the Father and are now filled with the Holy Spirit. Here the Spirit is central, but we are aware of the presence of the Father and the Son who send the Spirit upon the disciples. The Father, the Son and the Spirit are engaged in the great enterprise of creating a new community that will take the good news of the gospel to a world that is desperate for that good news.