The ancient father of the church, Augustine, once said, “If you try to understand the Trinity, you will lose your mind. If you deny the Trinity you will lose your soul”. Augustine seems to capture the age old complexity and frustration of trying to define, explain and understand this foundational truth of “One God who is revealed in Three Persons”. All the cults reject this core Biblical truth. How are we to understand the Trinity? Is the Trinity just for philosophical discussions in dusty seminary classrooms? Can the Biblical and theological truth of the Trinity have any practical use for my daily life? Last Sunday I addressed the topic of ministry involvement that we see modeled by Jesus in Luke 10. Jesus did ministry and then he involved his followers in ministry. He wanted the church to continue after he went back to heaven. In Luke 10:21-24 there is a thought provoking section that points us to the reality of the Trinity. In verse 21 we find mention of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In verse 22 Jesus mentions the exclusive “knowing” the Father has of the Son and the Son has of the Father. This is a fascinating passage of Scripture. The Trinity is a difficult Biblical concept therefore it is often ignored. Karl Rahner was a theologian in Europe. He once said, “if the doctrine of the Trinity was never mentioned again in today’s church, things would go on unchanged just as they had before.” We say we believe in the Trinity but we hardly know what it means. “one God, revealed in Three Persons”. What are we to do with that? It certainly bends the mind. I ran into the writings of Baxter Kruger a few years back and have been intrigued by his writings ever since. He grew up Presbyterian in Prentiss, Mississippi. He was steeped in Reformed theology from the youngest age. He began studying theology in college and later went to Scotland to pursue his theological interests. He has provoked my own thinking and study in this area of Trinitarian faith. At the core of Trinitarian faith is this theological truth. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit have lived in eternity past in a circle of gracious life, love, grace and joy. What Jesus did on the cross allows us to participate in that life. My faith has grown in wonder, worship, amazement and assurance at the goodness of God as I have studied this for the past several years. Yes, I don’t understand everything there is to know about the Trinity but what I’ve learned so far has only given me a thirst to know more.
Some calendar notes for the church. There will be an Ice Cream Social at Rockside Ranch on August 27. Talk to Julie Webster for more information. We will be having a combined church service with the Grenada and Weed Berean churches on Labor Day weekend, 9/3. This will be held at Kidder Creek Camp with a potluck afterwards. Awana begins on September 13. There will be a church membership class for 8 weeks beginning on September 17. This will be held during the Sunday School hour at 9am. I will be on vacation during the month of August. My wife, Libby and I will be resting, taking some short trips and painting our house.
God Bless You
Pastor Drew
