Ok, so in this chapter on Luther there are a lot of heady pieces. It seems like any time you start dealing with the Trinity things get a little intense. Maybe that’s why a lot of people just kind of shove it to the side as fancy theo-speak or outdated dogma. I’ve read a lot about the Trinity, but this chapter pushed me on a point that I think is kind of interesting. Here’s a quote.
“But the triune nature of God can be comprehended only as an unfolding of the pure gospel…”
This is good stuff. Think about it. God reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He always has been these three persons in one God and he always will be. But the fact that he always has, is now, and always will be these three-in-one says something really important.
It says that from the very beginning the Gospel was written into God. He created out of grace, that’s the nature of God. While Son and Spirit are huge in creation, we still speak about it centrally as the work fo the Father. Yet there are two other persons. And what’s the “central” work of the Son- redemption. So in the fact that Jesus exists as part of the trinity, that means that from the beginning, from the very nature of God, we can assume grace and redemption. It’s not just a plan God comes up with after he creates humans, it’s something that is part of his very nature. You can continue that thought with the Holy Spirit. His “central” work is that of sanctification. Again, this is about bringing us to faith today, but also about the consummation and completion of our holiness on the last day. The work of the Trinity is about Gospel from creation, to redemption, to the end of this age.
Isn’t that kind of cool? . . . To think that from before creation- Gospel, creation, redemption, sanctification, and the end/new creation is written into the nature of God. That’s who he is by definition. That’s what Trinity is.
Well, I thought this was interesting. I hope it does something for some of you as well.
