PRACTICAL VALUES OF THE TRIUNITY (TRINITY)

PRACTICAL VALUES OF THE TRIUNITY (TRINITY)

 

 

In concluding the discussion on the triunity of God, CERTAIN PRACTICAL VALUES deriving from this doctrine should be called to the attention of the reader.

1.      Without the plurality of persons in the Godhead, it would be impossible for there to be a God of eternal love. Love requires an object, and before creation there was no object to be loved unless it be found in God. But love of self is not love in the highest sense. So with a society of persons in the God­head, God is sufficient in Himself to be a God of eternal love (Jer. 31:3). The Father loves the Son (John 3:35; 5:20; 17:24) and the Spirit (1 John 4:8). The Son loves the Father (John 14:31), and the Spirit (Matt. 22:37; with 5:17). And the Spirit loves both the Father and the Son (Rom. 15:30 with Gal. 5:22).

2.      Without a triunity of persons in the Godhead there could be no final and complete revelation of God. If Jesus is not God, then we have no perfect revelation of God (John 1:18). And if the Spirit is not God, then even the revelation in the Bible concerning Christ is without perfect illumination which alone comes from the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:12-13), who alone is qualified to interpret and explain the meaning of the written revelation.

3.        Without a triunity of persons in the Godhead, there could be no sal­vation in the Christian sense of that term. Only God can make atonement for sin, and this atonement must also constitute a transaction between members of the Godhead. Moreover, only God in the person of the Son could leave heaven and come to earth to die for sin (Phil. 2:5-8). And only God in the person of the Spirit could share His life with men (John 14:16-17).

4.        Without a triunity of persons in the Godhead there could be no such thing as a genuinely personal God. Personality cannot exist in the highest sense apart from a society of persons. If an individual were the only person in the universe, he would not be a complete personality in the fullest sense of that term. So the triunity of God constitutes a society of persons and provides the metaphysical basis for human personality (Gen. 1:26-27).

5.        Without a triunity of persons in the Godhead there could be no foundation for the social life of mankind. To realize all the social relation­ships possible there must be at least three persons. There must be an I, a you, and a he. This will provide for what the I does to you; what the you and I do to him; and what all three do together. It is therefore evident that human life and institutions are built squarely upon the divine society: the family, the state, the church (Eph. 5:22-32; 1 Cor. 11:1-16).