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Editor’s Note: An issue of Conversations on community would not be complete without a look at what John Ortberg calls “the ultimate small group”—the life of the Trinity. To be truly grounded in God, all our discussion, thought, and practice of com-munity needs to spring out of our experience and understanding of what God-in-community is like.

There has been much written on the systematic theology of the Trinity, a philosophical and biblical understanding of the truth that God exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Less writing exists on what an experience of the Trinity can be for the community of believers, even though God has eternally existed as community and call us into full-fledged community both with himself and with one another.

What does it mean to live in trinitarian ways as a people of God? What does participating in God’s community mean for us? What does it mean for the shape and form of our communities? To begin to answer these questions, we turned to the author of Experiencing the Trinity, Darrell Johnson.

Here is the good news: The living God is not a solitary God. The living God is not a lonely God. The living God is the Trinitarian God. From all eternity the living God has existed in community as Community; in fellowship as Fellowship; in relationship as Relationship. From all eternity the living God has existed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. From all eternity the living God has been able to speak of himself as “we,” “us,” and “our.”

And here is the incredibly good, good news. We human beings were brought into being to participate with God in that us-ness. It is almost too good to be true! I was brought into being by the Trinity—and you were brought into being by the Trinity—to participate in the inner life of the Trinity. I was bought by the blood of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity—you were bought by the blood of the Second Person of the Trinity—to participate with him in his communion with the First and Third Persons of the Trinity. Because of the work of the Son on the cross, and because of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, you and I who say yes to Jesus as Savior and Lord are adopted by the Father into the Trinitarian Family. We become real sons and daughters in relationship with the only begotten Son. We enter into the Only Begotten’s relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit. When we say yes, we come home.

I would like to share with you a sentence from a book by the Scottish theologian Thomas Torrance. Through the coming of Jesus Christ and through the coming of the Holy Spirit, God “draws near to us in such a way as to draw us near to himself with the circle of his knowing of himself.”Thomas F. Torrence, Trinitarian Perspectives: Toward Doctrinal Agreement (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark Ltd., 1999) 2. Amazing! The book is entitled Trinitarian Perspectives. The sentence is on page two. No sentence outside the Scriptures has gripped my mind and heart the way this one has. “God draws near to us.” That is wonderful enough, is it not? That the living God would draw near to me is enough to rejoice in the rest of life. But that’s not all. “God draws near to us in such a way as to draw us near to himself.” Again, that too is wonderful enough—is it not?—that the living God would come and pull me to himself. But there is more: “God draws near to us in such a way as to draw us near to himself within the circle of his knowing of himself.” Within the circle—can you think of anything more wonderful than that? The living God, who speaks of himself as us, draws near to us in such a way as to draw us near to the us within the circle of the us.

That is why we were created. That is why we were redeemed. That is what it means to be saved, to be born again. It is the blessing signified in our baptism. Being immersed into water in the Trinitarian Name (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) points to our being immersed into, plunged into, the three-fold-ness of God, to participate in the Name, to participate in the inner life of the Trinity.

In his dialogue with the philosophers in Athens, the apostle Paul says about the living God, “He is not far from any one of us: For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:27–28, NIVAll Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™). In light of understanding God as Trinity, as the “us,” that claim makes all the more sense. In the Community at the center of the universe we live and move and have our being. Note the preposition “in.” Not just “because of”; not just “because of him we live and move and have our being.” And not just “through”; not just “through him we live and move and have our being”; but in. The Trinity draws close to me to draw me close to the Trinity, to draw me within the circle of the Trinity’s life of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

“Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Perhaps here is where I can address one of the questions being asked about Trinity-language in our time. Out of sensitivity to legitimate feminist concerns, many are asking, “can we find a better way to speak of God’s Trinitarian being?” And it is being proposed in many Christian circles, and being written into the liturgy in many Christian circles, that we should speak of the Trinitarian God as “Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier.” The proposal has some merit, for it does highlight the dominant works of each Person of the Trinity.

But, though it has some merit, it misses the mark; and, therefore, cannot replace traditional language. Why? For two reasons.

First, although the Father is Creator he is not the only Person of the Trinity who creates. The Son and the Spirit are also active in creation. Colossians 1:16 (NASBScripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.lockman.org))—“by Him [the Son] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him [the Son] and for Him.” Recall Genesis 1:2 (NASB)— “and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” And the Son is not the only Person of the Trinity who redeems. The Father and the Holy Spirit are also active in redemption. The Father so loves the world that he sends the Son, and therefore also in some way suffers; and the Spirit is there empowering the Son to do his saving work. And the Spirit is not the only Person of the Trinity who sanctifies. The Father and the Son are also active in the work of making us Holy. The formula “Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier,” as helpful as it is, is not Trinitarian: it only says three things about the Trinity.

The formula is defective for a second, more fundamental reason. It misses the heart of God’s self-revelation. The essence of the Trinity is relationship. “Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier” is not the language of relationship. Conceivably there can be a Creator without a Redeemer or Sanctifier. But there can be no Father without a Son, and no Son without a Father. “Spirit” makes no sense unless it is the Spirit “of someone.”

The way forward in knowing God as Trinity is to discover that what is meant by “Father” is not what is meant by many people’s experience, especially many women’s experience, of “father.” Instead of changing the Father-Son language, the more faithful, and therefore, more redemptive way forward is to realize that this Father-Son relationship goes beyond the best father-son relationship any humans have forged. It goes beyond the best mother-daughter, mother-son, father-daughter relationship among humans. It is a relationship like no other.

And we were brought into being by that Relationship for that Relationship. We were bought by the blood of the Lamb to participate in that Relationship.

The God who is “us” draws near to us so that “us” can draw us into the circle of his “us-ness.” The God who is Trinity draws near to you and me and draws you and me near to himself, so that you and I can participate in the life within the circle of the Trinity.

The question I invite you to grapple with is this: into what are we being drawn? That is, what is going on within the circle of the “us”? Or, what are the dynamics of this Relationship at the center of the universe?

The good news is the answer is not a total mystery. Mystery, yes. But not a total mystery. For the Second Person of the Trinity has come to earth and taken on our earthliness, clothing himself in our flesh and blood. And, as one of us, he lives out, in human form, the dynamics of life within the circle of God’s knowing of himself. When we read the New Testament gospels we are reading the revelation of what goes on within the Trinity!

For some time I have been trying to understand and express the inner-Trinitarian dynamics. And I have come up with seven words. There are hundreds more! But seven that express the essential dynamics of the Life within the circle of the “Us.”

(1) The first word is intimacy. I could have used the word love. But I chose the word intimacy because it goes deeper than what most people today mean by love. At the center of the universe is intimacy, a deep, abiding, tender, affectionate belonging. The Father really loves the Son. And the Son really loves the Father. And that love, that intimacy, is so real it is embodied in the Holy Spirit. This is the major thrust of the Gospel of John. In John, Jesus unfolds the intimacy of the Trinity’s life, which is why my friend Earl Palmer entitled his little commentary on John, The Intimate Gospel.Earl F. Palmer, The Intimate Gospel (Waco, TX: Word, 1978). Jesus reveals the rich interconnectedness he has with the Father and with the Spirit.

And Jesus tells us that it is for that intimacy we were created and redeemed. As he prays to the Father: “I in you, you in me, and they in us.” All our longing is longing for this intimacy. We are all wired for intimacy. All our hungers are finally hunger for this; all our thirsts are ultimately thirsts for the passionate belongingness of God. The cry for intimacy that marks our time is unknowingly the cry for intimacy with God.

Intimacy himself draws near to us so that he can draw us within his intimacy. Praise God! This is what is meant when, through the prophet Isaiah, the living God says again and again, “I have created you for myself.” The Holy Spirit comes upon us and moves us from the depths of our being to join the Son in crying out “Abba, Father.

(2) The second word is joy. I could have used the word happiness. But I chose the word joy because it goes beyond happiness. At the center of the universe is joy. Unalloyed joy. God really enjoys being God! The Father enjoys the Son: “You are my constant delight.” And the Son enjoys the Father: “In you does my soul rejoice.” And that joy is so real that it is embodied in the Holy Spirit. This too is a major thrust of the Gospel of John. Jesus does what he does out of joy. And he invites us into his joy.

 

John 15:11 (NASB)—“These things I have said to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
John 16:24 (NASB)—“Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.”
John 17:13 (NASB)—Jesus prays for us saying, “may they have My joy made full in themselves.”

 

Yes, since the ruin of creation by sin, there is sorrow within the circle. No one grieves over the ruin of the world or the wreckage of human life like the living God. Yet, underneath that sorrow is the joy the Trinity has in being our Savior. The joy of coming to rescue us and heal us and remake us.

 

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love.
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee,
opening to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,
Drive the dark of doubt away.
Giving of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day. . . .
All Thy work with joy surround Thee. . . .
lift us to the Joy divine.Henry van Dyke, wrote “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” in 1907, intending to set it musically to the famous “Ode to Joy” melody of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s final symphony, Symphony N. 9.

 

Joy himself draws near to us to draw us within the circle of his joy. “Joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8, KJVScriptures marked (KJV) are from the King James Version of the Bible and is in the public domain in most of the world.) as the apostle Peter put it.

(3) The third word is servanthood. Servanthood? In God? Yes, at the center of the universe is servanthood. The Father serves the Son. The Son serves the Father. And that Servanthood is so real it eternally manifests itself as the Spirit of servanthood. The circle is the circle of servanthood.

How do I know this? Because of the great hymn recorded in Philippians 2:5–11 (NIV).

 

Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rrather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.

 

This early Christian hymn suggests that in his pre-earthly state the Son is contemplating what it means to be God. And it comes to the conclusion that to be like God is to be servant—which is why Jesus washes feet. “What are you doing down there on your knees washing feet, Jesus?”

“I told you, I only do what I see my Father do. I am doing for you what my Father has done for me for all eternity.”

The further into the circle of intimacy and joy we are drawn, the freer we become to join intimacy and joy in giving themselves away. Servanthood himself draws near to us to draw us within the circle of servanthood.

(4) The fourth word is purity. I could have used the word holy, but I chose purity because that is what holy is. At the center of the universe is purity. No twistedness. No deceit. No manipulation. No dirtiness. Clean. Whole. Absolute Purity. Radiant fire, purifying everything within its circle. As John says, “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5, NIV).

Can you handle it? Purity himself draws near to us to draw us within the circle of purity. Isaiah cries out “woe is me . . . I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5, NIV). Peter cries out, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8, KJV). The Trinity cries out “Do not be afraid. The Purity will not fry you. It will only burn away all that is not pure.”

(5) The fifth word is power. Of course! At the center of the universe is power. Immeasurable power. Power that makes rabbits and monkeys and deer and whales and humans. Power that effortlessly flings planets and galaxies into whirling space. Power that holds the universe together moment-by-moment.

Think about that: “Holds the universe together.” I can’t even hold myself together. Do you know how much the earth weighs? The best estimate is six sextillion tons: that’s six followed by twenty-one zeros. And yet here it is “hanging” in space, perfectly balanced, rotating on its axis at roughly one thousand miles an hour. Six sextillion tons spinning at one thousand miles per hour! And rotating around the sun at nineteen miles a second, or 1,140 per hour. And the sun. Do you realize that every square yard of the sun continually gives off 130,000 horse power of energy? That’s the energy equivalent of 450 V-8 engines. How many square yards are there on the surface of the sun? Millions! The Triune God holds it all together! And to think that our sun is not the brightest or most powerful star in the universe. And to think that the sun and its system of planets is only one of one-hundred-billion systems that make up the Milky Way. How does Isaiah put it?

 

Raise your eyes on high and see who has created these stars. . . . He calls them all by name; because of the strength of His power, not one of them is missing (Isaiah 4026, NASB).

 

Can you handle it? Power himself draws near to us to draw us within the circle of Power. Jesus tells the disciples they will be “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49, NIV). Jesus promises “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. . . . you will receive power” (Acts 15, 8, NIV). The apostle Paul prays for the Ephesians that God would open the eyes of their hearts to know “the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:19, NASB). Power that raised the crucified Jesus from the dead. Power that seated the risen Jesus far above all rule and authority. Power that overcomes addiction. Power to endure difficult circumstances and difficult people. Power to serve with joy. Power that supremely manifests itself in being utterly powerless in giving his life for us on a cross.

(6) The sixth word is creativity, which follows on the heels of servanthood and power. At the center of the universe is endless creativity. Not only in calling worlds into being out of nothing. But creativity that finds a way where there seems to be no way. Like coming to earth through the womb of a virgin. Pretty creative, wouldn’t you say? And by overcoming death by letting death first overcome him; and like gaining the victory over evil by letting evil first have its way with him. And like bringing the crucified through the grave into a whole new order of existence which death cannot touch.

Rejoice! Creativity himself draws near to us to draw us within the circle of his creativity. That is what spiritual gifts are all about—the Trinitarian God sharing his creativity with us. As Paul told the Corinthians:

 

There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons (1 Corinthians 12:4–6, NASB).

 

Creativity himself draws near to us to draw us within the circle of divine creativity, releasing divine wisdom and knowledge, releasing divine prophecy and miracles, releasing divine helping and leading; enabling us to preach and paint and write poetry and make music and films; and to build bridges and cities, and teach geometry, invent computers, grow gardens; and to heal broken bodies, and more, to heal broken relationships.

Living within the circle of the Trinity we will never hear “can’t do it.” We belong to a creative, “can do” God, a God who finds a way where there seems to be no way.

(7) The seventh word is peace. At the center of the universe is peace. Not because the Triune God is unaware of the chaos in the world. Not because the Trinity is out of touch with the pain of the world. It is because the Trinity is never threatened by it all. The Trinity never panics. The Triune God is never immobilized by fear. Never worried that someone or something is going to thwart his purposes.

And Peace himself now draws near to us to draw us near to himself within the circle of his peace.

“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10, NIV). “A Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called . . . Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, NASB).

The good news of God as Trinity overwhelms me. I only wish I had understood what I now understand much earlier. The living God is not a solitary God. The living God is not a lonely god. The living God is Relationship. And this God draws close to us to draw us close to himself, pulling us into the circle to participate with him in the Trinitarian Intimacy, Trinitarian Joy, Trinitarian Servanthood, Trinitarian Purity, Trinitarian Power, Trinitarian Creativity and the Trinitarian Peace.