Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8, Romans 8:12-17, and John 3:1-17 (N.B. Psalm 29 also on this day- Trinity Sunday Year B)
Trinity Sunday.
Think about God as three persons in one: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Picture one person in 3 roles – son, husband and father for me. What would you be?
Doctrine and Trinity.
Said that Doctrine of the Trinity[1] is not in Bible; true but, I think, misleading.
- First, ‘Doctrine’ is “what is taught”, what we teach about God from the Bible.
- Know Doctrine not in Bible, as it’s from debate between two theologians in C4.
- Discussing whether Jesus was divine, whether he was really God as well as man.
- One thought connecting God with humanity demeaned God’s holiness; therefore Jesus should be viewed just as an exemplary human being.
- The other said that’s a sterile God, distant, unloving & unconnected to His creation.
- God is love, Jesus name means “God with us” and Jesus is God.
- Second guy won debate, so the idea of Trinity became established teaching, or Doctrine.
- To say this is not in Bible is wrong: that’s where the theologians got them!
Bible Readings for Today.
Three samples of scripture emphasising 3 aspects of God: Isaiah – God (Holy); Romans (Spirit inside us); and John’s Gospel (Jesus the example we can copy).
Application.
The problem is when we over emphasise one part of the Trinity at the expense of the others.
- (Keith ‘H’ D). We might see a church or church leader who emphasises the Holiness of God, making us fear him, tempting us to worship intermediate things (ceremony? Wesley? Preaching?). Sounds familiar? “that’s a sterile God, distant, unloving & unconnected to His creation”.
- (Leyland/Bad R). Some churches seem to focus on Jesus as a man only (keeps God at a safe distance!) a man of action; take this one step further and focus on the action only (‘social Gospel’).
- (St James). Perhaps it’s most tempting to focus on the Holy Spirit. Faith becomes not about God, or Jesus as objectively described in NT, but subjective, ego-centric (HS agrees with ME). Me, me, me, worship; manipulation of those near; and lack of compassion for those far away.
All these odd versions these diseases of church end up putting God at a distance and deluding the sufferers. Interestingly, I have to mention three lopsided churches where one person of the Trinity is over emphasised, as there is no perfect example to look at.
Conclusion.
A three-legged stool is stable. A balanced Trinitarian approach is stable. But losing one aspect or focussing on just one aspect is unstable and can be destructive and hurtful. It hurts us because it keeps God at a distance, prevents us relating to Jesus and shuts the Holy Spirit out of us.
[1] N.B. Beware the heresy of modalistic monarchianism: God does not merely appear to be three persons outwardly, but actually truly is three persons in one!
Preacher & Veteran 