Trinity

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience

Paul has begun his prayer for the Colossian Christians with his primary request: that they would be dedicated to knowing—and following—God’s will for them. The foundation of a well-rounded Christian life is being God-focused and God-centered.

Now, if you’re starting down this path and have reoriented your priorities in that way, something is necessarily going to follow. Paul says that you will “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing” (Co 1.10a). That may surprise you. Can we really “walk worthy of the Lord”—even from the beginning?

Paul does speak matter-of-factly about walking worthy of God, as though this is something achievable, even routinely, by his followers:

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, ²With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; ³Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ep 4.1-3).

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel (Php 1.27).

As Paul teaches elsewhere, this is not something we just buckle down and do. He tells another church, “It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Php 2.13). We seek his will as revealed in his Word, and his Spirit illuminates our minds as we read (1Co 2.12-16). With that understanding, we know what to do. And then he motivates and empowers us to do it. As we do, we will walk “worthy” of the Lord and please him well.

This isn’t really something we can do by our own willpower, is it? It’s not about gritting your teeth, scrunching your eyebrows together, and trying your very very best. It’s about reading, studying, and meditating on his Word, communicating continuously with him, and walking consciously in the light of his presence. You know what? That’s something you can do with an attitude of peace, not frantic (and often frustrated) effort.

Christians often say that Christianity isn’t a religion, but a relationship. That’s not just verbal jiu-jitsu; it’s at the definitional core. We can’t thrive spiritually without walking moment by moment with God.

A little trinitarian observation is appropriate here. We often focus on the fact that God exists in three persons, to the extent, I fear, that we think of three Gods. That is gravely wrong. God is One, and the persons do not operate independently, even though they do fill distinct roles. If we follow Jesus’ pattern for our prayer (Mt 6.9-13), we pray to the Father, a fact that implies that he is close enough to hear us. (I know that God’s ability to hear is not a function of distance, but work with me here.) Jesus, the Son, said that he would be “with” his disciples, to the end of the age (Mt 28.20). And finally, the Spirit indwells us forever (Jn 14.16; Ro 8.9). Now, God is omnipresent (Ps 139.7-10), so in a sense he is “with” everyone, even unbelievers, and he is in places where there are no people whatsoever. But these passages indicate that the Triune God is united in being “with” believers in a special way, instructing , leading, strengthening, abiding.

I dwell in the high and holy place, With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Is 57.15).

If you’re just stumbling along trying to do better, then, you’re missing the whole point. Walk with him, and you will find yourself walking “in all pleasing.” One commentator writes,

“[This is] an expression that describes not a frightened attitude in the presence of a superior, but behaviour that honours the Lord because it arises out of glad obedience to him” (Peter T. O’Brien in The New Bible Commentary, p. 1265).

Paul will turn next to specific ways that our walk will be worthy of the Lord. We’ll begin looking into that next time.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Once you’ve settled on the fact that God is the Creator, the world never looks the same. A number of ideas immediately become obvious. I’d like to meditate on two of them for the next few posts.

One of the most obvious is that you and I are special.

I don’t mean that in the fawning sense, the way moms tell their children that they’re special. I mean it in the most life-changing way possible.

The creation account makes it obvious.

During the 6 days of active creation, God spends most of the time, metaphorically speaking, sitting in his chair and issuing orders. As I’ve noted before, sometimes he just speaks and items spring into existence: he says, “Let there be light” (Gen 1.3), and there is; he says, “Let there be an expanse” (Gen 1.6), and there is; he says, “Let there be lights in the heavens” (Gen 1.14), and the sun, moon, and stars come into being; he speaks (Gen 1.20), and fish swim in the seas, and birds fly through the atmosphere. Sometimes, when he speaks, he’s acting on things he has already created: he orders the waters to gather so that dry land becomes visible (Gen 1.9), and he causes plants (Gen 1.11) and then animals (Gen 1.24) to spring from the ground.

Through all of this activity (again, metaphorically speaking), God has never left his chair; he has spoken, and his will has been done. But now the story changes dramatically.

To begin with, God speaks, not to command his creation, but in meditation with himself. He says not, “Let there be man,” but “Let us make man” (Gen 1.26). He counsels with himself on what he is about to do.

In the hindsight of the New Testament, Christians see the Trinity here: the persons of the Godhead, perfectly one, speak among themselves, with the Father as administrator and visionary, the Son as active agent, and the Spirit as nurturer and protector. I don’t doubt that all that is true, but the picture here in Genesis, at the outset of God’s self-revelation, is murkier. God is speaking to himself, and he’s using the plural. Is this a majestic king planning his next action, or is it a consultation between or among infinitely exalted equals?

Well, neither, exactly. This is complicated by the fact that God doesn’t think of things, or through things, in the sense that we do. Sovereign and omniscient, he never hatches a plan or finds a solution. So why is he talking to himself, appearing to think through what he’s about to do?

It seems pretty clear what he’s doing. He’s pausing to relish what’s coming. This is not just another step in the long process of creating stuff. This next step is different in kind from what has happened so far; God is about to do something really extraordinary (as if speaking the cosmos into existence in an instant [Gen 1.16] isn’t extraordinary enough!).

In what way is this next step extraordinary? His joyous words tell us plainly: “Let us make someone like us! In our image! Exponentially greater than everything else!” (Gen 1.26a, paraphrased with abandon). May I say reverently, it’s as though he says, “You think that’s impressive? Just watch this!”

And then, metaphorically speaking, he rises, majestically and purposefully, from his chair. No pointing and giving orders now; he’s going to get involved. He’s going to roll up his sleeves and plunge into his creative work clear up to his elbows. Foreshadowing the coming incarnation, he’s going to step right into the middle of his creation.

In the next post we’ll consider what that means.

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

Dan Olinger

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How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 3: Relationship

Created. Now What? Part 1: Anticipating the Image of God

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