THE TRINITY

 

 

We commonly speak of the first, second, and third Persons of the Trinity. We call God the Father the first Person, God the Son the second Person, and God the Spirit the third Person.

Some ignorantly imagine that to mean that God the Father is the primary Person in the Godhead and that the Son and the Spirit are secondary Gods. That is not the case at all. The three Persons of the Holy Trinity are in all things equal to and co-existent with one another.

Voluntary Subordination

In the execution of the covenant of grace there is a subordination of one Divine Person to another. This is not a subordination of personal inferiority; but a voluntary subordination of the Son to the Father to redeem his elect, and of the Spirit to the Father and the Son as the Sanctifier and Preserver of all who were chosen by the Father and redeemed by the Son.

For example: Our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Good Shepherd, in John 10, speaks of the command received from the Father which he must obey. He also speaks of sending God the Holy Spirit to perform his work for and in God’s elect. Isaiah speaks of God the Son as Jehovah’s Servant. In much the same way, I often do what my grand daughter asks me to do. I become subject to her, and become honor bound, at times to obey her, because I have pledged myself to do her will in a given area. That does not mean that she is stronger, greater, or superior to me, except by my voluntary consent for the accomplishment of a specific thing.

Accommodating Terms

This division (First, Second, and Third Persons) is made simply because our puny brains must have some order in which to think of the infinite God. These are simply accommodating terms to help us grasp things that are beyond us. The three Persons of the eternal Godhead "are," as the apostle John puts it, "one." They are one in nature, essence, being, and glory. When seeking to understand what the Scriptures teach about the Trinity, this is one of the many places where faith must submit to and receive as a fact of Divine Revelation that which reason can never comprehend.

Faith Bows

When all is said that can and should be said regarding the Holy Trinity, we are utterly at a loss to understand the infinite God. He is infinitely greater than we are. We cannot by searching find him out, or comprehend the incomprehensible. Faith simply bows to him and to his condescending revelation of himself in Holy Scripture, worshipping and trusting God, (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) as he makes himself known in the person and work of his darling Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. What can be more beautifully honoring to him?