The Trinity
He leads me …
Often when we talk about the second member of the Godhead, we refer to Him simply as Jesus. In doing this we possibly think of Him as a big brother which is referred to in Scripture (Hebrews 2:11; Romans 8:29; Mark 3:34). We see Him as the ‘go to’ person when we have problems or when we need to sort out a problem. We also know that He sticks up for us with the Father as well (Romans 8:34)
But how often do we step it up and refer to Him as either the Lord Jesus or Jesus Christ? Both these names add authority to His name and His role, and probably encourage us to treat Him with more respect.
Finally we go to his full name - the Lord Jesus Christ which embodies everything that He is and stands for, and gives Him the full honour that He deserves. When we refer to Him this way it is likely that we do so with some degree of reverence.
This title also links Him nicely to the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Lord – This name makes us think of the Father. It can also inspire us to ask – ‘Is He still Lord of my life?’
Jesus – The one who bought us expanded truth and enables us to enjoy a relationship with Him.
Christ – The Anointed One – makes us think of the Holy Spirit.
While these three aspects of the Trinity work in complete harmony together as one, they also have individual roles. Let us look at what they are, so that we can understand what they do.
The role of the Father
The Bible tells us that Jesus is fully God, and that He is just like God the Father because He does whatever the Father tells Him. He does not change the Father’s mind about anything, but instead reveals the Father’s standpoint - that the Father wants us to be saved just as much as Jesus does. To illustrate, let us have a look at two scriptures -
· John 3:16 (NASB) says, ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.’ God the Father loves all people and He wants us all to be saved, rather than be condemned or punished.
· Romans 5:8 (NASB) says, ‘God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ God demonstrates His love for us by sending Jesus Christ, who is God and without sin, as a pure sacrifice, that His death could show the world God’s amazing love, and enable all sinners to be saved.
Both the Father and the Son have equal compassion for us. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit created us, and lead us to the point of salvation for a purpose. They are now working together to sanctify believers so that we are more like Jesus in all that we do and are better able to serve Him.
The role of the Son
Even though the Father originated the way that sinners could first be saved and then sanctified, Christians generally only consider what Jesus went through to enable it to happen. This is what people in Jesus day saw, and also what is written about in the Bible.
How did Christ save us? Christians usually think that we were saved by Jesus’ death on the cross. This is an important part of the picture, but there is more to the process.
1. The first part was His birth as a human being. Although He was fully human and fully God, His nature was the same as ours. Remember that He went through hard times and was tempted. Therefore He can relate completely to whatever we have to deal with. In doing this, Jesus reconnects all humanity to God.
2. The next step is that Jesus lived a sinless life. This means that He was the perfect sacrifice when He died on the cross. Previous temple sacrifices had to be faultless, and Jesus was the only person who was without fault, and could therefore pay for our sins.
3. Third, Jesus had to die for us. His death was only way that a one-time sacrifice for all mankind could work. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. As our Creator, He was able to accept all of our sins, and to then die so that they could be forgiven.
4. Fourth, Jesus had to be resurrected. Romans 5:10 (NKJV) says that ‘we will be saved by His life.’ Jesus is able to save us from death because He has overcome death. By His death and resurrection, Satan has no authority in the lives of born again Christians (John 10:25-30).
5. Last, Jesus had to ascend into Heaven as a human, and be restored to complete fellowship with the Father and Spirit. The Bible says He ascended bodily into Heaven, as a glorified human being, and He is now at the Father’s right side, which is the most honoured position possible. He is our mediator, our intercessor, is praying for us, and helping transform us to become more like Him.
The role of the Holy Spirit
The Father sent the Son to save us, and Jesus did all that the Father required of Him. But, even though Jesus had completed His work, there was still work to be done by the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Comforter, who was sent by Jesus. What does the Holy Spirit do? Let us look at a few points:
1. The Spirit gives us new birth. In John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus, “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit…. You must be born again” (verses 5, 7). It is the Holy Spirit that enables the transition from sinner to saint to take place.
2. When the Spirit comes into our lives, He confirms to us that we are born again, and that we are children of God. Romans 8:15 (NLT) says, ‘So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.’
3. The Spirit also enables us to understand the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NLT), Paul writes, ‘But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.’ As John 16 says, the Spirit teaches us and guides in the ways of truth as we need them.
4. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 (PHILLIPS) supports this: ‘But we can thank God continually for you, brothers [and sisters], whom the Lord loves. He has chosen you from the beginning to save you, to make you holy by the work of his Spirit and your own belief in the truth.’
5. The Spirit gives us power over sin. Romans 8:12-13 (TLB) says, ‘So, dear brothers, you have no obligations whatever to your old sinful nature to do what it begs you to do. For if you keep on following it you are lost and will perish, but if through the power of the Holy Spirit you crush it and its evil deeds, you shall live.’ The Spirit sets us apart for God’s use - good purposes and for His glory.
6. The Holy Spirit provides the believer with spiritual gifts that enable us to do the work that He has called us to do He also produces fruit in our lives like love, joy, peace, and other good qualities which others see being developed in our lives as we become more like Jesus.[1]
As we look at the various roles of the Godhead we can see that God in each form has made significant investments into our lives. We can be truly thankful that God knows us completely, and will work with us to provide a good quality of life. We can also be confident that He will continue to draw us toward Himself. Then on some day, we will see Him face to face and know Him fully, and share in His life and love forever.
[1] Introduction to Trinitarian Theology, Michael Morrison, Grace Communion Seminary
https://learn.gcs.edu/mod/page/view.php?id=4222
