I believe in the Holy Trinity–Part 2
The Trinity is a hard concept to get your mind around. There’s no doubt about that. I’ve observed that one of the more difficult problems regarding the issue of the Trinity in the average Christian’s life is not that they don’t understand it, but that they see no practical use for it. “Why should I spend my time thinking about something that I’ll never get anyway? What practical relevance does it have?”
In our pragmatic society, where time is money and people are far too often too goal(purpose?)-driven to spend any time in meditation, prayer, or contemplation, this simple question is often enough to drive them away from ever considering the Trinity.
So… does the Trinity have any relevance? It sure did to the apostle Paul. As Dr. Haykin pointed out last Sunday night (see this site for the message, which we be available for download shortly), the Trinity is everywhere assumed in the New Testament, though never argued for at length.
The interesting thing about that realization is that you begin to see that everywhere the Trinity is discussed in the New Testament, it is discussed for very practical reasons (ie. “here we can see the whole fullness of the three working together as one”). In other words, you don’t mention something that’s assumed unless it has some sort of practical import: either to evoke wonder, worship, and awe, or service and thanksgiving.
The challenge to us, then, as student of God’s Word, is to notice all the times we see the Trinity discussed in the New Testament and then ask specifically: What difference does this make in my life? What response to the Trinity does the author want me to have?
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