New Words Same God

In my Systematic Theology class, yes I am in seminary online through Knox, we are studying the Trinity.

At the word Trinity, my eyes typically glass over. My mind begins to wander because how could I ever understand something so outside of human experience? Yet I came into these lectures knowing a few things about the Trinity.

1. God is three people in one God.

2. All three people are equal.

3. God existed forever.

So what is interesting is that I am learning these things in seminary and then going deeper because they ask the question how does that work. So I have been introduced to words like aseity and filioque. What I have discovered is they are similar to medical terms. For instance that purple spot on your leg where you bumped the open dishwasher door, you would call it a bruise and a doctor would say it is ecchymosis. So if you say God has always existed and no one brought Him into being then a theologian would call that aseity. Fun right?

So with the trinity I am digging deep and thinking about how they can be three people and yet one in essence. Tough stuff. However in the digging I ran across this quote.

Gregory of Nazianzus said, “No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by the Splendor of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish Them than I am carried back to the One.” So Gregory is saying that once I think of God as One, the three parts of God show up and surprise me. Then once I say yes I see how God the Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct, then I can’t get away from the fact they are One.

Perhaps this idea is rattling around about your head or seems super simplistic. But it really got me that when I think of one part of the Triune God, I am really thinking of all of the Triune God. So God is a God who is perfectly satisfied in His Triune nature and yet chose to express His glory and love in creating and redeeming our world. It is a humbling thought.

What is God getting you with this week? Will you link-up with me?
I am also linked up at Women Living Well Today:



Angela Mackey

Author and Speaker

Angela is a stumbling woman in need of God’s scandalous grace. Through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, she bears the name Christian. She speaks and writes to make much of this God, His only Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who lives in her. She graduated college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and is a Registered Nurse. She also obtained her Masters of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies through Knox Theological Seminary.