May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2 Corinthians 3:14 (NIV)
A Trinitarian faith has a direct bearing on our Christian life.
Often, we tend to focus only on one person of the godhead and not have a well-rounded understanding of how the three persons are working together in our salvation and spiritual growth. Even while we are not denying the Trinity, when we prioritise the Father over the Son or the Holy Spirit over the Father and the Son, we are significantly limiting our understanding and experience of God. This not only leads to an imbalanced perspective of God but also makes it difficult for us to detect deception and fight off false teachings.
All false teachings attack one of the persons, if not all three of the Trinity.
A false doctrine may appear spiritual and full of knowledge, but it doesn't draw us to God or reveal the true character of God. It often results in a less-than-healthy view of God and how He sees us. Whether it is legalism or licentiousness, our minds and hearts are distracted from being captivated by the majesty, beauty and mysterious grandeur of God, which reduces our relationship with Him to manageable terms. Legalism teaches us that we must approach God through our works in order to get His blessings. Licentiousness teaches us that as long as we claim to believe, God doesn’t really care about how we live our lives.
A Trinitarian understanding of God is essential for faith and the Christian life.
It is through the gracious act of redemption that God invites all to encounter and participate in this triune life of eternal love and intimacy, and it is the Holy Spirit dwelling within us that empowers us to immerse ourselves more deeply and truly in this love that is already ours in Christ. When we can see the active interplay of the three persons in our justification, sanctification and glorification, we can rest and receive God’s gracious power and love to transform and mature us from glory to glory.