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"It was the whole Trinity, which at the beginning of creation said, "Let us make man". It was the whole Trinity again, which at the beginning of the Gospel seemed to say, "Let us save man"." (J. C. Ryle)

I have recently been renewed in my belief that the Trinity is crucial both for all of Christian theology and for all of Christian living.

This renewal leads me to affirm the following things:

1. As it moves along and especially in the final section, the Story of the Bible ("the Story") invites us to know God as a personal Triune (three-personed being).

2. The Story invites us to know God as Triune and to know and have communion with each person of the Triune God.

3. We should both speak and sing about the "Father, Son and Spirit," more than we typically do.

4. When Christian theology and Christian living is firmly rooted in the Father, Son and Spirit then both our theology and living will no longer be abstract and distant but rather real and authentic.

5. The very core of why God does what He does is rooted in the relationships of the three persons. All that God does is rooted in the Trinitarian relaity. For example, the love between the members of the Trinity is at the core of why we are called to love God and to love others.

"All sorts of people are fond of repeating the Christian statement that "God is love." But they seem not to notice that the words 'God is love' have no real meaning unless God contains at least two persons. Love is something that one person has for another person. If God was a single person, then before the world was made, He was not love." (C.S. Lewis)

In a similar way, God's incredible commitment to His covenantal relationships is rooted in the unbreakable relationships among the persons of the Trinity. 

6. Our deepening understanding of who the Father, Son and Spirit will help us better understand and respond to God's calling on our lives.

7. It is my conviction that our contemporary culture [including very much the Christian church in this culture] needs to hear more [not less] about the three divine Persons. I think more focus on the three Persons will help us respond to various things in our culture: individualism, consumerism, greed, broken relationships, selfishness and our misunderstandings regarding gender identity.

8. I must confess my own lack of preaching, teaching, reflection on the Trinity. At the same time I thank the Triune God for a fresh eagerness to know Father, Son and Spirit!

"Prayer means lovingly contemplating the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, allowing our hearts to be enkindled to praise and adore the love and omnipotence of the most blessed Trinity." (Basilea Schlink)