Chapter 3
A Trinity of Privileges
Nowhere in the Bible is there a book or a section of a book devoted to explaining the doctrine of the Trinity. Just as the truth of the deity of Jesus gradually dawned upon His disciples, climaxing in Peter’s declaration of faith (MATTHEW 16:16), so the truth of the Trinity grew out of the personal spiritual experiences of the first Christians. As daily they worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; walked with Jesus; and depended on the Spirit, this marvelous truth took hold of them. James S. Stewart explains, “It began when men made this discovery—that they could not say all they meant by the word ‘God’ until they had said Father, Son, and Spirit” (The Strong Name, 1940, p.251).
Once this truth gripped the disciples, the Scriptures took on new meaning, their ministry took on new power, and their personal Christian walk took on new depth. Christian historians point out that the church itself had to recover these truths in order to experience renewal and revival. The Reformation recovered the truth of God’s grace in justification by faith, not by merit or good works. When academics almost froze the heart of the church, various pietistic movements restored the importance of loving God personally and enjoying His presence intimately. In recent years, the ministry of the Holy Spirit has been foremost, and we’ve learned to depend on His wisdom and power. The life of the Christian must be Trinitarian, or we will be living beneath our spiritual privileges. Now, let’s consider some of those privileges.
THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
The early believers knew that their salvation was wholly by grace, for there was no other way to be saved. But they also learned that they had to live by grace, for without Jesus, they could do nothing (JOHN 15:5). As the four Gospels and the apostolic letters circulated among the churches, the believers discovered the riches of God’s grace; as they served and suffered, they experienced that grace personally. The Scriptures were “the word of His grace” (ACTS 20:32). And the “Spirit of grace” (HEBREWS 10:29) taught them divine truth and enabled them to obey it.
In the early years of the expansion of the church, there were theological conflicts over law and grace, and some of those conflicts are still with us. The legalistic Jewish believers emphasized obeying the demands of the law, while the Gentile believers rejoiced in the freedom of obedience in the grace of Christ. The law of Moses is a heavy yoke to bear (ACTS 15:10), but the yoke of Christ is “easy” and “light” (MATTHEW 11:28–30). That’s grace! The law was a guardian or “babysitter,” but God’s grace treats us like mature children who can draw upon their rich inheritance (GALATIANS 4:1–7). The precepts of the law were mere shadows, but by grace we have the living reality in Christ (COLOSSIANS 2:16–17). The law is a mirror that reveals the sinner’s defilement (JAMES 1:22–25), but the mirror cannot wash it away. Christians today look into the mirror of the Word, a glorious mirror that reveals the face of Jesus Christ and transforms us into His glory (2 CORINTHIANS 3:7–18). Law condemns— grace transforms! There’s nothing sinful about establishing standards and setting goals; but the minute we try to meet the standards and attain the goals in our own strength, we have moved from grace to law—and we will fail. Paul’s testimony should also be our testimony: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect” (1 CORINTHIANS 15:10). The life controlled by grace brings great glory to the Lord because nobody can explain it.
Simply because grace is free doesn’t mean that grace is cheap. Grace is costly. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 CORINTHIANS 8:9). The only way we can be rich in grace is to be poor in ourselves and to trust in God to help us. It costs us nothing to add the word grace to our theological vocabulary, but it costs us dearly to practice grace in everyday life. It cost Jesus everything to bring God’s grace to us, and it should cost us to bring that grace to others. “Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church,” wrote the martyred theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. “Cheap grace is grace without discipleship” (The Cost of Discipleship, 1963, pp.45, 47).
THE LOVE OF GOD
It’s difficult to maintain a life of love because we live in a world that’s heavily controlled by competition and greatly polluted by violent words and deeds. We have no problem loving those who love us, but to love those who hate us and hate our Jesus Christ is quite another matter. We think that the easiest way to live is to avoid our enemies and enjoy our Christian brothers and sisters, but Jesus tells us that even the tax collectors and pagans can do that. He expects us to love our enemies, pray for them, and do good to them (MATTHEW 5:43–48). In this way we imitate the Father, who daily gives free sunshine to all kinds of people all over the world and then adds the rain with it. Most people take these loving gifts for granted and don’t even say thanks. If the Lord sent us an annual bill for these blessings, we would go broke trying to pay it.
When you and I were born into this world, we were selfish and demanding, because, as infants, crying was the only way we could communicate our discomfort and needs. We had to let everybody know when we were hungry, uncomfortable, bored, and tired, and our caregivers came to our rescue. But as we grew up, our parents and siblings let us know that such childish behavior was unacceptable. We had to learn to feed ourselves, to walk, to speak, to dress ourselves, to pick up our toys, and to keep ourselves out of trouble. Whenever we lapsed into childish attitudes and actions, we were warned and perhaps disciplined and told to grow up.
When our lives are motivated more and more by the love of God, it’s evidence that we’re maturing spiritually. “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us” (ROMANS 5:5), and that love changes our attitudes and actions. The fruit of the Spirit is love (GALATIANS 5:22). We don’t manufacture love. We yield to the Holy Spirit, obey God’s Word by faith, and let the Spirit work in and through us. Often the Lord brings unlovable people into our lives, perhaps people who even profess to be Christians, and we have to get along with them. But this is one of the Lord’s ways of cultivating His love in our hearts. It’s hard to love people who make life difficult for us, but these people can help us grow in grace and become stronger in faith and love. Christian love isn’t a temporary shallow “fuzzy feeling” towards people; it’s a determined and sacrificial act of the will. Love doesn’t just feel; it goes to work. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son” (JOHN 3:16). “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (JOHN 15:13). Jesus didn’t just feel sorry for us; He did what was necessary to save us. Depending on “religious feelings” can lead us astray. As we leave the worship service, we love everybody, and then we discover that somebody has sculptured the front fender of our car in the parking lot.
As I took my seat on a commuter plane, I smiled at the young father sitting behind me with two children. As the plane took off, one of the children began to scream, and the other one threw up. I didn’t feel like smiling, but I knew I’d better let God’s love take over.
God is our loving Father, and the world we live in is our Father’s world. He is in control, but He doesn’t necessarily arrange things to keep us comfortable or to make life easier. Sometimes He permits just the opposite to occur, and we find ourselves nervous and upset and looking for somebody to blame instead of somebody to love. We start groaning instead of growing, and another opportunity is lost for glorifying the Father. Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him… . As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love” (JOHN 14:23; 15:9). “Keep yourselves in God’s love,” admonishes Jude 21. This doesn’t mean that we must work hard to merit God’s love, but that we should obey Him from the heart and by our obedience experience His love in a deeper way.
Remember that Christian love is an act of the will. Just as parents and children grow in their love for each other, so the Father wants to have a closer relationship with us. He wants us to come nearer and go deeper. Christians know that God is their Father, but we don’t always allow Him to be a Father to us.
I recall times when my wife and I planned special days for our children, but they had their own plans, and we let them have their way. Then they would find out what they had missed and regretted it. God wants to be a Father to us (2 CORINTHIANS 6:14–7:1), but we have our own plans and miss opportunities for deeper love.
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Father loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us, and the Son loves us so much that He willingly laid down His life for our sins on the cross. But the Holy Spirit loves us so much that He is willing to live in us and be our helper. Jesus was away from heaven for about 33 years, but the Spirit has been dwelling in the church here on earth for centuries. I’m not suggesting that the Spirit loves us more than the Father and the Son do, but I do thank the Spirit for His longsuffering with me and for His forgiveness when I have grieved Him. I want to “keep in step with the Spirit” (GALATIANS 5:25) and allow Him to work out God’s will in my life. Living with me takes love! The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Son. “He will bring glory to Me,” said Jesus, “by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you” (JOHN 16:14). As He reveals Jesus to us in the Word, we love the Savior more and grow in our obedience to Him and thereby glorify Him. The Holy Spirit doesn’t work in spite of us or instead of us; He works in us and through us, and we must be fit vessels for Him to fill and use.
The Greek word translated “fellowship” (koinonia) has become popular among believers in recent years. I hear of koinonia Sunday school classes, youth groups, camps and retreats, and even coffee bars. The word simply means, “to have in common,” but this “having in common” means much more than being the same age or enjoying the same blend of coffee. No matter what your age or gender, your income or education, your hobbies or political views, if you know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you and I can enjoy fellowship because the Spirit is living within us. We have Jesus in common, and the Spirit witnesses to that fact. If the basis of our fellowship is something other than Jesus as revealed by the Spirit in the Word—perhaps a pet doctrine, a favorite translation, a gifted teacher, a denominational distinctive—then it is not true koinonia.
If I separate myself from God’s people and fail to use my spiritual gifts to minister to the church, I am grieving the Holy Spirit. To “keep in step with the Spirit” means witnessing to the lost and ministering to the saints to the glory of God, and for this we need the Holy Spirit (JOHN 15:26–27).
Let’s not so emphasize the spectacular gifts of the Spirit that we forget the practical graces of the Spirit, what Paul called “the fruit of the Spirit” (GALATIANS 5:22–23). As God’s children, we are a privileged people, but with every privilege, there also comes danger.
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