THE NATURE OF GOD MAKES THE ETERNAL TRINITY GLORIOUS

The cornerstone of Biblical doctrine and Christianity is the doctrine of God.  Who is God?  What is His nature?  How does He manifest Himself to us, and how does He work?    The eternal power and deity of God are manifest in creation, as shown to us in the revealed Word of God, the Scriptures  (Romans 1: 20). God’s Word attests to the fact of the solitary existence of God in a plurality of persons – God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The Scriptures bear witness of this fact saying, “There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 John 5: 7). When the Scriptures tell us that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit are one they are telling us that they exist as one.  The very being of God is one.  The three who are in God exist as one.  There is only one existence in God, but three persons.  God is eternally glorious.  God’s glory is His nature and character.  He shines forth in splendor, beauty, and might.  This nature of God makes the eternal Trinity glorious. The first attribute of God’s glory is the name of God.  When we speak of God’s name, we speak of the reputation and fame of God as well as the appellation by which He is called.  God told Moses that His name was an eternal name.  “And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you; and they say to me, What is his name? what shall I say to them?  And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Say this to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.   And God also said to Moses, say this to the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations”. (Ex 3:13-15). If God’s fame and glory are eternal there must have been a plurality of persons present to see and enjoy this fame.  True fame does not rest in one’s mind alone.  The fame and glory of God were expressed and enjoyed in eternity before even the angels were created (John 17: 5). God’s glory is seen in His mercy and truth.  “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory, for your unfailing love, and faithfulness”. (Psalm 115:1).  God is eternally merciful and true.  He has always been this way.  For God to be eternally merciful and true means that there have always been other persons to whom He expressed mercy and truth.  (Note: Mercy here does not primarily speak of God’s compassion on those who face hardship and judgment; it is the loving-kindness of God which He expresses to other persons and has expressed forever to the other persons of the Godhead). The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8).  The love of God is such that, should God cease to love at all He would no longer be God.  God does not only love, but is love.  When we consider the fact that God is eternal, God has always been love and has always loved.  As we read the Bible we find that the One who is loved is none other than the Son of God, who is also called the Word.  “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through him; and nothing was created except through him. So the Word became human and made his home among us, He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. (John 1:1-3, 14; Proverbs 8: 22-29). The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father.  This eternal love is so great that it has a personality and is a person.  Jesus’ own words bear witness to this fact.  “I have declared unto them your name, and will declare it: that your love for me will be in them and I will be in them”.  (John 17: 26). It is evident that the love which exists in the Godhead is the one extended to the children of God through Christ by the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God dwells within us spreading God’s love in our hearts.  (Colossians 1: 27; Romans 5: 5; 8:9; Ephesians 1: 3- 14; John 14: 15 – 17).  It is this love that makes a difference in a world of conflict and disorder.  It is this love that makes peace and reconciliation possible in relationships that had gone sour. On this Trinity Sunday, it is our prayer that you will understand and appreciate this glorious God who is also your Father, your Saviour and your Enabler.  May He make a difference in your life and make you an instrument of love, reconciliation and hope in a broken world.

Have a week of doing exploits for God as you anchor your life in the Triune God.

Your brother, Vicar & Archdeacon.

Igein Isemede