Trinity
by Wyatt Houtz   October 30, 2007 10:08am v.7 Rating: Status: Hidden

Update Status to: [Public] [Private] [Restricted] 

The Trinity tends to be dogma that we hear from childhood and tend to accept without understanding how three Gods can be one God at the same time. In chapter one of John Piper's book The Pleasures of God he referenced an Unpublished Essay on the Trinity by Jonathan Edwards. It's amazing how the lenses of Reformed Theology and Christian Hedonism make the bible so much more clear. Edwards compares the trinity to a man thinking about himself. The thinker exists in two forms, a person thinking of himself, and a person who knows he's being thought about. God is eternally occupied by His Divine Happiness and the thinker is like the Father, and the person thought about is like the begotten Son. As the Son is Divinely Happy with the Father, this causes the Father to be Divinely Happy with the Son. These two reflections of God are one, but are two at the same time. As God is concerned with his infinity goodness, holiness and perfection the Father and the Son eternally express love towards each other and are in "Divine Happiness" (as Edwards says) and this act of love is known to us as the Holy Spirit. So all three identities are fully God, yet each is individual at the same time. This is how Triune God exists as three and one simultaneously. After reading Edwards essay, I felt that God must exist as a Trinity, and all things seem to exist as a result of God's eternal Divine Happiness.   Last Update: November 1, 2007 11:42am Tags: christian hedonism, trinity, john piper, jonathan edwards

PREV

349 of 459

NEXT

Leave a comment: 4 comments	[Hide Comments]	Printable Version
Comments: #1 November 5, 2007 9:53am I just heard Piper talk about this in Sacramento at the "Pleasures of God" conference...you could really say that the love God has for Himself within the Trinity is the foundation and purpose for all creation...kind of like creation through a couple is a result of love (in most cases)...its tough to fully understand the Trinity, which I am glad for, because if I could, He wouldn't be God Brian White #2 November 5, 2007 9:53am Edward's sermon "The Importance and Advantage of a Thorough Knowledge of Divine Truth" (Heb 5:12) challenged me to think about all aspects of our faith, rather than just the ones interesting. There must be more to the trinity, but no one tries to tackle it because its hard. It is impossible to fully understand, so that means we should always be learning more about the Trinity but never grasping it. (Edward's trinity essay is short.) Wyatt Houtz #3 November 5, 2007 11:37am Carson's message at the Desiring God conference in 2006 ago revealed some interesting thoughts about the Trinity from his look at John. I'm still trying to think that over! Brian White #4 November 5, 2007 11:42am I remember that message and afterwards realizing that I didn't understand the High Priestly prayer in John 17 _at all_. Wyatt Houtz Add a comment: Name: Email: WWW: AIM: Location: Comment: PublicPrivate