God is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.
To think on the trinity is to dwell on one of the most intense of theological concepts. Wonder of wonders, one God in three persons.
As we move forward into Advent and the “Christmas Season” the trinity should grip us with a theological magnitude as it never has before.
At the very pinnacle of human history, the eternal God entered into time and chose to put on human flesh.
Many men have wanted to be God. Hitler wanted to be God, Stalin wanted to be God, Mussolini wanted to be God, but there has never been and never will be another god who chose to become a man.
… who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit agreed before the world began that He would redeem a people for Himself.
God the Father would send His Son, filled with the fullness of the Holy Spirit to walk in perfect harmony with the will of the Father who sent Him. A little baby in a manger whose little hands would one day be nailed to a tree. A little baby in a manger whose little feet one day would walk Him up the path of death to Golgotha. A little baby in a manger whose head would one day be fashioned with a crown of piercing thorns.
This little baby would grow to be despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.
The trinity formed and fashioned a redemption plan and carried it out with absolute pin-point precision that no human mind can comprehend or conceive. As my pastor says so eloquently, to soar to the heights of worship we must plunge the depths of doctrine.
Let the trinity this advent and Christmas season envelope you in worship. Let the wonder of wonders amaze you and propel you to worship Him in this time of year and every time of year. No better words can I speak than some that have already been written:
How deep the Father's love for us How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son And make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon the cross My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart His wounds have paid my ransom
Why should I gain from His reward I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart His wounds have paid my ransom
The God of the universe, the council of the trinity, one God in three persons, decided for His glory to put on human flesh and die on a cross. God chose to become man to make a wretch His treasure. Oh how great is our God, wonder of wonders, praise His Holy Name. Amen.
