Grace, Knowledge, and Obedience

"Thus the origin of knowledge is trinitarian: The Father knows all and reveals truth to us by the grace of His Son through the work of the Spirit in our hearts. Note how each person of the Trinity is involved in the knowing process (cf. 1 Sam. 2:3; Ps. 73:11; Isa. 11:2; 28:9; 53:11; Matt. 11:25f.; Eph. 1:17; Col. 2:3). Thus it is all of God, all of grace. . . . There is a "circular" relation between knowledge and obedience in Scripture. . . . It is certainly true that if you want to obey God more completely, you must get to know Him; but it is also true if you want to know God better, you must seek to obey Him more perfectly" (John Frame, The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God, 42-43).

Trinitarian Communion: Archetype of Organic Unity and Individual Freedom

The organic unity of church and society depend, at least in part, upon our perception of the whole and its relation to the parts. To the degree that we regard ourselves primarily as individuals, or even groups (placing the part before the whole), our ecclesiastical and political structures will never rise above the level of a voluntary association. Here, unity and organic wholeness are nothing more than nominalistic abstractions. Only the individual is real and enduring. The organization is, by comparison, an arbitrary convention. This inherently unstable structure will, in the end, give way to self-interest, chaos, and secession.

 Historically, however, the tendency toward democracy, voluntarism, and decentralization in our society is a legitimate reaction against top-heavy organic structures (political and ecclesiastical) that have become too powerful and bureaucratic. It is essential, therefore, that the rights and freedoms of the individual be preserved while, at the same time, avoiding the error of radical individualism and balkanization. In [John W.] Nevin's view such a balance cannot be achieved simply by legislation, reorganization, or even education -- though these are necessary. Rather, these external arrangements must be the spontaneous outgrowth of a deeper sentiment which originates not in politics or business, but in the transforming and leavening power of religion in society. 

Unity and freedom begin with the love of God. Not, however, by way of natural religion or even individual Christianity (these are dim and fragmentary at best), but through the mediatorial life of Christ supernaturally present in the church and its ministry. "The soul," says [John W.] Nevin, "takes its quality and complexion always from the objects with which it is accustomed most intimately and habitually to converse." Participation in this spiritual world of powers leads to a kind of apotheosis [the climax of a development], so that by beholding the glory of Christ the inner person is changed into His likeness. "This spiritual vision imparts a heavenly complexion to his soul, answerable to its own object." In the end, it is only as we are taken up into the transcendental reality of this Trinitarian communion, through the ministry of the word and sacrament, that we come to realize the archetype of organic unity and individual freedom. This realization is the only passage that leads finally from "all" to the "whole" (William DiPuccio, The Interior Sense of Scripture: The Sacred Hermeneutic of John W. Nevin, 193-194).

Trinitarian Reading: The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything by Fred Sanders

The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything (Crossway, 2010) by Fred Sanders is excellent. The book is not a Systematic treatment of the doctrine of the Trinity. Sure, there is a lot of theological-speak but Sanders' feet are firmly planted on the ground, this book is not idealistic or abstract. It is a highly readable,  very good introduction to Evangelicalism's Trinitarian shape (cf. Chapter 4 - "The Shape of the Gospel"). Sanders aim is emphatic -- "The central argument of this book is that the doctrine of the Trinity inherently belongs to the gospel itself" (9) -- and, since Evangelicals have historically been all about the gospel, Sanders demonstrates that Evangelicals have historically been all about the Trinity.

Sanders soberly considers the link between the Trinity and the gospel: "A gospel that rearranges the components of your life but does not put you personally in the presence of God is too small." The doctrine of the Trinity that inherently belongs to the gospel is itself the very "deep things of God" that changes everything for an Evangelical Christian. Sanders quotes Beeson Divinity School's Gerald Bray to highlight the efficacy of  Trinitiarian grace in the changed life of an Evangelical Christian.

Without pride in our own tradition or prejudice against other forms of Christianity, we must surely proclaim that the experience of a personal relationship with God, sealed by the Spirit in the finished work of the Son from Whom He proceeds, is a deeper and more satisfying faith than any other known to man. . . . Evangelical Protestants are not wrong in insisting that theirs is a deeper, more vital experience of Christ than that enjoyed by Christians of other traditions. We have not received the grace of God in vain and we must not be ashamed to own the Christ we know as the only Lord and Saviour of men (10-11). 

Sanders aims to do nothing less than stir up our Evangelical memories, challenging Evangelicals to take ownership of their shared, rich history of vital Trinitarianism. Sanders sends out a clear note, a conservative call (in the traditional use of the word ... progressing while simultaneously conserving) for Evangelicals to celebrate the vital and meaningful life which is changed/created when a Christian lives life in light of the doctrine of the knowledge and truth of the Trinity. Sanders advocates an emphatic refocus upon the Trinity and gospel, the very  "deep things of God." This conservative action will subvert the contemporary "spiritual shallowness," which has plagued Evangelical Christianity and given rise to "evangelical coldness toward the Trinity" (11). The Evangelical recollection of memory will, Sanders hopes, carry a Christian further up and further into the Trinity and the gospel, that is, into the "deep things of God."

Storytelling: Salvation

There are several ways to tell the story of Salvation. An "act" is a division of drama. It is a way to "unitize" the various elements of story. You can tell the story of Salvation with more than one narrative structure.

The Story of Salvation in a Single-Act

Title: The Glory of God
     All is unitized by the structure of the theme "Glory of God".

The Story of Salvation in Two-Acts

Title: Of God's Covenant with Man *
     Act 1 - Covenant of Works (made with Adam)
     Act 2 - Covenant of Grace (made with Jesus Christ, the Second Adam)
         
The Story of Salvation in Three-Acts

Title: A Trinitarian Story in Three Harmonious Acts
     Act 1 - God the Father Chose Us in Christ Before the Foundation of the World **
     Act 2 - Jesus Christ the Son of God is Sent:
          Serves the Father
          Creates a Place (Chosen Humanity) for Spirit to Indwell
          Accomplishes Redemption and Ministers to the Chosen
     Act 3 - Holy Spirit of God is Sent:
          Serves the Father
          Indwells the Place (Chosen Humanity) that Jesus Christ Prepared for Him
          Applies Benefits of Redemption and Ministers to the Chosen

The Story of Salvation in Four-Acts

Title: Sitting Down (Feasting) in the Kingdom of God in Four Scene Changes ***
     Act 1 - People Come From the East
     Act 2 - People Come From the West
     Act 3 - People Come From the North
     Act 4 - People Come From the South
         
* See Ephesians 1:4.
** See Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter VII.
*** See structure in Luke 13:29.

Trinitarian Reading: Fred Sanders' "The Trinity" from Mapping Modern Theology edited by Kelly M. Kapic & Bruce L. McCormack

Fred Sanders contributes the chapter on "The Trinity" in Kapic and McCormack's Mapping Modern Theology: A Thematic and Historical Introduction. Starting with Hegel and ending with the contemporary "surge of interest in all things trinitarian" (22), Sanders outlines what people have been saying about the Trinity for the past 200 years. A the story goes, many theologians chose to criticize the doctrine of the Trinity: when those criticisms are at their worst, Sanders' history accounts for a twisting and honest denial of the deposit handed down; and when those criticisms are at their best, Sanders' history accounts for theologians who were trying to find new modes of expression (oftentimes faulty) for presenting a doctrine considered pre-modern and antiquated. This history, however, has a plot change (according to some).

The retrieval of the doctrine of the Trinity is oftentimes oversimplified--as are all pocket summaries--and attributed to Karl Rahner and Karl Barth, the latter who was able to successfully "put the Trinity back on the agenda of self-consciously modern theology, specifically among the liberal mainstream of academic theology in Europe and America, and specifically among those for whom history and experience were decisive modern categories dictating the conditions of Christian thought" (41). For many, Barth is a theological hero. They believe he conducted theological CPR on the dying doctrine of the Trinity; it was as good as dead until Barth worked his magic fingers and rubbed Church Dogmatics Awesome Sauce on the blue corpse and said, "Rise. Be resurrected."

Sanders is not so easily convinced. He doesn't really see this as a plot change or a paradigm shift. He doesn't think the historical evidence points to motif where retrieval can be interpreted as a form of resurrection. Rather, Sanders believes it was a normalistic retrieval, what some call conservation.

There is an oft-told tale of how the doctrine of the Trinity was marginalized in the modern period, until a heroic rescue performed by one of the Karls (Barth or Rahner). But for theologians like [British Methodist William Burt] Pope, [American Presbyterian Charles] Hodge, [Dutch Calvinist Herman] Bavinck, and [American Episcopalian Francis J.] Hall, as for most Christians, there was no need for an absolute retrieval of a completely lost doctrine. Retrieval is a normal part of responsible theological method, and theologians were actively engaged in a kind of low-level, ordinary retrieval throughout the modern period, a retrieval so incremental as to be indistinguishable from conservation (44). 

Sanders ends his historical analysis of what people have been saying about the Trinity during the past 200 years with a suggestion for how theologians riding the wave and wake of modernity might navigate forward:

As trinitarian theology continues to be discussed and developed, theologians will do well to carry on the modern trinitarian project by articulating this classic Christian doctrine in such a way that the doctrine is not an opaque monolith of inherited terminology, but is transparent to history, transparent to human experience, and transparent to biblical foundation.  

Trinitarian Reading: The Holy Trinity by Robert Letham

Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship (P&R Publishing, 2004).

In the Preface, Robert Letham confesses that although interacting and dealing with a wide spectrum of theologians, "from East and West, from Roman Catholicism as well as Protestantism," this book "is written from a Reformed perspective" (ix). It should come as no surprise for a book on the Holy Trinity to be written from a Reformed perspective, it is, after all, well documented that John Calvin broke from the "Western" theological mold in his writings when he emphasized the persons of the Trinity instead of the traditional/Augustinian emphasis which highlighted "divine essence." Letham notes that it is "tragic" that Reformed folk have failed to flourish and follow Calvin's lead. Calvin leaned into the doctrine of the Trinity, and Letham would like to see more Calvinists leaning together with and like Calvin; Letham would like to see more Calvinists share Calvin's Trinitarian posture. (Calvin was true to his Western/Augustinian tradition, but he did so with an openness to the Eastern/Greek emphasis. Letham says Calvin preserved the theological deposit handed to him--he conserved it--yet he contributed to its flourishing through maintaining a type of kinship through grafting in Eastern/Greek sensibilities.)

In order to consciously share the same type of posture towards the doctrine of the Trinity we must understand both the doctrine of the Trinity and its historical development (flow through different contexts). "To think clearly about the Trinity, we must grapple with the history of discussion in the church" (2).

The history of discussion in the church has centered around what are considered errors of traditional emphasis in the doctrine of the Trinity: the West is criticized for overemphasizing the "divine essence" and of slipping into modalism, and the East is criticized for overemphasizing the persons and slipping into subordinationism of the Son and Holy Spirit to the Father. But these aren't just apparent errors. There is more tooth to them than mere conjecture . . . particularly in the West, Letham says:

Today most Western Christians are practical modalists. The usual way of referring to God is "God" or, particularly at the popular level, "the Lord." It is worth contrasting this with Gregory Nazianzen, the great Cappadocian of the fourth century, who spoke of "my Trinity," saying, "When I say 'God,' I mean Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." This practical modalism goes tandem with a general lack of understanding of the historic doctrine of the Trinity (6).

Letham suggests that the remedy for these errors is an all out, full recovery of the doctrine of the Trinity which follows the trajectory set by Calvin. This recovery, however, is not a remedy administered "top-down" from the Ivory Towers. It is a grassroot solution. The remedial flow begins in the pew and the pulpit. Per Letham:

It is my belief that a recovery of the Trinity at the ground level, the level of the ordinary minister and believer, will help revitalize the life of the church and, in turn, its witness in the world (7).

Letham's aim is pastoral: "Let us persevere, then, through the chapters that follow . . . for the great and and wonderful prize of knowing our triune God better" (12). I believe he accomplishes that aim in this book: Letham, in order to lead us further up and further in communion with and love for (and participation in the love and glory of) the Holy Trinity, competently leads believers from the Biblical foundations, along the historical developments, and into the modern discussions and critical issues of the doctrine of the Trinity. A recovery of the doctrine of the Trinity aids the church in fulfilling her mission because the "Trinity provides the sole basis for the greatest of human tasks," which is to love one another. Letham notes that Scripture, specifically the Gospel of John, emphasizes again and again the "priority of love." The church needs love in order to do her job. "The mission of the church to spread the gospel also requires the practice of love, of self-effacement, of looking to the interests of others" (478). The Trinity is the not only the model but the source of this love.

Trinitarian Reading: Paradox and Truth by Ralph Smith

Ralph Smith, Paradox and Truth: Rethinking Van Til on the Trinity by Comparing Van Til, Plantinga, and Kuyper. 2nd ed. (Canon Press, 2002).

In this short book, Ralph Smith argues for Christians to build their worship and worldview upon robust Trinitarian thinking. Smith's aim is to, "help bring Van Til's profound exposition of the Trinity back into the discussion of this doctrine, and in that connection, to help stimulate further consideration of the worldview implications of the doctrine of the Trinity" (14). In order to accomplish this, Smith compares and contrasts Van Til with Cornelius Plantinga Jr.'s writings on the doctrine of the Trinity. Smith deals in depth with Plantinga's article, "The Threeness/Oneness Problem of the Trinity." After this thoughtful consideration, Smith moves the conversation forward by introducing Abraham Kuyper's views on the covenant.

Smith is dealing with things that are highly technical (e.g., Augustinian views of the doctrine of the Trinity, social theory views of the doctrine of the Trinity, Barthian/modalistic views of the doctrine of the Trinity, etc.). Smith does not, however, lose his bearings. He is pastoral and stalwart in his Orthodoxy. His overarching goals are practical, not vaporous and ideological. Smith has written a short yet very important book.

Smith concludes his book with a sobering benediction:

For too many evangelicals, the doctrine of the Trinity has been tamed, locked up in the cage of a confession of faith that is rarely reflected upon. Kant's words are not altogether inapplicable to this trinitarianism. [Kant said, "The doctrine of the Trinity, taken literally, has no practical relevance at all, even if we think we understand it; and it is even more clearly irrelevant if we realize that it transcends all our concepts."] Van Til's doctrine, by contrast, is more relevant than Kant or his followers can handle. Released from the cage of mere tradition, Van Til's approach is dangerous for the world of unbelief, which is happy when Christian worship of God is confided to pretty buildings. Covenantal trinitarianism implies the kind of "biblicism" that offends the world because it proclaim salvation in Christ alone and offends the Church because it demands reformation. The alternative to a real reformation of evangelicalism in the direction of a fully trinitarian worldview can, I fear, only be apostasy, for the Trinity is the Christian doctrine of God, without which Christianity itself cannot be. But our doctrine of God must be both expressible in a comprehensive worldview system, and also able to inspire worship and obedience in everyday life (112-113).

Enjoying the Sweetness of Trinitarian Life

What happens when a Church cannot produce Teachers or Doctors who toil faithfully in word and doctrine? What happens to a Church when it produces systematic theologians who cannot adequately communicate (demonstrate) and expound the doctrine of God's triunity? What happens when a Church fails to hand down the deposit of sound doctrine originally handed down to her?

The short answer: The Church falls away. She goes into exile. She dies. Like the lyric from Unite by the O. C. Supertones,

O yeah, I got a beef with the fence-sitters
Tares among the wheat, the cop-outs, the quitters
Cut from the branch fruitless, no good,
Only one use and that's firewood
Pay no mind to the generation line
Forsake your sect and be color blind
The problem's not Hollywood, the problem's not Washington
The problem's a weak divided church of schismed Christians

Thankfully, the Church is the bride of the Resurrected Christ. In Christ, there is life on the other side of death, even doctrinal death. The Triune God is the Lord of Life and the members of the covenant participate, enjoy, and partake of the sweetness of the Trinitarian life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Triune, Thus Creator

God is Triune, thus the Creator. So argues Robert Letham via Herman Bavinck:

"It is impossible to think of creation (this creation, this multifaceted and coherent creation, the only one we know and the only one there is) coming into existence apart from its maker being relational, and so in accordance with his full revelation as triune, as Bavinck so cogently argues. Bavinck goes even further, arguing that 'without generation [the generation of the Son by the Father] creation would not be possible. If in an absolute sense God could not communicate himself to the Son, he would be even less able, in a relative sense, to communicate himself to his creature. If God were not triune, creation would not be possible.' This is borne out by hints in the OT of distinction within the unity of the one God" (Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity, 22).