Subscribe to Every Post:Team Trinity
So God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are all conversing up in heaven. God the Father then says, “Listen, I am going to adopt, as my very own children, countless people on the earth (men, women, boys, girls, rich, poor, every ethnicity, etc.). I am going to become their heavenly dad, and I am going to love them forever.”
God the Son responds by saying, “I love the idea. I was thinking the same thing myself.”
God the Spirit also follows by saying, “I think this is a great idea also, and I too, was thinking the same thing.”
With a half-smile on his face, God the Father says, “Hey, it’s almost like we are all of the same mind.” The Father then looks at the Son and says, “In order to make this possible, I need to ask you to come to earth, become a human, and take on my punishment of sin on their behalf.”
Jesus looked at the Father, paused for a moment, and said, “I would love to die for those adopted children. It would be my honor to take on their punishment for the forgiveness of their sins.”
The Father said, “I knew you would say that. When you go down to earth, I want you to show them what it means to live the life I intended them to live on the earth. Give them the perfect example of living for me.”
“I will do whatever you ask and show me to do,” Jesus said.
Then the Father looked at the Spirit and said, “I want you to fill these people whom I have chosen. I want you to convict them of sin, bring them to repentance, fill them, encourage them, remind them of truth, lead them, prompt them, equip them, and teach them everything I have in mind for them to do. I want you to live in them.”
The Spirit said, “I will follow your lead and the Son’s lead, and I will show them the way and give them the power to follow that way. ” The Spirit then looks at the Son and says, “I will even fill you in your humanity and give you power, showing the people what is possible for them as well by my power.”
The Father, Son, and Spirit were of one mind and were the perfect team together. They had different roles and they went out and filled their roles powerfully. What we see on the earth today is the reality of their ministry: sinful people coming to Jesus, being adopted as God’s children, and in the power of the Spirit, following Jesus’ teaching and the Father’s will.
Now obviously, the above conversation is fictitious. We have no record in Scripture of any such interchange. However, we do see in Scripture different roles each member of the Trinity fills, we see interaction and even prayer/conversation between the different members of the Trinity, and we see their perfect unity and oneness.
Doctrinally we need to avoid two extremes or errors: 1) that somehow we serve three gods, or 2) that somehow Jesus and the Spirit are not actually the eternal God and are creations or forces of God.
God is three in one; a mystery that finite minds will never comprehend.
The point I want to make, however, is that their team unity and community is a model for team unity and community within the church. One of the reasons that God wants his children working together and partnering together to advance his kingdom on the earth (as opposed to doing it simply individually) is because community and team togetherness is derived from the Godhead himself.
We all need to be working as a team with other brothers and sisters in Christ. If we are not a part of a community and team, we are missing something that not only God desires for us but something inherent in who he is.
Spend a little time and ask yourself, am I partnering with other Jesus-followers to advance his kingdom on the earth? If you are, you are mimicking the eternal nature of God.
What an exciting and powerful calling the Triune God has given us!
September 11th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Hey Chris,
Great post. Very inspiring and original. It’s interesting to try and imagine the conversations that are constantly going on within the Godhead. I’ve been reading some of the fictional Great Conversations books lately by Ravi Zacharias. You know, you could publish a series of fictional books revolving around Great Conversations between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as they discuss different topics or events. I would read them. Blessings.
-brad