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Does your brain hurt? Has thinking about the greatness and majesty of the Trinity worn you out? Take a breath! We have learned a lot about the mystery of the Trinity in just the first day!
The doctrine of the Trinity is a foundational doctrine of the Christian faith. If you feel overwhelmed like you just can’t figure it all out … that’s OK! Our human minds will never be able to fully understand everything about God, including the Trinity, but it does help for us to study this doctrine. It shows us who God is and what He is like. It shows us how we can relate to Him and how He can relate to us.
Today, we are going to look more in depth at the Father and the roles that each member played in creation as well as the role each plays in a believer’s salvation.
We learned yesterday that each member of the Trinity is fully God and has all the attributes of God. Each member of the Trinity is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. The only distinction between the members is the ways they relate to each other and to creation. They are “equal in being but subordinate in role.” What exactly does this mean? The Father is the head of the Trinity, and the Son and the Holy Spirit are subordinate to the Father. The Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Son.
As women, we can’t pass over this truth of the Son and the Holy Spirit being subordinate to the Father without us also talking about how that applies to our marriages. What a great reminder and example to us as women to see this subordinate relationship. It can be seen as a reflection of our marriage relationship. That we as women are equal in being to our husbands but subordinate in role. We can take this lesson one step farther when we look at how Jesus humbled himself when He came to earth. Even though He is the second member of the Trinity, He became subordinate to the Holy Spirit, who was the third member of the Trinity. In His Incarnation, He put himself under the Holy Spirit. He obeyed the Spirit, even to His death on the cross.
Creation:
The members of the Trinity are eternal. There was never a time that they did not exist. Because we know they are eternal, we can know that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were present at creation. Let’s look at each of their activities or roles in creation.
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.’ ” Genesis 1:26
God uses the plural verb “us.” Although the word “Trinity” isn’t used here, theologians and church fathers unanimously agree that this plural use of the verb is referring to the Trinity.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him noting was made that has been made.” John 1:1-3
“But in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” Hebrews 1:2
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2
These passages show us that all three members of the Trinity were present at creation. The Father originated, planned, and directed creation (Genesis 1:1). Jesus was the agent that actually carried out creation (John 1:3 & Hebrews 1:2). The Holy Spirit can also been seen “hovering over the waters” at creation (Genesis 1:2).
Salvation
“For God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38
“Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” John 3:5-6
The Father planned and directed the way for man to be reconciled to God, or in a simpler way the Father planned and directed salvation for mankind (John 3:16). Jesus was the agent or way that salvation was carried out (John 6:38).The Holy Spirit is given to the believer at salvation (John 3:5-6).
Author Wayne Grudem says this of the Father: “The role of commanding, directing, and sending is appropriate to the position of the father, after whom all human fatherhood is patterned.” How incredible that we can look to the Trinity as a pattern for earthly fatherhood. We can see that the Father is the head of the Trinity, and we can see how He relates to the Son and the Holy Spirit. Some of us have had positive experiences with our earthly fathers. We have seen this pattern modeled in our families. Others of us have not had the same experience. We may have had a Father who left us or let us down, but God offers fatherhood to anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ as the Savior for their sins.
Questions to Ponder:
Has my view of submission changed after learning about the submission of the Son and the Holy Spirit to the Father? How can I apply this truth about submission to my life?
If you are a Christian, how will you thank your heavenly Father today?
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