It seems to me that there is a general failure, in the Evangelical church, to appreciate the impact that being a Trinitarian Christian actually has upon how we think about a variety of subsequent things. I say subsequent things, because I see a person’s doctrine of God as determinative of how they will proceed in the rest of their theological development; whether that be, soteriology, ecclesiology, anthropology, eschatology, etc. Most Christians know that to be a Christian means to believe in the Trinity; that God is eternally defined as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each co-eternal, co-equal, and yet distinct as the persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And it is the persons inter-relationship, and inter-penetration that shapes the one being of God’s life; and it is the one being of God’s life that gives shape to the divine persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I think that so often, Christians, those who sit in the pews (and often, those behind the pulpit), relegate the idea that God is Trinity to the realm of mystery; and thus fail to appreciate what we can know about God as revealed in the Son by the Holy Spirit. It is this self-revelation that becomes definitive for how we come to know God in his (what has been called by theologians) ‘inner-life’ (or who he has always been in eternity). We are first introduced to God in Christ, as the Father of the Son (not Creator). This has a drastic consequence on how we think of God, and how we then relate to God. If we think of God as Triune, and relational, and thus loving; then our conception of how he relates to us in grace is going to take on a more intimate, gracious, and loving (i.e. self-giving) sense. If we think of God as Creator (first), if we think of him as Law-giver (first); then our spirituality and walk with him are going to look much different than if we know him as loving Father of the Son by the Holy Spirit. If we think of him as Creator/Law-giver (first), then our daily walks will probably take on a deontological or duty-driven or performance motivated mode of operation.

This (above) is just one reason why it is so important to have a proper doctrine of God in place. And this is why it is so important for pew sitting Christians, and pulpit-preaching Pastors to not shrink back from the astounding reality of our Triune God. We need to press into that reality as far as we possibly can, and realize that if we get (what we can know) our doctrine of God wrong, then we will get everything else wrong; if we get it right, everything else will be proximately right (relatively speaking). So my adomonition is to press into the beauty and splendor of our God; push as far as the Spirit will allow in Christ, and wrestle with the grandeur of our God (Jacob did).