Finding Joy in the TrinityVoorbeeld

God’s Relationships

God is inherently relational. What was God doing before He created the world? Love. And this wasn’t a one-way love; the Persons of God point outside themselves to each other as a result of love.

The focal point of each Person of the Trinity is on another Person of the Trinity. If humans were God’s focal point, He would be unfulfilled without us, which means He wouldn’t be infinitely happy. We very much want and need a happy God, so it’s good news for us that He is!

Notice the dual truths the Bible keeps holding out in front of us: (1) God needs nothing from humans, because He is already happy in Himself, and out of the overflow of that happiness and love, He created humanity. And (2) humans need everything from God!

Again, God needs nothing. That’s why He can love so well. This is the best hint we have about why God would create the world—out of an overflow of His infinite love and happiness!

This brings us to the second category of God’s relationships; it’s something theologians often refer to as the Economic Trinity. The word economic comes from the Greek word oikonomia, which means household management. This phrase essentially relates to how the triune God works outside of Himself, and more specifically, within His family. (That’s us!) It refers to all the ways God’s personal love spills out into the world.

You’re probably already familiar with some of the major aspects of God’s external work—it includes creation, salvation, and restoration. We tend to assign certain works to certain Persons of the Trinity—we think of the Father as the One who created the world, the Son as the One who saved us, etc.—but Scripture reveals that each Person of the Trinity is active in the whole process. While they each have unique roles, they have one shared goal and are each vital in God’s relationship with His children.

Without the active engagement of any one of them in our lives, our rescue would fall apart. Inasmuch as they all point to each other and seek to glorify each other in their unity, they work together to pour that love out toward us. The cross demonstrates the infinite loving heart of God to us. It shows us who God has been all along, independent of us. This is why it’s so important that God’s triune nature is first for Him and secondarily for us.

Love is inherent to who God is. That’s what He has extended to us and invited us into. He wants joy for you, and that’s why He draws you near—because He’s where the joy is!

Thank you for reading!

This plan was adapted from The Joy of the Trinity by Tara-Leigh Cobble. Click here to learn more or purchase your copy.