Pursuing Health in an Anxious Age
Medical technology brings no peace like trusting in a God who is actively at work
“We can only be grateful for the powerful technology we have. Yet because the United States has more of it than any other country, we who have access to it are challenged to restrain our tendency to use it. But it will always be difficult to use wisely as long as the world is as... Continue Reading
Barnes and Ayres Weigh In on the Debate on the Relationships Within the Trinity
Michael Barnes and Lewis Ayres weigh in on the current debate on the current debate over the eternal generation and eternal subordination of the Son.
To be honest, I mean Bruce Ware and friends no ill, I think they are sincere, they’re trying their best to be faithful theologians and readers of Scripture, and wanting to pursue practical applications. But I just don’t know if it is possible to salvage the subordinationist argument for marital submission after Lewis Ayres and... Continue Reading
Tor and the Trinity
It started with a hijab during Advent, and ends with a foundational lesson in the Trinity
The Second Vatican Council declared that Muslims profess “to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God.” Later: “Muslims worship God, who is one, the Creator of heaven and earth,” and said that the “Muslim religion” is “deserving of our admiration for all that is good and true... Continue Reading
The Mystery of the Trinity
There are several monotheistic religions and even more polytheistic religions, but the witness of the Scripture and the Christian faith is that God is both one and three.
As Berkhof explains, if we depart from the specific teachings of Scripture and begin to speculate about the nature of the Trinity, it is very easy to fall into error. If one denies the unified essence of being of the three Persons, it will inevitably lead to tritheism (the belief in three separate and distinct... Continue Reading
The Primacy of the Trinity in Theology and Apologetics: Herman Bavinck on Trinitarian Dogma
The pursuit of a faithful systematic theology begins and ends with the doctrine of the Trinity.
The orthodox doctrine of the Trinity is a package deal for Bavinck, it must come as a whole or not be useful to us at all. It also connects for us dots from theology proper to the other loci of systematic theology, including the doctrines of revelation and creation. For these reasons, indeed, it is... Continue Reading
The Fourth Person of the Trinity?
“Don’t try to stand in the place of God and do what only God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit can do in someone’s life.”
While we want to be faithful as pastors and spiritually fruitful congregants to help those entrusted to our care–as well as members of the same body, we must ever guard against allowing ourselves to slide into a role that God hasn’t given to us–a role that only He possesses. When I was an intern... Continue Reading
The Trinity Is Not a Contradiction
Classically the Trinity was defined in these terms: God is one in essence, and three in person.
The formula is not meant to say that essence and person are the same things. Essence refers to the being of God, while person is used here as substance within being. Essence is primary and persona is secondary. Essence is the similarity, while personal is the dissimilarity in the nature of God. He is unified in... Continue Reading
Delighting in the Trinity
The Trinity is not some awkward add-on to God, the optional extra nobody should want
“John Calvin once wrote that if we try to think about God without thinking about the Father, Son, and Spirit, then “only the bare and empty name of God flits about in our brains, to the exclusion of the true God.” Quite so, and that means that if we content ourselves with speaking of God... Continue Reading
The Trinity, The Assembly, and Sweet Potatoes
It seems like everyone and their dog is hearing “the voice of God” these days.
“Hearing the voice of God” used to be the mark of a prophet of God, but over the last century or so, it’s slowly become the mark of a “mature believer.” These days, “conservative” folk (like Beth Moore or Francis Chan) regularly suggest that God speaks to them…not in audible voices, but definitely in some... Continue Reading
Appreciating the Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity isn’t a marginal or secondary doctrine appended to our belief in Christ, as if we can remain neutral to the Father or the Spirit.
The Trinity is central to our Christian identity. Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). To be baptized into something is to be identified with–to be named in relation to (see 1 Corinthians... Continue Reading