Holy Trinity: Poetry in Motion

Despite liking poetry, I’ve never been very good at writing it or understanding its figurative depths. Yet I’m drawn to the rhythm of the lines, the play with words and sounds, the ebb and flow of thoughts. But give me an entire poem that’s a metaphor for something, and I’ll probably flounder.

An English teacher once gave our class such a poem. Our instructions: read the entire thing and figure out what it’s describing. Confusion quickly succumbed to discouragement as I watched the hands of my co-learners shooting up in the air. They had solved the mystery of the poem that baffled me.

That same teacher later assigned each of us a poet to research. We were to choose one of her poems to untangle and present. To my utter surprise, I discovered that with time and some help, I could dig into a muddled mystery of words and find connections and concepts that held depths I could not have imagined.

So it is with the mystery of the Holy Trinity. 

When I try to wrap my mind around God’s complex Personhood on my own, with my limited language and experience, that overwhelmed sense of foggy blindness returns. But what I’m discovering is that, like poetry, understanding God’s Three-in-One nature takes time, focus, a little help, an openness to see Him differently than anything else in the world, and a willingness  to embrace the mystery of it all.

There is, however, a difference between struggling with the mystery of God and avoiding it altogether. 

For instance, as a kid, I’d lay in bed wrestling with the idea of where God came from. It disturbed my little brain that I could never work it out, so I eventually just pushed it to the back of my mind, ignoring the mystery entirely. 

Over the years, I’ve been learning to accept the fact that I will never fully understand God or His ways in this lifetime. But I’m also learning not to avoid the mysteries about Him I cannot solve. Rather, I lean towards the unknown and work with what I’m given – namely Scripture, as well as the wisdom of those who’ve gone before me and my own experiences with God. When I put effort into knowing God as much as I am able, my trust in Him grows. And I’ve discovered that the more I know Him, the more of Him I want to know. 

Friends, this will be a series that will at once seek to uncover God’s essence as Trinity – as well as to wrestle with and even embrace those parts of Him that are not fully understandable this side of heaven. As such, these next seven entries will attempt to hold the literal and the figurative, the knowable and the unknown together by stepping into the reality that God’s nature has layers and facets that often take time and effort to see. 

So, as we allow ourselves to move into the mystery of God as Triune, we will lean into true grappling of the Godhead. We will begin to see the Trinity as exceptional in grace and beauty, fluid in their interactions, even as God remains exactly who He is. Like poetry in motion.

Exceptional Grace

While God never changes, a fuller understanding of Him often requires us to change – perhaps our perspectives, maybe even our hearts. And that requires sanctifying grace. So as we step into this journey of knowing God more completely, let us pick up the grace-like-manna God so freely gives – and receive all that He has for us.

Fun fact: the word ‘Trinity’ is not found anywhere in Scripture. But the idea of God’s Three-in-One nature is everywhere in the Bible. I’ve globbed onto an idea that biblical scholars use to describe the way God reveals His intricate nature through the Bible’s narrative: progressive revelation.^{1 & 2} Let’s do a quick Old Testament look at this idea.

God introduces Himself to Abraham as “God Almighty” (El Shaddai, Genesis 17:1). We know little about what Abraham’s faith-life was like before he entered into the covenant with God (Genesis 12), but he embraces ‘God Almighty’ with sincere belief and obeys with a (mostly) faithful heart.

Hundreds of years go by and Abraham’s family has grown into a people group of over a million despite having been in captivity in Egypt for four hundred years. Imagine it. Four centuries of complete domination by a king who thinks he is a god, of total immersion in a nation full of many gods. I think it’s safe to say God’s chosen people might not have known God very well at that time. Yet, God sends them a rescuer, Moses. And he reminds God’s people that their God is the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:6); He is the great I AM (3:14).

The world in this era was so full of phony pantheons and dark religion that God stepped into one tiny space with one family and gave Himself one name – God Almighty, the One who is omnipotent. The ONE above all other gods. In other words, God didn’t offer a litany of descriptions of Himself. Rather, He met His people where they were and handed them what they needed. The God of their fathers. The I AM who has been and always will be their God. 

This is God revealing Himself to people who were surrounded by a multiplicity of gods. So He spoke of Himself in the most singular fashion so that they might comprehend who He is. 

What exceptional grace! 

God didn’t overwhelm the Israelites with all the details of His Three-in-One nature because He knew their hearts and minds weren’t ready to think of Him as anything but One. After all, He was trying to teach them mono-theism! The great I AM!

And that’s exactly who He is! He hasn’t changed. He’s still singular. There is no other god but Him. 

But God’s primary focus in the days of the patriarchs and Moses was to teach them how to worship only Him, to trust Him alone. Of course that priority has not changed! Yet we live on the other side of the cross, a symbol of so much, including a shift in the way God revealed Himself. We could say it this way – when the world was ready, God revealed that there was more to Himself than ‘Father’.² 

And isn’t that grace, too? 

Exceptional Beauty

As I’ve been researching for this series, I’ve come across something else that biblical scholars use to help us in our grappling with the mystery of the Triune:  “Three Foundational Truths of the Trinity.”^{1 & 2} These ‘Truths’ give us a foundation on which to build, three ‘rocks’ we can come back to when we feel we’re losing our footing: 

1. There is only one true God.
2. There are three distinct divine Persons of the one true God. [God is Father, God is Son, God is Holy Spirit.]
3. Each Person of the Trinity is fully and equally God. [They are co-equal, co-eternal, and co-relational.] 

There is much beauty in seeing the flow of Scripture and how its message remains consistent throughout. We see that clearly with Foundational Truth number one. God gave His people the Ten Commandments, the first of which foremost states, “I am the Lord your God…you shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:2-3). He then gave the wilderness-wandering Israelites the Shema to help them remember, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Jesus Himself affirms this ancient, holy truth verbatim in Mark’s Gospel (12:29). 

This first truth is so important that if we move on without having fully digested, received, and believed its verity, then we will wobble more and more with each step through this exploration of God’s full nature. 

This is the time to pause. To talk with God about this bedrock reality about His nature. To wrestle if necessary with its truth – even if you feel uncertain about what you know is coming (ie: discussing His Three-in-One essence). Stay here until you are sure-footed on this foundation – God is One. 

We can rest, knowing that we are in good company. The early Church wrestled mightily with the second truth as well as how to talk about God’s three-in-oneness. After decades of debate, they finally agreed on the word ‘Persons’.² God is one God, but there are three distinct Persons who make up His truest self. We will spend a big chunk of our series unpacking this second truth from as many angles as we can. But, for now, even in the midst of mystery, we will rely on the Spirit and Word to keep revealing God’s true essence. 

The third truth – that all Persons are equally God – is probably where we have the most misconceptions about the Trinity. So as we seek ways to understand the three Persons, we’ll also work to clarify our assumptions about them. As with all assumptions, we may not even be aware we hold them until confronted with another view, another way of seeing. 

So while we don’t want to suspend belief or stick our heads in the sand, we also don’t want to get stuck. When we find ourselves baffled, we pursue God more! When we release our need to know everything, to understand in order to believe, we find freedom in faith. Such faith helps us to see Him, ourselves, and the world through God’s spiritual, loving eyes – because our faith has allowed Holy Spirit to open the eyes of our hearts (Ephesians 1:18). 

And that, my friends, is exceptional beauty.

Holy Fluidity

As we read the Bible, we witness an ebb-and-flow of God’s essence – His holy fluidity. In one passage He might be described as God and Spirit (Isaiah 63). Or in an other, God is shown as the Son, long before He came to earth in human form (Joshua 5:13-15; Daniel 7).^{1 & 2 & 3} And there are scenes, especially in the New Testament, where all three Persons of the Trinity are present at once (Matthew 3:16-17). 

Even in the beginning – in Genesis 1 – we see God talk about Himself in the plural form of the Hebrew title, Elohim.² In the English world of words, we might call Elohim a collective noun – plural in its reality because the ‘group’ is made up of many members, but singular in being and purpose, just as a ‘team’ sets out to win a championship. 

Then God determines to create humans, saying, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness” (v.26, emphasis mine). Here’s what God is not doing: inviting angels to help make us in their image. We are made in God’s image, so that means the plural pronouns actually indicate that God is plural in His nature as well as in this creative act. 

Genesis one is such a significant passage that John opens his Gospel with these words:

“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 nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind…. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:1-4,14 NIV

Jesus, the Son, was with God in the beginning – as was the third Person of the Trinity, for “the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Symbiotically, the three Persons of the Godhead worked together to bring about the cosmos, the earth, and all that live upon the earth. And while they were at it, they placed their indelible likeness within each of us. 

The movement of our Three-in-One God flows like a dance, One in mindset and purpose even as each Person does their part to bring about the whole. So seamless and single-minded are they that we can easily miss that this Holy Community has existed since before Creation and continues their work in heaven, on earth, and in us.¹

Friends, while we can read the Old Testament through the lens of Christ and see hints of Him from the beginning, God chose to progressively reveal Himself to the Israelites, according to His perfect will and timing.¹ In this way, He first introduced Himself as God the Father (Deuteronomy 32:6). Then He came to earth in flesh to dwell among us, revealing Himself as God the Son (John 9:35-37; Matthew 11:27, 26:63-64; Hebrews 1:3). And after Jesus’ ascension, Holy Spirit came to earth, revealed as God’s Spirit (Acts 2:32-33; 1 Corinthians 3:16).⁴   

God slowly revealed His own complexities. But we must not confuse progressive revelation with correction.¹ God has not changed nor made a mistake. Nor will He ever. Rather, Scripture shows us that He is always building upon what He has revealed to us – collectively and personally. 

By tracing God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit throughout the Scriptures, we see “tracks of their three-fold-ness.”² We witness their fluidity of movement and purpose as they work in total synchronicity – because they are One. We feel the tension of revelation and confusion as we take-in all that we’re beholding in the Trinity. We believe that God is Three-in-One even though we cannot fully comprehend nor explain such a mystery. 

And that is enough for now – because God only asks for our hearts, for our faith to be secure in Him. So we trust He’ll meet us along each step of this journey, revealing the parts of Himself that matter in the moment. In the meantime, we keep leaning into Him, quietly trusting Him for what’s to come.

Father God, we bow before You in worship – holy, holy, holy are You, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. We look upon You with awe as we consider your wisdom and omniscience, your perfect purposes and omnipotence. We lay our lives before You, the One True God, and give ourselves to You as living sacrifices. Thank You for sending us Jesus and for showing us that as your Son, He is You – that You are One with each other. Lord Jesus, we confess that seeing You as present with and part of God since before Creation bends our brains more than a little bit. And yet we agree with John that You are the Word who was with God and was God – since the actual beginning. Thank You for coming as our Savior and Redeemer, for revealing Yourself to us as the One from God and the One in God. We’re so grateful that as we look upon You, we see the Father. Holy Spirit, it’s quite the mystery that You dwell inside of us, yet we believe it! We feel your nudges. We hear your whispers. We know your convictions. We ask that You would open the eyes of our hearts and continue to reveal more of Yourself to us in the coming days and weeks. And we promise to pursue You more fully. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
(inspired by Revelation 4:8; Romans 12:1; John 1:1-3, 9:35-37, 14:9,17, 17:8,21-23,26; Ephesians 1:18) 

Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.

• 1 – Tara Leigh Cobble’s book, The Joy of the Trinity: One God, Three Persons^
• 2 – Darrell Johnson’s book, Experiencing the Trinity ^
• 3 – Such appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ are manifestations dubbed by scholars as a ‘Christophany’
• 4 – Tara Leigh Cobble explains that Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. So if you’re wondering if Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit or Jesus’ Spirit, the answer yes. They are One.
• We have a new series-Spotify-playlist, Holy Trinity! It’s a true mix of ancient and modern, of hymns and spiritual songs. It’s an hour-and-a-half of Trinity immersion and worship! The last song on the playlist is a Chris Tomlin tune called “Yahweh” and it does a great job of giving this idea of just how singular God is! None like Him!
• Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.
• Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
• My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.

Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike.

• For this series, our rhythm of focus will be seeking to know God better in the reading of His Word and with the help of His Spirit. It’s good and right to ask Him for His help each time we desire to read with His eyes, to understand with His mind — so we begin there. Then we invite Holy Spirit to lead and reveal as we open Scripture and read. Each week I’ll put a verse or passage before us to read, to contemplate, to wrestle with. But I invite you to do your own investigating of the Word, for it is in such pursuit that you’ll meet the Living God smack dab in the middle of His Word. I’d love to hear what you see and learn and wonder about!
  • This week, our passage is Genesis 1:1-4. What do you learn of God in these opening words of the Bible? What does it make you curious about?

• We’re all called to share the truth about who Jesus is. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. May we use our whole selves to tell others about our holy God!!

Featured art by Christopher Payne/Esto — a picture of New York City’s Trinity Church!
“All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Sahand Babali on Unsplash.
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