Community in the Trinity

John 17:11, 20–26

"Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are... "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

Perhaps one of my most favourite chapters in the Bible is John 17 where our Lord prays as our high-priest. In this prayer we get a glimpse of Jesus' relationship with God the Father; and a clue to the nature of God, Who is one yet three persons – The Trinity. There are no single and direct verses in the bible that offer a difinitive prooftext of the trinitarian nature of God. It is only by synthesis of verses that we are able to understand this doctrine of the attributes of God. John 17 does give us the idea that Christ and the Father are one and by other verses we get the Holy Spirit in as well. To first century Christians and especially the disciples, this paradox is taken simply – these mostly Jewish fishermen knew the difference between one and three, and yet they do not seem to be bothered at all. This is because it makes all sense to them as they experience a very close relationship with God through the Lord, especially after His resurrection, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Church Fathers codified this doctrine in the Nicene Creed (325AD), part of it says (in the modern translation): "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit.." The Nicene creed codified, not invented as misinformed critics would have us think, what the Early Church believed. Ultimately, God existed before we even came in to the picture, as an already complete loving community of the Father, Son and Spirit. God did not need to create us to have someone to love, but He freely chose to do so for His pleasure and an extension of "Their" community (vv. 22-23). But because of sin, we have "fallen short" (Rom 3:23). We miss the mark and we couldn't do anything about it, religious activities, going to church, good works and all: In a sense, our application to join the Trinity has been rejected. :p But we all know the amazing thing that happened and we are Christians because we are grateful God desired for us to join His complete community in love and He sent His Son to fulfill this desire (v. 24) And finally, not only the first disciples, not only the Early

Church, not only the Church Fathers but our prebelieving friends and family as well (v.20). Let us draw near to God and as we continue to do so, we also share in His desire, passion and compassion for sharing the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ.

Psalm 22:27

27 "All the ends of the earth
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him."

Bonus 1: Watch a funny cartoon video here about St. Patrick of Ireland explaining the Trinity to Irish twins: http://j.mp/1CJPF0x

Bonus 2: I would like to share John 17 .mp3 from the Bible Experience you can download from this link: http://j.mp/1x2jMcm

~08.03.2015