Why the Trinity matters

The final points of my sermon last Sunday:

First, because God matters. We are tempted to dismiss such things, because we feel how we live is the be all and end all. But it isn’t. God is. The truth is, understanding these things matters because God is worthy of our knowing and loving. To ask why it matters is rather like asking why it matters that I understand my wife better.

Second, it matters because relationships matter. If God was not a trinity, then there would have been no love and no relationships before creatures were created. We would therefore have no real grounds for esteeming these things now. But God’s triune nature brings home exactly how crucial love and relationships actually are.

Third, it matters because revelation matters. Jesus said: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” But if the Son was not God, or was not one with the Father, then this could not be true, could it? And if the Spirit is not God? Well, we cannot be sure that the Bible he inspired reflects the absolute trustworthiness of God’s holy nature.

Fourth, the trinity matters because redemption matters. Again, if the Son were not fully God, how could his one death pay the penalty for the sin of the world, and how could we be sure he had the authority to forgive us, or raise us to new life, or answer our prayers?

And if the Spirit was not God, how can we be sure he will keep us until the end. More than that, if he is not one with the Father and Son, how could we be assured of Jesus’ words that because the Spirit lives in us, both Jesus and the Father have come to us and made their home with us?

Hear the full sermon here.