In this dogma, we learn that the triune god is the father, son and holy spirit they are three tri and yet one une. Jun 15, 2014 relationship not only with our loved ones, but the interactions we have at work, in community, at church. This means that the triune god is for gods dealing with man. The chapters are formed as carefully reasoned expositions on the subject of the trinity, and as such, this book provides us with a model worth emulating across the spectrum of systematic categories.
Here are a few thoughts on two terms we throw around today relationship and community. The concept of trinity and its implication for christian. Worship, community and the triune god of grace is a collection of lectures given by james torrance examining the role of god in the act of christian worship. T he biblical and theological foundations of spiritual. In after our likeness, the inaugural volume in the sacra doctrina series, miroslav volf explores the relationship between persons and community in christian theology. Seen from the lens of the spirit, this right relationship is a mutual indwelling that has communion and the swallowing up of mortality by life as its substance 2 cor. Worship is the gift of participating through the spirit in the incarnate sons communion. It is interesting to note that worship, community, and the triune god of grace wctgg contains a mere pages, and yet it has gained wide influence in denominations around the globe, as in it torrance offers a brief but profound discussion of prayer and worship that is christcentered, incarnational and trinitarian. Heres what i think is important to reach our everchanging world with jesus. Through the sending of the son and the spirit god enters the world in order to create a community that reflects and extends the love that constitutes gods own reality.
Before all worldsbefore any sort of human community existedthere was god, dwelling in perfect, loving harmony in his threefold being. Its community of freedom and equality illuminates the image of. Catherine mowry lacugna, along with her book god for us, led me to rediscover the most practical doctrine of the christian faith. Being in right relationships is another one of the foundations of spiritual formation. God is the eternal creator, the source of love, life, and truth. The claim of the triune god is not individualism but social relationship. If the world becomes inhabitable for god, then the restless god of history comes to his rest. Oct 11, 2012 god values the world he loves so much that he even takes his identity from his relation to it. Buy worship, community and the triune god of grace by torrance, james b. Flowers god is not an individual says milt rodriguez. Worship, community and the triune god of grace logos. Human beings image god, not only as individuals, but most strikingly as a collective. The oneness of the triune god contending for the faith. The community of christ was founded as a restorationist church, although today attitudes are largely congruent with mainline protestant christianity.
In the biblical account of creation, this triune god says. In one sense grenzs largely neutral stance may be tacit realization that ones character and context shape his theological reflection. In a day when refinement of method and quality of experience are the guiding lights for many christians, james b torrance points us to the indispensable who of worship,the triune god of grace. Its the backbone of our creeds, and its the assurance of our prayers. Worship is the gift of participating through the spirit in the incarnate sons communion with the father. Relationship not only with our loved ones, but the interactions we have at work, in community, at church. Triune god jesus introduces the mystery to his disciples the triune nature of god is subtly introduced to the disciples when jesus prescribes the antidote for their anxiety. The point of departure is the thought of the first baptist, john smyth, and the notion of church as gathered community that he shared with radical reformers. The triune communion is shared with all humankind in the fathers missioning of his son and holy spirit to unite all humankind in communion, community, and communication with, and through, the koinonia of the son with the father and the spirit, and the koinonia that the incarnate son is with god and humankind. As stated in the athanasian creed, the father is uncreated, the son is uncreated. Worship is the gift of participating through the spirit in. If we mirror the image of god then we mirror a god who was in personal relationship before men and women were created. God created us for relationship and community josh robinson. With this as backdrop, ryken and lefebvres our triune god fills a void in christian literature.
The triune godthe triune god and the person and work of christ, by witness lee. Pursuing a meaningful relationship with the triune god of the universe, in cultural diversity, for the here and now, and for the glory that is to come. The descent of the holy spirit at pentecost created a sharing church to eradicate disparities from the church, which is a visible sign of the kingdom of god on earth. They charge that the tradition portrays the relationship of god and the world as unilateral and coercive rather than reciprocal and persuasive. Rediscovering the triune god is nonjudgmental toward all, even when some theologies conflict with biblical or historical trinitarianism. Summary worship is the gift of participating through the holy spirit in the incarnate sons communion with the father, in his vicarious life of worship and intercession. Its community of freedom and equality illuminates the image of the triune god. The holy bible traces the story of gods communication with humans and human communication with god and with other fellow men and women.
God is not as a solitary individual, but as divine community. The triune nature of god god the father, god the son, god the holy spirit by dr. Does it make a difference that the god christians cla. When faced with the holiness of the triune god, he saw himself as a man of unclean lips living among an unclean people. The god who meets us in the testimony of israel is the same god who meets us in jesus christ, and who indwells creation as the holy spirit. Many have questioned this understanding, as the trinity is not a biblical word. To understand that god is triune is the only way to make sense of human relationships. The triune relationships of father, son, and holy spirit cause us to marvel at the unity of god.
Here is a book that sets our worship, communion and language of god back on track. They are equal in their divinity, yet separate in their. Pastors, teachers, and believers everywhere will be refreshed and challenged by this stirring call to a deeper participation in the love of the triune god. We find that in the garden of eden, adam and eve were actively involved in a relationship with god. Worship, community and the triune god of grace intervarsity. In trinitarian doctrine, god exists as three persons or hypostases, but is one being, having a single divine nature. God the father, god the son the lord jesus christ, and god the holy spirit not one god in three phases. God in relationship the mystery at the heart of human life is discovered in our relationships, whose outlines might be simply explained but that are ineffable at the core. For many years in western society, the concept of a holy trinity has been. The triune godthe triune god and the person and work of christ, by witness lee more excerpts from this title. Theologian stanley grenz here tells the story of trinitarian theology in the last century. He risks his own contentmentif not his own lifefor its welfare.
This spirit mediated relationship with the triune god and with the entire history of gods people a history whose center resided in jesus own proclamation of the reign of god, in his death and resurrection constitutes an assembly congregation into a church p. Jul 30, 2008 the trinity consists of one being revealed in three distinct persons. By matt chandler the god we worship is a god who has eternally existed in community. Sep 11, 2017 we worship a god who is three in one, the triune god of the universe. When god created man, he used the plural pronoun for himself. It is impossible to multiply and fill the earth and exercise dominion as individuals. The persons of the trinity share one divine nature. The community of christ teaches that the one eternal living god is triune. The triune god as a driving force behind a healthy growing church. The tripersonality of god is exclusively a christian doctrine and a truth of scripture. It is based on the selfgiving embrace of the triune god and is manifested in new. This triune god created humanity as the chief of his creations for the display of this relationship.
Jun 16, 2012 the book examines several contrasts, such as what false and true worship are, and unitarian and trinitarian views of worship. This is the main repeated and emphasized thrust of the presbyterian reformed theologian james torrance in his book worship, community and the triune god of grace. When god took care of fallen man, he used the plural pronoun again. There we read that god said, let us make man in our image.
While it generally rejects the term mormon to describe its members, the church abides by a number of theological distinctions unique to mormonism, including but not limited to. Communion with the triune god, by john owen as edited by kelly kapic and justin taylor, has become, along with the apostles doctrine of the atonement, by george smeaton, the two most important books in my life. The triune god, father, son, and holy spirit, is the original and eternal community of love out of which we were created, and this one holy trinity is our true and eternal home. Worship, community and the triune god of grace by james b. Gods desire is reconciliation of people to himself. In creation, human destiny is in community because humanity is the image of the triune god who lives in community as father, son, and holy spirit. The selfgiving triune god, the imago dei and the nature of the. The trinity means that god himself is in community.
The focus is the community of grace, the christian church. And while none of us can understand god completely, he has revealed some truths about himself in scripture in a way we can understand. From our understanding of the trinity a social being, we recognize that a person is a relational being, not just someone with a mind, a will, and. In a day when refinement of method and quality of experience are the guiding lights for many christians, james torrance points us to the indispensable who of worship, the triune god of grace. The chapters are formed as carefully reasoned expositions on the subject of the trinity, and as such, this book provides us with a model worth emulating. According to the catechism of the catholic church, the fathers of the church distinguish between theology theologia and economy oikonomia. The key to isaiahs devotion to such a seemingly futile enterprise lay in his relationship with god himself.
This triune god or trinity began to allude to this aspect of his nature right in genesis 1. God, there is no god either before or after him, yet in the same book the. Ive been working through the bible book by book, and every once in a while ill come across a clause that mentions all three members of the holy trinity. We worship a god who is three in one, the triune god of the universe. Jun 15, 2018 the perichoretic interpenetrating each other without losing distinction relationship of the trinity is a model for christian community. Jun 01, 2002 the claim of the triune god is not individualism but social relationship. Mar 26, 2008 here are a few thoughts on two terms we throw around today relationship and community. It acknowledges god, who is a community of three persons, as the creator and the source of love, life, and truth.
The most difficult thing about the christian concept of the trinity is that there is no way to perfectly and completely understand it. The lectures cover the basics of a trinitarian god, the priesthood of christ, the sacraments, and gender and sexuality as they relate the practice of christian worship. Father, son, and holy spirit have dwelled in perfect unity, love and joy before and throughout time. Torrance identifies how false and unitarian worship is happening in our churches because of a misunderstanding of authentic worship and who the triune god of grace is. God the father, god the son the lord jesus christ, and god the holy spirit. In this book, the authors bring that affirmation to life by showing us that the trinity is not just a doctrine to be believed but a relationship to be experienced and enjoyed. It is the reality of the reign, the kingdom of god that creates a community, the. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. But god offered him grace, taking away his iniquity and cleansing him from his sin. The trinity, then, is unfolded as both transcendent doctrine and. It states that this god alone is worthy of worship. Worship, community and the triune god of grace logos bible. They are equal in their divinity, yet separate in their nature.
In the community life of god, rodriguez weaves together the story of gods desire to plant himself in his people. A printable pdf version of this study of all the christian doctrines, without question the most difficult one of all is that of the triune nature of god. Fourth, the love that jesus has for his followers reflects the love that he and the father have for each other. T he biblical and theological foundations of spiritual formation. God the father, god the son, and god the holy spirit. Our purpose, then, is to demonstrate that the doctrine of the trinity triunity of the godhead is another biblical revelation that teaches us more about the nature of god or how he exists. The central dynamic of christian community thus corresponds to the essential dynamic of god s own life. In this book she tells of how god gave every created being a nameevery. The chapter in the fundamental beliefs book on the godhead. The holy trinity, a doctrine adopted by the christian church in the 4th. It shouldnt surprise any of us that were drawn to community, because our god is community himself.
You wont find the word trinity in your bibleso is the idea of a threeinone god even biblical. The members of the trinity are coequal and coeternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will. Moreover, gods commitment to creation is permanent. God is the god of abraham, isaac, and jacob, the father of our lord jesus christ. Ive been thinking a lot about how we reach our communities with the gospel. God desires a community of imagebearers of christ who will be involved in an eternal love relationship with the triune god, thus displaying his glory jn. The perichoretic interpenetrating each other without losing distinction relationship of the trinity is a model for christian community. A community approach to becoming like christ edited by paul pettit is about spiritual formation, which is defined in the book as the ongoing process of the triune god transforming the believers life and character toward the life and character of jesus christ accomplished by the ministry of the spirit in the context of biblical.
And when god came to deal with rebellious man, he also used the plural pronoun. God in relationship the mystery at the heart of human life is discovered in our relationships, whose outlines might be simply explained but that are ineffable at. The interpenetration scriptures reveal the inner relationship of oneness which exists within the triune god. I would certainly recommend any and all that are excited about the relationship between the church body and the trinity. The trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain.
Down through the years i have heard many people question it, and try to reconcile the reality of it in their minds, but due to the fact. In a day when refinement of method and quality of experience are the guiding lights for many christians, james torrance points us to the indispensable who of. Worship is the gift of participating through the spirit in the incarnate sons communion with the father, writes torrance. This book explodes the notion that the doctrine of the trinity may be indispensable for the creed but remote from life and worship. Orthodox christian theology has always affirmed that the one true god is triune in nature. Worship, community and the triune god of grace journey. It is this doctrine that will be investigated in what follows. As christians, we derive our concept of person from the relations in the trinity. Communion with the triune god westminster bookstore. The relationships of christian brothers and sisters is thus no small matter. The dogma of the trinity is central to christianity. Theology refers to the mystery of gods inmost life within the blessed trinity and economy. Jul 05, 2016 you wont find the word trinity in your bibleso is the idea of a threeinone god even biblical. It is thus by virtue of their relation to jesus that his followers enjoy a close relationship to god.
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