BY EVERY WORD FOUNDATION

THE TRINITY AND DAILY LIVING

The teaching on the Trinity is at the core of the Christian Religion. Thus, to be unclear here, means we will not succeed in any area of our Christian life (our theory and practice will be wrong). The doctrine of the Trinity is clearly taught in the Bible and that is why Christians believe it [see the appendix, Scriptural Evidence for the Trinity]. Even Christians, though, struggle to submit to God's revelation as the ultimate authority for all things. The Biblical revelation about the Triune God probably shows most clearly fallen mankind's refusal to bow to God's absolute word. The age old problem introduced by Adam and Eve is still with us, namely, that we want to have a say in defining what we are prepared to submit to, or believe. Many who don't reject God's revelation outright, nevertheless, still insist on somehow checking up on what God has said, before they are prepared to believe it. They set up some standard that is acceptable to them (and probably only to them), by which they can "test" and "evaluate" each statement found in the Scriptures. Those parts of God's revelation that "pass the test" are accepted as true, while those that don't are doubted or rejected. However, this makes man the ultimate authority in determining all things and therefore his assurance for knowing what is real and true and what can and can't exist, etc., depends upon his research, experience and intellectual ability. Such a person will not accept anything that his mind and limited resources cannot confirm. His starting point is a belief that whatever is beyond his ability to comprehend, is unacceptable and must be rejected—he makes himself the only standard by which all things can be known and measured. This is why man struggles with the Trinity.

Man's reasoning ability, however, was never meant to play the part of ultimate judge, but was always meant to be used as reason, i.e., to enable man to understand, connect, relate and apply God's revelation to his relationships and circumstances in life. Man's reasoning must start from a foundation of already established truth and then draw from and function within those already established boundaries. To believe that man, by use of his reason, is able to determine the foundation of ultimate truth and establish the boundaries wherein reason can operate, is to destroy reason, man and society. It is madness to assign to reason a function or task it is incapable of fulfilling and then base one's whole hope on the belief that reason will fulfil this task. Yet, those who only accept from God's word what their minds can verify, do just that. Unaided reason cannot define the limits of possibility or reality in this world; it cannot determine the limits and possibilities with respect to God's being, purposes or relationships with His creation. Man's reason can only function properly when it starts from and is controlled by those eternally established truths that have been revealed to us by God.

At the outset of our discussion about the Trinity it needs to be made very clear that this doctrine is dealing with the depths of the essence or being of God and therefore, much cannot be explained. All we can do is repeat what the Scriptures say on the subject and be content to stop where God's revelation stops. This means that while our goal is to have a clear grasp of what the Scriptures say about God's Tri-Unity, some details will forever remain obscure and incomprehensible to our minds. If we do not hold to everything that has been revealed, or if we seek more than has been revealed on this subject, we will end up in error—that is, worshipping an idol. We cannot measure God by our own senses or confine His essence to our limited concepts, abilities and knowledge.

Adam and Eve didn't want to acknowledge the immense difference between themselves and God. They tried to reduce the massive gap that exists between the Creator and everything that He has created, by thinking that they were able to comprehend the essence of God and thus define good and evil independently of God. It was impossible to rise up and become like God (which is what they were hoping to achieve), so they brought Him down or reduced Him to a level that could be comfortably understood by their minds. Adam and Eve tried to do to God what Adam had done with the animals, i.e., comprehend and define (Gen.2:19,20).

Apprehend and Comprehend

To protect ourselves from the temptation of doing what Adam and Eve did, it's necessary to make a distinction between the words, apprehend and comprehend and then use these definitions to explain our knowledge about God. For our illustration we will say that apprehend, means to catch or perceive the meaning of something so as to have an intelligent acceptance of a fact, whereas, comprehend, means to understand something in its entirety (fullest extent). Being aware of this distinction, we can then say that it is possible for us to apprehend something of the essence of God without comprehending His essence. Error comes in with respect to man's understanding of the Trinity when he tries to reduce God's essence to the limits of his small mind in order to comprehend God. God forever remains far above man's ability to comprehend. Man cannot possibly grasp the infinite fullness of God with his limited mind.

Similar to this, we can apprehend without comprehending the idea of God's infinity (when we say God is infinite we mean He has no limits—His power, wisdom, holiness, knowledge, love, being, etc, are free from any limitation). Sinful people reject such a God and reduce Him to a human level, then they confidently rush on and explain God's essence with human terms and concepts, calling impossible anything that doesn't fit into their limited experience and reasoning ability. What such people are saying is that God's essence cannot be greater than their mental capacity (their minds). A god that can be fully comprehended by man can be defined by man, and if he can be defined he can also be controlled by man. If man can control God then man becomes god—which is fallen man's greatest desire and constant ambition. Such aspirations arise out of a rebellious heart that attempts to replace the true God with an idol made according to man's imagination. We do not understand God by shaping Him according to our ideas, but by submitting ourselves to His self-revelation revealed in the Scriptures.

God has told us much about Himself, however, we must not reduce the being or essence of God to the limits of what we can perceive and understand. God has told us that He is Spirit (John 4:24), He has told us about His attributes and nature, and revealed to us what He can do, what He likes and what He doesn't like. He has told us what He expects from us and what we can expect from Him, but all of this is far from giving us a comprehensive explanation about His being—which would be beyond our ability to grasp anyway. We need to submit to the fact that God's essence is far beyond our ability to ever comprehend. When we humbly bow to this truth we will not foolishly try to explain God's essence in a way that gives the impression that we actually do comprehend Him in His fullness. Nor will we think that the depths of who God is can be defined by a few "cleaver" sentences or illustrations. If creatures could comprehensively define God, then He would be limited to the capacity of the human mind, however, to limit God in any way is to deny the God of the Bible. It is the rebellious in heart that strive to limit God in some way or other. We need to be conscious of our smallness and vast limitations and of God's incomprehensible and immeasurable greatness. When we demand to comprehend something we are not able to, we are then standing in a position of self-deception. The self-deceived person is in rebellion against the fact that he is a creature and very limited; he rebels against the fact that he is totally dependant upon the word of God for all his understanding; and he rebels against the clear revelation God has given about Himself. Such a rebellious person distorts God's truth in order to bring it into line with his own understanding and own definitions of possibility and impossibility. The doctrine of the Trinity is forever a clear reminder that we are utterly incapable of comprehending the essence of God, yet the Tri-Unity of God is inseparable from the very idea of God. We forever remain creatures and therefore, are forever limited. The difference between God and mankind is too great to be calculated and should cause us to submit to and depend upon God and His word for all our wisdom and knowledge about everything and most certainly about Himself.

Having said this, we must not fall into the trap that says, since we cannot comprehend the fullness of God, God cannot be known at all, for God has told us what we can know about Him. The creator of all things also created our minds in a way that we can not only understand what He has revealed about Himself, but so that we are able to reason correctly and come to good conclusions about all things (based upon what He has said about Himself and His creation). God sets the limits of how we are to think about Him—He marks out the "playing field" and then we are to stay within those boundaries. I cannot play soccer properly if I do not stay within the lines marked on the field, or play by the rules defined by those in authority. Similarly, as Christians, we must never go beyond the limits God has revealed, and think about Him in ways He has not revealed. Those things which our minds cannot fully understand we believe upon the authority of God's word, knowing that we worship the Invisible One who dwells in light that no one can approach (Col.1:15; 1 Tim.1:17; 1 Tim.6:16).

Natural Illustrations of the Trinity?

There are no natural illustrations of the Trinity! Every single natural example that people use to illustrate the Triune God distorts the Biblical teaching on the Trinity (e.g., the egg, wheel, water, sun, etc.). Those who use natural illustrations to explain the Trinity, do not reveal the Trinity, but rather reveal that they have not understood what the Bible teaches on the subject. Moreover, many people, when thinking of God as Spirit who is everywhere, try to make sense out of this by drawing comparisons with things they are familiar with. Thus, they picture God's being as some sort of gas that is spread out (extended) and reaches everywhere. However, God is not spread out, yet, the fullness of His being is in every place in the universe. Let me illustrate how some try to make sense out of this: they picture smoke from a massive fire covering a whole village and then make a comparison, thinking that just as the smoke is everywhere in the village, in a similar way, God is everywhere in the village and beyond. However this is wrong, because the smoke that is at the top end of the village is not the same smoke that is at the bottom end of the village—it is the same kind of substance found at both ends of the village (smoke), but it is not the exact same smoke found at both ends. Due to our limitations we are tempted to think of God's being as we think of this smoke—as if God's being is stretched or spread out. This is wrong, however, because the fullness of God's being is present in every millimetre of the universe. There are no parts to God's being. There can never be one part of God in one place and another part of Him somewhere else. All of God is everywhere present in its fullness, all the time. Our minds cannot understand how this is possible since we have nothing in our understanding or experience that is comparable to God's being (Job 11:7-9; Ps.145:3; Isa.40:18).

The sinful heart refuses to bow to Scripture and thus rebels against its clear teaching on the Trinity. In order to counter this teaching they then come up with ridiculous arguments like: 1+1+1 can only equal 3, therefore, Christianity has three gods. Such foolish reasoning tries to separate or divide the Spirit of God, thus failing to realise that the concept of division cannot be applied to spirit. On what basis or authority can people apply such concepts to the essence of God? The only way that such people think about God is in the way that they are able to think about other things around them—things they know and have experienced. However, they cannot do this with God's essence and therefore to say either that God can or can't be divided (in the sense that we talk about other things we know), is to be greatly mistaken. To demand that we can merely apply our own categories and understanding to God in order to perceive such things, is the height of rebellious foolishness and thus forbidden by the second commandment (Ex.20:4). We cannot look to our minds to be the source of our knowledge about God. We are forever bound by what God has revealed to us in His word. Moreover, what God has seen fit to reveal, we are able to understand and ought to apply to our own lives and to the world around us.

Salvation and the Trinity

The doctrine of the Trinity is not something we ought to argue about and debate with those who are in rebellion against the authority of God and His word. The foundation of this teaching rests upon our total submission to the Lordship of Christ and to His revelation in the Scriptures as the final authority for all things. True believers humbly bow before and adore this mystery about the God they love. The doctrine of the Trinity is at the very heart of Christianity and cannot be rejected without rejecting Christ Himself. It is this Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, that we must believe in to be saved. Thus, to deny the Biblical teaching on the Trinity is to deny Christ. To reject the Trinity, means the 'christ' you are believing in is a creation of your own mind and not the true Christ of Scripture, and therefore, you are still in your sins! We are saved through faith in the true Christ, not in some false 'christ' made by our imaginations. This does not mean that people have to have a complete understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity before they can be saved. It does mean, however, that if someone who professes to believe in Christ rejects the teaching on the Trinity when it is shown to them, serious doubt must be placed upon their claims to know Christ. Proof that we are united to Christ is seen by submission to and reverence for the word of God. Thus, it is to the word that we must turn in order to receive instruction about our great Triune God and saviour, Jesus Christ. The doctrine of the Trinity is not something that human minds can arrive at using their own resources.

Matt.16:14,16,18 shows us that the foundation of the church is the Person of Christ and His Person is inseparable from who He is in the Godhead (the Second Person of the Trinity). Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against this truth, but this doesn't mean that Satan hasn't in the past and doesn't still fight against this truth in order to overthrow the very foundations of Christianity. The mind of man is not allowed to pass judgement upon the clear teaching of Scripture. As soon as people do this they have rejected the authority of God—which is what Satan has been trying to get everyone to do from the very beginning. To have a distorted understanding about the doctrine of the Trinity will create distortions in every other belief. Our ability to relate to God and to the world around us is determined by how well we have understood and submitted to the revelation of God that He is One and Three (though God is not Three in the same way that He is One).

When Christians speak about God they are talking about the God who has revealed Himself in the Bible as the Triune God. A 'god' that people might talk about who is not defined by the pages of Scripture is nothing but a creation of man's imagination—in other words, an idol. There is only one God (Deut.6:4; 1 Cor.8:4,6; Gal.3:5) and His nature, character and will are ONE and these have been revealed to us in the Scriptures. Besides the God of Scripture, there are no other gods whatsoever (Deut.4:35). There are idols and images in people's minds that they call 'gods', but this doesn't make them gods. The Bible does use the word 'god' to refer to false gods, but this is only to show that people worship them as gods, not because they actually are gods.

The Importance of the Trinity for All of Life

In God, who is One, there are three Persons, yet the One and the Three are equally ultimate and in intimate relationship with each other. Since God's Being exists in this way, it makes this fact central to the workings of God's Kingdom, which permeates every aspect of life in this world. The "problem" of the one and the many is an inescapable fact of life that confronts us in every area and at every level of our existence. This continues to be one of the primary philosophical questions facing every society and every society is a manifestation of man's answer to this question. History clearly shows how people have wrestled with this constant tension and much tyranny and anarchy has manifested itself (in all spheres of life), either by the 'one' oppressing those who disagreed with the structure or by the 'many' trying to destroy the structure or unity. Throughout the history of mankind there has been a constant struggle to answer the philosophical question as to what is the relation between the one and the many, or in other words, the relation between unity and diversity. Every society is a manifestation of man's answer to this question for this question stands at the heart of every attempt to achieve peace, stability and unity in society—whether in the family, church, state, business, etc. The true doctrine of the Trinity is central to all our questions about how to understand the world and history? The Trinity alone can resolve the dilemma about whether life is made up of a mass of meaningless, unrelated details or whether it is to be understood according to one universal principle—where everything is reduced to oneness and the individual details are subjected to the oneness.

Only the Trinity can shed light on where the line is to be drawn in the relationship between the universal principle and the many details; or what relationship exists between the structure and the individuals within that structure; or which of these two is to be granted higher authority and thus given the final say? There has always been tension and conflict between whether the structure, unity or oneness (e.g., the state), should have priority over the wishes of each individual within the state, or if it should be the other way around (is it the one or is it the many who has priority?) The way we deal with these two aspects of reality affects every area of our existence, yet the only light able to guide us through the labyrinth of possible paths and avoid the devastating pitfalls, is found in the Triune nature of God. While the One and the Many within God's being is different to the one and the many we find in the created realm (we must never identify the being of God with His creation), our ability to deal with this tension within the created realm, is found in the nature of God alone.

Of Equal Importance

In God, the One and the Many are equally important, which means neither takes precedence over the other because they are both equally ultimate. There is no conflict within God's being and thus there is no conflict between the unity and diversity in God's being. Neither aspect can exist independently of the other, for together they form one of the most basic facts of reality. God's being is the ultimate reference point, having ultimate authority and thus, the one and the many that exist in the created realm, have their origin in the creative act of God and are therefore completely under His authority, law and control. Since the creation of the material universe is a revelation of God Himself (Rom.1:20), nothing that God has created can be suppressed at the expense of something else He has created. When this is realised there will be no tension between the one and the many in the created realm. Every manifestation of the one and the many in the created realm is determined and sustained by the eternal One and the Many—God having ordained all the possible relationships, limits and responsibilities for each. The created one and many has its origin and thus obtains its meaning and purpose from the eternal One and Many. We must remember, however, that God is separate from His creation and the One and the Many in the eternal God is to be kept distinct from the one and the many found in this created realm.

All the different manifestations of the one and the many in this world exist in relationship and are governed by the word of God. The only sure foundation for sound interaction is to embrace the one and the many as being equally ultimate and existing in relationship within the boundaries of God's word. We must not be forced into deciding whether either the one or the many is ultimate, for both have their own specific and vital roles to play in the outworking of God's purposes. Both the one and the many, in the created realm, are at all times under the word of God and all people and institutions are responsible to relate in terms of God's revelation, in other words, they are to have Biblical relationships. When people act in violation of God's truth (whether the one towards the many or the other way around), relationship is violated. To step beyond one's boundaries (as defined by God's word) is to violate our relationships—with God and each other.

Within the Trinity, we see that Christ, though equal with the Father, submitted Himself to the Father's authority and acted only in accordance with the Father's commands. Yet, even when Jesus did this, He was in essence still equal with the Father. What we learn here is that God's world is designed to function according to principles of order and structure. For this to happen there has to be some people with authority over other people, yet at no time does this in any way imply that those with greater authority (in some sphere of life) are superior in any way to those whom they have authority over (within that sphere). In the family, God has set up an order, with the husband having authority over his wife and the children being under both the father and the mother, but at no time is the father superior to anyone else (this is the same with the authority structure in the state).

With authority comes responsibility and the responsibility in God's Kingdom is one of service, i.e., serving the needs of others. Service in God's Kingdom is not just a cold mechanical thing, but functions within the dynamic of relationship. Christ didn't just obey the Father, but did all His will in the context of intimate relationship. It is God's word alone that shows us how to live in true, intimate relationship with Himself and others (1 Tim.1:5; 2 Tim.3:16,17), however, all that He has said in this regard, we are to do with an attitude of self-sacrifice, deep devotion, love, delight and gladness (Ps.1:2; 40:8; 119:11,35; Jer.15:16; John 10:11; 14:15; 15:13; Rom.7:22; Eph.5:2; 1 John 5:3). It is God's word alone that reveals how we are to preserve and nurture our many different relationships (Ps.19:8; 43:3; 119:105; Prov.6:23). All authority comes from God and thus has to remain within the boundaries that God has set. Life and relationships are inseparable and the way of relating within every relationship has to be God-glorifying.

At the highest level of being (in the Godhead), we see that relationship is central—the One and the Many are equally ultimate, existing in a union of intimate relationships. In order for the created realm to function in the God ordained way and therefore in a way that glorifies Him, we cannot compromise these fundamental truths in any area—family, church, state, business, etc. The diversity and unity in life are to be seen as equally ultimate, with neither one trying to dominate the other. Their boundaries and responsibilities have been ordained by God and it is only as we understand each sphere and its role within God's light, that peace, prosperity and harmony are attainable. Relationship is defined and preserved by the law-word of God, thus to ignore His word, undermines and destroys relationship and thus ultimately, the whole of society.

The Trinity and Marriage

The purpose here is not to teach on the whole subject of marriage, but to begin showing the relevance of the Trinity to the marriage relationship. There are many books in our day that talk of the differences between men and women—one book even has a title that says men and women come from different planets. One of the fundamental reasons God has made these differences between men and women is to highlight the importance and necessity of relationship. It is not from isolation and self-sufficiency, but from within relationships that we are conformed more and more into the image of Christ. The marriage relationship is not a mechanical routine, but requires a life-time of communicating between spouses whereby they reveal themselves to each other. Men do not automatically know what women are like and visa versa. The only way to truly get to know someone is if they reveal themselves to you and you must want to know them, for they are not as you imagine them to be. Even after you have discovered the general characteristics of what men and women are like, you still need to realise that each person is a unique individual, thus ultimately, each marriage relationship is totally unlike any other in the world—God meant it to be like this. Part of the reason God said that a new family should leave mother and father (Gen.2:24), was because the new union needs to nurture and develop its uniqueness and separate identity. A real danger that parents pose towards their children's marriages is to think that their own marriage is the standard that all marriages should be like and so they interfere when their children do things differently. We are not talking about immoral activities, but about the uniqueness of each marriage relationship and the diverse legitimate possibilities of how families may function.

While there is an authority structure ordained by God that makes the man head of the home, this headship has to be defined by God's revelation. In the Kingdom of God, service is the fundamental pillar and the greater authority someone has, the greater their responsibility to serve those under them. The husband is not superior to his wife in any way and he has not been given authority to dominate his wife—the authority he has from God is to be used to serve his wife. Neither the husband nor the wife is more ultimate or superior to the other. This is similar to Christ, who although He submitted Himself under the Father's authority, He always remained equal with the Father in essence. Christ's submission to the Father (John 5:19,30) didn't mean He was inferior to the Father in any way (John 8:58; 10:30). The Trinity shows that in every aspect of God's universe there are different functions within ordained authority structures and that subordination of one towards another within these structures does not mean one is inferior to the other.

There are obvious needs that the husband should fulfil for his wife, however, many other needs can only be discovered through the intimacy of a real relationship. The wife is as responsible to serve the needs of her husband through the means of relationship. It is only godly relationship that can create great strength from a union between two people who are so very different. Both the discovering of and the serving of the needs of the other is possible only from an intimate relationship and the serving of the individual enhances the whole structure of the family. When God's word is the guide for all things, the needs of the individual and the needs of the whole family are never brought into conflict. Both husband and wife need to esteem the other better than themselves, seek the other's benefit by laying down their lives in self-sacrificing service (which is only possible when they are mutually revealing themselves to each other) and truly desire to know each other. You cannot, however, reveal yourself to someone who has no real interest to know who you are. We are to serve our spouse's real needs, not what we presume or guess their needs to be. If there is presumption about this then both of you will be offended. It is possible to give the appearance of living self-sacrificially without ever really knowing what your spouse's real needs are. Service is not merely being active or busy, but rather, addressing the real needs of the other person. This means true service cannot be separated from intimate relationship, which in turn cannot be separated from meaningful and deep communication.

Within the triune God we see much discussion amongst themselves as they serve each other and thus we learn that it is through mutual and intimate discussion, that unity of purpose is established—our marriages should reflect this reality. There should be discussions between husband and wife about all things, for the input of both is vital to the union, however, the husband does have the final say and the wife must bow to his decision (quietly and joyfully) even if it differs with her opinion. Obviously we are not suggesting that a wife is bound to submit to her husband's immoral decisions and leadings. Remember, it is as terrible to live with an uncaring man as it is to live with a contentious woman who will not accept any ideas but her own (Prov.19:13; 27:15).

Husbands and wives need to appreciate the differences God has made between the sexes and realise that in God, these two very different people have been designed to unite and form a bond and service within the Kingdom that is very powerful. The reason certain functions are given to one and not to another is not because one is superior to the other in any way. It is God who has designed how marriage is to work. He has given different rolls to men and women and equipped them in different ways, so that together they might form a powerful unit. It is by complimenting one another that they advance God's Kingdom, which only happens through intimate relationship and certainly not by mechanical routine (like programmed robots). The unity of the husband and wife should not destroy their respective individuality and nor should their individuality fight against the necessary unity. Christ's desire was to always glorify the Father and the Father was also always seeking the Son's glory (John 5:22,23; 7:18; 8:50; 17:1,5). The example from the Triune God is that the Father, the Son and the Spirit are equal in essence, yet they all seek to serve and advance the other, within a relationship where the Son willingly placed Himself under the authority of the Father and the Spirit placed Himself under the authority of the Son and the Father. To love and live like Christ did, we need to do everything He has commanded us to do. We can only truly love God and others when our relationships are governed by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

After our relationship with God, the marriage relationship makes up the heartbeat of society and is a vital component in the outworking of God's Kingdom rule in our midst. If we do not have the example of the Trinity within our view, we will not be able to understand the working together of authority, service, equality, diversity, unity and responsibility. Nor will we realise that the completeness of all things exists in relationship—a relationship of unity and a unity whose base is one of selflessly seeking the benefit of others according to the revealed will of God. The husband serves from a position of authority and love, whereas the wife serves from a position of submission and obedience (Eph.6:22-25,28). Both however, have as their focus the glory of God and are to use their respective callings and gifts to further His Kingdom through their selfless service. Men and women are of equal value though they have been given different roles to fulfil in God's purposes, however, they are only able to fulfil these roles when they are in submission to God and His word. God alone has absolute authority: every other authority is derived from God and is therefore subject to Him and cannot go beyond what He has decreed. When a father relates to, controls and instructs his children in a way that contradicts God's revelation or goes beyond the stipulated authority boundaries, then he will be provoking his children to wrath (Eph.6:4).

The Trinity and Work

Every society is a manifestation of the religious beliefs of that society and their religious beliefs are nothing other than a reflection of their god. Thus it is obvious, when looking at the condition of a particular society, to see whether they are worshipping the only true God or a perverse, man-made idol. The fruit of false beliefs will be seen in a society's everyday life. What people believe about work determines what kind of life they will experience in their society. The fruits of a truly Biblical view of work have had a profound impact upon the world. Christianity has established the eternal dignity of work because God has revealed Himself to be a worker (Gen.1:1; 2:2). Societies who live in rebellion against the true God will have perverted views about work, often denying its dignity, for example, the Buddhist's image of god is both fat and inactive. Now, since people aspire to be like their god, work will have no dignity in a society where their god doesn't work?

Humans are created in the image and likeness of the true God, thus to work hard is to glorify Him, while to be lazy perverts His image in us. Moreover, we see that God the Father doesn't just work for Himself, for all He does is firstly, for the benefit of the other members of the Trinity and secondly, for the benefit of His creation. The same is true with respect to the work the Son does and the work the Holy Spirit does—their focus and motive is beyond themselves. Thus, imaging God and bringing glory to His name doesn't only mean working for our own benefit, but includes seeking the benefit of others, which has priority over seeking our own benefit (Matt.20:28; John 10:11-13,15; 13:34; 15:13; Rom.5:6-8; 15:1; 16:4; 1 Cor.10:24,33; 13:5; 2 Cor.8:9; Eph.5:2; Phil.2:20,21; 1 Pet.2:21-24; 1 John 3:16; 2:6; 4:11). Seeking to benefit others above ourselves must be defined by God's word, and certainly doesn't mean neglecting one's responsibilities towards one's own family (1 Tim.5:8). God honouring work exists within and flows out from loving, communicating relationships. Work is to be seen as one of our primary moral responsibilities before God and thus one of the primary ways we love and serve Him (John 14:15; Col.3:23,24). May the Lord give us hearts that sincerely desire others to be helped and prospered through our efforts. The genuineness of a Christian's profession of faith can be evaluated by his attitude towards work: he should be glorifying God by diligently labouring to support himself and his family with his own hands, while also doing all he can for the benefit of others.

The Scriptures tell us that God neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps.121:4). We see that the more responsibility we have, the harder we ought to work, whereas in the pagan view of life, the more authority a person has, the less he works. Work modelled on the Triune God honours the division of labour and acknowledges the diversity of callings, abilities and gifts that people have, believing that when each person uses what they have to serve one another, everyone benefits and the Lord is glorified (which is always the primary goal of all our work). It is important to take note of the fact that God was complete within His Triune nature and didn't need to create the world in order to find fulfilment, yet He still created the world. What we learn here is that we too should be seeking how to increase our responsibilities and our labours for the Lord and not trying to reduce them. When we increase our responsibilities we at the same time increase our work load, but this is what glorifies our Triune God. From the beginning God has expected people to work hard for Him and His Kingdom (Gen.1:28; 2:15; 1 Cor.15:10; 2 Cor.11:23; 2 Thes.3:8).

The Trinity and the Nation

It is only God's word that can prevent us from living under a totalitarian dictator or in the chaos of mob rule. That God's word alone is able to deliver us from the philosophical dilemma created by our need for unity in life, together with our need to protect the individuality and diversity in life, is as true for the political realm as it is for any other realm. Philosophers have made either the unity or the diversity in life the ultimate reality and those who deny the Triune God have no example of possible co-existence between what appears to them to be two contradictory options. Moreover, they are unable, given their basis of authority (i.e., autonomy), to present structures and boundaries so that both the one and the many can play their own vital, interrelated and inseparable parts without destroying each other—only the revelation of God's nature and law can show us these vital specifics.

Without the doctrine of the Trinity we have no way of answering questions like: who should have the ultimate authority, the people or the nation (represented by the civil government)? Who can best provide that which is necessary for maintaining a just, prosperous and efficient social order? Many wars and revolutions have been fought over such questions. The interests of the individuals within a nation and the interests of the nation itself are not to be brought into conflict with one another and unless both are carefully guarded, we will bring an end to them both. The functioning of the individual as an individual is a vital component in any nation (and in the Kingdom of God) and there needs to be room for him to express his uniqueness and pursue his freedom and calling under God. Yet the aspirations of the individual cannot deny either the existence or the importance of the unity that is necessary for a nation. Within the nation there is also the question of authority and how is this to fit into the working of the whole? Is it the unity, i.e., the state or some elite group that is to control the many, or are the many to have the final say over national unity? The Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, all held to the idea that unity (the one) had to prevail in the sate and this unity flowed from the philosopher-kings—an elite group who would direct the thinking of the many and thus shape the many. Without the doctrine of the Trinity, you either assume a position where the unity (which could be the church, state, etc.) forces the many into subjection, or where the many deny the authority of the church, state or any other unity. There is only one place to find a solution to this problem.

The perverted goal in our day is to somehow unify the whole world under one controlling institution or body. It is believed that the solution to all our problems will be found when everyone is controlled by one elite group like the United Nations or something similar. This will not solve the tension though, for the argument will never be settled by either group—neither by those who believe the 'one' should be the ultimate basis for determining all things or by those who believe the 'many' should be the basis. For example, when you have the joining of many nations into one union, what gets legislated when there is a tension between what is best for the union and what is best for any particular nation within the union? How do you get balance between the unity or structure (the one) and the individualism or diversity (the many)? This tension was one of the causes of the American Civil War.

When a nation chooses some individuals to rule over them it must be done in the full understanding of the boundaries and liberty we find revealed in the Scriptures—God has clearly told each group what is expected of them. Rulers are to be servants of the people they have authority over. Society needs God ordained order and structure and this cannot be avoided, but at all times, everyone's actions are to be done with a view to building the relationships within that society. To walk in violation of God's revealed will means you will be violating relationships too and to destroy relationships is to destroy society. In God's Kingdom, our focus shouldn't be upon our rights, but upon our responsibilities. Everyone's responsibilities are laid out in the Scriptures. The people in a nation have responsibilities towards their rulers and the rulers have responsibilities towards the people and all are ultimately responsible to God to walk within the bounds He has set. When one of these groups seeks to make itself ultimate, it is then walking in violation of its relationships—with God, people and all of creation.

What we see happening time and again is the 'one', either in the form of king, president or parliament wants to manipulate and control the rest of the population, until such time that the 'many' rise up in revolt and implement their own terror and tyranny upon all those that disagree with them. Some claim that the wishes of the 'many' are of more value than the wishes of the minority and so if there is a clash between these two groups, the majority (many) are correct. Thus, in the business world, it is believed that workers, since they are many, have more say and authority than management. The state makes policies whereby the laws favour one group above another because justice is not an immovable standard, equally applicable to all people, but rather is determined by what will "benefit" the most people or those who make the laws.

We cannot assign ultimate authority to any person, institution, committee or organisation in this realm—God alone has ultimate authority and He has given us a revelation that thoroughly equips us for every good work (2 Tim.3:16,17, see too, Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 1 section 6). We can never decide what to do by looking to our own "wisdom" to answer the question, "What is best for the most people?" (or something similar to this), and feel justified in ignoring justice for others who don't happen to fit into the group we have defined as the "most people". Such behaviour arises because there is confusion at the most basic level—that is, not knowing how to come to terms with the real tension in life between the one and the many. When there is a conflict of ideas (between these two groups), which group is ultimate or should be given primacy? There is no answer to this question outside of the Triune God of the Bible and life will swing from extremes on the one side to extremes on the other when God and His revelation are ignored.

We have only touched briefly on a few areas of life where the tension of the one and the many is fairly obvious, however, this tension affects every aspect of our existence and we need to be aware of our responsibility to conform every area of life to God's truth. The Biblical teaching on the Trinity is not an irrelevant doctrine reserved for in-house debates between stuffy professors, but is critically important for every person and all of life and thus we need to bring all our thinking and living into line with this reality (Rom.12:2; 2 Cor.10:5).