The Forgotten Trinity Read Free

views very much of the same nature, and which
have had the same effects.2

    When people today talk about "spiritual experiences," I am often
forced to reflect upon the fact that rarely are these experiences focused
upon God, but rather upon what that person believes God has done
for him or her, or what that person has accomplished "for God." How
much deeper, how much more meaningful, is the experience of Edwards. The object of his reflection is unchanging, for it is nothing other
than the eternal truth of God. The world, and his circumstances,
cannot take away from him what is most precious: his God.
    I confess that the times when my soul is so enraptured by such
divine joys is far too infrequent in comparison with how often it is
taken up with worldly things and distracted by much less worthy objects of consideration. It seems as though the whole world does its best
to keep me from enjoying myself in my God, in contemplating His
nature, His attributes, and His works. But I read of great men of God
in the past and realize there are two common elements in their lives:
suffering and a love of the contemplation of God's attributes and
works. When I compare myself with Edwards, or any other of the great godly men and women of the past, I quickly see how influenced I am
by worldly standards and worldly priorities.

    But most importantly, Edwards was drawn heavenward by the very
attributes of God that turn the worldly person cold and, in fact, are
often the most offensive to the natural or unsaved man. Do we love
God-all of God, including the "tough" parts of His nature-or do we
refuse to bow before those elements that cause us "problems"? If we
love Him and worship Him as He deserves, we will not dare to "edit"
Him to fit our desires. Instead, we will seek to worship Him in truth.
    GOD IS GREAT
    The Trinity is a truth that tests our dedication to the principle that
God is smarter than we are. As strange as that may sound, I truly believe that in most instances where a religious group denies the Trinity,
the reason can be traced back to the founder's unwillingness to admit
the simple reality that God is bigger than we can ever imagine. That
is really what Christians have always meant when they use the term
"mystery" of the Trinity. The term has never meant that the Trinity is
an inherently irrational thing. Instead, it simply means that we realize
that God is completely unique in the way He exists, and there are elements of His being that are simply beyond our meager mental capacity to comprehend. The fact that God is eternal is another facet of
His being that is beyond us. We cannot really grasp eternity, nor how
God exists eternally rather than in time. Yet this truth is revealed to us
in Scripture, and we believe it on the logical basis that God is trustworthy. It is a "mystery" that we accept on the basis of faith in God's
revelation.
    When men approach God's truth with a haughty attitude, they
often decide that particular elements of that truth are not "suitable"
to them, so they "modify" the message of the faith to fit their own
notions. Since the Trinity is the highest of God's revelations concerning
himself, it is hardly surprising to discover that many groups deny it.
If one denies any of the preceding truths upon which the Trinity is
based, one will end up rejecting the entire doctrine en toto. An unwillingness to worship God as God is and has revealed himself lies be hind every denial of the Trinity that appears down through history. We
want a God we can fit in a box, and the eternal, Triune God does not
fit that mold.

    William G. T. Shedd saw the truth when he wrote,
    The doctrine of the Trinity is the most immense of all the doctrines of religion. It is the foundation of theology. Christianity, in
the last analysis, is Trinitarianism. Take out of the New Testament
the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and there
is no God left. Take out of the Christian