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What Does It Mean For Me vs. Who Are You Looking For

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Here’s a great quote from Michael Reeves Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith:

“…when you see that Christ is the subject of all the Scriptures, that he is the Word, the Lord, the Son who reveals the Father, the promised Hope, the true Temple, the true Sacrifice, the great High Priest, the ultimate King, then you can read, not so much asking, “What does this mean for me, right now?” but “What do I learn here of Christ?”  Knowing that the Bible is about him and not me means that, instead of reading the Bible obsessing about me, I can gaze on him.  And as through the pages you get caught up in the wonder of his story, you find your heart strangely pounding for him in a way you never would have if you treated the Bible as a book about you.” (pp.82-83)

I so love this quote because in an effort to make the Bible apply (which isn’t necessarily wrong), we can miss out on what the Bible actually says (which would be wrong).  Look to exalt the Son as you read God’s Word and find Him satisfyingly good.

Triune Praise

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I really enjoyed Shai Linne’s presentation of Triune Praise @ T4G. Here’s a video and the lyrics:

Verse 1

Praise God the Father, the Immortal Creator
For Your glory you made us, You’re the Sovereign Orchestrator
All that You decree will most surely come to happen
You’re awesome as can be and Your glory none can fathom
Nothing could ever stain You, the heavens can’t contain You
We thank You for sending Your Son to explain You
Otherwise we would have remained in the dark
but You sent Your Holy Spirit to spark a change in our hearts
According to Your eternal purpose and will
You determined to reveal Yourself to those who deserve to be killed
Those of us whom You foreknew adore You
We praise You that You predestined us to be conformed to
The image of Your Son who’s the radiance of Your glory
When I meditate on it, the weightiness of it floors me
So Father, we’ll praise you over and over again
Because You sent Your only Son to atone for our sins

(Chorus)

Glory to the Father, Glory to the Son,
Glory to The Spirit- Three and Yet One
One in Your essence, Three in Your Person
The same in Your nature, distinct in Your working
Oh my soul- behold the wonder of the Trinity
Blessed be the Trinity, Oh, what a mystery!
I’ll stand amazed for the rest of my days
Pouring out my heart in Triune praise

Verse 2

Praise God the Son, Second Person of the Trinity
You’re distinct from the Father, yet you share in His divinity
Fulfilling an eternal covenant- You came through
To planet earth to save who? All the Father gave You
You became a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief
For the glory of Your Father You extinguished the beef
That stood between us at the cross- the Father’s anger released
The Shepherd slain for the sheep, the situation is deep
I can’t find the right language to speak, in fact it’s making me weep-
Just the thought of You saving this creep
You’re risen from the dead, I still can’t get this in my head,
How the Judge could leave the bench and go to prison instead
Lord Jesus, you’re amazing, Your bleeding is what saved men
It’s the reason why we’re praising, can’t wait to see Your face
In the meantime, please help us to see You as colossal
And by the Spirit live lives worthy of the gospel

(Chorus)

Verse 3

Praise God the Holy Spirit, 3rd person of the Trinity
Distinct from Father and Son, yet share in Their divinity
Holy Spirit we praise You, You don’t like the spotlight
You’d rather point away from yourself and give props to Christ
But yet because You’re God, You deserve veneration
And You’re the One responsible for our regeneration
You apply the finished work of Christ to all the elect
Your call is effectual- You haven’t lost one yet
You comfort us when sin, Satan and the world got us bothered
And it’s only by You that we cry out “Abba Father”
You’re the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of Truth,
You graciously provide Your people with the gifts and the fruit
You help us kill sin and dis-attach us from our idols
If it wasn’t for You, we’d never understand the Bible
Because You wrote it- For our life it will surely suffice
Amazingly, You do it all for the glory of Christ!

(Chorus)

Subordinationism

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Since I’ve been back, some people have been talking (in a helpful way I might add) about the nature of relations in the Trinity. The issue has to do with the subordination of the Son. On the one hand, I think evangelicals must affirm that there is no subordination in terms of being within the Trinity. This was condemned as heresy in 325 A.D. at the council of Nicaea. A helpful summary of this can be found on Wikipedia. This should be distinguished from the eternal subordination of the Son in relation to the Father. This is the function of Jesus. A helpful series of posts highlight this opinion at the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. I like how Grudem summarizes it:

The heresy of subordinationism, which holds that the Son is inferior in being to the Father, should be clearly distinguished from the orthodox doctrine that the Son is eternally subordinate to the Father in role or function: without this truth, we would lose the doctrine of the Trinity, for we would not have any eternal personal distinctions between the Father and the Son, and they would not eternally be Father and Son. (p.245, footnote 27)

Hope this helps clear up some confusing (and deep) theological waters.