Without the Trinity, the gospel loses its depth and meaning. Let's dive deeper into this mystery and discover how God's triune nature shapes everything we know about salvation, love, and life itself.
By Dr. Tim Orr
Have you ever wondered what makes Christianity truly unique? It’s not just the teachings of Jesus or the promise of eternal life—it’s something deeper that lies at the very heart of the faith: the Trinity. Often misunderstood or seen as a complex theological concept, the Trinity is the key to understanding who God is and how His love transforms our lives. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not distant figures; they are united in an eternal relationship of love and purpose, and the gospel flows directly from that unity. Without the Trinity, the gospel loses its depth and meaning. Let's dive deeper into this mystery and discover how God's triune nature shapes everything we know about salvation, love, and life.
Many consider the Trinity a confusing or distant theological concept irrelevant to daily life. But in reality, the Trinity is essential to understanding who God is and what He’s done for us. It’s not just an idea for theologians to debate—it’s the foundation of the gospel and the key to knowing God personally. Imagine grasping something as deep as philosophy without understanding its core principles. In the same way, to truly grasp the Christian faith, we need to understand the Trinity. It ties everything together.
The gospel isn’t just about salvation or forgiveness—it’s about entering into a relationship with the three-in-one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not just a doctrine to be believed but a reality that shapes everything about how God relates to us and how we live out our faith. To go deeper, we must explore how the Trinity reveals God’s character, shapes our salvation, and transforms our everyday lives.
In this blog, I’d like to offer you a preview of the key concepts I’ll present next month at Imperial College London, ranked among the top ten universities globally. The students attending are among the brightest minds, eager to dive deep into understanding the nature of God, examining His character, the message of the Gospel, and how these profound truths shape our everyday lives.
My talk will explore how God’s triune nature—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—defines our relationship with Him and with one another. I’ll also highlight how the Gospel reveals God's justice, mercy, and love and transforms how we live, think, and pursue knowledge. It’s a journey of faith and intellect that has the power to shape the future of these young minds.
In preparing for this talk, I’m reminded that the aim is not simply to provide information but to stir up worship and deepen the students' love for God. I hope that these concepts will help them see God more clearly and, in turn, live lives that reflect His glory in everything they do.
One of the most powerful ways to understand God’s character is through the Trinity. In Michael Reeves’ Delighting in the Trinity, he paints a profoundly relational picture of God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have existed forever in a perfect love relationship. This is key—God isn’t just loving in the way we humans express it; His very nature is love. Before the world existed, God was love because the Father has always loved the Son, and the Son has always loved the Father, with the Holy Spirit as the bond of love between them.
This eternal love within the Trinity overflows into everything God does, especially in the gospel. When we say, “God is love” (1 John 4:8), we talk about something central to who God is. The gospel—God sending His Son to save us—isn’t just a rescue mission. It’s an invitation into the eternal love shared between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We’re not just saved from sin; we’re brought into this divine relationship that has existed for eternity.
Think of it this way: When the Father sent Jesus into the world, He wasn’t just sending a messenger. He was sending the One He has loved eternally. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is the clearest revelation of how much the Father loves us. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son." That love—the same love that has existed between the Father and Son forever—is now extended to us.
And it doesn’t stop there. The Holy Spirit brings us into this relationship. When we come to faith in Jesus, the Spirit opens our hearts to experience this love. Through the Spirit, we can cry out, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15), experiencing God as our loving Father, just as Jesus does. The Trinity is not a distant theological concept but a personal reality transforming how we relate to God.
In his book The Deep Things of God, Fred Sanders points out that the Trinity changes everything about understanding salvation. It’s not just about what Jesus did 2,000 years ago; it’s about how the Father, Son, and Spirit work together to bring us into God’s family. Understanding the Trinity helps us see salvation not as a cold transaction but as an act of love that flows from God’s very nature.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work perfectly in salvation. In His mercy, the Father sends the Son to atone for our sins. In His love, the Son willingly dies on the cross, taking on the penalty we deserve. And the Holy Spirit, in His power, regenerates our hearts, making us new creations. It’s not just that God forgives our sins—He invites us into the life of the Trinity itself.
Think about a father who sends his son on a dangerous mission to rescue someone in peril. The father’s deep love for the son and the one in need drives him to act. Knowing the danger, the son goes willingly because he shares his father’s love for the person in need. Meanwhile, the father and son bond fuels their determination to see the mission through. This is how the Father and the Son worked in our salvation. But there’s more—the Holy Spirit is the presence that connects us to this rescue, making it personal, transforming our hearts, and drawing us into God’s family.
When understood through the lens of the Trinity, Salvation is not just a legal pardon but a relational restoration. It’s about being brought into the eternal love that the Father has for the Son and the Son for the Father. This love is now extended to us through the work of the Holy Spirit. This makes salvation intensely personal—it’s not just about what Jesus did but about how the entire Godhead is at work to bring us into a relationship with Him.
Jürgen Moltmann's book The Trinity and the Kingdom offers a powerful insight: the Trinity isn’t just about God’s internal relationship—it’s about how He engages with the world. The mission of the Kingdom—where justice, peace, and love reign—is an expression of the Trinity. The Father initiates the plan for creation and redemption, the Son carries out the plan through His life, death, and resurrection, and the Holy Spirit sustains and empowers the church to live out that mission.
When discussing God’s Kingdom, we discuss the world being set right. And the way God sets the world right is through the relational love of the Trinity. The Father, in His sovereign love, creates and governs the world. In His redeeming love, the Son brings justice by confronting sin and evil. And the Spirit, in His empowering love, works through the church to bring the message of God’s justice and peace to a broken world.
This means that when we live out the gospel, we are participating in the mission of the Trinity. When we work for justice, show mercy, or bring peace, we reflect God’s character as Father, Son, and Spirit. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21), meaning that as believers, we carry this mission of God’s love and justice with us. The Spirit empowers us to live out the Father's love and the Son's justice.
The mission of the Trinity is not just a theological concept—it’s a practical reality that shapes how we live. As we work for justice and peace, we reflect the very nature of the triune God. We become ambassadors of God’s Kingdom, participating in His mission to heal and restore a broken world.
In God for Us, theologian Catherine Mowry LaCugna invites us to see the Trinity as something that shapes our everyday lives. She argues that the Trinity is about God’s internal relationships and how we personally experience and know God. The Father’s love, the Son’s grace, and the Spirit’s presence are meant to be felt and lived out in every moment of our lives.
Think of it like this: when you wake up in the morning, the Father’s love surrounds you like a comforting embrace. As you go through your day, Jesus’ grace empowers you to face whatever comes your way. And in moments of confusion or doubt, the Holy Spirit guides you, brings peace, and reminds you of God’s presence. The Trinity is not a distant idea—the reality shapes our daily relationship with God.
Living in the reality of the Trinity means that we begin to reflect God’s character in our relationships. Just as the Father, Son, and Spirit live in perfect harmony and love, we are called to live in unity and love with others. This means showing kindness, extending forgiveness, and seeking reconciliation in everyday interactions. The Trinity invites us to believe in God and experience His love so that it transforms how we treat others.
The Trinity changes everything. It deepens our understanding of the gospel and shows us that salvation is not just a transaction but an invitation to a loving relationship with God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not distant or detached from us—they are intimately involved in our salvation and daily lives.
When we understand the Trinity, we realize that God’s love is more than a feeling—it’s the very essence of who He is. The gospel becomes more than a message about forgiveness—it becomes a living, breathing reality that invites us to experience the depth of God’s love, grace, and power. As we go deeper into this mystery, we find that the Trinity shapes how we relate to God and live out our faith.
The invitation is clear: step into the love, grace, and unity of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Let the Trinity shape not just your beliefs but your life. Let it transform how you experience God’s love, understand the gospel, and live in this world. The Trinity is not just an abstract concept—it’s the heartbeat of the Christian faith and invites you to go deeper.
Tim Orr is a scholar, Evangelical minister, conference speaker, and interfaith consultant with over 30 years of experience in cross-cultural ministry. He holds six degrees, including a master’s in Islamic studies from the Islamic College in London. Tim taught Religious Studies for 15 years at Indiana University Columbus and is now a Congregations and Polarization Project research associate at the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University Indianapolis. He has spoken at universities, including Oxford University, the University of Tehran, and mosques throughout the U.K. His research focuses on American Evangelicalism, Islamic antisemitism, and Islamic feminism, and he has published widely, including articles in Islamic peer-reviewed journals and three books.
