Encountering the Mystery of the Holy Trinity
Summary
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and those who nurture others in motherly ways. Today, we explore the heart of Christian faith: the Holy Trinity—God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While the “math” of the Trinity can seem perplexing, the real invitation is not to solve a puzzle, but to encounter a God who is both infinitely mysterious and deeply relational. The question “Who are you, God?” is not just theological curiosity; it’s the foundation for knowing ourselves and understanding our place in the universe. We cannot love what we do not know, and until we know our Creator, our own identity remains incomplete.
God is not playing hard to get. Through Scripture and especially through Jesus, God reveals himself as one God in three persons. This is not a contradiction, but a profound mystery—one being, three persons. Analogies often fall short, but perhaps music offers a glimpse: just as three notes in a chord fill the same space yet remain distinct, so too the Father, Son, and Spirit are united yet distinct. Mystery is not a flaw in our faith; it is a sign that we are dealing with the true God, whose nature surpasses our categories and comprehension.
The triune nature of God has breathtaking implications. First, only a God who is Trinity can truly be love. Love requires relationship, and before creation, the Father, Son, and Spirit existed in perfect, eternal love. God did not create us out of need, but out of the overflow of this love. We are not outsiders to this love, nor are we given mere crumbs; Jesus assures us that the love he receives from the Father is the very love he extends to us.
Second, God’s love is revealed to us in a Trinitarian way. The Father is not angry while the Son is loving and the Spirit is distant. Rather, the will and character of God are united. The Father longs for us, the Son lays down his life for us, and the Spirit comes to dwell within us, empowering us to live transformed lives. The invitation is not to solve a formula, but to enter a family—receiving the love of the Father, the forgiveness of the Son, and the power of the Spirit. Whatever our need—love, forgiveness, or transformation—the Trinity has already met it. All that remains is to say yes.
Key Takeaways
- Knowing God is foundational to knowing ourselves. Our identity is not self-generated but discovered in relationship with our Creator. Until we ask, “Who are you, God?” our own search for meaning and purpose will always be incomplete. The journey to self-understanding begins with seeking to know the One who made us. [30:02]
- The Trinity is not a logical contradiction but a profound mystery that invites humility. God is one in being and three in person, a reality that stretches our categories but does not violate reason. Mystery is not a weakness of faith; it is a sign that we are encountering the true God, whose nature is beyond our full grasp. [35:46]
- Only a triune God can truly be love in himself. Love requires both a subject and an object, and in the eternal relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit, God is love before and apart from creation. We are not created to fill a lack in God, but as an overflow of his abundant, self-sufficient love. [41:43]
- The love of God is not divided among the persons of the Trinity, but fully shared and expressed through each. The Father’s love sends the Son, the Son willingly gives himself, and the Spirit brings God’s presence into our lives. To know one is to know the heart of all, and the cross reveals the depth of this united love. [49:18]
- The Holy Spirit’s indwelling is not just a change in belief, but a change in power. God draws so near that his own Spirit lives within us, enabling us to live the abundant, transformed life we were created for. The invitation is to receive—not just intellectually, but relationally—the fullness of God’s love, forgiveness, and empowering presence. [53:21]
Youtube Chapters
[00:00] - Welcome
[00:45] - Mother’s Day Reflections and Humor
[02:10] - Introducing the Trinity: More Than a Math Problem
[04:30] - Why Knowing God Matters
[07:15] - The Relational Nature of God
[10:30] - Jesus’ Teaching on the Trinity
[13:00] - Distinct Persons, One God
[15:30] - Is the Trinity a Contradiction?
[18:00] - Visual vs. Auditory Analogies for the Trinity
[20:00] - Embracing Mystery in Faith and Science
[23:00] - Relating to God Beyond Formulas
[25:00] - The Trinity and the Nature of Love
[28:00] - Created from Overflowing Love
[30:00] - Human Longing for Relationship
[32:00] - Experiencing God’s Love as the Trinity
[35:00] - The Father’s Heart and the Cross
[38:00] - The Son’s Willing Sacrifice
[40:00] - The Spirit’s Indwelling Power
[42:00] - Responding to God’s Invitation
[44:00] - Closing Blessing
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide: The Trinity—Encountering God’s Love
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### Bible Reading
1. John 14:6-11
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.”
2. John 17:22-23
“I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
3. John 16:13-15
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
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### Observation Questions
1. In John 14, how does Jesus describe his relationship with the Father? What does he say about seeing the Father by seeing him?
2. According to the sermon, what is the difference between saying “God is loving” and “God is love”? [41:43]
3. What analogy does the sermon use to help us think about the Trinity, and why does the speaker say most analogies fall short? [33:35]
4. In John 17, what does Jesus say about the way the Father loves us compared to how he loves Jesus?
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### Interpretation Questions
1. The sermon says, “We cannot love what we do not know, and until we know our Creator, our own identity remains incomplete.” Why is knowing God foundational to knowing ourselves? [30:02]
2. The speaker points out that the Trinity is not a contradiction but a mystery. How does embracing mystery in faith differ from trying to “solve” God like a math problem? [35:46]
3. The sermon claims that only a triune God can truly be love in himself. Why does love require relationship, and how does the Trinity uniquely fulfill this? [41:43]
4. The speaker describes the roles of the Father, Son, and Spirit in our lives. How does understanding the unity and diversity within the Trinity change the way we relate to God? [49:18]
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### Application Questions
1. The sermon says, “Our identity is not self-generated but discovered in relationship with our Creator.” In what ways have you tried to define yourself apart from God, and how might seeking to know God reshape your sense of identity? [30:02]
2. The Trinity is described as a family we are invited into, not a formula to solve. What would it look like for you to approach God more relationally this week, rather than just intellectually? [54:52]
3. The speaker says, “God did not create us out of need, but out of the overflow of this love.” How does this truth affect the way you view your worth and purpose? [41:43]
4. Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” Do you struggle to believe that God loves you with the same love he has for Jesus? What holds you back from receiving that love? [45:44]
5. The sermon challenges the idea that the Father is angry, the Son is loving, and the Spirit is distant. Have you ever related to God in this divided way? How might seeing the united heart of God change your relationship with him? [47:16]
6. The Holy Spirit’s indwelling is described as a change in power, not just belief. Is there an area of your life where you need to experience the Spirit’s transforming power? What would it look like to invite the Spirit into that area? [53:21]
7. The speaker ends by saying, “Whatever our need—love, forgiveness, or transformation—the Trinity has already met it. All that remains is to say yes.” What is one area where you need to say “yes” to God’s invitation today? [57:08]
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Closing Prayer:
Invite the group to pray, thanking God for revealing himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and asking for a deeper experience of his love, forgiveness, and power this week.
Devotional
Day 1: Knowing God: The Heart of Relationship
You cannot love what you do not know, and many of us settle for vague ideas about God rather than seeking to truly know Him as He reveals Himself. Just as a relationship based on assumptions is no relationship at all, so too our connection with God must be rooted in genuine pursuit and understanding of who He is. God desires to be known, not as a distant concept or a puzzle to be solved, but as a living, relational being who invites us into intimacy with Himself. When we seek to know God as He truly is—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—we discover not only His nature but also our own identity and purpose. [30:02]
Jeremiah 9:23-24 (ESV)
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
Reflection: What is one question about God you’ve never truly asked or explored? Take time today to bring that question honestly before Him in prayer, seeking to know Him more deeply.
Day 2: God Is Love: The Overflow of the Trinity
Unlike any other being, God is not just loving—He is love itself, and this is only possible because He exists eternally as Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in perfect, self-giving relationship. God did not create out of need or lack, but out of the abundance of His love, desiring to share that love with us. Our longing for connection and intimacy is a reflection of the relational God who made us, and we are invited not to the outskirts of His affection, but into the very heart of His love. [43:32]
1 John 4:7-10 (ESV)
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Reflection: In what ways do you see your own desire for love and relationship as a reflection of God’s nature? How might this change the way you view your worth and purpose today?
Day 3: The Father’s Love and the Son’s Sacrifice
The love of the Father is not distant or conditional; it is the very reason Jesus came to rescue us. The cross is not about Jesus persuading an angry Father to love us, but about the united heart of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit—working together to restore us. The Father’s willingness to give His beloved Son, and the Son’s willing sacrifice, reveal a love so profound that it reframes every other picture of love we know. [50:15]
John 3:16-17 (ESV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Reflection: What does it mean to you that the Father loves you with the same love He has for Jesus? How might this truth reshape your understanding of your value and your relationship with God?
Day 4: The Transforming Power of the Holy Spirit
God’s love does not leave us unchanged; through the Holy Spirit, the very presence and power of God comes to dwell within us, enabling us to live the abundant, meaningful life we were created for. The Spirit is not a distant force but the third person of the Trinity, sent to empower, renew, and restore us from the inside out. Becoming a Christian is not just about believing new things, but about receiving new power to become who God made us to be. [53:21]
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Reflection: Where in your life do you most need the transforming power of the Holy Spirit today? Ask God to fill you afresh and empower you to live in His strength.
Day 5: Embracing the Mystery: Invitation into God’s Family
The Trinity is not a math problem to be solved but a mystery to be embraced—a divine relationship into which we are invited. God is a Father who loves us, a Son who saves us, and a Spirit who transforms us, and He calls us not to figure Him out, but to receive and participate in the fullness of His love. Whatever your need—love, forgiveness, or transformation—the triune God has already met it and invites you to believe and receive today. [54:52]
Ephesians 3:16-19 (ESV)
That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Reflection: Which aspect of God’s invitation—His love as Father, forgiveness through the Son, or transformation by the Spirit—do you find hardest to accept? What would it look like to say “yes” to Him in that area today?
Quotes
Once we understand the heart of the Father, it completely flips everything that we thought we knew about the cross. In the words of theologian John Stott, God does not love us because Christ died for us.Christ died for us because God loves us.Put from your mind any notion of Jesus the Son needing to coerce the Father into loving us because it all starts with the love of the Father. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. [00:49:18] (35 seconds)
You exist because you were made from the overflow of a love so strong and so abundant that God couldn't bear to keep it all to himself. So he made you to share that love with. No wonder we're a species obsessed with relationships, a species who write songs proclaiming all you need is love and who weep hysterically in movie theaters when the heroine dramatically proclaims, I'll never let go, Jack, before ruthlessly pushing the man who saved her life into the icy Atlantic Ocean when there was clearly room for him on the giant floating door. [00:43:58] (32 seconds)
Now, the good news for us this morning is that the God of Christianity has no interest in playing hard to get. As far as it's possible for infinite beings to comprehend the infinite, he actually wants us to know him.And both through the testimony of the Bible and specifically through the witness of Jesus Christ, God makes clear that the way he wants us to know him is as one God in three persons, as the Trinity of the one divinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. [00:31:14] (34 seconds)
In contrast to this account of reality, Christianity paints such a different picture. In the words of the Apostle John, when we're talking about the Christian God, we're talking about a God who is love. That is not a typo. How can this be? Because he's Trinity.And as such, God didn't need to create a universe at all. And his character would still have been perfectly complete and perfectly loving because he would have existed eternally in the perfectly loving relationship of the Trinity. [00:41:51] (37 seconds)
The love of a father. The forgiveness of a savior. The empowering of the Holy Spirit. Whatever our needs are this morning, the Trinitarian God has already met them.And all that's left is for us to believe and to receive from him this morning the fullness of who he is and the fullness of who he desires to be to you. The Trinity of divinity. [00:57:15] (33 seconds)
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