One major cause of conflict between Christianity and other monotheistic religions has been our understanding of God as One and yet also Three. We insist, against all logic, that we worship the One, True and Holy God, while simultaneously claiming that this One God incorporates three distinct persons within his One-Ness.
No theologian set out to devise a doctrine so complex and ultimately incomprehensible, at least to our cognitive faculties alone. The early thinkers of the church came to this formulation through their close reading of the words of Jesus handed down from those who had known him. Jesus spoke of his Father, and of himself as Son, and of the Spirit, and of each of these entities as God. So he did on his last night with his disciples, as he tried to reinforce all that he had taught them during his time of ministry – and remembered that he did not have to do this alone:
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…”
What a relief it must have been for Jesus, coming to the end of his human mission, about to endure his suffering and death and tests of faith, to remember that he was part of a team, not a solo operator. He knew he could communicate on a human level, with words and signs and symbols – but he could not speak directly into the hearts of even his closest followers. And he also knew his Spirit, who would be released following his death, resurrection and ascension, would have that kind of deep access to those who loved him.
That access, as we allow it, means we have the Spirit on our team too. We don’t have to grasp the truth about God’s love and mystery with our minds alone – we have the Spirit to help us. When something in the Scriptures, or about the faith as we have received it puzzles or troubles us, we aren’t limited to thinking our way to an answer. We can pray, “Spirit, show me what this means. Help me understand.”
We may or may not get enlightenment at that moment, and we will have taken the best action we can take, releasing the matter into God’s hands. At some point, a new way of seeing that particular issue may dawn on us, and in the meantime we will have invited the Spirit of God more deeply into our hearts.
And that presence helps us to rely more heavily on our divine "teammate" for power in ministry, in our relationships, in our work and rest and simply in our being. That's our growth curve in this life of faith.
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