I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Galatians 4:1-7
In one of our first meetings during Rookie Mini Camp with the Green Bay Packers, we were told some of the most important information that we needed to know if we were going to be a part of their organization. “The town owns the team.” Why should this have mattered to us? As a member of the Green Bay Packers, we were representing the town of Green Bay when we put on those uniforms. Therefore, what we knew about the organization influenced who we would be during our time there.
What You Know Influences Who You Are
As A.W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” The question is this: What do you know about the God of the Bible?
In our text, we have read about our Triune God who reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three distinct Persons yet One simple and undivided Being. But, you might ask: What does the Trinity have to do with real life? Everything! All of life comes from the Trinity. All order, beauty, purpose, and distinction. All life, providence, revelation, and redemption. Heaven itself is a life of fellowship with the Trinity. If God has revealed Himself as a Trinity then it has everything to do with life and godliness. What you know influences who you are.
What Is The Trinity?
To help us explain what the Trinity is, we must first explain what the Trinity is not. The Trinity is not like the three different stages of water (water, ice, and vapor). It is not like an egg that is made up of the shell, white, and yoke. The Trinity is not like the three leaf clover. The Trinity is also not one community of three separate people or three different beings making up one society.
The Trinity is like trying to draw a picture of gravity or love. You can draw the effects of gravity or of love. You can also draw a picture of what gravity and love do. But, you cannot draw a picture of gravity or love in itself. Yet, just because we cannot draw a picture of gravity or love, don’t we know it exists? Don’t we know how to explain it to some certain degree? So it is with the Trinity.
But, what is the Trinity? The Trinity is One God in three Persons. The Trinity is not three Gods or one God wearing three different masks. The Trinity is one God in three Persons. It is the Unbegotten Father begetting the Son and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son. And all three Persons share the same simple undivided essence. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God but they are not three different Gods. They are One God.
Are you confused yet? You might be tempted by now to think some of these thoughts:
“If I can’t totally understand the Trinity, what’s the use?”
“I don’t really need to know this doctrine to grow in my faith, do I?”
“If this isn’t practical, what’s the use for studying this?”
“Don’t we have bigger problems in the world right now that need our attention?”
But, you must be reminded of what I learned at the Packers: What you know influences who you are. And if what you know influences who you are then you better believe that what you know influences the way you relate to other people. I would make an argument to say this: The Trinity is the most practical and the most important doctrine to the Christian faith.