Scripture Sunday- Living in the Divine Dance: Embracing the Trinity's Call

Rom 8:12-17 NIV 

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation--

but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.

13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by

the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live

in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your

adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.”

16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs

with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also

share in his glory. 

Imagine you're back in Sunday School playing a Bible trivia game. You get the question, "Where is the word Trinity mentioned in the Bible?" Feeling stumped, you remember that your church talks about the Trinity, and you figure it's probably somewhere in the New Testament. You guess, "the Gospels?" only to be shocked by the answer: "The Trinity is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible." 

This revelation can be surprising, not just in a trivia game but at any time. It may be unexpected to learn that the Bible does not mention the word ‘Trinity’ or lays out the exact understanding as we have today. However, thanks to the early Church and many years of councils and theological reasoning, we now understand God as Trinity: Father/Mother, Son, and Holy Spirit. This concept of God as three in one is what we celebrate on Trinity Sunday, and it is a foundational mystery of the Christian Church. 

The early Church used the Greek word perichoresis (meaning rotation) to describe the interrelationship between Christ’s divine and human natures, and it was later used to describe the relationship within the Trinity. Today, as a reference back to this, many people refer to the “dance of the Trinity,” to represent the three persons of the Trinity rotating so quickly they become one. The dance of the Trinity illustrates perfect love, with all members loving each other since before time began. One of the Trinity’s first acts of love was creation: God the Father spoke the Word, Jesus, and the Spirit hovered over the waters. By God’s Word, through the Spirit, the cosmos, earth, plants, animals, and humans were created. All life is marked by the image of the Trinity and sustained by God's devotion. The Trinity not only creates but also deifies, promising that humans and the earth will be made new again, divine with God. 

While the Trinity is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, its presence is woven throughout the Scriptures. In today's lectionary passages, we learn that Jesus is from God and that to enter the Kingdom of God, one must be born of the Spirit (John 3:1-17). We also learn from John 12:41 that in Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6:1-8), Isaiah was actually seeing Jesus. 

Romans 8:12-17 provides a beautiful image of the Trinity at work. When a person chooses to live by the Spirit and reject the desires of the flesh, they become free from death and sin, living in freedom as children of God. We often think that when we indulge in lust, greed, power, fear, and pride, we are free to make our own choices. In reality, we are enslaved by these sins. The decision to live by the flesh harms all of creation, often by using it for our own personal benefit, exploiting its life and the web of connectedness to it, indirectly harming ourselves as well. True freedom comes from living in the Spirit, characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. This freedom in the Spirit makes us adopted children of God, just as Jesus is God’s Son. We become God’s daughters and sons, freed from fear, forgiven of our past, and secure in our future with God through the Holy Spirit in Christ. In this way, we enter into the dance of the Trinity, living as Christ’s representatives in the world, empowered by the Spirit. 

As children of God, we share in the joy of creating and deification with God, just as creation shares these joys through its constant new life and sustaining presence. Through the Spirit, we can bring the Kingdom of God here and now through every life giving act of love. Romans 8:12-17 reminds us that this love may bring suffering, but it allows us to experience the glory of the Triune God. As we embrace this profound mystery, let us live out the call to be agents of God's love in this divine dance with God and creation, reflecting the unity and love of the Trinity in our daily lives. 


If you want to learn more about the Trinity:
https://www.worldhistory.org/Trinity/#google_vignette  

Caroline Hiler is a Seminary Intern at Creation Justice Ministries.