importance of the Trinity

Recently, the ministry I am part of (SWORD) led a discussion about the Trinity, why should Christians defend this doctrine?

I made a brief comment about the Trinity a while back. The doctrine of the Trinity is basically:

• God is one in essence
• God exists in three persons (Father, Son, Spirit)
• Each of these persons is fully and equally God.

There are many reasons why this doctrine is important, such as the divinity of Christ and to know that the God we worship is different from the "god" of other religions and cults. I want to shift gear, and share about how understanding the Trinity affect our lives as Christians. 

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." - 1 John 4:16

We know that God is love, but what does this statement really means? Does it mean that God is the source of love, or that God has been loving since ever (since God is unchanging), or that God is that standard of what love is? If God is not Trinitarian, meaning that if God is only one person, then any of these statements won't make any sense because love is relational. Love requires more than one person, it is not just feeling but an act of the will. How can God be love if He is only one person in the very beginning? Did God created all angels and men so that He can be loving? If that is true then love is not an essential attribute of God.

The text of 1 John focus on love as one of the main attributes of God. Therefore, "God is love" only makes sense with the Trinity because each of the Persons in the Trinity is in constant love for one another. Tim Keller in his book "Reasons for God" says:

"The life of the Trinity is characterized not by self-centeredness but by mutually self-giving love. When we delight and serve someone else, we enter into a dynamic orbit around him or her, we center on the interests and desires of the other. That creates a dance, particularly if there are three persons, each of whom moves around the other two... Each voluntarily circles the other two, pouring love, delight, and adoration into them."

God made us so that He can share this love to us. And since God lives in us, we ought to love our fellow brothers and sisters to exemplify the Trinitarian love.

Here are more notes about the importance of the Trinity.