How Does The Trinity Relate to One Another?

The New Testament in particular offers insight into the inner life of God: a life that can be understood in terms of the rhythms of the Self Compass.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit act in perfect concert, orchestrating the rhythms of humble strength and caring assertion in their interaction with one another (cf. Jn 1:33-34; 14:16, 26; 16:13-15; 20:21-22). “For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one” (1 Jn 5:7 NKJV).

Consider how in the incarnation the Son humbly submits to the Father’s will, while the Spirit caringly asserts himself to impregnate Mary. “The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God’” (Lk 1:35 NKJV). And the baptism in the Jordan River. As Jesus was “coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness” (Mk 1:10-12). 

Jesus surrendering. The Father gratified. The Spirit compelling.

Trust and courage. Humility and esteem. Three in one.

With an economy that could leave one breathless, Jesus says, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf” (Jn 15:26).

Surely the Trinity is a life of identity, intimacy, and community. Each person expressing the compass polarities of love/assertion and weakness/strength in rhythmic dialogue with the others.

Intradivine Love/Assertion

“Father,” Jesus prays, “I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (Jn 17:24). A heartfelt request. An assured response.

After the mission of the seventy was realized by the assertive power of the Spirit, “in that hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit” (Lk 10:21 NKJV). Love-filled jubilation, conjoined with all the might there is. Expressed too, in the Father’s joy as he pays tribute to his Son: “Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9-11 NKJV).

Intradivine Weakness/Strength

“The Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing,” Jesus says, “for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise” (Jn 5:19). Yet there is no doubt of Christ’s self-confidence in relationship to his Father: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower” (Jn 15:1). Strength, perfectly balanced with weakness, in non-competitive surrender.

Jesus explains that he has the authority to decide about his own life: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father” (Jn 10:18). The Son is decisive and obedient. The Father, deferent and in charge. 

In his Jordan River baptism, Jesus surrenders in weakness to the Spirit’s strength. In his healing ministry, Christ is aware that his power comes from the Holy Spirit (Lk 4:18-19). Indeed, Jesus’ consciousness of the Spirit of God empowering him to speak and act is basic to his mission. In turn, when the Son is resurrected to the Father, the Holy Spirit acts on behalf of the Son, spreading the Word throughout the world.

For more, see:

COMPASS PSYCHOTHEOLOGY:

Where Psychology & Theology Really Meet