Modern Christians lack clarity on the fundamental doctrine of their faith: the Trinity. But why is this the case? Dr. Scott Swain suggests the problem lies in the desire for a Christ who fulfills our expectations. We want Jesus to give a solution to the practical problems in out lives.

The doctrine of the Trinity seems abstract and detached from our marriages, careers, and mental health. But what if the doctrine of the Trinity exceeds our expectations? What if we desire too little? 

Getting the Trinity right does more than provide a proper theological answer -- it strikes at the heart of the identity of the God we worship. We believe in one God eternally existent in three equally divine persons. From this central belief flow all other doctrines.

A failure to grasp this basic theology leads to many modern errors: social trinitarianism, eternal subordination of the Son, and various forms of modalism. Each of these distortions trickles down into our understanding of gender, human nature, and the meaning of authority. 

The Trinity reveals to us a God who from eternity past lives in a triune relation of love between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We must gain Trinitarian fluency in order to speak rightly about him because his glory demands precision and careful meditation.

The church fathers defended the Trinity because they saw in this vital doctrine the essence of the Christian faith and the revelation of God in Christ. But this doctrine belongs not only to the theologians of the past, but the everyday faithful Christian in the present who desires to know his or her Lord in a deeper way.

Check out this episode with Dr. Scott Swain, one of the foremost Trinitarian theologians in the world, and dive in to the mystery and the glory of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Show Notes

Dr. Swain's blog Reformed Blogmatics

Dr. Swain's Trinity Lectures at the Theology in Practice Conference