Trinitarian Theology and Worship
The trinity is one of the greatest mysteries to mankind. This concept is one that some Christians never truly question or study. Most of us just kind of except the idea that God is three in one and tend to believe that it’s true without doing any reading or studying. The fact that God is three in one should create a sense of wonder and astonishment within the believer’s heart. This Biblical concept can seem very complicated to understand but I’ve found that the deeper I dedicated myself to studying the Trinity, the more I fell in love with this triune God. The more I researched and read, the more my joy in the Lord grew.
Trinitarian worship presents the gospel. The Father in His love for the Son determined that he would create a world and allow that world to fall into sin. He would then recover from that world a redeemed humanity and give that redeemed humanity as a bride to His Son. All of this, so that, redeemed humanity could forever glorify His Son. God is righteous, He is the highest good, the most beautiful, and the only perfect being. Therefore, He is the only thing in the universe that deserves praise, honor, and glory. Ultimately, what we learn through the scriptures is that God is for God. Ephesians 1:5–6 says that “He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. This tells us that God’s primary motivation is for His love for Himself. For many, the truth that God is primarily for God can be a hard pill to swallow. I think that most people know that God loves humanity because of the truth in the famous verse John 3:16. However, I think that most people don’t understand that God’s primary love is for Himself. God’s ultimate desire is for His own glory and to show off Himself throughout creation by His grace, mercy, and even by His wrath. Isaiah 48:9 says, “For the sake of My name, I delay My wrath, and for My praise, I restrain it for you, in order not to cut you off.” Some think that God is selfish and egocentric. In reality, God is God, and who else could be for God but Himself? John MacArthur says, “We are in some sense an incidental part of a great act of love that is within the Trinity.” I think this is such a rich and interesting concept to understand. For a believer, this should bring a sense of humility, joy, and gratefulness due to the reality that we are a part of the story of God in bringing ultimate glory to the Trinity.
Trinitarian worship and its impact on corporate worship is inevitable. I think that in order to worship God in Spirit and in truth, we must have a correct understanding of who He is. The one true God is one in being or essence and three in person: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Triune God is holy, sovereign, and omnipotent.
A practical aspect of trinitarian worship and the impact it has on corporate worship is the song choices chosen by the worship leader for the worship service. Choosing songs that are biblically and theologically rich plays a huge role in the effectiveness of our corporate experiences. There are songs that specifically address God the Father. There are songs that address God the Son, Jesus, as well as songs that address the Holy Spirit. As a Bible-believing Christian, I realize that each of these songs is about the one true God. Understanding that God is one but has three persons is assuring of God’s grandness. Each person in the Trinity plays a specific role in the divine glory of God within corporate worship.