3. Trinitarian Fellowship
Hearing God (Right Now) • Sermon • Submitted
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E. Stanley Jones
E. Stanley Jones
“Autonomous character” vs dictation of God to his people (parenting)
The Space Between God and Us
The Space Between God and Us
There is freedom in our relationship with God. He leaves space for our engagement with him.
Cf. the proximity of God and his people throughout Bible history
Christ’s cry - “My God, why have you forsaken me?” (ref. Psalm 22)
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What was God doing (being) before Creation?
What was God doing (being) before Creation?
God was enjoying relationship as a trinitarian communion.
The Kingdom of God before there was an earth
Being in love together
Persons are made up of experiences. (Cf. the nature of “experience” - especially in Pentecostal tradition!)
An experience is a conscious event that becomes a part of your life. We live through experiences - they make up our life and can be shared with others.
Experience as the substance (that on which all else stands)
Think about: the value of ‘experiences’ and ‘personhood’
Willard suggests that the Trinity is an “inexhaustible experience”.
To be intimate with God is to share in his experiences.
Intimacy with God involves shared activity, then. Prayer as “talking with God about what we are doing together”
Conversation
Conversation
Conversation is the first level of shared experience
(“with turning”)
More than sharing words - it is sharing experience and togetherness
Cf. Mary
John 17: What was the glory that Jesus had with the Father before the foundation of the world?
the glory of shared experience
of true personhood
Relationship with Others
Relationship with Others
“That they may be one even as we are one”
there is no subordination within the Trinity...
…there is no subordination among those who live within the Trinity
Love as mutual givenness and sharing
There is no concern for “who’s ahead” or “who’s behind”
There is grace and forgiveness
Note: ternary systems (a true newness)
Baptized in the name of “the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”
Baptized in the name of “the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”
The command to baptize the nations in the name of the Trinity is a way of saying, “Bring them into communion with the shared experience of God.
To expand our personhood
It is impossible for this life to be taken away from us because it is rooted in the Trinity.
Practicing the Presence of God
Practicing the Presence of God
Interesting point - Brother Lawrence was a place in this world where the grace of God was being poured out. Who knows where the grace is being poured right now?
Daily work is not an obstacle but an avenue of conversation with God
Bringing our work/actions with us and expecting it to be a manifestation of the Trinity in our lives (“a place in this world where the heart of God is coming to life”)