A Clear Articulation of The Trinity
3:50 PM Thursday, March 20, 2008
Dr. James White's book "The Forgotten Trinity," is certainly true: The Trinity is forgotten in our day. I mean seriously, when was the last time you heard someone preach on the Trinity. Most of our church services are so casual that we don't even begin by invoking the name of the Trinity. Most ancient services began by the minister saying, "In the Name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit." At this point the congregation would say, "Amen."
Many of you out there know that I enjoy listening to Christian hip hop. One of my favorite artists is shai linne (name written in lowercase on purpose). On his new album The Atonement he has a song called "Triune Praise." One of the things that impressed me and my wife about this song was the doctrinal accuracy of the words. Since I've met shai on a few occasions I know that he is a solid student of the Word. In addition to this, He is a passionate lover of the Truine God. I decided to post his lyrics on this blog so you all can read these words and be encouraged.
Triune Praise
written by shai linne
Verse 1
Praise God the Father, the Immortal Creator
For Your glory you made us, You're the Sovereign Orchestrator
All that You decree will most surely come to happen
You're awesome as can be and Your glory none can fathom
Nothing could ever stain You, the heavens can't contain You
We thank You for sending Your Son to explain You
Otherwise we would have remained in the dark
but You sent Your Holy Spirit to spark a change in our hearts
According to Your eternal purpose and will
You determined to reveal Yourself to those who deserve to be killed
Those of us whom You foreknew adore You
We praise You that You predestined us to be conformed to
The image of Your Son who's the radiance of Your glory
When I meditate on it, the weightiness of it floors me
So Father, we'll praise you over and over again
Because You sent Your only Son to atone for our sins
Chorus
Glory to the Father, Glory to the Son,
Glory to The Spirit- Three and Yet One
One in Your essence, Three in Your Person
The same in Your nature, distinct in Your working
Oh my soul- behold the wonder of the Trinity
Blessed be the Trinity, Oh, what a mystery!
I'll stand amazed for the rest of my days
Pouring out my heart in Triune praise
Verse 2
Praise God the Son, Second Person of the Trinity
You're distinct from the Father, yet you share in His divinity
Fulfilling an eternal covenant- You came through
To planet earth to save who? All the Father gave You
You became a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief
For the glory of Your Father You extinguished the beef
That stood between us at the cross- the Father's anger released
The Shepherd slain for the sheep, the situation is deep
I can't find the right language to speak, in fact it's making me weep-
Just the thought of You saving this creep
You're risen from the dead, I still can't get this in my head,
How the Judge could leave the bench and go to prison instead
Lord Jesus, you're amazing, Your bleeding is what saved men
It's the reason why we're praising, can't wait to see Your face
In the meantime, please help us to see You as colossal
And by the Spirit live lives worthy of the gospel
Chorus
Verse 3
Praise God the Holy Spirit, 3rd person of the Trinity
Distinct from Father and Son, yet share in Their divinity
Holy Spirit we praise You, You don't like the spotlight
You'd rather point away from yourself and give props to Christ
But yet because You're God, You deserve veneration
And You're the One responsible for our regeneration
You apply the finished work of Christ to all the elect
Your call is effectual- You haven't lost one yet
You comfort us when sin, Satan and the world got us bothered
And it's only by You that we cry out "Abba Father"
You're the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of Truth,
You graciously provide Your people with the gifts and the fruit
You help us kill sin and dis-attach us from our idols
If it wasn't for You, we'd never understand the Bible
Because You wrote it- For our life it will surely suffice
Amazingly, You do it all for the glory of Christ!
Posts
Sorry, I haven't gotten around to reading these so I am a little behind.
James White states in his, "THE TRINITY, THE DEFINITION OF CHALCEDON,
AND ONENESS THEOLOGY
Found here:http://www.ondoctrine.com/2jwh0004.htm
"One of the characteristics of personal existence is will. Few would argue the point in relationship to the Father, as He obviously has a will. So too, the Son has a will, for he says to the Father in the Garden, "not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39) The ascription of will to the Persons indicates the ability to reason, to think, to act, to desire - all those things we associate with self-consciousness."
Suggesting all the persons of the trinity have separate wills? Tri-theism?
The passage is unambiguously referring to the operation of Christ's human will; not some other divine will.
This smacks of Nestorianism as well. White Says, "One of the characteristics of personal existence is will." He further defines what he means when he explains that both the Father and the Son have separate wills. If a person is defined by will than Christ must be two distinct persons since has two wills(human and divine); unless one is conceding monotheletism.
White clearly has forgotten the Trinity; if not Christ himself.
Levi April 2, 2008 at 11:25 AM