When the Trinity is mentioned, most could easily enumerate the Father, the Son, and the Spirit,

but few
may pause to consider all that these titles imply. To be sure, the terms themselves indicate something of the
nature and character of the Triune God, and also, derivatively, of the nature and character of our
experience of God.

THE FATHER IS THE SOURCE OF THE DIVINE LIFE. Above all, the terms Father, Son, and Spirit indicate
that the Triune God is a God of life. The begetting Father is the source of the divine life. God the Son, as the
object of the Father’s begetting, is the expression of the divine life (John 1:18). God the Spirit is the very
essence of the divine life. The Lord Jesus revealed that “just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave the
Son to also have life in Himself” (John 5:26). Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2).
Hence, it is altogether accurate to say that God is life and that life is the intrinsic element of God’s being.

THE SON IS THE EMBODIMENT OF THE DIVINE LIFE. The Bible further reveals that God’s desire is to
give His eternal life to man (John 3:16; 10:10). Therefore, just as life is the defining attribute of God’s being,
so it is also the defining attribute of God’s work in His full salvation. Certainly, the forgiveness of sin and the
ascription of righteousness to the repentant sinner are important initial steps, yet they are only the
necessary preliminary to God’s goal of dispensing His divine life into man. We were appointed to eternal
life (Acts 13:48). We are justified by faith that we may receive the divine life; our justification is thus a
“justification of life” (Rom. 5:18). Lee explains, “Life is the goal of God’s salvation; thus, justification is of
life…. Through justification we have come up to the standard of God’s righteousness and correspond with it,
so that now He can impart His life to us.” Were God’s salvation merely a redemptive one, believers would
not require a Father, Son, and Spirit in the Divine Trinity. Perhaps a Judge, a Redeemer, and an Advocate
would suffice. Though the Bible certainly reveals the Triune God in these judicial functions, these functions
are ultimately remedial, and hence, procedural. Rather, God’s goal in redeeming sinners is to dispense the
divine life into them. Unbelievers are not only sinful, but also alienated from the life of God (Eph. 4:18). The
Lord therefore clarified: “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
God Himself promised eternal life (Tit. 1:2) and gave it as a gift (Rom. 6:23).
THE SPIRIT IS THE ESSENCE AND THE REALITY OF THE DIVINE LIFE. God the Father is the fountain, the
source, of the divine life (Psa. 36:9). At the time we were born again, we were actually regenerated by the
Father with the divine life (1 Pet. 1:3); God the Father is thus truly the Father of all genuine believers (John
20:17; Rom. 8:15). Furthermore, Christ came as the embodiment of the divine life (John 1:4; 11:25; 14:6).
Through His death and resurrection, the divine life was released from within Him and dispensed into all
His believers (John 12:24; 3:36). Now they, as the many brothers of the Firstborn Son, share His divine life
and nature. Finally, the Spirit as the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), is the essence and reality of the divine life. He is
the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) imparting the divine life into the believers (1 Cor. 3:6).

THE TRIUNE GOD: THE SOURCE OF LIFE

LET US PONDER TOGETHER!

Worshipping the true God requires at least minimal knowledge about who He is. And while none of
us can understand God completely, He has revealed some truths about Himself in Scripture in a way
we can understand. As Christians, we should want to understand God’s revelation of His own
character as clearly as possible. The Trinity is at the heart of God’s self-revelation.

But the Trinity is one of the most easily misunderstood doctrines; even many Christians are
uncertain of what the Trinity means. Many unwittingly hold to doctrines that have been condemned
as either heresy or serious error throughout Church history. Others are aware of the heterodox
nature of their beliefs, but insist it was the Church, not the heretics, who were mistaken. In an era
where theological teaching is often underemphasized in the Church, it is not surprising that there
are fewer today than in the past who can confidently say what the Bible teaches about the Trinity.

MAN WAS CREATED TO RECEIVE THE DIVINE LIFE. All the believers in Christ have been granted, as one
of the most precious New Testament bequests, the ability to know God (Heb 8:11). Though one may know
the Triune God in many different ways (as Creator, Benefactor, Redeemer, Guardian, etc.), ultimately the
deepest knowledge of God issues from knowing the Father, Son, and Spirit in their intrinsic element; that is,
knowing the Triune God as the divine life. Believers begin by receiving the divine life when they are born
again. Then, the more they experience and partake of the Triune God as the indwelling divine life, the more
the divine life within functions to metabolically transform them (2 Cor. 3:18). Thus they mature in the
divine life (Heb. 6:1) and are conformed to the image of Christ as the Firstborn Son of God (Rom. 8:29). In
eternity, all the believers will ever be the many brothers of the Firstborn Son, ever enjoy the Spirit as the
flowing river of water of life (Rev. 22:1; John 7:38-39), and as the many sons, ever express the Father in His
divine life.

THE HOLY TRIUNE GOD: GRACE OF THE CHURCH

1 Corinthians 12: 1-11: Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be
unaware.  You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however
you were led.  Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus
is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties
of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are
varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the
manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through
the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by
the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting
of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to
another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the
same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

Gal. 5: 22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

CHURCH TEACHING

1830 The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent
dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

1831 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge,
piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. 109 They complete
and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying
divine inspirations.

1832 The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of
eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: "charity, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity." 112

1845 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon Christians are wisdom, understanding,
counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
LET US PONDER TOGETHER!
Who are the superheroes that you know? Which superpower would you like to possess? When we
know God’s promises to us, it is not so crazy to think of ourselves as having superpowers, doing
superhuman feats, and saving the world. There are countless examples of the Spirit of God coming
to regular people who then performed spectacular feats. They include Samson, who had super
strength and pushed down the pillars of the Philistine temple. The Spirit of God is the power of God.
We can have this power if we obey God. After their weak physical body dies, those with the Spirit of
God will be resurrected; they will then have a spiritual body that has power. The risen Christ
continues to be present in the Church through the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit the Church
continues to live with the breath of God within her. It is the Spirit who moved over the waters
during the creation of the world, who anointed kings and prophets of old and overshadowed the
Blessed Virgin Mary during the Incarnation. It is the same Spirit who descended on the apostles on
Pentecost and bestowed on them gifts to bring about the tasks Jesus empowered them to do. This is
the same Spirit who moves us as a Church to be sensitive to our neighbor’s needs and thus animates
us to be cognizant of the one true God who draws us to mission. Like superheroes, we Christians
have been given superpowers by the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. These powers are
called Gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are to be used not only for one’s purpose but for the betterment
of the people of God. As members of the Church, God also pours His Spirit upon us. As such, the
Holy Spirit also empowers u to proclaim the good news of salvation, to help build the Church, and to
spread the faith. The Holy Spirit calls us to sow seeds of unity and to live a life that bears witness to
Jesus’ message of love. We are reminded that each of us is a disciple of Christ and we have the
obligation to spread the faith to the best of our ability (LG 17).

The first great ‘living’ work of the Holy Spirit, therefore, is the Church. St. Irenaeus once said:
’Where there is the Church there is also the Spirit of God; and where there is the Spirit of God there
is also the Church in every grace.’ The work of the Spirit is to build the Church in unity not only
among individuals in relation to one another but individual Churches in relation to the one Church
– the various non-Catholic churches and Christian communities and the Catholic Church. The Spirit
enriches the Church through the pouring of His gifts of grace which enables us to say ‘Jesus is Lord.’