The Doctrine of the Trinity Applied to Family Life By Stephen Fields
This is a guest post by Stephen Fields. If you are interested in being a guest writer please send an email to redeemingfamily@gmail.com
How Does the Reality of God, as Revealed in Scripture, Inform, Transform, and Impact our Daily Lives?
Here in this article, I am basing the conclusions and applications on a covenantal reformed understanding of God’s revealed truth (for good insight into these truths, see Doug Kelly’s systematic Theology, Louis Berkhoff’s Systematic Theology, Beeke & Smalley’s Reformed Systematic Theology). While there will be some doctrinal explanation, this article is primarily going to be focused on doctrinal exhortation. This exhortation comes from considering the bridge between the indicative truths of the Trinitarian God, and the practical expressions of life in a loving relationship with God. Therefore, I pose the following question; how do Christians apply and live out the foundational truths of the faith every day when they wake up and go through each hour, day in, and day out?
Doctine of the Triune God
A wise Presbyterian elder wrote a very good book entitled “How Should We Then Live” and asked the crucial question, of how to live the doctrines of God that saturate the pages of scripture. In answering this question, first, we must consider the substance and method by which these doctrines are presented and unfolded. The foundational truth is that any good systematic theology begins with the doctrine of the Triune God. Space does not permit an in-depth diatribe on the rich, marvelous doctrine of YHWH, however, a few comments are necessary before we can unfold how this most glorious of all doctrines is efficacious.
All of my conclusions are grounded in an understanding that the scriptures reveal a thrice Holy God. One God, in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three are the same in substance, equal in power and glory. I also confirm that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are of the same character: holy, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, sovereign, immutable, righteous, just, good, and true (this is by no means an exhaustive list). Lastly, all foundational doctrines of the scriptures flow from, and through the Triune God.
Based on who this God is, coming to grips with the overwhelming magnificence of YHWH, the question then returns: how should we then live?
Humbling
The first response is (as we see in scripture) a humble, broken contrition that submits to God when He breaks through our spiritual blindness and deafness. We see in the lives of Moses (Exodus 3), Isaiah (Isaiah 6), Peter (Luke 5), James and John (Matthew 17), and Paul (Acts 9) a pattern when mortal humans come into contact with God Almighty. In each of these circumstances, there is an overwhelming humbling when the created comes into a living relationship with the Creator. God then speaks compassionately, lovingly, and firmly reassures His beloved servants that we who have received God’s grace will not be consumed.
Adoration
The second response is a breaking forth of adoration directed towards the gracious God. As Psalm 100 says, the people of God in his presence break into a “joyful noise” and proclamation as Psalm 8 says “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” The humble creature has come to know experientially that the gracious Creator is enthroned in the praises of His people. This joy flows out of wonderful abundance. From the overwhelming dread of meeting the Creator as humble mortals, to the abounding joy of receiving pardon rather than obliteration. Beholding God for who He is brings a joyful delight that lasts an eternity.
Receive Grace
A third response then is to live a transformed life after meeting with and receiving the grace of the Holy God. The scriptures tell parents to “instruct their children” (Deuteronomy 6:7-8, Ephesians 6:4). The scriptures not only give this as a general statement but also specifically give a curriculum in subject matter and frequency. Families with a father and mother who believe that God is unified in His revealing of Himself will reflect the unity of the Triune God to their children. All are fallen and sin against God. This includes sinning against God’s commands relating to how families are to treat one another.
How Families Should Treat One Another
When They Sin?
Spouses will fail and sin against one another. On these occasions when husbands sin against their wives verbally and physically, husbands must repent and humble themselves before God, their wives, and their children. Likewise, when wives sin against their husbands verbally and physically, wives must repent and humble themselves before God and their husbands and their children. Repentance is the Christian response to sin. Then praise for God and sacrificial corrected living flow from genuine repentance.
Who Should Lead?
Husbands lead well when they lead their families as Christ leads His church (Ephesians 5:25-33). This leading well is done in many ways, one of the primary is through building up a wife and children through worship and praise of the Triune God. Wives in this way respect and honor their husbands by partnering and humbly following their husband’s leadership in worship. This builds up the husband and children. The love of the Triune God is on display in the home when the family worships together. Children grow up in such an environment knowing and experiencing peace, reconciliation, leadership, submission, growth, repentance, and love modeled and shaped by God.
When They Need Truth?
There is another important application for families. There are vast resources available for faithful parents committed to teaching their children of God revealed in the scriptures. Many are mentioned here on Redeemingfamily.com. These resources are geared to help families in practical, tangible ways in following the Lord and responding to God’s grace with transformed living. One good practice for the family reflecting the truth of the Triune God is to worship together as a family in the home.
Family Worship
Family time together in worship is a spiritual battleground. There is seemingly an endless list of excuses to never spend time together before God hearing from God’s Word, singing together the praises of God, and speaking to God in prayer. For single-parent families it is difficult and of course, no one will be perfect in spiritual practices. However, God grants strength and encouragement to help. It can be daunting to think about singing psalms and spiritual songs that extol God (especially when we aren’t musically inclined!). Here is where CDs and YouTube come in handy to help accompany our singing to God. Memorizing scripture is another wonderful tool in the arsenal of faithful parents can use to instruct their little ones. Before work when waking up reviewing scripture memory verses with children, when sharing a meal, reading the scriptures together, or while driving on a way to an event listening to an audio Bible. If each week you memorize one verse, by the end of the year your family will have 52 Bible verses memorized together!
These are moments to help shape yourself and your family to greater delight in, faithfulness to, and adoration of the Holy Triune God.
Objections
At this point, there are a number of thoughts that may rush to mind: “There is no time in my day to do all that teaching and memorizing”, “my wife and I work 40 hours a week!”, “When I get home I am so tired”, “I just don’t feel like reading or studying the Bible”, “I just want to unwind”, “I’m a single parent, my time with my kids is short!”, “There are not enough hours in the day”.
All of these are legitimate frustrations. Let’s consider all of these frustrations in light of the reality of the character of God. The Triune God is holy, sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, merciful, loving, and compassionate. Therefore, all he asks and requires of his people flow out of and from his character. How does this answer all these frustrations? Simply put, our magnificent, wonderful, benevolent God knows everything we are enduring! He does not ask us (His children) to do anything we are incapable of accomplishing. All that God calls us to, he equips us to do (1 Corinthians 10:13, Lamentations 3:21-25, Philippians 4:13, 19). God may often call us to hard work, and heavy tasks, and yet, not tasks beyond the measure of His provision. God stretches us to grow us. While we may think family time together in devotion to God is too hard or is yet beyond us. God sees our frailty and has prescribed the very means of our spiritual training, strengthening, and maturing, which is to daily live in His presence receiving His instruction and passing that instruction along to the next generation. God has not abandoned you to this task. You are not alone in this effort. God graciously tells us that he “will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5, Joshua 1:5).
Encouragement for Single Parents
There was a young single man who because of his sin found himself raising his daughter alone. A wise elder told him that God will prove faithful and gracious despite the young man’s faithlessness. So the young man took his wise shepherd’s words and with their help devised a plan. Despite the many obstacles of working, family, disagreements, and the strains of life as a single parent, by the time the man’s daughter graduated from high school she had memorized 4 books of the Bible and the entire shorter Westminster Shorter Catechism. Did he accomplish this on his own? No. Despite family disagreements, there was help. The girl’s grandmother would listen to her recite her memory verses. Dear friends would watch her when the father had to work. God was merciful, gracious, kind, and always with the father and the daughter. Did the single father lead perfectly every day? No. There are always sick days, exhaustion, doubt, frustration, and discouragement when raising the next generation.
However, God does not lower his righteous standards, or allow His people to succumb to defeat. God always equips us with the means to accomplish His tasks. When we find ourselves tired, exhausted, drained, and having no time, that is the time to evaluate those priorities in life and trust in the triune God to provide faithfully as he has promised us.
John Calvin, who was a pastor in Geneva in the 1600s famously said “Man’s hearts are idol-making factories”. If we are too busy, too tired, or too drained, we must carefully examine what is taking our time and exhausting our strength. Go to the holy, triune God in humble broken contrition and may his praise continually be in your mouth. Begin today to teach your children His ways and His character. We will fail at times as parents, but God is with us.
Husbands and wives are covenant allies God intended and modeled in the scriptures to teach the next generation the wonders of the triune God. Single mothers and fathers, be true to your covenant ally, your true bridegroom (Christ). He will always prove faithful to you.
Let’s end by reading Psalm 149
Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them—this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the LORD.
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