Salvation and the Trinity

Jesus’ final command in Matthew 28:19,20 is to go into all the world, making disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This in itself should make clear the trinitarian nature of salvation, but let’s look at things a little more closely and how Father, Son and Holy Spirit are “in it together”.

First, it is the Father who initiated the plan of salvation. The famous words in John 3:16 tell us that God so loved the world that He gave His own son so that all who believe in Jesus would be saved, and not perish. In John’s gospel Jesus repeatedly stresses that He was sent by the Father. At Jesus’ baptism the Spirit descended upon Him. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit were working together.

There are some who describe the substitutionary, or propitiatory, nature of the cross is “cosmic child abuse”. Such an idea demonstrates only a complete lack of understanding of the cross and the plan of salvation. They paint the cross as Jesus appeasing a reluctant and angry God, so that He reluctantly agrees not to send us to hell. Such an interpretation is utter and complete nonsense. As we just read in John 3:16, the Father sent the Son because He so loved the world. The Son acted out of love for His Father, and because they were in complete agreement about the plan, about the work that needed to be done in order to bring about our salvation.

Then it is the Holy Spirit who opens the eyes of our hearts to understand and believe. He testifies to our hearts that we are now children of God. He then does a work of sanctification in our lives, and empowers us to do the work God has for us.

The cross, and everything associated with it, is a pure act of love. It is an act of love between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and an act of love of God towards us.