The Trinity and Relational Evangelism

Theologians have speculated for ages about the relationships that exist within the Trinity. How do the Father, Son, and Spirit interact? What is the nature of the interdependence? How does the Son derive his life from the Father? In what way does the Spirit flow from the Father and the Son (or perhaps just the Father, if you are in the East)? In some ways, it is all very strange stuff, but in other ways it is the most fundamental of conversations. The entire Universe and all that happens in it, in some way or another, is an outgrowth of the life of the Trinity. If we really want to know why things are the way they are, we will have to grapple with the Trinity.

One of the ideas that has been tossed around for centuries concerns the Holy Spirit. There have been some theologians who have attempted to explain what it means for the Holy Spirit to proceed from the Father and the Son. Some theologians (first in my mind is Jonathan Edwards, although, there are others who have examined this idea) who propose that the Holy Spirit is the personal love that exists between the Father and the Son. The Son and the Father love each other so deeply, that their relationship, their connection, actually constitutes a real person. While I’m not sure how much of this is just speculation and how much of this is worth believing, I do find it stimulating to think of the implications of this.

One implication came out in a conversation that I was having with two other pastors at the church a few months ago. We were discussing why it is that people tend to come to know Jesus more frequently through relationships, rather than preaching, reading books, tracts, or TV. We all know that if you really find out why people came to believe in Christ, all of them would have a significant relational component to their story, even if they came to a crisis of decision because of a sermon, book, etc. Everyone was lead to Christ through real connection with a Christian. Why?

As we talked about this, I put together two ideas. First, the Holy Spirit is the one that grants faith to the hearers of the Gospel. And second, that the Holy Spirit is thought to be the person that constitutes the relationship between the Father and the Son. So, I asked, “What if the reason people come to Christ in relationship is because the Holy Spirit, in himself, is a relationship? We experience a slice of the life of the Trinity whenever we are in relationship, and so that is where encountering the Holy Spirit is most potent. The Holy Spirit is relationship, therefore relationship awakens people to God.”

The idea stuck with me after that conversation, and it continues to ring with a sort of truth for me. Of course, there is the risk of depersonalizing the Holy Spirit is Edward’s conception of him, so this may be going to far. But, nevertheless, I think the idea that God exists in relationship, and the Holy Spirit is somehow an expression of intertrinitarian love, explains why relational evangelism works.

Thoughts?