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While we are not all creative geniuses, I think each of us can try to imagine what it’s like to be one. When a person makes something new and unique, and pours himself into that thing he is making, the person is often closely attached to his creation. The name Henry Ford is still attached to the cars made by the company he started. Bill Gates is almost synonomous with Microsoft, the computer software giant. Leonardo da Vinci, or Renoir, or Johann Sebastian Bach are all closely linked to what they created. If the creator is the author of a novel, he pours himself into the story, and knows each character intimately. If the creator is a musician, he will often give up meals and sleep to find the exact combination of words and sounds which expresses his heart and soul. If the creator is an inventor, he likely sacrifices a great deal of time, energy and wealth to see his idea come into being. And when the inventor, or the author, or the musician has finished his work, he will probably waste no time in establishing his rights to his creation at the patent office, or the copyright office. Why? Because the creator owns what he has made, and should receive all the benefit he can from his creation. The creator rightly wants to leave his signature on the painting, or his name on the company letterhead. Others who enjoy the new invention, or story, or song, owe something to the creator.

What about the creator of all things? Unlike a human author, or musician, or inventor, the creator of the world is not a person. The creator of the world is three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three persons have lived in harmony from eternity. Before time began, before the stars were placed in the heavens, before Adam received his first breath, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit lived together in beautiful harmony. And they always will. This eternal relationship within the Trinity is, I believe, a relationship of love. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit always honour and glorify each other. In the Trinity there is not a culture of debt or demands; rather these three persons have from eternity been building each other up in love. The Father gives all things to the Son. The Son does only what he sees the Father doing; Jesus prayed "Not my will but thine". The Spirit glorifies the Father and the Son. This is a culture of true friendship, of giving up self for others. The Son doesn’t have to earn His Father’s love. The Father gives it freely to Him. The Father doesn’t have to ask for glory from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit naturally honours and glorifies the Spirit. The three persons constantly communicate and bless each other, for this is their nature. This is their love. God is love.

And so how is it different for us trinitarian christians, having three persons like this as our creator, rather than a single, unitarian God like the Moslems, among others, imagine? The unitarian imagines a single God who has lived alone from all eternity, and who has now, contrary to his nature, for reasons unknown, created the world. The world is something alien to this sort of a god. The unitarian god has no eternal culture of communication, communion, love and mutual glorification. The unitarian god exists perfectly for and unto himself. He does not love--unless you equate self-love with the real thing--for why should he love anything less than his own perfection? He does not communicate--except perhaps as a dictator commands his slaves--for why should he waste his breath on puny creatures who are infinitely beneath him? It is beneath him to bother with mere mortals, for he alone is the unitarian god. He is alone, the unitarian god. What he has created can’t benefit him, for he is already eternal and perfect. What he has created doesn’t merit his favour, for how can what is less that perfect deserve anything from he who is perfect? The unitarian god will not give up his perfection to help his creation. Why should he? To give would be contrary to his perfect and eternal solitary nature. It is the Trinitarian God of christianity, the God of love, the God who is not silent, who both speaks and hears, who can lift up and glorify the other, who can give himself to another unselfishly.

This Trinity is the God who breathed his own breath into Adam. This Trinity is the God who walked and talked with Adam in the garden. This Trinity is the God who gave Adam and Eve animal skins to cover their nakedness, and promised a seed who would crush the serpent’s head. This Trinity is the God who promised that His Spirit would not strive with sinful men’s flesh forever. This Trinity is the God who sent the only son, to put on earthly flesh, in order to be the firstborn from the dead, to bring many sons into glory. This Trinity is the God who gives his Spirit, to lead us into all righteousness. His Holy Spirit no longer strives with sinful children of Adam (Gen 6), for the Son, Jesus Christ, the second Adam, has begun a new race of mankind. We join this new race of men when we are born again. We become members of this new race when we are joined with Jesus in baptism, putting off sinful flesh and rising again to life in Christ. And we continue day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year, as members of this new human race, children of Jesus Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, in good standing before God the Father. We continue as members of this new human race as we participate in the life of Christ. And how do we participate in Jesus’ life?

He gives us bread and wine, a meal of fellowship with our Lord, to show us how He gave us His own flesh and blood, how he gives us Himself. 1 Cor. 11:24-26:

Come to this table and seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Come to this table, eat and drink the body and blood of your Saviour, setting your minds on the things that are above, and not on the things that are on earth. Come to this table in faith, and Jesus will give you himself that you might have all things necessary for life and godliness.