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Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance

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A few weeks ago, while I was in one of my favorite bookstores, a guy made a comment about how the Holy Spirit has been forgotten in contemporary Christianity. I replied by suggesting that we haven't forgotten Him, so much as we have misunderstood Him. Whether we misunderstand or forget Him altogether, it's clear that we don't have a robust understanding of the Holy Spirit, or the Trinity in general.

Bruce Ware's Father, Son, & Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, & Relevance, seeks to provide us with the robust understanding we lack. The brief 158 page book is an adaptation from a series of lectures Dr. Ware gave at a conference in 2004 and is broken down into six chapters.

Chapter One addresses the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity. "Would God have chosen to reveal himself to us as the one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, unless he knew that this would be important to our understanding of him and our faith?" (13) Chapter Two claims to be an historical overview of the doctrine, though it's really more of an analysis of the Biblical evidence for the Trinity.

Chapters Three through Five are each on a different person of the Godhead. Each chapter describes the unique roles of each person, how they relate to one another, and what relevance each person's roles has for our lives.

The final chapter, six, concludes with ten "lessons for our lives and ministries from the relationships and roles of the triune God." (132) Since we are made in God's image, we must start with understanding of God in order to understand ourselves. The applications include living in community, the harmony of unity, the importance of authority and submission within our families and churches, how to pray, and how to worship.

The book is a very easy read, though it is far from simple. I still think James R. White's The Forgotten Trinity is the best book available in regards to the Biblical basis of the doctrine. However, Dr. Ware's is the best I've seen that explains the roles of each person and how the doctrine should apply to how we live. For instance, "Here in the Trinity... we see hierarchy without hubris, authority with no oppression, submission that is not servile, and love that pervades every aspect of the divine life." (157)

If you're questioning the Biblical basis of the doctrine, go read James White. If you are seeking a deeper understanding of the Trinity and the relevance the nature of God has in your life, Dr. Ware's book is a must read. I know of no other book that explains these profound truths with such clarity and warmth while maintaining their depth and weight.

A couple of months ago I asked Crossway if there was a book in their catalog that they felt was an overlooked treasure - a book that deserved far more recognition than it had received. They suggested Father, Son & Holy Spirit by Bruce Ware. I know of Bruce Ware from his excellent critique of Open Theism in Their God is Too Small (which was a condensed version of a larger work on the same subject, God's Lesser Glory). A quick look at Amazon showed only one reader review which seems to prove that this book was, indeed, overlooked.

Having read the book I agree with Crossway's assessment. This book is a treasure and one that deserves to be read, absorbed and appreciated. It is a thorough but readable study of the Trinity, their Relationships, Roles and Relevance. The final word of that, the book's subtitle, is what sets this book apart. Ware does more than merely provide a defense of the doctrine of the Trinity. Each aspect of the doctrine is accompanied by an explanation of why this doctrine is relevant and how the reader can apply this to his life. This is a perfect example of practical theology - taking theology out of the realm of knowledge and making it a part of our lives.

Like many books on theological subject matters, this one began as a series of sessions delivered at a conference. The five one-hour speeches have been adapted into a 167-page, six-chapter book. The first chapter deals with the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity. Ware correctly asserts that few things can be more important than studying and understanding, in so far as we are able, the character and persons of God. "It is my hope and prayer that, through this study, we will be able to hear the voice of the Lord helping us to understand the beauty and glory of the God whom we already know as God. But do we know him as we should? Do we know him as he truly is?" (page 14). The second chapter provides an overview of the historical development of the doctrine as Christians came to a deeper understanding of biblical truths through the history of the church.

The heart of the book is in chapters three, four and five. There is one chapter dedicated to each of the three persons of God. In particular, Ware examines the relationships of the members to each other. While each member of the Trinity is fully God, what defines one from the other is their particular roles and relationships. For example, the way in which the Son relates to the Father is presented in clear contrast to the Son's relationship with the Holy Spirit. In each chapter the reader is led to marvel at the wonder that is our God. Each chapter concludes with a section where the author provides application of all that he has taught about the relationships within the Trinity.

The final chapter encourages the believer to behold the wonder of the triune persons in relational community. The chapter is composed of ten "lessons for our lives and ministries from the relationships and roles of the triune God." Each lesson is practical, understandable and biblical.

What can I say? Taking theology to the masses does not get much better than this. Bruce Ware has taken his extensive knowledge of this doctrine and provided it to the church in a format that anyone can enjoy and understand. There is enough content to challenge any believer, but it is simple enough that none need be intimidated by it. This is the best book I've read on the Trinity and I simply can't recommend it highly enough.

Something I appreciate about a good teacher or a good writer, is the ability to make complex ideas understandable and abstract ideas practical. Bruce A. Ware has accomplished this as he writes on perhaps the most complex and misunderstood doctrine of the Christian faith: the Trinity. In Father, Son & Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, & Relevance, Ware explains the doctrine and its history, and then focuses on each person of the Godhead, explaining their distinctive roles in the accomplishment of God's will, and yet maintaining their unity of essence as One God.

Bruce A. Ware is Senior Associate Dean and Professor of Christian Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. The book stems from five talks Ware gave at a pastor's conference in 2004. Though first directed toward pastors, it is not just for pastors. Anyone with basic Bible literacy will benefit from it. It would make an excellent gift for new believers or anyone struggling to understand the doctrine of the Trinity. If I were to make a list of books that every Christian ought to read, I would include this one.

The subtitle of the book: Relationships, Roles and Relevance, reveals its basic structure. Each person of the Godhead is studied in regards to His relationship to the others, to His role in accomplishing the will of God, including the salvation of His people, and also in terms of how these truths are relevant to our understanding of and relationship with God. Ware's thoughts on relevance and application are very profound and thought-provoking. I found myself reflexively setting the book down to ponder the wonder and majesty of our most glorious God and how the relationships within the Godhead are imaged in His relationship with us, and our relationships to one another.

With its approximately 150 pages of text, the book can be quickly read; but it deserves to be pondered and slowly digested. The application section of the chapters on each person of the Trinity would make excellent material for personal devotional time. The book could also be used profitably by study groups. Perhaps Dr. Ware will bless us soon with a study guide.

This book is a gem.

The triune nature of God is one that Christians have tried to get a grasp on for the last two thousand years. The scriptures affirm that God is one and that He exists eternally as three persons. Each of the persons are fully God and there is but one God. This is a difficult doctrine to understand to say the least, but it is one that God has presented in His word repeatedly, so we have a responsibility to understand it correctly, if not completely. I believe it impossible to understand the triune nature of God completely in this lifetime, and perhaps in the next as well. The infinite cannot be contained within the finite.

As I said earlier, we do have a responsibility to understand this revelation as best as we can, but most of us, myself included, have put off this theological doctrine in favor of things that are easier to grasp. This does not constitute apathy per se, but we honor God by seeking His face as clearly as possible. For us to deny any aspect of the trinity or to try to amend the trinity to meet our expectations is to diminish God in our own hearts and try to reform His being into one of our own likeness.

In Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, & Relevance, by Bruce Ware, we are given a good overview of the trinity, beginning with a list of ten great reasons every Christian should study this doctrine. It continues with a historical look at how the early church met heretical understandings of the trinity with biblical proof, always leaning toward the scriptures and not on logical statements of others speaking of a God no greater than their knowledge could comprehend

The meat of the book comes after this, as each person of the trinity is given a chapter to discuss the differences of role and not of essence that they have. I found this to be extremely helpful in my Christian walk, as virtually every aspect of a Christian's life is impacted by our triune God. Take prayer, for example. I was taught as a child that praying was just talking to Jesus about whatever was on your mind. According to the Lord's Prayer though, Jesus tells us to pray to the Father. We are also told that our prayer to the Father is offered through our mediator, Jesus Christ. And this prayer to the Father, through the Son is to be offered up by the power of the Holy Spirit. Proper prayer acknowledges the trinity.

The roles of the trinity are quite complex, with the Holy Spirit pointing us toward the Son who seeks to glorify the Father. Thus the eternal roles of each of the persons should be rightly understood by all Christians if we are to discern error. For example, if someone claims that the Holy Spirit has come upon them for any reason other than to point us toward Christ, our ears should listen attentively to what is said that we may be able to lovingly correct the statement which is bound to contain errors, based on the errant foundation of the source of this information.

I have yet to see a book that is more informative on this doctrine than Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, & Relevance. It fills in many common misperceptions that we may make regarding what the trinity is and what it is not. One thought I have had for some time has been confirmed while reading this book. Christ came to save sinners, yes. But why is it that the Father does anything? Did He send the Son to die for the sole purpose that we may find our salvation in Him or is there an underlying motive? When you get down to the core values within the trinity, God the Father sent God the Son to earth as a man to be enabled for his task by God the Holy Spirit to the ultimate glory of God the Father. This was accomplished in part by God the Son atoning for those He was sent to redeem. And from His submission to both the Father and the Spirit (for a time) He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and yet maintains the second level of primacy to the Father.

This book is 158 pages, not including the notes and indexes, but don't let the relatively short page number dissuade you. The length of this book is such that every Christian should read this book for personal edification, not to mention a more learned response to one of the more frequently brought up objections to Christianity. The content of the book is such that anybody could follow it, but those with a stronger theological background will be able to gain more insight than a casual reader to the degree of thiner knowledge. I recommend this book heartily to all for these reasons and more. This is a book that I plan to read annually, as I am certain there are truths represented within these pages that I have not been able to fully appreciate.

You may believe in the Trinity, but how much do you know about it? Are you like me, and you know that you believe in it, you can quote the traditional formulations of it, but you still don't know much about the relationships between the persons of the Trinity; the roles those three persons have; or especially, how knowledge of the relationships and roles within the Trinity ought to affect the lives of believers within their own relationships? If the previous statement describes you, too, then this is a book you'll want to read.

"Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" is theology at its best--the study of God with a view toward the practical implications of that study in the lives of the Christian. This is one of those rare books that is short, easy to understand, but so dense with important truth that it oughtn't be read quickly. If I had a vote in the matter, I'd vote this one straight onto the list of Christian classic books for the lay person, valuable to be read and then reread through the years. In all the reading of Christian books that I've done, I'd have to go back a few years before I'd find a book that I think is as important for every believer to read as this one.

If you're looking for a book to open up the mysteries of the Trinity, that is easily understandable, and doesn't require a lot of thought, good luck. That book doesn't exist. If you want a better understanding of the Trinity that is reverent, worshipful, devotional, and applicable, then this is the book for you.
Bruce Ware begins by stating the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is important because God has revealed Himself as Trinity. If it were not important it would not have been revealed in Scripture. The first chapter also contains ten reasons for focusing on the Trinity.
In the second chapter Dr. Ware gives a brief statement concerning the historical and biblical doctrine of the Trinity. As he does this he very aptly defends the historic position of One God, yet Three distinct Persons.
Chapters 3, 4, and 5 then focus on each member of the Trinity in their distinctive relationships with each other, distinctive roles within the Godhead, and the relevance of each for mankind. Each of these chapters end with an application of the above stated doctrines.
Chapter six now applies the doctrine of the Trinity to our own relationships as we live together in communities (Families, friendships, workplaces, Churches, etc...).
I wholeheartedly recommend this book as an introduction into the meaning of the Trinitarian faith. While it is not meant to be a philosophical treatment of the Trinity, there is much here to be learned, and what we learn is given hands and feet, so that we can be doers, and not hearers only.

...Get this one.

Then again, if you're actually reading books on the trinity, you're already a few hundred steps ahead of the general pew-warmer in the right direction and don't need to be told that!

Dr. Bruce Ware, in 158 pages, takes a doctrine that is the one of the more disconnected and confusing doctrines for most people and thoroughly explains it in a non-technical and very accessible way. He presents a plethora of biblical argumentation for a thorough going Trinitarian understanding of God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ and I appreciated VERY much how he doesn't just reference texts but rather spends a few statements explaining his references.

He opens the book giving 10 reasons on why the study of the Trinity is so important. That chapter alone is amazingly edifying and is a staunch rebuke to those who would ignore this doctrine because it's purely academic theology with no practical application. Ware argues clearly and convincingly that the Trinity is, when properly understood, one of the most practical and important understandings of the Christian faith.

He then explores the historical foundations and formulations of the doctrine of the Trinity, laying forth the proper Old and New Testament teaching on strict monotheism and then explaining what exactly happened at the council of Nicea (where absolutely nobody voted on what books should be in the Bible, contra pretty much every ding-dong on the internet) regarding the formulation of the Nicene Creed.

The later chapters give biblical argumentation for the deity of the Father, Son and Spirit and the sixth chapter talks about the importance of Trinitarianism for understanding relational community. All the chapters were wonderful and gave insightful applications and practical outworking of Trinitarianism, as well as substantial biblical support. I absolutely loved this book and will consistently recommend it to any and all people who are curious as to the Trinity. I'm going to make it mandatory reading for baptismal classes at my church as well!

So then why 4 stars?

I DID thoroughly love this book, and I find Dr. Ware to be one of the most "pastorally minded" scholars I've ever read or met (albeit briefly). That being said, if I could offer a suggestion to Dr. Ware it would be to include at least one appendix on how various cults and world religious systems misunderstand the Trinity. This book is clearly meant as a lay introduction to the subject, and most lay people who get involved in discussions about the Trinity will find themselves, almost immediately, in debates. I've had Trinitarian discussions at workplaces before that almost immediately reveal I'm talking to a oneness Pentecostal, or a Mormon, or a Jehovah's Witness, or some other non-Trinitarian. They always have articulate rebuttals, seeing that most cults and world religions make a point of explicitly attacking the Trinity, that can be unsettling to Christians trying to explain their faith. Seeing that Trinitarianism is such a specific compartment of theology, solid biblical responses to anti-Trinitarian rebuttals can be difficult to find. Seeing that Dr. Ware's book is a concise treatment, a 20-40 page appendix dealing with what most lay people will encounter "on the street" as rebuttals to biblical Trinitarianism would have changed this book from 4 to 6 stars. Nothing comprehensive and nothing technical, but if Dr. Ware possibly would have included maybe 5-10 common arguments (i.e. saying 1 is 3 is a logical fallacy) against Trinitarianism with biblical responses, that would have made this book the single resource on the Trinity any lay person would have ever needed.

The fact that the Triune nature is one of, if not the greatest mystery of the Christian God, it does not follow that there is no further revelation that one should know or learn from. Neither should it preclude one from attempting to gain a deeper understanding in this matter. Dr. Ware begins by teaching from Scriptural evidences, the basis of the simultaneous, equal and eternal divine nature of all three distinct Persons, thereby refuting Sabelianism or Modalism that claims the divinity of each Person occurred sequentially; only one Person being divine at a time, and Arianism that rejects the divinity of the Son and the Spirit. Therefore, since all three Persons are simultaneously, equally or fully, and eternally God, it is futile to attempt to understand their difference in terms of nature or characteristics because each possesses all attributes of God; among which are omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence.

Many tremendously important lessons to learn can be derived by understanding the difference in their roles and relationship, which not only serves as a divine revelation, but also a pattern and divine design for humanity to follow, having been created in His image. The beauty of the Trinity lies in the respect and affection in their treatment to one another, harmony in operation, and unity in purpose, as well as the complete absence of envy, friction, disagreement, power struggle and abuse of authority amongst Them. Here is a model of a perfect, most sublime authority-submission relationship displayed in the supremacy of the Father, subordination of the Son to the Father wherein the Son glories in the Father, the Father glories in the Son, the Spirit submitting to the Father and the Son. Moreover, the Spirit glories in the Son, yet when the Son was on earth, He was subject to the Spirit, and the Spirit is always eternally joyfully content to take up the background behind-the-scene roles assisting the Father and glorifying and pointing all attentions to the Son.

Dr. Ware also covers what each Person does, and its implications whereby one learns the true fatherhood and obedience, the gracious work of inspiration, illumination, sanctification and evangelism. In regard to Christian life, they teach the divine inspiration and thus, the infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible; expose the importance of illumination in understanding of the Scriptures, show the right way to pray; by the Spirit, through the Son, and to the Father, direct how to worship properly, the Son being the center of all. In the mission field, they affirm the absolute necessity of the work of regeneration brought forth by the Spirit in a true conversion that results in faith and repentance. At home, these lessons are applicable to the relationship between men and women in marriage as husbands and wives, and between parents and children. It is also a divine design for the church and society in general; between congregation, ministers and elders, citizens and government; students and teachers; subordinates and superiors wherein God ordained authority-submission structure or taxis to reflect who He is and how He operates. In each of these relationship structures that Dr. Ware went through in details, he not only teaches that the doctrine of the Trinity is highly practical, but also refutes egalitarianism and a general distrust of authority. Yes, human authority is imperfect, whether it be husband, parent, minister, governor, and superior in a workplace, but Dr. Ware pointed out the preciousness of the lesson of submission from the Trinitarian taxis,

"It appears then, that we need to learn something about the nature of true freedom. Freedom is not what our culture tells us it is. Freedom is not my deciding, from the urges and longings of my sinful nature, to do what I want to do, when I want to do it, how I want to do it, with whom I want to do it. According to the Bible, that is bondage, not freedom. Rather, true freedom is living as Jesus lived, for He is the freest human being who ever lived. In fact, He is the only fully free human being who has ever lived, and one day we will be set free fully when we always and only do the will of God.

So what is freedom? Amazingly, Jesus' answer is this: Freedom is submitting, - submitting fully to the will of God, to the words of God, and to the work that God calls us to do" (p.75).

The reason why this book is a must-read is because we live in the days where human autonomy is God and the seemingly prevailing rule is that I am my own authority; you have your own rules and I have my own, so don't ever tell me what to do. Understanding, embracing and applying the doctrine of the Trinity is a great antidote to this toxic post-modern spirit.

Solid book that provides an in-depth look at the glory of the Trinity. This is a smaller book and just begins to scratch the surface of what we can observe, love, and learn from studying the Trinity. I would definitely recommend this book for all. If you are trying to understand how the relationship of the Trinity works, while they being One then this will help unpack that. The main purpose of the book is to set the foundation that their is a hierarchy within the Trinity (Father highest, the Jesus, lastly the Holy Spirit) but they are equal. So one in their essence and nature, but different roles and relationships. This book will not give you every answer and exhaust the doctrine of the Trinity but it should and will help you think through what it means and why it is vital to our faith.

"The Trinity not only distinguishes the Christian faith from all others, it also establishes the basis for all that we hold dear as Christian believers."

"Freedom is not my deciding, from the urges and longings of my sinful nature, to do what I want to do, when I want to do it, how I want to do it, with whom I want to do it...the Bible calls that is bondage, not freedom."

For me, this book made the Trinity distinctions come alive! The title of the book explains it all: relationships, roles, and relevance of the different member of the Trinity.

The chapter headings create a desire to know each Person more intimately:
(The book begins with a historical overview and explanation of the doctrine and then discusses each Member beginning in Chapter 3)
Beholding the Wonder of the Father
Beholding the Wonder of the Son
Beholding the Wonder of the Holy Spirit
Beholding the Wonder of the Triune Persons in Relational Community

I highly recommend this book!