The Deep Things of God: Fred Sanders

Initially, when I pondered the Trinity, it seemed to be something that was very foreign - something that I could never grasp and ultimately, discouraged me. I would explore all the possible illustrations in order to help me grasp the concept. As a result, I was left disappointed and the illustrations often broke down quickly. Hence why I posted this picture - it summarizes how I felt after my feeble attempt to understand this theology. However, this was because my approach was foreign and boring. I started to think: how much of the trinity affects my christian walk? The more I thought about it, the more that the Trinity is a part of my everyday life! For example:

Why do we pray, "In Jesus' name?"

This is also seen in many of the excellent hymns:

"Holy Holy Holy"

"All Creatures of Our God and King"

These issues are brought up in the opening chapters of Fred Sanders' book, "The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything." Sanders points out that most Christians are Trinitarian, whether they see it or not! The whole concept of the trinity is so engraved in the theology of the church we sometimes oversee it. Sanders' thesis for this book is to show how the Trinity and the gospel relate and how the Trinity is part of our spiritual discipleship. Sanders also addresses the history of the church's study of this doctrine and how some felt this concept of the Trinity was not important or as important as the gospel. Sanders argues from the opposite perspective: the Trinity has everything to do with the gospel! How profound is it that there was perfect harmony and perfect relations within the members of the Trinity, now we, who have been saved by grace, can now partake in that same relationship! What a profound truth!

I am looking forward to what Fred Sanders has to offer. He does teach at Biola University, but I never had the opportunity to sit under his teaching. So far, this is an exciting read and I am looking forward to what Sanders has to say in the future chapters.