Lesson 4: The Trinity and Christian Discipleship

Learning Targets: At the end of the lesson, I can:

Doctrine: Explain the Concept of the Trinity in relation to Christian discipleship

Mystery; Meant to be Accepted and Lived

As a student of theology before, one of the courses that I hate most was about the “Holy
Trinity”.

As a usual practice for most of the classes, at the very first meeting, students were asked
one by one on what made them interested on the course they enrolled. Of course no one would
admit that they don’t like the course at all. Perhaps being compelled by the circumstance as
being required, students have to say the positive side of the course, with all the good expectation
about the offered course, because if they say the otherwise, the instructor might get disappointed
and perhaps develops biases or prejudices towards the students.

That time, I was thinking that I was the only one having issue about interest, but latter I
found out that there are several of us.

When the class had formally started, our professor begun with this line; “The Holy
Trinity as Our God is a mystery, and since God is a mystery therefore, human minds could not
really comprehend His very nature as He is God. Thus, this mystery is not really meant to be
understood in its absolute sense. But instead, God as a mystery should be lived and be accepted
by those who believed in His divine greatness.”

Upon hearing this, I realized that yes indeed, Holy Trinity as mystery cannot be really
fully grasped by our intellect as most of the intellectuals, great theologians or even some of the
philosophers had said. But instead, the divinely mysterious ways of God’s existence can only be
humanly understood or in the level of our human understanding, if it is applied to our lives in our
daily existence as God wants to reveal his presence to us.

And this is the very meaning of Christian Discipleship, living what we have understood.
As baptized Christians, we are called to be the followers of Christ in a genuine sense; Christian
disciples not just by name and church affiliation, but by true commitment expressed by real
actions.

Thus In this lesson, we are going to discuss the concept of the Holy Trinity in relation to
Christian discipleship. How to be a real Christian disciple can be understood by accepting our
very calling in the divine presence of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Christian Discipleship is rooted in the mystery of the Trinity

Indeed, it is true and it must be true. It is not necessary to have a full grasp of the very
nature of our God because what’s really important is the way and on how one obeys his
commands. Can’t this be considered as “blind obedience” or as only “faith without reason”? The
answer is NO.

Becoming a true Christ’s disciple implies obedience. Like the apostles, they were
astounded by the very words of Jesus being said unto them and they were filled with wonders.
Many of the disciples were even surprised on where Jesus found such wisdom or on who Jesus
really was, particularly his family background, the things about his parents, the place of his
origin, etc.

Yet those questions and doubts did not hinder them to follow Jesus, in fact their sense of
awe and surprise led them to know more about Jesus. Because of that, they follow the very
example being shown by Jesus, they lived the life according to the commands of Jesus, and that
was the only way that they were able to understand who Jesus was.

And this is the very meaning of the mystery of God; to know more and to understand is to
follow and live the very life of Jesus as God. To learn about things you want to learn is trying to
experience the very thing in a very personal way. It is more on the hand-on application rather of
the theory.

The Apostles who were then following Jesus, not all of them even know the real identity
of Jesus when they were asked by him. In the biblical account found in the gospel of Matthew,
Jesus asked them; "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed
to you by man, but by my Father in heaven (Mat. 16).

In this account, it is implied that Jesus at the very beginning, did not actually require all
his disciples who were following him to have a prior knowledge of who Jesus really was. But by
following Him and through the revelation of His Father, they will eventually know His real
identity and understand the meaning of the words He said unto them.
 Furthermore, the above account recognizes that in knowing and in following and
understanding His commands requires revelation from his Father in heaven. It was the revelation
of His Father that St. Peter got to know who Jesus really was. As a teaching, therefore,
understanding the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity opens Scripture to more than an historical
account of people and their beliefs, and sheds light onto the mystery of creation, the nature of
God, and meaning of life (Goodey, 2019).

Be Holy as your Father in heaven is Holy (Our Christian vocation)

Another account also shows that for them to be a real disciple, they should be holy as the
Father in heaven is holy. Discipleship therefore, requires holiness. In the Old Testament, God
speaks to the Israelites through his prophet. "Speak to the entire congregation of the Israelites
and tell them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Lev. 19:2).

In consonance with the Old Testament, it is also written in the first letter of St. Peter, “but
just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I
am holy.” (I Pet. 1:15-16) All of us who have received God's grace through Christ have been set
apart by God for him and his purposes. As God delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt,
thus forming a holy people, He has delivered us from bondage to sin and death and called us to
be his people. Thus, we are to be holy because God is holy.

In practice, this means that we are to imitate God rather than the ways of the world. Like
the Old Testament priests, we are to see our whole lives as dedicated to God's service. Yet, our
service happens, not in the tabernacle or temple, but in the world, as we offer all that we are to
God as "a living and holy sacrifice" (Rom. 12:1). Thus, our holiness does not remove us from the
world. Rather, it sends us into the world even as God sent his Son into the world (John 17:9-19).
We serve the Lord by serving others, living for God's purposes and according to his standards.
We imitate him by loving others even as he has loved us.

Holy Trinity and the Implication to Christian Life

In the second letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, he states, “But we ought to give
thanks to God for you always, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first
fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in truth. To this end he has
[also] called you through our gospel to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore,
brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral
statement or by a letter of ours.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15).
 In this passage, St. Paul identifies that Christians are called to model their lives around
the lived example of Jesus Christ and to live by the teachings of God through the Holy Spirit. He
also indicates the other forms of revelation where we can find as reference to live a life
according to the will of God. And these forms of revelations are the following: by
nature/creation (that we are called and chosen by from the beginning); by prophets/prophesy
(the adherence of the prophets to live a moral and upright life); by Scripture (by referencing the
gospels that have been given); by tradition (by making clear that the ways Christians ought to
live have already been taught); and by ecclesial magisterium (by referencing the teachings
through the disciples as given through direct communication, orally and in writing). Hence, the
implication of the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity for Christian life is the call to hear and
respond to the truth of God.

Making Disciples is a Trinitarian Mission

"Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). According to the church
document on evangelization, “The proclamation of the Kingdom of God and salvation for all
people through Jesus Christ is at the very core of the Church’s mission and the essential aspects
of evangelization. To evangelize, one bears witness to God’s Revelation in Jesus through the
Holy Spirit by living a life imbued with Christian virtues, by proclaiming unceasingly that
salvation is offered to all people through the Paschal Mystery of Christ, and by preaching hope in
God’s love for us.”

Let us remember that Christ himself gave the command and it is very clear how He
recognized the Trinitarian Authority; The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the
command of Jesus to make disciples of all nations is actually the command of the Trinitarian
God.
The Church’s ad gentes (“to the world”) mission given to her by Christ is the
proclamation of the Good News to those who do not know him. The historical and social
circumstances of the twentieth century prompted the Church to renew her mission to evangelize.
This renewed vision of evangelization includes, Pope Emiretus Benedict XVI has stated, the
challenge to “propose anew” the Good News to all of the Christian faithful, most especially to
those of the faithful who are absent from the Lord’s Table.” (USCCB.Org)

Holy Trinity; Source of All Mysteries of Christian Life

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it is stated that “the mystery of the Most Holy
Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is
therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the
most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith". The whole
history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with himself
those who turn away from sin". (CCC, 234)

The Divine Economy of Salvation; the Work of the of the Holy Trinity

In the teaching of the church, it is clearly stated that “the whole divine economy is the
common work of the three divine persons. For as the Trinity has only one and the same natures
so too it has only one and the same operation: "The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not
three principles of creation but one principle." However, each divine person performs the
common work according to his unique personal property. Thus the Church confesses, following
the New Testament, "one God and Father from whom all things are, and one Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom all things are, and one Holy Spirit in whom all things are". It is above all the
divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit that show forth the
properties of the divine persons.
Being a work at once common and personal, the whole divine economy makes known
both what is proper to the divine persons, and their one divine nature. Hence the whole Christian
life is a communion with each of the divine persons, without in any way separating them.
Everyone who glorifies the Father does so through the Son in the Holy Spirit; everyone who
follows Christ does so because the Father draws him and the Spirit moves him. (CCC, 258-259)

Conclusion

God’s command to make disciples of all nations is a Trinitarian by nature. The mission
given to us as baptized members of the Church derived its authority to the very God Himself,
The Holy Trinity. The moment when we are baptized, we became disciples of God by virtue of
the divine grace and divine authority of Christ given to His Church and the apostles.
 LET US LEARN MORE

Activity 1 - Reflection/Journal Writing

“How to be a Trinitarian Disciple of God”

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Activity 2 - Prayer Writing:

“My prayer for the evangelization of the world”

Ad Gentes, A Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

Disciples Called to Witness. USCCB. https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-

Goodey, D. (2019). The Centrality of the Trinity: Exploring the Significance for Christians,
Catechists and Deacons. Rev.Guillermo de Ockham, 17(1), 9-15. doi:
https://doi.org/10.21500/22563202.4087

New American Bible. Catholic Biblical Association of America. St. Anthony Guild Press, 1970