Read John 14:1-14 Unity of the Father and Son.
V 10. Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
It is really hard to get one’s head around this! Like so much of our reflection on the nature of the Trinity, just what does Jesus mean by saying ‘Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.’? There can be no greater or more intimate expression of the unity within the Godhead. Maybe the concept is inexpressible in human language, which is why Jesus might have prefaced his remark with that telling little phrase ‘Just believe’. Sounds so simple doesn’t it, but believing something that is inexplicable goes against the grain of our human nature. We want explanations, reasons, all the logic, before we commit ourselves to something. But here we really do come up against something that takes us to a different level, so Jesus says ‘Just believe’ I’m content to leave it there, but then work out the implications!
And that is where it touches everyday life.
Our Growth Group notes stress these three words ‘Missional, Relational, Incarnational.’ They express three aspects of the character of the ‘Three-in-One’ God.
‘Missional’ expresses the ideas that God moves out – he has a purpose and plan to move out, reach out, to touch the life of the creation he called into being. ‘Relational’ indicates that he desires to include the creation in the relationship that exists in the Godhead. ‘Incarnational’ says something about the way he intends to carry his purpose forward by fully sharing in the life of the creation.
As we follow these ideas through in our groups we will begin to understand more fully the nature of the Trinity and how this understanding of the character of God shapes our life together as Church.