Waiting to Understand

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation;
because by Him everything was created,
in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.
He is also the head of the body, the church;
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that He might come to have first place in everything.
For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,
and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself
by making peace through the blood of His cross—
whether things on earth or things in heaven.
(Colossians 1:15-20 Holman Christian Standard Bible®)

Who can understand our God? Who can explain mystery? A puzzle can be worked out a few times and then no longer holds anything that is hidden from us – the mystery disappears. The things that are too great about our God to fit between our ears may remain mysteries forever.

People who claim to be able to explain what they call “the Trinity” become objects of my suspicion regarding other things they claim to know. If I feel led to challenge them rather than just let them be, I may ask them to explain how it is that Jesus called us part of what they are calling “the Trinity,” (John  17:20-23):

May they all be one,
as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.
May they also be one in Us,
so the world may believe You sent Me.
I have given them the glory You have given Me.
May they be one as We are one.
I am in them and You are in Me.
May they be made completely one,
so the world may know You have sent Me
and have loved them as You have loved Me.

My challenge is not meant to prevent people from believing that there is some true concept they could properly call “the Trinity.” It is to challenge the thought that our pride must drive us to pretend to those we lead that, as proper theologians, we have all of our doctrines in order and can explain everything. There are many mysteries that we cannot explain. We must lead anyway.

Don’t wait to act or to lead until you understand everything. Be one with Them. The world won’t know us by our doctrinal accuracy. They will know us by our fruit – the fruit of being one with our God in all the ways He has revealed Himself, including through the rest of His people.