We commonly speak of the first, second, and third
Persons of the Trinity. We call God the Father the first Person, God the Son
the second Person, and God the Spirit the third Person.
Some ignorantly imagine that to mean that God the Father is the primary
Person in the Godhead and that the Son and the Spirit are secondary Gods. That
is not the case at all. The three Persons of the Holy Trinity are in all things
equal to and co-existent with one another.
Voluntary
Subordination
In the
execution of the covenant of grace there is a subordination of one Divine
Person to another. This is not a subordination of personal inferiority; but a
voluntary subordination of the Son to the Father to redeem his elect, and of
the Spirit to the Father and the Son as the Sanctifier and Preserver of all who
were chosen by the Father and redeemed by the Son.
For example: Our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Good Shepherd, in John 10,
speaks of the command received from the Father which he must obey. He also
speaks of sending God the Holy Spirit to perform his work for and in God’s
elect. Isaiah speaks of God the Son as Jehovah’s Servant. In much the same way,
I often do what my grand daughter asks me to do. I become subject to her, and
become honor bound, at times to obey her, because I have pledged myself to do
her will in a given area. That does not mean that she is stronger, greater, or
superior to me, except by my voluntary consent for the accomplishment of a
specific thing.
Accommodating
Terms
This
division (First, Second, and Third Persons) is made simply because our puny
brains must have some order in which to think of the infinite God. These are
simply accommodating terms to help us grasp things that are beyond us. The
three Persons of the eternal Godhead "are," as the apostle
John puts it, "one." They are one in nature, essence, being,
and glory. When seeking to understand what the Scriptures teach about the
Trinity, this is one of the many places where faith must submit to and receive
as a fact of Divine Revelation that which reason can never comprehend.
Faith
Bows
When all
is said that can and should be said regarding the Holy Trinity, we are utterly
at a loss to understand the infinite God. He is infinitely greater than we are.
We cannot by searching find him out, or comprehend the incomprehensible. Faith
simply bows to him and to his condescending revelation of himself in Holy
Scripture, worshipping and trusting God, (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) as he
makes himself known in the person and work of his darling Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. What can be more beautifully honoring to him?