Tag Archives: Trinity

Dale Bruner and the Holy Spirit

 

I Will Sing of My Redeemer (with 1st-3rd grade skit intro and choir)

 

In my quest to understand the Trinity more and in understanding how the Holy Spirit engages as part of the Godhead, I ran across Dale Bruner’s material. Let me share some quotes and thoughts.

Dale Bruner wrote about this. He said that the Spirit could be pictured by my drawing a stick figure (representing Jesus) on a blackboard. Then, to express what the Spirit does, I stand behind the blackboard, reach around with one hand, and point with a single finger to the image of Jesus: “Look at him, listen to him, learn from him, follow him, worship him, be devoted to him, serve him, love him, be preoccupied with him.”

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. – John 16:12-15  ESV

In other words, the Holy Spirit doesn’t exist in order to draw attention to Himself, He wants to get people to focus on Jesus. Self-giving, unconditional loving, mutual affirmation, promoting the welfare of the other.

 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. – John 14:26  ESV

The Spirit is always pointing people back to the Son.

“It is often said that the Holy Spirit is the Cinderella of the trinity …the great neglected person of the godhead. But the holy spirit’s desire and work is that we would be thrilled again, excited again, and gripped again by the words and majesty and relevance of Jesus. The holy spirit does not mind being the Cinderella outside the ballroom if the prince is being honored in his kingdom.” – Dale Bruner, The Shy Member of the Trinity  

“One of the most surprising discoveries in my own study of the doctrine and experience of the Spirit in the New Testament is what I can only call the shyness of the Spirit… What I mean here is not the shyness of timidity but the shyness of deference, the shyness of a concentrated attention on another; it is not the shyness (which we often experience) of self-centeredness, but the shyness of an other-centeredness. It is in a word, the shyness of love.” ~ Dale Bruner, in The Holy Spirit: Shy Member of the Trinity” – Dale Bruner, The Shy Member of the Trinity

It is, in short, the shyness of love. Bruner points out the ministry of the Spirit in the Gospel of John, a ministry constantly to draw attention not to Himself but to the Son—the Spirit comes in the Son’s name, bears witness to the Son, glorifies the Son

 “It is worth noticing that the voice from Heaven does not say, ‘Hey! Listen to Me too! Don’t forget about me! Don’t be too taken up with my Son!’ …God the Father is shy, too. The whole blessed Trinity is shy. Each member of the Trinity points faithfully and selflessly to the other in a gracious circle.” ~ Dale Bruner

 

 

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One

 

One Church, One Faith

 

There is only one church that belongs to Jesus.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. – Ephesians 4:1-6  ESV

I cannot get past how many times the word “one” is used in these verses. It is a reminder to me of the Trinity – the Holy Spirit, the Son, Jesus and the Father – three and yet one.

There are fond memories of times where I had the opportunity to introduce the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Sunday School formats and my favorite part was the Deity of Jesus and how best to describe the Holy Spirit. Yet, there was a point in the study where we needed to look at the significance of the Trinity and what was life like within the Trinity. Most importantly, there was the reminder that these three are all persons and the Trinity is a personhood.

All who have decided to follow Jesus are the called of God. Our calling is our responsibility to respond to what we have become in Christ and to serve in the body of Christ. These verses move us from the call to unity to one’s calling in ministry. Jesus has given many gifts of grace which come together in one common goal of maturity in Him.

 For example – one baptism. Baptism is the entry point to one’s walk with Jesus. It puts all new believers into the body of Christ to join with all the other believers.

 So then, when I am asked to walk in a manner worthy of my calling, it means that as a disciple, a part of the body of Christ, a part of the Church, it is a high calling. It is a walk not found in sin, but rather as a child of God. I am not my own, but bought with a price. My life is found in Christ and I live my life through Him. My life has been rescued by Jesus and His calling to follow Him changes the direction of every decision I make.

 

 

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