Jul
11
2008
What A Team Of Friends We Have Through Jesus: J.I. Packer On Trinitarian Thinking
Over the years, I have collected numerous interviews with J.I. Packer. This most recent Modern Reformation interview is the latest addition to my collection. In order to access it online, you have to sign up (although I would suggest subscribing to the magazine itself).
Anyway, Packer says something in the course of this interview that I found to be remarkably insightful and stimulating. He said:
I’m a great believer in the importance of trinitarian thinking in discipling. A lot of what has weakened discipling is the result of thinking of only one person of the godhead at any one time–think about the Holy Spirit and what he does; think about Jesus and his death on the cross for us; think of the Father and of his love and goodwill. But you’re not thinking, you see, of the three together: the divine team which works in the unity of a single program and plan, each person in the team fulfilling his part in our salvation, so that the gospel is much less “what a friend we have in Jesus”, but “what a team of friends we have through Jesus”–it’s the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our discipling instruction will be infinitely strengthened if we present it that way. Sometimes people say, “I’ve never heard it put like that before.” People will be deistic unless they are taught the Trinity.”