Dancing with the Trinity, Unity, & Humility
Before the creation of the world, there existed the eternal dance of the Trinity. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit have always enjoyed a beautiful, responsive dance of love in perfect harmony.
“The great dance is about abundant life—love, passion, joy, fellowship, and creativity. It is the fellowship of the relationship of the Father, Son, and Spirit. The incarnation is the philanthropic act of God to reach out, embrace us through forgiveness, and include us in the dance.” Baxter Kruger, The Great Dance
Jesus humbly emptied Himself, and for a period of time He left the dance of the Trinity to become a human being, like we are, for us—to give us the opportunity to join in the beautiful dance. He became obedient even to death—death on a stake as a criminal. He has poured out his soul unto death (Isaiah 53:12),
I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. (John 17:20,21)
Brian D. McLaren said this about the Trinity:
The early church leaders described the Trinity using the term perichoresis (peri=circle resis=dance): The Trinity was an eternal dance of the Father, Son and Spirit sharing mutual love, honor, happiness, joy and respect… God’s act of creation means that God is inviting more and more beings into the eternal dance of Joy.
Sin means that people are stepping out of the dance… stomping on feet instead of moving with grace, rhythm and reverence. Then in Jesus, God enters creation to restore the rhythm and beauty again.
Joining in the Dance
Through Christ, believers are included in the great dance. It is not something we must earn or wait for Heaven to get.
It is ours now. We don’t earn it by trying to appease God by doing good works or following the rules.
Though adoption we are no longer separated from God. We can experience resolution and peace, hope and assurance.
But often we miss this message because it has been distorted.
How the Dance is Distorted
Satan does not want us to understand how much God loves us. He distorts our view with shame.
Bad theology and certain Western views (Calvinist predestination, rise of deism, dualism, rationalism, and the pride of Enlightenment, etc.) have given us a distorted view of God
Instead of seeing God as our loving Abba (Daddy) we view Him as an angry judge, distant and critical, waiting for us to do wrong so hHe can zap us. See
God does not change. Our Father’s desire for a loving relationship with man has never diminished.
In our sin nature, we dance to our own prideful destructive patterns, resulting in broken families, nations at war, etc. We begin focusing on self and religion instead of our relationship with God. And then we try to fix it ourselves–how prideful!
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Jesus did not say, “If you love me, prove it by obeying me.”
Ephesians 4:2–6 tells us to lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called:
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope when you were called ; one Lord one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all,who is over all and through all and in all.
Answer Revealed in the Story of Prodigal Son
God desires that we bear a strong resemblance to His Son, so He uses both His Spirit and the Scriptures to shape us from the inside out. But we try to shape ourselves from the outside in.
Pride (self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness) separates us from the dance just as the Prodigal son‘s pride separated him from his family.
Humility brought the Prodigal son home. The opposite of pride is humility and a contrite heart—a willingness to learn, change and improve.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
As the son begins to ask for forgiveness, the father doesn’t even seem to hear. He simply calls for the best robe and a celebration to be held because his son has come home.
Proverbs 15:33 says before honor comes humility.
In Philippians 2:1–11, Paul encourages us to have the same attitude as Christ—the supreme example of humility and selfless concern for others :
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Becoming Humble
We cannot work up humility; this must come from within by the power of the Spirit. God works in us before He works through us, and He uses the Word, His Spirit (Eph. 3:16, 20,21), and prayer.
We can’t become humble without a correct perspective of God. He wants us to be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. He wants to include us in His work.
Baxter Kruger explains in The Great Dance:
We must learn to see ourselves and others as we really are—not ordinary” human beings, but people of the fellowship; co-participants in the joy, love, life, and glory of the Father, Son, and Spirit.
The Father, Son, and Spirit do not need us. However, they love to share what they are doing with us. They love to include us. They employ our hands and feet as the dirt movers in their projects.
God does not need a farmer to collect and distribute milk; He does not need a surgeon to fix an unhealthy heart; but the Trinity is all about fellowship and God delights in including us in His work.
Our hands are His hands and our feet are His feet as we accomplish what we consider just our normal, daily tasks. There is far more of His work going on every day on this planet than we could ever imagine….
Through humanity, through the use of our hands and feet—through our entire beings—the great dance is played out. Who we are and our entire life story is part of the invisible river of the dance. The great dance of the Trinity is happening within each of us.
We are not alone. God is with us. He bore our pain and darkness so that we could share in the circle of life and fellowship.
Jesus asks in John 1:38, “What do you seek?” Each of us must answer this question. Choose to seek and believe the truth!…
Jesus Christ has done for us. He did not die only for the forgiveness of sin. He did not come only to“settle the score.” He came first and foremost to unite us with the amazing fellowship of the Trinity.
…Enjoy the dance!
The Great Dance is offered at Perichoresis.org.
Download The Great Dance Review from Christian Book Summaries (5 p PDF)
Have you ever thought of the Trinity in this way? It is eye-opening and life-altering. What is your perspective on our relationship with God?
