John chapter 14 verses 15-21
Every time we bless ourselves in the name of the Father, son, and Holy Spirit, we express our faith in the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. This doctrine teaches that God, who can never be fully understood, has revealed Himself, in our terms, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In a manner of speaking, Jesus (John 14:15-21) says, "Let me describe the indescribable in terms that will at least hint at the reality of my Divine Nature.
In the prologue to his gospel, John speaks of Jesus as "The Word." "The Word made flesh." A word is an expression of an idea. John tells us that THE Word is the expression of the idea that God has of himself. That is to say, the expression of God's self-image.
Needless to say, God knows himself perfectly and so His concept of self lacks nothing in accuracy and content and is therefore equal in every way to Himself. It is God's self-image that John calls, "The Word" and the Word made flesh is, of course, Jesus. So Jesus is God's perfect idea of Himself expressed in flesh and blood and being the perfect image can be nothing less than Divine.
That which we call The Holy Spirit is quite simply the expression of the relationship between the Father and Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the perfect love which they share. Once again we are speaking of absolute perfection, the logical extension of our own limited notion of perfection but totally beyond our grasp. We are speaking of perfect love, and just as in the case of perfect knowledge wherein nothing of the object known is excluded, so too, from that total giving of self which is perfect love, nothing is withheld and that includes Divinity.
Knowing and loving. Truth and goodness. These are the operations and elements which make up our limited understanding of God.
Let me underscore, for the sake of clarity, that "time" applies only to the Incarnation. The Word became flesh on a certain date and at a specific hour but God, his perfect idea of Himself, the "Word" and the perfect love they share all exist outside of time. No element of the Trinity came first. In this unique situation the thinker did not precede the thought. All is eternal in the Father, the Son (or as John prefers, the Word) and the Holy Spirit.
What does all of this have to do with our lives? Everything! It tells us that we best reflect our Creator, in other words, we are at our best when we are functioning within the context of TRUTH and GOODNESS. TRUTH and GOODNESS, KNOWING AND LOVING, the ultimate perfection of which is God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
