I just finished Bruce Ware’s Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationship, Roles, and Relevance. It’s quite clear what century the book was written in because Ware focuses a lot of attention—as well he should—on what the Trinity means for gender roles.
But I found it warm-hearted, clearly written, and helpfully concise.
At the end of his book, Ware offers ten applications from the doctrine of the Trinity:
- God intends that his very nature—yes, his triune and eternal nature—be expressed in our human relationships. 132
- Eternal relationality calls for and calls forth a created community of persons. 133 (That is, people weren’t made to be Lone Rangers or Rambos, doing everything themselves without help.)
- The relationships in the Trinity exhibit so beautifully a unity that is not redundancy, and a diversity that is not discord. 135
- The most marked characteristic of the trinitarian relationships is the presence of an eternal and inherent expression of authority and submission. 137
- Equality of essence does not conflict with distinction of roles. In God, and among us, both must be embraced and honored. 138
- Trinitarian roles and marriage: both equality of essence of male and female, and distinction of husband and wife roles, are designed by God and are reflective of the Trinity. 139
- Trinitarian roles and the church: both equality of essence and distinction of roles are designed by God to be expressed among pastoral leaders and congregations, and this dynamic is reflective of the Trinity. 147
- Trinitarian roles and prayer: the taxis eternally present in the Trinity, of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in this order, forms the framework for meaningful, biblical prayer. 151
- Trinitarian roles and worship: the taxis eternally present in the Trinity, of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in this order, forms the framework for meaningful, biblical worship. 153
- Because God eternally exhibits both full equality of essence and rich diversity in role, we can be confident that both are good. 155
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