Knowing the Trinity - Pastor Dave
Knowing the Trinity
Dave Hess
While the word Trinity does not appear in Scripture, it was coined by early church father Tertullian to describe a breathtaking reality revealed throughout the Bible: one God who exists eternally in three distinct Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus gives us the clearest picture of this relationship in John 14–16. In response to Peter’s question, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus unfolds something astonishing. He reveals a level of intimacy with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that had never before been experienced.
Paul later describes this relationship in 2 Corinthians 13:14 as:
The grace of Jesus
The love of the Father
The fellowship of the Holy Spirit
This is not abstract theology. It is an invitation.
1. We Can Know the Father (John 14:1–5)
Jesus begins by addressing troubled hearts.
Our hearts were never designed to live in turmoil—conflicted, anxious, unsettled. We were created to live in trust. Deeply settled. Fully persuaded.
When Jesus says, “Where I am, you may be also,” He is describing more than location. He is describing identity and security.
John 1:18 tells us that Jesus lives in the “bosom of the Father,” in the closest relationship, in the embrace of the Father.
That is His place.
And now it is ours.
In that place, we live in the same reality Jesus lived in:
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
The deepest longing of the human heart is satisfied here—to know we are loved by the Father, accepted by the Father, and pleasing to the Father.
2. We Can Abide in Jesus (John 15:1)
Jesus invites us to abide.
To abide means to relax deeply into something greater—something that holds you, protects you, and empowers you.
When Jesus said in John 16:7, “It is best for you that I go away,” He was saying that something even better was coming. The twelve had enjoyed being physically with Him, but now every believer would enjoy heart-to-heart intimacy with Him as part of His Body.
Abiding in Jesus includes remaining in His love and embracing His pruning.
Pruning is not punishment. It is loving correction. It is instruction. It is cleansing us from lies. It is strengthening us so we can bear more fruit.
To abide in Jesus is to live in the same environment He lives in—continually nourished and empowered by the Father’s love.
Jesus says in John 15:11 that His purpose is that His joy would fill us and overflow.
Abiding produces joy.
3. We Can Fellowship with the Holy Spirit (John 16:7–15)
Jesus tells His disciples, “It is good for you that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you.”
The word fellowship (koinonia) means close connection, partnership.
We are invited to:
Know Him — shared intimacy, nothing hidden
Flow with Him — shared ministry, nothing hindered
Holy Spirit is fully God.
He is omnipresent—everywhere at all times (Psalm 139).
He is omniscient—He knows all things (1 Corinthians 2).
He is omnipotent—He carries unlimited authority and power (Luke 4).
And He is personal.
He speaks.
He teaches.
He reminds.
He convicts.
He guides.
He passionately prays for us.
This is not an impersonal force. This is God with us, within us.
The Great Dance
Early church language used a beautiful word to describe the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Perichoreo.
It means “the great dance.”
A loving, joyful, eternal movement of oneness between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—delighting in sons and daughters made in Their image.
Romans 8:19 tells us that creation is longing for the revealing of these sons and daughters.
When we know the Father.
When we abide in the Son.
When we fellowship with the Spirit.
We enter the dance.
And a church intoxicated with the deep affections of the Father cannot help but change the world around them.
In a culture of adoption, we grow in freedom. We learn from mistakes. We develop our gifts. We stay humble. We stay connected.
This is not distant theology.
This is relational reality.
Let us pray Paul’s prayer:
“That you may come to know, through personal experience, the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God—completely flooded with God Himself.” (Ephesians 3:19)
May we know Him.
Father.
Son.
Holy Spirit.
And may we live in the joy of the Great Dance.
