Written by Dynamis Ministries | October 13, 2022
Amidst all of the ways God is generous, the most important way is in and through his own divinity. God is a Triune God, which means there is one God with three distinct yet unified persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is where God’s generosity starts. It is seen first and foremost in the Trinity that gives its perfect love to each other and then passes along that love to people in distinct ways.
God is Triune or “three persons in one God.” This is not three Gods. This is not one God with three functions. This is three persons eternally existing in one God. It can be seen clearly in Matthew 3:16-17:
After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.
GOD THE FATHER IS SO GENEROUS that he gave up his son to save people who rejected him through sin, so that they might be adopted as children of God and inherit eternal life. The Father could have condemned us to death in response to our sin, but instead he chose to give up his Son in whom he is delighted. This is the most central act of God’s generosity. Out of his love, the Father gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
GOD THE SON, JESUS, IS SO GENEROUS that he gave up his life to give us new life. The Father gave up the Son, but Jesus accepted that mission and chose to cooperate out of his own generosity. Jesus was not first crucified through the power of man by his opponents. He was crucified by gladly accepting the Father’s will in the most radical act of generosity by giving up his own life for others. His life wasn’t taken, it was given up in a spirit of generosity.
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SO GENEROUS that he continuously fills, empowers and prepares us to live with and for God. The Holy Spirit generously gives us spiritual gifts, like healing, wisdom and giving, and redeems our natural gifts, like creativity, business or leadership, to equip us for life and ministry. The Holy Spirit generously gives us many gifts, but the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is that he is our Advocate.
When we don’t see God as the Triune God, we miss out on the fullness of God and his generosity. In the Trinity we see the very first generous community: As God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit relate to one another, demonstrate love for each other, and work in concert to accomplish the purpose of God in the world, we get the idea of community and the giving and receiving that is so central to it.
As a community of generosity, let’s seek to go deeper into God’s generous community in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. From the spiritual and relational reservoir that results, we will be equipped by grace to model the giving and receiving in generosity that the world so desperately needs.
Photo Credit: Sharon Santema
