Who is God? (Essentials Blue)

"For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt"

The Institute
SSU
Dan Wilt
Essentials Blue

The question of "Who is God?" is extremely relevant to my thinking about worship and worship leading, since without having an accurate knowledge of the former, an appropriate response through the latter becomes rather difficult. I liked Dan Wilt's video lecture, highlighting God as Creator, King, Savior, and Trinity. I also liked the conception that when God reveals himself to Moses, he reveals himself in way that negates comparison in saying "I Am Who I Am." He is distinct, unique, incomparable.

Lately, I have been thinking about the trinity in particular, as one particular aspect of the nature of God that is indispensable to our understanding of Him. Specifically, I am fascinated by the oneness of God (as is expressed in the famous "Shma Israel"), coupled with his trinitarian nature. And I love the idea that such a doctrine seems to be an intentional affront to our thinking - in other words, that it can't be grasped intellectually. In my thinking, the idea of God being an "I" and a "We" seems completely ridiculous. It seems illogical in the same sense that the Incarnation and the Resurrection do. And although I can't recall exactly who mentioned the following idea last week, I greatly appreciate the idea that in Eastern Orthodoxy, the trinity is an invitation to mystery, not to quantitative description. And in this wonderful doctrine, I see something of the community of God, as well as the mystery of it all.

First, if God Himself exists in community, then that must have bearing on our own living. Some part of me feels that if God Himself exists in a "perichoresis," that there is a dance of communal relationship that we may also partake in - with one another and with God himself. Over the last two months, I have been living in a community in Winnipeg, and I feel that it has helped me understand something of the nature of God. Community (not individuality) is the closest resemblance of God, as is expressed in his trinitarian nature. Of course our earthly communities are but a shadow in comparison to the trinity.

Second, the idea of mystery has grown increasingly important to me over the last years in my faith. It all began with communion - when I realized that communion had to be something more than just a mental assertion. Something more than just a memorial. The trinity is a mystery of perhaps an even greater scope. It's something so profoundly "foreign" to me. I feel that I have had experiences with the distinct persons in the Trinity, but I am not sure what it means to worship God as trinity, to experience him as trinity.

Finally, I wonder how the trinity has direct, personal bearing on my interactions in worship. One song in particular that I have loved - both in helping me think about the trinity and in my worship in this regard - is Brian Doerksen's song "Triune God." I think we need more songs that emphasize this aspect of God and to deepen our appreciation of mystery.