The Washington herald., 1922-06-12
BELIEF IN TRIUNE
CODEXPOUNDED BY
REV. WILLIAMSON
Asserts Real Oneness Elk.
lists Only in the I'm
agination.
CIV ES ANALOGIES
Love Lives by Outgoing and
Response, Says Rector of
Advent Episcopal.
REV. THoM WILLIAMSON. Jr.
Rector Of Advent Episcopal Church

REV. THoM WILLIAMSON, Jr.
Rector Of Advent Episcopal Church.
Text: II Corinthians IS:14-The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God. and the fell
lowship OF the Holy Ghost.
A basic and fundamental teaching
OF the Christian religion is the
unity of God. The Lord thy God
Is one Lord" says the Lawgiver-
and vet we teach the doctrine Of
the Holy Trinity-'three persons
in one God" Some people cannot
understand the idea Of a triune
God And yet. think. is there any
thing in the whole wide world that
is absolutely one? Not even one
thing. Absolute and real oneness
exists only in the imagination. And
one God does not mean barren SIM
plicity.
In fact, when the matter is
studied. II will be found that va
riety in essential unity is not at
all unusual. The universe Is one
and very complex indeed. A tree is
root. trunk and branches; one
clover is of two OF more leaves.
Man himself is a small kingdom.
one personality and several ma
lures, and many hundred parts. We
consider water. ice and steam as
from one element. and even an atom
has many aeons. H2O is science for
water: three Persons in One is
Christian theology for God. A map
Is not the country portrayed-yet
II Is the guide for that country. In
theology we simply have to do the
best we can with the words at our
disposal.
Just think of some Of the impli-
! cations of this Christian teaching
as to a Holy Trinity: How can even
God be ethical-alone? We can
relationships. And God does not
require man. in order to be God.
Fatherhood Of God.
We Christians look upon God as
our Father. But when did the
Fatherhood Of God start? Christ.
who lived before He came to this
earth. claims God as His father.
without this teaching as to the
that Fatherhood was always in God.
starts only on the first Christmas
Day. With this teaching we see
that fatherhood was always in God.
Man Is not the beginning. but the
| expression, the showing forth, of
Gods eternal Fatherhood.
We claim the love of God-and
yet love in the abstract amounts to
nothing. Real love requires more
| than one person. Love by its very
nature lives by outgoing and re-
sponse. The teaching OF a Holy
Trinity gives us a social God, and
then love becomes a Divine posi-
bility. We. as social beings. are
such, ns emerging from Gods life.
And His self-revelation is in the
direction of a Divine society-the
church-wherein exists Ideally the
grace Of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
the love of God and the fellowship
of the Holy Ghost.
Christ tells US that "the Father
hath life in Himself"
What is life? Is it not more than
mere existence?
The Christian Ideal.
The Christian ideal is for the
fullness Of life-for close relation
ships, divine and human: for action
and reaction. outgoing and response;
| for all powers functioning at their
best.
Our God Is a living God. He Is
neither remote nor merely abstract ::
neither Is He a formless unity. God
is the origin of relationships and
movement: the Source of physical,
mental. moral and spiritual life. He
is Affirmative. active. living - and
| loving.
The church did not invent the
| idea Of a Father. a Son and a Holy
! Spirit. all three as one God. 1t is
| the irresistible conclusion OF the
teaching OF the New Testament
the definite result reached by pom
derine the words not only of the
Apostles and evangelists. but of our
| blessed Lord Himself. Christ directed
baptism 'in the name of the Father.
and of the Son. and of the Holy
Ghost" He says that He and His
Father are one; and that both will
come. in the unity of the Holy
/ Spirit. to the believer in this world.
1t is the grace OF our Lord Jesus
| Christ that shows us the love of
| God and brings TO us the fellowship
| of the Holy Spirit.