Trinitarian Ministry

What are the different functions of the Trinity? I am accustomed to thinking of the Father as the creator, the Son as the redeemer and the Holy Spirit as the sanctifier. In returning to the early Christian father, Gregory of Nyssa, however, I am reminded that each person in the Trinity works together and not independently of each other. He writes,

We do not learn that the Father does something on his own, in which the Son does not co-operate. Or again, that the Son acts on his own without the Spirit.

I wonder if this understanding of the Trinitarian relationship will help the church move forward in its mission. This one God in three persons always acts co-operatively. Thus, when Christ hung on the cross, the Father and the Holy Spirit both worked through Christ's sacrifice. When the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost, the Father and the Son were both involved in empowering the first disciples for ministry. The Trinitarian relationship expresses how one God in three persons works co-operatively in order to govern the universe and save God's people. This relationship models how God's people are to engage in ministry. God calls His people to work through relationships with one another.

Relational ministry can be hard to nurture in churches. In larger membership churches, we often find the missions committee, evangelism committee, children's ministry, youth ministry, older adult ministry and others form the make-up of congregations. My worry is that in a society so bent on being independent, the church may follow suit and forget its relational emphasis within the congregational life. I have hope. In our church, our youth group host an annual Valentine's dinner for our older adults. Later in the year, the older adults pass around a red cup for the youth group's summer mission enterprises. That's a Trinitarian expression of ministry. I pray our church will continue to function not as independents, but as people working together to carry out God's will.