Process of a Leader’s Call (Calling Series 5 of 5)

We’ll conclude this series with some of the normal, practical ways that a call to church leadership is confirmed. There's really nothing magical here, no secret formula for determining God's will. However, godly wisdom and experience have proven a few very practical ways that have been helpful for people to confirm their calling.

For instance, we cannot, we must not ignore the biblical material that models and commands prayer and fasting. In Luke 6, before Jesus chose the twelve, we read of him heading out to pray for an entire night. This is just indicative of a larger emphasis in the Gospel of Luke and its companion book of Acts, and it demonstrates the centrality and the priority of prayer in the ministry and the life of Jesus and the early church. At every significant ministry transition as you study Luke and Acts, you see the prayer was an essential component.

And things are no different for us, prayer should be in a sense, placing us in more intimate communication with God's were seeking to discern his call for our lives, asking him for clear direction of where he is sending you. And fasting is usually neglected, and shouldn't be; it's the conscious effort to set aside the legitimate appetites of the body in order to focus more effectively on seeking God, seeking God's direction and clarity for your calling. And so when seeking to confirm your call, always be sure to set aside time for prayer and for fasting.

Another key dynamic and confirm your call is ministry experience. Continued involvement in ministry is probably one of the most effective ways to confirm your call. That’s because that's the only way that you can confirm that you have the gifts that are necessary to fulfill the call. And Dr. Ed Clowney did us a great service by greatly demystifying the process of being called to the ministry by saying “the call of the word of God to the gospel ministry comes to all those who have the gifts for such a ministry.” And so the only way for you to know whether you have the call is whether you have the gifts, and the only way to know if you have the gifts is by exercising those gifts in active ministry.

Clowney’s just reflecting the same emphasis we see in Scripture. Paul writes to his son in the faith, Timothy, “for this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God.” And often people miss the connection in Scripture, the critical link between Romans 12:1-2 and Romans 12:3-8. Most are familiar in Romans 12:1 & 2 where Paul makes the appeal by the mercies of God for his readers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable, spiritual worship, do not be conformed to the world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind that they would test, and that they may discern, (here's the key concept) what is the will of God.

What is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God? That's the question here, what is the will of God? How can I manifest my life of service? In particular, Paul actually goes on to answer the question in the next verses of 3-8 where he begins to talk about gifts. And verse 6, he says, “having gifts, then for according to the grace given to us, let us use them; if prophecy, in proportion to our faith, if service then are serving, the one who teaches, in his teaching, the one who exhorts, in his exhortation,” on and on.

Peter makes the same point in 1st Peter 4:10-12, each one of you should use what ever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God's grace and all of its form. It’s not complicated, it's the process of active, ongoing involvement in ministry is the most effective way to confirm your call.

Ed Clowney also said, “to learn how you may serve Christ tomorrow, you must serve him today. Stir up your gifts, and Christ's call will be made clear.”

The third way to confirm your call is by seeking wise counsel. Proverbs 13:10 says, “wisdom is found in those who take advice.” Seeking the wisdom of those who know you best, those who have done life with you, your immediate family, those who have lived with you, those who have worked with you, those who watched you live your life, are in a unique place to give you valuable feedback. And so you should be seeking out the counsel of those, especially those who are not threatened by you. Those that you know are free to speak boldly into your life, not just those who will tell you what you want to hear.

Never forget that this is a life decision, this is not just a compartmentalized vocational decision. Too often church leaders have become worldly, not considering seriously the negative impact and timing of a move into ministry at a critical time for their marriage, or for their children. If your vision and your faith is big enough to lead a church, then it should be big enough to see God work to change the heart of your spouse and family so that it's done in the right time, and it honors God and shows love to people. In other words, God does not call you into church planting or pastoring or being a missionary without also calling your wife. None of the process of confirming your call should be done in isolation.

A fourth way of confirming your call is through the spiritual authority, (spiritual leadership) in your life. This is in many ways one of the most important, and often the most neglected to the peril of many church leaders. In Hebrews 13:17 we’re told “obey your leaders and submit to their authority.” The apostle Paul admonished his son in the faith, Timothy, in 1 Timothy 5, “do not be hasty in the laying on of hands,” meaning in the ordination of the setting apart of people to be in these positions. The decision of church authority should normally play a very central role in helping you determine and confirm your call to be a church leader.

On a personal level, when the fire of personal and ministry trials hit hard, the church leader will often wonder, am I really called to do this? At those times that the church leader must not simply fall back on a subjective personal evaluation of his own ability, affinity, and opportunity. It is those times that you must be able to fall back on something much more external than your own personal evaluations. That’s why we often refer to God's call is being confirmed not only internally or subjectively, but also externally by others, and those others are not just the wise counsel of friends and colleagues, but especially the leaders in spiritual authority.

Often Satan the accuser will say “ah, yes, you thought there was an inward call, that's because you wanted it so badly.” And at such times you desperately need to fall back on something much greater than your personal, subjective opinion, you need to fall back on the authority of the body of Christ, on the church of Christ. You need to be reminded that your God-ordained spiritual authority evaluated, assessed you, and made this determination to lay hands on you objectively, and they laid hands on you and they set you apart for the calling that they acknowledge God had placed on your life.

Elements of a Leader’s Call (Calling Series 4 of 5)

Now we come to the question, “How can someone know if they are called by God to be a church leader? One whose secondary calling is to equip followers of Christ to do the work of ministry. What are the essential elements of such a call?”

We're going to look at four elements, and we will call them true spirituality element number one, and then proven ability, number two, element three would be virtuous affinity, and then the last one, four, would be confirmed opportunity. These are concepts that sum up the major characteristics of someone we would call a church leader.

Let's begin with a look at true spirituality. God cares so much about having qualified church leaders, that he has actually placed in Scripture, a detailed job description of a church leader. Two of the primary most familiar passages would be in 1st Timothy 3, the description of an overseer, and Titus 1, the description of an elder.

This divinely inspired church leader job description places its greatest emphasis not on theological knowledge or even on ministry skills, but primarily on Christian character. And this again runs very contrary to the common view of what a church leader should be in that it is not charisma, it's not skill it's not theological knowledge it's primarily character.

As Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne once said, “my people’s greatest need is my personal holiness. McCheyne understood holiness to not be dutiful legalism, but a deep abiding love for God that shows itself in a deep love for people. Or better yet the words of Scripture, where the apostle Paul wrote, “and now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). So the first mark of a Christian leader, the first qualification, this is a person who has a deep love for God that is manifested in a deep and sincere and authentic love for people.

The second element of a call to be a church leader is what we’re calling here, proven ability. By ability, I mean you must have both the gifts from God the spiritual gifts, as well as experience through which these gifts and skills have been developed and tested and proven. Now, spiritual gifts are listed primarily in four places in the New Testament: in Romans 12, and 1st Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1st Peter 4.

The nature and overlap of these lists of gifts in Scripture imply that they should not be seen as either absolute or exhaustive. By that I mean, by not absolute I mean that it's possible for some gifts to be listed in Scripture that are not given today, and by not exhaustive I mean it's possible for some gifts to be given by God today that are not listed in Scripture.

There is for instance, no gift of prayer or evangelism listed in Scripture but that does not necessarily mean there isn't such a gift of prayer or evangelism. The key question that we’re looking at here is what gifts are needed to be a church leader. The answer is, very simply the gifts necessary to do the work of a church leader, the gifts necessary to equip followers of Christ to do the work of the ministry.

So of course the gifts implied, even in the names of the offices will be needed. And in light of the concept of offices, a gifted church leader should be reflecting the person and the work of Christ in his offices as prophet, priest, and king.

And in a prophetic role, usually that means communication gifts, the area of preaching or teaching those are listed in Romans 12:6 and 1st Corinthians 12:19; if you understand the gift of prophecy as being similar to preaching, that would be there. Romans 12:7 actually refers to the gift of teaching, that is a different gift from merely preaching. And 1st Corinthians 4:11 actually refers to a gift of speaking, which is a different Greek word than a gift for prophecy or the gift of teaching.

In the priestly role, this would be gifts of shepherding or encouraging in Romans 12:8. There is reference to the gift of exhortation, the Greek word translated there is also found in 2nd Corinthians 1 translated as “comfort” that God comforts us in our affliction. And so this would be the gift of being able to comfort and tend, and care for God's people. For example, a pastor or a shepherd is someone who needs the gifts necessary to love the sheep well, to care for them; Jesus said if you love me, tend my lambs, and feed my sheep. A good Shepherd has the ability to feed them well in terms of Scripture, care for them when they’re hurt or sick, and even defend them against anything that threatens them. Often the reference there is to false doctrine or false teachers.

Then as we come to the kingly role, often people look to Romans 12:8, the gift of leadership sometimes 1st Corinthians 12:8, the gift of faith.

There's a danger in listing all these, please don't misunderstand, this doesn't mean that you must have strong gifts and skills in all these areas, no such person outside of Jesus has ever. And your awareness of a lack of giftedness or skills in an important area can be very, very good because you intentionally focus on the developing of those gifts and skills more. And you actually have an advantage in some ways, because you must serve Christ out of your weakness in those areas and God often specializes in showing his strength in someone's weakness.

The third element we call virtuous affinity speaks to the desire and the heart motivation to plant or pastor a church. Paul writes in 1st Timothy 3 “the saying is trustworthy, if anyone aspires to the office of overseer he desires a noble task.” This word translated “desires” here is actually a very strong Greek word that desires strongly a noble task. The assumption here seems to be that those called to the office of overseer desire it, they feel compelled to do it.

Now granted, a lot of people have aspired to the office, and they have not been gifted or called to it. Many aspire to this office for wrong reasons, they need to be in control or authority, the need for security, whatever. But the opposite is also true, a lot of people have not aspired to the office but they have been called because they just haven't aspired yet, they haven't desired yet, for many the desire does not come until after the gifts have been stirred up while they have been serving.

But it would not be normal for someone called to be a church leader not to desire it, just as it would not be normal for someone called to marry someone else not to desire it. It can happen and the desire can come later, it just does not seem to be the normal way that God calls his leaders.

The last element, we are calling, confirmed opportunity. It is possible for someone to have true spirituality, proven ability, virtuous affinity, and still not have the necessary element of a confirmed opportunity. In other words, there must be people who see these elements in your life and confirm God's calling by giving you an opportunity to use your gifts in serving them. There must be a need somewhere, and an opportunity where people want you, call you to lead them, and to shepherd them, and to equip them. And you of course have an understanding of what that need is in its vision and the sense of calling to plant, grow, and multiply a church there to help meet that need.

Pastor and author Tim Keller makes a point that not everyone has the same starting point in seeing and developing these three elements of ability affinity an opportunity. In other words, for some leaders they have the entry point of ability and then they move from that to discovering affinity and then an opportunity unfolds itself.

Or for others they have an affinity first and a desire to do a particular work, and then the opportunity arises, and all of a sudden they see the need to develop the ability and they do, or somebody just has an opportunity thrust on them and pretty soon they start having a desire to do it and develop the abilities. And so as you begin to explore these different elements in your life, understand that they often appear in different orders.

Calling of a Church Leader (Calling Series 3 of 5)

In this chapter we are seeking to answer a very specific question: “How can I know I’m called by God to equip followers of Christ for the work of ministry?” Now, so far we’ve laid an important foundation for answering this question by understanding two types of calling from God:

The Primary Calling and the Secondary Calling.

In this chapter we’re looking at a very unique group people whom I describe earlier, that God gives a very specific secondary calling to equip God’s people to do the work of the ministry. Now, let’s take a look again, a little bit more closely, at Ephesians 4:12-13 our primary text for this chapter. 

“And he (Christ) gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds (pastors) and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”

In our last chapter we learned how most people think that clergy are the only ones called to do the work of ministry and lay people are called to support them in that work. And we reinforced the biblical concept that lay people are the ones called to do the work of ministry and clergy are called to equip and support them.

Note here again now these five titles, or roles, or offices that God has given for those whom receive this calling. Notice:

1)     the apostles,

2)     the prophets,

3)     the evangelists,

4)     the shepherds (pastors) and

5)     teachers. 

Now we don’t have the time here to discuss the common debates regarding whether or not all these callings or offices are still given today. Some would say the apostles and prophets should be understood as temporary offices through which we received the now completed revelation of God in the Scriptural canon. And since the Scripture is complete, so are these offices.

There are others, who share the same view of God’s completed revelation in Scripture, or called the canon of Scripture, but they believe the callings and the offices of the apostles and the prophets continue today, but do so in a way that does not bring us direct revelation from God. Instead the calling of Apostle is seen more like a missionary, one who is someone called to be a “Sent One.” And the Prophet as one uniquely called to the proclamation of God’s completed revelation.

One other common debates are over whether there are 4 or 5 offices here. Some would argue that because of the lack of definite article and conjunction for the Greek word translated teachers, that is actually there for all the other offices, that this would mean that somehow there should be just four offices and the fourth office would be a combination pastor/teacher or shepherd/teacher. But there is very little debate that there are still people called as evangelists, pastors (shepherds), and teachers.

But there are also some other key words used in the New Testament to describe those whom God calls to equip the saints to do the work of ministry. One of the most common is 1 Timothy 3:1, where Paul writes to his son in the faith, Timothy, “Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.” Now Paul uses the Greek word here Episcopos from which we get the word “Bishop” and “Episcopalian.”

In Titus 1:5-6, we learn that Paul wrote to another one of his sons in the faith, Titus, and he referred to these same church leaders as elders using the Greek word “Presbyter” where Presbyterianism, the name, comes from.

And it’s also interesting in Hebrews 13:17, the writer of the book of Hebrews refers to these same people as simply a word translated as “Leaders” to whom followers of Christ in the church are to obey and be in submission to because they “keep watch over you as those who must give an account.”

Now one of the reasons it’s believed that these should be seen as different terms, the overseer and the elder, but for the same person is because of how Paul uses the Greek word for elder and overseer to describe the same leaders. An example would be Acts 20.

In Acts 20:17 we read that “He called the elders of the church to come to him.” And just in ten or so verse later, Paul says to them, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God…” (Acts 20:28).

And so, for the sake of clarity, in this chapter we’re using the word “Leader” as found in Hebrews 13:17 as an overarching word that includes leaders who may also be called “Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers, Overseers, Elders—titles today that might expand beyond that would be--Church Planters or Missionaries.”

These are different names we find in Scripture for those followers of Christ whom God calls to fulfill their Primary Calling by giving their lives to equip the saints, to equip lay people, to equip followers of Christ to fulfill the work of the ministry.

Secondary Ministry Calling (Calling Series 2 of 5)

Having defined the concept of a Primary Calling as the calling from God to all followers of Christ to a life and work of ministry, we turn now to examine the concept of what we’re going to call Secondary Calling.

A Secondary calling is the unique way that followers of Christ fulfill their Primary Calling. This refers to someone’s normal work, job, or occupation. Sometimes it’s referred to as someone’s vocation.

When the Apostle Paul writes to the followers of Christ in Colossae, he writes,

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. – Colossians 3:23-24

Now the Apostle Paul makes very clear that God’s master plan for the “work of ministry,” for fulfilling His purposes in the world today, is for His followers always to be living in an ongoing Sabbath rhythm of one day of rest when they gather together for the ministry of worship and the Word, followed by six days of work, where they are scattered to be light in spiritual darkness and salt in societal decay proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom in both word and deed.

In their Prophetic role they proclaim and uphold God’s truth in a world filled with lies. And in their Priestly role they pray and intercede for others to experience God’s mercy and blessing. And in their Kingly role they use all their resources to help make God’s invisible kingdom more visible, not only in human hearts, but in every sphere of their lives until it reflects the order of heaven. – Richard Lovelace

It’s easy to see how, except for the Cross, that nothing, no concept has had such a transforming impact on culture through the ages as this biblical understanding of the Primary Calling of God issued to ALL followers of Christ through their Secondary Calling of work—no matter how mundane it may be.

Now, it’s with this understanding of the Primary and Secondary Callings of God, let’s go back now to an excerpt from Ephesians 4, that we looked at earlier, and look more closely at verses 12-13. Here we read “…and he (Christ) gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds (pastors), and teachers, to do the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:12-13

Notice here that the ascended Christ, Paul is teaching, gives gifts to His church in the form of certain people who are called by God, given what we’re calling here secondary callings; through which they fulfill their Primary Calling given to all followers of Christ.

Let’s look first at who these people are: Notice closely here in this text, they are “the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds (pastors), and teachers”

Now let’s look at what they are called to do in these secondary callings: They are called, “to do the work of the ministry for building up the body of Christ.”

Now the problem is that most Christians today think, what I just said, is what the Bible teaches–that God only calls a small, elite group of people to do “work of the ministry.” But I just kind of played a trick on you. This is not what the Bible teaches at all. 

I’m assuming some of you have already figured out that this biblical text from Ephesians 4 has some very, very important words deleted from it. Now let’s look at what the full text: It does not say they are called…”to do the work of the ministry.” It says they are called….”to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”

And he (Christ) gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds (pastors) and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. – Ephesians 4:12-13

Here we learn that God has given a secondary calling to a very small minority of his followers to equip His people for their work of ministry. In other words, God calls and gifts some people, including pastors and teachers, with the calling of equipping members in the body of Christ to do what the Bible calls the work of the ministry.

Or to use our terms in this chapter, “God calls some people, including pastors and teachers, to fulfill their primary calling through their very unique secondary calling of equipping God’s people to fulfill their high and holy calling to do the work of ministry!”

So the Biblical view of being called to the ministry is actually the opposite of the popular view. The common view. Most people today think that clergy are the ones called to do the work of ministry and lay people are called to support them in that work. But we see here that the Biblical view is that lay people are the ones called to do the work of ministry and clergy are called to equip and support them in that work. So, there are people called by God to be ordained pastors and teachers.

But we must first understand that that call is no more spiritual or valuable in the eyes of God than the secondary calling of any other follower of Christ.

It’s just different.

Primary Ministry Calling (Calling Series 1 of 5)

In Isaiah chapter 6 we see a magnificent portrayal of Prophet Isaiah’s calling to prophetic ministry. Here, Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord, high and lifted up on His heavenly throne. In this transcendent scene, Isaiah receives his majestic calling directly from God.

In Acts chapter 9 we see another dramatic call from God on the life of Apostle Paul. Here we read, “…suddenly a light flashed around him…and he heard a voice from heaven” (Acts 9:3-4).

First, let’s be very clear. Most people whom God has called, is calling, and will call to the ministry, are not called like the Prophets and Apostles. It’s usually much more mundane. But that does not mean it’s any less sacred.

This does not mean that there is no place for the role of personal experience and emotions in confirming God’s calling. It’s a question of degrees of emphasis. We’ll address this in more detail later.

In this chapter our focus is on the nature of God’s calling as being two-fold:

1) A Primary Call to All Followers of Christ, and

2) A Secondary Call to Ordained Leaders in a church based ministry.

Let’s look first at the Primary Call to All Followers of Christ. 

When the Apostle Paul wrote from prison to the Christians at Ephesus, he admonished them saying, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (Eph. 4:1)

Then in Eph. 4:4-5 he writes, “There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call–one Lord, one faith, one baptism…”

Paul is referring here to the calling God has placed on the lives of ALL true followers of Christ. He refers to that calling later in verse 12, as “the work of ministry.”

The Bible clearly teaches that all followers of Christ are called by God to the work of ministry. It’s the very nature of being a Christ follower, to be following Him in a life of ministry.

As a follower of Christ you have already received the primary calling of God to radically align your life purpose with His purpose. To see His name glorified, to see His Kingdom come, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven through His Church by the power of the gospel.

Author Os Guinness writes, “It is a matter of ‘everyone, everywhere, and in everything’ living life in response to God’s summons.”

A deep sense of your Primary Calling as a follower of Christ. It’s meant to radically transform your understanding of your normal jobs, your normal work as what we will be calling your “Secondary Calling” through which God has uniquely called you to fulfill this Primary Calling.

But this is not and has not been the majority view in Christianity for generations. The idea of every believer having been called by God with this primary 'calling' permeated the teaching of the New Testament church. 

But it wasn’t long before this concept of calling was lost. One of the early church historians, Eusebius of Caesarea, born in the late 3rd century, argues in his writings that we should divide all our occupations or jobs between what he called the “perfect” and the “permitted.”

The Perfect life is one, he writes, of meditation and contemplation, like the calling of a priest, monk, or nun. The Permitted life describes more secular jobs like farming, trading, business, governing, military service, raising families, other kinds of business.

Sadly, later Augustine and Aquinas both praised this concept of the 'contemplative' life above the 'secular' life. Soon the Biblical concept of ‘calling’, which originally extended to everyone, everywhere, in everything, was narrowed down to the religious specialties of a few. Being called by God eventually became synonymous in most circles with being called to be a member of the clergy, a priest, monk, or nun.

Now, later the Reformation sought to shatter this false, unbiblical dichotomy between faith and work, the spiritual and the secular, etc.

In Luther’s famous work, Babylonian Captivity, He wrote, “a farmer in the field or his wife in kitchen is doing their work by faith to the glory of God is as high and holy a calling as a preacher in the pulpit.”

Guinness writes, “There is no sacred vs. secular, higher vs. lower, perfect vs. permitted, contemplation vs. action where calling is concerned. Calling equalizes even the distinctions between clergy and laypeople.”

Practically we must fight against this concept that only an elite group of religious people are called to “Full-Time Christian Service.” As if the majority of Christians are only called be what, be part-time followers of Christ!?

It’s been said that except for the biblical teachings on the Cross of Christ, nothing has had such a transforming impact on culture through the ages as this biblical understanding of the Primary Calling of God for ALL followers of Christ.

God’s Triune Lordship in All Things (Perspectives Series 6 of 6)

The good news is that the Father’s creation, ruined by the Fall, is being redeemed by Christ and restored by the Holy Spirit as the Kingdom of God on earth. This revelation of God’s Triune Lordship in the gospel is not just a set of theological beliefs. It’s also a way of seeing God and all things, a biblical worldview, so we will know, love, serve, and worship God as Triune Lord in all areas of life.

This is the good news that our God reigns over all things through the Lord Jesus Christ and by his Holy Spirit. It’s the good news that our Triune God is Lord. The Bible associates three ideas with God’s Lordship: authority, control, and presence. These lordship attributes are unique reflections of God’s attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, through which God reveals to us who he is and what he does.

In the biblical history of God’s mission for the world, he reveals unique aspects of his Triune Lordship in his person and work as Creator, Redeemer, and Restorer:

• God the Father reveals his supreme authority as Lord in his creation of all things.

• God the Son reveals his sovereign control as Lord in his redemption of all things.

• God the Spirit reveals his transforming presence as Lord in his restoration of all things.

Although we are identifying particular lordship attributes of individual members of the Trinity, it’s important to see these attributes as forming a unit, not as separate from one another. Remember that God is “simple” in a theological sense, meaning he is one and not made up of parts. So there is a sense in which all of God’s attributes involve one another, including these three lordship attributes.

We call this way of seeing God and all things through the revelation of God’s Triune Lordship Triperspectivalism. We define Triperspectivalism as multiple perspectives rooted in the biblical doctrine of the Trinity that apply God’s revelation in Scripture to all areas of life.

Triperspectivalism sees everything through the revelation of God’s Triune Lordship in the gospel – the good news of who God is and what God does as Triune Lord in creation, redemption and restoration of fallen humanity and the world. So every event of nature, history, and the biblical narrative may be understood in three ways, as we seek to relate each event to the persons of the Trinity.

Therefore, everything in the world is an aspect of the Father’s creation, the Son’s redemption, and the Spirit’s restoration. So creation, redemption, and restoration are perspectives, through which we can better understand everything that happens.  Rooted in the doctrine of the Trinity, these perspectives help us know, love, and serve God as our Triune Lord in all areas of life.

To help us do that, let’s lift up our eyes and open our hearts to see: 1) the Father’s supreme authority as Lord in creation, 2) the Son’s sovereign control as Lord in redemption, and 3) the Spirit’s transforming presence in restoration.

See the Father’s Supreme Authority as Lord in Creation

The Scriptures teach that God the Father, by the authority of his word, called the galaxies into being. As the Lord of creation, he has supreme authority to establish God’s plan and will for everything he creates, visible and invisible.

Although God the Son and God the Spirit are equal in power and authority with God the Father, the Bible presents the Son as carrying out the Father’s will and the Spirit empowering it. There is no authority in the universe greater than our all-knowing God the Father. “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord” (Prov 21:29).

Jesus honors the supreme authority of the Father through his complete submission and obedience to his will in all things. Jesus describes the purpose of his life and ministry saying, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” (John 4:34) “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God.” (Heb 10:7) “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” (John 14:31)

To behold the Father’s supreme authority as Lord in the creation of all things means that we join with Jesus and submit to God’s Word as our supreme authority in all things. We believe that God has given us in his word, the Bible, a “norm” and a standard of moral absolutes we are to obey in an age of tolerance.

We call this the normative perspective through which we see the Father’s supreme authority as Lord in the creation of all things.

See the Son’s Sovereign Control as Lord in Redemption

The Scriptures teach that God the Son, through his sovereign control as Lord, accomplishes the Father’s plan to redeem all things lost in creation because of the fall of humanity into sin. As the Lord of redemption, Jesus sovereignly executes the Father’s plan to redeem all things through his birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and promised return to make all things new.

Jesus stands at the center of the biblical story proclaiming good news about God restoring his sovereign rule as Lord over all of fallen humanity and creation through him. And he executes his sovereign control in the redemption of all things under the supreme authority of the Father’s will and by the Spirit’s transforming presence.

The Apostle Paul writes, “For God was pleased … through (Christ) to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Col 1:20) When Jesus ascended to the right hand of God the Father in heaven, he was enthroned as Sovereign Lord to carry out God’s cosmic rescue mission to redeem fallen humanity and creation as far as the curse is found. This is the good news we bring to the world, that our God reigns (Is 52:7, Rom 10:15 ) over all things through the Lord Jesus Christ.

We call this the situational perspective through which we see God the Son’s sovereign control as Lord in the redemption of all things.

See the Spirit’s Transforming Presence as Lord in Restoration

The Scriptures teach that God the Spirit, through his transforming presence as Lord, applies the redemptive work of the Son by restoring all things lost in humanity and creation because of the fall.

When Jesus ascended to the right hand of God the Father in Heaven, he and the Father poured out his Holy Spirit on his Church, to make God’s invisible kingdom visible on earth, not only in human hearts, but in every sphere of life until it reflects the order of heaven.

This is the good news that the Father's creation, ruined by humanity's sin, is being redeemed by Christ and restored by His Holy Spirit as the Kingdom of God on earth. Through God’s Spirit, God gives his new community, the Church, the forgiveness of sin, a new record of Christ’s righteousness, a new heart, and a new world when Jesus returns.

God will bring heaven down to earth. And God’s transforming presence that was lost in the garden will be regained in the new heaven and new earth. The Apostle John writes, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Rev 21: 3)

We call this the existential perspective through which we see the Spirit’s transforming presence as Lord in the restoration of all things.

Conclusion

Theologians use the Latin phrase Magnalia Dei in reference to these magnificent acts of God’s creation and redemption of all things as Father, Son, and Spirit.

The Apostle John summarizes these magnificent acts of God as a majestic display of his love for lost humanity and the world: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9)

Likewise, the Apostle Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians with a heartfelt prayer of worship to the Triune God for blessing us with every spiritual blessing in Christ (1:1-3). Paul worships the Father for setting his love on us before he created the world (1:4-6), he worships the Son for redeeming us by his blood (1:7-12), and he worships the Spirit for sealing us as our guaranteed inheritance to the praise of God’s glory  (1:13-14).

Triperspectivalism is deeply rooted in the ancient, biblical, and theological doctrines and practices of historic Trinitarian Christianity. And it’s a way of seeing God and all things that helps us better know, love, serve, and worship God as Triune Lord in all areas of life.