Recently, I had a comment on a post about The Jesus Manifesto. The comment was a question and I answered the question in the comment stream but thought it might also make a good post. The question was, “I¢â‚¬â„¢m wondering if you have found a conherent way in which to articulate Christocentricity from a Trinitarian framework?” Here’s my response:
Christocentricity from a Trinitarian framework actually stems from this week’s lectionary text from John¢â‚¬â„¢s Gospel (16:12-15) this past week for Trinity week. It¢â‚¬â„¢s the unselfishness of the Godhead.
There is a humble give and take within the framework of the trinity. All that the Father has has been given to the Son. All that the Son has is declared by the Spirit. The Spirit acts as the conduit for all things from the Father through the Son.
The word ¢â‚¬Å“take¢â‚¬ or ¢â‚¬Å“receive¢â‚¬ in vs 14 is lambano which can mean either take or receive and as such caries a dual meaning in this case I believe. The Father is selfless enough to give. The Son is selfless enough to receive (not take). As a result, they do not withhold what they possess but all that they have is for the benefit of them all. Not only do they share it amongst themselves, they are unselfish enough to share it with the community of Faith (at large) whose unselfishness is then to be shared with the world.
And yet, the Spirit points back to Jesus. Phil 2 tells us that the unselfishness of the Father redirects praise to the Son. It¢â‚¬â„¢s their selflessness that allows them to point the praise back to Word-Made-Flesh.
Your thoughts?
