The Surprising God

[Updated 8/2019] A few years ago I came in contact with Dr. Timothy Gombis, St. Andrews PhD trinitarian theologian who now is Professor of New Testament at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. 

Several years ago, Dr. Gombis delivered two lectures at a chapel service at Cedarville' University. With his kind permission, I've posted his two presentations, contained in one PDF document. I think you'll find what he has to say of great interest. I'm particularly grateful for his insights about our sharing in the trinitarian life of God in daily living: shopping, marriage and even Facebook.  Enjoy.

I'm reading "The Crucifixion of Ministry" by Andrew Purves (trinitarian theologian at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; pictured at left). He urges us to reframe our view of ministry in light of the gospel of our inclusion in Christ.

Rather than seeing ministry as "our ministry" we need to view it for what it truly is: a "sharing in the continuing ministry of Jesus Christ" (p. 11). This ministry is the work of the Father, in the Spirit, through Jesus for the sake of the church and all the world.  
This view of ministry as participation in the ongoing ministry of Jesus flows from "the classical Christian doctrines of our participation through union with Christ in his vicarious humanity and ministry.... Because ministry is what Jesus does, ministry is properly understood as gospel rather than law and as grace rather then obligation.... The first and central question in thinking about ministry [in this way] is Who is Jesus Christ and what is he up to? …

I highly recommend the book Experiencing the Trinity, by Darrell W. Johnson (associate professor of pastoral theology at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C.). Here is an excerpt from a review posted by the publisher: To many people the Trinity is a puzzle that is difficult, if not impossible, to assemble. We are challenged to comprehend the “one is three and three is one”-ness of it. By exploring the relationships within the Trinity, we learn that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are truly one God and yet are, at the same time, three distinct Persons. It is through the relationship of the three that the distinctions are revealed. It is by this Triune-relationship God that we are created; it is for this Triune-relationship God that we were created. Johnson writes of our inclusion in this Triune-relationship:
The moment we say "yes" to Jesus, we are welcomed into the eternal inner circle of love between the Father and the Son~love manifested in the Person of the H…