EP65: The Meaning of Life: Baxter Kruger's Trinitarian Vision Pt 1 - Gracearchy with Jim Babka

When we started Gracearchy, we made a short list of guests, including... C. Baxter Kruger: My go-to teacher on the Trinity. People struggle to get this RELATIONSHIP inside God - individuals in self-giving love, to which you are invited. Losing sight of that, faith became a knowledge test, even a blind leap, leading to... Legalism. People inside felt trapped and unworthy. They projected that on the world. The result? Another religion seeking earthly power. That shouldn't have happened. Christians should be known for Love, based on Trinity. This divine relationship is the source of existence, the model for social interactions, and the place we're invited to rest. This episode and Part 2 are essentially a discussion of... The Trinitarian Vision ©C. Baxter Kruger, Ph. D., 2010 Reprinted with permission, PART 1 (of 2) From all eternity, God is not alone and solitary, but lives as Father, Son, and Spirit in a rich and glorious and abounding fellowship of utter oneness. There is no darkness or emptiness in this circle, no depression or fear or insecurity. The trinitarian life is a great dance of unchained communion and intimacy, fired by passionate self-giving and other-centered love, and mutual delight. This life is good. It is right, unique, full of music and joy, blessedness and peace. Such love, giving rise to such togetherness and fellowship and oneness, is the womb of the universe and of humanity within it. The stunning truth is that this Triune God, in amazing and lavish love, determined to open the circle and share the trinitarian life with others. This is the one, eternal, and abiding reason for the creation of the world and of human life. There is no other God, no other will of God, no second plan, no hidden agenda for human beings. Before the creation of the world, the Father, Son, and Spirit set Their love upon us and planned to bring us to share and know and experience the trinitarian life itself. Unto this end, the cosmos was called into being, and the human race was fashioned, and Adam and Eve were given a place in the coming of Jesus Christ, The Father's Son Himself, in and through whom the dream of our adoption would be accomplished. Before creation, it was decided the Son would cross every chasm between the triune God and humanity and establish a real and abiding relationship with us – union. Jesus was predestined to be the mediator, the one in and through whom the very life of the triune God would enter into human existence, and human existence will be lifted up to share in the trinitarian life. - SNIPPED: See Part 2 of "The Trinitarian Vision" in the show notes of Episode 66 - 0:00 Intro 0:43 The roots of Grace 1:40 Welcoming Baxter Kruger 3:21 Our Topic: The Trinitarian Vision 6:52 The purpose of it all 7:55 The original plan inside God 8:39 We are wrong about God 13:37 How the West lost the Trinity 18:37 Misdefining faith, losing relationship 22:45 God does not do abandonment 27:52 Coercive evangelism is unnecessary 30:51 Is God in you? Ask Him. 35:00 The Shack, metaphor of the soul Bill Protzmann is your moderator. ZeroAggressionProject.org is the sponsor. Be grace-full to each other. Thank you to Randy Garbin for our amazing thumbnails: http://randygarbin.com/ We are grateful to Sergio at https://www.youtube.com/@KeysofMoonMusic for our intro theme. ► https://www.patreon.com/user?u=10500501 or you can purchase his music on BandCamp: ► https://keysofmoon.bandcamp.com/ ► If you have any questions please feel free to write to Segio at: serjo.de.lua.music@gmail.com