Beholding the Triune God: The Inseparable Work of Father, Son, and Spirit

“If the twentieth century witnessed a ‘revival’ of interest in the doctrine of the Trinity among dogmatic theologians, the past decade or so has seen a similar renewal among evangelical Christians, but one more explicitly committed to retrieving the doctrine in its creedal and orthodox perspective. This is the book we have been waiting for—an accessible, historically informed, and biblically rooted account of the triune God’s indivisible activity in creation, providence, and salvation history. The book provides simple (but not simplistic) definitions of many complex terms and traces their application through the various activities of the Holy Trinity. I am often asked by students and others for a good introduction to the doctrine of the Trinity. This book will now give me a ready answer to that pressing question.”

“The Trinity is not just one Christian doctrine among many. Rather, God the Trinity is the source of all Christian doctrine and delight. Emerson and Smith capture how understanding God’s essence and action should lead all Christians into deeper fellowship with the one triune God—Father, Son, and Spirit.”

“Unpacking texts and demystifying terms, the authors enrich our understanding through the church’s historic witnesses to the doctrine of the Trinity, teaching us through the voices of the church fathers, Reformers, Puritans, and Baptists. Drawing equally from the Old and New Testaments, Emerson and Smith offer a resource as much for the college or seminary student diving deeply into complex questions about the life of God as for the pastor instructing and inspiring congregants with a beautiful vision of the triune life and a desire to be enfolded into that life. Lay audiences will also find this book accessible and eminently rewarding.”

“Two trustworthy theologians team up on a project to explain why it’s never enough to say that the persons of the Trinity team up on projects. There is a much deeper unity to the work of the triune God, and this short, readable book directs our attention to it.”

“The doctrine of the inseparable operations of the Trinity is part of the deposit of the church’s ancient faith. Sadly, much of contemporary evangelical thought and preaching is drifting away from this historic doctrine, unflinchingly affirmed by the theologians of the Reformation, and substituting the church’s Trinitarian monotheism with a functional tritheism. The recent evangelical retrieval of this doctrine, while salutary, has not yet trickled down to the ordinary understanding of the faith. Emerson and Smith are proposing to meet that need and present inseparable operations in a way that is accessible and clearly biblical. One could not wish for a better team of Trinitarian theologians to undertake such an essential task.”

“Emerson and Smith describe the unity and distinction inherent in the Trinity as it unfolds across the canon of Scripture and as it develops historically by drawing from the work of the church fathers and resulting creeds. Emerson and Smith’s framework reinforces the importance of a Trinitarian hermeneutic for understanding the missional authority of the triune God. This is an important book, and I am grateful for their contribution.”

“Emerson and Smith have written a timely and helpful book for teachers, students, and church members. Though they address technical issues—Trinity, inseparable operations, appropriations, processions and missions, prosopological exegesis—they do so in an accessible manner. This book makes clear the importance of maintaining the doctrine of inseparable operations in order to maintain the biblical and historically orthodox confession of the Trinity.”

“Emerson and Smith provide a powerful reminder of why it is vital that we think in terms of the triune God––Father, Son, and Holy Spirit––acting in history. This book offers fresh eyes to see how all three persons of the Trinity act as one and offers hope for everything that our triune God wants to do in us and in the world.”