The Nature of the Triune God
As taught in the Methodist / Wesleyan tradition
Understanding God as one essence in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—characterized by holy love.
How does the Methodist tradition understand the internal life of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and why is this understanding vital for the lived experience of salvation? Within the Wesleyan-Methodist heritage, the doctrine of the Trinity is not regarded as a secondary "mathematical puzzle" for ivory-tower theologians, but as the very foundation of "practical divinity." For the Methodist, to know God is to know Him in the economy of salvation: as the Father who initiates the plan of redemption, the Son who executes it through His incarnation and atonement, and the Holy Spirit who applies it to the human heart. This subtopic answers the fundamental question of the Christian life: who is the God we worship, and how does His eternal nature shape our path toward "holiness of heart and life"?
By the end of this lesson
- **Identify** the specific Scriptural anchors that testify to the plurality and unity of the Godhead within the Methodist exegetical tradition.
- **Distinguish** between the "fact" and the "manner" of the Trinity as articulated in John Wesley’s *Sermon 55*.
- **Explain** the significance of the "one substance" (homoousios) language found in the Methodist *Articles of Religion* - Article I.
- **Articulate** how the relational nature of the Triune God (God as Love) informs the Methodist emphasis on "Social Holiness."
- **Trace** the development of Trinitarian thought from the early ecumenical creeds to the 18th-century Methodist revival.
- **Defend** the necessity of the Trinity for a robust doctrine of the Atonement and the "Order of Salvation" (Ordo Salutis).
- **Apply** Trinitarian theology to the practice of "Heart Religion," specifically in the context of prayer and the witness of the Spirit.
- **Compare** the Methodist "practical" approach to the Trinity with more speculative or purely philosophical treatments of the doctrine in other traditions.
Scripture
The full lesson, its study guide and questions, and an AI tutor that answers from Scripture with citations are free with an account.