The dynamic flow of the Trinitarian life

All of creation spins and flows to the dynamic rhythm of the Divine Dance of God, echoing the very nature of the Trinitarian life.

When you start to see yourself in this divine flow between the Father, Son, and Spirit, everything changes in your understanding and relationship with God.

²⁰ At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. (John 14:20 NKJV)

For we were made in the image of God, to resonate with this dynamic and “participate in the divine nature” (2 Pet.1:4). And, in this place of rest, there is no fear, no wrath, only self-emptying, overflowing love and fullness of joy.

What am I talking about? Richard Rohr explains this dynamic in the video clip below, but this Trinitarian Flow basically works like a water wheel. From eternity, the Father has been pouring out His love on the Son, who pours out His love on the Father, and the Spirit reciprocates this Flow, pouring into the Other, which creates perpetual energetic movement…as one pours out, another pours in…and on and on it goes.

As Rohr says on the video clip, it’s the nature of love to always be outpouring. This self-emptying process is called kenosis.

It’s in this place of Flow where we leave our “transactional” version of Christianity behind for a transformational life in God.

How do we participate in this Divine Flow?

So the practical question is, how do I participate in this Divine Flow? The answer is simple but not easy! We participate exactly the same way that Jesus participated when He took on human flesh.

 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (Phil.2:5-7 NASB *)

The answer is found in “Have this attitude in yourself which was also in Christ Jesus.” The Greek word for “emptied” is a variation of kenosis (kenoō). When the Eternal Son took on human flesh, He emptied Himself. What this means is that, while still retaining His divine nature, Jesus performed no miracles as God the Son, but as the Son of Man: a human being, totally empowered by the Spirit and given completely over to His Father’s will. John particularly focuses in on this aspect of Jesus’ relationship with His Father (John 4:34; 5:19, 30; 8:28; 14:7-11).

My point is, what Jesus did we are to do in like manner.

 ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing....⁹ Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. ¹¹ These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. (John 15:5, 9-11 NASB *)

See also John 14:12-14; 17:20-26.

Notice that it’s in this Place of self-emptying where we experience the life flow and fullness of joy. We’re abiding (sojourning in this place of rest) as Jesus did with the Father. It should also be noted that this life flow eludes those who live for themselves and cling to self-interest and fear.

But like the water wheel, as we pour ourselves out to God, He pours His life into us. The more we pour ourselves out, the more He pours into us.

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. (Matt.5:6 NKJV *)

³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matt. 10:39 NKJV *)

So, my question is…how much of this Divine Flow do you want? God is not the one holding back.

The Trinitarian life overcomes our judgmental dualism

One more thing that I’ve shared before, and Rohr brings out in the video clip, is that we cannot bring our dualistic “good and evil” knowledge with us in this Place. We must leave that Tree behind and learn to eat from the Tree of Life, letting go of our judgmental comparisons and competitiveness. There is no place for it in the dynamic flow of the Trinitarian life.

This is why it’s hard to proceed further, because it’s counterintuitive to the narcissistic way we’ve related to God up to this point (I talk about this at length in the chapter titled “Disciple Shift” in my book, Sonshift: Everything Changes in the Father’s Embrace.) The problem is, this is our “normal.” It’s a non-conscious alien algorithm running under the surface of who we think we are, but it’s a false image that we’ve accepted, and until we let God show us this, we’re stuck here.

Rohr mentions Cynthia Bourgeault, who wrote The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three: Discovering the Radical Truth at the Heart of Christianity. In that book, she talks about how the principle of two is always about opposition. It’s dualistic, “us vs. them.”

Whenever we’re dualistic we have to compare, take sides, which makes us blind to truly understanding the “other side.” But the principle of three is always moving, always dynamic, always flowing. As Rohr says, “The trinity was made to order to defeat the dualistic mind.”

Beloved, everything you’re looking for is found here. It’s not about obligation or duty, being right or wrong, or having everything figured out. It’s about being caught up in the Mystery of Everything (the Logos – John 1:1-4). It’s about Love having so gripped our heart that we’re utterly ruined for anything less than pouring ourselves out completely for Him (2 Cor.5:14-15), which makes us love others like Him…for we’ve become like Him.

So…to quote the country song, I hope you dance.

* All emphasis added.