Free Will And the Trinity
We all have free will. But why?
Because as we bear the Image of God, we exhibit similar behaviours to Him. As the free will to choose is seen amongst the Godhead, so we too have free will.
Free Will and God
At the beginning, in Genesis 1, God the Spirit used His free will and chose to co-operate with God the Father to bring forth Creation. God the Father reciprocated by choosing to approve of His work by saying how Creation was very good.
Genesis 1 v 2
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Genesis 1 v 31
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Baptism of Christ
Matthew 1 v 16-17
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
At the Baptism of Christ, God the Father uses His free will to approve of God the Son.
And God the Son also chooses to submit to God the Spirit. While Jesus stands in the River Jordan, the Spirit chooses to descend on Him and cooperates in the scene as the Son submits to Him.
Another place where God the Spirit cooperates with Jesus is when He breathes on His disciples, imparting the Holy Spirit. God the Spirit cooperates with God the Son
John 20 v 22
And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Mount of Olives
Jesus uses His free will to submit to God the Father at the Mount of Olives.
Luke 22 v 42
Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.
Here is an image describing all the above.
God the Father approves
God the Son submits
God the Holy Spirit cooperates
Free will exists within the Trinity. All three Persons choose to interact with each other. God the Father approves, God the Spirit cooperates and God the Son submits.
Free will within the Godhead is important because free will allows for love. Love is a choice, and has to be a free choice.
It is not just an emotional feeling, but the most powerful force in Creation.
How Do Christians Fit Into This?
Christians are part of the Body of Christ. And so accordingly, we are to submit to our Head, work to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and receive approval from Father God.
In this picture, we see how we interact with the Trinity. Through submission, we partake in the Divine Love found in the Trinity.
[note: I was reading Maximus the Confessor and he made a brief statement about how God the Father approved of God the Son and how the God the Holy Spirit cooperated. He went further and explained how God the Son was sent forth. I felt that a better interpretation was to say that God the Son submitted.]
Afterthought, after discussing this with a friend:
The Body of Christ relationship is backwards, I think. The thing Christ does is submit, and when He came to Earth he came "Not to be served, but to serve"--He submit to *us*, and it's incredible because *who are we?* Why should God condescend to *us*???
Our job as mere mortals is to reciprocate that submission. We must reciprocate to participate--if we do not submit to Christ as he submits to us, then we cannot participate in the divinity we receive as heirs by adoption into the Body of Christ.
I don't know if there is a way to disaggregate the body of Christ too, because the cliche goes that Christ would have died for us--would have submit to us--if Brother Alexander were the only person in the world. So Christ submits to: God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and *Brother Alexander*.
It's deeply unsettling to think of it that way, but it is resolved if we reciprocate the submission. Christ condescends to humanity and submits to us. We submit to him and are accepted into his body. Then we turn around and accept Him into our body through the Eucharist.
Lots of synapses firing, I hope this comment makes sense.
This model of the trinity is blowing my mind right now. Thank you for this. I’ve been trying to grok the Trinity more and really struggling yo do so since it’s very easy to get the wrong idea under our own powers. This dynamic of approval, submission, cooperation os both additive and illuminating. Thank you!