Our Triune God: Living in the Love of the Three-in-One

by Philip Graham Ryken, Michael Lefebvre

Provides a pastor’s perspective for a fuller understanding of the saving, mysterious, practical, and glorious Trinity. 

How are we to relate to a three-personed God? The idea of the Trinity may initially seem too abstract to understand, but the truth is that a deeper knowledge of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has daily importance. Convinced that many Christians “have some level of awareness that God is triune…[but] are virtually Unitarian,” the authors have written a practical and theologically robust resource to help readers grow closer to the Triune God. 

Philip Ryken and Michael LeFebvre examine the doctrine of the Trinity in four parts. They explain the roles of the Father, Son, and Spirit in salvation; answer difficult questions about the Trinity; explore the believer’s relationship to each person of the Trinity; and provide an exposition of the various Gospel narratives depicting how the three persons of the Trinity work together to accomplish the redemptive purposes of God. Their careful treatment of these central truths captures important implications for the Christian life.

Our Triune God is a helpful guide for Christians wanting to deepen their faith and for pastors as they shepherd their congregations toward a richer love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Genres: Theology, Christian, Spirituality

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2011

About the author

Philip Graham Ryken is Senior Minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, where he has preached since 1995. He is Bible Teacher for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, speaking nationally on the radio program Every Last Word. Dr. Ryken was educated at Wheaton College (IL), Westminster Theological Seminary (PA) and the University of Oxford (UK), from which he received his doctorate in historical theology. He lives with his wife (Lisa) and children (Joshua, Kirsten, Jack, Kathryn, and Karoline) in Center City, Philadelphia. When he is not preaching or spending time with his family, he likes to read books, play sports, and ponder the relationship between Christian faith and American culture. He has written or edited more than twenty books, including Bible commentaries on Exodus, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Galatians.

Reviews

[Doug Van Meter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief but extremely helpful, insightful, practical book concerning the Trinity in the life of the Christian. Highly recommended.

[Allison Cantrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. It was accessible, and the only criticism I had was that it seemed to often refer to books/authors not cited or to assume knowledge of the reader. I would recommend this, but not to a new Christian.

Favorite quotes:
“The Trinity is never merely a doctrine but always meant to be a grateful joy.”

“The doctrine of election, which proves God’s sovereignty in salvation, is a doctrine of joy.”

“The true drama of Pentecost was not the supernatural marks that accompanied it but the appointing of *all* believers for authoritative witness.”

“The proper outlet for awe is worship. True theology leads to doxology.”

(Quoting Augustine) “To reach a little toward God with the mind is a great blessedness; yet to understand is wholly impossible.”

“What is needed is a loving confession of ignorance rather than a rash profession of knowledge.”

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I think this book is best suited towards new believers and/or long time believers who don't have time to read longer works'. Personally, I'd refer people to Barrett's new book before this one. However I am glad to have worked through this quickly to have options to give to church members.

[Paige Cuthbertson| Turning_Every_Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a few gold nuggets in here, but 95% of the book is just preaching the TULIP. Made me want to throw my book at the wall. 🤦🏾‍♀️

The other negative is how repetitive it is.

If you want to read a beautifully done work on the trinity, I HIGHLY recommend Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves instead.

[JonJon Hock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple theological exposition of the trinity. With a deep foundation in scripture, this short read expands on the trinity from a reformed perspective. I would recommend this book for new Christians who are struggling to grasp this theological concept.

[Madeline Balicoco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great surface introduction. I’m still new in my faith journey and really appreciated how accessible and easy-to-understand this book was. It presented what is revealed in God’s Word without trying to overstep into making conjectures about the mystery.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great book for anyone needing the foundational biblical truths regarding the trinity.

[Hunter Leavine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really accessible, quick read. Does not dive too much into history. I also recommend Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by Bruce Ware. Ware outlines more of how the Trinity is traced through scripture.

[Joshua Kuruvilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkably concise explanation. Best book to start off this doctrine

[Sydney Bane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! Informative, well organized, slightly repetitive.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was using this book as part of a discipleship with a brother at our church in which we were going over the doctrine of the Trinity and implications of the Trinity for the Christian life and worship. The size of this work is great for a small theological devotional, coming in at 114 page of content. This book is written by Philip Ryken and Michael Lefebvre, with Ryken being the better known author who is currently the senior minister at the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church and also president of Wheaton College. This work is theological but also pastoral as well. The book has four chapters with the first one on the Trinity’s role in salvation. For those familiar with the Trinity’s role in our salvation there isn’t necessarily anything new in this chapter. I thought the best chapters of the book were chapters two and three. Chapter two dealt with the mysterious Trinity and focused on two objections people have concerning the doctrine of the Trinity, what the authors called the logical and theological problem of the Trinity. The logical problem refer to the objection people have that the Trinity seems to be paradoxical if not contradictory. The chief point that the authors made in this section is that the issue of the Trinity isn’t really an issue of a logical problem per se but what they call an analogical problem; that is, people’s dilemma with the Trinity is with the fact that the Trinity lacks any analogy to anything else in human experience. This is a powerful apologetic point since the chapter goes on to argue that when people come to understand something new they initially try to understand it based upon previous knowledge and experiences that is familiar. With the Trinity there is a lack of any adequate analogies from the realm of human experience but that doesn’t mean we should dismiss it outright since there are other areas of knowledge that we struggle to provide adequate analogy to previous knowledge. The theological problem focuses more on whether the New Testament introduce a foreign and alien doctrine of the Trinity that is incompatible with the Old Testament’s monotheism. Here Ryken and Lefebvre gives an excellent survey of Old Testament passages that suggests an inner-plurality with the Godhead along with some of the Jewish historical interpretations that support the thesis that these interpretations are not invented by Christians but has its precedence among the Jews before Jesus. Very fascinating and enjoyable to see the interaction the authors had with Jewish rabbinic sources! Chapter three is on the Practical Trinity and goes over the Upper Room Discourse in John 13-17 which the book teaches is a passage that is “one of the most penetrating presentation of Trinitarian theology anywhere in the Scriptures” (60). I never realized the truth of this before and it was an edifying read though I wished if the book was longer there could have better exposition of the passage. It isn’t the best book on the Trinity I read but it is still a work I can recommend. I recommend one also read Bruce Ware’s and Robert Morey’s work on the Trinity.

[Adam Shields · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short review: This book is ok, but not great. It is primarily focused on the wrong things in my mind. Most discussion about the trinity is focused on humans and human salvation and the limits of what humans can know about the trinity. It doesn't touch at all on the social aspects of the trinity or explore how those social aspect should impact our ecclesiology or other human relationships. There are several good quotes and a couple of good ideas, but on the whole it seems to be a miss.

My longer review is posted on my blog at http://bookwi.se/our-triune-god/

[Budi Kurniawan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, concise, easy to understand explanation on one of the hardest doctrine in Christianity, the doctrine of Trinity. This book provides straight-to-the-point concept, and it does shed light for me on my understanding of the Trinity. The concept it not illogical, it's just an analogical problem, because there is none like it in our worldly experience. This book also covers practical aspects on how do we relate exactly with Trinity in our daily Christian life.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable, encouraging and devotional, while also answering some common objections to the Trinity (cf. Chapter 2). Refreshing in its approach, the chapters focus on portions of Scripture that unpack the Trinity's relevance for life (Chapter 1 - Ephesians 1:3-14; Chapter 3 - John 13-17; Chapter 4 - Luke's Gospel).

[Andrew Mcneill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short, concise and helpful overview of the Trinity. It is not a complex book but it is undeniably helpful in its simplicity yet simultaneous profundity. It gives the reader a fresh appreciation for the greatness of the Trinity and the cooperation of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in planning, purchasing and applying salvation. Very readable and insightful.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book about the significance of understanding and loving the Triune God. The book goes through many texts to reveal the nature of the Trinity and its joint operation in the salvation of Sinners. Recommended.

[Neh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read; much of it was elementary. A bit repetitive throughout. Glad I didn't buy it. Not worth paying 15 bucks for such a <120 page book.

Maybe get multiple copies for your unitarian neighbors (Jews, Muslims or JW's) or polytheists (Mormons)

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read and solid introduction to the Trinity. As the subject matter is dense, only certain areas were covered. But the areas Ryken does cover were given a thorough treatment. There is much to love about this book because of the glorious truths found within!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to the Trinity for a lay reader ... practical and devotional.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to the subject and a remarkable vision of the Trinitarian life. I can't believe it was only a 114 pages.

[Kyle Lammott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Ryken presents the doctrine of the trinity in a very doxological nature.

[Mark Loughridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good introduction to the Trinity. Chapter 2 on the Mysterious Trinity was the stand out one for me. Would have been the go-to introduction book if Mike Reeves hadnt written 'The Good God'!

[Lee Gerrietts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's a simple short theological treatment on the Trinity. I was familiar with most of the content, but there were some really good nuggets of truth.