Knowing the Trinity: Practical Thoughts for Daily Life

by Ryan M. McGraw

The Gospel is primarily about God. Part of the glory of the New Testament is that it explains the Gospel to us in terms of the glorious work of the three persons of the Trinity. Yet many can miss the rich Trinitarian backdrop of the New Testament because they are not looking for it. Knowing the Trinity shows that knowing God is knowing Him as Triune and that to know Him is to love Him. Each chapter leads readers to meditate on God’s work and how they relate to Him in light of passages of Scripture that appeal to all three divine Persons. The study questions included in each chapter are designed to promote personal devotion or group discussion. This book aims to show that the Trinity is the foundation of all biblical doctrines, the lifeblood of the Church, and the heart of Christian experience.

Genres: Theology

140 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2017

About the author

Ryan M. McGraw is the pastor of First Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Sunnyvale, CA (http://firstopc.org/). He ministered previously to Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Conway, SC. Pastor McGraw is a graduate Cal State Fullerton (B.A.) and of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (MDiv and ThM). He obtained his PhD in historical theology from the University of the Free State (Jonathan Edwards Centre Africa). Ryan is Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and he is a Research Associate for the Jonathan Edwards Centre Africa. He regularly contributes articles and book reviews to numerous publications. He is married to Krista, and they have three sons. You can listen to his sermons at http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_det...

Reviews

[Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good material, but I felt like it wasn't the best organized (certainly the Kindle version was not well-formatted at all, it was a mess).

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Clearly in the vein of Mark Jones' recent title, Knowing Christ, Ryan McGraw's latest book is an accessible, useful, historically grounded, and biblically rooted work on the Trinity for the layperson and preacher alike. I highly recommend it. I will most likely use this book for a Christian Education class in the future.

[Matt Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short read, yet full of solid practical application. With the Trinity being so often misrepresented by church leaders and misunderstood by parishioners, it would be easy to avoid the subject altogether. (And sadly, many pastors do take the easy way out) However, this resource not only helps by explaining the beauties of the Trinity, but spends a majority of its time applying the doctrine to daily living.

This book is so refreshing!

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the writing was pretty compact, and it had a lot of helpful scriptural references. I especially was blessed through my congregation's book study. Good discussions!

[Lydia Huezo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated how each chapter covered a different area of the Christian life, allowing us to see each member of the Trinity present in things like the Lord’s Supper, Baptism, prayer, etc. I felt like this has left me with a truly practical resource I can turn back to and reread in segments for a refresher.

I read this book as a part of a book club, and can’t say I entirely loved the discussion questions. I also felt a bit confused at times due to the academic nature of the content I was reading, but after some consideration, I think that is more of my own personal difficulty in comprehending theology and not worth demoting this book to 3 stars.

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little book. The first three chapters or so are particularly good as an introduction to the Trinitarian shape of Christian spirituality. The rest of the book considers various aspects of doctrine from a Trinitarian perspective - mostly aspects of the Plan of Salvation (e.g. The Incarnation), but also looks at much more every-day aspects of the Christian life from the perspective of Trinitarian theology (e.g. Prayer Meetings).

[Annie Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly decent little book on The Trinity. Could use more editing. Some Chapters seemed overly simplified or ill-placed, but overall, the book contained many nuggets of theological treasures to meditate on.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a unique contribution by McGraw's focus on key Trinitarian texts. It is a great help toward reading the Bible through Trinitarian eyes.

[John Brackbill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some helpful stuff here but not structured in a way that gives a sense of progression. Also significantly impacted by the author's covenant theology.

[Andrew Canavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some really good chapters. Would be great for private or family devotions.

[Aaron J. Gregas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.