[Editor’s Note: a longer version of this post will be published later this week]
“Now, I’m really living!” Have you ever said that? What made you think you were really living? For me, I often said it while traveling—to Egypt, to Spain, or to Mexico.
Jesus had an opinion on this question. “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). According to Jesus, real life — what it means to be “really living” — is communion with the Triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit.
This is the life for which we were created, the life we lost in the fall, and the life Christ came to restore. But how do we actually enter into it? The Apostles’ Creed gives us a map. It not only summarizes the faith; it teaches us how to commune with each Person of the Trinity:
- We encounter the Father through creation
- We encounter the Son through the Word
- We encounter the Spirit through the Church
This framework keeps our fellowship with God concrete, biblical, and constant.
Life with the Father — in Creation
The Creed begins: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” Creation is the Father’s temple, revealing His glory and care.
Jesus taught us to look at the birds and flowers as reminders of the Father’s provision (Matt. 6:25–26). Dutch theologian Wilhelmus á Brakel urged believers to “accustom yourself to behold creation in such a fashion that you may behold God in it” (The Christian’s Reasonable Service, 1:281).
To commune with the Father in creation means praising Him for His glory, trusting His providence in every circumstance, and pouring out our hearts before Him (Ps. 62:8).
Life in the Son — in the Word
The Creed continues: “And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord.” We know the Son supremely through the Scriptures, for, as Jesus said, “the Scriptures . . . testify about me” (John 5:39).
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible reveals Christ: promised Seed, Deliverer, Priest, Prophet, King, the very Son of God. His death, resurrection, and ascension are the heart of the gospel, and His return is our great hope.
To commune with the Son through the Word means reading Scripture not first as a book about ourselves, but as a book about Jesus, the eternal Son of God. Through the Word, we worship Him, trust Him as Savior, and follow Him as Lord.
Life by the Spirit — in the Church
Finally, the Creed declares: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church.” The Spirit is the bond of communion — uniting us to the Father and Son, and uniting us to one another.
Paul blesses the church this way: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14). To live by the Spirit is to live in fellowship — forgiving, reconciling, and serving in love.
That is why if we long for more of the Spirit, we must not withdraw but lean into the Church. The Spirit heals, strengthens, and edifies through the body of Christ.
Practices for Living in the Trinity
How can we make communion with the Triune God part of daily life? Here are three practices that flow from the Creed:
- Father — Attend to Creation
Take regular walks or pauses to notice God’s world. Let creation draw you to praise, trust, and prayer. - Son — Read the Word Christ-Centered
Open Scripture daily not only for guidance, but to meet Christ. Ask: what does this reveal about Jesus, my Savior and Lord? - Spirit — Commit to the Church
Lean into the fellowship of God’s people. Forgive, reconcile, serve, and worship. The Spirit is present in the body of Christ.
Really Living
To live in communion with Father, Son, and Spirit is eternal life already begun. As Michael Reeves reminds us: “Neither a problem nor a technicality, the triune being of God is the vital oxygen of Christian life and joy” (Delighting in the Trinity, 18).
To wake each day attentive to the Father in creation, the Son in the Word, and the Spirit in the Church is to breathe that oxygen deeply. It is to truly live.
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
the holy catholic Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting. Amen.