Friday, September 10

Trinity, Tripartite Way, and The Historical Movement of God

This might be over some people's heads without some explanation, and I apologize for that if so, but as I was reading some exerpts on the Tripartite Way (purgation, illumination, union), it got me thinking a bit.  The Tripartite Way arose partially out of 1 John 2:12-14, but also out of the idea that because God is trinitarian, so should all theological truths.  Therefore, the Tripartite Way and the trinity are linked, though I haven't seen a spiritual writer connect them directly (but there is admittedly a vast amount of stuff I've never touched or even heard of).  But another thought that I've played with in another way suddenly came to mind - the idea that the narrative of history and scripture is reflective of the development of the spiritual life.  What happened to God's people is a macrocosm of what must continue to happen to God's people.  Therefore, could history be both trinitarian and match the Tripartite Way? 

Is the Old Testament based on the Father (though not exclusively) and focused on purgation?
As Jesus walked the Earth, we focus on the Son.  Is this illuminative?
After Jesus returned, we received the Spirit; is He then the basis for spiritual life, and do we only then have the opportunity for union?

I'm speculating.  But I thought I'd toss it out for discussion or head-scratching.

Tags:
  • Matthew R Green's blog
  • Login or register to post comments

Comments

Kyle Strobel's picture
Mon, 11/09/2009 - 14:16 — Kyle Strobel

Appropriation

You could use appropriation for this, the idea that a member of the Trinity takes on a certain attribute even though the persons of the Trinity are not conceived to function independently. Therefore, the Son is the image of God, and tends to have a special role in that way. Often, things like wisdom get appropirated to the Son, while things like love and peace are appopriated to the Spirit. You could look at the various ages of history this way I suppose. It could be interested to look, with Maimondes and, oddly enough, Jonathan Edwards, at Ezekiel 1's depiction of the wheels within the wheels as a way to look at the cyclical nature of history, and see that cyclical movement as ordered and ultimately governed by God, in Christ by the Spirit.

In Reformed theology, union would be bemped up front with illumination in regeneration, and purgation would fall under mortification leading to vivification - as the structure of the cross upon human existence. I wonder if Christ's life itself would be the best place to look for this kind of thing - where he has true union and illumination and yet, in Gethsemane, truly knows purgation? It seems though, on a Protestant model, that it would always be somewhat backwards.

Fri, 04/16/2010 - 11:56 — johnwbp (not verified)

tweZNqsMxRj

EVjwLG , tramadol, xanax, buy your medicine cheaper ultram viagra, buy phentermine, cialis sales,