Tuesday, August 08, 2017

Reordering the Trinity: Six Movements of God in the New Testament by Rodrick K. Durst


Rodrick K. Durst gives a marvelous gift to the Body of Christ, the Church. In his book he explores the triadic patterns of the Trinity in the New Testament. Dr. Durst took up the challenge to explore the meaning of the varieties of triadic orders presented in scripture. There are six possible combinations of Father Son and Spirit. Dr. Durst identifies seventy-five places in the New Testament where they are discernible and notes the context of each order and it’s implications.

In Part 1: Considering Four Key Questions, Durst discusses things like why does the Trinity matter? Where did the Trinity come from? Was the Trinity in the minds of the New Testament writers? As well as a very good chapter on the development of ideas about the Trinity throughout history.

The heart of the book is Part 2: The Contextual Question and the Trinitarian Matrix. Divided into six chapters each addressing one of the possible triadic orders. Those chapters are as follows:

Chapter 5: The Sending Triad: Father Son Spirit as the Missional Order
Chapter 6: The Saving Triad: Son Spirit Father as the Regenerative Order
Chapter 7: The Indwelling Triad: Son Father Spirit as the Christological Witness Order
Chapter 8: The Standing Triad: Spirit Father Son as the Sanctifying Order
Chapter 9: The Shaping Triad: Father Spirit Son as the Spiritual Formation Order
Chapter 10: The Uniting Triad: Spirit Son Father as the Ecclesial Order


This book will help anyone who desires to better understand the Trinity doctrinally as well as practical applications for living a fuller Trinitarian experience as a Christian believer. The book is scholarly but not written in a way that would keep non-specialists from gaining much benefit. The ample footnotes, very useful appendices, and bibliography are welcome resources. Each chapter has discussion questions and Part 2 in addition has what Dr. Durst calls sermon starters. To me they seem to be meditative synopsis with practical applications. Excellent work in my opinion.  

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