Book Notes: "The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything", by Fred Sanders

The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything by Fred Sanders

"The Deep Things of God" is a long and measured look at the doctrine of the Trinity, with a mind to claiming that doctrine as a foundation of evangelical life.

After spending a chapter examining some examples of evangelical writings about the Trinity, Sanders spends the bulk of the middle of the book explaining the doctrine of the Trinity and then examining the height and depth and breadth of the gospel as it grows out of the doctrine of the Trinity.

"Edifying" is the word I want for this middle part of the book, and I mean that without any sarcasm. After reading Sanders, I feel like my theological thoughts have been turned upside-down, shaken out, straightened up, and put back in my head in right order. In one way I can say, "this is all stuff I knew" - and one of Sanders' points, indeed, is that the Christian life is suffused with the light of the Trinity, whether we're aware of it or not - but there's a difference between experience and awareness, and the result of reading this book is that I am so much more aware of God's work, both in salvation history and in my own life. Reading about the nature of God and about His goodness in Himself wakes us up, I think. The more we know Him, the more and better we can praise Him.

My favorite part of the book, though, was the last chapter, on "Praying with the Grain". You couldn't have this chapter without all the work that happens before it in the book, but all the same, I think this is the warmest and most accessible part. Sanders writes:

If the Spirit unites us to the Son and reconciles us to the Father, we have an invitation to pray accordingly: to the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. This is not just the "theologically correct" way to pray, but a way of praying that draws real spiritual power from being aligned with reality. (emphasis mine.)

And later in the same chapter he says,

. . . there is also a communicating life in the very being of God that is analogous to prayer. We are invited to enter that eternal conversation in an appropriately lower, creaturely way, but the heavenly analogue of prayer is already going on in the life of God rather than waiting for us to get it started. If you have ever become weary of working up the right response in prayer or worship, you can glimpse the relief of being able to approach prayer and worship with the knowledge that the party already started before you arrived.

I had the privilege of having Dr. Sanders as my mentor through all four years of my undergrad career, and it was a joy to continue to learn from him through the medium of this book. My one - no, make that two - pleas to the editors of his future books are: 1) Let more of the jokes in. Sanders' humor is that rare sort that comes out of charity and intelligence, not cynicism. More of that in print form, please! It's here, to be sure, but knowing Dr. Sanders, I'm guessing there was more originally and I wish I'd gotten to read it, and, 2) I know Sanders is a gifted cartoonist, and I'm guessing that the computer-rendered diagrams in this book were originally hand-drawn and much sharper. There's no reason to digitally-render something that's already clear and charming. Hand-drawn diagrams in the next book, please?

Neither of these hopes for the next book should make you stay away from this one, though. My criticisms are very much in the "this is good, let's have more" vein. Read this book! and come away enlightened and encouraged.

Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell

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