All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. John 16:15
Dear People Who Keep Company with God,
The rule of three is a writing principle that promotes more engaging content and makes presentations more effective and memorable. Research shows that we can recall just three to four items from our short-term memory. We have a natural, ingrained tendency to gravitate towards and respond positively to things that come in threes. Not only that, but we also tend to remember things in sets of threes. From a scientific perspective, three is the smallest number of elements required to create a pattern. The Latin phrase Omne trium perfectum conveys this overarching thought, “everything that comes in threes is perfect.”
We find the rule of three in our earthly existence. The entire pregnancy period is divided into three distinct trimesters from conception to birth. We experience birth, life, and death and have bodies, souls, and spirits. We all have a past, live in the present, and look to the future. Three is also spiritually significant. Jesus ministered three years and was in the grave for three days. He had an inner circle of Peter, James, and John. The kingdom of God consists of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit, water, and the blood agree on earth. God has given us love, power, and a sound mind. And, faith, hope, and love are enduring.
The rule of three is so pervasive because an eternal divine Trinity exists at the center of all reality. The Bible refers to this community as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is a trinitarian community, meaning there is one God, eternally existent in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And because He is a Trinity, three is woven into every part of humanity, heaven, and earth. The Trinity is foundational to everything that exists. How can God be One and exist as three Persons? The short answer is no one knows; as the Apostle Paul said, “His ways are past finding out!” (Romans 11:33) Humble faith in the Triune God sees it not so much as a mystery to unravel but a reality to live.
Within the Trinity, we get a glimpse of who God is, what He is doing, and how He is doing it. It also answers two of humanity’s most important questions: How does God relate to us, and how can we relate to Him? We know God by what He has done in bringing us to Himself. The Father chose, adopted, and accepted us. We are purchased, forgiven, and righteous in the Son; and the Holy Spirit regenerates, indwells, and clothes us with power. Hours before Jesus’ death, He prayed to His Father, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:22-23). Jesus invites us into the supernatural love, power, and communion that He demonstrated and enjoyed with His Father and the Holy Spirit in His humanity.
Many Blessings, BW