Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 21:2 (Summer 2017)
Article: Editorial: Our Glorious Triune God
Author: Stephen J. Wellum

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SBJT 21:2 (Summer 2017) p. 5

Editorial: Our Glorious Triune God

Stephen J. Wellum

Stephen J. Wellum is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and editor of Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. He received his PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and he is the author of numerous essays and articles and the co-author with Peter Gentry of Kingdom through Covenant (Crossway, 2012) and God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants: A Concise Biblical Theology (Crossway, 2015), and the co-editor of Building on the Foundations of Evangelical Theology (Crossway, 2015 with Gregg Allison), and Progressive Covenantalism (B&H, 2016 with Brent Parker), and author of God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of the Person of Christ (Crossway, 2016) and Christ Alone—The Uniqueness of Jesus as Savior (Zondervan, 2017).

Why an issue of SBJT focused on various essays from historical theology on the Trinity? There is a sense in which that question should never be asked given that reflection on the doctrine of the Trinity is always necessary and vitally important for the life and health of the church. It is almost a truism to say that at the heart of Christian theology is our glorious triune God and to know him is life eternal, yet we must never tire of saying it. Nothing is more important than our growing in the knowledge of the true and living God. After all, he is not only worthy of our reflection, love, adoration, and obedience, but the very purpose of our existence is to know and glorify him. Every generation of the church must repeatedly return to deep theological reflection on who God is as the triune God, not to re-invent the doctrine, but to be discipled anew in the great truths of the Christian faith. In fact, if we do not get our doctrine of God right, especially the doctrine of the Trinity, it will not be too long before other areas of our theology begin to falter and crumble. Every doctrine of Christian theology ultimately finds it grounding in the great and glorious triune God of Scripture. It is always our privilege

SBJT 21:2 (Summer 2017) p. 6

and joy to think more deeply about the Trinity and hence the reason for the subject matter of this issue of the journal.

However, there is also another reason why this issue of SBJT is devoted to the Trinity. Over the last number of years within evangelical theology there has been a growing and heated debate on some of the specifics of the doctrine. The debate had been brewing for a number of years but in the last year it came to a head in the blogosphere, in various conferences, and now in the publications of various books. The main point of contention has centered on our understanding of the pe...

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