Jesus as the glory of God, Do we need to rethink the Trinity, being a force for theological sanity in your Church

Summary of Jesus as the glory of God, Do we need to rethink the Trinity, being a force for theological sanity in your Church

by Premier Unbelievable

40m•August 17, 2026
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Overview of Jesus as the glory of God, Do we need to rethink the Trinity, being a force for theological sanity in your Church

In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird tackle three substantial theological and pastoral questions: how Jesus reveals the glory of God, whether the Trinity needs a “better” replacement or explanation for modern readers, and how to remain faithful and sane when you feel like a theological minority in your church or region. The conversation moves from dense New Testament theology to practical advice on humility, dialogue, and perseverance in difficult church settings.

Jesus as the Glory of God

The first listener question asks about the connection between God’s glory, God’s face, and Jesus in Exodus 33, 2 Corinthians 4:6, and Revelation 22:3–4, especially from the perspective of someone coming out of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Main points

  • Tom Wright says the best starting point is John’s Gospel, especially:
    • John 1: the Word became flesh and “tabernacled” among us, and the disciples saw his glory.
    • The glory of Jesus is progressively revealed through the signs:
      • Water into wine at Cana
      • Raising Lazarus
      • Ultimately, the cross and resurrection
  • Glory is not merely spectacle or divine power; it is God’s character made visible, especially in Jesus’ self-giving love.
  • In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul echoes the Moses/tabernacle theme:
    • Just as Moses’ face shone after encountering God, believers now glimpse God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
  • Mike Bird adds that Paul’s Damascus-road experience likely shaped this theology:
    • Encountering the risen Jesus was, for Paul, encountering the glory of God himself.

Key insight

Jesus does not merely reflect God’s glory from a distance — he embodies and reveals it. The cross is presented as the supreme revelation of divine glory because it is the fullest expression of God’s love.

Do We Need a New Doctrine Instead of the Trinity?

The second question asks whether the Trinity is too difficult or “messy” to keep, and whether there might be a better way to describe God that avoids technical terms and old theological formulas.

Tom Wright’s response

  • He’s sympathetic to the difficulty, but argues that the alternatives are worse, not better.
  • He warns against several common reductions:
    • Modalism: Father, Son, and Spirit are just different “modes” or masks of one person
    • Unitarianism: Jesus is only a human being and the Spirit is just an impersonal force
    • Tritheism: three gods, which the Bible rejects
  • He quotes Stephen Neill’s helpful line:
    • “Christology is a doctrine about God, and the Trinity is a doctrine about Jesus.”
  • In other words:
    • Jesus reveals who God is
    • The Trinity protects the truth that Jesus and the Spirit are not temporary roles or costumes, but integral to the identity of the one true God

Biblical framework Wright emphasizes

Instead of starting with later Latin/Greek technical vocabulary, Wright urges readers to begin with the Jewish categories of Scripture:

  • Sonship rooted in Davidic kingship and Psalm 2
  • Wisdom traditions, where God’s wisdom becomes personified and finally embodied
  • Exodus imagery, where God’s presence leads and guides his people
  • The New Testament writers are drawing on these Jewish patterns, not inventing ideas from scratch

Mike Bird’s contribution

  • The New Testament’s baptism and commission passages make the alternatives collapse:
    • Father, Son, and Spirit are distinguished in ways that modalism can’t explain
    • Yet the Bible insists on one God, so tritheism won’t do either
  • The Trinity is not perfect because it is easy; it is the best fit for the biblical witness.

Core takeaway

The Trinity is not an optional add-on. It is the church’s attempt to remain faithful to the Bible’s witness that:

  • God is one
  • Jesus is genuinely divine
  • The Spirit is personally active
  • And all of this is already implied in the story of Israel fulfilled in Christ

How to Stay Faithful When You’re the Minority Voice

The final major question comes from a listener in the American Bible Belt who has moved away from dispensational/end-times teaching toward a more historical or preterist reading of prophecy, but now feels isolated and misunderstood.

Tom Wright’s advice

  • First, distinguish between two issues:
    1. Interpretive disagreement: How do we read passages like 1 Thessalonians 4?
    2. Social reality: What do you do when your whole church culture assumes a different framework?
  • He urges:
    • Prayer and lament
    • Listening for others nearby who may share similar doubts
    • Avoiding arrogance and sectarianism
  • He warns against the attitude of:
    • “We are the enlightened ones; everyone else is hopeless.”
  • Instead, he recommends:
    • Staying in loving relationship where possible
    • Looking for opportunities to study Scripture together
    • Correcting misunderstandings gently, not combatively

Practical wisdom

  • You cannot mock or shame people into changing their theology.
  • If you want to persuade others, you need:
    • Trust
    • Humility
    • Patience
    • Genuine love for the people you’re disagreeing with

Notable Quotes and Insights

Tom Wright

  • On glory: God’s glory is seen in Jesus’ actions, especially in the cross and resurrection.
  • On Trinity and Christology:
    • The Trinity is really about how to speak truthfully about Jesus.
  • On interpretation:
    • Start with the Jewish world of the New Testament, not later distortions or overbuilt systems.

Mike Bird

  • The New Testament’s language about Father, Son, and Spirit is difficult to reduce to anything simpler without losing something essential.
  • A lot of modern “simplifications” end up collapsing under the weight of the text.

Main Takeaways

  • Jesus is the fullest revelation of God’s glory, not just a messenger or representative.
  • The Trinity remains necessary because it best preserves the biblical witness to God, Jesus, and the Spirit.
  • The New Testament should be read through its Jewish scriptural background, not only through later philosophical systems.
  • If you are the theological minority in your church, the path forward is usually humility, prayer, patient dialogue, and love rather than confrontation.

Closing Note

The episode ends with a reminder that these questions are not abstract puzzles for Tom Wright — they are part of a life of ongoing learning, reflection, and dialogue. The tone throughout is both intellectually serious and pastorally grounded: theology matters, but so does the way we speak it.