This is deep truth from John Stott.
Our sinful instinct is to either be independent or to not exist at all.
Many of the more "classical" doctrines of "god" are designed like that - as if "independence" and "self-existence" is the greatest that can be imagined.
However, although the Trinity together may have self-existence, WITHIN the Trinity there is a strange and profound interdependence:
- the Father works only through the Son - even though the Father is the fountain of the divine life.
- the Son does only what the Father tells Him to do and He waits for the Father to tell Him when the Day of Judgement will be.
- the Spirit works only through the Son by the will of the Father.
The Father, Son and Spirit are inseparable in work - and inseparable from each other in eternal life.
The Father has never existed without His Son and His Spirit.
The Father has never externally acted without His Son and His Spirit.
If the Father, Son and Spirit need each other in order to do ANYTHING... then shouldn't we learn to be the same?
If we need each other to do everything ... then THAT is a form of the "image of God", rather than a reason to kill ourselves...