ellen charry on spiritual formation by the triune God

"That we know Father, Son and Holy Spirit as creator, redeemer and sanctifier suggests that God knows and understands that we need more help than simply to be created and set going. To this end, God's own being is structured around our needs. That the Son and Spirit are indeed God and sent into the world to repair us, brings us face to face with our need for precisely the work that God does. We need to be confronted by our sins in the cross of Christ, offered the hope of forgiveness in his resurrection, sealed with the power of the Holy Spirit for new life in Christ, and gifted with talents and skills for the love of neighbor and the upbuilding of the entire body of Christ...that Christians understand these three [Father, Son, Holy Spirit] to be co-eternal and of equal status indicates that the divine triplicity anticipates the full force of human need from eternity. Creation, redemption and sanctification together are God's plan for us, and the triune God is the one perfectly constituted to actuate that plan. For the three divine Persons hold creation, redemption and sanctification together eternally."

Ellen Charry, "Spiritual Formation by the Doctrine of the Trinity", Theology Today, October, 1997.