2 Corinthians 13:14 - Scripture Reveals the Trinity.
2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV) May the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you
all.
2 Corinthians 13:14 (AMP) The grace (favor
and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God and the presence and
fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and
participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so
be it).
INTRODUCTION
Paul concludes this epistle with his
Trinitarian, apostolic benediction, in which he
pronounces the grace of Christ, the love of the Father,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit God is
one in essence, eternally subsisting in three
persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In
Matthew 3:16-17, at the baptism of Jesus, the Holy
Spirit appears as a dove, and the Father's voice is
heard; also in Matthew 28:19 the Trinitarian
baptismal formula is given (into the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit).
Other biblical evidences for the Trinity can be
found in Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3-6;
Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2; Jude 20-21; Revelation
1:4-5. All three persons of the Trinity share the
same divine attributes. Each has a unique office
or work to do. God the Father sent Jesus the
Son; God the Son died on Calvary's cross. The
Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit, who seals and
indwells every believer. Salvation is the work of the
Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit),
according to Titus 3:4-6 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14.
[The One Year Bible Companion]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Three in One
Down in the deep depths of tropical
waters, peculiar creatures can be found. A certain
tripod fish joins other species at the ocean floor,
but they happen to be more unique than many
realize. They are bronze-like in color and have grey
markings across their head, midsection, and lower
back. As tripod fish are carnivorous, they eat
shrimp, crustaceans, small fish, and plankton. They
have no need for a partner as a single creature
is capable of self-reproducing, though if a
partner is found, no objection is made.
All of this is quite amazing, and more
evidence that we serve a Creator God, however, this
is not all the tripod fish brings. Rather than
swim like so many other fish do, the tripod fish
walk on the sand with three fin extensions,
waiting for their prey. The tripod fish is able to
swim, and it will, but it is the most effective
when it uses its fin extensions to walk on the
ocean floor.
This is a tangible illustration of what
the Holy Trinity does for us. Many Christians
today reject the trinity, however, when we believe
in the Trinity, our lives can be lived to their
full potential. As mere humans on earth, we will
never fully understand how there can be one God
yet three parts, but God doesnt ask us to
understand, only to have faith.
As 2 Corinthians 13:14 states, we need
Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. The
Trinity is not separable, they are three in one, one
God that reigns forever. Just like the tripod
fish and their three legs, the Trinity
keeps us going and grants us the best life we can
live. All we have to do is accept that the Trinity
is Holy and omnipotent. Have you put your faith
in the Trinity today? By Rachel Gibbs
COMMENTARY
A Watershed Truth
That great Christian, Francis Schaeffer,
said that he would have remained an agnostic if
it weren't for the doctrine of the Trinity. It
was this, he claimed, that gave him the
answer"the only answer"to the theme of unity and
diversity.
The question I have been asked most often
about the Trinity is this: Why didn't God make
clear the truth of the Trinity in the Old
Testament, rather than leaving it as something to be
deduced in the New Testament? I usually answer like
this: Before God could entrust His people with the
knowledge of His essential Threeness, He had to lay
deep in their minds a piercing conviction of His
Oneness. The Bible begins in monotheism (belief in
one God), but soon after the Fall comes
polytheism (belief in many gods). Which god is the real
God? Not until belief in one God was laid deep in
the consciousness of the Jewish nation was God
ready to reveal more clearly to mankind the
sublime truth of the Trinity.
Dr. George Smeaton says: "The biblical
idea of the Trinity is the heart of the unique
message of Christianity. To explain this mystery is
not our province. Ours is simply to conserve the
mystery." Those who call themselves Christians yet
reject the doctrine of the Trinity will soon latch
onto some other error. It is a strange thing, but
I have observed it as a fact of the Christian
life that when this truth is modified or pushed
aside, it is as if the door is opened to the inrush
of all kinds of absurd ideas, bizarre theories,
and half-truths.
Father, help me hold fast to this sublime
truth, and enable me to see that though something
is above reason, it is not necessarily against
reason. Blessed Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit - I worship You. Amen. [Every Day With Jesus
Bible with Selwyn Hughes devotional]
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