Ep.195: Paul Blesses the Corinthians
Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
Today, we look at the blessing Paul prayed over the Corinthians. He said:
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 Cor. 13:14).
Because there are three persons in this verse–Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit– some comments on the doctrine of the Trinity are appropriate.
Like most evangelicals, I tend to have three Gods, not just one. To me, God the Father is a somewhat remote king on a throne of light in a place called heaven. I think of Jesus as a person who lived on earth in a human body, and made enormous, difficult-to-understand claims about his relationship with God. I see the Holy Spirit as the force or power of God that is active in the world and in me.
It’s possible the New Testament writers had a similar experience of God. They started with the God of the Old Testament, who created the world and gave the commandments, and delivered his people from Egypt. Then came the prophet Jesus, a local Israelite who preached and did miracles and called God his father. Jesus introduced a third personality, a companion he promised would take his place when he left earth. No one saw this companion come, but they recognized the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in the tongues of fire and tongues of languages.
Thus, the concept of a trinity, one God in three persons, is not actually taught in the New Testament. Instead, it is an attempt to logically reconcile what scripture does teach about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. It took the church more than 300 years after Jesus left to develop a clear statement that Christians believe our one God exists in three persons.
Let’s pray to this three-personed God.
Lord Jesus Christ, may your grace be with us. John says the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:16). Your grace to Nicodemus offered him the chance to be born again. Your grace to the woman caught in adultery protected her from stoning and started her on a new life. Your grace to Peter forgave him for denying you and made him a shepherd of your sheep.
O Jesus, we need your grace. Protect us from evil and give us life. Form us, and reform us, in your image.
God, our father, may your love be with us. You said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:2). You loved the world and gave your son (John 3:16). Change our self protecting, self promoting ways, and help us live in the shelter of your love.
Holy Spirit, we need a new spirit, a new life, new inspiration from God in our inner being. Come to us as breath, giving us life. Come to us as fire, purifying our human spirits. Come to us as the wind of God, blowing through our thoughts and actions.
Holy Trinity of the Christian faith, come to us in all your persons.
With Paul we pray,
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all (2 Cor. 13:14).
Amen.
I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Trinity > History of Trinitarian Doctrines (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
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