Thoughts: In the passage above, Paul included all three persons of the Trinity in his benediction. This is a common Christian benediction (blessing) used in worship. The grace, love, and fellowship of God are three strands in the same rope. Some have tried to describe the Trinity using things we see like H2O is water, ice, and steam- all the same molecule yet different; like the sun, the heat of the sun, and the light of the sun- all part of the sun yet different; or a person can be a father, son, and worker- the same person wearing different hats. each illustration has true limitations and only points to the fact that three can be one and one can be three. The "mystery" of the trinity is not so simply defined or fully and exhaustively described. God is one essence in three persons, and cannot be divided against Himself. It is this oneness of God that defines that the Spirit does not contradict Himself, nor the Son contradict the Word inspired and illuminated by the Holy Spirit.
The tenet below holds that the three persons are "consubstantial with one another." That means that they exist with each other at the same time. So at the baptism of Christ- Jesus was in the water, the Spirit was descending like a dove, and the voice of the Father was heard from heaven- they were all there at once, yet differently.
They are coeternal. This means that the Father did not create the Son or Spirit- but the Son was begotten before time began and is as infinite as the Father. Jesus said, "Before Abraham was I am." The Spirit is described as "hovering over the waters" (in Genesis 1) before the world began. God describes Himself as the great I am. Jesus describes himself as the beginning and the end, alpha and omega.
They are co-equal. It is clear that the Father glorifies the Son at his baptism with his voice, and at the ascension. Jesus said that he came to glorify the Father. The Spirit is described in John 14 and 16 as bringing to remembrance the words of the Son and glorifying the Son. There is no power struggle among the persons of the Trinity- only complete love and oneness in the godhead.
It is clear in the great benediction above that Paul is calling and praying for God's blessing by appealing to each person of the Trinity. So it is appropriate that we pray to each person. The common language is we pray "to the Father, through the Son by the Holy Spirit." Yet it is also true in Paul's example that we appeal to each person directly.
On this Martin Luther King Day- may we appreciate that both oneness and diversity may exist- even in the person of God at the same time.
Prayer: May your grace, O Christ; your love, O God; and your presence, O Holy Spirit- be with me this day to guide me, protect me, lead me in ways that please you.
Mysteries
A. Trinity
The triune nature of God is the first great mystery of the Christian
faith. With Christians everywhere, we worship the only
true God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - who is both one
essence and three persons. God is infinite, eternal, immutable,
impassible, and ineffable. He cannot be divided against
Himself, nor is He becoming more than He has been, since
there is no potential or becoming in Him. He is the source
of all goodness, all truth and all beauty, of all love and all life,
omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. The three persons
are consubstantial with one another, being both coeternal,
and coequal, such that there are not three gods, nor are there
three parts of God, but rather three persons within the one
Godhead. The Son is eternally begotten from the Father, and
the Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son. All
three persons are worthy of worship and praise.
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