Trinity of Love and Power
“Trinity ---of love and Power”
William Whiting wrote a hymn which was adopted by the Royal Navy as their own and eventually by ours too. In this hymn he wrote of the dangers of being a sailor and the power of the “ Eternal Father, strong to save…” William Whiting grew up around the sea and this hymn reflects that. The last verse of this hymn sums it up: “
O Trinity of love and power, our brethren shield in danger’s hour, from rock and tempest, fire and foe, protect them where ever they go, and ever let there rise to thee glad hymns of praise from land and sea.”
The Scriptures today paint us a picture of the eternal Trinity, one God in three persons, all divine . Here is a question if you do not believe in the Trinity, which Person of the Godhead would you say is not necessary for the Christian life? Not even the Unitarians who deny the deity of Jesus would eliminate the Father’s divine nature. Or would you say the Holy Spirit is just a force and not divine? There have been many who say Jesus was a moral teacher and they leave it at that. But does a moral teacher save us from our sins? It would be difficult to think of the Christian life as existing at all apart from the divine nature of any of the persons of the God head.
Today’s Old Testament reading talks about the “ Spirit of God hovering over the waters” Genesis 1:2 (ESV). He undoubtedly was part of the Creator and had divine power. What else does the Spirit do? The Spirit inspires the Prophets , “ For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:21 He can teach all things. He is the source of all holiness, John 3:5. He is omnipresent and omniscient, I Corinthians 2:10, “ …these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything.”
Yet the early Christians had trouble with this . In fact our Nicene Creed and Apostles’ Creed were written to combat an early false teaching, that the Spirit was a created being, thus not being eternally divine. These were the Arians. The Nicene Creed added the phrase, “ I believe in the Holy Ghost…”
There are some today who do not wish to teach that Jesus is eternally divine. We know this to be true . If Jesus was not , then He could not take away our sins, at least not the sins of the whole world. The Unitarians taught God was one and that Jesus was not divine. This came from the early Gnostics, relying on their knowledge who believe that the Christ came on Jesus at His baptism for they taught Jesus was a mere man. In fact John the Apostle wrote his letter about this very problem, “ That which was from the very beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands…” 1:3 Well we applaud the Unitarians for holding there is but one God, but Christians believe in one God in three eternal persons. The Father is not the Son, the Holy Spirit not the Father etc….. We do not believe in polytheism, that is many gods. There is but one God , Mark 12:32.
Is Jesus eternal? Is this important? If Jesus is not , then He is not divine . Then we are redeemed by a man only and that is not enough. He is eternal, John 1:3, 8:58. He created the world, Hebrews 1:3, “ …in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he also created the world.”
I often laugh when I think of the film, “ Sister Act” that has that scene where she tries to teach a theology class about the Trinity. Yet it is a hard thing to teach. The things we use are helpful in creation, such as the shamrock, or water in its three forms. All the persons of the Trinity are divine, eternal and play a valuable essential part in our eternal salvation and rescue. Without any of them we would be lost .
Today’s opening prayer expresses the teaching of the Trinity so well it can hardly be improved upon. “ Almighty and everlasting God, who has given us unto us thy servants grace, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity…” Now that word grace is so crucial . We heard it in our Epistle reading from 2 Corinthians 13:14 “ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God , and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Grace is all we need for this life and the life to come. It is God’s love to us when we hardly would ever deserve it. It is unconditional love given to us who by nature were born in sin’s clutches. It is the grace that John Newton so aptly wrote about , “ Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound…I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.” JI Packer in his well know book, Knowing God tells in his chapter, “ the heart of the Gospel”:
“ By sin the New Testament means , not social error or failure in first instance, but rebellion against, defiance of , retreat from, and consequent guilt before God the creator, and sin says the NT is the basic evil from which we need deliverance, and from which Christ died to save us.”
In the Gospel we are go to others , “ and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 Three in One and One in Three and we are blessed eternally. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are needed to give us eternal life for now and forever. “ Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty ! our song shall rise to Thee: Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.” Reginald Heber, 1783-1826
“ CREATOR and REDEEMER God, Author of all existence, source of all blessedness, I adore Thee for making me capable of knowing thee…for making me desire Thee. …Keep me always longing for a present salvation in Holy Spirit comforts and rejoicings…May I cherish simplicity and godly sincerity of character. Help me to be in reality before Thee as in appearance I am before men, to be religious before I profess religion, to leave the world before I enter church, to set my affections on things above, to shun forbidden follies and vanities, to be a dispenser as well as a partaker of grace, to be prepared to bear evil as well as to do good. O God, make me worthy of this calling, that the name of Jesus may be glorified in me and I in him.” The Valley of Vision- , “ A Present Salvation.”
William Whiting wrote a hymn which was adopted by the Royal Navy as their own and eventually by ours too. In this hymn he wrote of the dangers of being a sailor and the power of the “ Eternal Father, strong to save…” William Whiting grew up around the sea and this hymn reflects that. The last verse of this hymn sums it up: “
O Trinity of love and power, our brethren shield in danger’s hour, from rock and tempest, fire and foe, protect them where ever they go, and ever let there rise to thee glad hymns of praise from land and sea.”
The Scriptures today paint us a picture of the eternal Trinity, one God in three persons, all divine . Here is a question if you do not believe in the Trinity, which Person of the Godhead would you say is not necessary for the Christian life? Not even the Unitarians who deny the deity of Jesus would eliminate the Father’s divine nature. Or would you say the Holy Spirit is just a force and not divine? There have been many who say Jesus was a moral teacher and they leave it at that. But does a moral teacher save us from our sins? It would be difficult to think of the Christian life as existing at all apart from the divine nature of any of the persons of the God head.
Today’s Old Testament reading talks about the “ Spirit of God hovering over the waters” Genesis 1:2 (ESV). He undoubtedly was part of the Creator and had divine power. What else does the Spirit do? The Spirit inspires the Prophets , “ For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:21 He can teach all things. He is the source of all holiness, John 3:5. He is omnipresent and omniscient, I Corinthians 2:10, “ …these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything.”
Yet the early Christians had trouble with this . In fact our Nicene Creed and Apostles’ Creed were written to combat an early false teaching, that the Spirit was a created being, thus not being eternally divine. These were the Arians. The Nicene Creed added the phrase, “ I believe in the Holy Ghost…”
There are some today who do not wish to teach that Jesus is eternally divine. We know this to be true . If Jesus was not , then He could not take away our sins, at least not the sins of the whole world. The Unitarians taught God was one and that Jesus was not divine. This came from the early Gnostics, relying on their knowledge who believe that the Christ came on Jesus at His baptism for they taught Jesus was a mere man. In fact John the Apostle wrote his letter about this very problem, “ That which was from the very beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands…” 1:3 Well we applaud the Unitarians for holding there is but one God, but Christians believe in one God in three eternal persons. The Father is not the Son, the Holy Spirit not the Father etc….. We do not believe in polytheism, that is many gods. There is but one God , Mark 12:32.
Is Jesus eternal? Is this important? If Jesus is not , then He is not divine . Then we are redeemed by a man only and that is not enough. He is eternal, John 1:3, 8:58. He created the world, Hebrews 1:3, “ …in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom he also created the world.”
I often laugh when I think of the film, “ Sister Act” that has that scene where she tries to teach a theology class about the Trinity. Yet it is a hard thing to teach. The things we use are helpful in creation, such as the shamrock, or water in its three forms. All the persons of the Trinity are divine, eternal and play a valuable essential part in our eternal salvation and rescue. Without any of them we would be lost .
Today’s opening prayer expresses the teaching of the Trinity so well it can hardly be improved upon. “ Almighty and everlasting God, who has given us unto us thy servants grace, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity…” Now that word grace is so crucial . We heard it in our Epistle reading from 2 Corinthians 13:14 “ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God , and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Grace is all we need for this life and the life to come. It is God’s love to us when we hardly would ever deserve it. It is unconditional love given to us who by nature were born in sin’s clutches. It is the grace that John Newton so aptly wrote about , “ Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound…I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.” JI Packer in his well know book, Knowing God tells in his chapter, “ the heart of the Gospel”:
“ By sin the New Testament means , not social error or failure in first instance, but rebellion against, defiance of , retreat from, and consequent guilt before God the creator, and sin says the NT is the basic evil from which we need deliverance, and from which Christ died to save us.”
In the Gospel we are go to others , “ and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 Three in One and One in Three and we are blessed eternally. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are needed to give us eternal life for now and forever. “ Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty ! our song shall rise to Thee: Holy, Holy, Holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.” Reginald Heber, 1783-1826
“ CREATOR and REDEEMER God, Author of all existence, source of all blessedness, I adore Thee for making me capable of knowing thee…for making me desire Thee. …Keep me always longing for a present salvation in Holy Spirit comforts and rejoicings…May I cherish simplicity and godly sincerity of character. Help me to be in reality before Thee as in appearance I am before men, to be religious before I profess religion, to leave the world before I enter church, to set my affections on things above, to shun forbidden follies and vanities, to be a dispenser as well as a partaker of grace, to be prepared to bear evil as well as to do good. O God, make me worthy of this calling, that the name of Jesus may be glorified in me and I in him.” The Valley of Vision- , “ A Present Salvation.”
Greetings David McMillan
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of the Trinity,
I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus
Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you to reconsider "The Trinity"
Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
I find this an excellent and meaningful commentary. It lifts my spirits to hear truth expressed, undefiled by the the world, with such clarity and vigor.
ReplyDelete