40 Days of GRACE - 38
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of GRACE
Day 38 | GRACE, LOVE, COMMUNION, AND THE TRINITY
40 Days of GRACE
Day 38 | GRACE, LOVE, COMMUNION, AND THE TRINITY
GRACE, LOVE, COMMUNION, AND THE TRINITY
2 Corinthians 13:14
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
This verse, the last thing Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, is one of my favorite benedictions to use as I pastor my church. It is short, includes a blessing of GRACE, AND uplifts the Trinity: God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit or, if you prefer, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
The Trinity is a challenging concept for most Christians… especially those relatively new to the faith. From Genesis to Revelation, the Entire Bible teaches the Trinity, yet Paul, in his letters to the messed-up church at Corinth, teaches and helps them escape their mess. Part of that solution is his comprehensive blessing containing the names/titles of all three facets of our ONE God.
Deuteronomy 6:4 (called the Shema by Jews) says: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
Christians believe that is true, but Scripture also teaches us that God has three different personalities or facets.
So, in Paul’s desire to bless his Christian friends in Corinth, he provides what I would call a “full-on-blessing.”
Paul blesses the church at Corinth – and indeed us today, too – by uniquely including EACH member of the Trinity: GRACE from the Lord Jesus Christ, LOVE from God the Father, and COMMUNION from the Holy Spirit.
(By the way, this is the ONLY place in the New Testament where the Father, Son, and Spirit are mentioned together in this kind of blessing.)
I consider this Paul’s attempt to teach and bless the church with something extra as he didn’t know if he’d ever see them or communicate with them again.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, that blessing is for YOU today, too!
As I said, it’s one of my favorite benedictions to use in church at the close of the service. Listen again and consider that this prayer of blessing is being said to YOU.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen.”
2 Corinthians 13:14
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
This verse, the last thing Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, is one of my favorite benedictions to use as I pastor my church. It is short, includes a blessing of GRACE, AND uplifts the Trinity: God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit or, if you prefer, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
The Trinity is a challenging concept for most Christians… especially those relatively new to the faith. From Genesis to Revelation, the Entire Bible teaches the Trinity, yet Paul, in his letters to the messed-up church at Corinth, teaches and helps them escape their mess. Part of that solution is his comprehensive blessing containing the names/titles of all three facets of our ONE God.
Deuteronomy 6:4 (called the Shema by Jews) says: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
Christians believe that is true, but Scripture also teaches us that God has three different personalities or facets.
So, in Paul’s desire to bless his Christian friends in Corinth, he provides what I would call a “full-on-blessing.”
Paul blesses the church at Corinth – and indeed us today, too – by uniquely including EACH member of the Trinity: GRACE from the Lord Jesus Christ, LOVE from God the Father, and COMMUNION from the Holy Spirit.
(By the way, this is the ONLY place in the New Testament where the Father, Son, and Spirit are mentioned together in this kind of blessing.)
I consider this Paul’s attempt to teach and bless the church with something extra as he didn’t know if he’d ever see them or communicate with them again.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, that blessing is for YOU today, too!
As I said, it’s one of my favorite benedictions to use in church at the close of the service. Listen again and consider that this prayer of blessing is being said to YOU.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen.”
Posted in GRACE