This logo is meant to represent the power of the Trinity
The Father (through the Star of David), working with Son (the cross), in cooperation with the Holy Spirit),
to reconcile all humanity to a unified and harmonious state
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
The Power of the Trinity
We’ve spent the last three blogs examining why the church has declined, what happened, and what we (as a church body) can do to revive it. The message has been simple: WORK TOGETHER AS A BODY! Don’t allow anyone in the body to be viewed as more important than anyone else! Jesus used the analogy of a body so we would understand that all members are important and all members must work together if the body is to survive and accomplish its mission. Today, I want to make one final point: This principle of unity is modeled by God in the very concept of the Trinity.
If someone asks me, “Do you worship one God or many?” My reply would be, “I worship the one and only true God of the universe. The God who made everything that exists everywhere. The God who is so powerful and complex that He chose to reveal Himself ((this should not be taken to imply that God is only male. His gender is both male and female as both male and female were created in His image.)) in three forms, Father, Son and Holy Spirit — the Trinity.” God did this so we might get a better grasp on just how extraordinarily complex He is. Many have tried to understand and explain the Trinity, but God is too much for any of us to fully comprehend. It is merely a construct God has given us to acquire even the smallest concept of who God is and what God is like. I’m sure there is a reason why two of the members of the Godhead (the Trinity) have male images, but that explanation is for another time (assuming I even have the knowledge to explain it). I think one of the best examples of how the Trinity works together is found in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (ESV):
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
Note that it is the Spirit who is associated with the gifts we’ve been talking about; it is Jesus (the Lord) who helps us manifest those gifts into service; and it is God, the Father, who empowers us in performing our specific acts of service.
Today, I just want to provide two examples of how God has shown that there is power in working together, and that power is never greater than when the Trinity is doing the work!
The Power in the Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer is significant because it came as a direct result of the disciples asking Jesus how they should pray. Since Jesus gave it to us, this prayer has become a model for Christians all over the world on how to pray. But, have you ever thought about WHO the prayer is directed to? When looked at closely, I believe Jesus constructed a prayer that was designed to bring together the full power of the Trinity in a single prayer. Take a look (Note: the words appearing in Bold Orange refer back to the roles I showed in my previous blog on how the Godhead works in the church):
The Power of the Crucifixion
When we look at the story of Jesus voluntarily going to the cross to save all our sins, most of the attention is on what Jesus did. And rightfully so. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. But Jesus made it clear that nothing He did was ever done 100% on His own. Read what the Apostle John wrote:
19 But Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing alone. The Son does only what he sees the Father doing, because the Son does whatever the Father does.” John 5:19 NCV [Red letter version]
The crucifixion was a complex orchestration of the power of the Trinity acting together. Yes, it was led by Jesus, but it was facilitated by God the Father and the Holy Spirit, working in concert with Jesus as the full Godhead (the Trinity). This is not said to take anything away from Jesus. His sacrifice was offered up freely by His own will as a human being sent to earth to free us all from sin. But, if Jesus had acted on His own — outside the will of the Father — the result would not have been the glorious miracle we call Easter. The miracle of the cross was the result of the greatest team effort ever made — all three parts of the Godhead working together to defeat Satan, wipe away all sin, and conquer death — once and for all!
Closing Thoughts
After reading the last four blogs, you might think me optimistic (at best), and unrealistic (at worst) in my expectations of the church. I might tend to agree if it were not for two things I know about God:
- God likes to give His people high goals to strive for. He asked His Chosen People, the Jews, to “be holy because I am holy.” That was not a reachable goal, but it helped the Jews to see their vulnerabilities, even if they were powerless to overcome them. For the church, it is a different story. Each individual member of the church is indwelt with the Holy Spirit, yet they are still vulnerable to sin. The calling of the church is to “preach the gospel.” We don’t have to be perfect to do that, but it wouldn’t hurt.
- In all things, God uses our weaknesses to demonstrate His power (often in and through us). What I have outlined as God’s calling to and purpose for the church is not impossible, but it is hard. And, for the first few years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, after He sent the Holy Spirit during Pentecost, the church flourished and came as close to the model I’ve presented as any church ever has. And look what they accomplished!!! The early church changed the world, creating a movement that has continued despite all its failures over the centuries. In the book of Acts, the Apostle Luke wrote:
43 The apostles were doing many miracles and signs, and everyone felt great respect for God. 44 All the believers were together and shared everything. 45 They would sell their land and the things they owned and then divide the money and give it to anyone who needed it. 46 The believers met together in the Temple every day. They ate together in their homes, happy to share their food with joyful hearts. 47 They praised God and were liked by all the people. Every day, the Lord added those who were being saved to the group of believers. Acts 1: 43-47 NCV
Does that sound like a church in harmony, where no one sees themselves as greater or better than another? But when the church ran into its first obstacle, a deep division arose. When the Jews claimed that all Gentile converts would have to live by Jewish laws, the Jews and the Gentiles separated. Ultimately, this division drove the Jews away from following Jesus. ((This may have been the “official” reason, but the real reason was — God blinded the Jews to seeing who Jesus really was — the Messiah. This was done so Christianity could reach all the people of the earth.)) What the Jews failed to recognize was that the new church (under Jesus) is no longer bound to the Law of Moses; it is bound to Jesus, the Christ. And Jesus will always use the Holy Spirit residing within His people to accomplish His purpose.
God gave the Jews an impossible mission, but He gave us Christians one that is possible if we just turn to Jesus and call on the Holy Spirit within each one of us. When we look to anyone else to “tickle our fancy” and lead us with teachings that depend on anyone other than Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we descend into a pit of darkness. We need to listen to the words God gave Joshua as he took on the mantle of leading God’s People into the Holy Land: “Be strong and courageous.” Remember, as God’s church, we are the enemy of God’s enemy, Satan. He does not want us to honor God, but to destroy, embarrass, hurt, and mock Him. In many ways, that is precisely what has happened in today’s church. The people have given up on the church. The church has been weakened. Satan has accomplished at least part of his goal. But our secret super-power is: “God is within us.” God’s people (the Church), no matter how scattered or weakened, still have the Holy Spirit of God within them. And God will never be defeated! In the End Times, God will pour out His mighty spirit upon the souls of those still living and following Jesus, and there will be a mighty resurgence of God’s church! Why wait?! You now have the model. Don’t let the lies of Satan and the world dissuade you from aiming for what is possible — a church empowered by God where “everyone (feels) great respect for God” and works together in unity to achieve His will! May it be so!!
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