Grace of the Triune God

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:11-14 ESV).

 

The Scripture emphatically and unambiguously declares that there is only one God (cf. Isaiah 44:8; Isaiah 45:18; Deuteronomy 6:4; Malachi 2:10, James 2:19; Mark 12:29 ). Because of this fact, taking all the Scriptures into account, orthodox Christian theology has always affirmed that the one true God is triune in nature: three co-equal and co-eternal persons in the Godhead. The subtle denial of redemption completely and solely by grace also greatly damages our belief in the Triune God. This belief is unimaginably significant.

 

We hear the word synergy a lot today. It means “the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.” Whether we like the word or not, it captures an essential truth about salvation. For salvation comes to us through the grace of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Paul reveals the interconnected work of the Trinity in his closing blessing at the end of our reading today. This blessing, often spoken by ministers at the close of worship services, clearly describes Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working together with grace, love, and fellowship in perfect harmony, carrying out their perfect plan of salvation.

 

The Father graciously conceives and initiates the plan of salvation and brings it to completion. Jesus, the Son, in perfect unity with the Father, provides salvation for us and gives us his righteousness to live by. The Holy Spirit, also in perfect unity with the Father and the Son, works in our hearts to receive God’s grace with faith, sealing the promise of our salvation in Christ. From start to finish, through the perfect working of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we see that salvation is by grace alone initiated, sustained, and completed in “God.” Any deviation from this causes the belief that somehow we are becoming “gods” in the process of salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth of Scripture; and, nothing could be more destructive than such a belief. We are adopted children of God, but never becoming God. That knowledge is the best means of securing our humility and repentance through our sanctification.