Tag: trinity

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1 Thessalonians Devotionals

Faith, hope, love

1 Thessalonians

No, the scripture reference is not a mistake. It is indeed 1 Thessalonians 1, not 1 Corinthians 13.

The truth is, faith, hope, and love are three things that Paul often links in his letters. 1 Corinthians 13 just happens to be the most famous of those references.

And here in this letter, we see it again.

We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:3)

We also see the Trinity in these three things.

The good news of Jesus comes to us, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, faith is born in our hearts. And so we serve the Father with joy.

The Father has set his love upon us, and chosen us. And it is that love we receive which motivates all we do for him.

And it is the hope of the resurrection, and the knowledge that Jesus will one day return that helps us endure whatever trials we may go through.

Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Faith, hope, love.

Are the faith, hope, and love you receive from Father, Son, and Holy Spirit the foundations of your life?

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Ephesians Devotionals

A God-centered salvation

Ephesians

One thing I have been doing the last couple of days as I have read Ephesians 1-2 is noting all the “him’s” and “his’es” that are there, and really thinking through, “Who is this talking about, the Father, the Son, the Spirit, or God in Trinity?”

Sometimes it’s a little hard to tell. For example, in chapter one, three times Paul uses the phrase “to the praise of his glorious grace” or “to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14).

In the first, it’s certainly talking about the Father.

In the second, it’s probably talking about the Father, but you could see how it could also be talking about the Son.

In the third, it’s talking about the Spirit’s work, with no apparent reference to the Father, but with a definite reference to the Son in verse 13.

But with verses 6 and 12 referring to the glory of the Father, it’s hard to say that Paul isn’t thinking about the Father’s glory here too.

All that said, I think it would be safe to say that our salvation is to the glory of God in Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And that I think is my main point for today. I really encourage you to take the time to highlight each reference to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (including the “his’es and “him’s) in these two chapters.

You’ll be stunned to see how they permeate Ephesians 1 and 2.

Read Paul’s words and think about how each person in the Trinity is involved in our salvation.

And when you do, I think you’ll start to appreciate the power of Ephesians 2:8-9 even more.

For you are saved by grace, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is God’s gift–not from works, so that no one can boast.

So as we meditate on these two chapters, let us praise God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for his glorious grace which he has granted to us.

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John John 16

The work of the Spirit

John

Who is the Holy Spirit? Even today, many Christians are confused as to who he is.

And that’s one thing to remember. The Holy Spirit is a “he,” not that he’s literally of the male gender—although God chooses to reveal him that way—but that he is a person.

Not a thing. Not a force. A person.

We see this clearly in the title that Jesus gives him. He calls him, “The Counselor.”

The word counselor here is very much like the title we give lawyers today. They are advocates for the ones that they represent. They give advice, they help, and they defend against those that would condemn them.

This is hardly something you could attribute to an impersonal force.

So let us make it clear in our minds: the Holy Spirit is a person.

When Satan tries to condemn us, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us along with Christ.

When we don’t even know how to pray, he prays for us (Romans 8:26–27, 34).

When we start to question God’s love for us, he reminds us we are God’s children (Romans 8:15–16, 1 John 3:24).

But Jesus tells us more. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts people in regards to sin, righteousness, and judgment.

So often, we think that we are the ones that have to change people’s hearts. But while we are responsible for scattering the seeds of the gospel and watering it, only the Spirit can make it grow. Only he can change the human heart.

He is the one who convicts people for rejecting Christ. (Notice here, by the way, that sin, more than simply doing “bad things,” is associated first and foremost with a rejection of Christ.)

With Christ’s visible example of righteousness gone from this earth, the Holy Spirit is the one who shows people what is right and points to Christ as the only way to salvation.

And it is the Holy Spirit who warns people of the coming judgment, not only for the prince of this world (Satan), but for all those who reject Christ.

One last thing that Jesus tells us about the Spirit is that he leads us into all truth. He takes the things that Jesus has said and shows us what they mean.

Words that we can’t understand when we first read them in the Bible, he will bring to mind and shine the light of understanding on when we need them.

The thing that you can’t help but notice in the last part of this passage is the interaction between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

All that the Father knows, Jesus knows. And all that Jesus knows, the Holy Spirit will reveal to us at the appropriate time. For all three are the one God, and they all work together in perfect concert.

What does this mean for us? When Jesus says that it was for our benefit that he departed, he meant it.

For through the Holy Spirit, God dwells in each one of us who believes in Jesus. He works in us to bring others to him. He intercedes for us and defends us. He teaches and guides us. And he comforts us.

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of your Spirit. That through Him, you are truly Immanuel, “God with us.”

Holy Spirit, lead us, guide us, teach us, and help us each day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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John John 14

Never alone

John

One thing my five‑year‑old daughter used to do quite often, and even does now from time to time, is crawl into my wife’s and my bed and snuggle in between us. When we ask why, she’ll say, “I was lonely.”

I think all of us can relate to that feeling sometimes. And the disciples themselves were feeling lonely when Jesus said he was going away.

But Jesus told them,

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.

The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.

Because I live, you also will live.

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.

He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him…

If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:16–21, 23)

Here we see the Trinity in all its fullness. And it tells us a very important truth: God is with us.

Jesus said he would send a counselor to us, God the Holy Spirit. And that the Holy Spirit would teach us and remind us of the things that Jesus said.

Then Jesus said that he himself would come to us and that he would be in us. That he would not abandon us as orphans.

Finally, he said that the Father himself would make his home in us.

The key? We walk in obedience to him. And that all comes down to what we talked about yesterday: trust. Do we trust God enough that we obey him?

That’s why Jesus said at the beginning of this chapter,

Trust in God; trust also in me. (John 14:1)

It is impossible to have a relationship with God if we refuse to trust him.

Closely related to that is love. Do we love God enough to want to please him? Do we love him enough to avoid the things that hurt him, and to do the things that bring a smile to his face?

If we love, trust, and obey him, then we’ll find that God is right there with us, through the good times and bad. And because of that, we can find peace.

Jesus told his disciples,

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

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John John 5

Who Jesus is

John

Who is this Jesus? That is the question that every single person who encountered him had to face.

It’s the question that people to this day must face in encountering Jesus.

The Jews came face to face with this question when Jesus told them,

My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working. (John 5:17)

That statement may seem innocuous to us, but to the Jews, it struck like a thunderbolt. Why?

Nobody in those days ever referred to God as “My Father.” As “Our Father,” perhaps, but not, “My Father.”

And by saying, “My Father,” Jesus essentially made a claim to deity. What was the logic behind that?

Well, think about it. Sons (and daughters) share the nature of their father.

If the father is human, his sons and daughters will be human. If the father is a cat, his sons and daughters will be cats. If the father is an ape, his sons and daughters will be apes.

And if God were to have a Son, that Son would also be God by nature.

Now we are not saying, of course, that God literally gave birth, or that he married and his wife gave birth. Jesus existed from all eternity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

But one thing is certain. They all share the nature of God. How that works, nobody can truly explain. But that’s how God has revealed himself.

So what? What does this mean for us?

It means that if Jesus is God, we can’t simply dismiss his words as the words of an ordinary man. Of a man who had his opinions, but we are free to disagree with.

Instead, we must hold to his words as truth. And obey them.

How about you? Who is Jesus to you?