During our recent family trip, I got to know a lady who had many questions about the Christian faith. She came from a Catholic background but has since become a born-again Christian. Due to the nature of her work, she was unable to attend Sunday worship services regularly and there was this deep longing to know more about God. She was very delighted to know that I was a pastor. She shared that she had wanted to ask her pastor some burning questions but was unable to do so because her off days often clashed with the pastor’s schedule.
One afternoon, we sat down and talked about her many struggles and questions regarding the Christian faith. As a single mother of 5 who had to make ends meet, there were many times she doubted if God was real. At some point in her life, she toyed with the idea of exploring other faith as well because she felt she was in a dark place. Among other things, she found it hard to call Jesus as God and wondered about the concept of Trinity. She wondered what would happen to her if she walked away from faith. We spent that afternoon going through the story of Christmas, the many promises of God and what faith looks like in the face of uncertainty.
We ended our time by praying together and asking God to reveal Himself to her in ways that she could understand and comprehend. She eventually said she would not explore other faith but will continue to spend time meditating and reading God’s word. In our short yet meaningful conversations, we managed to touch upon the different roles the triune God works for our salvation every day in our lives.
As I reflected on our discussion, it was a blessing that we had many opportunities to talk about God, the nature of God and how he reveals himself to us through the trinity. Without God revealing himself to us, we will not be able to know him at all. Only because He reveals Himself to us, we are able to share the good news with others. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 10, “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.”
Yes, we share the gospel and pray that God’s spirit will open the eyes of the people to know Him more. But if God did not come to us and make it known to us, this would not have been possible. We have just celebrated Christmas season, retelling the story of God coming to us in the form of a helpless babe to save us. Thank God that His work did not end or stop when Jesus’ ministry on earth was done. He continues to reveal himself to us through Christ. God’s spirit continues to reveal His eternal truth to us. We can see how each member of the Trinity is at work every day.
One song that captures the Triune nature of God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit is All Praise to Him rewritten by Matt Merker and Bob Kauflin with original words by Horatius Bonar. The lyrics describe our triune God’s distinct roles in the life of every believer.
Verse 1 praises God the Father as creator who continues to reign over us in love. Verse 2 praises God the Son for leaving behind His throne to come as a servant, to die and rise again so that we might live. Verse 3 praises Him who imparts God’s truth in our hearts through the power of the Holy spirit. And the last 4 lines is our response to the work of the Triune God – our song praise of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
ALL PRASE TO HIM
All praise to Him, the God of light,
Who formed the mountains by His might.
All praise to Him who names the stars,
that sing His fame in skies afar.
All praise to Him who reigns in love,
Who guides the galaxies above,
yet bends to hear our every prayer,
with sovereign power and tender care.
All praise to Him Whose love is seen
in Christ the Son, the servant King,
Who left behind His glorious throne
to pay the ransom for His own.
All praise to Him Who humbly came
to bear our sorrow, sin, and shame,
Who lived to die, Who died to rise,
the all sufficient sacrifice.
All praise to Him whose power imparts
the love of God within our hearts.
The Spirit of all truth and peace,
the fount of joy and holiness.
To Father, Son, and Spirit now
our souls we lift, our wills we bow.
To You, the Triune God, we raise
with loving hearts our song of praise.
“All Praise to Him Who Built the Hills” by Horatius Bonar (1808-1889). Music and additional words: Matt Merker & Bob Kauflin © 2017 Sovereign Grace Praise
As we embark on a new year, may God help us to know our Triune God more and more everyday of our lives, to the praise and glory of our amazing God.
