Worship Devotional CXXVI

Jun 11

Originally posted to the Facebook group on 6/11/2022.

One Faith To Unite Us — The Image Of The Triune God

Worship Devotional for 6/12/22

~ Trinity Sunday ~

This Sunday we gather together on a Christian holiday that is unique in that it celebrates a doctrine rather than a historical event. Trinity Sunday is observed on the first Sunday after Pentecost. We remember with great joy and gratitude how God has revealed Himself to exist in three distinct Persons, yet as one God. This mystery is shown throughout Scripture, and we use the word "Trinity" to refer to it. The triune nature of God is integral to our faith, to understanding and knowing Him for who He is, and to understanding who we are and our purpose here in this world. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each have a distinct role in the work of God in all of creation. Each was present at creation's birth and each has been at work throughout all of history since and is still at work today. Each is eternal, having no beginning and no end. They exist together as one God, dwelling and working together in perfect unity. As those who have come to know God, we have been reconciled to the Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we have come to believe this great mystery, though we may not fully comprehend it. We can see that God is Three in One even from the very beginning in Genesis 1:26-27, when God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them, including us:

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.'
So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female."

We were all made in His image, as one species, yet in two distinct forms — male and female. We were made to reflect the glory of God to the rest of creation. We were made to dwell together in unity, as many distinct individuals and cultures, yet as one people. This is who we are as believers in Christ and what we are called to as His church. When Jesus prayed for us in John 17 as those who would believe in Him through His disciples' message, He prayed that we would be one just as He is one with the Father. Jesus prayed over His disciples in John 17:11b:

"Holy Father, protect them by Your name that You have given Me, so that they may be one as We are one."

And He prayed again for the rest of us in verses 21-23:

"May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us so the world may believe You sent Me. I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one. I am in them and You are in Me. May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me."

As we celebrate Trinity Sunday, let's be resolved to seek to know God more, that we might make Him known to everyone we encounter as we go through each day of our lives on this earth. And let's resolve to love each other even as the Father loves the Son and the Son the Father, that we may share in the very fellowship and joy of the God we worship. He is holy, and He is worthy of all our praise. May He be honored and exalted in our lives in everything we say and do.

Galatians 4:1-6:

"Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope at your calling — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all."

Songs: