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| (Pic from the Cover of God the Trinity) |
Who is God—the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit? Whom do we worship—the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirt? “To whom should we pray—the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit?”1 I know that these are questions that I have struggled with during my Christian walk. I must admit that lately I have struggled with whom should I pray. Jesus prayed to the Father,2 but had previously told the disciples, “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”3 And He said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.”4
I do not think that I am the only one who has struggled with this; in fact, much of Christianity through the ages has struggled with the doctrine of the Trinity, because the doctrine of the Trinity is transcendent. We believe that God is Triune, but many of us are practicing Unitarians. Do you not emphasize one person of the Trinity over the other? “Those who emphasize the Father are often from the Reformed tradition, while Pietists tend to relate especially to the Son, and Pentecostals and charismatics make much of the Spirit.”5
What is the most explicit Trinitarian text in the Bible? Matthew 28:16-20 is known as the Great Commission. This text “contains the command to baptize new disciples ‘in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’”6 Let us dig into this text of scripture in order to answer who is God, whom do we worship and to whom do we pray?
But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”7
When the disciples saw Jesus, they worshiped Him. The first commandment given to Israel, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.”8 The disciples worshipped Him, but Jesus did not stop them from worshipping Him. Demonstrating that the disciples and Jesus believed Him to be Divine.
Jesus then states that He has all authority in heaven and on earth. God is the sovereign of the universe; therefore, how could Jesus have authority over the universe unless He is God? So, the disciples worshiped Jesus as God, Jesus received their worship and then claimed to have authority that solely belongs to God.
Jesus then commissioned the disciples. He sent them out to make disciples of all the nations. He also commanded them to Baptize these new converts in the name. What name? He gave one name that has three connected persons: The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Three persons connected to gather yet one name.
The word Trinity is never found in the Bible, but it is here in context. “Matthew 28:19 contains the clearest reference to what became known as the Trinity...In this important text God is clearly named, singularly but completely, ‘the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”9 Who is God, whom should we worship and to whom should we pray? The answer, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; Three-in-One.
1 Millard H. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 293.
2 Cf. John 17.
3 The Holy Bible, Updated New American Standard Bible, (LabHabra: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), John 14:14.
4 Ibid, John 16:23b.
5 Millard H. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 293.
6 Malcom B. Yarnell, God the Trinity: Biblical Portraits, (Nashville: B&H Academic ebook, 2016), 466.
7 The Holy Bible, Updated New American Standard Bible, (La
Habra: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Matthew 28:16-20.
Habra: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Matthew 28:16-20.
8 Ibid, Deuteronomy 5:6-7.
9 Malcom B. Yarnell, God the Trinity: Biblical Portraits, (Nashville: B&H Academic ebook, 2016), 499-520.
