Worship

Trinity Sunday (Year A)                             May 31, 2026
2 Corinthians 13:11-14                                Pastor Wolfe

Triple Blessings from our Triune God

The trinity is a concept that gets more difficult to understand the more you think about and the more you try to figure out the details. “Triune” is just a made-up word to express what the Bible teaches about God. That he is one God but three persons. Each person fully God in himself, but not three different Gods. And also not three parts of God or three masks of one God. Over the centuries people have tried to come up with pictures to describe the Trinity. The triangle is one shape with three sides. But each side isn’t a triangle itself. Doesn’t work.

Any object that we might use to explain the trinity falls short too. You saw the apple in the children’s sermon, with its core and flesh and skin. But God isn’t three smaller parts. Each part is God on its own. That’s the problem with the pretzel, the shamrock, or even the egg, made of shell, white, and yolk. My favorite comparison is water. Water can be liquid, or frozen as ice, or heated to be steam. Yet all three are water, H2O. But even that picture falls short because unlike H2O, God is all three persons at once. Our triune God is beyond explanation. It’s just a concept that we can’t understand with our human limitations. No wonder the Athanasian Creed got so long when they tried to define it!

But just because we can’t understand God’s nature doesn’t mean we can’t understand God. As Paul was bringing his second letter to the Corinthians to a close he found a perfect way to describe the Trinity. Not by who God is, but by what God does. I use it to end virtually every Bible study and meeting at Salem We call it the Apostolic blessing because the Apostle Paul wrote it. ”May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” This triple blessing from our Triune God is a perfect place to start our sermon series on truths of God that we speak loudly and boldly. Even if we don’t fully understand it.

The first part of the blessing: “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Most of the time, I think of grace as something in the realm of the Father, but here Paul links it with the Son, Jesus Christ. I teach in classes that grace is God’s “undeserved love.” That’s a good simple description, but there’s really more to it. In Scripture grace is most often contrasted with works. In other words, grace is what God does as opposed to what we do. The Bible makes it clear why we need grace instead of works. King David lamented in Psalm 51 a thousand years before Jesus’ birth, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” The sin of our parents is passed down to us, from generation to generation. Spiritually, we are what our parents are. And of course, sin received soon becomes sin we show in our lives. I love my children, but I knew from early on in their lives that they were sinful. I don’t think they were out of the crib before they learned to selfishly want the toys the other kids had. Or to speak the word that every parent of a toddler dreads – “Mine!”

We may laugh a little, but sin is no laughing matter. Sin makes our works worthless in God’s sight. Isaiah 64 tells us, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Our sin takes any good work we might try to do and makes it filthy in God’s eyes. I remember coming back to my house years ago after helping a rancher with branding. I got dirty. And not a little bit. And when I got home I asked my kids who wanted a hug. No takers! I was sincere. I wanted to give them something they normally love. But because I was filthy, it wasn’t going to happen. That’s what sin does to our relationship with our heavenly Father.

But “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” changes everything. In Ephesians 2, Paul says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast.” We couldn’t save ourselves by works, so God did it by grace. Grace that caused Jesus to become fully human and be born as one of us. Grace that caused him to live obediently to his Father’s will. Grace that caused Jesus to purchase our forgiveness with his precious blood. Grace that caused him to die on a cross to remove sin’s guilt from us. Yes, Jesus is grace. That’s why the blessing starts with him. Everything he did means everything to us. The grace of Jesus IS the grace of God.

But in this Trinity we can’t separate the grace of the Son from the love of the Father. Perhaps that’s why Paul didn’t name the Father in the second part of his blessing. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God…” Jesus clearly taught that he and the Father are one, so should it surprise us that their love for sinners is indistinguishable too? After all, it was the Father’s plan of love that put Jesus’ grace into action. The Father’s love that promised a Savior to Adam and Eve in the Garden. His love that guided and protected his people Israel in the Old Testament. It was the Father’s love that made the time and situation right for Jesus to come and do his work. The Father’s love that sent Jesus to save the world from sin. His love that brought you to faith that trusts his promises.

Perhaps we skip over this part of the blessing too quickly. After all, we hear of the love of God all the time. But remember what God’s attitude should be toward us because of our sin. Even as we run away from him he pursues us in love. The Father’s love is here in this place, yes. But it also goes with us when we leave. When we leave our homes to start a new career or a married life. When we leave our safety to defend our nation, preach his Word, help those in need. The love of God goes with you into the hospital, the funeral home, the courtroom. And as the best chapter in Scripture (Romans 8) tells us, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This blessing from the Father matters in heaven and on earth.

Of the triple blessings from our triune God, I bet it was the last that Paul most wanted the Corinthians to hear. The Corinthian church was divided. Some thought of Paul as their favorite preacher while others preferred Apollos. Some didn’t think too much of either of them and claimed to follow just Jesus. Then when they gathered for worship they each insisted on their own way. When they gathered for meals some overate and overdrank while others went completely hungry.

In this part of the blessing we see another gift from our Triune God – unity. We have “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” Fellowship means to be a fellow with someone – to be united with them. To have something in common. Have you ever thought about what a gift it is to have fellowship with the Holy Spirit? Not just men, but God! The sinless God dwelling in sinful people. Our fellowship with the Spirit means that we are never separated from God. We never have to be afraid that he doesn’t know what’s going on in our lives or that he doesn’t hear our prayers. God is always with us, always guiding us.

And that fellowship with the Spirit empowers us to do the things of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” These are the things the Spirit connects us to. And it’s that unity with God that now allows us to do what Paul urged the Corinthians to do here. “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.” A couple weeks ago one of my personal devotions asked a question I’ve been thinking about ever since: ”Where does the church go after worship?” Now, the building just sits here, mostly empty. That’s not the church. The organ is silent, the pulpit is vacant, even the altar gathers dust. So where does the church go? It goes with you! As the Spirit makes his home in you as his temple. As you live in fellowship with the Spirit you go out with God to do the work he calls us to do.

Starting this fall, the next year at Salem is going to be a year of discipleship. While we’ll still worship and reach out to others to share our faith, our specific focus will be on this fellowship with God. Growing in our relationship with him through the Word and growing in our fellowship and service to him with our time and blessings. I know we’re still months away from that focus, but this triple statement of blessing is where it all begins. We have a place with God – a purpose with God – because of this triple blessing. A Savior who showed us grace. A Father who gave us love. And a Spirit who always remains with us in love and power.

These are truths of God that are worth saying out loud. Blessings from God that change souls and renew hopes. I pray that the next time you hear this triple blessing, you remember God’s gifts and cherish his promises. Grace. Love. Fellowship. These are yours. Let’s say them out loud. For real, together. Verse 14. “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Amen.