"Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. ..... I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." - John 17:11-12, 20-21
I have addressed this issue before, but I think it bears repeating. Although people have not fully understood it - the existence of the triune Godhead is fact - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I will not presume that I have deciphered the mystery - by some Divine insight into the Trinity. I can only speak to what the Bible plainly reveals. And, to my understanding, the Bible speaks to distinctive roles for each member of the Trinity. We know that Jesus prayed to the Father and was faithful to the will of the Father. That the Father sent the Son to make a way for sinful man to be restored to the Father. (John 3:16) And we know that the Father sent the Spirit as a helper to the Saints.
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." - John 14:26
We know that Jesus is our high priest making intercession for us with the Father.
"Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." - Hebrews 4:14-15
We know that God the Father predestined us to adoption as his children by Jesus to Himself
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." - Ephesians 1:3-6
We know that God the Father has sealed us on the day of our salvation with the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of our eternal inheritance as the children of God.
"In Him [Jesus] also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him [the Father] who works all things according to the counsel of His [the Father's] will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His [the Father's] glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." - Ephesians 1:12-14
Lastly, we know that we are loved by the Father and called his children.
"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." - 1 John 3:1-2
I am certain you are aware that I am not a theologian. Not even close! Having said that, I very often hear people mixing up who it is they are praying to. I have heard it in nearly every church I have attended. One moment the person is praying to the Father, then the next to Jesus, and then, directly or indirectly, perhaps unintentionally, referring to Jesus as the Father. In a simple form but not limited to this example someone might say words like "we ask these things Father and in your name we pray." That is reference to Jesus command to ask in His name when we pray to the Father. So is that a big deal? Well, I think it speaks to a drifting away from teaching the fundamentals of the faith. The trinity is a mystery to be sure. When the Father is referred to as the Son or the Son as the Father, it always gets my attention. And if prayed in that way before a group of people, then it is teaching those people something that is not true. The fact is that although the Father and Jesus are one (John 17) and Jesus prays that we would be like they are, they are not one and the same. Else why would Jesus tell the disciples to pray like this.
[Jesus said] "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."- Matthew 6:8-13
I think about stuff like this. Although I will never argue about how many angels can stand on the head of a pin, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter.
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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