For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able…to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
—Ephesians 3:14, 16-21
The text from Ephesians presents the truth of the Holy Trinity in relation to practical life. Many Christians understand that it is necessary in the Christian life to give special attention to the three persons of the blessed Trinity. They often feel it difficult to combine the various truths into one and to know how to worship the Three in one. Our text reveals this wonderful relationship and the perfect unity.
We have the Spirit within us as the power of God, and yet He does not work according to our wills or His own. It is the Father who grants us to be strengthened “by his Spirit in the inner man.” It is the Father who does “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” The Spirit within us makes us more dependent on the Father. The Spirit can only work as the Father works through Him. We need to combine trusting awareness of the Holy Spirit indwelling us with a dependent waiting on the Father to work through Him.
As you study and compare these passages, notice especially how practical this truth of the Holy Trinity is. Scripture teaches us little about its mystery in the divine nature, but refers only to God’s work in us and our faith and experience of His salvation.
True faith in the Trinity will make us strong, alert Christians. The divine Spirit will make Himself one with our inner beings. The blessed Son will dwell in us, as the way to perfect fellowship with God. The Father, through the Spirit and the Son, will work His purpose so that we are filled with all the fullness of God.
Let us bow our knees to the Father! Then the mystery of the Trinity will be known and experienced.