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Pastor's Blog November 21, 2019
"Holiness and the Trinity"#
{Scroll over scripture reference to read the scripture or reference.
For our worship reflections, we have now come to our final text on holiness for this year. We will finish out the year with a few reflections on the incarnation, but this is the final biblical passage for 2019 that examines the concept of holiness - and it is powerful!
In 1 Peter 1:2, it states, "According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure " (NASB). I know this verse doesn't contain the word "holiness," but it's actually present in the passage; no matter which English Bible translation you consult, they all translate the word "holiness" as "sanctify" in 1 Peter 1:2 (these two words are synonyms for each other).
But that's not the exciting element of this verse. Do you notice how Trinitarian 1 Peter 1:2 is? Peter mentions "the sanctifying work of the Spirit," but he also talks about "the foreknowledge of God the Father" and being "sprinkled with his [Jesus Christ's] blood." All three work together for our good!
Peter is writing to Christians dispersed throughout Asia Minor (v. 1), which is present-day Turkey. But the apostle is doing so to remind them of the source of the grace and peace they currently experience (v. 2): the one God who is Father, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. According to Peter, we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit (literally, "in/by the Spirit's holiness") as God's chosen people BECAUSE of the foreknowledge of the Father; and we are further sprinkled with the blood of Jesus so that we can obey him as God's chosen people BECAUSE of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Each member of the Triune God performs an activity that builds off of the other two. This is an amazing and fantastically gracious gift on the part of God!
As we worship God today, let us pay special attention to how the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit work together in grace and love to make us their very own people. By taking note of this reality, our worship will be informed and we will have even more reasons to praise and thank the Lord
God Bless.
Pastor Nathaniel Gamble
