Return to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in Our Daily Language
As believers born of God the Father in the Son Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, our language must be specific, not general.
We have transitioned from the general to the particular—I mean phrases like 'God' or 'Lord' without specification, to 'God the Father' or 'the Son Jesus Christ'. Is sufficing with 'God' in hymns, prayers, or sermons an evangelical apostolic term? I say with full conviction: No!
Paul the Apostle, when praying, specifies: 'I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ' (Eph 3:14). In praise: 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ' (Eph 1:3). Even in letter openings or closings: 'Grace and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ' (Rom 1:7).
My words are not about a mere term, but what lies behind it: Many believers still live in bondage, not tasting the prophecy given by grace. We still neglect the awareness of the Holy Spirit in us, who cries 'Abba Father' (Rom 8:15). This is what the revelation and the Nicene Creed teach: Trinitarian faith is not mere knowledge, but daily life in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
As believers born of God the Father in the Son Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, our language must be specific, not general.
We have transitioned from the general to the particular—I mean phrases like 'God' or 'Lord' without specification, to 'God the Father' or 'the Son Jesus Christ'. Is sufficing with 'God' in hymns, prayers, or sermons an evangelical apostolic term? I say with full conviction: No!
Paul the Apostle, when praying, specifies: 'I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ' (Eph 3:14). In praise: 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ' (Eph 1:3). Even in letter openings or closings: 'Grace and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ' (Rom 1:7).
My words are not about a mere term, but what lies behind it: Many believers still live in bondage, not tasting the prophecy given by grace. We still neglect the awareness of the Holy Spirit in us, who cries 'Abba Father' (Rom 8:15). This is what the revelation and the Nicene Creed teach: Trinitarian faith is not mere knowledge, but daily life in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
