Welcome to Yours in Christ, Pastoral Letters from Resurrection in State College, Pennsylvania. I’m Pastor Zach Simmons, and this is letter number 24, “Communion with the Triune God.” For more, visit resurrectionopc.org/letters.

Dear Resurrection,

Ephesians 2:18 says that “through him [Christ] we . . . have access in one Spirit to the Father.” Do you see all three persons of the Trinity in that verse? The Gospel-good-news says that we have access to God the Father—that He is our Father; we were His enemies, but now we are His children. It tells us also that it was Christ, the Son of God who made the difference—that Christ died to give us that access to the Father. And how we do we experience that grace of Christ and that love of the Father? Ephesians 2:18 says it happens “in one Spirit”—the Holy Spirit.

Do you see? Knowing God means knowing the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Having communion (fellowship, relationship) with God means having communion (fellowship, relationship) with that triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is what we’ve been reflecting on for the past three weeks using John Owen’s Communion with God: Fellowship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Owen concludes near the end of the book, “All the consolations of the Holy Ghost consist in his acquainting us with, and communicating to us, the love of the Father and the grace of the Son; … we have our communion with the Father in his love, and the Son in his grace, by the operation of the Holy Ghost.”

As we conclude this month’s series, then, I want to ask you:

Is that the way you pray? Is that the way you worship? Is that the way you live?

Grace-Based Action Point

I want to encourage you in your personal communion with God to pray thoughtfully aware of the love, grace, and comfort of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Remember that God the Father loves you, and love that He loves you. He has given Himself in love to you; give yourself in love to Him. Remember that God the Son delights in you; delight in Him. Remember that the Father and the Son have sent the Spirit to help you in your prayers and to make the Gospel promises come alive to you in your present experience. Ask for His help; expect His presence; grab hold of the promises He brings to your attention.

I also want to encourage you to think about this month’s letters when we worship together. On Sundays, make it a special point to listen for the names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the worship services. How does our worship reflect that “through him [Christ] we . . . have access in one Spirit to the Father”? Listen for Trinitarian words and phrases in the prayers, in the hymns, in the sermon, and in the sacraments. God-centered worship means worship centered on the triune God of the Bible.

Finally, learn to live in the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, increasingly aware in your daily choices and disposition that this Triune God is your God. Live as a beloved child of God the Father, as one delighted and delighted in by God the Son, as one indwelt and comforted and helped by God the Spirit.

Through Christ you have access in one Spirit to the Father. That’s the Christian life.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Simmons

P.S. All quotations are from this edition of Communion with God.