The Lord is One
September 10, 2021
For a few years decades ago, I prayed with a national prayer team for the harvest in Canada. I grew frustrated when they seemed to pray more for the church than the harvest. It took time for me to understand that it is God's eternal purpose that "through the church the manifold wisdom of God [be] made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 3:10-11).
What is the church? First and foremost, it is God's family. "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are" ( 1 John 3:1a). God won Himself a family by sending His Son to reconcile us to the Father, and keeps His family by sending His Spirit as a seal to guarantee our familial inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14).
We are made in God's image to have dominion on earth (Genesis 1:27-28). How does God's family express His image on earth? One way is through being one, just as Father, Son and Spirit are One. Like any good father, God expects His children to work out their differences and love one another as He loves them. That love and unity - or better, oneness - displays the nature of the Godhead, three Persons who are One (John 17:20-23).
Could it be that the reason the Muslim world doesn't understand the Trinity, and insists that Allah is unitary, is because God's imagers on earth are divided and contentious, never more so than now? Could it be that we have been weak in penetrating Islam because we have not created that place where Yahweh commands the blessing of eternal life?
"How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on...the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore."
(Psalm 133)
Let's pray for the Church to display God's manifold wisdom to the Muslim world.
Lord Jesus, You showed us the way to put others first, forgive many times over and love sacrificially. Forgive us for when we have caused disunity and division; we repent for the times we have failed to forgive, spoken ill of other believers and pushed our own agendas.
May our love for one another reflect the love within the Godhead among Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Lord Jesus, may our lives radiantly display who You are to Muslims!
We pray Christian ministries to Muslims will work side by side as Your end time army with no jostling for position, but supporting and complementing one another's work and mission (Joel 2:7-8).
We worship You! Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!
BONUS: Bible verses where all three Persons of the Trinity are mentioned together:
Genesis 1:1-3 (where Jesus is the Word spoken by the Father)
Isaiah 48:16, 61:1
Matthew 12:18, 28:19
John 3:34, 15:26, 16:15
Acts 1:4-5, 2:33, 5:31-32
Romans 8:9
1 Corinthians 12:3
2 Corinthians 13:14
Galatians 4:6
1 Thessalonians 3:13
1 Timothy 3:16
Hebrews 9:14