2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
For years we have concluded every Sunday morning service at our church with this benediction that the apostle Paul used to close his letter to the church at Corinth. The verse is both beautiful and powerful in that it alludes to the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and to a focus of each of them in our lives.
The Grace of the Lord Jesus. “By grace” is the opposite of “by self.” Grace happens any time we depend not on our self but on God. We couldn’t save ourselves, only Jesus could. And we can’t live the life he has for us in our own strength and ability—only by his grace. Grace is Jesus instead of me. Jesus for me, Jesus in me, and Jesus with me—all by his Spirit living in me. That’s why the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Grace, and he’s with you today to help you do everything you need to do.
The Love of God (the Father). You can rest assured that you will be cared for, provided for, and protected today, because your heavenly Father loves you with a love that is as high as the heavens are above the earth (Psalm 103:11). If you can think of how much the most perfect and loving earthly father loves his children, how much more than that does your heavenly father love you (Matthew 7:11).
The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word translated fellowship here, koinonia, means partnership, participation with, and companionship. The Holy Spirit has come to do life together with you, to be your life partner. He’s here to help you in so many ways. He will lead and guide you, assist you, and enable you. He will strengthen you. The original word for Spirit means breath or wind. He will be the wind in your sails when you feel stuck. He will be breath in your lungs when you are weary and exhausted.
Today’s focus: Even though it’s not easy to understand fully that God is a triune God, a Trinity, embrace today that God is three persons, that each person is God, and that there is one God. And think often today that all three are focused on you in their own way.
Prayer: Lord, may the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with me and around me and upon me today as I go out into the mission that is my life, making a difference in the world around me, and living the fullest life that you have for me, for your glory, in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen!