How Does Trinitarian Theology Shape Christian Worship?
“O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit?” -Charles Spurgeon
The doctrine of the Trinity developed over four hundred years. Heretical teachings regarding the Trinity surface still today and must be discredited. Although the word Trinity is not in the Bible, the doctrine of the Trinity is taught in Scripture. The Trinity is “Almighty God’s eternal existence in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Morgan and Peterson). Christianity is monotheistic, so Christians worship one God. The Shema says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deut. 6:14 ESV). This blog considers the trinitarian aspect of the distinctiveness of each person of the Trinity and how that truth shapes Christian corporate worship.
We do not worship three gods but one God (monotheism) in three distinct persons. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share the same divine essence yet function distinctly and simultaneously. Since salvation is humanity’s greatest need, I offer a soteriological example for the Trinity’s divine persons’ distinct function. Salvation is trinitarian since the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work in particular ways to accomplish it. The Father planned salvation (Eph. 1:4, John 3:16), the Son accomplished salvation through his sinless life, death, and resurrection (John 19:30), and the Holy Spirit applies salvation by regenerating (Titus 3:5) and sealing believers (Eph. 4:30). “Without the gracious purpose of the Father, there is no salvation. Without the satisfactory work of the Son, there is no salvation. Without the faithful agency of the Spirit, there is no salvation” (Garner). Do dangers exist in being careless in how we deal with the Trinity in worship?
Church leaders must be conscientious when dealing with the persons of the Trinity in worship services. For example, modalism is the heretical teaching which claims that “God is one person who reveals himself in three modes” (Pitts 05.02). We unintentionally teach modalism when we refer to a generic God and neglect teaching the Trinity’s distinct persons. Failure to worship the Son and Spirit places a church in a dangerous position of straying into unitarianism, the false belief that God is one entity and not three persons. Unitarianism rejects the Trinity. A modern song that avoids this trap is “Our God Saves” (Benton Brown/Paul Baloche). The lyrics speak of one God who saves while recognizing we gather in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Leaders who correctly acknowledge the distinctiveness of the persons yet fail to connect that they share the essence of one God are in danger of teaching tritheism. Tritheism believes that the three persons of the Trinity are not three distinct persons but are three separate gods. So how should Christians rightly worship in light of knowing each person of the Trinity is distinct? Let us explore the following worship elements: prayer, congregational songs, and other teaching times.
We teach the distinct persons of the Trinity when we pray. Jesus began with “Our Father in heaven” in the Model Prayer (Matthew 6:9). Paul wrote, “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph 2:18). Therefore, we pray “to the Father, by the Spirit, in the name of the Son” (Pitts 05.04). We can also praise the three persons in our prayers. We can thank God for adopting us and for being in control of all things. We can praise Jesus for paying our debt on the cross. We can honor the Holy Spirit for illuminating Scripture, empowering our ministry, developing spiritual fruit in believers, and sealing our eternal destiny. Additionally, trinitarian theology can be reinforced through singing.
Congregational singing is a powerful tool to teach trinitarian doctrine. We can open a service with a hymn that praises the Father for his creation. Appropriate hymns include: “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” (Isaac Watts), “How Great Thou Art” (Carl Boberg/Stuart K. Hine), and “Creation Hymn” (Matt Boswell). Unsurprisingly, Christian worship is replete with songs that glorify the Son. A recent conversation with several fellow worship pastors revealed a need for songs that correctly teach the Holy Spirit. The group’s consensus is that we need to encourage songwriters to compose pieces that deal with the third Person of the Trinity. Examples of songs that praise all three persons include: “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Dykes/Heber), “The Doxology” (Bourgeois), “All Creatures of Our God and King” (St. Francis of Assisi/Draper/arr. Baird), “How Great Is Our God” (Tomlin), and “King of Kings” (Hillsong). The church is not limited to the elements of prayer and congregational singing for teaching trinitarian doctrine and worshiping the Trinity.
We teach trinitarian theology when we say, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19 ESV) in the ordinance of baptism. We can experience the trinitarian shape of the Apostle’s Creed and Nicene Creed when we recite them. Sermons can cover Scripture passages that address the Trinity. An appropriate selection is the baptism of Jesus (Matt. 3:16–17) when Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are involved in the same scene. Another good passage is when Jesus promises the coming Holy Spirit (John 14:15–31). Greetings and benedictions are also good opportunities to reinforce trinitarian doctrine. Leaders can create their own or use 2 Cor. 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” (ESV).
Throughout the centuries, theologians devoted their lives to developing, teaching, and defending trinitarian orthodoxy while exposing and condemning heretical teaching. Church leaders must not assume that people have a correct understanding of the Trinity today. Utilizing the elements of prayer, congregational singing, baptism, creeds, Scripture readings, greetings, and benedictions is a way of worshiping the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and maintaining sound teaching of trinitarian theology through Christian corporate worship.
(Music video links to songs referenced in this blog are included below the bibliography.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Christopher W. Morgan, and Robert A. Peterson. A Concise Dictionary of Theological Terms. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2020.
English Standard Version Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008.
Garner, David. “The Gospel Coalition.” The Holy Spirit: Agent of Salvation (blog), n.d. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-holy-spirit-agent-of-salvation/.
Pitts, Matthew G. “05.02 The Trinity In Scripture.” California Baptist University, February 1, 2021.
———. “05.04 The Trinity In Worship.” February 1, 2021.
