A prayer to the Trinity

Here is a wonderful expression of heartfelt Trinitarian piety,

Three in one, one in three, God of my salvation,
Heavenly Father, blessed Son, eternal Spirit,
I adore three as one Being, one Essence,
one God in three distinct Persons,
for bringing sinners to thy knowledge and to thy kingdom.
O Father, thou hast loved me and sent Jesus to redeem me;
O Jesus, thou hast loved me and assumed my nature,
shed thine own blood to wash away my sins,
wrought righteousness to cover my unworthiness;
O Holy Spirit, thou hast loved me and entered my heart,
implanted there eternal life,
revealed to me the glories of Jesus.
Three Persons and one God, I bless and praise thee,
for love so unmerited, so unspeakable, so wondrous,
so mighty to save the lost and raise them to glory.

From The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions,
edited by Arthur Bennett, Banner of Truth Trust, 2007 reprint, p. 3.

Spirituality

An edited version of my Morning Thought, for BBC Radio Wiltshire

I’d like to conclude this week’s Morning Thoughts by talking about spirituality. Did you hear about the man in Bradford on Avon who got trampled by a herd of cows? Seems like he only escaped “dairy herd danger” because a passer by came to his aid. I don’t know what effect this has had on the unfortunate gentleman’s spiritual life. But events like that can make us think about spiritual and eternal matters. Lots of people today have realised that there must be more to life than fleeting riches of this world. Their souls long for spiritual fulfilment. God has made us for himself and we can find no rest apart from him. Some try Transcendental Meditation. Others just like rambling in the countryside in an attempt to find the divine in nature – just look out for those cows!

Christian spirituality is a bit different. It is not first and foremost a human attempt to seek God. It’s the other way around - God has come down to seek us. The Father sent his Son Jesus Christ into our world to bring us back to him. By his death upon the cross Jesus has dealt with all the wrong things that separate us from God. For the believer, God is not some distant, far off being. He has drawn near to us by the presence of his Spirit. In Jesus we can know God as our heavenly Father. Just think of that – having a Father/child relationship with your Maker!

Our relationship with God develops as we pray and read his Word, the Bible. But Christian spirituality is no private affair. It leads to involvement in a believing community, the church. We grow spiritually by worshipping together, learning together, and caring for each other. So, if you are interested in spirituality, do something worthwhile this weekend. Why not go along to a church where you can find out more Jesus, who came from heaven to bring us near to God?

Well, Graham, I’d just like to say thanks very much you for having me on your show this week!

You can listen again here, about 45 minutes into the show.

'The God Who Draws Near' by Michael A. G. Haykin

The God Who Draws Near: An Introduction to Biblical Spirituality
by Michael A. G. Haykin, Evangelical Press, 2007, 120pp

Spirituality is one of those buzz words that is often used, but seldom defined. It may be taken to mean religious expression in the broadest possible terms. Sometimes attention is focused more narrowly on different forms of the spiritual life such as Catholic or Orthodox spirituality. Michael Haykin has set himself the task of discovering a distinctly biblical spirituality. In this lucid and gripping book, he shows us how sinners may encounter the God of the gospel. The author’s approach is thoroughly grounded in Scripture. He also draws on the timeless riches of Reformed and Puritan spirituality.

Evangelical spirituality is not a matter of mastering certain techniques like Transcendental Meditation. It is directed by an understanding of God’s self-revelation in Scripture. The God who draws near to us is the eternal Trinity, the one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Haykin appropriately begins at this very point. The doctrine of the Trinity is not an abstract, theoretical construction. The New Testament teaches that the Christian has been brought into communion with the Triune God. The Father sent his Son into the world to die on the cross for sinners. It is on that basis that God draws near to us by the presence of the Holy Spirit. For many people today, spirituality is all about self-discovery and self-improvement. But in coming to know the holy God of the gospel, we are brought to see ourselves as sinners, wholly dependent upon him for life-transforming grace.

A genuinely Christian spirituality is the product of the Holy Spirit. He shows us the central glory of Jesus Christ and him crucified. The Holy Spirit works in us by the Word, the Bible. Like William Tyndale and others, we need to cultivate a deep and meaningful devotion to Scripture. Those who have sidelined the Bible in order to emphasise the immediate work of the Spirit dishonour the one who gave us God’s inspired Word.

After erecting this doctrinal framework, Haykin gets down to the challenging matters of prayer and meditation in the spiritual life. We have much to learn from the Puritans and the likes of Jonathan Edwards on meditative reading of the Word of God. A chapter is devoted to Spiritual friendship as a means of grace. Haykin draws attention to Paul, the friendly apostle and to the enduring friendship between 18th century Baptists, John Ryland Jr and Andrew Fuller. We seem to have lost the art of making friends these days, so this was a thought provoking read. Finally, the author rightly argues that mission is the inevitable fruit of Christian spirituality. Paul is set forth as an excellent model of active concern for the salvation of lost sinners.

In this fine work you will find a rare combination of deep learning, careful thought and lightness of touch. I warmly recommend this delightful book to all who wish to discover the meaning of biblical, Christ-centred spirituality. See here for an interview with Michael Haykin from Blogging in the name of the Lord: Series 2.

Ten things on Christian spirituality

1. The essence of Christian spirituality is communion with the Triune God. It springs from the communicative love of the Father, who has elected us for fellowship with himself through the sacrificial death of the Son and the sanctifying presence of the Spirit.

2. Christian spirituality is in fact Spirituality with a capital "S". The Holy Spirit is the agent of true Spirituality. He brings those who were dead in sin and cut off from the life of God to new birth by his sovereign and gracious power. The believer has been made holy to God by the definitive action of of Spirit. This leads to a Spirit-empowered life of holiness, characterised by the mortification of sin and the vivification of righteousness, in obedience to God's commands. Christian spirituality is holy Spirituality.

3. Christian spirituality is rooted in the believer's union with Christ. We participate in the fruits of his atoning death and mighty resurrection. In Christ, we are forgiven and put right with God. The believer has been crucified with Christ to the old life of sin and raised with him to the new life of holiness. The risen Christ dwells in the hearts of his people by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit's task is not to draw attention to himself, but to glorify Christ and communicate his life-transforming presence. The goal of Christian spirituality is that the believer should be conformed to the image of God's own Son.

4. Christian spirituality is sustained by constant prayer. Through the blood of Christ, we are given access to the Father by the Spirit. Prayer involves worship, praise and communion with God as well as petition and supplication. The Father is pleased to answer the prayers of his people in Jesus' name, in accordance with his abundant mercy and sovereign will. The believer should make time each day for sustained prayer and meditation.

5. As God's authorised self-revelation, the Scriptures play an essential role in Christian spirituality. The Spirit who gave the written Word bears witness to the truth and authenticity of Scripture in the mind, heart and life of the believer. The Scriptures disclose the Triune God of the Gospel and reveal the basis for Christian spirituality in his saving acts. The Word of God read and preached is a means of grace that promotes the development of spiritual growth and maturity - Psalm 1. There can be no true spirituality apart from Scripture.

6. Christian spirituality develops in the context of the communion of the saints. It is not a privatised quest for self-fulfilment, but is expressed in love for the people of God. The Church exists to foster a spiritual life of compassion, service, witness and worship. She does this by exercising the ministry of the Word and prayer, and administering baptism and the Lord's Supper. Any spirituality that sidelines involvement in church life is a travesty of the Gospel.

7. Many versions of spirituality are focused on self-realisation and self-discovery. Not so Christian spirituality, which is primarily concerned with self-denial and the realisation of God's glory. An encounter with the Holy One will bring us to see the wickedness of our selfish pride that refuses to let God be God. Authentic self-awareness will bring us to cry out, "Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner." Only those with a humble and contrite spirit will really be able to appreciate God's amazing grace. Such will give him all the glory for saving us from sin. Soli Deo gloria.

8. The spiritual life is shaped by biblical doctrine and theological reflection. But true Christian spirituality is also deeply experiential. As the old hymn put it, "True religion is more than a notion/ something must be known and felt." The Spirit of truth makes us existentially aware of our sin and need of Christ. God's love is shed abroad in the hearts of believers by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us. By the Spirit, we cry "Abba, Father", as we sense God's fatherly love embracing us. We have assurance of our adoption as the Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. We know Jesus Christ as a living reality. He is Christ in us, the hope of glory. Though we have not seen Jesus, we love him and believing, we rejoice with glorious and inexpressible joy. Communion with the Triune God means having distinct, experiential fellowship with each person of the Trinity. Now, our union with God in Christ is constant and fixed, while our communion with him is subject to change and fluctuation. But experiential Christian spirituality will be content with nothing less than being strengthened by the Spirit, that we may know the love of Christ that passes knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.

9. Christian spirituality leads to practical action. The most "spiritual" Christians, like William Wilberforce, have also been those who have done the most good for their fellow human beings. Christians have been saved to serve by doing good works for the glory of God. Our faith works by love. Yes, that primarily means love for the saints, but we are to show love and practical concern for all men, even our enemies.

10. Christian spirituality is eschatological. Our communion with God in this present world is an anticipation of our fellowship with him in glory. Even now we have been raised with Christ to newness of life. The Spirit is the "earnest" or down-payment of our inheritance. We hope for the coming of the Lord, the resurrection of our bodies and the renewal of the universe. We look forward to being rid of all vestiges of the sin that mars our communion with God. Then we shall be made like our Lord Jesus and he will be glorified in us. The distinction between heaven as God's dwelling place, and the earth as our home will be rendered void as God comes down to dwell among his redeemed people. He will wipe all tears from our eyes. We will rejoice in the Spirit and see the Lamb in all his glory, world without end.