The Nature of God
Do you like BBQ? Well I do! And there is a theory that suggests that the Carolinas is the place where BBQ originated. See, the Carolinas are the only region in the US that has all of the different types of BBQ and sauces. True story.
Now I don’t know if that means BBQ started down here, but I do know it is a sign of the importance of origin stories. We all like to know where people, things and concepts originate.
In 2 Corinthians 13:14, Paul closes out his final letter to the church at Corinth by saying, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” In this one verse, He is reminding us about the Trinity, and it’s role in the origin of Grace, love and fellowship.
Jesus gave us things we didn’t earn—That’s grace. God gives us what we need even before we ask; that’s a sign of love. And the Holy Spirit has promised to always be there with us: that is fellowship.
How we appreciate and relate to each member of the Trinity should be informed by this truth. It is where our understanding of these concepts should originate. How we treat one another should be influenced by this fact.
We should be gracious with each other because Jesus has been gracious to us. We should love one another because God, the Father has loved us. We should be willing to fellowship with one another because the Holy Spirit constantly fellowships with us.
I’d like to encourage you to dive deeper in your spiritual growth and understanding of how to live this out. Check out our featured resource, this week, 5 Marks, for an in-depth look on how to live out these concepts.
Discussion Question:
Which of these three is the hardest for you to live in your everyday life: Grace, love or fellowship? Why?