In this message we shall consider further the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity through the believers’ enjoyment of the Triune God.
In 13:14 we see the enjoyment of the Triune God. In this verse Paul says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” The grace of the Lord is the Lord Himself as life to us for our enjoyment (John 1:17; 1 Cor. 15:10), the love of God is God Himself (1 John 4:8, 16) as the source of the grace of the Lord, and the fellowship of the Spirit is the Spirit Himself as the transmission of the grace of the Lord with the love of God for our participation.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are not three separate matters, but three aspects of one thing, just as the Lord, God, and the Holy Spirit are not three separate Gods, but three “hypostases...of the one same undivided and indivisible” God (Philip Schaff). The love of God is the source, since God is the origin; the grace of the Lord is the course of the love of God, since the Lord is the expression of God; and the fellowship of the Spirit is the impartation of the grace of the Lord with the love of God, since the Spirit is the transmission of the Lord with God, for our experience and enjoyment of the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—with the divine virtues. In 13:14 the grace of the Lord is mentioned first because this book is on the grace of Christ (1:12; 4:15; 6:1; 8:1, 9; 9:8, 14; 12:9).
Such a divine attribute of three virtues—love, grace, and fellowship—and such a Triune God of the three divine hypostases—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—are needed by the believers so that they may experience the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity. This verse is a strong proof that the trinity of the Godhead is not for the doctrinal understanding of systematic theology, but for the dispensing of God Himself in His trinity into His chosen and redeemed people.
It is common in so-called Christian services for the minister to use 13:14 as a benediction at the close of a service. However, this verse speaks of our enjoyment of the Triune God. Do you enjoy the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit? In the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity, the grace of the Lord, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Spirit are for our experience and enjoyment.
We have pointed out that just as the love of God is God Himself, the grace of Christ is Christ Himself. The New Testament says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). We can also say that Christ is grace and that the Holy Spirit is fellowship. If we did not have God, we could not have the enjoyment of love. If we did not have Christ, we could not have the enjoyment of grace. If we did not have the Spirit, we could not have the enjoyment of fellowship.
We also need to be impressed with the fact that in 13:14 love, grace, and fellowship are not three separate matters. Rather, they are three aspects of one thing. Love is the source, grace is the expression of the source, and fellowship is the transmission of the expression. Love as the source is expressed in grace, and this grace is transmitted into us by fellowship. The love of God is the source of the grace of Christ, and the fellowship of the Spirit is the transmission of the grace of Christ with the love of God. Therefore, love, grace and fellowship are all within us for our enjoyment.