Worship Leaders: Let’s Talk About the Trinity

Read time: 6 minutes

I remember sitting in a worship service some time ago, and we were transitioning from our time of singing to a time of corporate prayer. The music leader was bridging the gap between the two segments of the service, and here is what they prayed (roughly paraphrased):

"Father God, thank you for your grace and mercy, and the wonderful gifts you've given us... Father God, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins—"

*cue vinyl record scratch

Wait a minute—that's not quite right! Looking at the leader's statement, they ascribed the work on the cross to the Father, instead of the Son. This is where a lot folks in the modern church get things mixed up, not from ignorance or intentional misleading of Trinitarian doctrine, but more so from not spending time developing a delivery of prayer that accurately addresses each person of the Trinity.  

This is what leads to a glossed-over, generalized statement like the one above—one that puts the work of each person of the Trinity into one box and is ultimately not helpful in nurturing and strengthening rightful doctrine for the congregation. 

In the next few sections, we'll talk about each person of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), their roles and work, and how you can rightly address them in your corporate prayer. (It should be noted that this piece is not a defense of Trinitarian doctrine in itself, but merely a confession that aims to inform worship leaders of similar persuasion in how to fully incorporate Trinitarian doctrine in their doxology/practice of worship. We will rely heavily on post-Scriptural creeds and confessions to support the advice given, so it is to be assumed that all parties are in agreement in their Trinitarian views.)

Who Is the Father?

The Trinity is... confusing, to say the least. How can you have one being made up of three persons? How is three-in-one even possible? It defies our rational thinking and perception of the world, but the seemingly contradictory claim of three-in-one can be resolved by "one in essence, distinct in three persons." There are not three Gods, but one God of three distinct Persons/Roles. 

To quote the Nicene Creed, the role of the Father is one who is "almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible." He's repeatedly referred as "Father" in the words of Jesus (over 165 times) and in most of the letters written by the Apostles to the early church. He is the one who sends the Son—He provides the sacrifice that is the necessary atonement for sin and bringing about restoration and reconciliation. 

Who Is the Son?

The Son, in short, is Jesus Christ. Looking back at the Nicene Creed, the Son is: 

"...Lord...,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end."

We see here that there is a series of significant works performed by Jesus Christ (creation through Him, born of man, crucified, died, buried, resurrected, ascension, and promise of return), along with equating Him as co-equal with God the Father. 

Who Is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the member of the Trinity who is most often misunderstood by the church. The Nicene Creed confesses this about the person of the Holy Spirit:

"...the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets."

When we see the Spirit mentioned in Scripture, He's described as a helper, guide, comforter, intercessor, indweller, and giver of spiritual gifts. 

Whereas we often call upon the Holy Spirit as a sort of cosmic force (like an "it"), subject to our whims for triumph, healing, and deliverance, He is ultimately a Person who is co-equal with the Father and the Son, worthy of the same adoration and respect. 

Where the Lines Get Blurred

Going back to the prayer mentioned earlier, I think this blurring of the roles of the Trinity in corporate prayer is because the idea of one God and the learned-by-rote opening, "O heavenly Father," is so ingrained into Christian upbringing and instruction. In our minds, we know the work and roles performed by each person of the Trinity, but our words repeatedly come back to the Father because of the norms we experience in addressing the opening of our prayers to Him. 

This is not a bad thing; on the contrary, we are instructed to pray to the Father by Jesus Himself. It's just that when we get to the work of the Son and Spirit, we sometimes gloss over directly mentioning them or even misattributing their work to that of the Father, perhaps from nervousness, or from what was demonstrated to us by other people. 

A Helpful Template to Follow

So, then how should we pray?

Well, like I just said: We are directly told to pray to the Father by Jesus, the Son. Further, we see the example of the Apostles praying in the name of Jesus Christ, and we are encouraged to pray "in" the Holy Spirit, which points to praying "through the power of" the Holy Spirit. So here's the sequence that's helpful to follow:

Pray to the Father in the name of the Son and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to the content of your prayer, it's helpful to open with adoration to the Father, thanking Him for His blessings in sending His Son to triumph over sin and death, and giving thanks for His Holy Spirit who empowers us to be more like God. 

Can I Pray to the Son and the Spirit, Just as to the Father?

Believe it or not, this questions sparks a debate among believers, as we are only explicitly told to pray to the Father, not to the Son or the Spirit. It all comes down to the use of the prepositions of "to" and "in/through," which can be easily glossed over. Still, those small words make a huge difference in meaning and application. 

It's this particular use of prepositions that we tend to err on the side of only praying to the Father, but still acknowledging the Son and Spirit. 

We're left with this contention: In giving direct attention to the Father, do we somehow diminish the personhood of both the Son and Spirit? But if we exceed the bounds of instruction in prayer given by God Himself as the Son, Jesus Christ, do we travel down a slippery slope of improper worship that is misaligned with Scripture that then becomes wholly unrecognizable from orthodoxy?

To tell you the truth: I don't know the answer to that question. Personally, I would agree with John Piper in saying that "Jesus and the Holy Spirit are persons and to speak to them as a saved sinner would, cannot be unnatural." But stricter orthodoxy and a regulated view of worship in prayer are near and dear to me, so I'm left with a quandary that I'm still seeking to solve. 

The Takeaway

Theological arguments and objections aside, I'm still able to conscionably stick to the template of praying to Father in the name of the Son and through the power of the Holy Spirit. I can joyfully praise God for His goodness and mercy in sending His Son to win over sin and death, and the power of His Holy Spirit that works in me and in others to accomplish His glorious purpose. There's even room to thank Him for blessings of provision, security, and healing, along with supplicating Him with further requests. 

At the forefront in prayers like this is giving recognition to all persons of the Trinity, not glossing over the Son and Spirit and accidentally ascribing their work to that of the Father. In doing so, we preserve the integrity of a key component of doctrine and actively experience a deeper understanding of the person(s) of God in our worship through prayer.

We Went to SING! 2024

Next week, we’ll give the rundown of what we learned at SING! 2024, the annual worship conference hosted by Kieth & Kristyn Getty.

There’ll be a full recap next week of what we experienced at the conference, but we’ll cover:

• family worship

• hymn writing

• creativity in worship

• and more!

Be blessed 👊✌️