Brief Exposition (Stanley) n. 32

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32. That there is a Divine Trinity is manifest from the Lord's words in Matthew:

Jesus said, Go ye therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Matt. xxviii 19.

Also from these words in the same Evangelist:

When Jesus was baptized, . . . lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove and alighting upon Him and 10, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. Matt. iii 16, 17.

The reason the Lord sent His disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was because in Him, then glorified, was the Divine Trinity; for in the preceding verse, n. 18 (Matt. xxviii), He says:

All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.

and in the 20th verse:

Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the consummation of the age.

Thus, He spoke of Himself alone, and not of three. Again, it is written in John:

The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John vii 39

The former words He spoke after His glorification, and His glorification was His complete union with His Father, Who was the Divine Itself in Him from conception; and the Holy Spirit was the Divine proceeding from Him after His glorification see John xx 22.


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