2 Corinthians 13:14

Here is the intertwining of the Trinity and the unity of power which brings all salvation to fulfillment. The love of God has sent us Jesus the Savior, by whose grace we have been saved. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to possess the grace of salvation, for he guards those who are loved by God and saved by the grace of Christ, so that the completeness of the Three may be the saving fulfillment of mankind.

If there is one grace, one peace, one love and one fellowship on the part of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, surely there is one operation, and where there is one operation, certainly the power cannot be divided or the substance separated.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ saves us apart from works and fills us with grace.

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God," and the Father, "and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." After having united them to one other by the salutations and the kisses, he again closes his speech with prayer, with much carefulness uniting them unto God also.

Where now are they who say that because the Holy Spirit is not inserted in the beginnings of the Epistles, He is not of the same substance? For, behold, he hath now enumerated Him with the Father and Son. And besides this, one may remark, that when writing to the Colossians and saying, "Grace to you, and peace from God our Father," he was silent of the Son, and added not, as in all his Epistles, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Is then the Son not of the same substance either, because of this? Nay, these reasonings are of extreme folly. For this very thing especially shows Him to be of the same substance, that Paul useth the expression [or not] indifferently.

And that what is here said is no conjecture, hear how he mentions Son and Spirit, and is quite silent of the Father. For, writing to the Corinthians, he says, "But ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11) What then, tell me? were these not baptized into the Father? Then assuredly they were neither washed nor sanctified. But did they baptize them? doubtless then just as also they did baptize. How then did he not say, 'Ye are washed in the name of the Father?' Because it was indifferent in his view, at one time to make mention of this, at another of that Person; and you may observe this custom in many places of the Epistles.

Moreover, he will be found again, to put the gifts also themselves transposedly. For having said here, "The grace of Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost;" he in another place speaks of "the communion of the Son," and of "the love of the Spirit." For, "I beseech you," he says, "by the love of the Spirit." (Romans 15:30) And in his Epistle to the Corinthians, "God is faithful, by Whom ye were called into the communion of His Son." (1 Corinthians 1:9) Thus the things of the Trinity are undivided: and whereas the communion is of the Spirit, it hath been found of the Son; and whereas the grace is of the Son, it is also of the Father and of the Holy Spirit.

And I say these things, not confounding the Persons, (away with the thought!) but knowing both the individuality and distinctness of These, and the Unity of the Substance.

This is written against the Arians, who maintain that the Father is greater than the Son on the ground that he is usually mentioned first.

Having united all together, he, according to his custom, prays that the grace of the Son be upon them, through which He saved us — not by our works, but by grace, having Himself endured being slain for us. And then, as if being asked — whence comes this grace of the Son? he answers: from the love of the Father. And what does it produce? The communion of the Holy Spirit, that is, participation and partaking of Him, by virtue of which we are sanctified — having become, through the indwelling of the Comforter in us, partakers of Him, we ourselves also become spirit, not by nature, but through communion. What ground, then, do those have who reject the Spirit on the basis that Paul did not mention Him at the beginning of the epistles? Here he mentions and fully enumerates the Trinity, which may preserve us holding firmly to the dogmas and leading a blameless life, so that we may be perfect servants of the perfect God in Trinity, to Whom be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Whence the Apostle: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen." If you wish to have the love of the Son and of the original Principle and of the Gift of the Holy Spirit, dispose yourself to grace. Grace arises from the Father of lights through the Word incarnate, through the Word crucified, and through the Word inspired. A noble influence, which has its origin from God incarnate. This grace ought to be guarded most carefully: but you lose it through sin.

He greets them on his own part, when he says: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Here it should be noted that there are two modes of appropriating something to the divine persons: one is essentially [essentialiter] and the other causally [causaliter]. Essentially power is appropriated to the Father because he is power essentially; inasmuch as he is the principle. To the Son, wisdom, inasmuch as he is the Word. To the Holy Spirit, love, inasmuch as he is goodness. But here the Apostle does not appropriate those things in this way, namely, by essence [per essentiam], because then all things would be appropriated to the Holy Spirit; rather, he appropriates by cause [per causam]. Therefore, since grace is a gift by which sins are forgiven: "Justified by his grace as a gift" (Rom. 3:24), and the remission of sin is accomplished in us by the Son who took our flesh and satisfied for our sins: "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (Jn. 1:17): for this reason the Apostle attributes grace to Christ, when he says, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. But charity is necessary for us because we must become united to God: "He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 Jn. 4:16). And because this is from God the Father, inasmuch as he so loved the world as to send his only begotten Son (Jn. 3:16): "God shows his love for us" (Rom. 5:8), he attributes charity to him as to its source, when he says, and the love of God, namely, the Father. Finally, the communication of divine gifts is accomplished by the Holy Spirit: "All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:11). Therefore he attributes communication to the Holy Spirit, when he says, and the fellowship [participation] of the Holy Spirit. Or, he attributes this to him because he is common to the other two persons.

Thus therefore the Apostle in his greeting wishes them all things that are necessary when he 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 Christ, by which we are made just and are saved; the charity of God the Father, by which we are united to him; and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit distributing divine gifts to us. Amen.