Isaiah 61:1,2
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): Our Lord Jesus Himself, who read this in the synagogue at Nazareth, applied it entirely to Himself, saying, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears, Luke 4:21.
JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): There are those who observe in this text, and not amiss, the mystery of the Holy Trinity―God the Father anointing his Son Christ with the Holy Ghost.
B. B. WARFIELD (1851-1921): In the unity of the Godhead there subsist three Persons, each of whom has His particular part in the working out of salvation.
J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): Christ is the meeting-point between the Trinity and the sinner’s soul.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): From this great truth we learn another, namely, the perfect co-operation of the three persons of the blessed Trinity in the work of our redemption. The Father sends the Son, the Son with alacrity comes to redeem us, and the Spirit of God is upon Him; so that Father, Son, and Spirit have each a part in the saving work, and the one God of heaven and earth is the God of salvation.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): They have all a concern it―the Gospel and the doctrines of it―which is called the Gospel of God, and the Gospel of Christ, and the ministering of the Spirit. The grace of God in regeneration and conversion is sometimes ascribed to one and sometimes to another, and an increase of it in the heart is wished for from all three, Revelation 1:4-6; and they have a hand in all the glory the saints shall enjoy hereafter: the Father has prepared the kingdom from the foundation of the world; the Son has made way for it by his obedience, sufferings, and death; and the Spirit is the earnest of it, makes meet for it, and introduces into it.
C. H. SPURGEON: Now, let us, for a few moments, discourse upon this wondrous theme—the unity of the three persons with regard to the great purpose of the salvation of the elect. When God first made man, he said, “Let us make man,” not let me, but, “Let us make man in our own image,” Genesis 1:26. The covenant Elohim said to each other, “Let us unitedly become the creator of man.” So, when in ages far gone by in eternity, they said, “Let us save man:” it was not the Father who said, “Let me save man,” but the three Persons, with one consent, said “Let us save man.”
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): Each of the three Persons in the blessed Trinity is concerned with our salvation: with the Father it is predestination; with the Son propitiation; with the Spirit regeneration. The Father chose us; the Son died for us; the Spirit quickens us.
MATTHEW HENRY: There is an order among the three persons, though no superiority; they are equal in power and glory, and there is an agreed economy in their works. Thus, in the affair of man’s redemption, election is by way of eminency ascribed to the Father, as reconciliation is to the Son and sanctification to the Holy Ghost, though in each of these, one person is not so entirely interested as to exclude the other two.
JOHN GILL: The order of the three divine persons in the Trinity, and in the economy of man’s salvation, required such a method to be observed; that the Father should first, and for a while, be more especially manifested; next the Son, and then the Spirit. Besides, our Lord has given a reason Himself, why the Spirit “was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified,” John 7:39. And the coming of the Spirit as a Comforter, and the spirit of truth, was to be through the intercession, and by the mission of Christ; and therefore it was proper He should go away first, in order to send Him.
C. H. SPURGEON: I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, John 14:6. Look at the text, and you will find all the three persons mentioned―all of them doing something for our salvation. “I will pray,” says the Son. “I will send,” says the Father. “I will comfort,” says the Holy Ghost…Now, observe here that each person is spoken of as performing a separate office. “I will pray,” says the Son; that is intercession. “I will send,” says the Father; that is donation. “I will comfort,” says the Holy Spirit; that is supernatural influence…There is a manifest distinction in the divine persons, since one speaks to another; yet the Godhead is one.
JOHN GILL: This is no inconsiderable proof of a trinity of persons in the Godhead; here is the Father prayed unto, the Son in human nature praying, and the Holy Ghost the Comforter prayed for; who is the gift of the Father, through the prevalent mediation of the Son, and is another “Comforter;” distinct from the Messiah.
C. H. SPURGEON: Remember, you cannot pray without the Trinity―you cannot draw near to the Father except through the Son, and by the Holy Spirit…It is well to have clear views of the mutual relations of the persons of the blessed Trinity; indeed, the knowledge of these truths is essential for our comfort and growth in grace.
JOHN TRAPP: Remarkable is that [passage] of the apostle Paul, I Corinthians 12:4-7, where the diversities of gifts are said to be of the Spirit; the diversities of ministries―whereby these gifts are administered―are said to be of the Lord, that is, of Christ; and the diversities of operations―effected by the gifts and ministries―are said to be of God, the Father.
C. H. SPURGEON: It is to me a source of sweet comfort to think that it is not one person of the Trinity that is engaged for my salvation; it is not simply one person of the Godhead who vows that he will redeem me; but it is a glorious trio.
JAMES HARRINGTON EVANS (1785-1849): It requires a whole Trinity to keep a saint of God.
JOHN GILL: They are held and secured by a threefold cord, which can never be broken: by God the Father, who has loved them with an everlasting love, chosen them in Christ, and secured them in the covenant of grace, who keeps them by His power; He has given them grace, and will give them glory; and by the Son, who has undertook for them, redeemed and purchased them, and who prays and makes preparations in heaven for them; they are built on Him, united to Him, and are His jewels, whom He will preserve; and by the Holy Ghost, whose grace is incorruptible, whose personal indwelling is for ever, and who Himself is the earnest and seal of the heavenly inheritance, who having begun, will finish the good work of grace.
