My Anglican Heritage

Preserving. Proclaiming. Transmitting
The Anglican Catholic Heritage

“Thy testimonies have I claimed as mine heritage for ever:
               for they are the very joy of my heart.”
— Psalm 119:111

Menu

Traditional Christian Hymns

THE TRIUNE INVOCATION

Do You Know What You Are Saying?

Its Meaning, History and Importance

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
— Matthew 28:19, AKJV

There are words which Christians say so frequently that they can easily become familiar sounds rather than expressions of a living faith.

The Triune Invocation is one of them.

At the beginning of prayer and worship, and when making the Sign of the Cross, Christians say:

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

But do we understand what we are saying?

•	Are these merely words handed down to us?
•	Or are we consciously proclaiming one of the fundamental truths of the Christian Faith?

Before we can truly believe, we must first be taught. Before we can intelligently profess our faith, we must comprehend what we have been taught.

What we understand, we can then believe, obey and live.

1. JESUS COMMANDED HIS CHURCH TO TEACH

The foundation of the Triune Invocation is not a later invention of the Church.

It comes directly from the command of Jesus:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
— Matthew 28:19, AKJV

Jesus immediately continues:

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:”
— Matthew 28:20, AKJV

There is a remarkable emphasis here:

•	Teach all nations.
•	Baptize them in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
•	Teach them to observe everything Jesus commanded.

Christian discipleship therefore cannot properly begin with the mere repetition of religious words.

It begins with TEACHING.

2. TEACH → COMPREHEND → BELIEVE → OBEY → LIVE

There is a natural progression in Christian discipleship:

•	TEACH — the truth is proclaimed.
•	COMPREHEND — the person understands what has been taught.
•	BELIEVE — the person accepts the truth in faith.
•	OBEY — the person acts upon what he believes.
•	LIVE — the teaching becomes part of his Christian life.

St. Paul asks:

“How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?”
— Romans 10:14, AKJV

And again:

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
— Romans 10:17, AKJV

A person may repeat the words of the Faith for years without ever having properly understood them.

Therefore:

The objective of Christian teaching is not simply that people should know the words, but that they should understand the truth contained in those words.

3. WHAT DOES “IN THE NAME” MEAN?

Jesus said:

“baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Notice something important.

Jesus said “in the name”, not “in the names.”

•	The Father is named.
•	The Son is named.
•	The Holy Ghost is named.
•	Yet there is one Name.

The Christian therefore confesses both:

•	the unity of God, and
•	the distinction of Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

The Triune Invocation is consequently not an empty formula.

It is a concise declaration of Christian Faith.

When we say:

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,”

we are consciously placing ourselves before the God whom Jesus revealed.

4. THE TRIUNE PATTERN IS ALREADY PRESENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Trinitarian pattern did not originate centuries later in a theological textbook.

It is found throughout the New Testament.

At the Baptism of Jesus:

•	The Son is present.
•	The Holy Ghost descends.
•	The Father’s voice is heard.

“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
— Matthew 3:17, AKJV

St. Paul concludes his Second Epistle to the Corinthians:

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
— 2 Corinthians 13:14, AKJV

St. Peter likewise speaks of Christians in relation to:

•	God the Father
•	the Spirit
•	Jesus Christ

— 1 Peter 1:2, AKJV.

The Church therefore inherited a profoundly triadic pattern of Christian belief and worship from the apostolic age.

5. ITS EARLIEST LITURGICAL USE WAS CONNECTED WITH BAPTISM

The words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19 became the foundation of Christian Baptism.

The Didache, an early Christian document generally dated to the late first or early second century, contains baptismal instructions using the Trinitarian Name.

This is historically significant.

The early Church was not merely preserving Matthew 28:19 as a quotation.

It was putting Jesus’ command into practice.

A person entered the Christian community through Baptism:

“in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Thus the Triune Name became associated with the Christian’s very identity.

6. FROM BAPTISM INTO DAILY WORSHIP

As Christian worship developed, the Triune Name became deeply embedded in the prayer and worship of the Church.

The Christian begins not by saying:

“I come in my own name.”

He says:

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

This changes the whole character of worship.

•	We are not gathering merely for fellowship.
•	We are not gathering merely to hear music.
•	We are not gathering merely for an emotional experience.
•	We are gathering before God.

The invocation reminds us whose we are and whom we have come to worship.

7. THE SIGN OF THE CROSS MAKES THE INVOCATION VISIBLE

The spoken invocation and the Sign of the Cross became closely associated in Western Christianity.

The words proclaim the Triune God.

The Cross recalls the saving work of Jesus.

Thus, in one simple action, the Christian is reminded of:

•	WHO GOD IS
•	WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR US

The Sign of the Cross is therefore not intended to be a meaningless movement of the hand.

It should be a deliberate act of faith.

When we make the Sign of the Cross, we should know what we are proclaiming.

8. WHY WE MUST NOT DO IT IN HASTE

This is where the matter becomes practical.

A Christian may make the Sign of the Cross correctly in outward form while completely missing its spiritual significance.

•	The hand moves.
•	The lips speak.
•	But the mind is somewhere else.

That is not the purpose of Christian worship.

The Triune Invocation deserves:

•	attention
•	reverence
•	understanding

When saying:

“In the name of the Father…”

•	pause inwardly and remember the Father.

When saying:

“and of the Son…”

•	remember Jesus, the Son.

When saying:

“and of the Holy Ghost…”

•	remember the Holy Ghost, whom Jesus promised to His disciples.

Then continue in prayer.

The act may take only a few seconds — but those few seconds should not be treated as something to be rushed through.

9. THE CHURCH MUST TEACH BEFORE IT EXPECTS UNDERSTANDING

This brings us back to Jesus’ Great Commission.

The sequence is unmistakable:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…”

Then:

“baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

And then:

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”

The Christian Faith is therefore a taught Faith.

The Church has a responsibility to teach its people:

•	what they are saying
•	what they are doing
•	why they are doing it
•	what Scripture teaches concerning it

The laity should not be expected simply to imitate ceremonies.

They should understand them.

They should know the Scriptures behind them.

They should know their history.

And above all, they should know what they proclaim before God.

10. WHY THE COUNCILS OF THE EARLY CHURCH MATTER

The Church did not invent the Trinity at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople.

Rather, the early Church was compelled to clarify and defend what it had received from Scripture and the apostolic tradition.

The Council of Nicaea in AD 325 addressed the controversy concerning the divinity of the Son.

The Council of Constantinople in AD 381 further articulated the Church’s teaching concerning the Holy Ghost.

The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed consequently gives Christians a formal confession concerning:

•	the Father
•	the Son
•	the Holy Ghost

The Councils therefore belong to the history of the Church’s understanding and defence of the Faith, while the foundation of the Triune formula itself reaches back to Jesus’ own command.

11. THE ANGLICAN TRADITION PRESERVES THIS TEACHING

The historic Anglican liturgical tradition is thoroughly Trinitarian.

The Book of Common Prayer repeatedly directs the worshipper towards the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Ghost.

The Gloria Patri declares:

“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”

The Baptismal Office likewise preserves the command of Jesus in Matthew 28:19.

The Trinity is therefore not an occasional theological subject in Anglican worship.

It is woven into the very structure of prayer and worship.

12. WHY THE TRIUNE INVOCATION IS IMPORTANT

The Triune Invocation reminds the Christian:

•	I worship God.
•	I belong to Him.
•	I have been baptised into His Name.
•	I acknowledge the Father.
•	I confess Jesus the Son.
•	I acknowledge the Holy Ghost.
•	I do not approach God in my own authority.
•	I come in His Name.

It is therefore a profound statement of Christian identity.

13. DO NOT LET A HOLY FORMULA BECOME A MEANINGLESS HABIT

There is a danger in familiarity.

The more frequently we say something, the easier it becomes to say it without thinking.

That is precisely why teaching and comprehension are so important.

The Christian should never be satisfied merely with knowing how to make the Sign of the Cross.

He should know:

•	why he makes it
•	what the words mean
•	what Scripture teaches
•	whom he is addressing

And he should never merely repeat the teachings of Jesus.

He should seek to:

•	understand them
•	believe them
•	obey them
•	live them

THE ESSENTIAL MESSAGE

The Triune Invocation begins with the teaching of Jesus Himself:

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
— Matthew 28:19, AKJV

It is therefore not simply a traditional Christian phrase.

It is:

•	a biblical proclamation
•	a baptismal formula
•	a liturgical confession
•	a reminder of the Christian’s relationship with God

But there is a lesson even more fundamental than the words themselves:

NO ONE CAN BELIEVE WHAT HE HAS NEVER BEEN TAUGHT.

Therefore:

FIRST — TEACH.

THEN — COMPREHEND.

THEN — BELIEVE.

THEN — OBEY.

THEN — LIVE.

When we make the Sign of the Cross and say:

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,”

let us therefore stop, understand, and mean what we say.

•	It is not a gesture to be rushed.
•	It is not a formula to be mechanically repeated.
•	It is an act of faith.
•	It is a declaration of whom we worship.
•	It is a reminder that Christian worship begins with knowing the God whom Jesus taught us to know.

TEACH THE FAITH.

COMPREHEND THE TEACHING.
BELIEVE THE TRUTH.
LIVE THE COMMANDMENTS.

To the Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls.

Cecil K. Dewars

A lifelong Anglican, Baptised and Confirmed in the High Church tradition and continuing in the Anglican Catholic Faith.