Based on the Upper Room Discourse · John 14 · "The Inseparable, Indwelling God"

This resource is designed for personal study, family discipleship, or small group use. The catechism lays a doctrinal foundation through question and answer. The five-day reading plan then takes you deeper into Scripture, tracing the revelation of the Trinity across the whole Bible.

PART ONE: CATECHISM ON THE TRIUNE GOD

A catechism is a series of questions and answers meant to be read, memorized, and pondered. These are not merely academic—they are invitations to worship.

Unit 1: The One God

Q1. Who is God?

A. God is the eternal, self-existent Creator of all things—the living Lord who alone has life in himself, needs nothing outside himself, and is the source of all existence, meaning, and life.

Deuteronomy 6:4 — Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

Isaiah 44:6 — I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.

Acts 17:25 — He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Q2. What does it mean that God is eternal?

A. God exists without beginning or end, outside and above time. He inhabits eternity itself. Time is his creation; he is not bound by it.

Isaiah 57:15 — For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy.

Psalm 90:2 — Before the mountains were brought forth… from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Revelation 1:8 — I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come.

Q3. Is God knowable?

A. Yes. Though God is infinitely beyond our comprehension, he has freely chosen to reveal himself in history, in his Word, and fully and finally in his Son, Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:1–2 — Long ago… God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.

John 1:18 — No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Unit 2: God as Trinity

Q4. How many persons are in God?

A. There are three persons in the one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is one in essence and three in person. These three are not three gods, nor one God wearing three masks, but one God eternally existing in three distinct persons.

Matthew 28:19 — Baptize them in the name [singular] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 13:14 — The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Athanasian Creed — We worship one God in three persons, and three persons in one God, without confusing the persons, nor dividing the divine being.

Q5. What do we mean by "person" when speaking of the Trinity?

A. A "person" in the Trinity refers to a distinct center of will, consciousness, and relationship within the one divine being. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinguishable from one another and communicate and love one another—yet they are never separated or divided.

John 17:24 — Father… you loved me before the foundation of the world.

John 15:26 — The Helper… whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father.

Q6. Are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit equal?

A. Yes. All three persons are equally and fully God—equal in glory, power, holiness, and eternity. There is no hierarchy of worth or being among them, though they have distinct roles in the work of creation and redemption.

John 10:30 — I and the Father are one.

John 14:9 — Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

Acts 5:3–4 — Ananias… you have lied to the Holy Spirit… you have not lied to man but to God.

Q7. What is meant by the "mutual indwelling" of the Trinity?

A. Mutual indwelling (also called perichoresis) means that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit perfectly inhabit one another—God lives in God. This is the most profound mystery of God’s being: he is a community of love within himself, never solitary, always whole.

John 14:10 — Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

John 14:11 — Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.

John 17:21 — That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you.

Unit 3: God the Father

Q8. Who is God the Father?

A. God the Father is the first person of the Trinity—the one from whom the Son is eternally begotten and from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds. He is the Creator, the sovereign Ruler, and the loving Father of all who trust in Christ.

Isaiah 64:8 — But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter.

John 3:16 — For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.

Romans 8:15 — You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’

Q9. How does the Father make himself known to us?

A. The Father is made known through his Son, Jesus Christ. To know the Son is to know the Father. He also makes himself known through the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, by whom we cry out to him as Father.

John 14:7 — If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.

Galatians 4:6 — Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’

Unit 4: God the Son

Q10. Who is Jesus Christ?

A. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who, in the fullness of time, took on human nature through the Virgin Mary. He is fully God and fully man—two natures in one person. He is the only mediator between God and humanity.

John 1:1,14 — In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Colossians 2:9 — For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.

1 Timothy 2:5 — There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

Q11. Why did the Son of God become human?

A. The Son became human to fully reveal the Father, to live the perfect life we failed to live, and to die in our place as the atoning sacrifice for sin—so that through faith in him, we might be reconciled to God and share in his eternal life.

John 14:6 — I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

1 John 4:9–10 — God sent his only Son into the world… to be the propitiation for our sins.

2 Corinthians 5:21 — For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Q12. What is Jesus doing now?

A. Having risen from the dead and ascended to the Father, Jesus reigns as Lord over all creation. He intercedes for his people at the Father’s right hand and will return in glory to judge the living and the dead and to make all things new.

Hebrews 7:25 — He always lives to make intercession for them.

Acts 1:11 — This Jesus… will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

Philippians 2:10–11 — Every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Unit 5: God the Holy Spirit

Q13. Who is the Holy Spirit?

A. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity—fully God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. He is not a force or an influence, but a divine person with will, mind, and emotion.

John 14:16–17 — I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.

Acts 5:3–4 — You have lied to the Holy Spirit… You have not lied to man but to God.

Romans 8:27 — The Spirit himself intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Q14. What does the Holy Spirit do in the believer?

A. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer permanently, bearing witness to Christ, convicting of sin, producing godly character, empowering for service, and assuring us that we belong to God. He brings the presence of the Father and Son into our lives.

John 14:26 — The Holy Spirit… will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Galatians 5:22–23 — The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Romans 8:16 — The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Q15. How does the Spirit's indwelling relate to the whole Trinity?

A. Where the Spirit dwells, the Father and Son are also present. The Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and Son, and he brings the fullness of the triune God into the life of every believer. We do not receive a part of God—we receive God.

John 14:23 — Jesus answered… ‘We will come to him and make our home with him.’

1 Corinthians 6:19 — Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?

Ephesians 2:22 — In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Unit 6: Living the Trinitarian Life

Q16. How should knowing God as Trinity shape my prayer?

A. Trinitarian prayer follows the pattern Jesus himself modeled: we come to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. The Spirit stirs our hearts to pray, the Son is our mediator and advocate, and the Father hears and receives us through him.

Ephesians 2:18 — Through him [Christ] we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Romans 8:26 — The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought… the Spirit himself intercedes for us.

John 16:23 — Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

Q17. Why does the Trinity matter for Christian community?

A. Because God himself is a community of love—Father, Son, and Spirit in eternal fellowship—Christian community is not optional but reflects the very nature of God. We are called to love one another as the Trinity loves.

John 13:34 — A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

John 17:21 — That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.

1 John 4:7 — Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God.

Q18. What is the greatest comfort of knowing the triune God?

A. The greatest comfort is this: the God who loves us is not alone, and therefore we are never alone. The same eternal love shared between Father, Son, and Spirit has been poured out upon us. We are not orphans—we are beloved children invited into the very life of God.

John 14:18 — I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Romans 5:5 — God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

1 John 3:1 — See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

PART TWO: FIVE-DAY BIBLE READING PLAN

Each day focuses on one aspect of the triune God, with connecting scriptures drawn from across the Old and New Testaments. Read slowly. Pray before you begin. Linger over what strikes you.

Day 1 One God — The Foundation

Primary Reading: Deuteronomy 6:1–25 · Isaiah 44:6–23

Theme: Before we can understand the Trinity, we must stand on the bedrock of biblical monotheism: there is only one God. Israel’s confession of the one LORD (Yahweh) is the soil in which the Trinity is planted, not uprooted.

Connecting Scripture Passages

Deuteronomy 6:4–5

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

The Shema—the foundational confession of Israel’s faith—establishes that God is one. Jesus quoted this as the greatest commandment (Mark 12:29–30). The Trinity does not abolish this oneness but deepens it.

Isaiah 44:6–8

I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god… Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.

Yahweh alone is God. His absolute uniqueness is the canvas on which the revelation of the Son and Spirit are painted. The Trinity is not polytheism—it is the fullness of the one God.

Isaiah 45:5–6

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me.

God’s exclusive lordship is proclaimed to the whole world. This is the same God who will send his Son and Spirit into the world for its redemption.

1 Corinthians 8:6

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

The New Testament does not abandon Jewish monotheism—it enriches it. Paul weaves Jesus Christ into the Shema itself, identifying him as Lord (Yahweh) without abandoning the oneness of God.

Reflection

How does knowing God is utterly unique change the way you worship? Reflect on what it means that the one God has made himself known to you personally.

Prayer Focus

Father, you are the one true God—there is no other. Guard my heart from every idol and every counterfeit. Help me love you with all my heart, soul, and strength today.

Day 2 God the Father — Source and Sender

Primary Reading: John 17:1–26 · Romans 8:12–17

Theme: The Father is the first person of the Trinity—the source from whom the Son is eternally begotten and the Spirit eternally proceeds. He is the one who sends, who loves, who receives us as adopted children.

Connecting Scripture Passages

John 17:1–5

Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you… And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

In this prayer, Jesus speaks to the Father as a distinct person—yet mentions a shared glory that existed before creation. This pre-creation fellowship is the eternal life of the Trinity.

Romans 8:14–17

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’

Through the Spirit, believers are brought into the Father’s own family. We do not merely follow God’s rules—we enter God’s household.

Ephesians 1:3–5

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing… he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.

Every blessing flows from the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. This is the Trinitarian logic of salvation.

Matthew 6:9

Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Jesus teaches us to pray to the Father directly—an intimacy only possible because the Son has opened the way and the Spirit stirs our hearts.

Isaiah 63:16

For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.

The Old Testament already knew God as Father—the New Testament reveals the full depth of what that fatherhood means in the person of the Son.

Reflection

Spend time today simply addressing God as Father in prayer. What emotions arise? What barriers or freedoms do you feel? How does the Son’s work make this intimacy possible?

Prayer Focus

Abba, Father—thank you that through your Son I am welcomed as a child, not a servant. Teach me to trust you as a Father today. Let your name be hallowed in my life.

Day 3 God the Son — The Word Made Flesh

Primary Reading: John 1:1–18 · Colossians 1:15–20

Theme: The Son of God is the eternal Word who became human in Jesus of Nazareth. He is the perfect image of the invisible Father—the one in whom all things were created and through whom all things are reconciled.

Connecting Scripture Passages

John 1:1–3, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.

Two astonishing truths held together: the Word was God, and the Word became flesh. This is the incarnation—the hinge of history and the heart of the gospel.

Colossians 1:15–17

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created… all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Jesus is not a created being—he is the Creator. The universe was made through him, is held together by him, and exists for his glory.

Hebrews 1:1–4

Long ago… God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.

Jesus is not one revelation among many—he is the final and fullest revelation of who God is. To see Christ is to see God.

John 14:9–11

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father… Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

The mutual indwelling of Father and Son means that Christ’s every word and deed is a window into the Father’s character.

Philippians 2:5‑8

Though he was in the form of God… he emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The eternal Son laid aside the independent exercise of his divine prerogatives—not his deity—to fully enter our humanity and bear our condemnation.

Reflection

Meditate on John 1:14: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” What does it mean that God himself walked in human skin, breathed our air, and felt our pain? How does this change your relationship to him?

Prayer Focus

Lord Jesus, you are the image of the invisible God. Open my eyes to see the Father in you. Thank you for becoming what I am so that I could share in what you are.

Day 4 God the Holy Spirit — The Indwelling Presence

Primary Reading: John 14:15–27 · Romans 8:1–17

Theme: The Holy Spirit is God present within us—the promised Helper who teaches, comforts, empowers, and seals us as God’s own. Through the Spirit, the triune God makes his home in every believer.

Connecting Scripture Passages

John 14:16–17

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive… He dwells with you and will be in you.

The Spirit’s indwelling is permanent (‘forever’) and internal (‘in you’)—a radically new covenant reality beyond anything Israel had experienced.

John 14:26

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Notice the Trinitarian pattern: the Father sends the Spirit in the Son’s name. The Spirit’s ministry is always directed toward Christ.

Romans 8:9–11

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you… If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

The resurrection power that raised Jesus is the same Spirit who lives in every believer. The indwelling Spirit is not merely comfort—it is the guarantee of resurrection life.

Ezekiel 36:26–27

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you… And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.

God promised through Ezekiel that the Spirit would one day indwell his people. Pentecost is the fulfillment of this ancient promise.

1 Corinthians 6:19

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?

The Spirit’s presence makes every believer’s body sacred ground. This is the basis for Christian ethics: how we treat our bodies and others’ bodies matters because the Spirit dwells within.

Reflection

Sit quietly for a few minutes and simply acknowledge: “The Holy Spirit of God dwells in me.” What thoughts, feelings, or convictions arise? What would change today if you lived in conscious awareness of this reality?

Prayer Focus

Holy Spirit, you are God present within me. I open every room of my heart to you. Teach me, lead me, and make me more like Christ today. Let me not grieve you, but yield to you.

Day 5 One God, Three Persons — Worshipping the Trinity

Primary Reading: John 17:20–26 · Revelation 4:1–5:14

Theme: We end where all theology must end: in worship. The Trinity is not a puzzle to solve but a mystery to adore. On the last day, every creature will bow before the Father, Son, and Spirit—we begin that worship now.

Connecting Scripture Passages

John 17:20–23

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us…

Jesus’ final prayer is Trinitarian: he asks the Father that believers may share in the divine unity. The goal of salvation is participation in the life of the Trinity.

Revelation 4:8‑5:12

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come… Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!

Heaven’s worship is directed to the Father (ch.4) and to the Lamb—the Son (ch.5)—by the power of the Spirit. This is the eternal Trinitarian doxology we are being prepared for.

Ephesians 3:14–19

I bow my knees before the Father… that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

Paul’s great prayer is structurally Trinitarian: to the Father, through the Spirit, so that Christ dwells within. This is the pattern of all Christian prayer and life.

2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

This Apostolic benediction is perhaps the earliest Trinitarian formula in the New Testament—grace from the Son, love from the Father, fellowship from the Spirit.

Gloria Patri (Doxology)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The church has sung this since the earliest centuries. To learn the Trinity is ultimately to learn this song—and to sing it forever.

Reflection

Read Revelation 4–5 slowly, as if you were in the room. What does this vision of heavenly worship stir in you? How might your daily life look different if you were consciously living toward this eternal scene?

Prayer Focus

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one God, now and forever. Receive my praise today as an installment of the eternal worship I was made for. Make me a worshipper in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, to your glory. Amen.

Athanasian Creed — A Confession to Close

"We worship one God in three persons, and three persons in one God, without confusing the persons, nor dividing the divine being. For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is still another. But there is one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all equal in glory and eternal majesty."

Amen.

PART THREE: HYMNS ON THE TRIUNE GOD

The church has always sung its theology. These hymns—spanning fifteen centuries—give voice to what the catechism confesses and the Bible reading plan opens up. Several were sung in the Trinity Sunday service from which this study grows. Stanzas are drawn from public domain texts; hymns still under copyright are referenced by title so you can find them through licensed sources.

Note on Copyright: Stanzas reproduced below are from hymns in the public domain. Copyrighted hymns from the Trinity Sunday service—including “O Trinity, O Trinity” (Michael Saward / © Jubilate Hymns), “We Believe in One God — Beautiful Mystery” (© Joel Pridmore & David Lyon / Jubilate Hymns), and “The King in All His Beauty”—are listed by title only. Contact Jubilate Hymns (copyrightmanager@jubilatehymns.co.uk) for licensed reproduction.

1. Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty

Reginald Heber, 1826 • Sung at Trinity Sunday, May 31, 2026 — Opening Hymn of Praise

1.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song of praise shall rise:

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

2.

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,

Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;

Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,

Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

3.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,

Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,

Only thou art holy; there is none beside thee

Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

4.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea;

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Connection to Study

Written specifically for Trinity Sunday, Heber's hymn is the church's great Trinitarian doxology in song. Its repeated triple “Holy” echoes the seraphim of Isaiah 6 (read in the Trinity Sunday service), and its closing line “God in three Persons, blessed Trinity” speaks directly to Q4 and Q7 of the catechism. The second stanza points toward Day 5 of the reading plan—the heavenly worship of Revelation 4.

2. Creator Spirit, by Whose Aid

Rabanus Maurus (776–856), tr. John Dryden (1693), alt. • Sung at Trinity Sunday, May 31, 2026 — Hymn-Prayer before the Sermon

1.

Creator Spirit, by whose aid

The world's foundations first were laid,

Come, visit every humble mind;

Come, pour thy joys on humankind;

From sin and sorrow set us free,

And make thy temples worthy thee.

2.

O Source of uncreated light,

The bearer of God's gracious might,

Thrice holy fount, thrice holy fire,

Our hearts with heavenly love inspire;

Thy sacred healing message bring

To sanctify us as we sing.

3.

Giver of grace, descend from high,

Thy sev’nfold gifts to us supply;

Help us eternal truths receive,

And practice all that we believe;

Give us thyself, that we may see

The Father and the Son by thee.

4.

Immortal honor, endless fame,

Attend the Almighty Father’s name;

The Savior Son be glorified,

Who for lost man’s redemption died;

To thee, O Paraclete, we raise

Unending songs of thanks and praise.

Connection to Study

One of the oldest hymns to the Holy Spirit in the Western church, dating to the Carolingian era. It was sung before the sermon as a prayer for the Spirit’s illumination—directly connecting to Q13–15 of the catechism on the Spirit’s person and work, and to Day 4 of the reading plan. Notice how stanza 3 is explicitly Trinitarian: we receive the Spirit so that we may see “the Father and the Son by thee”—the Spirit’s indwelling reveals the whole Trinity.

3. Holy God, We Praise Your Name

Ignaz Franz (1771), tr. Clarence Walworth (1853) — from Te Deum Laudamus • Sung at Trinity Sunday, May 31, 2026 — Closing Sending Hymn

1.

Holy God, we praise thy name;

Lord of all, we bow before thee;

All on earth thy scepter claim,

All in heav’n above adore thee.

Infinite thy vast domain;

Everlasting is thy reign.

2.

Hark, the loud celestial hymn

Angel choirs above are raising;

Cherubim and seraphim,

In unceasing chorus praising,

Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:

“Holy, holy, holy Lord.”

3.

Lo! the apostolic train

Joins thy sacred name to hallow;

Prophets swell the glad refrain,

And the white-robed martyrs follow;

And from morn to set of sun,

Through the church the song goes on.

4.

Holy Father, Holy Son,

Holy Spirit: three we name thee;

Though in essence only one,

Undivided God we claim thee,

And adoring bend the knee

While we own the mystery.

Connection to Study

A translation of the ancient Te Deum Laudamus (“We praise thee, O God”), one of the oldest continuous acts of worship in Christian history. Stanza 4 is a perfect sung summary of the Athanasian Creed recited in the service: “Though in essence only one / Undivided God we claim thee” echoes Q4 and Q6 of the catechism. It pairs naturally with the catechism’s closing creedal confession.

4. All Praise and Thanks to God (Doxological Stanza)

Martin Rinkart (1636), tr. Catherine Winkworth (1858) — Tune: Nun Danket • Sung at Trinity Sunday, May 31, 2026 — Doxology at the Offering

1.

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,

The Son, and Spirit too, with them in highest heaven;

The one eternal God, whom earth and heaven adore;

For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

Connection to Study

This Trinitarian doxology is one of the most compact and complete statements of praise to the three persons in all of hymnody. In a single stanza it names Father, Son, and Spirit; acknowledges their equality in heaven; and confesses God’s eternity (“was, is now, and shall be”—echoing Q2 on God’s eternal nature). Its brevity makes it ideal for memorization alongside the catechism answers.

5. Come, Thou Almighty King

Anonymous, c. 1757 (attr. Charles Wesley) — Public Domain • Classic Trinitarian Hymn — Address to Each Person of the Godhead

1.

Come, thou Almighty King,

Help us thy name to sing,

Help us to praise:

Father, all glorious,

O’er all victorious,

Come, and reign over us,

Ancient of Days.

2.

Come, thou Incarnate Word,

Gird on thy mighty sword,

Our prayer attend:

Come, and thy people bless,

And give thy word success;

Spirit of holiness,

On us descend.

3.

Come, Holy Comforter,

Thy sacred witness bear

In this glad hour:

Thou who almighty art,

Now rule in every heart,

And ne’er from us depart,

Spirit of power.

4.

To the great One in Three

Eternal praises be,

Hence evermore!

His sovereign majesty

May we in glory see,

And to eternity

Love and adore.

Connection to Study

A rare hymn that addresses each person of the Trinity in succession—Father (st. 1), Son as Incarnate Word (st. 2), Holy Comforter (st. 3)—before uniting all three in praise (st. 4). This structure mirrors the catechism’s units 3–5 and the three-day progression of the reading plan (Days 2–4). The closing stanza—“To the great One in Three”—is one of the most beloved Trinitarian doxologies in English hymnody.

6. Gloria Patri (Glory Be to the Father)

Ancient liturgical doxology — text 3rd cent., present form c. 7th cent. • Sung since the earliest centuries — Used in Trinity Sunday Service

1.

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. Amen.

Connection to Study

Perhaps the oldest corporate Trinitarian declaration still in continuous use. Its second line (“As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be”) directly addresses Q2 of the catechism—God’s eternal, unchanging nature. The sermon noted that the congregation sang the Gloria Patri, and it was this line that led the preacher into his meditation on eternity and the mutual indwelling of the Trinity. Ideal for memorization alongside Q1 and Q2.

7. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Robert Robinson, 1758 — Public Domain • Classic Hymn on Grace, Redemption, and the Spirit’s Sealing

1.

Come, thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above;

Praise the mount—I’m fixed upon it—

Mount of God’s unchanging love.

2.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;

Hither by thy help I’m come;

And I hope, by thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed his precious blood.

3.

Oh, to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let that grace now, like a fetter,

Bind my wand’ring heart to thee:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it;

Seal it for thy courts above.

Connection to Study

Though not explicitly a Trinity hymn, this beloved text moves through the full Trinitarian economy of salvation: the Father as the Fount of every blessing; the Son who sought the wandering sinner and shed his blood; the Spirit who seals the heart for glory. The closing petition—“Seal it for thy courts above”—connects beautifully to Q15 of the catechism on the Spirit’s indwelling and to Day 4 of the reading plan.

8. All Creatures of Our God and King

Francis of Assisi (1225), tr. William Henry Draper (1926) — Public Domain • Classic Doxology of Creation — Trinitarian Final Stanza

1.

All creatures of our God and King,

Lift up your voice and with us sing

Alleluia, alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam,

O praise him, O praise him,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

5.

Let all things their Creator bless,

And worship him in humbleness,

O praise him, alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, three in one,

O praise him, O praise him,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Connection to Study

Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Sun” ends in a full Trinitarian doxology that sweeps creation into the praise of God. The final stanza—“Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son / And praise the Spirit, three in one”—is a fitting close to any study of the Trinity, linking the beauty of creation (Q1: God as source of all things) to the praise of all three persons (Q4). It pairs well with Day 5’s meditation on Revelation 4–5.

Copyrighted Hymns from the Trinity Sunday Service

The following hymns were sung during the Trinity Sunday service and are referenced throughout this study. Because they remain under copyright, stanzas cannot be reproduced here. They are recommended for use through licensed channels.

“O Trinity, O Trinity”

Michael Saward (born 1932), from the Lenten Triodion of the Orthodox Church. © Michael Saward / Jubilate Hymns. Meter: 8 6 8 6 7 7 8 8. A rich meditation on the mystery and majesty of the Father, Son, and Spirit, and the prayer of earthbound creatures for tongues lit by “flaming fire.” Directly addresses the sermon’s theme of human words falling short before the glory of God. Contact: copyrightmanager@jubilatehymns.co.uk

“We Believe in One God — Beautiful Mystery”

Words & music: © Joel Pridmore & David Lyon / Jubilate Hymns. Sung as the congregational response after the Athanasian Creed, this contemporary hymn moves through all three persons—Father as King of Creation, Son as the Word incarnate, Spirit as Ruach and Counselor—with the refrain: “This beautiful mystery: our God is One, / majestic in unity, perfect in love.”

“The King in All His Beauty”

A contemporary worship hymn tracing the Son’s glory from heaven to the cross to his resurrection reign. Sung at the “We Exalt One Lord” section of the service, it connects to Q10–12 of the catechism on the person and work of God the Son.

“O God, Your Mercy, Moved by Love”

Text: J. Alec Motyer. © Mrs C Motyer-Lowndes. Sung as the Communion hymn, it meditates on Christ as the living bread and the eucharistic fellowship of the body of Christ—connecting to the Lord’s Supper celebrated in the same service.

Hymn–Catechism–Reading Plan Concordance

Use this table to connect each hymn with the catechism questions and reading days it illuminates most directly.

© = copyrighted hymn; licensed reproduction required.