The Trinity gets together

I love it when God shows me little nuggets of Himself during quiet times. Today, as I continue to think about the Christmas season, I focused on a familiar text that describes what happened after baby Jesus had been brought to the Temple for purification and the ancient redemption exchange called "Pidyon-Haben."

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

 -Luke 2: 25-32

In this familiar text, God's faithful servant Simeon has been told by God Himself that Simeon would personally see Jesus before death. The series of events in particular is fascinating, because it describes the Holy Spirit as "upon him," and that Simeon "came in the Spirit into the Temple." In Old Testament accounts, the Spirit would come and indwell people such as Joshua (Numbers 27:18), David (1 Samuel 16:12-13) and even Saul (1 Samuel 10:10) in order for God to do His work. We even see the Spirit in the forms of fire and clouds in Exodus 13:21: "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night." In all of these cases, the presence of the Spirit was for a specific purpose and also temporary; when the work had been done, the Spirit would depart.

In the account of Simeon, we see the Spirit of the Lord, one third of God's triune nature, indwelling Simeon. Simeon then enters the Temple, where God the Father, the second part of the Trinity, reveals His glory. Lastly, Simeon lays his eyes on baby Jesus, the third part of the Trinity, and takes Jesus up in his arms towards God the Father, and Simeon says that his eyes have seen God's salvation.

In other words, you literally have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit interacting with each other, on earth, in this very moment, with Simeon sitting in the middle of it. The Holy Spirit physically lifts up the Son toward the Father, and it is declared that salvation has come, a light for the Gentiles, and glory for the people of Israel.

The next time we see the three parts of the Trinity come together in similar physical manifestation? It is 30 years later at Jesus' baptism:

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” - Matthew 3:16-17