I.　Through God the Son, who is the Accomplisher, the means, and in God the Spirit, who is the Executor, the application, we have access unto God the Father, who is the Originator, the unique source—Eph. 2:18:

A.　Positionally, we were reconciled to God; experientially, we have access unto the Father—vv. 16, 18:

1.　To be reconciled to God is to be saved; to have access unto the Father is to enjoy God.

2.　Both the Jewish and the Gentile believers have access to the Father through Christ—John 14:6; Eph. 2:18:

a.　Both Jewish and the Gentile believers were reconciled in one Body of God; this was a positional matter—v. 16.

b.　Now they both have access in one Spirit unto the Father; this is experiential; in order to enjoy experientially what we have positionally, we need to be in the Spirit—v. 18.

3.　To have access to the Father is to contact God for our enjoyment; having been reconciled to God once for all, we now have access to the Father for continual enjoyment—John 14:6.

4.　When we contact God, we come to Him through Christ in the Spirit to the Father; this is the Triune God in our experience and enjoyment—Eph. 2:18.

B.　The Father came to us through the Son in the Spirit, and now the Spirit brings us back to the Father through the Son; through this wonderful two-way traffic, we enjoy the dispensing of the Triune God—2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 3:16-17a.

C.　When the Son comes to preach the gospel to us, the Spirit also comes; when we receive the Son in His preaching, we receive the Spirit, and then the Spirit brings us back to the Father through the Son—2:17; John 14:16-18; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17a.

D.　When we call on the Lord, passing through the Son, we are in the Spirit, because the Son and the Spirit are one and because the Spirit is the reality of the Son's name; when we are in the Spirit, we have access to the Father, because the Father and the Son are one—1 Cor. 12:3; John 10:30.

E.　According to the truth, there are three steps—access through the Son, in the Spirit, and unto the Father; in our practical experience, however, these are three aspects of one experience:

1.　When we believe in the Lord, we are in the Spirit and we have access to the Father—Eph. 2:18.

2.　Once we call on the Lord's name, we immediately have access in the Spirit unto the Father, because the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one.

F.　Through the Son is through the Triune God, in the Spirit is in the Triune God, and unto the Father is unto the Triune God; this is how we experience the Triune God—v. 18.

II.　The sequence of the Divine Trinity in Luke 15 is the same as that in Ephesians 2:18:

A.　In the entire New Testament, Luke 15 is the chapter which most clearly reveals the mystery of the Divine Trinity, with a particular emphasis on the love of the Triune God toward sinners.

B.　The Lord Jesus spoke three parables depicting how the Divine Trinity works to bring sinners back through the Son by the Spirit to the Father.

C.　In Luke 15 the sequence begins with the Son, goes to the Spirit, and leads to the Father; this wonderful sequence is according to the steps of God's salvation, which is based on Christ's redemption.

D.　The Son came as the Shepherd to seek after the lost sheep (vv. 1-7), the Spirit as the woman enlightens the house and eventually finds the lost coin (vv. 8-10), and the Father receives the returned Son (vv. 11-32); this shows the divine economy of the Divine Trinity with the redeeming Son, the sanctifying Spirit, and the receiving Father—Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7; 2 Thes. 2:13:

1.　The reason the Son is mentioned first is that in God's salvation the One who comes, practically speaking, is the Son; the Son comes to accomplish redemption, the foundation of our salvation—Gal. 1:4.

2.　Then the Spirit comes to find us; because of the Spirit's finding of us, we repent and come back to the Father, who is waiting to receive us.

E.　The parables in Luke 15:3-32 unveil the love of the Triune God toward sinners:

1.　The Lord's word here emphasizes the love of the Divine Trinity more than the fallen condition and repentance of the penitent sinner.

2.　The divine love is fully expressed in the Son's tender care as the good Shepherd, in the Spirit's fine seeking as the treasure lover, and in the Father's warm receiving as a loving father—John 16:27; Eph. 2:4.

III.　The Divine Trinity revealed in Ephesians 2:18 and Luke 15:3-32 is the triune entrance into the New Jerusalem:

A.　The Triune God is our entrance into Himself; the three gates on each of the fours sides of the New Jerusalem signify the entrance through the Triune God—Rev. 21:13:

1.　The three persons of the Godhead are the three gates which form one complete entrance—Matt. 28:18; 2 Cor. 13:14; Rev. 1:4-6.

2.　The Son's redeeming, the Spirit's seeking, and the Father's receiving are a threefold entrance into the New Jerusalem.

B.　Ephesians 2:18 and the parables in Luke 15 unveil a complete triune entrance, one entrance in three steps:

1.　The Son died on the cross to find us outwardly, the Spirit came to seek us by searching within our being, and due to the Spirit's inner searching, we repented and came back to the Father.

2.　Based upon the Son's redemption and through the Spirit's searching, the Father is ready to receive us back to Himself so that we may enjoy Him; this is the triune entrance into the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:13.