The Holy Trinity
Season after Pentecost • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The television series Batman ran from January 1966 – March 1968 and has been running regularly on TV ever since. Batman, with his trusty sidekick Robin, dealt with all kinds of supervillains – the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, and more. In every episode, the two heroes always found themselves in some kind of sticky situation, to which Robin had some witty exclamation beginning with the word “holy.” In one episode it was “Holy strawberries Batman! We’re in a jam!” Sometimes we begin our exclamations the same way: Holy cow! Holy mackerel! Holy moly! Holy macaroni!
Is that why today is called “Holy Trinity!” Sunday? Is it an exclamation of surprise? Not at all. We use the word “Holy” for this Sunday because it describes our God. He is holy and perfect. God is worthy of our worship and praise. We are familiar with the word “holy,” but what about that other word, “Trinity”? We won’t find it in the Bible. Our early church fathers coined this term to describe the central teaching of the Bible on which our faith is founded. They took two Latin words: “tri” which means “three” and “une” which means “one.” God is three persons in one God - the Trinity.
One of the three ancient creeds, the Athanasian Creed, expresses this teaching in detail. 3 Now this is the true Christian faith: 4 We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being. 5 For each person—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—is distinct, 6 but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty. 23 So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. 24 And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior; 25 but all three persons are coequal and coeternal, so that in every way, as stated before, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped. 26 Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.
That’s not easy to follow! There are a lot of big words, and it feels like the sentences twist around, back and forth until we’re so dizzy we can’t follow what they’re saying. Let's take a closer look at the Bible and where it refers to the “three-in-oneness” of God so we get a better picture of who he is and what he does for us.
Our first reading took us back to the beginning of all things – the creation of the world. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was undeveloped and empty. Darkness covered the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:1–2 EHV). At the very beginning, when everything was still shrouded in darkness and chaos, God was there. The Spirit of God hovered over the waters like a mother bird protecting her young from disaster. Then God spoke everything into existence - the light; the sky; dry land and seas; plants and trees; sun, moon and stars; sea creatures and birds; and land animals. Then, he set out to form the crown of his creation from the dust of the earth. “God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that crawls on the earth”” (Genesis 1:26 EHV). “Let us.” With that phrase God revealed that the one true God is also our personal God.
Jesus’ words in Matthew 28 help us better understand who God was talking to when he said, “Let us.” Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19 NIV). Three distinct, unique persons, yet one God. Boom! Mind blown! How can this be? The simple answer to this deep question is: we don’t know. We can’t know. The God we have come to worship this morning, the God we serve is greater than we are, and shrouds himself in mystery.
Let’s come up with a list of characteristics that show God is greater than we are.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well: “God is spirit” (John 4:24 NIV). He is a spirit – that is a living being without flesh and bones.
Before Moses died he said, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27 NIV). God is eternal – without beginning or end.
When God promised that Abraham would have a son, he reassured him, “I am God Almighty” (Genesis 17:1 NIV). God has all power. He is omnipotent. That means he can do anything!
Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends, confessed: “Lord, you know all things” (John 21:17 NIV). Jesus knows everything – that’s what the word omniscient means.
When false prophets threatened to lead his people astray, the LORD announced, “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:24 NIV). God is everywhere all the time. We call that being omnipresent.
When it comes to doing what is right and good, God does it perfectly! Moses proclaimed, “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4 NIV).
Finally, “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin”” (Exodus 34:6–7 NIV). God is loving and forgiving, no matter what!
Are any of us here today like God? No! We are human beings with flesh and blood bodies that one day will die and turn back to dust. We aren’t all-powerful. No one has solved the riddle of cancer, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, or HIV. We don’t know everything. King Solomon came close, but even his great wisdom didn’t prevent him from making mistakes as he chased power, money, glory, and women. There’s no way for us to be present everywhere all the time. We’re stuck in one place at one time. When it comes to being fair, or faithful, or loving, or forgiving, we don’t measure up.
We are sinful, imperfect, weak beings. We aren’t like God. We can’t be like him. If we were, he wouldn’t be God! Which would we prefer – a God who is just like us, imperfect, prone to fits of temper and anger, self-centered, and bent on revenge?
Or, do we prefer the God who has revealed himself in the Bible, one who has shared just enough so we catch a glimpse of his characteristics and his glory, but who cloaks himself in mystery because we can’t handle seeing him as he really is?
This is our God – clothed with splendor and majesty, robed in light. We hide our faces from him in shame and throw ourselves to the ground in submission. We say along with Isaiah, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!” (Isaiah 6:5 NIV).
But wait, we aren’t ruined. Neither were Paul’s friends in Corinth. Remember all of the issues in the Corinthian congregation we heard about last week? They were arrogant, haughty, proud, unkind, and unloving. They walked all over each other. No one would have ever considered them saints. And yet, at the end of a second long letter Paul calls them his brothers and sisters. Faith in Jesus had united them into one body, the body of Jesus himself. As Paul finished this piece of correspondence he shared a beautiful blessing. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14 EHV).
Paul wanted his people to know that this hidden God – who was so perfect and holy in all he did that no one would dare approach him – was willing to approach them and is willing to approach us. He comes to us with these words of blessing. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself what a “blessing” is? I have to admit, I haven’t. I looked it up to find a definition. A blessing is a word of approval or encouragement. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blessing
Our God comes to us with his word of approval, his word of encouragement. He doesn’t bless us because we deserve it. He blesses because he wants us to know he is part of our lives and he has some incredible encouragement to share as we walk through today, and tomorrow, and the day after.
The first word of approval and encouragement is “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.” The Savior came to give us God’s riches at Christ’s expense. Jesus paid an awful price, one that he didn’t deserve to pay, so that we can live. When we hear the words of this blessing God is pouring out this grace on us and we live. He sets us free from guilt and shame. We can walk out of this room with our heads held high because we have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Then comes “the love of God.” God’s love has nothing to do with emotion and everything to do with action. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). No one loves us as deeply as our Creator. No one provides for us and protects us as well as our Father. No one puts as much on the line as God did for us, and he pours out his undeserved, unconditional love whenever we hear this part of the blessing.
Finally we hear, “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” We have a fellowship hall here at Christ the Rock. We gather together to eat, to drink, to talk, to study, and to pray. It’s about relationships. That’s what God the Holy Spirit pours into us – relationship. He brings us to faith by the power of the Word and baptism. He keeps us connected to Jesus as we continue to use the Word. He forgives our sins. He guarantees the gift of eternal life. He pours all of that into us when we hear this part of the blessing.
Our Triune God pours his blessing into us so that we can pour ourselves into our relationships with each other. Paul concluded, “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Set things in order. Be encouraged. Agree with one another. Be at peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11 EHV). Instead of waking up every morning and remembering all the reasons today won’t be a good day, we can wake up and rejoice. It’s a new day with a fresh start.
I am one of the most disorganized people I know. I like to think I can follow a list of things I need to do in my head, but it never works. Paul encouraged us to “set things in order.” Have a plan. Make a list. Set some goals. Those are all valuable ways to serve the people around us to the best of our abilities.
When things don’t go well and we don’t hit all our goals, “be encouraged.” Who is the only one who has ever followed the plan, made a list, set his goals, and did it all perfectly? Jesus! So be encouraged, no matter how many or few items on the list get checked off.
It’s so easy to fight over those lists and goals. Everyone has different ideas and opinions. What color should we paint the walls? Carpeting or laminate? Green chairs or red? Blue hymnal or worship folders? Even if our preference doesn’t win, we can support the decision because we’re working together. We can “be at peace” with each other, all because “the God of love and peace will be with you!” Whenever we gather for worship and hear God’s words of blessing, that’s the greatest news of all. Our Triune God is not the God of hate and unrest. He’s not the God of hostility and conflict. God loves us with an everlasting love. He covers us with his peace when life is spiraling out of control. He comes to us today, on Holy Trinity Sunday, to pour his blessing on our lives and into our hearts. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14 EHV). Amen!
To God alone the glory! Pastor Jon Brohn
