Triune God
Scripture References
Genesis 1:1-2:4a
The Creation of the World
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse[1] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made[2] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven.[3] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth,[4] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants[5] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons,[6] and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds[7] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man[8] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
The Seventh Day, God Rests
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. 4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
Acts 2:14a, 22-36
Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus,[3] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Matthew 28:16-20
The Great Commission
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[2] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Sermon Script
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, my strength and redeemer. Amen.
Triune God
Today we honor Trinity Sunday. We pause in this pivotal point of the church year to acknowledge what God speaks to us about His three-person nature through scripture. One nature being “the Son”, has drawn our attention since we acknowledged Christ’s nativity when God was made Man. Soon thereafter was God’s revealed plan at Easter as we celebrated what Jesus did for us on the cross. In the last few weeks we learned through scripture how the Son of Man initiated the Church and poured out the living waters of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples…. Empowering God’s people to “Go” … “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” As was read in the Gospel of Matthew 28 a few minutes ago.
Jesus’ deity rings out to us in this verse as we give our undivided attention today to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit… we focus on what God reveals about Himself… His innermost being… His divine nature without any miracles or works. Trinity Sunday is a pivotal week because what we call the three persons of God, is a reality we as Christians must anchor our faith on….
A reality in what God says of Himself. This reality and belief in our Triune God is the foundation of our salvation. And we must rise above any reasoning the world dares to say differently. And believe me it will.
Martin Luther once said of the Trinity… “Therefore, we should not dispute about how it can be that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are One God… for it is by its very nature beyond all reason, but it should be enough for us that God speaks thus about Himself and reveals Himself thus in His Word.”
Beyond Our Reason
Very true! It should be enough for us to learn these things through scripture. This truth we do not dispute… but wrapping our mind around it can be easier said than done. This truth beyond all reason makes it hard to resist applying analogies to help understand this mystery.
I have used several of these analogies in the past… like an egg having three parts but is still and egg. Or like me being a father, husband, and son… but still one person… Water, steam, and Ice…three natures of H2O… and there are many more. All having their own theological discrepancies. I have even heard these to describe the Trinity… Speaker… Spoken Word… and Listener. Or this one… the Father is the one who wants to comfort, the Son who prays for the comforter, and the Spirit who is the comforter.
Our mind searches for something to help understand the mystery of the Trinity. We know but we don’t understand. But it’s ok though to know something and still not understand it. I have trouble with this quite often it seems.
One episode I recall started at a council meeting here at church several years ago. My bride was getting teased about her animals, connecting it to Christmas that was quickly approaching. My gears were not turning, but I could see the look in her eye… and I have seen that look before… I could tell something was brewing. Sure enough, when we get home, she presented the idea of a living nativity. It sounded like a wonderful idea actually. So, the next few days I processed in my mind what kind of apparatus I must build to accommodate this.
I then revealed my construction plan of using a few animals in a fenced area on a trailer and a small manger scene on the end. She looked at me with bewilderment… obviously I didn’t understand. I did not understand the definition of “Living Nativity.” So, I asked the question that I should have already known… So, you mean real people too? Well… the rest is history and my project no doubt had to get bigger.
The point being though, I ignored the real purpose of a living nativity with my own reasoning and lack of understanding.
Truth In The Trinity
Understanding what God is like, how He relates to us, and how we should relate to Him is all revealed in the truth of the trinity. This understanding should make our hearts joyful towards God. For we know that all three Persons, the whole Godhead, turns Himself toward us to help our sinful nature battle the forces of sin, death, and the devil… And that is a constant battle.
He reveals Himself to us so we may be brought close to Him through forgiveness and the promise of eternal life.
You may or may not know, this is the only Sunday of the year we proclaim our faith with the Athanasian Creed. You can find it in the front of your hymnals on page 319. I’m sure this is not your favorite creed as it is quite long and somewhat repetitive… but if you really concentrate on this profession of our faith… the comprehension of the Trinity… understanding who God really is… and the apprehension of our eternal destiny is clearly proclaimed… in triplicate.
Did I really say understanding again? Well to help with that, I like to use a visual description called the Trinity triangle. As you look at this triangle up on the screen, you can see that it is fittingly an equilateral triangle. Its name derives from its equal values. All three sides of the triangle are equal in length, and the angles are all an equal 60 degrees. In more ways than one, this Equilateral Triangle is a perfection of equivalence. It might help to copy and paste this image in your mind as we confess our belief in the Athanasian Creed here pretty soon.
One God
Coeternal and coequal. You can read this triangle any direction you want. The equality, the unity of the divine presence of our Lord… keeps circling and pointing to the center as one God. This is indeed the fundamental nature of our triune God.
This divine community, our three-in-one and one-in-three God… shaped the universe into existence.
We heard this in the Genesis reading earlier as God’s plan was set into motion. Six days of creation our Lord made the heavens, the earth, and everything in it… But something special was created on that sixth day. Let me read again verse 27… “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” Creating the heavens and the earth and everything in it is no doubt quite remarkable. However, creating you and I in the image of our triune God?
Created In His Likeness
When our grandson was born a little over a year ago, we all agreed how much he looked like his dad. When he was a few months old, it was fun to compare pictures with his father when he was about the same age. Father and son could just as well have been twins. I see family similarities in many youngsters from the time they are infants and beyond. Who does this child take after? Where does the red hair come from? What similarities are there with their posture, their laugh, or their attitude…. I often get blamed for that last one…
Whose image and likeness do they bear? In verse 26 God says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Did you catch this hint of the trinity…the words us and our?). At any rate, the answer applies to all of us.
We bear the image and likeness of God. Not that our image like I compared a second ago will actually resemble God. But instead, our image reflecting God’s holy personality in thought, word, and deed.
Our triune God tells us something critical about ourselves. About whom we are created and shaped to be. The purpose for our existence and path for our eternal destination. When God created the heavens and the earth, darkness and light, plants, and all living things…. Moses writes, “And God saw everything He had made, and behold, it was very good.”
Satan Bluring Our Image
But then, Adam and Eve decided to eat of the forbidden fruit and suddenly, certain things in God’s creation were NOT good.
Even though we were created in the image of God, Satan blurred that image. Yes we are sinful and unclean… and that has been passed along to every generation since Adam… In our sinfulness, our focus easily zero’s in on the great evil in the world. The theological question arises “If our God made everything so good, why are things so bad?”
That question entered my mind during the onset of the pandemic. Why now Lord when it seems Christianity is on a decline, must we close the church doors? Remember how we only could meet with less than ten people…with a mask on… I’m sure most of us would agree. At the covid onset many of us probably thought or said…” This is not good.” And it wasn’t. Social distancing seemed to distance our relationship with God.
Not only did it affect our worship, but it also changed our way of life. Businesses faced financial stress. People were out of work. Events were being canceled. Medical facilities understaffed. We were told where we could go and where we could not. Decisions had to be made of what was essential and what was not… Life as we knew it was not good.
God Made It Good
So, it seemed. But you know what? If you recall that parking lot service in the midst of the pandemic when Pastor Felcher stood on a trailer… in a snowstorm… praising our Risen Lord on that wet and cold Easter Sunday. The congregation in rows of cars…. As Pastor’s fingers grew numb and our fellowship weakened on what should have been the greatest celebration of the year… Was changed… and Lutherans don’t like change…. But looking back, it shaped us into the truth of what the value really is of being made in the image of God.
The genuine equality of the trinity, shaping our hearts and minds to the realization…. We are ok as we live out God’s plan of what trials we encounter to ultimately make us stronger.
So here we are. Even though we face many challenges and hardships, the Bible makes it clear… God made it good. It is repeated in Genesis 1 too often to be ignored. Even though certain things in our life fall from that goodness, our loving God does not. He is always there.
Like I mentioned earlier… Not only is the creation story fundamental to the expression of the Trinity… it is also fundamental to the story of our salvation.
This reality is clear through the scriptures as we reinforce our image as Christians. Making our understanding crystal clear of why we are here with the Son… Where we are going with the Father… And how to get there with the Holy Spirit.
Truth In The Cross
On this special Sunday… we reflect who was on the cross. That person on the cross is the Lord of heaven and earth. He made the whole universe… And the first thing He said about it was that it was good. Very good. He loved it.
It was the love of creation that brought Him to that cross in the first place. Jesus came in the flesh of this world to redeem us amidst the unescapable disruptions we face daily… and it is our love for Him that roots us deep in the truths of our faith that we proclaim in the creeds… holding fast to the belief in the resurrection of the body… And eternal life for all who believe.
So it’s not as much of how three can be one, or one three… this day is the celebration of God’s work to restore us to himself… of restoring the image of God in us… and of restoring us to the fellowship and togetherness of the divine life. We are made in the image of God’s love, and righteousness… “Let us rejoice and be glad.”
In Christ, the image of God has been restored. Christ lives in us, baptized as we are by the Holy Spirit.
Our creator feeds us the feast of salvation. This is our God… true Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… vibrant in life and love… welcoming us into this enthusiasm and love through the merits of the Son… To this Son.. Jesus Christ… be all the glory, forever and ever.
And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in… The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen