Trinity Sunday 2008 John 3:9-15 (ESV)

2008-05-18 audio

O Blessed Holy Trinity, Divine, eternal Unity, God Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Be Thou this day my Guide and Host. Amen.

This morning is Trinity Sunday, and on this day we confess and our faith in the one true God, The Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We have completed the half of the Church Year that speaks of the saving work of our Savior Jesus Christ when He was on earth. We again heard of his long awaited first coming at Advent, His wonderful birth at Christmas, His being made known as God and man at Epiphany, His passion at Lent, His suffering and death on the cross during Holy Week, His victorious resurrection at Easter, and recently, His glorious returning to the Father at Ascension. And last Sunday we heard about the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the Church at Pentecost.

Now today we ponder the mystery of the Trinity. And who can completely understand it? The Apostle Paul asks,

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid?” For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

Here Paul reflects on the great mysteries that are God. Not even to the great Apostle was revealed everything concerning God, nor could it all have been. Paul senses this and asks this question that has only one possible answer: No one.

No one can fully understand God: who He is, and what is His nature. Nor can anyone look into the mind of God and anticipate His actions.

And above all, no one can fully grasp that God’s judgments would allow for the death of His Son to be an acceptable sacrifice for the sin of the whole world: That His wrath against sinful people would be turned away because His Son willingly was lifted up on the cross that whoever believe in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Who can understand God’s love for the world? For you? For me?

When Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, he came with a limited understanding about God. Israel had been promised that a day was coming when they would see God. They waited for the Messiah, or Deliverer, but by this time they wanted someone who would restore them to the “good old days” when Israel was an important nation.

Jesus tells Nicodemus that His understanding of God would continue to be limited and fall short unless He was taught and saw God through the One Whom God had sent, Who is God Himself.

Jesus is the One Who has ascended into heaven, Who descended from heaven, He is the Son of Man. He is the One sent by God. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so was Jesus, the Son of Man, lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.

But they refused to believe in Jesus. They would not have a God Who became human and suffered and died. This is the way of sinful people, and it is no less different in our day as well.

Even we are tempted to consider a different plan for ourselves than the one God, our creator, savior and redeemer has for us. We want things to go our own way. We want to ascend into heaven rather than have God come to us. We prefer to grasp God rather than have him rescue us.

Who wasn’t tempted to think while we read the Athanasian Creed, “wouldn’t it just be better to praise God, than to recite all these theological things about Him.”

But so much of human-praise is also human centered. It emphasizes what we feel, and what seems right to us.” We are less inclined to sing and talk about the work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as we are about “who am I?”

Speaking about God means taking off the sandals of our human reason, and we don’t like the feeling of our bare feet on the holy ground before God.

But the truth of the Trinity shows us that God has become man in Jesus Christ and has saved us, and that He has given us His Holy Spirit so that we may believe in Jesus and be saved. This same Spirit also makes us holy and preserves our faith.

Today as we consider the truths concerning God revealed in His Word, and even the things which are unknown to us and beyond our grasp, we see that all that is necessary for us to be saved has been provided for us in the cross of Christ.

That here (pulpit), and here (baptismal font), and especially here (altar), are the places God would meet us and we would see Him face to face. And if God seems indiscernible to us in the face of the pastor, and in his voice, and in his hand, then consider Jesus’ words to Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.”

And repent of your unbelief. And, on the basis of the Word of God and on Jesus’ own Word, come and receive God where He would be received. And behold Him where He would be held. And taste and see that the Lord is good. Receive the forgiveness, life and salvation that your Triune God has for you. And believe in Jesus, Whom God has sent. Amen.