Trinity 2025

Today is Trinity Sunday—a day in the church calendar when we pause to celebrate and reflect on how God has made Himself known to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It’s something we confess simply and clearly during baptisms:

“Do you believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth?” We do.

“Do you believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, who redeemed humankind?” We do.

“Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies the people of God?” We do.

This confession sounds natural to us now—almost second nature. Many of us were raised with it. But for the earliest believers, such a claim was radical and even controversial.

At the heart of Jewish faith is the Shema—a daily prayer and core declaration:

Deuteronomy 6:4 NRSV

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.

To say, as Christians do, that Jesus is one with God—and so is the Holy Spirit—was a bold step. It stirred deep debates in the early church. In fact, it wasn't until the second century that a theologian named Tertullian first used the Latin word Trinitas to describe this mystery: One God in three Persons.

Of course, over the centuries, we’ve tried to explain the Trinity using analogies—like water as liquid, ice, and steam… or an egg’s shell, yolk, and white. But these fall short.

They tame mystery into metaphor. And the Trinity is not something to be simplified—it is something to be entered into.

All we have is experience. And from that experience we draw a picture - a picture limited by our own understanding.

We have known and experienced God as Father. We have known and experienced God as Son. We have known and experienced God as Holy Spirit.

Rather than trying to explain this mystery, the right response is worship—to glorify God who is Three in One and One in Three. And so today, I invite us to experience the Trinity in this way.

Chosen by the Father – Creator and Sustainer

Psalm 8 is a song of awe—a moment where a person looks at the world and is moved to worship.

Psalm 8:1 NRSV

1 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.

There’s something instinctive in us—from our earliest days—that senses God's majesty. Whether it's in the starlit sky or in the intricate design of a beetle under a microscope, something in us responds with wonder. That’s worship.

But Psalm 8 takes us further—from worship into relationship:

Psalm 8:4–5 NRSV

4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? 5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.

The God who created galaxies is also mindful of us. God gives us not only life, but dignity and purpose. He entrusts us with the care of creation.

And yet, even in this glorious calling, something is not right.

That relationship is strained—broken by sin. We have not been faithful stewards. We know God as Father—but we feel the distance, the separation.

And so, the experience of the Trinity moves forward…

Redeemed by the Son – Justified and Loved

Many religious traditions wrestle with the sense of separation from the God. We respond with rules or rituals to appease God. But the heart of the Christian gospel is this: God came to us.

Romans 4:25 NRSV

25 who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

And then Paul continues:

Romans 5:1 NRSV

1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Jesus, the Son, does not just reveal who God is—He bridges the gap. In Him, we are not only forgiven—we are brought into peace with God.

To know Jesus is to know that God does not stay far off.

In Christ, the Creator becomes Emmanuel—God with us. He eats with us, teaches us, heals us, dies for us, and rises to make us whole.

This is not just information about God—it is a relationship restored.

God has actively reached out to us - adopted us as His children.

Sanctified by the Holy Spirit – Guided and Transformed

And the Trinity is not just past tense. It is present, now. Because God is not only Creator and Redeemer—God is also Sanctifier. The Spirit of God is with us and within us.

Romans 5:5 NRSV

5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

And Jesus says in the Gospel of John:

John 16:13 NRSV

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

The Spirit speaks—not of His own—but continues the Word of Christ. He leads us, reminds us, and slowly shapes us to become like Christ.

The Spirit transforms our hearts, renews our minds, and empowers our lives.

So today, on Trinity Sunday...

We are invited not just to understand the Trinity—but to know God through worship, relationship, redemption, and transformation.

Let me summarise:

God the Father – is Creator, calling us into worship and relationship (Psalm 8).

God the Son – is Redeemer, justifying us and bringing peace with God (Romans 5).

God the Holy Spirit – is Sanctifier, guiding us into truth and pouring out God’s love (John 16).

We may never have the perfect analogy to explain the Trinity. But we do have the perfect invitation:

Worship the Creator

Trust the Redeemer

Be Filled with the Sanctifying Spirit

So I ask you again:

Do you believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and Earth? We do.

Do you believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, who redeemed humankind? We do.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies the people of God? We do.

Thanks be to the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.