The Trinity
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Today is Trinity Sunday. The trinity can often confuse people. Sometimes people don’t understand the Trinity. Sometimes people add there own ideas like “I like to think of the Trinity like this”.
Some people do not believe in the Christian idea of the Trinity.
The Trinity may be a bit confusing to you. That is ok. It is difficult to understand . Some of the greatest Christian Theologians have found God hard to explain, and hard to understand.
However, the more you do understand about the Trinity, the more you will be amazed at who God is. The deeper you gaze into the beauty of the eternal God the deeper you will feel love for Him, and you will see His love for you.
The way to best explore God is of course to find out what He says about himself.
Let’s celebrate the beauty of the trinity this Sunday.
For Today’s Opening Prayer-I will be reading a prayer from the book Valley of Vision.
prayer
Of course God is hard to fully understand. God becasue he created all things, is the master of all things. He must be far above all things, completely separate from all things , and greater than all things. God is the most prized- the most valuable, the greatest person in the universe. He was before all things, He is eternal.
Becasue he so far above the greatest things in the universe it follows logically that we just simply cannot understand Him fully-
Yet, we do not have to just throw up our hands and say well we cannot know it all so… we can just make Him out to be whoever we like. Or just walk away and not attempt to try and understand Him at all.
Sometimes, this approach has led to discussions, and misunderstandings about God and who He is. For instance people say the trinity is not in the Bible. Well that is only partially true. The WORD trinity is not in the Bible, however the the whole of the Bible from cover to covers, shows us the picture of a triune God.
Sometimes people like to think of God as just appearing in different forms. This is often what we see in movies or fiction books. Such as one time God appears like God the father. Another time God appears and is God the son Jesus. Yet a third time he appears He shows up as God the Holy Spirit.
This also is not what is in the bIble either. Many times we do only se one member of the Trinity, but other times the whole Trinity is present at the same time. That view is called modalism
This same God has given us His word, about Him, so that we can grasp enough about Him to be able to know some of who He is. And and who He is, is One God, in three persons. Not three God’s as some believe the the Christian faith believes. Not appearing as three separate people.
God the Father is one with, co-equal to, co-eternal, and consubstantial with the Son and the Holy Spirit, each Person being the one eternal God and in no way separated: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent.[28] Because of this, the Trinity is beyond reason and can only be known by revelation.[35][38]
Fortunatley God has revealed this to us, by His word. Our first reading this morning was from the Book of Isaiah chapter 6. It is a familiar passage. It is one of the places where we get a picture of God the Father in Heaven.
The passage starts with the words in the year that king UZziah died. That enables us to date fairly precisely when this man Isaiah had this vision. Isaiah had this vision of God the Father and the the throne room of heaven in 740 BC,
Is this passage we are shown the mightiness, the power, the magnificence and the Holiness of the Lord as He is heaven, and it is recorded for us, by this man Isaiah.
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “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.”
NOw, of couse as we said earlier, God as the the creator of the universe, as the one who is above things, and is all powerful and us as puny humans being in His presence, does something for the human. It puts in perspective just how small how insignificant how utterly powefrless us human are.
Have you ever played golf? Many of you have probably played golf at least once. If you have you realize it a difficult sport . But, if youplay enough you may start to think you are fairly decent. Maybe you are hitting your drives pretty good, and you are no longer chasing your ball out of bounds, and lets say you are getting pretty comfortable with golf.
Then perhaps you have the opportunity to watch some professional golfers, like Tiger in my day it was Arnold Palmer. and I even met Jack Nickalous and I saw Phil Mickelson when he was much younger. When you are standing right there and you see these guys hit a tee shot the ball takes off like a rocket, it literally explodes off the clubhead and rockets straight down the fairway. Time after time after time. I would go and pick up golf balls for a pro when I was a kid, not even a tour pro and every ball was within 100 feet, time after time.
You ralize you don;t even come close to theses guys.
No matter how big you think you think are, how powerful you are how rich you are there is always someone more powerful and rich and and bigger and smarter. And the biggest most powerful and richest giuy ever is literally a speck of dust in the unoverse, ANd God-he created the universe.
As Isaiah is in the prresence of God the Father0in the presence of bot just greatness, he has only one thought Woe is me- I am ruined. WOe is me I am ruined.
This is not the Big guy in the sky. This is not the grandfather character with a long white beard, this is a mighty a powerful and huge and scary God, and Isaiah in his presence suddenly realizes his own fragile humanity, and proclaims I am ruined Woe is me.
As we think about God the Father, the creator God, as we stare up at the night sky or feel the power of the sun, or the wind-it is not hard to feel small. In the presence of the King, we all can feel that smallness and that weakness.
As we read the pages of the OT we here about God the Father and it can seen frightening. A god who is punishing sin. ANd we are looking up weak and guilty and there seems like no way out.
But… In the next verse we get a glimpse, that there might be a way, that there might be more to the picture.
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
That same God that is scary, and imposes judgement That same God that we cannot even be in the presence of, grants mercy. He sends the angle to the altar and cleanses Isaiah. This is nothing that Isaiah does, except to be just who he is in the presence of the Almighty. God does the rest, he sends the angle and he cleanses Isaiah
The people that this was written to would recignize right away that there was sin being cleansed from a scarifice in an altar.
They and us also have this sense that this cleansing was for Isaiah, in this vision. ANd that this somehow does not slive the problem for all of us. Are we all, going to get touched with a cial from an altar brought by an agle?
We have never seen anything like this? What does a vision have to do with reality?
Years go by, until we read the words Jhn recirded -in john 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
And we find ut he is talking abiout Jesus-Co-eternal with God from the bregininng, present in creation. In some way-God Himself, came. God is also Jesus. ANd Jesus came and walked the earth. He taught and He did miracles, the whole while-God the Fatherwas still there in heaven dwelling holding sending.
Yet us people-sinful people,, could not stand in the presence if God the father still. SO Jesus God the son tells a man named Nicodemus, how that problem is going to be solved.
That was our seconf=d reading this morning. ANd Jesus starts with this thought.
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
No one can-That is not any person a;ive-Can See the kingdom where God the Father dwells. No One can see it Unless...
Unless they are born again.
and again John 3.5
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
No can even enter the kingdom of God . You cant see the kingdom of God-You cannot enter the kingdom of God- Unless..
You are Born again- and that means Born of water AND the Spirit-Capital S. Spirit. As in Holy Spirit.
How does one go about getting born of water and Spirit.
Well Jesus tells Nicodemus a little bit about this in that famous verse that evry one knows John 3:16
16 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.
For God- that is God the Father SO loved the world. God as it turns out is not wanting people to be seperate from sin. As it says in 1 peter 3.1
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
SO God the Father loves, us, and wants us to come to Him, but we have this problem of being unclean of being covered in sin. COvered in the blood of theose we killed, covered in the guilt of our hatred for ones God has greated. Covered in our self ideas of our own greatness, that we need to be cleansed, like Isaiah lips were lipos were cleansed,
So God the Father gave HIs one and only son
16 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.
The one who was with Him in the beginng He God the Father Gave God the sone to be that atonemnt for our sin. He became the sin for us-He cleansed us like the coal cleansed Isaiah lips. if only we believe in Him.
Believe that he is Gid, Believe that he can cleanse us, Believe that does cleanse us, Believe that He is our king .
For whoever believes thses things is free they are cleansed , and they are born of the SPirit/
For when you are Born- You are a Child of the one who bore you right?
SO If you are born of the spirit, who does that make you? a Child of the ling right? A child of God the Father, God the son has brought you near to God the Father, BY being born of God the Holy SPirit.
brings us to our third reading today from romans 8.
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
We are children of God,
15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
You are not in fear again- Fear of the Almighty, Fear of Death. Fear of not being lioved, fear of not being sustained or fear of not being provided for, You do not have to god back there, Becasue the SPirit you recieved- past tense- Not are reciebinf not will recive the SPirit You Reciebved- Yobrought about your adoption.
The SPirit adpoted you. You have nothing to fear, you do not have to be like Isiah any linger, being ruined, Woe is me. It the Greayes most wonderfuul most valuable most powerful person in the universe has adopted you-THere is nothing to fear, You have recieved that sonship.
WHich enables you to look at that the Holy might powerfulGod the Father and cry Abba Father-Abba the endearing formn of Father-the loving comforting, coimpanion, form of the word Father the intimate for if the word Father, some have said like daddy It is lioving loving, safe comforting father.
Not like your earthly Father -warmedr, safer, more living more caring more comforting/
16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
ANd we know -He God the Father - has adopted us becasue God the Holy Spirit COnfirms it to you. You know-You can tell-there is change-s,mrething has happened-you are made new, you have this love and intimacy with God the Father and you know, the fear is gone, and love has rushed in to fill its place.
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
As children We are heirs, Heors of the king Co-heoirs with CHrist, We are part of the kingdom and the king owns all the land. We have the inheritance rights to the promised land. We have the rights to eternal life, We are given this in Christ.- Of indeed we share in His sufferengis
This certainly means persecution and rejection surrounding the gospel. It ceertainly means pain over sin and temptation, weeoping over the loss of things, the struggle and hardship of living in a sin filled world as one trying to walk in rightousness and truth. It can mean suffering for the gospel for some it may mean dying for the faith, for others lising family or jobs, whatever your suffering in this world that is attached to the belief in Jesus we are sharing in Christ’s Suffering -but rest assured. this does not last forever,
Someday brothers and sister we will share in His glory Rest assured one dat we will stand in the throne room of the almighty and we will not be ashamed we will not be ruined, instead we stand in the throne room and cry Abba Father,