Holy Trinity Sunday

<)) Listen to the sermon here

Your Salvation, the Holy Trinity’s Work

I. We believe in one, unique God.

·         The word “God” – G_O_D – can mean a lot of things to a lot of people.

·         Some organizations/events purposely use “G_O_D” in a broad, vague way – so each person can fill in their own meaning.

·         Such things, I believe, are well meaning – but misguided.

·         In reality, God can only be who God really is.

·         Beliefs about God that contradict each other can’t both be true.

·         We should endeavor seriously to know who the true God is.

-  Who do we mean, uniquely and specifically, when we say “God”?

II. The doctrine of the Trinity

·        We confess that God is specifically the Triune God – Trinity – Three in One.

·        Father, Son, Holy Spirit – 3 distinct persons; 1 undivided God.

-  The Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and the Son are not the Father or each other. 3 distinct persons.

-  Yet, there are not three Gods / Lords / Almighties / Eternals –  but only 1.

·         CoEternal: Never a time when there weren’t all three – from before the beginning.

·         Distinct in how they relate to each other:

-  Father begets Son. Holy Spirit proceeds from both.

·         Distinct in their roles:

-  Father, Creator – Son, Redeemer – Holy Spirit, Sanctifier/Comforter/Encourager.

·         Distinct, but never divided.

-  They share one, undivided divine substance – that of the Father.

·         They never work alone, but all three are involved in each of their distinct roles.

-  Father creates through the Son.

-  Son was sent by Father to be Redeemer.

-  Holy Spirit applies and points to the saving work of Christ’s cross.

-  3 persons, 1 God. And 2 natures in Christ.

III. The doctrine of the Incarnation. (Jesus)

·         God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, is both fully God and fully man.

-  He is God from all eternity from the Father’s divine substance.

-  He is man since His conception and birth from the substance of His mother, Mary, a virgin.

·         Jesus, the Son of God, God the Son, is 1 person with 2 natures (divine and human).

·         Not two people in one body. One person with two distinct but never separated natures.

IV. We believe this from Scripture alone.

·         Scripture is clear that there is one One God.

-  “The Lord our God the Lord is one” [Deuteronomy 6:4]

-  “You shall have no other gods beside Me” [Exodus 20:3]

·         Yet, in many passages, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all spoken of as God.

-  Divine attributes. Divine names. Are worshiped. Are called God. (See attached)

-  Does it matter? Yes.

V. Trinity and Incarnation matter because they’re about our salvation.

·         Our eternal salvation is by the coordinated work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

-  “For God [the Father] so loved the world, that He gave [Incarnation: Conceived by the Holy Spirit; Cross, Son given for us] His only Son [Jesus], that whoever believes [Faith is work of Holy Spirit] in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

-  “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” – 1 Corinthians 12:3 

·         Our eternal salvation depends on the two natures of Christ

-  Had to be human to live and die in our place.

-  Had to be God for His self-offering on the cross to have infinite value.

-  The Athanasian Creed is all about what we believe in order to be saved.

VI. To do good or to do evil is to believe or disbelieve.

“Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith (belief).”

“Those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire."

·         Biblically, to do good or evil is to believe or disbelieve. (Roots of two different trees)

-  “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” [John 3:18]

-  “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son.” [1 John 5:10]

-  “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” [John 5:24]

·         “Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness” [Romans 4:3; Galatians 3:6; Genesis 15:16]

·         “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” — “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” [Ephesians 2:8-10]

·         What is born in you from faith in Christ is what lives on into eternity.

-  “In Christ” you are “a new creation.” “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” [2 Corinthians 5:17]

-  Does it matter? Yes.

Which God is the true God matters. The God who really is God is the God who saves. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Some Verses of Scripture Showing the Trinity

·         In the Bible, each person (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit) is called by divine names (“Lord”, “God”, “Spirit of God”, etc…), each does divine things (things only God can do), and each are worshipped (only God is to be worshiped).

• John 20:28 - “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (Said to Jesus) 

• Titus 2:13 - “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ”

• John 1:1,14 - “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

• 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 - “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”

• Romans 8:9 - “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

• John 15:26 - “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”

• Matthew 14:33 - “And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”

• Matthew 28:9 - “And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.”

• Matthew 4:10 - “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

• 1 Corinthians 6:11 - “you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

• Philippians 3:3 - “who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus…”

• 1 Corinthians 12:3 - “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.”

• Luke 1:35 - And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”

• Deuteronomy 6:4 - “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

·         The three persons of the Trinity share ONE saving name. (“name”, not “names”)

• Matthew 28:19 - “God therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” 

• Acts 4:12 - “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”