“Understanding the Triune God”

Matthew 28:16-20

Rev. Dr. Michael J. Imperiale

June 3, 2007

Introduction

            Last week, Pastor Sue gave an overview of some of the unique Christian holy days we celebrate each year. Christmas and Easter are the two big ones. Last Sunday was the Day of Pentecost in celebration of the Holy Spirit. Today on the liturgical calendar is Trinity Sunday. Every year I send out Christmas cards but I have never sent Trinity holiday cards. Have you? Easter baskets and candy are popular. I’ve never seen Trinity treats!

            But Trinity Sunday is becoming more and more important to highlight. Questions about the nature of God and the whole concept of the Trinity are often asked, especially here in Salt Lake City. It is not a term used in the Bible, but Trinity is a word used to describe what is apparent about God in the Scriptures. As we will see, the Bible clearly speaks of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; one God in three persons.

            I tried to give a human illustration for our children this morning with H-2-0, water, ice, and steam. They are the same and yet different. God the Father is fully, completely God; God the Son (Jesus) is fully, completely God; and God the Holy Spirit is fully, completely God. They are the same and yet different. Although all human analogies are limited, this is the best one I’ve heard.

            With our limited human experience, it’s difficult to understand the Trinity. And, to be quite frank, I would expect God to be a bit more complex than you or me. For me (or anyone else) to say that God could not have this oneness in three or three distinct persons in the unity of God would be very presumptuous, especially for a mortal creature of only 5’ 7”! The God of the Bible is the God who spoke the universe into existence. Surely, God is a bit more complex in his nature than we humans can even speculate. And yet God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ, shown in human terms who he is and what he is like so that we human beings can not only worship him rightly but also know him personally.

            Even a cursory reading of the Bible will yield this theological reality. There is only one God who ever was, is and ever will be. And this God has shown himself to us in three persons, three unified in one. In the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament we read, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (that’s in Deuteronomy 6). “I am the Lord, there is no other; besides me there is no God” and “I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior” (you’ll find that in Isaiah 43 and 45).

            Yet throughout the Old Testament you will find prophecies of the Messiah (all of which Jesus fulfilled) as well as references to the Spirit of God. The same prophet Isaiah proclaimed the child to be born, “a son is given… wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace” (9:6) and says that the Spirit of the Lord brings wisdom and understanding (11:2), how the Messiah, God’s servant will be given the Spirit (42:1), and offers God’s people Sabbath rest (63:14). The Trinity is all over the Old Testament but wasn’t understood until Jesus came.

            Leading to his birth the angel told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you; for that reason the holy child shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). At his baptism, we read how the Spirit of God descended on Jesus as the Father spoke, “This is my beloved Son whom I love” (Matt.3:16-17). Not to be seen as three gods, Jesus clarified it: “I and the Father are one… Whoever has seen me has seen the Father… Whoever beholds me beholds the One who sent me” (all in John’s Gospel 10:30; 14:9; 12:45). I could go on with reference after reference. The Trinity is all over the pages of the New Testament.

            As belief in Jesus as Messiah, Lord and Savior spread, Christians began to formulate the teaching of Scripture and the sharing of their faith and theology. As followers of Christ interacted with Jewish and Greek culture over the first few generations, there was need to summarize and clarify their faith. The Athanasian Creed (along with the more familiar Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds) says it this way: “We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy ghost; but the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.” Such creeds and confessions have been used by believers and the church in generation after generation for sharing the Christian faith from generation to generation. For a very long time, the Presbyterian Church in particular has referred to these as “authentic and reliable expositions of what scripture teaches and leads us to do.”

            From New Testament to early church leaders to the church universal in the centuries to follow, the nature of God as Trinity has been believed and taught. One may disagree with this theology and invent some other way of describing god or gods and formulate some other religious construction, but without the Trinity, whatever it is, it’s not Christian; it’s something else.

            You may ask, “Why is understanding God in this Trinitarian way so important?” I venture to say it is foundational to all the rest we believe about God, Jesus, salvation, and living a Christian life. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross could never offer forgiveness for anyone including you and me if he were not God incarnate, God the Son. There would be no way any of us would be believers in Jesus were it not for God moving in our minds and hearts and lives through God the Holy Spirit. We would never experience the love of God except through the demonstrated love of God the Father.

            Everything we claim to know about God comes from the Bible, God’s word to us. And since the Bible clearly describes one God in these three persons, we would do well to accept this understanding as best we can just as we do with every other essential teaching of scripture. How do you know God is a loving God? The Bible tells so. Why do you believe in life after death in the kingdom of heaven? Scripture teaches and demonstrates it. Why do you believe it is good to help those around us who are in need? The word of God commands us to do so.

            From Genesis to Deuteronomy, Psalms to Isaiah, from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to Paul and Peter, the essential teachings and beliefs of authentic Christianity are taught. And the Trinity is primary in the teaching and experience of the nature of God and his work in our lives. So happy Trinity Sunday! Let’s get out the Trinity treats.

“This is the joyful feast of the people of God…”