Preached June 2012
Order of Service: The Order of the Holy Communion, Page 15.
Old Testament Lesson: Ezekiel 18:30-32.
Epistle Lesson: Romans 11:33-36.
Gospel Lesson: John 3:1-16.
Athanasian Creed, Page 53.
Sermon: “The Triune God: Our Creator, Redeemer, And Sanctifier.” Isaiah 42:8
Hymns: 246, 252, 315 (1-6), 54
Dear Friends in Christ,
As this is Trinity Sunday, we do well to begin our sermon by asking the question, “What is the Doctrine of the Trinity?” The very word Triune gives us a clue. Tri means three; une means one. Thus, God is three in one. There is only one God, but the one God consists of three distinct persons.
But some will say, “Yes, but the word trinity or triune is not found in the Bible.” This is true, yet the Bible reveals God to be one God but three distinct persons. Take the fact that God is one. “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord.” (Deut. 6:4) Likewise, “For there is none other God but one.” (I Cor. 8:4). Take the fact that there are three distinct persons. The Aaronic benediction uses the name Lord three times: “The Lord bless and keep thee, the Lord make his face shine unto thee and be gracious unto thee, the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Isaiah in a vision heard seraphim cry, “holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” When Jesus instituted Baptism, He said, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matt. 28:19)
While there are many reasons why we Christians need to continue to emphasize the doctrine of the Trinity, there are two current reasons.
First, we live in a very syncretistic, ecumenical society which really believes that all religions, even those of false gods, are valid. Our mass media continues to trumpet the notion that all religions and all concepts of God are of equal value. Yet even simple logic tells us that there cannot be more than one God. To be God means to be the Supreme One. There cannot be two or three or four supremes. Nevertheless, non-Trinitarian religions far outnumber the Trinitarian churches. Yet this must not be permitted to silence the Christian Church, or make the Christian Church soften its stance. As we confessed this morning in the Athanasian Creed, in order to be saved, one must believe the doctrine of the Trinity. It is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith.
The Second reason we need to emphasize the doctrine of the Trinity is that many people are being duped about the Mormon religion which is anti- Trinitarian. Putting aside all political considerations, the Mormon religion is gaining favor with the general public. Many people, even some Christian leaders, are calling the Mormons Christians. They cannot be Christians since their very own doctrines and publications and their Book of Mormon explicitly deny the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity. They claim that God was first a man, and then became God. Not only is this ridiculous, it is blasphemous. Moreover, just because certain prominent, influential people in the news and in the media are Mormons does not make this religion Christian. Just because people are nice, and just because we might agree with some of their political views does not make them Christian. But some may ask, can a Christian vote for a Mormon or a Christian Science or for a public office? The answer is yes, in that government offices are temporal, non spiritual offices. When it comes to public office, who best qualifies for the office is the determining factor.
But now we take up our text. In our text the Triune God Himself speaks through the prophet Isaiah. He says, “I am the Lord, that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” Here the Triune God asserts that He alone is the Lord. He alone rightly possesses the name of Lord. For this reason, He cannot permit the glory which belongs to Him to be shared with or given over to graven images and other idols. This is why His First Commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
Now then, we better understand why God says, “I am the Lord, that is my name,” as we consider the three most basic and fundamental works of the Triune God. It is the Triune God alone who is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. These three fundamental works bear out why God says,”I am the Lord, that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” Thus, our sermon will focus on the fact that the Triune God is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.
First of all, the Triune God is our Creator. Although our Christian creeds attribute the work of Creation mainly to the Father, Scripture also attributes the work of Creation to the Son and to the Holy Ghost as well. For example, speaking of Christ the Living Word, the Gospel of John says, “All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:3) But where does Scripture teach us that the Holy Spirit also was the Creator? Genesis 1:2 says, “And the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters.” Likewise, Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” The words, “by breath of his mouth,” refer to the Holy Spirit in the Word.
Yet as we consider God’s work of Creation, we need to see what was made, how it was made, and how long it took God to create all things. What was created? Very simply all things which came into existence. God’s creation covers the entire universe, outer space, the planets, the sun, the moon and the stars, the animals, and of course man. How do we know this? Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The words “heaven and the earth” are comprehensive. These words cover everything that exists. It includes all animate and inanimate creatures. Indeed, before the work of creation, there was nothing but God Himself. Thus, matter is not eternal. Matter was created by God. And this matter itself cannot be God as the pantheists claim.
As we consider what God made, we must make plain that the Triune God made man separate from the animals. On the sixth day of Creation God called forth the animals from the ground. On that same sixth day, God separately created man. God took of the dust of the earth and breathed into man’s nostrils, and man became a living soul. In fact, the creation of man was executed by a special council within the Trinity. The Bible says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Gen. 1:26) A few verses later it says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Gen. 1:27) But how did God create all things? He did it by the power of His Word. As we quoted before, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.”
Likewise, the Bible says, “By faith we understands that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen, were not made of things which do appear.” (Heb. 11:3) Thus, when God created elemental light, He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. What was created on each day came into existence by the power of the Word. But how long did it take the Triune God to make all things? Exodus 20:11 says, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.” These six days were twenty-four hour days. In Genesis 1, each day is described as “the evening and the morning.” Hence, the “evening and the morning were the first day.” “The evening and the morning were the second day”, etc. Thus, all the various theories of evolution are false. They contradict Scripture. In the final analysis these theories are a denial of the Triune God and His work of Creation. Here we should once again make it known that the supposedly conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has professors in their universities which believe and teach evolution. Many of their pastors also believe in evolution. Yet nothing is done to discipline them! Just another reason why the Missouri Synod is heterodox! O how proud-minded are they who think they know better than Scripture!
Indeed, according to Isaiah 40, this marvelous work of Creation should remove all pride in man and humble man before God. Isaiah says, “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” (Isaiah 40:12-15) Later the prophet answers these rhetorical questions by saying, “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.” (vv. 21-22)
But now we turn to the next basic and fundamental work of the Triune God who said, “I am the Lord, that is my name.” The second basic work of the Triune God is redemption. Redemption has to do with Christ redeeming all mankind from his sins. This work of redemption became necessary when man who was created in God’s image fell into sin. In Adam all died. The Bible says, “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin., and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”(Romans 5:12) The only way fallen man could be saved from his sins is that he would need to be redeemed. To redeem something means to buy it. All of us as sinners needed to be bought back. But who would do the buying? and what would be the purchase price? Men as sinners could not buy or pay a price for each other. Psalm 49:7 says, “None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever.)” Thus, The Redeemer was the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. But with what did Christ redeem us? He redeemed us, not with money or material riches, but with His holy precious blood. The Bible says, “Forasmuch as ye know, that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (I Peter 1:18-19)
Since Christ’s work of fully paid the ransom, the holy justice of God was satisfied. Therefore, God declared the whole world to be justified. “To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” Or as Scripture says, ‘Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” (Romans 5:18)
This work of redemption covered all mankind. The Bible plainly says, “and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (I John 2:2) Likewise, the Bible says, “and that he died for all.” Thus, we should be so thankful that in Christ, God is our Redeemer. How beautifully Luther summarized this in his meaning to the Second Article. You may say it to yourselves “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood, and His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.”
Now even though the entire world has been redeemed by Christ our Redeemer, no sinner gains the benefit of this redemption unless He personally repents and believes in Christ. This brings us to the next fundamental work of the Triune God. It is the work of Sanctification, which means to be made holy. The Holy Spirit is the agent who makes redemption our own through faith and thereby makes us holy before God. The Holy Ghost works this sanctification, not out of thin air, but by the Means of Grace, through the Word of the Gospel and Baptism.
How beautifully this is explained in John 3 where Jesus teaches Nicodemus the highest facts of life, the facts of spiritual life. Nicodemus was a man of the Pharisees. He held an official position in the Jewish church. He was a member of the high Jewish Council, the Sanhedrin. However, this learned religious man did not understand conversion, or as Jesus called it, being born again. Jesus plainly stated that that which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Thus, Jesus said, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus in his present spiritual blindness exclaimed, “Can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” Then Jesus spoke those momentous words: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (v. 5) Notice the key words “born of water and of the Spirit.” Where are water and Spirit joined together? We know! Water and Spirit are joined in Baptism. Baptism is the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Thus, the Holy Ghost sanctifies us by working the new birth or conversion in us through Baptism. Even when an adult is brought to faith by the preached Gospel, his Baptism is still operative. It seals and confirms that very faith which was first produced by the Word.
And what better way to summarize the Holy Spirit’ work of Sanctification than to cite the Luther’s Explanation to the Third Article. “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept in the true faith. Even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”
Having seen the wonderful works of the Triune God, Creation, Redemption, and Sanctification, we understand all the more why God says, “I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” All praise be to our Triune God. Amen