Zion Sermon Archive
Trinity Sunday
June 3, 2007
Scripture Readings: Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 2:37-46
Hymns: 246; 244; 243; 310; 541
16 Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I
was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit have sent Me. 17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. 18 Oh, that
you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves
of the sea. 19 Your descendants also would have been like the sand, and the offspring of your body like the grains
of sand; His name would not have been cut off nor destroyed from before Me." 20 Go forth from Babylon! Flee from
the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, declare, proclaim this, utter it to the end of the earth; say, "The LORD
has redeemed His servant Jacob!" 21 And they did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He caused the
waters to flow from the rock for them; He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out. 22 "There is no peace,"
says the LORD, "for the wicked."
He alone is the true, living and faithful God
He alone offers us peace by redeeming us from sin
Today is Trinity Sunday. It is the end of the festival half of the church year which began last December with the season of Advent. On this day we take special note of the fact that our God is Triune. Not suprisingly, many of the texts for today lead into the question, "Who is the Triune God?"
That is an important question. It is vitally connected to our eternal salvation. But the idea that God is triune is beyond human grasp. The teaching is that, while there are three persons in the godhead, God is only one God. While the words "triune" and "trinity" are not found in Scripture, yet it clearly teaches that concept.
This morning we shall consider what Scripture teaches concerning our Triune God and our response to the work of our Triune God. Therefore, on the basis of the inspired words of our text, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, let us consider The Peace of our Triune God. He alone is the true, living and faithful God, and He alone offers us peace by redeeming us from sin. Amen.
Have you ever noticed how full the liturgy of our worship service is of declaration of our belief in our Triune God?
- We begin our service with an Invocation in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as we ask that our Triune God bless our worship;
- We sing the words "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost", praising the almighty power of our Triune God;
- We glorify our Triune God for His work of redemption in "the Gloria in Excelsis";
- We address our prayer of the day to the Triune God, concluding with the words: "through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever";
- We confess our faith in the Triune God using the words of the Apostles', Nicene, or Athanasian Creeds, which describe the three persons of the Trinity and their work for our salvation;
- In the communion liturgy which we are using this morning we are reminded of the three persons of the Trinity when we sing "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth",
- We sing, "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost" once more after the distribution of the Lord's Supper,
- We thank our Triune God for the blessing we have received in the after-communion prayer;
- Finally we always conclude our service hearing the words of blessing from our Triune God: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."
From just that it is fairly obvious that the doctrine of the Trinity is a very important part of our faith, isn't it? So this morning let's focus our attention on the fact that it is the Triune God ALONE who is the one true God. It is the Triune God - Jehovah - who alone offers peace to this world of sinful human beings!
Some people will not accept the idea of the Trinity. They claim that the terms “trinity” and “ triune” are not found in the Bible. They claim that the idea of a triune God is a human concept developed by the early Christians. But those people must then reject the inspiration of Scripture also. And they do. It is true that the words “trinity” and “triune” are not found in the Bible. But that which those words describe is found there. Scripture clearly teaches that there is only one God and that there are three Persons involved.
Our Triune God is described in the opening verses of our text. Isaiah records these words of the LORD - Jehovah: "Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit have sent Me. Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel..."Look at that once more: “Thus says the LORD...” The name LORD in all capital letters signifies the Hebrew covenant name of God - Jehovah. “Your Redeemer...” This phrase is a descriptive word for what God would do for His people in “buying them back” from their sin. “The Holy One of Israel...” This phrase is a reminder of the fact that God is holy, perfect and without sin. We can also see the three persons of the Trinity being described in these verses in the Covenant God (Father) the Redeemer (Jesus) and the Holy One (Holy Spirit).
There is also the blessing which God instructed Aaron to use in blessing the people of Israel. We use it at the close of most of our regular worship services. “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” The Lord is mentioned three times. Each time it refers to a member of the Trinity.
In the New Testament the teaching of the Trinity is much clearer. There is the Great Commission which Jesus gave to His disciples of all time. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Matt. 28:19-20. The three Persons are listed.
Scripture contains many other references to the persons of the Trinity. Those who are led to listen to God’s Word know that God is Triune. They believe that He is different from the gods that men have imagined and created for themselves. He really exists, and He comes and offers peace to those who will hear and believe.
There is a great deal we can learn from our religious ancestors in the Old Testament. God had made a covenant with the people of Israel to make them His people, to bring them out of Egypt, to give them the promised land of Canaan, and most importantly - to deliver them from the problem of sin and its punishment in hell through the coming of the Messiah, who would be born from the people of Israel.
The LORD, the Triune God, declares His faithfulness. Through Isaiah He proclaims: “With a voice of singing, declare, proclaim this, utter it to the end of the earth; say, ‘The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob! And they did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them; He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.’” The LORD had provided for His people through years of complaining in the wilderness and generations of unfaithfulness. In spite of their sin, even in their faithlessness, the LORD remained faithful to His promise. He brought about His promise to send a Savior.
Truly, there is no one or nothing like God. He is more than a Creator. He is a faithful God. He saw that all mankind had become “dull-hearted and without spiritual knowledge” through the fall into sin. They could not free themselves from the curse of sin. To help them God sent His Son. The Son willingly came to earth, being born of a woman. As true God and true man. He kept God’s law for us. He took upon Himself the sins of mankind. He died to pay the penalty for the sins of all. With His death, He opened the way to eternal life for all people - giving true peace.
The Father and the Son have sent their Holy Spirit to bring this salvation to mankind. The Holy Spirit brings God’s Word to people. Through that Word, He opens their eyes to see their hopelessly sinful condition. He offers them peace through forgiveness for all of their sins in Jesus. He leads them to accept that forgiveness through faith in Jesus which He gives them. Through this faith in Jesus as their Savior, they are part of God’s eternal inheritance. They are assured of life everlasting in the presence of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our Triune God’s work of salvation is complete - the LORD has redeemed His servant!
But there is a warning here as well. The LORD says: “Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” God’s Old Testament people did not heed His commands, and instead of treasuring the peace He alone could offer through the forgiveness of their sins, they slowly began to neglect the LORD and started worshiping other gods - false gods which could offer them no peace, offered them nothing at all! Of such people the LORD declares: “There is no peace for the wicked.”
What about us? There are great dangers other than the gods of such false religions. Anything or anyone becomes an idol when it becomes more important to an individual than God and His will.
The list of possibilities is long. Possessions, either the enjoying of them or the gaining of them, hobbies and pastimes, one’s job, a person’s reason, his physical ability, laziness, other people, - children, parents, boyfriend, girlfriend, ruler, employer, entertainers, etc. When a person’s time, thoughts, energy, and devotion are primarily centered on something or someone other than God, the person is involved in idolatry. Even temporary lapses are dangerous because they could lead to permanent involvement.
In fact, the Bible says that those who serve idols of any kind actually serve Satan. The apostle Paul commented on the worship of Greek and Roman gods. He said, “I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God.” 1 Cor. 10:20. The devil’s goal is to divert all people from the worship of the true God. He wants to enslave them through preoccupation with money, property, fame, power, comfort, ease, self-indulgence and anything else that interferes with their serving the Lord. And when they are so preoccupied, they actually lose true contentment, happiness, and peace. Worst of all they stand to lose eternal life.
Let’s back up to the words of the benediction once more. At the conclusion of the service, you hear this announcement: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”– “And give you peace.” The LORD, the Triune God alone is the true, living and faithful God. True peace can only come from the Triune God in His declaration to us that our sins are forgiven. It is the desire of our Triune God that we have true peace. He has accomplished our salvation so that His peace, which is like a river - continually flowing throughout time and eternity - is ours. Let us be watchful of the dangers that threaten our faith and the peace of our Triune God, and continue to trust in Him for our salvation, full and complete. May our Triune God grant that we continue to confess Him as the only true God, serve Him in this life and look forward to rejoicing in His peace for all eternity. Amen.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 Amen.
Pastor Nathanael Mayhew