A Sermon For Trinity Sunday

A Sermon for Trinity Sunday

Matthew 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Today on the Church calendar is called Trinity Sunday. On this day we remember that we believe in One God manifested in three persons. This doctrine along with the doctrine of the two natures of Christ, that Jesus was both fully divine and fully human, two natures but only One Christ are probably the two most difficult christian doctrines. It took several hundred years to work out these doctrines from Scripture. all sorts of anathemas were thrown from one group of Christians to another along with excommunications. So many heated discussions have led many to avoid these doctrines altogether. There is enough “practical” teaching in the Bible, following the lives of Bible characters, learning especially about the life of Jesus to keep us occupied. Many will acknowledge the doctrines of the Trinity and the Two Natures of Christ to keep the peace while not having any degree of understanding. It will have to be admitted that we cannot fully grasp these doctrines. But this does not mean we should not at least do the best we can with these doctrines. This morning, we will dwell on the Doctrine of the Trinity.

Is the Trinity taught in the Bible? Because we hold to the infallible God-breathed nature of the Holy Scripture, any doctrine must be based upon it. There is not a lot of direct evidence in Scripture. The term is not directly used. The Scripture we read this morning from the Great Commission this morning is one of the clearest. So let us start here.

“Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Baptism is part of the process of evangelism and is commanded by the Lord who has been given all authority in heaven and in earth. Here, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are mentioned together as being the name in which the converts are to be baptized. Note that the words “the Name” is singular. It is one name and not three. Next, we need to look at the simple word “and.” Even though it is a little word, it gives powerful understanding. “And” is what is called a co-ordinating conjunction which means it puts together grammatical expressions of EQUAL weight. In this case, it makes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit equal to each other. There are three persons, but only a single name (authority).

The next Scripture we will examine is Mark 1:9-11:

Mark 1:9–11 NKJV

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

In the accounts of the baptism of Jesus we see there is a clear distinction between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Here we see Jesus being baptized, the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove, and the voice of the Father from heaven. This counters the idea of what is called “modalism.” Modalism is a view of the Trinity which sees that the one God manifests himself in three different ways. One text they site is John 16:7:

John 16:7 NKJV

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

The claim is that Jesus and the Holy Spirit as two manifestations of the One God cannot appear at the same time. This is why Jesus has to ascend so that God can return as the Holy Spirit. But in the baptism account, we see that the three persons of the Triune God are distinct from each other.

Another misunderstanding of the Trinity is that the Father is the only God, and that the Son and holy Spirit are subordinate to the Father. This view is called Arianism and has plagued the church for centuries. The Holy Spirit and the Son can be called “God” but only in an inferior sense. They are known to shout sayings like “There is a time that the Son was not. We have already seen from the Great Commission that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are joined with “and” which makes them equal. This should be evidence enough, but let us go just a little bit further.