Born Of The Spirit (Trinity Sunday) Series

Main text: Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost to honor the Holy Trinity—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Although the word “trinity” does not appear in Scripture, it is taught in Matthew 28:18-20 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 (and many other biblical passages). The concept of the trinity can never be completely understood or rationalized, but it is clearly taught in Scripture. Understanding of all scriptural doctrine is by faith which comes through the work of the Holy Spirit; therefore, it is appropriate that this mystery is celebrated the first Sunday after Pentecost when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit first occurred.

1. On Trinity Sunday we think of God.

On Trinity Sunday, the Christian Church ponders with joy and thanksgiving what the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have done to accomplish the salvation of sinful humanity. It is brought to remembrance how Christians should respond to the love God has shown us, praising Him, and giving Him glory.

We remember the Father as our Creator, the Son as our Savior, and the Holy Spirit as our Comforter.

Today, Trinity Sunday is to explain, to the best of man’s ability, the clues written in Scripture to guide us to a fuller understanding of our triune God. The Father is God from the beginning (John 1:1); Jesus revealed Himself as equal to the Father in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” Together, they sent the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).

Together they send us out as disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

2) UNDERSTAND YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!

John 3:16 is arguably the best-known verse in the Bible. It shows up on signs, cards, posters, billboards, t-shirts, and even at football games. Martin Luther referred to it as “the heart of the Bible, the Gospel in miniature.” Its words are a delight for saints and solace for sinners.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

But could it be that for all its familiarity we have been blinded to its meaning? As a pastor, I learned what I thought was a clever way to illustrate the meaning of John 3:16. I would stand to the side of the pulpit, stretch my arms out wide and say, “Jesus’ outstretched arms on the cross was God’s way of saying that he loves us ‘this much’ ”; giving my arms a little extra stretch for emphasis. But is that what John 3:16 is really telling us? When we read “God loved the world so much” our focus is immediately put on us. It makes the Father’s motivation for sacrificing his Son the amount of his love for humanity as if he simply could not do without us and would do anything to get us back. The biggest problem with this idea is that it’s not in the Bible. What’s more, it completely reverses the truth of the gospel. It wasn’t our worth that brought Jesus down; rather his coming down brought us our worth. This difference is no small thing, especially in our idolatrous culture of self-love. One of the greatest lies is that God needs us. He doesn’t. That idea is the heart of all false religions. God doesn’t depend on and needs nothing from his creation.

Ill. Imagine with me for a moment, the delight you would experience in discovering that you had a long-lost uncle or aunt who had made you the heir to their estate. Can you see it?

You’d wake up one morning and discover that they had left you riches beyond count, that your major financial worries were over, and that you really didn’t have to worry all that much about the future.

If that scenario happened, how would you feel? What would you do? Or, more to the point, what would you do differently? And here I don’t mean what would you run out and buy – though I suspect that most of us would treat ourselves to something – but I mean something more along the lines of, what would be different about your day-to-day attitudes, practices, habits, and outlook?

How would knowing that your future is absolutely secure change your present?

I ask because it’s just this scenario that the Apostle Paul is describing in these few verses of his Letter to the Church in Rome. Note the language he uses:

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:15-17a).