In Jesus Holy Name June 7, 2020
Text: Colossians 1:15-20 Trinity Redeemer
“The Trinity & H2O”
We began our service this morning with the great hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy”. Over the years the words “God in three persons, Blessed Trinity” were tattooed on my soul. In my home church in Missouri, each Sunday we ended the worship service by singing the Doxology, which ends with the words “Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” It was good theology, but how does one truly understand “The Creator of the Universe” and His expression to us as One God, yet three distinct persons within the One?
The Old Testament Hebrew language will help. All through the book of Genesis the Hebrew word for “God” is “Elohim”. It is plural, meaning more than one. In our English language if we want something to be plural we add an “s”, meaning more than one. Not so in the Hebrew language. Elohim is simply “plural” and translated “Lord, God”. “The Singular word for “God” in the Hebrew language doesn’t appear until Moses meets “Elohim” on Mount Sinai.
When Moses asked: “When I go to your people in Egypt who shall I say sent me? What is your name? The answer: “Yahweh” in Hebrew. Translated into English: “I Am, I Am.” This is why Jesus constantly refers to Himself as: “I Am” the Bread of life. “I Am” the living water. “I Am” the Good Shepherd”. The Father and I are One.
When I was growing up…this Doctrine of the Trinity wasn’t proved … It was assumed.
It wasn’t explained … It was stated.
It wasn’t preached … It was sung.
That was true then and it is still true now.
The Trinity is the doctrine we all believe as Christians but never discuss. Either we all understand it, and therefore no discussion is needed, or none of us understands it, and therefore no discussion is possible.
One of the greatest theologians of the 20th century, Karl Barth, could even say, "Trinity is the Christian name for God."
J.I. Packer, Evangelical Theologian in his book: “Knowing God” writes: What we believe about God is the most important thing about us. Over the past several weeks I have been very clear as to what the Bible tells us about God. The Apostle John began his Gospel stating that the “Intelligent Designer of the Universe” revealed Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus constantly referred to Himself as the “I Am”, the God who rescued the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery with dramatic acts of power over nature.
The Doctrine of the Trinity is not easy to understand with our finite mind. Even the great Christian theologian St. Augustine himself had a rather difficult time understanding the Trinity.
While puzzling over the doctrine of the Trinity Augustine was walking along the beach one day when he observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. Augustine asked the little boy, “What are you doing?” The boy replied, “I’m trying to put the ocean into this hole.” Augustine then realized that he had been trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind.
For me the best explanation of the Trinity is found in three chemical compounds. Hydrogen, Oxygen and Hydrogen referred to in the chemical chart as H2O. We know it as water. Two hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom combined.
Water is colorless and odorless liquid. It is essential to life. Plants, animals, human beings cannot exist without water. That is why scientist are always looking for water on other planets.
The most familiar form of H2O is liquid. We drink it. We swim in it. We bath with it. Another form of H2O is a frozen solid. We call it “ice”. The North Pole, and Antarctica are simply frozen H2O. Snow flakes, frost are frozen water droplets. When we boil our water the H2O takes the form of steam, vaporized H2O. Clouds and fog are forms of H2O that have not become liquid.
The Creator of the Universe, is a Trinity of three-in-one, co-equal and yet distinct, called the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The concept of the Trinity isn't simple, and there is no way I can make it simple. H2O helps my mind grasp this critical Christian Teaching. Any departure from the Doctrine of the Trinity will place you outside the boundaries of the Christian faith.
All three members of the Trinity have always existed.
1. God exists in Three Persons.
The Father who is the Creator
2. The Son who is the Redeemer
3. The Holy Spirit who is the Sanctifier.
These three are One God.
Rev John Stott in his book “Contemporary Christianity” writes: “Each person of the Godhead plays a distinct role: the Father chooses, the Son redeems, and the Spirit sanctifies.”¹ “We come to the Father through the Son and by the Spirit, The Father comes to us through the Son and by the Spirit.” (p. 314)
It is the Father, The Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who worked together to bring about the salvation of the human race after the “fall” of Adam and Eve. Salvation is the work of all three distinct persons. The Father proposes and plans the redemption of the human race by choosing to wrap Himself in the womb of Mary, by the power of His own Spirit. He is found wrapped in swaddling clothes, visited by shepherds in a Bethlehem manger. And welcomed to earth by the by angel choirs He Himself created.
As the “I Am” on earth, Jesus completed His work of redemption by living a perfect life, unstained by sin. He died on the cross as the sacrificial Lamb, taking on His shoulders our broken commandments. In that action on the cross He removed from the human race God’s wrath. This is objective salvation. The Spirit of God then applies this forgiveness to each person in whom He has created faith in Jesus as their Savior. This is subjective salvation.
This same Spirit of God who raised Jesus from death and the grave will raise each believer from death and the grave on the Last Day. While each believer lives out his or her life on earth the Spirit gives the gift of faith and then produces the “characteristics” of Jesus, love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness and self control as believers keep in “step with God’s Spirit.”
The reality of the Trinity is simple yet complex. The best explanation of the Doctrine of the Trinity was debated and written down more than 1700 years ago at the Council of Nicaea in 326 A.D. Then as now there were people who believed that Jesus did not exist from eternity. They did not believe He was equal with the Creator of the Universe. The Athanasian Creed explains that The Creator of the Universe, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are co eternal, their glory equal, their majesty co eternal.
This is unique. There is nothing comparable to it in other religions. The Buddhist does not claim to know the Buddha, nor the Confucianist Confucius, not the Muslim Muhammad, not the Marxist Karl Marx. Each reserves the founder of his religion or ideology as a teacher of the past. To Christians Jesus is a teacher, but even more He is our living Lord and Savior, who rose from death and the grave and is now seated in Heaven at the right Hand of God.
We must recognize that although the Triune persons of the Godhead affect distinct aspects of our salvation, the work is done in complete unity. At the same time, we must be careful not to confuse the persons of the Trinity in ways that imply that they are the same person with different names. For example, Christians who thank God the Father for dying on the cross are carelessly attributing the work of the Son to the Father. We must follow the New Testament example, understanding that Father, Son, and Spirit, though eternally united, are also distinct in their works.
Later today, and sometime tomorrow you will take a drink of water. You will drink the H2O in order to quench your thirst. You will take a shower in H2O. You will water your plants with H2O. In that moment…. Please pause and consider the depth and mystery of your Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.
