The Triune God Is Our Authority

THE TRIUNE GOD IS OUR AUTHORITY (Outline)

June 3, 2007

PENTECOST 1

Matthew 28:16-20

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INTRO: Every day there are new claims for brand new and improved products. These products make claims to cure baldness, obesity, and many other problems associated with vanity. The trouble is that these products have no authority to back up their claims. This means that many spend thousands for that magic pill that really does not work. This is the same with false prophets who make many claims. But they only come as wolves in sheep’s clothing. They have no authority. On this Trinity Sunday we want to refresh our faith with the fact that Christianity is not just another claim. Christianity is backed with the authority, really the guarantee, of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. "’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ’who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty’"(REVELATION 1:8). Today’s theme:

THE TRIUNE GOD IS OUR AUTHORITY (GUARANTEE).

I. Listen to Jesus’ claim;

II. Proclaim Jesus’ message;

III. Believe Jesus’ promise.

I. LISTEN TO JESUS’ CLAIM (OF AUTHORITY)

A. The disciples listened to Jesus’ instructions. They came to Galilee and to the mountain, verse 16.

1. The women who saw him after his resurrection had told the disciples Jesus’ message.

2. Jesus was alone with his disciples: away from their enemies, away from the crowds, to pray.

B. Jesus also took this private time with the disciples to prepare them for his physical departure.

1. Jesus encouraged the disciples with his claim in verse 18. Jesus had been given all authority!

2. There was nothing on earth or in heaven that was greater than the power of Jesus, God’s Son.

C. Still today there are those who deny that Jesus is the Son of God. There are those who deny the clear Scriptural truth of the triune God. True, the trinity is not the easiest truth to totally comprehend—humanly speaking. But by faith through grace we believe. By God’s testimony in his word and teaching still remains true in spite of many who deny and detract. "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him"(COLOSSIANS 1:16). This passage tells how Jesus was there at creation. Jesus was there with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus = God’s Son, eternal, all-powerful.

D. The greatest authority that Jesus possessed and used was to willingly give up his earthly life. No man on earth could put Jesus to death. We know that human beings crucified Jesus. BUT it was Jesus who willingly went the way of the cross unto death itself. No only did Jesus willingly suffer and die, he also used his authority to come back to life! "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again"(JOHN 10:17,18a). Jesus had and has all authority.

THE TRIUNE GOD IS OUR AUTHORITY (GUARANTEE). We hear Jesus’ claim of authority.

II. WE PROCLAIM JESUS’ MESSAGE (OF AUTHORITY)

A. These disciples were greatly encouraged to be reminded how Jesus was God’s own Son.

1. The disciples needed this encouraged for the task Jesus had in store for them.

2. In verse 19a Jesus commissions these believers to make disciples of ALL nations.

a. All includes every tribe, nation, and language. b. All includes all ages.

B. Verse 19 continues. They were to baptize believers in the name of the triune God.

1. The disciples would do this preaching and baptizing with the authority from God.

2. Verse 20a reminds the disciples that all of God’s word would be taught to all nations.

a. Not just some of God’s word or parts of it. b. Not just parts that sounded good.

C. The great commission of our triune God, which was announced by Jesus to his first disciples, has not changed over all of these years. The fact is that today, every believer in Christ is a modern-day disciple of the triune God. Our encouragement is still the same as it was when Jesus met privately with the eleven. "He said to them, ’Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned’"(MARK 16:15,16). Faith saves. Faith comes by the hearing the message. The message is heard through the word of Christ.

D. Today our opportunities to go to the ends of the earth are greater than ever. We have modern commu-nication that can and does reach around the globe in an instant. We send missionaries to foreign lands in our place. Today, the world is coming to America. People immigrate here by the thousands. Ours is still the land of opportunity and freedom. Very often our ends of the earth end up in our own backyard. Then we are encouraged that all authority given to Jesus is the very same authority given to us. "Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples"(PSALM 96:2,3). Pleasant, joyful Christian lives reveal God’s glory.