|
“The
Holy Trinity”
a sermon by
Thomas L. Jenkins
Text: Matthew 28:16-20
“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.”
Dear Sisters and Brothers, today is Trinity Sunday, and actually based
on who we are, and who God is, every Sunday is a Trinity Sunday.
Many of you have heard this; I love to start with this beginning story.
Before I went into seminary, I had a pastor named Calvin Theilman,
who was from Paris, Texas. At one time he worked for Billy Graham and
later he was actually the private chaplain for President Johnson.
I was at a Bible study meeting with a number of people, and Dr. Theilman
was teaching us. Someone
asked him, “Calvin, what does ‘Trinity’ mean?”
And his answer was, “If you don’t believe in the Trinity you
will lose your soul; if you try to understand the Trinity, you will lose
your mind.”
Maybe, according to Calvin I have lost my mind (smile).
But, from that very time I have been convinced that the Trinity
is real; and it should have the most important aspect of every part of
our Christian life and faith, and we should be able sit around and talk
about it in normal common langue.
Here is an example. One of
the major questions I have always heard from sisters and brothers of the
church is “What is God’s will for me?”
That is a very meaningful question that we all have at times.
And I certainly can’t always give you a quick answer.
Right now I want to show the way of asking the question in a
Trinitarian framework.
Without thinking about God as triune, we still want to hear and do
God’s will. We believe
God is in heaven watching us, and we simply believe by faith and the
Holy Spirit we can hear and believe.
And my friends, I am not saying that is wrong.
What I am trying to do is show the personal spiritual growth that
comes from even asking questions from a Trinitarian perspective.
Well, let us simply start with the question, “What is God the
Father’s, God the Son’s, and God the Holy Spirit’s will for me?”
Very simply the question is now more personal.
And we know their three wills are the same.
And the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not just sitting in heaven
observing what is happening.
One of the favorite Christian bracelets worn in the last 5 years has had
the capital letters WWJD, meaning “what would Jesus do?”
And what we are seeing from a Trinitarian perspective is that we
would now have the question, “what is Jesus doing?”
The Father sent the Son to be born human, so that the Father could be
united with all His humans, and we could all have Jesus live in us and
for us. So now, the prayer
can be a little more specific, instead of praying, “God what is your
will for me?” We can
pray, “Dear Heavenly Father, please lead me by the Holy Spirit, to
know and participate with your Son in His ministry in my life.”
Monday night Caroline and I went to a dinner, at the High School in
Royce City, for all the education professionals of RCISD.
And because this was my first time in a public event since my ALS
has reached this stage, and being a Minister, I prayed that exact type
of prayer, “Dear Heavenly Father, through the Holy Spirit, please
allow me to participate in what Christ is doing here tonight.”
Of course being a Minister and having ALS, I imagined the possibility of
giving testimony to my experiences of the Lord’s blessings at certain
times. But no opportunities
actually came about. And I
was wondering about the prayer. Then
a man, who was across the table, walked around the table, came to
Caroline and me, and gave us a check for our medical account. The
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit answered my prayer.
The basic decision, taken in the whole Christian Church, about 1600
years ago, made it clear that the eternal relationship between the
Father and the Son in the Godhead was regarded in the church as the
supreme truth upon which every other aspect of the Gospel depends. Jesus Christ, himself, is the unique revelation of God to us.
And every thing that we are to know about God is revealed to us
in His only begotten Son.
The only way we can know God the Father is through knowing His Son,
Jesus Christ. The other
night when I came to see that Christ was helping me financially, I now
know that it comes from the heart of our heavenly Father.
Last Sunday we talked about the gift of the Holy Spirit to us being a
witness to the deeds of power accomplished by God. And that witness of powerful deeds will always be described
through Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life; apart from
whom no one has access to the Father.
The most important truth witch God has revealed to us, in Jesus Christ,
is that God’s divinity is about and built in three persons who are
always one in divine love. And
the ultimate truth of the good news from the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit is that you, I, and every one of us are already, by Jesus,
included in their eternal life. This
has already been accomplished. The
Holy Trinity is the Gospel.
Let us pray…
Amen.
|