Trinity Sunday – May 26, 2024

Tom Mount – Holy Trinity Chico

 

Scripture reading: Matthew 28:16-20

Introduction

  • At the heart of the cosmos is life: The Life, the life that is the source of all life: a pulsating, vibrant, exuberant community of joy and love and laughter that Christians reverently call the most blessed holy Trinity: Father, Son and Spirit.
  • Astonishingly, this Being is gregarious. So, God created different species of beings to live and work in intimate relationship with himself. He created spiritual beings: seraphim, cherubim, watchers, angels, members of his divine council (collectively knowns as elohim).
  • And, he created many worlds, and over the planet we call earth, he created another race of beings who were both spiritual and material. They were called humans and were to be his imagers, ruling over the earth on his behalf. Most wonderful of all, he created humanity with the capacity to know God deeply by being embraced within the intimate circle of the divine fellowship.
  • That was God’s intention at the outset of creation, and—although our first parents threw a wrench into the divine works early on in human history—God never for an instant deviated from that plan.

 

Apprehending the Trinity

  • The word “Trinity” is not in the bible but the concept is. It is hinted at in OT and unfolded in NT. ( ehad: Dt 6:4; Ge 2:24). “Trinity” is a contraction of Triunity (threeness-within-oneness). German: Dreieinigkeit, meaning “Three-Oneness.”.
  • Creaturely analogs: Early church Fathers and the act of speech (mind, word-auditory embodiment, breath); contemporary Church and the thermodynamic triple-point (oxygen atom bonded to a pair of hydrogen atoms).
  • Although the idea of triunity is unusual, it is not unprecedented. Tom Torrance: “The truth of the Holy Trinity is more to be adored than expressed.”
  • There are several biblical texts that inform the trinitarian relations: Mt 28:18; 1 Cor 12:3-6; 2 Cor 13:14; Gal 4:4-6; Eph 4:4-6; Titus 3:4-6; 1 Ptr 1:2; Re 1:4. We will look at one such text: Eph 1:3-14.

 

The glorious Father: Ephesians 1:3-6

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

  • The Father is credited with taking the initiative in bringing us back into a face-to-face, love relationship with himself (2 Cor 5:19).
  • While he is the high and holy one who inhabits eternity (Isa 57:15), the awesome Lord who lives in unapproachable light, whom “no one has seen or can see” (1 Tim 6:16), yet he reveals himself to us in tender love, inviting us to call him by the intimate name of Abba (Mk 14:36; Rm 8:15; Ga 4:6).
  • What does the Father’s ministry to us entail?
    • He foreknew us prior to creation (1 Ptr 1:2; Rom 8:28-29) and predestined us to be his children (Ep 1:4-5; Rm 8:28-30)
    • He adopts us into His family (Eph 1:4-5)
    • He chooses our places in heaven (Mt 20:23)
    • He chose to give us new birth (Jas 1:18; 1 Ptr 1:3)
    • He shields us by his power (1 Ptr 1:5)
    • He made us heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus Christ (Gal 4:7)
    • He called us to Himself (1 Ptr 5:10) and reconciled us through the Son of his love (2 Co 5:18)
    • He anointed us and set his seal of ownership on us (2 Co 1:21)
    • He lavished his love on us (1 Jn 3:1), rescuing us from the dominion of darkness and qualifying us to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in the kingdom of light (Col 1:12-13)
    • He forgave all our sins (Col 2:13)
    • He made us alive together with Christ (Co 2:13) and raised us up with Christ, seating us in heaven at his right hand (Eph 2:6)
  • The Father did all of this out of His extraordinary grace and overflowing love!

 

The Beloved Son: Ephesians 1:7-12

7 In him (“in the Beloved,” v.6) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

  • The NT presents Jesus as our older brother who shares our flesh. He is the high king of heaven and our high priest before God. He goes by the names Immanuel, “God with us,” and Yeshua, “Yahweh saves us”. He is, among other things:
    • The Bread of Life who feeds us: Jn 6:35, 6:48
    • The Shepherd and overseer of our souls: 1 Pt 2:25
    • And the Lamb of God who permanently eradicates our sins: Jn 1:29
    • Our Advocate with the Father: 1 Jn 2:1
  • What does the Son’s ministry to us include?
    • He presented himself as a sacrifice to make us holy (He 10:14)
    • He redeemed us by his blood (1 Pt 1:18; Ga 3:13-14)
    • He took away all our sins (1 Jn 3:5)
    • He gives us the right to be children of God (Co 1:16; Jn 1:12)
    • He keeps us safe in himself (1 Jn 5:18; Ju 16)
    • He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:11; Mk 1:8; Jn 1:33)
    • He continuously intercedes for us (He 7:25; 1 Jn 2:1)
    • He gives us authority on earth to act on his behalf (1 Th 4:12)
    • He is preparing a place for us in the Father’s presence (Jn 14:2-3) and He will come again to earth and gather the elect (Mt 24:31) and judge the wicked (Mt 25:31ff.)
  • All of this Jesus did out of love for us, because of the joy set before Him as he anticipated bringing us back into the circle of the holy Trinity’s fellowship.

 

The life-giving Spirit: Ephesians 1:13-14

13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

  • He is the Spirit of life, of adoption, of sonship. He is the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of Jesus, poured out by the Father and Son into our hearts.
  • What does the Spirit do on our behalf?
    • He seals us until the day of redemption (Eph 1:13)
    • He gives birth to our spirit (Jn 3:5-21; Gal 4:29), regenerating us (Ti 3:5-6) and giving us eternal, overflowing life (Jn 6:63)
    • He saves us through his purifying work (2 Thess 2:13)
    • He washes, sanctifies, and justifies us in the name of Jesus (1 Co 6:11)
    • He baptizes us, immersing us into the body of Christ (1 Co 12:13)
    • He takes up permanent residence within us (2 Tim 1:14)
    • He sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts (Rom 5:5) and bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God (Rom 8:16)
    • He causes us to cry to the Father: “Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15)
    • He helps our weakness in prayer, interceding for us with groans too deep for words (Rom 8:26-27)
    • Reveals to us spiritual truth (1 Co 2:10-16)
    • He gives us spiritual gifts to serve Christ’s church (1 Co 12:7-11) and empowers us to be Christ’s witnesses (Ac 1:8)
    • He speaks through us (Mk: 12:36; 13:11; Lk 12:12), fills us (cf. Lk 1:15; 4:1) and bears His fruit in us (Gal 5:22-23 cf. Lk 10:21)
    • He convicts the world of guilt (Jn 16:18) and He teaches Christians all things, reminding us of Jesus’ teachings (Jn 14:26)
    • He transforms us into Christ’s likeness (2 Co 3:16-18)
  • All of this the Spirit did out of love for us, that we might once again take our place as holy ones within the embrace of the blessed holy Trinity!

Takeaway

 

Remember that it was out of sheer love and overflowing generosity that the Father, Son and Spirit have done everything necessary to make it possible for you to live experience an entirely new way of existence by being immersed into the very life of the holy Trinity! As you go through this season of Pentecost, press in to know this triune God more deeply, cling to him more tenaciously, love him more obediently and enthrone him in our heart and mind. Take your notes home and use them to guide your bible study and prayer.