[Machine transcription]
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Dear Saints of God, no doubt on the screen that you are watching right now, you have
also seen the news of the world falling apart.
news of the pandemic bringing death and destruction, economic chaos, news of
death and protests and riots in the street. On this same screen you’ve seen
all sorts of chaos and now the Lord has gathered us here to contemplate the
the mystery, the sublime mysteries of the Holy Trinity.
How these things contrast in our minds.
The chaos of the world and the beauty of God the Father,
and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
But make no mistake, this call to contemplation
of the first and greatest mystery of the Christian Church,
the mystery of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity,
is not some sort of abstraction
that takes us up out of this world
as if we could by mental exercise
somehow escape the realities of this fallen age.
In fact, something quite the opposite happens.
When we turn ourselves to the Scriptures and let the Scriptures, the words of the Prophets and the Apostles,
instruct us into the knowledge of the revelation of the true God,
we see that God comes to us, that God gives Himself to us,
that God is found with us.
Here’s a little quote from the end of the large catechism.
Martin Luther, who’s contrasting the teaching of the creed
with the teaching of the commandments.
The commandments are good, but the commandments are telling us
what we ought to do, how we ought to live,
of what is necessary for us to please God,
but the creed comes along,
taught by the Holy Spirit alone
to tell us what God has done for us.
Luther says it like this,
for by this knowledge of the creed
of the Christian faith,
we obtain love and delight
in all the commandments of God,
because here in the creed we see
that God gives Himself entirely to us
with all that He has and is able to do
to aid and direct us in keeping the Ten Commandments.
The Father gives Himself to us
with all of creation.
The Son gives Himself to us
with His entire work of redemption,
and the Holy Ghost gives Himself to us
with all of His gifts.
In other words, when we turn our attention
to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity,
we find there God who is gracious
and kind and loving.
God who cannot help but serve.
God who cannot help but give and bless.
God the Father has created all things, and He’s done that for you.
God the Son has become a man and has suffered and died for you.
God the Holy Spirit is sent from the throne of the Son
to come and bless us with the forgiveness of sins
and the promise of life everlasting.
And this I think is why when the Holy Spirit wants to reveal to us
the blessed mystery of the Holy Trinity,
when we turn to the Scriptures to see that doctrine,
that the two most clear doctrines or passages about the Holy Trinity
are both passages about baptism.
baptism. How stunning. The first is the baptism of Jesus. Jesus is 30 years old and he goes
down to the Jordan River where his cousin John is baptizing, and as Jesus comes up out
of the water, the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove, and God the Father
speaks from heaven, this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. And there we
We see all of the Holy Trinity,
each person, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
all present, all distinct,
one God in three persons.
And then again,
as Jesus is sending out His disciples
to baptize and teach,
we see this most clear and beautiful confession.
Jesus came and said to them,
All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name, singular,
the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold I am with you
always to the end of the age. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not some
abstraction. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit give themselves
for you and to you so that in your baptism God the Father adopts you as his
own child so that we can say behold what manner of love the Father has given unto
us that we should be called the children of God. In baptism, Jesus is pleased to
be called your brother, to embrace you as a friend, and to forgive all of your sins.
Baptism is the washing of the water and the Spirit, so that the Spirit
is pleased to come and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness, and to deliver
to you the perfection that Christ has won for you, to claim you as his own, to fill you as his vessel,
as his temple, and to call you his holy one, his friend, to have fellowship with you and to delight
in you, God the Father and Son and Holy Spirit gives all for you and for your salvation.
And if you’re baptized, then you have it.
Now there’s a surprise for us in this text.
I want you to imagine that you’re there with Jesus on the mountain,
with the disciples who had worshipped but had still some doubts,
and Jesus comes along and He says,
Guys, I’ve got good news.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
You have to imagine that the disciples’ imaginations are running wild with ideas.
After all, what would you do if you had all authority in heaven and on earth?
And no doubt this is a great question for us.
If we had all authority on heaven and on earth, what would we do?
Bring an end to the pandemic, no doubt.
Restore economic certainty.
Find jobs for all of the people out of work.
Bring an end to racism.
Protect the lives of the downtrodden.
Find justice on the earth.
Bring an end to rioting,
and to the destruction of property and life.
and bring about peace, bring an end to war and disease and strife.
No doubt we would do all of these things if we had all authority,
but listen to what God the Son says.
Listen to what our Lord Jesus Christ wants to do
with all authority in heaven and on earth.
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, and teach them to treasure
everything that I have said to you. Look, I’m with you always, even to the end.”
Dear Saints, this is what Jesus wants to do with the authority that he receives as the
divine Son of God, crucified and risen.
He wants to forgive all of your sins.
He wants to give you the wisdom of knowing who you are, created, fallen, redeemed, and
soon to be resurrected.
and He wants to give you the knowledge of who He is.
The divine mystery of the Holy Trinity and the sure confidence
that Jesus is your Redeemer and your Savior.
In the midst of all of the trouble and all of the chaos
and all of the darkness that surrounds us,
we treasure
this light, the light of the knowledge of God,
the light of the knowledge of our salvation,
and the confidence that through it all
God is for us. So let us rejoice today in the praising of the Holy Trinity,
that God the Father has created the world,
that God the Son has redeemed the world, and that God the Holy Spirit is
sanctifying the world. That means you. God be praised. Amen. And the peace of God
that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
