The mystery of the Trinity is perhaps the deepest, most profound doctrine of the Christian faith. At least it’s near the top of any list.
And while the chief article of the faith is “justification by grace through faith in Christ”, the doctrine of the Trinity is not far behind.
If you get the Trinity wrong, it leads to all sorts of confusion and false teaching. If you deny the doctrine of the Trinity, you cannot ultimately even call yourself a Christian.
The Athanasian Creed says as much: Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. (Catholic, of course, meaning “universal Christian”, not Roman Catholic).
And then it goes on to specify what that faith is: And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
And so we have a whole Sunday in which we consider, each and every year, the Holy Trinity. We take pains to confess the longest of our creeds, reminding ourselves with each and every word, of this important truth. And by our shared confession of the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity, we find fellowship with all Christians that ever were or will be.
But, is it really helpful to me? Is it relevant? Is this creed nothing more than ancient “word-salad”? Does the doctrine of the Trinity make a real difference in my day-to-day life?
For the Christian, doctrine is not something to be shelved in dusty old books, or kept out of sight in the ivory towers of our seminaries, studied by old men with long beards. Rather, doctrine is life, because doctrine is simply the teaching of the Word of God.
And in that word, our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, makes himself known to us. He makes his promises to us. He gives us his good gifts, forgives our sins, and bestows life, salvation, and every blessing.
We need to know our Father, our Heavenly Father. We need to recognize the gifts of his creation. He made it all, by his word, in just six days. We hear that again in Genesis 1 this morning.
But our Father didn’t just make the world in general, he has created me and you. And we are fearfully and wonderfully made. He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.
He is a loving and kind father, who loved the sinful, rebellious world, and so sent his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Or to put it more pointedly, dear child of God, he has provided for your salvation by sending Jesus to live and die and rise… for you! God almighty, creator of all things, highest of the high, has cared… for… you.
But it is impossible to come to him apart from Jesus Christ, his son. Ah, but who is he? Again the doctrine helps us. Jesus is true God and true man. Yes, of course, he is a man, like me. He’s one of us – like us in every way, yet without sin. That means he knows what it’s like to live in this world of suffering. He is a man well acquainted with suffering. And he can sympathize with us. When I suffer, I know Jesus cares. When I hurt, he’s not going to ignore me. He’s walked in these shoes, and then some.
But he’s also God. A man, but no more man. True man and true God! With all the power and authority that being God brings. And he uses it all for our good. Even now, seated at the right hand of the Father, Jesus rules everything for the good of his people, the church. He’s true man who died for our sins. But he’s true God so that his sacrifice counts for all. He’s true man who lived perfectly in our place. He’s true God who could do it perfectly because he had no sin. He hears our prayers. He reconciles us to the Father. And his promises are big promises, about life, and forgiveness of sins, and even resurrection. Yes because Christ has conquered death, you, too will rise on the last day. Thanks be to Jesus, who is God!
Just last Sunday, we observed Pentecost. We know that the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit. He is poured out on Pentecost, and he is poured out on all nations in God’s word. He calls us to faith and sanctifies and keeps us in the faith. He applies the blessings of Christ to us, always showing us Christ, drawing us to Christ, empowering our faith in Christ. And the Holy Spirit also gathers the church. Like the wind, you can’t see him, the Spirit, but you can see what he does. Look around you today to your fellow believers the Spirit has drawn here together.
And all this doctrine, all this teaching, all these wonderful, beautiful truths about the Holy Trinity – are for your blessing, for your edification, for the strengthening of your faith, and for your great comfort.
If there’s any one passage that most clearly teaches us about the Trinity, it’s this one, our Gospel reading from Matthew 28. Sometimes called the “Great Commission”. That’s actually a fairly recent name for it, and maybe not the best one for this passage. Jesus surely sends the 11, and really the whole church, on a mission to make more disciples. How are they to do it? As they go… they are to make disciples by these two verbs: Baptizing and teaching.
Baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Baptism makes disciples. God makes disciples through his baptism, the baptism that is in his Triune name. Brothers and sisters in Christ, I can call you that because you and I are baptized into the same name, the three-fold name, Father, Son and Spirit. We bear this special name, the name of God, as a seal upon our brow. Marking us as redeemed. And notice he doesn’t say baptize in the nameS of… Father, Son and Spirit, but in the Name, singular name, of the Father, Son and Spirit. The three are one.
Baptize, he says, and teach. Disciples are made by teaching. We listen and learn, we hear and are taught. But make no mistake, this is not simply an academic exercise. The Doctrine of the Trinity, and all the doctrine of our faith and of Scripture, is not so much to be understood as it is believed. It is not simply for our brains, but for our hearts. God is not downloading information about himself so that we can master the topic and pass the test. He is revealing his very nature, his very heart, himself to us… for our benefit. He’s saying, “I love you. And here’s how….”
And so disciples are made when we teach the Trinity – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and all that our Triune God has done and promises to do for us. Disciples are made when that doctrine is believed and confessed by the power of the Spirit. When sinners hear the doctrine of the law, and ae convicted and repent. And when we also hear the good news of the Gospel, that Jesus has died for you, for me, and we are forgiven and comforted.
And disciples are never done being disciple, but always live in our baptism and learn from his teaching, growing in his word.
Disciples are made – of all nations – the widest net possible is cast. There is no distinction. All people, of every tribe, nation and language. Every level of wealth and poverty. The high and the lowly, the young and the old. Jesus, through his church, through the baptizing and the teaching, makes disciples of all nations.
And Jesus promises to be with us always, even unto the end of the ages. Not that he’ll stop being with us on the last day, either. But until then – he is with us – also in the baptizing and the teaching. In his word, and in his sacraments. He’s with us in the precious water of baptism that never really dries off of the Christian. And he’s with us in the miraculous meal of his own institution – coming in, with, and under simple bread and wine.
He’s with us, to bring us to the Father, and to send us his Spirit. The Trinue God who places his Triune name upon us will not leave of forsake us. And that is some good news on this Holy Trinity Sunday, and always.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
