Sermon - Easter 6 - 1 John 5:1-8 (Youth Confirmation)

 

Water, Blood, Spirit

The Child of God, that is to say the Christian, must believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ.  The Child of God must also believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God.  These two basic truths form a sort of backbone for our faith.

And yet, throughout history, and even today, there are those who have denied either or both of these truths.

Now, to say that Jesus is the Christ is actually saying quite a lot.  Implicit in this is the confession that we need a Christ, a Savior.  And implicit in that is the notion that we are, in fact, sinful, as the Bible teaches.  Those, especially today, who deny the Christ also tend to deny their own sin and need.  Oh sure, they’ll admit that no one is perfect.  Oh, sure, they’ll confess sin in a very harmless sort of way.  But they don’t stand before God and plead guilty of temporal and eternal punishment.  They don’t confess original sin, the entire corruption of our human nature.  Or maybe think they need only a little help from the Savior, a leg up, a sort of initial push before salvation becomes do-it-yourself, you finish the job.  But that’s not a Savior.  That’s not a Christ.  That’s not the one who lives and suffers and dies for you.

Confessing Jesus is the Christ means that he does it all, and he does it all for us who need it so badly.  Forgiveness, life and salvation come only through him, and are worked only by him.

But he’s also the Son of God.  This, too, needs some un-packing.  The Son of God implies God is not just Father or Son, and quick study of Scripture shows us also God the Spirit.  A triune deity with three persons and one united substance.  We will confess this in detail in a few weeks on Trinity Sunday with the Athanasian Creed.

But saying Jesus is the Son of God is more than just giving him divine credit.  It means he alone has access to the Father and can bring us to the Father, and make us God’s children.  He alone can lay down his life and take it up again, paving the way for our own resurrection from the dead on the last day.  He alone will come to judge the living and the dead.  And He, as the Son of God, lives and reigns to all eternity and gives us a share in that life, and that reign.

So, yes, John is right, in teaching us that every Child of God must confess Jesus as the Christ, and as the Son of God.  But these short statements are like the tip of an iceberg of meaning, with Jesus as the center and focal point of our faith.

You 5 Confirmands.  I want to speak to you about this, too.  In a few moments we will hear you speak your confirmation vows, and as Jesus says, confess him before men. You will confess that Jesus is the Christ, and also the Son of God.  You’ve learned, especially these last three years, but really your whole lives, what is behind these statements.  You’ve studied the commandments, which show us our sin and our need for a Christ.  You’ve studied the Apostles’ Creed, which teaches us how God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, works for our Good.  We’ve looked at the Lord’s Prayer, which teaches us how to pray, and what to ask of our Father in the name of his Son.  And we’ve studied the Sacraments, which Jesus the Son of God establishes to bring his grace to his people.  Surely none of us has mastered all these things, and we continue to grow in knowledge and wisdom and the fear of the Lord until God finally calls us home.  We continue to be confirmed in this faith – even into our old age.

John goes on to tell us how we ought to know the testimony of Christ, and he says it in a rather strange way:  That the Water, the Blood, and the Spirit all testify and that these three agree.  What does he mean by all this?

Well as Lutherans when we hear “the water”, we think of Baptism.  And our baptism is a precious gift.  It’s a gift we confirm in these young people today.  A gift which is no mere symbol, but a true means of grace – a conduit for God’s love and forgiveness toward the individual sinner.  Baptism saves you.  But it also testifies.  It bears witness that you are a child of God.  It shows and indicates that the Old Adam in you is daily drowned by repentance and faith, and that a New Man arises.  It is by baptism, after all, that we are buried with Christ and raised with Christ.  And it is our baptism that seals us as God’s own child, we gladly say it, marked and redeemed by Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God.

Water… and also blood.  While we’re on this track, of course the blood reminds us of that other gift – the blessing of Christ’s body and blood, given and shed in the Lord’s Supper.  Here, again, is no mere symbol, but a true thing – Christ’s real presence – chock full of blessings.  Again, the chief blessing is the forgiveness of sins, but with it comes so much more – life, salvation, victory over sin, power to live as God’s child, and more.  It is by the testimony, and the testament of Christ in this meal, that we are strengthened in our faith.  And when we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again.  We confess, along with the blood and the body of Christ, all that Jesus the Christ and the Son of God has done for us.

And the third witness here that testifies to Christ is the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit always points us to Christ.  The Holy Spirit first led us to Christ, called us by the Gospel, and still enlightens us with his gifts.  The Spirit speaks to us – not in the fuzziness of our feelings, or a voice in our head, or the murky depths of our heart.  He testifies through God’s word, through Holy Scripture, and through the Gospel of Jesus Christ rightly preached and taught.  And the Spirit leads us to love God’s commands, and makes the to be not burdensome.

The Word of God and the Sacraments – Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.  These three testify, and agree, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God for you.  These three point you to Christ, deliver Christ’s riches to you, and shape you ever further in to a child of God by repentance and faith.

And as a child of God, you have this promise – back to the first paragraph where John says, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

You have overcome the world, because Christ has overcome the world.  And what he has, is yours.  You have overcome the world that wants nothing for you but death.  But Jesus defeated death, and gives you all his good things, and especially, life.

It’s true of all Christians, but especially this day we encourage you confirmands.  The world is against you.  The world, which is fallen and dying, does not want you to be saved, to be forgiven, and to have life in Christ’s name.  The world wants you to forget your Confirmation vows and the confession of your faith you make today.  The world despises the Word, disregard’s the Sacraments, and knows nothing of God’s grace in Christ.  But you do.  You have heard the good news, and you believe.  We rejoice with you today and always.  Especially as you join us at Christ’s table, and into ever deeper faith – for we have the victory in Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.