Trinity = Salvation

 Trinity = Salvation

John 8.48-59

 

The Jews answered him, Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? 49 Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death. 52 The Jews said to him, Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be? 54 Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, He is our God. 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. 57 So the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Introduction

 

    Christian friends and all who are listening - Today we are remembering and rejoicing that God is the Triune God - The God of our salvation. This morning I will show you how this truth comes from the Old and New Testaments. But most importantly I want to show you WHY the Trinity is important. Only this God, the Triune God is the God of salvation and the God who gives us forgiveness and eternal life. When you hear the word "trinity," you shouldn't just think "mystery." It is a mystery. It is something that cannot be understood, and it must be believed. But more than that, when you hear the word "trinity," you should think, "salvation." Because that is what the Triune God is all about. 

 

The Old Testament Points to the Trinity

 

     Let's begin with the Old Testament. We can say without a doubt that the Old Testament points to the Trinity and the New Testament reveals the Trinity. How does the Old Testment point to the Trinity?  It does so in several ways.

 

     First, the Old Testament emphasizes that God is not just another one of the many false God's that men have imagined. The Old Testament teaches that there is only one true God who created the world, who established the laws of nature and the laws of the soul, and who alone saves. Ancient people believed in multiple gods often associated with certain powers such as power over the weather, power for war, power for life, etc. Some modern religions still teach that their are mulitple gods for multiple purposes such as the Hindu religion. All of these gods were thought to coexist and often compete with each other. Leviticus 19.4 tells us that anything that claims to be God, other than the true God is an "idol." The Hebrew word it uses for "idol" is also the word for what is "worthless" or literally, a "nonentity." ln Deuteronomy 6.4 Moses gave one of the most important passages about God when he said, "The LORD our God, the LORD is ONE." 

 

     But the word for "one" that is used here can also include more than one person. So in Genesis 2.24 we read that when Adam and Eve were married, the "two" became "one ( אֶחָד echad) flesh." This is the same word. But when the Bible wants to emphasize only one person, it uses a different word as in the case of Isaac, the "one and only" (Genesis 22.2 יָחִידyachid) son of Abraham and Sarah. This broadens our understanding of God. So in the creation we read about God who created the world and the Spirit of God who hovered over the waters. Last Sunday we heard God say regarding the Tower of Babel, "Let Us go down there and confuse their language" (Genesis 9.7). Some say this has nothing to do with God being more than one person. It is, they say, a figure of speech, a "plural of majesty." But if that is so, then why do we continue to hear of mysterious persons, beings in the Old Testament who are neither men or angels. I'm referring to the "Angel of the LORD," and to the person called "Melchizedek." These are neither men nor angels. They are the persons of God. Finally, the prophecies of the Messiah point not to a heroic man or an angel, but to God as in Psalm 110.1 "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand.'" Or Isaiah which tells us "My righterous Servant shall make many righteous, for He will bear their iniquities" (53.11). In all these ways the Old Testament prepares us for and points us to the Triune God which is revealed fully to us in the New Testament.

 

The Trinity Revealed in the New Testament

 

     Right now many people are planting and tending to vegetable and flower gardens. First the seeds are planted, and the vegetables begin to sprout and leaf out. Next they flower and create buds that will eventually turn into fruit - tomatos, peppers,  cucumbers, etc. The verses of the Old Testament that tell us about the Trinity are like those buds. The New Testament takes what the Old Testament taught us about God and fills it out. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary to announce the conception of Jesus, He told her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1.35). See how beautifully the bud of Old Testament verses comes to full fruit. We have the Holy Spirit, the Highest One, and the Son of God all in one verse. At Jesus' baptism He is affirmed by the Father as the Beloved Son with the Holy Spirit hovering over in the form of a dove (Mark 1.10). On almost every page of the New Testament we have either the Son and the Father or the Spirit or all three. Jesus said that He and the Father are one (John 10.30), and that He sends forth the the Holy Spirit (John 15.26). Finally, Jesus commissioned the apostles to make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28.19).

 

     The New Testament beautifully reveals to us the reality and the truth of the Trinity. But there is one thing it doesn't do. The New Testament does not explain it. How is it possible for three to be one or one to be three? People have tried conceptualize it or illustrate it with a three leaf clover that has three leaves but one stem or as an apple with three parts: The seeds, the fruit, and the peel. But none of these things really explain the how God is three persons yet one God. The Apostle Paul tells us that all of this is a great mystery that can only be believed: "Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh (Father & Son), justified in the Spirit (Holy Spirit), seen by angels (not an angel), preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world (for salvation), received up in glory" (1 Timothy 3.16). The Trinity is like many other divine truths such as God being eternal, all-knowing, and all-powerful. We can't understand these things, but we are able to believe them. And, most of all, we are able to be blessed by these divine realities. 

 

The Trinity = Salvation

 

     In our Gospel lesson today, we heard of a heated argument between Jesus and the Jews who did not believe in Him. The argument began after Jesus had fed the five thousand people with loaves and fishes. He then claimed to be "the bread which came down from heaven" (6.41); "the light of the world" (8.12); and that those who did not believe in Him would die in their sins (8.24). It came to a climax when Jesus said, "Before Abraham, I AM." The Jews who didn't believe in Jesus knew that Jesus was referring to the Old Testament name of God, Yahweh, which means "I Am." But the argument wasn't just a question of who exactly is the Messiah. The main part of the argument had to do with what people believed the Messiah would do. Jesus said that the Messiah came to save us from our sins. This is why the Trinity is so important. God gave the world the forgiveness of sins because His Son gave His life as a sacrifice on the cross. It is the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, that "cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 2.7). When we hear the word "trinity," we shouldn't think so much about the mystery of it. Rather, we should think about, believe, and rejoice in the miracle of it. It is because of the Trinity that we have forgiveness and salvation. This is why I like to say "Trinity = Salvation." The Jews who were arguing with Jesus didn't believe they needed His forgiveness. They believed, as many people today believe, both Jews and non-Jews, that they can earn their salvation - that kind of salvation is a reward not a redemption. 

 

     This is the heart of my message today. Please do not fall into this temptation of thinking that you are good enough for God without His forgiveness, or that on the last day heaven will be a reward to you from God for being a decent person. This deception will keep more people out of heaven than anything else. Satan does not have to turn us into murderers. All he has to do is convince us that we don't really need to be sorry for our sins and seek God's forgiveness. This leads to a life of complancecy or pride - but not to a life of faith, hope, and love - a life of joy in Jesus and in God's salvation. We should leave worship today rejoicing in the truth that God is a triune God who saves us from our sins in Jesus, a God who send us His Holy Spirit to live new lives of faith and obedience not because we expect to be rewarded, but because we know we are redeemed. 

 

Conclusion

 

     Today we will confess the long Athanasian Creed. This creed was written to impress upon us - despite all the different attacks against the true God down through the ages - that God is Three Persons and One God - the God of our Salvation! The creed emphasizes that each person of the Trinity has divine names, divine attributes, divine works and is to be worshipped. As we come to the end of the creed you will notice that the creed sounds more like the Apostles' or Nicene creeds with an emphasis our salvation in Jesus. But it also emphasizes good works without which we cannot be saved. These works are not the efforts of men trying to earn a reward from God. The whole point of the long creed is to show that the Trinity is our salvation. Therefore our works are important because they are the evidence of our faith and our joy in God's salvation. They are the fruit of the Trinity loving faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as Isaiah so beautifully records for us in these words: "And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. 'Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God (the Triune God), and there is no other."  Amen.