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. 

Confrontation and Compromise

Chapel Service for Concordia Publishing House

June 18, 2008

1 Kings 18:1-16 And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth." ² So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. ³ And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly. ⁴ For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) ⁵ And Ahab had said to Obadiah, "Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock. ⁶ So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. ⁷ ¶ Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, "Is that you, my lord Elijah?" ⁸ And he answered him, "It is I. Go, tell your master, 'Elijah is here.' " ⁹ So he said, "How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? ¹⁰ "As the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, 'He is not here,' he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. ¹¹ "And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here" '! ¹² "And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the LORD from my youth. ¹³ "Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD's prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴ "And now you say, 'Go, tell your master, "Elijah is here." ' He will kill me!" ¹⁵ Then Elijah said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today." ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

This is one of the topics that I would include in a book: “Bible Stories You Didn’t Get in Sunday School.” But there are many Biblical insights and blessings to be found in these “minor” stories.

“Obadiah” means “servant of the LORD.” There are twelve men by this name in the Bible. This is not the prophet who wrote the one chapter book that is between Amos and Jonah. He came along later.

This Obadiah was the right hand man of the most wicked king that had ever ruled Israel.

1 Kings 16:30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.

Ahab was influenced by his wife Jezebel to bring Baal worship to Israel. Eventually this led to outright conflict with Jezebel killing as many true prophets of the LORD as she could get her hands on. But Obadiah secretly worked to save at least 100 of these prophets, risking his own life. Ahab was so evil that as the three year drought wore on he cared only about his horses and began looking for the last bits of pasture so they could stay alive. He sent Obadiah looking in one direction while he searched in another. Obadiah encountered Elijah.

These two men were very similar. Both feared and served the LORD, but in different ways. Elijah was a “confronter.” He was called by God to preserve the faith of God’s people by taking Ahab on directly. Obadiah, on the other hand, was a “compromiser.” He compromised in a good sense. He served wicked Ahab, but used his service to help God’s people. He could have refused. He could have given his neck to Jezebel and perished with all the prophets of Israel. But instead he used his position to work for a greater good. No doubt it must have grieved him that some of his labors helped to prop up and support Ahab. But his goal was always to work for the greater good of God’s people.

We are also sometimes put in the position of being and Elijah or an Obadiah. Sometimes we must take our stand and be prepared to die: The accountant realizes that his or her employer is using unethical business practices. It is time to turn matters over to the IRS. The parent whose child has chosen a homosexual lifestyle refuses to allow them to bring their partner home and to stay over night at their house. At risk is their entire relationship, and there is a real possibility that they will never see them again. Heart-breaking decisions. Hills that we must sometimes die on. This is the Elijah approach.

At other times God places us in situations that call for the Obadiah approach. Jesus prayed for His disciples…

John 17:15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.

Obadiah realized that he could use his position to save some of the prophets. Sometimes we are caught in difficult situations and decide to stay because we believe that we can work for a greater good. A pastor is called to a church that decides to use “Standard Publishing” for its VBS program. The pastor provides “Gospel” helps for all the lessons and eventually persuades the church to purchase their VBS materials from CPH. The teenage son or daughter we love starts to run with some sin-loving friends. Do we forbid them to be together? Or do we talk with our child and explain our concerns and say, “I just want you to rub off more on them that they on you.” Difficult decisions – when to be an Elijah, when to be an Obadiah. God can and does call us to use both approaches.

Here the words of James are encouraging…

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

So many important things to pray about… Such a great God who listens and answers with wisdom in Jesus. Jesus came to go beyond confrontation and compromise. Jesus came to crush evil and to make all that it does temporary. There are different ways to work against it, but in Jesus we know that all will turn out for the good. Amen.

Hymn: My God, My Father, Make Me Strong TLH 424

1 My God, my Father, make me strong,

When tasks of life seem hard and long,

To greet them with this triumph song:

Thy will be done.

2 Draw from my timid eyes the veil

To show, where earthly forces fail,

Thy pow’r and love must still prevail

Thy will be done.

3 With confident and humble mind

Freedom is service I would find,

Praying thro’ ev’ry toil assigned:

Thy will be done.

4 Things deemed impossible I dare,

Thine is the call and Thine the care;

Thy wisdom shall the way prepare

Thy will be done.

5 All pow’r is here and round me now;

Faithful I stand in rule and vow,

While ’tis not I, but ever Thou:

Thy will be done.

6 Heav’n’s music chimes the glad days in;

Hope soars beyond death, pain, and sin;

Faith shouts in triumph, Love must win

Thy will be done!

Text: Frederick Mann, 1846–1928 ES IST KEIN TAG

Tune: Johann D. Meyer, 17th century 8 8 8 4

Text and tune: Public domain Ps. 143:8