Trinity in Unity – Unity in Trinity

 

Grace, mercy and peace to you, from God the Father, God the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit.

 

Today we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the greatest of all mysteries, and most profound of all truths. 

 

Our message is based on the ancient liturgical verse: Blessed be the Holy Trinity, and the undivided unity.

 

We acknowledge and praise God for the uniqueness and the unity of the Holy Trinity: one God in three persons. 

 

In the unity of the Holy Trinity, God gives us life, and works our salvation. 

 

The way we know God is triune, and the only we could know it, is that He reveals it to us in His Word, so that we know He is unique, and is God alone.

 

If we try to understand God merely by natural knowledge, we either end up thinking that there are many gods, which is called polytheism, which is what Hinduism, the third largest religion in the world teaches…

 

… or we end believing that there is one God, but not three persons, that God is not 3-in-1, but 1-in-1, if you will. This is what Islam, the second largest religion in the world teaches, as does Judaism. 

 

Like Christianity, the largest religion in the world, Islam and Judaism are monotheism, believing there’s only one God. 

 

The difference is that Christianity is Trinitarian monotheism, while Islam and Judaism are nontrinitarian monotheism, not believing in the Holy Trinity.

 

This is a huge difference, because it leads to two different understandings of salvation: one, salvation by God’s grace, the other, salvation by our works. 

Without a Triune God to save people, Islam and Judaism are left teaching that you must earn your salvation by being a good person. And by the way, Hinduism teaches that, too. And all religions, except Christianity.

 

Christianity teaches that it’s impossible for anyone to earn their salvation, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Romans 6:23 says.

 

Even by common sense we know we can’t save ourselves from death, the ultimate consequence of our sin. The wages of sin is death, Rom. 3:23 says.

 

But the Good News God reveals to us in His Word, is that He, through His Son, has earned our salvation… and through His Spirit, gives us the power to believe and receive that salvation; salvation by God’s grace alone.

 

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith… Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9… And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

God can do this for us because of how He is, almighty, merciful, all-wise, all-knowing… and Triune.

 

In Matthew 28, Jesus makes clear that God is three persons. 

 

When He ascended, Jesus commissioned His apostles to teach and baptize in God’s name: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

 

This is the name of God into which we are baptized and given faith and salvation… as 1 Peter 3:21 promises: Baptism now saves you.

 

So we are baptized into the One who saves, the only One who saves, the Holy Trinity.

 

Father, Son and Holy Spirit is our God, three in one. God, the Father, God, the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – the Holy Trinity, or tri-unity.

While Scripture makes it clear that God is three persons, it also makes clear that there is only one God. 

 

Deuteronomy 6:4 says, Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

 

Notice Jesus didn’t say in the “names” of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but the name, singular, because there’s only one God, but amazingly and miraculously, in three persons. 

 

God is triune: three, but one; three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in one divine essence, one God. 

 

As we said, this is a great mystery, the greatest; only God is this way. 

 

I can’t be three persons, you can’t be three persons, only God can be three yet one. 

 

This is so amazing! 

 

That God is Triune is the deepest, most profound truth there is in this world; more profound than any of the facts or theories or knowledge of science or philosophy or any other disciplines in this world.

 

There are many amazing things about Creation, but the Creator is even more amazing!

 

We’ll have to wait until Heaven to fully understand the truth of the Holy Trinity, but we can believe, know, teach, proclaim and confess it now…

 

… which is our mission, to know Christ and to make Him known… and Christ is the Son of God, second person of the Holy Trinity.

 

In knowing Christ and making Him known, we know and make known the Holy Trinity. That’s the unity of the Holy Trinity. 

 

And we can believe in, confess and proclaim the Holy Trinity, only because of the Holy Trinity, by His power and doing.

 

Which is why we praise Him: Praise God from whom all blessings flow, 

                                                     Praise Him all creatures here below,

                                                     Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host,

                                                     Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

 

We’ll sing this Trinitarian truth later in our offering song.

 

While the Holy Trinity is a most profound truth, learning about the Holy Trinity is not some useless, academic exercise.

 

As we learn more about our God, we better appreciate Him and all He does for us…

 

… and we worship and give thanks to Him more sincerely, and we pray to Him more confidently and gratefully, and serve Him more joyfully.

 

As we consider the deep and amazing mystery of the Holy Trinity, we worship God and approach His altar in greater awe and wonder, which honors and glorifies Him, and uplifts us above our daily struggles.

 

As we learn more about our God in His Word, in the Gospel, we learn that our life and our salvation depend on God being Triune. 

 

We owe everything to God, the Holy Trinity. Without the Holy Trinity, the perfect unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one divine essence, we wouldn’t be here today, or anywhere.

 

Without the Trinity there would be no Father to create humanity in His image…

 

… and no Holy Spirit for the Father to breathe into Adam, into humanity, to give us life with an immortal soul, life meant to last forever.

And there would be no Son for the Father to send, to become man, one of us, to live the holy life we couldn’t live because of our sin… and to take the punishment for our sin and die in our place… 

 

… and to rise victorious over death, to give us the eternal life God intended us to have when He first created man in His image.

 

And if God were not Triune there would be no Holy Spirit, as we talked about last week, to come into our spirit, our soul in Baptism, with the power to believe in Christ, and receive the salvation He won for us.

 

And so it’s in the unity of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit working together in complete harmony, that God works our salvation.

 

It’s all from Him, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, by His grace alone, by His almighty power, because of His great love for us.

 

And so on this Father’s Day, as we give thanks for our earthly fathers and all they do for us in love and care, we also and especially give thanks to our Heavenly Father, for all He does for our daily life and our eternal salvation, for sending His Son to win our forgiveness and salvation… and for sending His Spirit to deliver His salvation to us by faith, and to give us the power to love our God, our family, and others.

 

We praise God that He is triune, and so He can and has saved us.  

 

Let us always believe, confess, proclaim, and rejoice in this highest truth.

 

And finally, in the unity of the Holy Trinity, God gives us His peace, which passes our understanding, and guards our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, our Lord, whom we honor and praise, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.