The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity – June 15, 2025

Psalm 8; Isaiah 6:1-7; Romans 11:33-36

St. John 3:1-17

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The three creeds of the Christian Church state the fundamental doctrines of what it means to be a Christian. At a bare minimum, all three creeds affirm the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and the two natures in Christ. These two doctrines then form the basis for the doctrines of creation, redemption, and sanctification. And then, built on these, are the doctrines of the Holy Sacraments – Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Although the three creeds all state these fundamental doctrines, each creed takes a unique place in the life of the Christian. The Apostles’ Creed is the Baptismal Creed. It is the daily food needed by our faith and should be confessed at least once a day by every baptized child of God. It is also the catechetical creed, the one used for bringing new believers into an understanding of the fundamental teachings of the Scriptures. It is the catechetical creed precisely because it is the Baptismal Creed. It stands as the front door to the house of God, entered into repeated and daily as the Christian returns daily to his baptism.

The Nicene Creed is the creed of the feast; the creed most closely associated with the Lord’s Supper. It is more robust than the Apostles’ Creed even as the meat given to the mature is more robust than the milk given to infants. It is confessed every time the Lord’s Supper is received as an indication of the maturity of those gathered to receive the Holy Supper. If the Apostles’ Creed is daily food, then the Nicene Creed is the feast, enjoyed on special occasions.

The Athanasian Creed, undoubtably the one you are least familiar with, is the poetry to which the Christian life is set. It is written in the style of wisdom literature, with repetition and layered meaning, intended to be enjoyed and contemplated over time. In some traditions, it is confessed monthly (or even weekly) in the weekday prayer offices. In others, such as ours, it is reserved for today’s great feast, the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. It is distinguished as the clearest confession of all the Scriptures have to say concerning the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and it even expands on the confession of Christ’s two natures. If the Apostles’ Creed is daily food and the Nicene Creed a feast, then the Athanasian Creed is a precious spice, to be considered throughout the year, discerning its flavors and subtleties so that when you have the opportunity to confess it, your knowledge and understanding may grow.

It is obvious through experience that Christians take the doctrine of the Holy Trinity for granted. We know that it is a necessary doctrine and we know that we believe it, but we give very little thought to it. Maybe the repetition of the Athanasian Creed lulls our mind into blind recitation. Maybe the incomprehensible nature of the mystery of the Trinity frightens us and so we let our fear corner us into saying, “I believe in the Trinity,” and nothing more. Whatever the reason, we are content to know the word “Trinity” and nothing more…which is to our shame.

It is our shame because the Scriptures are full of Trinitarian language. In the very beginning, the Father speaks the Word of the Son and the Spirit hovers over the waters of Creation.[1] We are given glimpses into the inner conversations of the Holy Trinity when God considers the Tower of Babel.[2] We’ve spent the last five weeks hearing Christ speak of His ascent to the Father and the sending of the Holy Spirit, that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to speak the words of the Son.[3] The very name into which you are baptized—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—is Trinitarian; the very name which seals you as a child of God, one who stands to inherit eternal life.

And this is where diving into the mystery of the Holy Trinity becomes personal, even practical for you. The Holy Trinity is by definition personal. In the One Godhead, the One Substance of God, there are three divine Persons. These Persons are defined by their relationships – the Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten of the Father alone, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. As the baptized children of God, you are made temples of the Holy Spirit, sons of the Father, and stand as co-inheritors with the Son. The mystery and activities of the Holy Spirit are why you are here this morning.

So, then, let us take a moment to consider the Holy Trinity first in Its essence and then according to Its will.

When thinking about the essence of the Holy Trinity, our forefathers in the faith have done us a great service in composing the Athanasian Creed. What is said of the unity of the Trinity is true of each Person within the Trinity. God is uncreated, infinite, and eternal. There was never a time before God nor a time without God, a time when God wasn’t. He has no beginning and no end. God is almighty and the Lord of heaven and earth. He lacks nothing and has dominion over all things. There is nothing outside of His sight nor beyond His reach. As the Lord of all, He is owed loyalty, reverence, worship, and praise by all things beneath Him, which is to say, by everything.

At the same time, we cannot confuse the Persons. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord—individually each Person is Lord and yet there are not three Lords but one Lord. The Father is neither created nor begotten. The Son is neither made nor created but begotten by the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from both the Father and the Son. There are not three Fathers, three Sons, or three Holy Spirits, but one Father, one Son, and one Holy Spirit.

And though it is tempting, none in this Trinity is before or after another. The Father is not the chief member of the Holy Trinity, just as the Holy Spirit is not the least. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are coequal, meaning they are of equal majesty, power, and might. Our typical formula for prayer is to the Father, through the Son, and in the Spirit. That phrasing might be misunderstood as giving some kind of “hierarchy” to the Trinity but that is a mistake. The three Persons are coequal and coeternal.

When Christ says, “My Father is greater than I,”[4] He is speaking with regard to His humanity. When the Son descended into the flesh of man, He made Himself lower than the Father. He is less than the Father with respect to His humanity, but He is equal to the Father with respect to His divinity. That is why Christ also says, “I and My Father are one.”[5]

So too with the Holy Spirit. Though He proceeds from the Father and the Son, He is not “less than” or subordinate to the Father and the Son. He proceeds in the same power and authority as the Father and the Son. Scripture ascribes to the Holy Spirit the same divine names, attributes, works, honor, and glory due to the Father and the Son. When Ananias is caught lying to the Holy Spirit, St. Peter said, “You have not lied to men, but to God,”[6] granting the fullness of the Godhead to the Holy Spirit.

Now when we consider the will of God, we must remember that the Holy Trinity never acts apart from Itself, that is, when the Father acts, the Son and the Holy Spirit are acting as well. The Trinity is of one will and that will is primarily concerned with your salvation; insofar as that will has been revealed to us. We cannot know God’s will outside of that which has been revealed in His Holy Word. What the prophets and apostles have revealed to us is that God is singularly focused on the salvation of man. It is for this reason that Christ says that all the Scriptures testify to Him.[7] Your salvation is in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. “For God loved the world in this way, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”[8]

What then of the Law? Is it not the eternal will of God? Are we not to be concerned with keeping God’s law whole and undefiled? Most certainly! Just as there is no division between the will of the Trinity, there is no division within God’s will itself. The Law is God’s will for the man of salvation. It is the fruit of salvation, the fruit of repentance, the manner in which God has ordered the life of His beloved creation. We do no evil, not that we should appear approved by God or man, but so that we do what is honorable in the sight of God, lest we become disqualified of the salvation to which God has called us.[9] You did nothing to be born of your father and mother but an evil life can certainly disqualify you from any inheritance.

For the sake of brevity, we must leave off our discussion of the Holy Trinity for today. However, I would challenge all of us to spend more time in the coming year devoting attention to this core doctrine of the Scriptures. Specifically, I would challenge us all to spend more time considering the Athanasian Creed. This summer, over the next three months, take time to recite the Athanasian Creed at least once a week, and consider a small portion of it each day. As you do your daily bible reading, note those passages that are referenced in this great creed; those that speak of His Unity, of the distinction of Persons, of God’s attributes, and of His will. Ask questions of the text and ask questions of the creed. May the Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity, bless you in this endeavor, now and forevermore.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] Genesis 1:1-3.

[2] Genesis 11:7.

[3] St. John 14-16, the Gospel texts for the last four Sundays after Easter and Pentecost.

[4] St. John 14:28.

[5] St. John 10:30.

[6] Acts 5:3-4.

[7] St. John 5:39.

[8] St. John 3:16.

[9] 2 Corinthians 13:7.

Christmas Day

The Nativity of our Lord (Christmas Day) – December 25, 2022

Psalm 98; Isaiah 52:6-10; Hebrews 1:1-12

St. John 1:1-14

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In the very familiar words of the beginning of St. John’s Gospel, there is a phrase that sticks out. I think many people pass over it without understanding and don’t give it a second thought. There are also many who have noticed the various translations of the phrase but again, do not bother to inquire. Then, there are those who puzzle over this phrase’s meaning but find so much more to ponder in the rest of the chapter that one confusing phrase is not worth the time to understand.

The phrase of which I speak is “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”[1] You may have read or heard it read as “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”[2] In order to understand this sentence, we must identify the light; identify the darkness; and finally, understand the relationship between this darkness and the light. The particular difficulty in this sentence is the word translated either as “comprehend” or “overcome.” Both are valid translations of the Greek word, but neither is particularly helpful in understanding what is being said about the light, the darkness, or their relationship.

First, who or what is the light? The previous sentence tells us that in the Word of God, that is, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, is life and this life is the light of men.[3] Generally speaking, light reveals what is hidden, guides one who is lost, and communicates over distance. In the Son is life, and this life is the light of men. The Life that is in Christ reveals what is hidden in man, guides man who is lost, and communicates to us over the distant gulf created between God and man.

We have already been told that Jesus is the Word of God, who was in the beginning with God and was God. A Word is only beneficial if it is spoken, and used to communicate. In this way, we can see the relationship between Word and Light. If words are taken to heart, if they are received and the one speaking is trusted by the one hearing, then these words will also guide the hearer, just as light guides the one who is lost. Words can also be said to illuminate the mind, revealing knowledge and wisdom that were once hidden. Again, there is a similarity between Word and Light.

But what of life, the life that is in the Son and is the Light of men? The life in the Son is ζωη, the fundamental term for life, without which there is no existence.[4] St. John especially takes this word and turns it into a theological term for that eternal existence which God has placed into creation; that which makes you exist. Hence the life that is in the Son is that essence that gives life to all mankind. It could, quite possibly, be a reference to the Holy Spirit or simply a reference to the origin of all life being within the Godhead, the Holy Trinity.

All life proceeds from God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is nothing in the cosmos that did not originate in God. He created the heavens and the earth. He created you and me. He continues to sustain you, me, the heavens, the earth, and everything that fills them. If it were not for God sustaining the universe, it would cease to exist at this very moment.

“In [the Son of God] was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness.”[5] Who, or what is the darkness? The clearest answer is the darkness of the sinful world. The problem with this answer is that this darkness is then personified, treated like a person, that can either comprehend or overcome.

It is difficult to imagine, but in the beginning, there was nothing, not even darkness. The “nothingness” into which God called creation was not dark. It wasn’t anything. It was not a thing. Into this darkness, God spoke a Word and called forth light. This is the beginning of all things.

Human logic and the world today insist that the world is made of dualities. Everything must be in balance. If there is light, there must be darkness. If there is up, there must be down. If there is life, there must be death. This is the fundamental theology of both Star Wars and the Marvel Universe. If there is Good, there must be equal and opposite Evil. Everything must be in balance.

With God, it is not so. There is no equal but opposite Evil to oppose God. Just so, in the beginning, when God created light, there was no darkness. There was only light. As the week of creation came to an end, certainly, there was a division between day and night, a division between days and seasons. The sun certainly cast shadows from the trees over the fields. Yet these shadows are not the darkness of John’s Gospel.

The darkness into which the Light of Life shines is certainly the sinful world, but it is not an abstract sinful world. Sin did not enter the world as a lifeless contagion, floating on the air and hoping to be breathed in by a passerby. Sin was not an idle thing, activated by the actions of first Eve and then Adam. The first sin was an act of man. Sin is always an act of man. The fall of man introduced sin into the world and the rest of creation fell because of the actions of men.

This is how darkness is personified in the first chapter of John. The darkness is not sin as an abstract concept, personified for the sake of poetry. The darkness is the sin dwelling in the hands and hearts of man. The darkness is the desire to sin, inherited by every son of Adam and daughter of Eve.

If you sit in deep, deep darkness for any length of time, and then someone turns on a bright light, your eyes will burn and immediately you will shut your eyes. Even if the darkness was that of a prisoner’s cell and the light was brought by your liberators, the darkness of your eyelids is more appealing than the light of your salvation.

This is the relationship between the darkness of the sin in your hearts and the light of life that is in Christ Jesus. No one is born inclined toward God. No one is born indifferent to God. All mankind is born hostile to God and His light. Such hostility is against everything God has given to creation.

We, who were born in darkness, are incapable of opening our eyes to the light and desire nothing more than to crawl back into the darkness of our cave. Thus the One in whom dwells the substance of Life, through Whom creation was spoken into existence, has come to dwell in your flesh. He has come into the cave to dwell with you and the darkness of your sin cannot comprehend nor overcome His light.

The word translated as either “comprehend” or “overcome” is based in the word which means “to take” or “to receive.” However, it has a prefix that intensifies the word. When put together, the word καταλαμβανω means “to take or receive from top to bottom; to understand fully; to overtake fully.” The prefix also possibly hints at a level of hostility. Thus, the darkness of sin is hostile toward the Christ, even as it is impossible for sinners to fully understand, fully defeat, or even fully receive Him.

There are those in the world who have refused to receive the light. They prefer to sit in the darkness and dwell in the cave. They are truly God’s own, for all of creation belongs to the Creator. They are His own, but they do not receive Him. They refuse to receive Him. These are not only in the darkness, but by refusing the light, they are of the darkness.

But as many have received this light, all those into whom the Light has shined and not been refused, these have the right to be called children of God. Those who know themselves to be lost in the darkness and welcome the light of life to lead them on the path away from the darkness are given such desire not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but from God. These children of God have believed in the Name of the Son of God, the Name of the Word, the Name of Jesus Christ.

These children have received, believed, and trusted the Light that would never lead them into darkness. These children have trusted the light such that what they might perceive as painful, unpleasant, or even contrary to their own will, so long as the light is leading them, they will submit themselves to Him.

The darkness tried to overcome the Light. Men believed they had killed the light after only a few hours upon a cross. Yet the darkness cannot overcome the light. The darkness cannot comprehend the light. The Light cannot be contained by the darkness for He preexisted the darkness. The Light became flesh and dwelt among man not only to overcome the darkness, but to share His Light with you. He comes to you today that you would edge ever more closely to the Light, leaving the darkness behind.

Behold the glory of God, the glory of the only begotten of the Father. Behold His glory in the flesh given for you and the blood shed for you. Behold the glory of the Light that is the Life of men. Behold the glory of Jesus Christ.

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] St. John 1:5.

[2] Such as in the NIV or ESV.

[3] St. John 1:4.

[4] BDAG, 430-431.

[5] St. John 1:4-5.

The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

 The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity – September 18, 2022

Psalm 84; Proverbs 4:10-23; Psalm 92; Galatians 5:16-24

St. Luke 17:11-19

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 There is a distinction between being grateful and giving thanks. Both concern your reaction to receiving a gift but being grateful is oriented toward the gift itself. You are grateful to have received this specific thing. Giving thanks is directed toward the one who gave you the gift. Giving thanks recognizes the value of the gift in the person who loved you such that they gave you this gift.

An example might help clarify. If my wife gives me a tenon saw for Christmas, I am grateful to have received a saw that will help me make more precise cuts. I give thanks to my wife because she has listened to me talk about tenon saws and went through the effort of finding one and buying it for me.

In much the same way, there is a difference between praise and worship. We give praise to God by recounting what He has done for us. The Psalter is full of psalms of praise that tell the story of salvation. Worship is oriented toward the Person of God. In worship, we not only receive the things God gives us, but we recognize the origin of these gifts as being in the Person and attributes of God.

To be fair, these distinctions are not perfect. These words can be used in different ways. But to distinguish the concepts is very helpful. It is helpful because it places our focus not on what we are doing—being grateful, giving thanks, praising, worshiping—but on the object of these actions. On whom or toward what are we grateful, giving thanks, and offering worship or praise?

All ten lepers cried out to Jesus to have mercy on them. All ten lepers were grateful for the cleansing. They rejoiced to have received a life-altering miracle. Leprosy caused them to be separated from their families, their communities, and the life of the Temple, where God dwelt with man. The gift of healing meant these lepers would be reunited with mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and children. It meant they could go to church again, to receive the blessings of God. All ten lepers undoubtedly recognized the goodness in the gift of healing and were abundantly grateful.

It is possible, and quite likely, that all ten lepers praised God for what He had done. When they went to the priests, the lepers probably told the story of how they were healed. They proclaimed the works of God. This is the essence of praise—to recount what God has done for us.

Although all ten were grateful and possibly praised God for this miracle, only one gave thanks to God and worshiped Him. Only the Samaritan leper recognized the value of healing in the person of Christ and directed his worship toward God in the flesh. Only the Samaritan realized the true nature of the Man standing before him.

When Jesus commanded the lepers to show themselves to the priests, it was the Samaritan who realized that the true High Priest was standing before him. With a loud voice, he glorified God, fell on his face, and gave thanks to Jesus. This is an act of worship.

Our worship is oriented toward the Triune God: One God in Three Persons. We worship the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity. This means we see that the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are meaningless if they do not originate in the Person of God. If God is not a Person, that is, someone with whom you have a relationship, then He is not worthy of worship or thanks.

Our world is content with an ambiguous god. Quite often, we are content with an ambiguous god. Perhaps it is because we don’t like something the True God has said. Perhaps it is because we are afraid that we will say too much and so we purposely remain ignorant of who God is. Perhaps we know exactly who the True God is and yet we prefer a god of our own choosing.

Whatever the reason, an ambiguous god cannot save you. The abstract concept of a divine being who loves you just because will not save you. Even the idea that god loves you, if not given the flesh of meaning, is not enough to save you. The only god who saves is the God who took on your flesh, then died for your sins. The only god who saves is the God who calls you to repentance for your sins. It is this God alone who loves you such that He would die for you, rise from the grave, and call you out of the darkness of your sin and into His marvelous light. An ambiguous god can do no such thing because it is not a person.

God is love and this means He acts on your behalf. Leprosy kept these ten people from going to the Temple to be with God so God came to them wrapped in flesh. Your sin, both the sin from your birth and the sins you commit in thought, word, and deed, prevents you from drawing near to God. Your sin prevents God from smiling upon you for it is evil in His sight.

God is love and this means that He cannot abide His beloved children dwelling in evil. He comes to you, wrapped in flesh, that you might come to Him. He comes to you in water, where you are drowned in the first death. In Holy Baptism, you died. But if you died a death like His, you shall certainly rise in a resurrection like His. You rose from the waters of Holy Baptism a New Creation, breathing new life in Christ. Therefore, the faithful Christian has nothing to fear in temporal death. You have already died in Christ. Now, the sleep of death is a portal to eternity.

Between your death in the waters of Holy Baptism and your rest in the grave, God comes to you wrapped in bread and wine. He comes to you not as a performance, not as an act, but as your loving bridegroom. He comes to you just as certainly as He came to that village where ten lepers came out to meet Him. Your eyes of flesh do not see it, but the eyes of faith see the face of Christ in the Eucharist.

Our worship is oriented toward Christ. Physically, we orient ourselves toward the altar as the primary symbol of that which is truly happening. Jesus Christ comes to you today and every day. He comes to you today in Word and Sacrament. He comes to you every day as you pray, sing, read the Scriptures, and obey His commandments while serving your neighbor.

There is nothing fake about what happens when we worship. There is nothing theatrical about giving thanks to God. Thanksgiving and worship of the Triune God cannot be done without sincerity because to do anything else would be to deny that God is a Person.

In + Jesus’ name.  Amen.

The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

12 June, A+D 2022 

In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

All Christians should spend a little more time each year becoming familiar with the Athanasian Creed.[1] It is the most simple and clear explanation of the Holy Trinity we have and yet we generally confess this Creed only once a year. Within this simplicity, the Athanasian Creed gives great detail about the doctrine of the Trinity.

 Like me, you probably know the doctrine of the Trinity is important to the Christian faith but struggle to see how it impacts you and your faith directly. According to the Athanasian Creed, there is nothing more fundamental to the Christian faith, for we explicitly confessed, “whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.”[2]

Unless they repent, all who deny the Trinity will be damned. This includes all who belong to the Mormon church, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Islam, or modern Judaism. It also includes all who refuse to make a confession of the Trinity, including the Freemasons, who insist on the vagaries of the Great Architect such that all members can claim to be united in their Freemasonry, even if they are divided in their memberships on Sunday morning; and all other groups who require adherence to a doctrine of a vague god but refuse to name him. By their silence, they deny the Triune God.

There are more in danger. Those who are spiritual but not religious; those who claim to have their own spirituality but do not find that spirituality in the gathering of God’s saints around Word and Sacrament; those claiming to be agnostic or who recognize a god but question who or what he is; and those who believe there is one god but many roads to reach him and many names by which he is called—all these deny the True God. They will be damned unless they repent of this idolatry. They have cut themselves off from the saving work of God, His atoning sacrifice for their sins, and the grace by which He delivers this salvation to man.

 Ignorance and denial of the Holy Trinity damn a person, whether the ignorance is willful or not, whether the denial is implicit or explicit. That sounds harsh. You may not like it. It feels wrong because God is Love. How it sounds or feels to you or me is not what establishes the character of God. The Word of God describes who God is and what God does. “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?”[3] Our God is a “jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him.”[4]

Because God is Love, He will never force Himself upon man. Forced love is no love at all. It is the result of force, enticement, or deceit. The one who gains love in this way does so from a covetous heart, a sin which God forbids in the tenth commandment.

Along with Love, God is Just. He will not tolerate rejection and blasphemy. Those who reject the Trinity, reject the work of the Trinity. They receive the just punishment of their sins. Salvation is gained only when the work of the Trinity covers the sinful nature into which man is born. To reject the Trinity is to reject salvation.  “Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.”[5]

It would be beneficial for us all to spend more time contemplating the Athanasian Creed and the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Not only is this doctrine fundamental to your salvation but spending time contemplating it will teach you humility. You will be humbled by the fact that you do not understand it. The Trinity is not a mathematical formula or even something to make comparisons to.

For centuries, Christians have made similes to help in understanding the Trinity, but they all fall short. The Trinity is like the sun having heat, light, and radiance. The Trinity is like an herb having odor, taste, and effect. The Trinity is like water, which is a solid, liquid, and gas. Yet there is only one sun, one herb, and one element of water. These similes may be a place to begin understanding the Trinity, but they quickly introduce as many false doctrines as teach the true.

In contemplating the Trinity, you will be forced to acknowledge your humility before the mystery of God, but this should not make you stop confessing the Trinity. If you could comprehend the very essence of God, He would not be God. If you could understand the Trinity, it would not be a mystery. If you knew everything concerning the plurality of Persons and the Unity of the Godhead, you would then be superior to God Himself. Spending time thinking on the Holy Trinity ought to draw you deeper into the mystery of your faith, rather than be cause to abandon it. Remember, whoever desires to be saved, must confess the Trinity.

For this reason, do not be discouraged as you realize you cannot comprehend the Trinity. The desire to know God in His fullness is the desire to draw closer to God. This is a good, pious desire, driven within you by the Holy Spirit. It is difficult. It may frustrate you and make your head spin. It is not something to be conquered. It is something to be fostered. A little frustration and a little head-spinning is good for you. It is how you grow as a person and as a Christian.

To this point, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity seems like strict, condemning Law, or at least an academic pursuit required of all Christians. The Athanasian Creed is helpful in our contemplation of the Trinity because it gives us useful language to express the teachings revealed by God concerning Himself. It also gives us categories for organizing our knowledge of God. The Creed gives clear definition of what is acceptable regarding the Trinity and what is damnable; what is in and what is out. There is no multiple-choice test necessary for entering heaven. Faith is not a test of memory or formulations.

Faith, in the end, is a relationship. Such language is often mocked by doctrinal Christians, but it is true. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity reveals God’s love for us in Christ. It also reveals that the Three Persons of the Godhead, united in One Divine Essence, are a family. The Persons are defined as Father, Son, and Spirit. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father. A Father cannot be a Father without a Son and a Son requires a Father. There is a bond between them, Love which proceeds from both and returns to both. This is the Spirit. The Father loves, the Son is loved, and the Spirit is Love.

It is this same Spirit that is sent by the Son from the Father to witness to man concerning the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Son. In this way, the Spirit being love, the Love of God is made manifest in us. We are not the natural sons and daughters of the Father. The Son is the Only Begotten of the Father. But we are born again, born from above, begotten of the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

We must never forget that Holy Baptism is an act of the Trinity, not just one Person within the Trinity. The clearest revelation of the Three Persons is at the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. The Son rises from the waters. The Spirit descends as a dove. The Father opens the heavens and proclaims, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Although not marked by such a spectacular visual miracle, your own baptism was attended by the Holy Trinity in the same manner. You were washed in the blood of the Son, flowing in the font. The Spirit descended upon you in the Word spoken through the lips of man but emanating from the Love of God. The Father looked upon you and declared, “This is My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” You now have the right to call God your Father and to come to Him in prayer.

The Holy Supper is also an act of the Trinity. Christ has provided His own Body and Blood as the feast. The Father has accepted the sacrifice of the Son and declared the food to be worthy of His children for all eternity. The Spirit delivers to you the gift of faith by which your sins are forgiven, and this divine meal strengthens your soul.

Nicodemus sought the truth when he came to Jesus by night. He confessed that God was with Jesus, but he lacked clarity. Nicodemus was a teacher of Israel and yet he did not contemplate the mysteries of God. He was content with the simplicity of a vague God. He was content to have his vision clouded by the veil of Moses, the weight of the Law hanging heavy on his eyelids. In other words, he believed in a god but did not know Him.

Christ was a bit harsh with Nicodemus, shaming him for his lack of faith and knowledge of the Word of God. Christ also comforted him by speaking concerning the work of the Holy Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit have worked together since the foundations of the earth were laid for the salvation of man. This was accomplished when the Father “gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”[6]

The doctrine of the Trinity has direct implications for the daily exercise of your faith. It is the foundation and substance of your faith because it is the family into which you have been adopted. To know the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is to know your Father, your Brother, and the Love which flows from them to you. “Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.”[7] 

In + Jesus’ name. Amen.

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[1] This sermon is based on a sermon by Rev. David H. Petersen, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN, available at https://cyberstones.org/sermon/trinity-2021/, accessed 2022.6.10.

[2] Athanasian Creed 26 (acc. to LSB versification).

[3] Romans 11:36

[4] The Small Catechism, What does God say about all these commandments?

[5] Athanasian Creed 26 (acc. to LSB versification).

[6] St. John 3:16.

[7] Athanasian Creed 26 (acc. to LSB versification).