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A Sermon Preached on Trinity Sunday at the ACK St. Ann’s Mwiki on Sunday, 26th May, 2013 in all Services (Youth 8am, English 9:30am and Kiswahili 11am Services)
Texts:
- Psalm 29
- Job 6
- Romans 3:21-31
Introduction
Trinity Sunday is the Sunday in which we celebrate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: Go the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost and eight weeks after Easter Sunday in the Western Christian liturgical calendar.
The Historical debates on the Trinity
Trinity can certainly may not be fully understood or rationalized, but it is clearly taught in Scripture. Even though the word “Trinity” does not appear in the Scriptures, there is a reference to it:
Mathew 28:18-20 “18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
2 Corinthians 13:14 “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
1 John 5:7-11 “7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
We must accept the fact that, it is not easy to explain the mystery of the Trinity, but we can try to explain in the following formula: God is three Persons in one Nature. The three Persons of God – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – are all equally God, and they cannot be divided.
One of the heretics in the 3rd and 4th century, Arius (AD 256 – 336) believed only on the Supreme Being, that is God the Father and not the Triune God. To Arius, the Son by contrast was a being created by the will and power of the Father thus denying the divinity of Christ. However the Scripture is clear:
John 1:1-4 “1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Revelation 19:13 “He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.”
John 17:5 “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
Arius’ chief opponent in the theological debate for Trinity was Athanasius, who upheld the orthodox doctrine that there are three Persons in one God. The debate between Arius and Athanasius was settled in AD 325 during the Council of Nicaea which had been called by Constantine. During the Council of Nicaea, the orthodox view prevailed and the Nicene Creed was formulated, which is still recited in most Christian churches every Sunday (the Anglican church of Kenya recites the Nicene Creed during the Holy Communion Service).
The Nicene Creed affirms the unity of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit); that is, Christ the Son is of the same essence (homoousios) as God the Father. The Nicene Creed also upheld the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Nicene Creed has a phrase which affirms this: “…who proceeds from the Father and the Son. And with the Father and Son is worshiped and glorified…”
John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
John 14:26 “But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
The Christian Creeds which has helped crystallize the doctrine of Trinity
- Apostles’ Creed
- Nicene Creed
- Athanasius Creed – Quicunque Vault
Why Observe Trinity Sunday?
During this day, we take time to meditate the distinct roles of the Triune God in creation, redemption and sanctification. Each of the Trinity is intertwined to one another and interpenetrates one another within their distinct roles:
- 1. God the Father is Omnipotent
Why is He Omnipotent?
God is omnipotent because His power is demonstrated throughout salvation history. His power to save the sinner and punish the sinner is demonstrated throughout the way He dealt with Israel. In Psalm 29 the power of God the Father is celebrated. For David, that all men may be humble themselves before God; from the highest to the lowest, to celebrate God’s horrifying power in the various wonders of nature. Due to God’s great and awesome power, David:
- i. Calls on the humanity to give thanks and worship to God
Psalm 29:1-2 “Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness.”
In this psalm, David calls for worship of God the Father on account of a tempest or a storm that had taken place.
- ii. David calls his audience to acknowledge God’s power through God’s voice: Verse 3-9
For David, the outcome of the storm is as a result of the voice of God. He shouts the wonders produced by a thunderstorm, which he calls the voice of God.
- iii. David points us to God’s Majesty and Benevolence
Psalm 29:10-11 “10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. 11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.”
God’s power is demonstrated in the blessings and the strength He gives to His people. These two verses sweetly close the scene with the assurance that the omnipotent Jehovah will give both strength and peace to his people. Let heaven and earth pass away, the Lord will surely bless his people. Therefore:
- God has power over all of His creation
- God’s power is revealed through His voice
- We must Worship God for His power over our destiny
- 2. The Weakness of man
The experiences of Job represent the feebleness and helplessness of humanity. After the fall, God’s power drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Outside Eden, man lost God’s power that gives security.
Job 6:1-4 “1 Then Job replied: 2 “If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! 3 It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas— no wonder my words have been impetuous. 4 The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshalled against me.”
Job’s suffering is a shadow of the man’s suffering from the pangs of sin. Humanity has been groaning longing for salvation. Sometimes, without God, suffering appears overwhelming leading to helplessness.
Romans 8:19-22 “19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”
In the midst of his suffering, Job longed to look up to an all-powerful and able God.
Job 6:8-10 “8 “Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, 9 that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off! 10 Then I would still have this consolation —my joy in unrelenting pain — that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.”
Job realized that God had the power to grant whatever he asks of God. However, he is assured that God may not grant his wish. We cannot save ourselves from the power of sin and suffering but God has the power over sins power and pains of suffering. We must always turn to God’s ultimate power of salvation.
Job recounts his powerlessness and helplessness in Job 6:11-21.
- 3. Submission to God’s Righteous Power through faith Alone
Man’s power and self righteousness cannot save him from the power of sin and evil except the power of God. To Job, his suffering was uncalled for since he had lived a blameless life in his own eyes. He recounted to his friends his impeccable lifestyle:
Job 6:22-30 “22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf, pay a ransom for me from your wealth, 23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy, ransom me from the clutches of the ruthless’? 24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. 25 How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove? 26 Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat the words of a despairing man as wind? 27 You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend. 28“But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? 29 Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. 30 Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice?
Even though Job was righteous in his own eyes, he needed to submit and accept God’s power. True righteousness is from God alone and not from anybody or anything. The Israelites tried to achieve a self righteousness through the law and personal piety. Job had his own righteousness.
- The Rich Young Man: Luke
Mathew 18:16-20 “16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’ ’” 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
The Rich Young Man based his self righteousness on personal observance of the Law. With this, he had a form of false spiritual satisfaction. This is what personal-self-righteous-piety-spiritual-satisfaction gives someone; a false religiosity without saving grace by God the Son through faith.
The only way to experiencing the saving power of God is acknowledging:
Romans 3:21-23 “21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
Acting religious without accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour; through the conviction by the Holy Spirit and by grace through faith is living a religious lie. Living a lie does not give room for the saving power of God to take place. Trying to live a religious life without the regenerating and sanctifying work of God the Holy Spirit is spiritual pretence. True righteousness is achieved through the working of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life.
Conclusion
First, on Trinity Sunday, the Christian Church ponders with joy and thanksgiving what God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have done to accomplish the salvation of sinful humanity. It is brought to remembrance how Christians should respond to the love God has shown us, praising Him and giving Him glory.
Secondly, we remember God the Father as our Creator, God the Son as our Saviour and God the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and partner in our spiritual growth. And finally, we remember that we are worshiping one God who has manifested Himself in three distinct ways.
Trinity Sunday, 26th May 2013
Rev. Simon J. Oriedo (BSc, BD (Hon), PGD, MABS, MEd)