Grace Evangelical-Lutheran: John 3,1-8. The Feast of the Holy Trinity

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John 3,1-8 [9-17] 3015

Tag der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit (Trinitatis) 045

Petronella, Virgin, disciple of the apostles

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31. Mai 2015

1. O Incomprehensible and Unfathomable God, we do not know where we carry the words, when we are looking for You: O Reason of all that lives, O Hope of the world, O Consolation of those who wait for You, Let our prayers reach You. (VELKD, Prayer for Trinitatis § 1). Amen.

2. »Now Jesus there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesusby night and said to Him: „Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.“ Jesus answered him: „Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born againhe cannot see the reign of God.“ Nicodemus said to Him: „How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?“ Jesus answered: „Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the reign of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.Do not marvel that I said to you: ‘You must be born again.’ The windblows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.“ Nicodemus said to Him: „How can these things be?“ Jesus answered him: „Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world,that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.“

3. Trinity Sunday brings with it the Athanasian Creed and thoughts about the Trinity. If you look through the pages of the Bible, you will not find the word „trinity“ in the Holy Scriptures. While the word may not be found in the Bible, the concept and the doctrine of the Trinity weaves its way throughout the Holy Scriptures.

4. The history and theology of Christianity is rich and complex. During the early centuries of the Church, Christians attempted to express the concept of the Triune God. Disagreements, arguments and councils struggled to reach a confession that is faithful to what the Bible presents in its holy pages. The Nicene Creed dealt with the Trinity in two stages. The Council of Nicaea (325) confessed that Jesus is the Son of God and not the first creation of God the Father. Decades later, the Council of Constantinople (381) confessed that the Holy Spirit is an Independent Person in the Godhead and not some nebulous spiritual force. The Athanasian Creed confesses point by point what this confession in the Triune God means.

5. In its verbosity, the Athanasian Creed confesses two doctrines about God:

1. The God we worship is the Triune God comprised of One God made up of Three Persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and

2. We worship Jesus who was incarnate of the virgin Mary, thus adoring Him as both God and man in one Person. (Athanasian Creed 15-16.25-28).

6. Right there the Creed puts the Christian faith at odds with every world religion. Over two billion Christians will say God is the Triune God of the Persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But one billion Muslims will say this God is only one person known as Allah. Others will be referring to Mother Earth (Gaia), Science or one of the many pagan understandings of God or the gods and goddesses. That then begs the question when we say in the United States „In God we trust.“ and „one nation under God“ just which god are we trusting in and under?

7. Of course, many might counter-argue that it doesn’t really matter which God or gods you believe in since all religions lead to an afterlife of bliss and blessing. That’s a rather enlightened, tolerant and multi-cultural declaration to make. Unfortunately, all the monotheistic religions in the world (which account for over one-half of the world’s population) disagree with that pie-in-the-sky notion of all roads lead to heaven.

8. The Athanasian Creed does not pull any punches here. The Creed boldly proclaims that if you want to be saved, then you must confess that there is only One God who is comprised of the Persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Furthermore, this Second Person known as the Son of God is Jesus Christ, and He is the only way unto eternal life and salvation.

9. Such a confession will find its way in the liturgy of the Church. Our Divine Language of the Triune God abounds in the Historic Liturgy of the Divine Service. Thus the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Anglican Church and the Episcopal Church have their liturgy centered upon the Holy Trinity.

10. Our Divine Service abounds with Trinitarian references. A cursory look reveals the following. The Invocation: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Absolution: I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Gloria Patri: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. The Kyrie: Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us (where the first Lord is the Father and the last Lord is the Holy Spirit). The Gloria in Excelsis: Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. The Collect of the Day concludes: through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. The Triple Alleluia (one alleluia for each Person of the Trinity). The Creed: I believe in one God, the Father Almighty ... and in one Lord Jesus Christ ... and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life. The Sanctus: Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth (one holy for each Person of the Trinity). The Nunc Dimittis: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. The Post-communion Collect: We give thanks to You, Almighty God, … through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God. The Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace (one Lord for each Person of the Trinity. The Triple Amen (one Amen for each Person of the Trinity) (Weedon’s Blog, Tuesday 14. June 2011).

11. How we worship shows what we really believe, and what we believe is shown in how we worship (lex orandi lex credendi). We worship the Triune God who is One God comprised of Three Persons. We find this Triune God in the Holy Scriptures. We confess this Triune God in both our liturgy and our Creeds.

12. We worship this Triune God because this Triune God has worked out our redemption from all sin and brought us eternal life and salvation. God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ into this fallen world. The Son of God merited the world’s salvation by suffering, dying and rising again. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, speaks through the Prophetic and Apostolic Scriptures and through those Scriptures reminds us of all that Christ has done and said.

13. Jesus told Nicodemus: „If you are born again, then you can see the reign of God.“ This rebirth happens when one hears the gospel and believes that gospel. Jesus is the embodiment of this gospel, and all who believe on Jesus are assured of their salvation. Jesus essentially tells Nicodemus:„If you believe in Me, then you will see the reign of God.“ We experience this reign of God through the Word and Sacraments. We are in the midst of God’s reign when we gather together and worship Him through our liturgy. We are in the midst of God’s reign when we receive the Sacrament of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Through these means of grace we are brought into God’s presence, have the absolution spoken upon us and enjoy fellowship with the Triune God. We have this promise: „Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the Christian faith, that we worship One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the Persons nor dividing the Substance. And it is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ who is at the same time both God and man“ (Athanasian Creed ¶ 1.4.27-28). This we believe; this we confess; this we receive from the Gracious Hand of God. Amen.

14. Let us pray. O Christ Jesus, You are worthy to be praised for Your mighty deeds, pour out upon us a measure of Your Glory so that we may comprehend and fathom Your Divinity to the best of our human capability. Amen.

To God alone be the Glory

Soli Deo Gloria

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27. Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.

http://weedon.blogspot.com/2011/06/speaking-of-glorifying-holy-trinity.html

Grace Evangelical-Lutheran

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

John 3,1-8. The Feast of the Holy Trinity

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