In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Matthew 28:16-20
The Holy Trinity
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for Trinity Sunday is the Gospel reading Matthew 28. Jesus said these words. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. In these words Jesus speaks about the Triune God. He tells us that there is one God in Three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We see that same revelation in our reading from Genesis. As we read the Genesis account, we see that the Triune God was present at creation. When the Father started His work of creation the Holy Spirit was also there hovering over the waters. In the beginning of the gospel of John we are told that the Son was also present at creation. We see another reference to the Triune God in verses 26-27 when the Lord decided to make human beings. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”. Notice the words “us” and “our” when God said, “Let us make man in our image”. The “us” and the “our” refers to the Trinity. The Three Persons of the Trinity were speaking to each other. Later it says that the man and the woman were then made in the image of God, meaning one God. At the creation of the world we see the revelation of the Triune God – one God in Three Persons.
This revelation about God is true but it is impossible to fully understand it. People have tried to come up with examples or comparisons to try and explain the Trinity but all of them fall short and are often in error. In the end we accept that there is one God in Three Persons even if we can’t fully understand it. But not understanding everything about God should not alarm us at all. It should not surprise us that God is infinitely more complex than we are. God is one God in three Persons this is true but He is also eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, and present everywhere. There is no way that our brains can fully comprehend the enormity of God.
That is why God has to come to us. It is the Lord who has to reveal Himself to us so that we are able to know Him. The creation is a witness to God’s power and might and the fact that we have a conscience also witnesses to God’s righteousness. The witness of creation and the fact that we have a conscience is often called natural revelation. But in order for us to truly know God, He needed to reveal Himself in the Bible. This is often referred to as God’s special revelation.
But let us first look at creation. God reveals Himself in creation because we are able to see His hand in creation. Psalm 19:1 says these words. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork”. Hebrews 3:14 says this. “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God”. In our reading from Genesis we see how God created all things and as we look at His creation we are going to be truly amazed. Think about the vastness of the universe. The Hubble telescope has sent us pictures of the universe beyond our planet that boggle the mind. We can see far distant galaxies, and now astronomers estimate the observable universe contains two trillion galaxies. Think about how the earth is at the exact right distance from the sun and that it orbits and rotates in such a way to give us our days, years, and seasons. Think about the complexity of the human brain, and the design of the human body. You are seeing God’s handiwork every time you watch the sunrise or the sunset. You are seeing God’s handiwork every time you count the stars at night. You are noticing God’s creative power every time you smell the air after a nice rain and every time you watch the crops come out of the ground. By looking at creation we see the handiwork of God. But looking at the creation is not enough because we also see tornados, blizzards, floods, and droughts. Let us be thankful that God reveals Himself in other ways.
God reveals himself in creation, but He also reveals Himself by giving us a conscience. The conscience is explained in Romans 2:15. Paul states that even the pagans have some notion of right and wrong. This is what he says, “They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness”. Every person has the law of God written in their hearts. That means that God has given people a conscience. With a conscience we are able to know the difference between right and wrong. The fact that we have a conscience tells us that God is just and that it is His desire that we know His Will. But being aware of our conscience is not enough because our conscience has been corrupted. People might have a sense of right and wrong, but they can also suppress their conscience and justify their sins.
The Lord reveals Himself through the creation and through our conscience but that is not enough. It is necessary for God to reveal Himself in the Bible. After the fall into sin the Lord made a promise to send a Savior to redeem lost humanity and bring us all into right relation with Him. Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. It was the Lord Jesus who chose a group of apostles to witness His ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension. Those same apostles proclaimed what they witnessed to the world. We see this in the words of Peter that have been recoded and preserved for us. “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know – this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ.”
Notice that in these words of Peter the Triune God is revealed as he mentions the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But there is more. It has also been revealed that God is gracious. It is revealed that God is good. It is revealed that God loves us. The Father sent the Son to deliver us from sin and death. The Son carried out the Father’s plan by His perfect life, death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit revealed Jesus to us, created faith in our heart, and continues to sustain that faith through the Gospel.
That takes us back to the words of Jesus in our Gospel reading. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” The name of the Triune God was placed upon you at your Baptism. Your sins have been forgiven. You have been restored. You may not fully understand everything about the Triune God, but you do know that the all-knowing, all powerful God is also the one who is gracious to you. He gave you your life, redeemed you from sin and death, and will bring you to be with Him for all eternity. Amen.