Three In One

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Trinity Sunday, the 4th of June, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, today is Trinity Sunday.  This is a joyous day on our Christian Calendar when we celebrate the three Persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  All three are God, and all three have existed forever, since before time began and will continue long after time ends.

A lot of people have trouble grasping this concept, even Christians.  But I think it helps to think about our own situations in life, and how we can easily be three – or more – persons in one.  For example, I am a father, I am a son, and I am a pastor.  Each “role”, each “person”, has different responsibilities, different duties, different priorities.

Now granted, my role as “son” pretty much ended once I got my parents’ estate all settled, but I will always be Ray and Yvonne’s baby boy Richard.  And my role as “father” isn’t anywhere near as complex and confusing as it used to be, but I still am one, and I have a ton of birthday and Christmas and Father’s Day cards to prove it.  And then there’s the pastor, called by God, confirmed to that calling by you, my Pilgrim family, where I do my best to minister to you and the greater community.

I do wear other hats and have other responsibilities in the community, as most of us do, but most of us can easily find three roles we fill, with each being a little different from one another.

So today we celebrate the three Persons of God.  At the same time, I also want to continue our look at Peter’s letters to the early church.  The Book of the Acts of the Apostles, written by our good physician Luke, provides us with information on the early church, how it was formed, how it spread, how its belief system matured.  But the letters written by those Apostles to the churches that were spread all over the known world, these give us great insight into the thinking of the people, and of our Lord’s disciples, in these early days.  These form the basis for our own beliefs today, our own views into Jesus and our heavenly Father and His most Holy Spirit.  Case in point: The opening to Peter’s 2nd letter to the far-flung early church provides us with evidence of the three Persons of God.

So please listen and follow along as I read from chapter 1 of Peter’s 2nd letter, from the Modern English Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

3 His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and excellence, 4 by which He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, so that through these things you might become partakers of the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.

5 For this reason make every effort to add virtue to your faith; and to your virtue, knowledge; 6 and to your knowledge, self-control; and to your self-control, patient endurance; and to your patient endurance, godliness; 7 and to your godliness, brotherly kindness; and to your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these things reside in you and abound, they ensure that you will neither be useless nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But the one who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted because he has forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

10 Therefore, brothers, diligently make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. 11 For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly provided for you.

12 Therefore I will not be negligent to always remind you of these things, though you know them and are established in the truth that is present with you. 13 I consider it right, as long as I live in this body, to stir you up by reminding you, 14 knowing that soon I will take off this body, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. 15 And I will also be diligent to make sure that after my death you will always remember these things.

16 For we have not followed cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received honor and glory from God the Father when a voice came to Him from the majestic glory, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we ourselves heard this voice, which came from heaven, when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

19 And we have a more reliable word of prophecy, which you would do well to follow, as to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of the Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy at any time was produced by the will of man, but holy men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

--2 Peter 1 (MEV)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, today we celebrate Your three Persons.  You are our heavenly Father, watching over us, protecting us, providing for our needs.  You are our Christ, our Lord Jesus who allowed Yourself to be sacrificed so that we could be washed clean of our sin by Your blood.  And You are the most Holy Spirit, living within us, our ever-present Guide and Companion.  Thank You, God, for choosing us to believe in Jesus, for adopting us into Your family, for giving us Your Holy Spirit.  Sadly, though, Father, we don’t always behave like good children.  We can be stubborn, disobedient little brats at times.  Please forgive us our lapses, Father, those times when we just can’t seem to stop ourselves from doing or saying something we know will displease You.  Forgive us when we inadvertently open the door to Satan and let him rule over us, even if for only a few minutes.  Remind us that we are Yours, bought at a great price.  And Father, please protect us from Satan, who deceives us and tries to pull us 

away from You.  Please shield us from those who are so willing to follow his commands.  Free us from his traps and temptations.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Please have Your Spirit show us how to be more virtuous, more righteous in Your eyes.  Help us grow and mature in our faith, that we might become partakers of Your divine nature and escape the corruption in this world.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

In our belief system here at Pilgrim, and many other churches, we call that third Person of God the Holy Spirit.  Evangelist Francis Chan calls Him the forgotten God.  Some folks still use the older term.

I love this little story from Reader's Digest and have used it before, and will probably use it again sometime.  It points out how cultural differences play a huge role in our view of things, even religious things.  The unknown author writes:

While our friends from India traveled around California on business, they left their 11 year-old daughter with us.  Curious about my going to church one Sunday morning, she decided to come along.  When we returned home, my husband asked her what she thought of the service. 

“I don't understand why the West Coast isn't included too,” she replied.  When we inquired what she meant, she added, “You know, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the whole East Coast.”

“Whole east coast” – “Holy Ghost”.  While that is a humorous little misunderstanding, it does show how cultural differences can have an impact in perception and in practice.  The child was from India, where Christianity is not very well known or practiced, and even shunned by many.  She may never have been told of the one true God, let alone His three Persons.  To me, it is tragic to think that a person may not ever hear the Gospel message just because of where they were born and raised.

This is why it is so important that we help spread the Good News to all the earth, in any way we can.  We can’t assume, even in this age of instant communications, that every person on earth has had the opportunity to learn about God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  We need to spread the Gospel everywhere we can, and not just the whole East Coast.

In our scripture reading, Peter opens his 2nd letter much as he did the 1st: by introducing himself as an apostle of Jesus and then recognizing the intended recipients of the letter.  Of course, we Christians are all recipients of his letters, we who have received that precious faith through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Now in this opening chapter, Peter tells us all about the things our Father God and Jesus have done for us, but I said he gives us evidence of all three Persons.  Where is the Holy Spirit, you may ask.  As is usually the case, the Holy Spirit is there in the background, doing His job quietly, without a lot of fanfare, often times not even mentioned by name.  We can see His hand in verses 5 through 8 - shoring up our faith, helping us be more virtuous, adding to our knowledge of Jesus, giving us more self-control, patience, and endurance so that we might be more godly in our behavior, kinder toward one another, more loving of all.  He resides within us, ensuring we will be neither useless nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ Jesus or in our service to our Lord.  And then, in the very last verse of our reading, Peter mentions the Spirit by name, acknowledging His role in the making of all prophecy, moving holy men to speak for God.  Prophesy is just that – speaking for God.  And that is what the Holy Spirit does within us.  He speaks to us for God, and He speaks to God for us.

And notice that Peter cautions that no prophecy in our scripture, nothing God said in our Bible, is subject to our interpretation.  What God said through the prophets is true and as stated.  There are many people, especially today, who call themselves teachers and preachers, who will try to tell you that what God said is not really what He meant.  Paul warned us about this, that people will hire preachers that will only tell them what they want to hear.  They’ll put their own spin on God’s word, twisting it around to fit their own agenda.  The Holy Spirit moved all the authors in our Bible to speak and record what God said and what God meant.  Don’t let anyone else fool you.

Peter also mentions something we’ve talked about a good bit recently, when God spoke from heaven at Jesus’ transfiguration and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  Here, Peter is giving witness to what he saw and heard there on the mountainside.

The other time that God the Father spoke to us about Jesus His Son came as the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and filled Him when Jesus rose from the waters of the River Jordan after being baptized by John.  Listen to how the Apostle Matthew recorded this in verses 13 through 17 of the 3rd chapter of his Gospel account…

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 But John prohibited Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”

15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.

16 And when Jesus was baptized, He came up immediately out of the water. And suddenly the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending on Him like a dove. 17 And a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

--Matthew 3:13-17 (MEV)

Now in our scripture reading, Peter instructs us on how to grow and mature in our faith.  He gives us a progression that we should strive to attain to, encouraging us to be diligent to make our calling and our election by God sure and firm.  God has called us to be His, to be holy, and He has chosen us to believe in Christ Jesus, so we need to be sure to keep our faith strong, so that we do not stumble, to keep our door to heaven open.

It won’t be easy.  There will be problems and pitfalls along the way.  Back in his 1st letter, in verses 12 through 16 of chapter 4, Peter says…

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad — for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to all the world.

14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glory of God, which is His Spirit, rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by His name!

--1 Peter 4:12-16 (NLT)

Even here, as he’s warning us about what could very well happen to us, Peter still encourages us to keep our faith strong by invoking the three Persons of God.  “If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glory of God, which is His Spirit, rests upon you.”  God’s glory is His Holy Spirit, who dwells within us because Jesus the Son asked God to send Him to us.  And through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we can glorify God and help bring the lost to Jesus, if we’ll just listen and obey the Spirit.

There’s one last point I’d like to make in our celebration of God’s three Persons.  And this comes from the words our Lord Jesus spoke right before He left this earth to return to His Father in heaven.  Matthew recorded these words, in the 28th chapter of his Gospel account, the second part of verse 18 through verse 20…

18b “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

--Matthew 28:18b-20 (MEV)

This is our assignment, our mission in this life, to go into the world making disciples.  We are to baptize them with water, anointing them in the names of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  And then the Holy Spirit can baptize them with fire.  In this we show our love: helping the lost learn about Jesus so that the Holy Spirit can work on their hearts, granting them salvation by the grace of our merciful Father.

Family, we are truly blessed by our three in One.  Let us indeed celebrate the Holy Trinity, today and every day.  In the blessed name of God our heavenly Father, of Christ Jesus His Son and our Lord, and of His most Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You choosing us to believe in Your Son Jesus, Your Christ sent to save us from ourselves.  Thank You for sending Your own Spirit to live within us, filling all the holes in our life.  Thank You for being a loving Father.  Please help us be more holy in Your eyes.  Help us constantly strive to mature in our faith and our service.  Please forgive us when we displease You.  Forgive us those times when we hesitate to do what we know we should do, and those times when the things we should do are left undone.  Please, loving Father, help us be better servants.  Help us always glorify You so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You are God’s only Son, conceived by God’s Holy Spirit though born of a woman, just like we were born.  God’s Spirit lives within us and guides us and sometimes we can feel Him and hear Him.  But it is You, dear Jesus, that we know and love best of all.  You washed us clean with Your own precious blood, spilled just so that we might be reconciled with God.  You showed us how to live by how You lived, and how to love by how You loved.  And You had our Father send His Spirit to live in us.  Thank You, Jesus, for such wonderful gifts.  Thank You for doing it all just for our benefit.  Please help us bring others to You.  Send some lost soul to us that we can tell the sweet, sweet story to, the story of Your love.

And Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.