Thank God for this name: Trinity

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

     Why do we have names? Names help identify us and help us get to know a person better. How many names do you have? Usually 3. Our first name is our personal name. Our middle name intensifies the first name. If you’re not sure how it works, just use your best “parent” voice and say someone’s first and middle name together: “Jonathan David!” Our last name identifies us as members of a specific family.

     Do you know how many names God has shared in the Bible? One Bible study author lists 120 names for God in the Bible, and about 219 variations of his name. Wow—it would take God a long time to introduce himself, wouldn’t it? During our summer worship services, we’re going to take a look at 15 of God’s names, especially some of his Old Testament names, and get to know our God a little better.

     The first name we’ll look at is “Trinity.” Trinity, or “triune” is a combination of two words. “Tri”, which means 3, and “une”, which means 1. This name isn’t recorded anywhere in the Bible. Even though it’s not in the Bible, it’s a name that reflects the truths God has revealed about himself.

     God tells us in his Word how many gods there are. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). That’s the “une” part of the triune God. The Bible also talks about 3 different and distinct persons in this one God. We catch a glimpse of the triune God at the beginning, as he prepares to create man. "Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness’" (Genesis 1:26). Who was involved in making man? “Us.” More than one!

     That’s not the only place in the Old Testament we hear God speak that way. In Isaiah 6, the LORD asked a question: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8). Did you hear the Trinity? First, the LORD spoke as one. “Whom shall I send?” Then he speaks as three. “Who will go for us?”

     Throughout the Old Testament, God refers to himself as Father, Son, and Spirit. We see all three in action at Jesus’ baptism. The Father spoke from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The Son stood in the Jordan for all to see. The Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the form of a dove and landed on Jesus. Three persons. One God. Trinity.

     Sometimes we use pictures to try and explain how the Trinity works. An equilateral triangle has three sides that are exactly the same length, yet it remains one shape. A cloverleaf grows three interlocking circles that form one plant. No matter how hard we try, we can’t understand exactly how the Trinity works. If we did, would God still be God? God describes himself as three in one—triune—and faith believes it!

     Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I asked the confirmation students what was most important about the holiday weekend. The first thing they said was, “A day off of school.” Isn’t that how most of us look at Memorial Day weekend? It’s a 3 or 4 day weekend, time to grill out, or spend time at the cabin, get gardens planted and flowers pots filled.

     We celebrate Memorial Day to remember the men and women who have served our country. They gave their lives to preserve the blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Think of the blessings we have experienced in our lifetime. We have not had full scale war within our borders (the contiguous United States). We live in a peaceful, peace loving nation. On Memorial Day, we stop to thank all those who served to preserve peace.

     In our text for today, the apostle Paul describes one of the blessings we receive from our heavenly Father. He said, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Our heavenly Father has been focused on bringing peace to us since the day Adam and Eve fell into sin. When they fell, they became God’s enemies. That led to all out war against him. The war continues today in us. Paul wrote in Colossians 1, "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior" (Colossians 1:21). We had no relationship with him, no peace. We hated him and wanted to fight against him.

     God wants us to remember the work he did to restore peace. He said through the prophet Isaiah, “‘Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the LORD. “And I will heal them’" (Isaiah 57:19). God wanted peace. He went to the negotiating table and did made all the offers. He promised Eve that he would send a Savior to rescue fallen mankind. The Father fulfilled his side of the bargain. Listen to the treaty made in the words of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). We thank God this Memorial Day weekend that would do whatever it took to guarantee peace, even if it meant giving up his one and only Son!

     On Memorial Day, we stop to say thank you for the men and women who sacrificed their lives to preserve our freedoms. In World War II alone, over 400,000 American men and women lost their lives. Thanks to all those soldiers, we have the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, the freedom to bear arms, and all the freedoms laid out in the United States Constitution. Without their sacrifices, that freedom would be lost!

     The Trinity knows about sacrifice. Paul wrote, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand" (Romans 5:1-2). Before the Father sent his Son, we had lost our freedom. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). Slaves don’t have freedom. We couldn’t earn it. We had no access to forgiveness and eternal life.

      Jesus offered to go to war for us. He didn’t go up against tanks, mortars, and machine guns. He faced off against the forces of evil—the devil, the sinful world, and death itself. He made the ultimate sacrifice—he died fighting our battle. The Bible tells us why God’s Son willingly fought and died: “By his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (Hebrews 2:14-15). Now we have access to God’s grace. Our sins are all forgiven—paid for by that sacrifice. We are free to be in that peaceful relationship with our heavenly Father. We are free to enter eternal life when we die. Thank God that his Son sacrificed himself so we can be free!

     In a recent interview, Major Jamie Fischer, U.S. Army, who is also a member of one of our WELS congregations, talked about the hope he has as he serves his country. He said: “You cannot measure what I do quantitatively, but I have to believe that if I were not where I am now, the security of many people may be at risk. I am charged with defending this country so that we can have the freedom to worship how we choose and to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.” (Katherine Martin, WELS Forward in Christ).

     Major Fischer is willing to rejoice in his sufferings because he knows it will bring about something good for someone else. Can we do that with the suffering we face in our lives? Paul wrote, “We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings" (Romans 5:2-3).

     Wait a minute—I didn’t sign on for suffering. I thought the life of a Christian was filled with all kinds of good things: love, joy, and peace. I don’t want suffering! That’s exactly what we get. Jesus even said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). How can we rejoice in that mess?  “Because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3-4). We are in training for a Christian’s ultimate goal: the hope of eternal life.

      That’s where the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, comes in. Paul concluded, "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5). We have all kinds of hope. “I hope I do well on the test. I hope I get a good job. I hope she likes me. I hope I get there on time.” Those hopes are uncertain, and depend on all kinds of external circumstances.

     A Christian’s hope is different. It comes from God through the work of the Holy Spirit. That began at baptism, when God washed away our sins and filled us with the Spirit. Now that he lives in our hearts, he points us to the hope that we have in Jesus. We have the hope of forgiveness, the hope of making it through all our suffering, the hope of eternal life, and the Holy Spirit guarantees it. We can rejoice in our suffering because we have hope, thanks to the Spirit!

     Triune. That’s some name! As we remember the sacrifices made for our country this weekend, don’t forget the great things the Triune God has done. We thank the Father for fulfilling his peace treaty. We thank the Son for fighting the battle, dying, and rising again for us. We thank the Holy Spirit for filling us with the hope of eternal life. Amen.

 

To God alone the glory!                Pastor Jon Brohn