Sermon: The Intention of the Trinity

Welcome:

Good Morning and Welcome to Trinity Sunday here at Columbia Theological Seminary

Scripture Reading:

Our scripture text will be taken from Genesis the 1:1-4a KJV

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good

Call: This is the Word of the Lord

Response: For the people of God

Introduction:

I know we are not Catholic, but I have a confession to make.

This summer, while on my internship, I had the pleasure of hearing another student of the Word preach on Trinity Sunday. She did an amazing job however while she preached, I had grand ideas about how I would present the Trinity should I be given the opportunity.

When I saw the option available for the Trinity assignment, I jumped at it and thought, “God is a prayer answering God!”

Ummm! Silly, silly girl!

The euphoria of the assignment began to fade when I approached my sermon. While I still had my ideas from this summer they just didn’t feel quite right for this space, at this time. I could hear my former pastor encouraging me to preach a right now Word. Reluctantly, I had to scrap everything and as I prayed, studied and wrestled with many texts this is what God gave me.

I will be preaching from the subject: The Intention of the Trinity

Prayer:

Let Us Pray: Lord, Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. And let this power point work. Oh Lord! My rock and my redeemer? Amen!

Movement 1: The Hugeness of God

Who Is God?

How do we take a huge God that exists outside of our context and outside of our scope of understanding, perception and reasoning and try to articulate his completeness?
A God so unlike anything we have every known or perceived that anything we could use to explain him to becomes inadequate.

Testifiers of God have called him many things throughout history.

Healer,

Savior,

Deliver,

Emanuel,

Brother,

mother,

protector,

creator.

Prince of Peace and the list is endless.

All the names are really descriptions of who God is in that moment to that individual and yet it is not the totality of who God is!

Has anyone heard of Francis Chan?

Francis Chan is a preacher / teacher. Here’s a clip of how he grapples with the scope of God.

Interesting right? When I watch that I think to myself: That is only what we can see of God, a creation of God. How big is he really?

For more about Francis Chan check him out @ CrazyLove.org

Last semester I preached an Old Testament sermon called “Do You Have Need of The I Am?”. In Ex. 3:13-14 When the Moses asks God who shall he say sent him and God responded by saying, “Tell them that the I AM has sent you.”

The Hebrew here is “Eheye asher Eheye” which can be interpreted:

I am who I am
I am what I am
I am which I am
I am because I am
But most commonly translated as I Am That I Am

The word ehyeh is the first person common singular of the verb to be. However, when used as a stand-alone description, Ehyeh or I AM is the ultimate statement of self-sufficiency, self-existence, and immediate presence. God’s existence is not contingent upon anyone else. His plans are not contingent upon any circumstances. He promises that He will be what He will be; that is, He will be the eternally constant God. He stands, ever-present and unchangeable, completely sufficient in Himself to do what He wills to do and to accomplish what He wills to accomplish.

God said that He is the I AM!

Movement 2: Limited Understanding of Man

So now we have words, but we still can’t really wrap our mind around it.

We have limited understanding.

We give human attributes to God because he is Abba, - yet he is Jesus, - The Christ, - Son of God - all while descending from the heavens like a dove.

Wait What?

Our text for today says, God created the heavens and the earth – And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Gen 1

John said, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1

Further along in John, Jesus says, “I am the way the truth and the light. No man comes to the Father but through me.” John 14:6

And just when our minds can’t take it no more here comes the Holy Spirit. The Comforter with its own set of gifts, testifying of Jesus and who is also a part of this union with Jesus and the Father.

Who is God again?

If we are honest, it can get a bit confusing.

So, we sense this need to explain this mystery that is God. To bring light to ambiguity but yet

we can still only see through a glass darkly.

Movement 3: What Is the Trinity

What is the Trinity?

As an attempt to answer this mystery concern God the learned theologians before us wrestled with the mysteries of the Godhead and came to some conclusions that culminated to the Athanasian Creed.

The Athanasian Creed is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology.

And my daughter’s video from “What’s In The Bible” explains it simply.

So, we have established the doctrine of the Trinity as an attempt to explain what we refer to as the Godhead but the writers of the Athanasian Creed where not the only one to develop an explanation.

Oneness Pentecostalism also a theory on the Godhead which states: This doctrine states that there is one God, a singular divine Spirit, who manifests himself in many ways, including as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

And there are others.

Different Orthodoxy but same intention.

To make known the mystery of the Godhead to a wider scope of people.

To articulate the Godhead in a way that was more readily comprehendible.

Conclusion:

In the end we hold multiple tensions concerning the Godhead in this liberal inclusive space that is Columbia Theological Seminary.

Some may consider one more right than the other or more comfortable than another possibly based on their formation.

For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God]. ~1 Cor. 13:12 AMP

So, while the word Trinity is not in the Bible and while many people grapple with other concepts to frame God, this is not an argument of a specific doctrine.

It is a prayer that beyond our need to label and classify - define or contain our limitless God that our hearts and spirits are available to the fact that He Is, and that he is a rewarder of them that do diligently seek him.

And as we pursue our academic endeavors, struggle with our identity, direction, focus and voice, let us never forget that not only did he call us and raise us but that he is forever inclined to us.

As we celebrate that which is God on this Trinity Sunday, however it may be that we receive him, may we remember Him personally and intimately as you reflect on these trinity inspired works of art.