Preaching the Lectionary

God in Three Persons

• ]saiah 6:1-8
• Romans 8:12-17
• John 3:1-17
• Psalm 29
• or Canticle 13 (or Canticle 2)

Today is Trinity Sunday. We celebrate the glorious manifestation of God through his three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These are not simply three names of God. Each One is a Person of God and has a distinct being and purpose. The psalmist wrote:

He was writing about the sane God. We see the Persons of God being celebrated in the heavens. There are three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Let us begin with God, the Father. In Genesis we read;

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.   (Genesis 1:24-26)

God the Father is our creator. He is the source and ground of all beings. But notice that He is not acting alone. He says “Let us.” He is speaking about one image, but He speaking about a shared image.

To whom is the Father speaking? He was speaking to God, the Son. The Son is often referred to as the Word of God made flesh We read in the prologue of John’s Gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.   (John 1:1-4)

The Son is described in John as the agent of creation. He participated in the act of creation. He helped form the image of God. Not only that but He is the visible pattern of God’s image:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in^[ him all things hold togeHe is the head of the body, the church;.   (Colossians 1;15-18)

Yes, there was another Persun of God involved in creation.. Let us go back again to the beginning:

In the beginning God created th in e heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.   (Genesis 1:1-3)

We see that the Holy Spirit was waiting to hear the Word from God the Father: “Let there be light.” And then he sprang into action. The Father spoke the Word. And the Spirit acted on the Word.

All three Persons of God were active in creation, but each One also has a unique ministry. that emphasizes their roles in other ways. Let us take a broader look at the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was deeply involved in the ministry of The Cross. Jesus surrendered himself on a cruel cross through the strength of the Holy Spirit..We read that Jesus:

through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God!

¹For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance,    (Hebrews 9:14=15)

On the Gay of Pentecost, we read how the Son and the Spirit work together to establish the New Testament Church. The work of the Spirit helped empower the Church and shape the Church.

. We read in the Gospel of John:

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.   (John 1612-15)

Notice that the Spirit is not doing this alone. He is listening to the Son, the Jesus Christ our Lord. After all, the Church is now considered the Body of Christ. The Spirit is pointing back to Jesus. Jesus gave us His Spirit. The Spirit brings Jesus’ words to our remembrance, helping explain and interpret His teachings.

As we can see, the Holy Trinity represents our complete view of God. He is God in three Persons. He is always working together. Are we allowing Him to do su in our churches. Are we a Trinyariam Church? Church doctrine can often stand in the way. One of the Persons of God has been emphasized more than another. One of the Persons of God may be ignored altogether. Often this is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit helps bring understanding of the message of the cross:

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about^[c] sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.   (John 16:7-11)

Preachers, let us allow the Holy Spirit to help enliven and illuminate our sermons. Pentecostal preaching has then been welcomed. But that is how the Church was born.