June 3, 2007 — The first Sunday following Pentecost, also known as Trinity Sunday
The picture to the left is from www.hetland.com. David is a liturgical artist. The picture describes the Trinity which is the subject of today’s post.
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15
The concept of the Trinity has been debated throughout church history. The reason the creeds have been put in place was to combat heresies within the church. Paul writes in Romans 5.
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Paul is clearly Trinitarian in his statement here. I won’t claim to understand it all and that’s cool in it’s own way. It’s part of the mystery of God. I do know that the Holy Spirit helps us in our lives. I’ve felt his presence come over me, when I had no strength of my own. That is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s presence in our lives. Jesus said, 12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”
A Three in One God, that work together to work in the lives of the believer. I think it’s interesting that even though I won’t be preaching on the Trinity tomorrow, (I’ll be sharing the story of Esther) it’s interesting that the story of Esther links with this passage. God helped Esther, who was an simple, ordinary girl, to save her people.
