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Date: 19 June 2010 Service/s: 7.30am, 9.30am Series: Worth Celebrating Title: Trinity Sunday Passage: Various ********************************* There are a couple of things I can t do this Trinity Sunday in a sermon on the Trinity. First, I can t explain the Trinity. That may immediately be a disappointment... and perhaps you want to go to morning tea early......but I m not going to attempt something the Bible itself doesn t attempt... The other thing I m not going to attempt this morning though it s tempting is to illustrate the Trinity... you ve heard people say in the past it s like water it can occur as ice, water or steam... that s useless in the end because water can only be one of those things at the same time; or someone has said it s like a musical cord take the C Chord for example... The C, E, and G notes are all distinct notes, but together they are one complete harmonious sound. Or an egg yoke, white and shell... but no illustration can adequately describe the Trinity. So I m not going to explain it, I m not going to illustrate it. What am I going to do? I am going to show you from the Bible what there is to see... and then answer that age old question so what? (you ll find an outline on the back of the NEWS). 1. There is just One God Throughout the entire Bible, the clear teaching time and time again is that there is only one God. Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear O Israel, the LORD your God, the LORD is one. Or the prophet Isaiah 44:6 This is what the Lord says Israel s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. So we know there IS only ONE God. And yet, this one God has revealed himself as Father, as Son and as Holy Spirit. Noosa Anglican Parish 16/06/2011 Page 1

So we see that: 2. The Father is described as God In the prophet Malachi 2:10, the people are challenged - Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another? So in this passage, God and Father are used to describe the one person. And in the New Testament Jesus landed himself in trouble by calling God his Father... and he continues to refer to God as Father as we see clearly in John s gospel - John 5:18: For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God When Jesus taught us to pray to God, he began, Our Father in heaven. The Apostle Paul opens his letter in 1 Corinthians 1:3 - Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And in 1 Corinthians 8:6 - yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live So - God has revealed himself to us as Father. Our Father. What a beautiful description of God. Not tyrant. Not dictator. Not despot. But FATHER. And we are his children!! /// But we also see that JESUS is described as God! 3. Jesus is described as God Even in the Old Testament with prophecies referring to Jesus in the future, is he referred to as God. Isaiah 7.14 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" and Matthew in chapter 1, adds: which means, "God with us." Again from Isaiah this time 9:6 - For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And then in the New Testament we could go to many places but let s start here Titus 2 talks about waiting for the blessed hope the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Noosa Anglican Parish 16/06/2011 Page 2

And then there are all the references in John s gospel where he speaks of the Father and Him being one... Or Thomas falling before him this Jewish man through and through who has known all his life that there is only one God exclaims when he sees Jesus raised from the dead my Lord and my GOD! John 20:28 And I haven t even mentioned - right at the beginning of John s gospel - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was GOD. The Word of course is Jesus. And Jesus is presented as both being FROM God; and GOD. So; so far: God revealed as Father. God revealed as Son - God with us. God as one of us. God revealing himself to us. And yet he himself prays to the Father!!... so they are distinct in themselves... /// Father and Son BOTH described as GOD, but distinct persons. Then finally, we add the Holy Spirit who is also described as God! 4. The Holy Spirit is described as God In Acts 5 do you recall the account of Ananias and Sapphira? Ananias is accused initially as lying to the Holy Spirit, and then as lying to God. So the Holy Spirit is clearly referred to as GOD! And throughout the Scriptures, the Spirit is either the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Jesus. Eg Psalm 139:7-8 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. to try and flee from the Spirit is to try and flee from GOD! Or 1 John 4:13 - No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. God lives in us. The Spirit lives in us. The Spirit is the Spirit of God! 1 Peter 4:14 - If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. The Spirit is the Spirit of God. So this is what we observe. There is only one God Noosa Anglican Parish 16/06/2011 Page 3

And: The Father is clearly referred to as God. The Son is clearly referred to as God The Holy Spirit is clearly referred to as God. Yet they are distinct. They refer to one another, speak to one another, love one another. How does that work? How can that be? I don t know! But then I don t expect to be able to fully understand everything there is to know about God! I m finite he s infinite I m a creature. He is the Creator. I have limited wisdom and understanding He is all wise and all knowing. // So we take God at his Word... And we know and love him as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. /// But what does it mean for us... the question is: so what? 5. So what? There is one very simple implication that flows from understanding that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit... And that is... that life is about relationship! If the ultimate reality in the universe is God, and God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit loving one another, serving one another and seeking the good of one another... that is in relationship with one another... then...... loving relationships are the most basic and real and significant things that exist! Life is about relationship. And that is what is so amazing about God! He has made us for relationship with himself and with one another. That is why anyone not in relationship with God has not yet discovered who they are! Augustine a very early church leader said our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee. We are not Christians because we like to play church We are not Christians because we like a bit of religion in our life. Noosa Anglican Parish 16/06/2011 Page 4

No we have discovered what we were made for......we have discovered our true purpose... we have discovered relationship with God...! // Today we celebrate God as he has revealed himself to us Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We may not understand how it works... and what it all means... But we can understand that he s all about RELATIONSHIP!! And as we worship him this morning and go out to serve him this week we celebrate and give thanks for the blessing of relationship with him. We thank him that through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, we can enjoy that relationship now and for eternity! And in place of greed and materialism and selfishness which so marks our society... we seek to make loving relationships the most treasured possession in our lives... both with God... and with one another... Let us pray: Loving God; thank you for revealing yourself to us Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thank you for the reminder that you are all about loving relationships. Thank you for inviting us to share relationship with you and making that possible through the death and resurrection of your Son. Help us to find our true selves in relationship with you and pursue that relationship as the most precious and important passion in our lives. And as a result, may we treasure and deepen, our relationships with one another. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Noosa Anglican Parish 16/06/2011 Page 5