Holy Trinity Sunday, 2022

Rev. Thomas Van Hemert

St. John 3:1-17

Holy Trinity

June 12, 2022

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The Book of Concord is the book of the Confessions of our Lutheran Church. It is an exposition of the faith, which is taught in Holy Scripture. The Book of Concord does not express any new teaching. Rather, it demonstrates quite plainly that Lutheranism is not a new faith, but rather, a continuation of the historic, Christian faith of all times and all places. So in a sense, our faith, the faith of the Lutheran Church is catholic. I don’t mean Catholic in the sense that the church in Rome uses that term, but our faith, the faith taught in Holy Scripture, is catholic. Because the word “catholic” etymologically, means, “according to the whole.” With Christians of all times, and in all places, we confess what God’s Word teaches—nothing more, and nothing less. 

So it is that at the very beginning of the Book of Concord, even before the Augsburg Confession, which is sometimes understood as the first book that makes up the Book of Concord, there are listed there, the three historic creeds of the Church. The three creeds—the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed—are the most ancient of all Confessions of the Christian faith. All three of these creeds confess rightly the great works of the Triune God. If you want to be a Christian, if you want to be called a Christian, if you want to be numbered among Christians of all times and all places, you confess these three creeds.

The Apostles’ Creed is known as the Baptismal creed. It is the one that’s confessed daily during devotions or during catechesis. It’s the most basic creed and the one used by Luther in the Small Catechism. During Divine Service, we confess the Nicene Creed. Once a year on Holy Trinity Sunday, though it can be confessed during any Divine Service, we confess the Athanasian Creed. That’s our custom. We don’t confess this creed every Sunday simply because it is rather long. So to save time, we just use it on Holy Trinity Sunday. But with good reason, the Athanasian Creed is confessed on this Sunday of the Church Year—the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity—because the Athanasian Creed is the best and simplest explanation of the Holy Trinity that has ever been written by humans.  

The Athanasian Creed is explicit: Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will, without doubt, perish eternally. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in trinity and the Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. Our God is triune. This means that there are three persons in the one substance, the one essence, the one Godhead. The Athanasian Creed first addresses how all the Persons of the Holy Trinity are the same, “The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated the Holy Spirit uncreated; the Father infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet there are not three Eternals but one Eternal, just as there are not three Uncreated or three Infinites, but one Uncreated and one Infinite. In the same way, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty; yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three God’s, but one God.”

Then the Athanasian Creed addresses how these three Persons of the One Trinity are distinct from one another, “The Father is not made nor created nor begotten by anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding. Thus, there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.” Think of it this way: the Father is a Father, why? Because He has a Son. The Son is called the Son because why? Because He has a Father. Therefore, the Holy Spirit proceeds, that is, sent forth from both of them. The Father is the lover. He loves the Son. The Son is the beloved. He is loved by the Father. The Holy Spirit is the Love that proceeds from both of them and He, the Holy Spirit shows the Father’s love to us by revealing Divine Truths about what the Son has done for us.

Therefore, whoever desires to be saved, must think thus about the Trinity. If you are a Christian. If you desire to be called a Christian, to be numbered among true Christians, you must believe, teach, and confess that the God who you call God and the God you worship is Triune. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three Persons in one God.

This simple confession within the creed separates many faiths. Some may call that “unfair” or “not nice” or “not inclusive” but that’s the way it is. Creeds, by their very function, are formulated specifically to exclude those who teach falsely. Thus, the Athanasian Creed excludes many groups of people who claim to be Christians and who claim to be “just like Christians.” Those who do not believe, teach, and confess the Holy Trinity include groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). It excludes those who practice Scientology, modern day Judaism, and Islam. It excludes every eastern enlightenment religion, and even those who claim that they are “spiritual but not religious.” You need to watch out for yourself and be careful. The confession of the Athanasian Creed is simple: “Whoever desires to be saved, must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will, without doubt, perish eternally. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in trinity and the Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.”

So what does this mean for us? After all, the concept of the Trinity doesn’t make sense to our fallen flesh. How can there be three persons in one God, and yet there not be three Gods but one God? Well because we are fallen creatures who, though created in the image of God, have been corrupted by sin. For us now, it is difficult and even frustrating when we find ourselves trying to defend our faith when it comes to theological doctrines like the Trinity or like the Two Natures in Christ. But the fact of the matter is that the Athanasian Creed says nothing about being able to perfectly understand and articulate the Trinity, although it makes a very good attempt using our own language. Because according to our fallen flesh, the judgments of the Lord are unsearchable and His ways are inscrutable. That means the mind of the Lord is impossible to understand and interpret. For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been His counselor? Nonetheless, this should not stop us from thinking on and contemplating these deep theological doctrines. How is God Triune? Well, in our flesh, we can’t know perfectly. This does not mean that we should not try to understand. We should become more familiar with the creeds, memorizing them if need be. The Athanasian Creed, in my mind, does the best job laying out plainly the Doctrine of the Trinity with simple words we know and with words that we can believe, teach, and confess to others.

But the time will come when we will fully, with our own eyes behold and with our minds fully understand the Trinity. Once our sinful flesh has been shed in death and we have come out of death into the sight of the majesty of the Holy Trinity, we will easily come to know what was once hidden from our understanding.

So think on the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Contemplate this doctrine: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father is the lover, He loves the Son. The Son is the beloved, He is the one who is loved. The Holy Spirit is the Love sent by the Father through the Son and He is the one who is revealing these things to us now. But in the end, also know this, because of our fallen flesh, our faith does not require us to have a perfect working knowledge or to be able to win every theological debate in the public square. We simply cannot know everything, especially teachings and truths that are of a holy and divine nature. But as I’ve said many times before in the past, it is sufficient that we simply confess these things and believe them as they are. How does the Trinity work and operate? We cannot possibly know every exact detail. But we do know that the Father sent His only-begotten Son to us. No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. He descended from heaven to earth to be tortured and tormented by the very men the Triune God loves so that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God loved the world in this way, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him and that all men might come to the knowledge of the truth, that this Triune God loves all men. And in fact, even now, part of the work of the Trinity has been revealed to us. That is sufficient for our salvation.

 In +Jesus’ name.