Audio - Who is God?

Play Audio
MP3 Download (18mb)

Trinity Sunday
Who is God?
June 7, 2009

TEXT: NKJ Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
 
Our Church Calendar lists today as the Feast of the Holy Trinity—the word trinity is not in the Scriptures—but the concept of God in three persons is quite clear—it is clear in the Old and New Testaments—it is clear in Jesus’ instructions in our text--everything we know about God is what He reveals to us in His Word—today we will read selected verses to remind ourselves of what God tells us about Himself—and His relationship with man—one of the most telling things about who God is was written by the Apostle John as he wrote his first letter to the Church
 
(1 John 4:7-8 NKJ) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
 
God is merciful and full of grace—and God loves man—notice that God created all the other animals—then the Trinity of God made man—God formed man with His own hands—and breathed life into man with His own breath—man was filled with the breath of God—man walked at the side of God in the garden—God is love—God loves man in many special ways—and God made man to love and obey Him
(Genesis 1:25-26 NKJ) And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
 
(Genesis 2:7 NKJ) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
 
And this love of God caused God the Father to send His Son to defeat the law—to defeat the devil—and to offer Himself as a sacrifice so that we might be saved
 
(John 3:16-17 NKJ) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
 
God created us and God wants us all to be saved
 
(1 Timothy 2:3-4 NKJ) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
 
Now let us consider the Scriptures and learn about God—we begin by considering what John says about Jesus the Christ
 
(John 1:1-3 NKJ) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
 
Now if He is not made—but is Himself the Maker—He must be God—later in the same chapter of his Gospel, John states:
 
(John 1:14 NKJ) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
 
We know from scripture that the Word is our Lord Jesus Christ—God the Son—we know that from the beginning—from creation—God in three persons—God the Father—God the Son—and God the Holy Spirit—coexisted in the Godhead—they are one—this first chapter of John’s Gospel is in total harmony with Moses Genesis account of the creation—John’s Gospel reinforces the Genesis account
Our text reflects the words of Jesus as He comes to the end of His ministry on earth—and Jesus teaches us about the Holy Trinity
 
(Matthew 28:19-20 NKJ) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
 
The existence of the Holy Trinity is also made quite clear in the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry—God the Son was baptized—God the Spirit came upon Jesus in the form of a dove—and the voice of God the Father came from the heavens
 
(Matthew 3:16-17 NKJ) When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
 
As we ponder the evidence of the Trinity—we have difficulty understanding how anyone who calls themselves Christians could doubt God’s Word—and deny the clear evidence—as Lutherans we might find that difficult to believe—but it gets even worse—there are some on this world that deny the existence of God Himself—the only things we know of God—are those things revealed in His Word—and not all of us know those things
 
However, even the most primitive tribes know God exists—but they know this from external evidence of Him—they see His creation—they see the delicate balance of the ecosystems of the earth—Paul wrote of such things in his Epistle to the Romans
 
(Romans 1:20 NKJ) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
 
And as we have discussed before—the Law is written on the hearts of all men—we know what is right or wrong
 
(Romans 2:14-15 NKJ) …for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)
 
All of creation screams out—THERE IS A GOD!—King David said the same thing in his Psalms
 
(Psalm 19:1 NKJ) The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
 
These are all external glimpses of God—all creatures see these—but God intended to leave a witness to His existence—so that all the world could see—and all the world could thus believe in His mercy and grace—and be saved—God chose witnesses that would persevere against the enemy—consider one of the many experiences of Paul as he learned how much some of the inhabitants of this earth despised God
 
(Acts 14:7-19 NKJ) And they [Paul and Barnabas] were preaching the gospel there. 8 And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother's womb, who had never walked. 9 This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said with a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet!" And he leaped and walked. 11 Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!" 12 And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out 15 and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, 16 "who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. 17 "Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." 18 And with these sayings they could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them. 19 Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.
 
The lesson Paul learned—and the lesson for us—is that no matter how clear God can be seen—there are those who hate Him enough to kill all of us that He loves—after Paul was stoned and left for dead—he arose—and went on to preach again—and again—and again
 
There is a God—in three persons—Father—Son—Holy Ghost—God the Father—our Creator—who gave us the Law—and gave us a Savior—God the Son—sent by the Father to redeem us from our sins—He died for us—rose again from the dead—and defeated death on our behalf—God the Holy Spirit—sent by the Son to comfort us and guide us—He teaches us—and reminds us of all things the Father—and Jesus wanted us to know—today we remind ourselves of the Holy Trinity—what God did for us—and what it is that we must do in obedience to God
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!