Trinity Sunday - May 18, 2008

May 18, 2008
TRINITY SUNDAY
Matthew 28:16-20
A Whole God for the Whole World!

Let us pray to the Lord:

Lighten Thou our darkness. Be Thyself our Light; Strengthen Thou our weakness, Sprit of all might. in Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.[1]

INTRODUCTION; In the Great Commission, Jesus takes a world view of His mission. He sends His disciples out to win all nations by bringing them into a relationship with the whole deity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

A single Christian will often see only his congregation. A local congregation sees only its community. People need to see that Christianity is a worldwide movement. In like manner, we seldom deal with the whole Trinity. Usually we deal with Christ only to the neglect of Father and Spirit. It takes the whole person to bring the whole God to the whole world. Today we consider: A whole God for the whole world.

The wholeness of our religion —

1. The whole world for a whole God — v. 19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

A. The task the Lord has given us — making disciples of “all the nations.” This is not an option. It is a divine mandate. These are our marching orders. We are in the disciple making business. The Lord directs us to reach out into the world.

B. Authority to win the world — v. 18, “Then Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” This authority comes from the Savior Himself. It was given to Him by the Father. Jesus who lives and rules over heaven and earth has been given authority by His Father. But His authority we go out into the world. We do not go it alone. He leads, we follow. We speak and move and act under His authority.


C. The methods the Lord has given us are two — baptizing and teaching — vv. 19, 20. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

1. Baptism. Again we’ve witnessed a Baptism this morning. Baptism brings us into the family. It is our entrance into the Kingdom of heaven. It connects us to the Father and to each other.

2. Teaching. On of the chief reasons of having a Christian Day School such as Wyneken. We are obligated to teach the word as we connect our children to the living Word in Baptism. Such tasks are not always easy. It takes commitment and sacrifice. It involving ourselves in teaching is not always comfortable – yet the Lord bids us “feed My sheep; shepherd My lambs”[2] and again He tells us, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these you have done it unto Me.” [3]

TRANSITION: The wholeness of our religion involves the whole world for the whole God. We also find the whole God for the whole world.

2. The whole God for the whole world — v. 19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

[See PP. 322 - 323 of the Lutheran Service Book]

A. God the Father — He is the Almighty God our Creator. The entire vast universe was spoken into existence by our creator in six days – or shorter yet – ten phrases. All that we have comes from His sustaining and guiding hand. Notice how Luther explains it in the His explanation of the 1st Article.

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.

He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.

He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.

B. God the Son — He is the Almighty God our Redeemer. Listen again to Luther’s explanation of the 2nd Article as we answer the questions of WHO, WHAT, HOW & WHY…

WHO IS THIS? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.

WHAT HAS HE DONE? Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil;

HOW DOES HE DO THIS? not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death,

WHY DID HE DO THIS? that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

C. God the Spirit — He is the Almighty God our Sanctifier. The explanation of the 3rd Article tells the story of our salvation. What does this mean?

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.
On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.

This is most certainly true.

CONCLUSION: The whole God for the whole world is the Lord’s program for His creation. It is His world view of His mission and His work. He sends His disciples out to win all nations by bringing them into a relationship with the whole God; Father, Son, and Holy Sprit.




[1] Holy Spirit, Hear Us stanza 5 The Lutheran Hymnal © 1942 Concordia Publishing House St. Louis, MO

[2] John 21:15-17
[3] Matthew 25:40