15
June 2014
TRINITY
SUNDAY
Matthew 28:16-20
The Whole God for the Whole World!
Lighten Thou our darkness. Be Thyself our Light;
Strengthen Thou our weakness, Sprit of all might. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.[1]
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 God. 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. Sometimes, to the neglect of Father
and Spirit. It takes the whole person - to bring the whole God - to the whole
world. Today we consider - The 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.
The Father gave it to Him. His Father has given Jesus who lives and rules over
heaven and earth authority. By 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. We witnessed countless baptisms in this room.
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. One 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]
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 winsome way to witness]
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 your 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.
The whole God for the whole world.
This is the Lord’s program for His creation. It is His worldview. His mission. 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 Spirit. Whom does He send? He sends you! This is my Father’s
world. Christian, this is your mission
field!
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