“Our Triune God – the Holy Spirit”

Scripture: John 14:15-17, 25-26; Romans 12:4-8

This is the third week of our examination into God’s triune nature. The point of these messages is to see how each of the three Persons works, and how their efforts are united in one work, and in one grace, and in one purpose.

Starting with the second Person of the Trinity – Jesus – we discovered that he depended on his constant connection with the Father, to keep the plan for creation ever present in his life. In John 5:19, we read that “the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does.”
And the glory that we always attribute to Christ is actually deserved by the Father. In John 17:4-5 – “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had with you before the world began.” These words were spoken just before the Lord was arrested, falsely accused, convicted, and condemned to die on the cross. Jesus has always given all glory to the Father, and not until this final act of obedience does he ask that glory might come to him from the Father.
The first Person – the Father – is the source of all that Jesus does and receives.

Today, we look to the third Person – the Holy Spirit – to see how this aspect of God connects with the other two.

Read John 14:15-17; 25-26

These two passages may be a bit complex, so bear with me. We’re told that the Father will send the Holy Spirit, but only when Jesus asks him to. And when did that occur? We aren’t sure when the request was made, but the Holy Spirit immerged in the lives of the faithful on Pentecost, in those days after Jesus ascended. First, Jesus came into the world, and now the Holy Spirit comes, but not before the Lord Jesus had returned to heaven.

Jesus refers to this third Person as the “Spirit of truth”.
In John 1:14, God tells us, through John, that “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Full of grace and truth.
And three verses later in John 1: 17, we learn that “… the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”. Truth comes to us by faith in Christ.
And in Acts 2:38, we read these words - “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” Truth came to earth, first, in the Person Jesus, and now it comes to us by the Person Holy Spirit. And what truth are we experiencing? It is the Father’s truth, and none other.

But who receives that truth? Apparently, only those who have given their lives to Jesus! The world can’t know the Lord’s truth because they don’t know the Truth Bearer! Interestingly, God doesn’t withhold his truth from anyone – it’s just that unless we know the source of truth, unless we know the bearer of truth, unless we can accept his truth, we can never receive it. Without the Holy Spirit, without faith in Jesus, we are totally on our own, and the Father’s truth can never be in us.

But verses 25 & 26 begin to explain the connection between Jesus and the Spirit. The Father’s Spirit will take up the teaching of Jesus, and will base all of his explanations – all of them - in the things that the Lord Jesus Christ first taught.
The Father sent the Spirit, not as an adjunct to Jesus, not as an assistant to the Lord, but as a continuation of the Father’s presence in the lives of believers. But the question still needs to be asked – why is the Spirit’s work, the Spirit’s presence, the Spirit’s truth kept from nonbelievers? Scripture doesn’t actually address this question, but my personal opinion is that if we don’t love the Teacher of God’s truth, if we don’t accept the explanations that Christ gave us regarding God’s truth for our lives, and if we are only willing to believe in and follow the ways of earth, we will never be open to receiving the full truth of heaven. It isn’t that the Lord doesn’t want us to know his truth, he just wants us to know Jesus first, and then the Spirit, and from them (not ourselves), the truth of God.

Read Romans 12:4-6a

Of course there are several passages in the New Testament that speak of the gifts that come from the Holy Spirit, in addition to Romans 12. (e.g. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Ephesians 4:11-13) These verses show us what can come from acceptance of the Spirit of Truth. But it also speaks of how we are to use those spiritual gifts – we are to use them with the family of believers, with the Body of Christ. And if it is in the way of Christ, it must be within the truth of God. Even the gifts of the Spirit are dependent on faith in Jesus!

It also depends on our relationship in Christ’s Church. Just as the Trinity are one in each other, we must be one with all who call Jesus Christ Lord. But if we are obedient to this command, why is the United Methodist Church in such a turmoil today? The truth of the matter is that we aren’t obedient, we are not of one mind in Christ, we have not given our trust to the word of God, we have yet to accept the teachings of Jesus as the basis for our living, and until we do, there will be no unifying Spirit at work in United Methodism. Even Jesus, in Mark 6:1-6, was severely limited to doing only a few minor miracles in his hometown of Nazareth, because the people’s faith was so shallow.

With true faith in Jesus, we will be filled with Godly truth, and spiritual power will enable us in service - but without a firm faith in Jesus, none of this can be forthcoming.

Read Romans 12:6b-8

Gifts of the Spirit are unique, in that they could never be obtained, or developed, on our own. Some are, without question, divine in their very nature – gifts like faith, healing, prophecy, speaking and interpreting other tongues. But others seem very natural to us, such as wisdom and knowledge, preaching and teaching, administration, and serving. But even in those that appear to be very natural, there is still a powerful spiritual component at work.

And why should the Holy Spirit bless us with such marvelous abilities? To bring glory to the Father! Jesus never demanded, or even expected to be praised and glorified for all that he did and taught. He gave all glory and honor for the things he did to the Father, for that is the source of all that he knew, and shared, and blessed. The Holy Spirit brings the gifts to our lives, because the Father knew that we would need him, and the Spirit comes because Jesus asked that he be sent, and his gifts are enabled by faith in Jesus.

Whew! I hope that this all makes some sense to you – the trinity is a highly complex concept, and the amount that I have tried to put into context is so miniscule that it barely scratches the surface of what God is all about. But in faith, we have to start somewhere, and as we grow in knowledge of the Lord, we also grow in faith and in spiritual power.

Jesus is our entry point to serving our Almighty God, but he isn’t the end. God, the “Three and One”, has been working on our behalf since before the creation was brought into being, and now, it is the Holy Spirit who is working within us and for us. He inspires us, he enables us, he qualifies us and leads us in our service.

And our sole purpose in following the leading of the Spirit, is to bring glory to the Father, just as Jesus did. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – our God, our truth, and our life, for there is no other.

“Our Triune God – the Son”

Scripture: The Seven “I AM” Sayings -
John 6:35-40; John 8:12; John 10:7-10; John 10:14-18; John 11:17-25; John 14:1-7; John 15:5-8

Last week, we began an examination of the Triune nature of our God. Not only is He specific in each of His Three aspects, He is also perfectly One in thought and purpose, and is, in so many other ways, unlike any other god.

No other god has ever been credited with creating anything, let alone everything! No other god could honestly promise betterment in this life, let alone a glorious eternal life! No other god encourages and guides us through this life, and if the truth be known, most of them only demand sacrifice from those who worship them.

The truth is that no other faith expression can ever give to those who believe. Today, we consider the second Person of our Triune God, and the only one who has a name that is above all others (Philippians 2:5-11) – that of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.

In the gospel of John, Jesus offers 7 statements, with each beginning with the words “I am …”. Each one provides us with some insight into who and why He is, so, today, we will consider, briefly, what each of these words are saying to us.

Read John 6:35-40

“I am the Bread of Life” – it satisfies our hunger, and it quenches our thirst. Obviously this “Bread” isn’t like the bread we find on the supper table, as our life requires more than just bread to sustain life, and it can never deal with our thirst. This Bread of God brings spiritual nourishment to our starving souls, and the life it sustains is in our relationship with Almighty God. True life is more than just having a physical pulse and respirations, for that is temporary at best. The life that Jesus can provide is eternal, it is a life that that fully satisfies, it is a life that completes all that is vital within us.

Read John 8:12

“I am the Light of the world” – Jesus is the intense, illuminating, revealing Presence who shines throughout the world - a single source of Light that never diminishes, never dims, and which shines spiritually in and through the hearts, and minds, and lives of all who believe. Isn’t that interesting – Almighty God, the one who has no limit, who can overcome all obstructions and objections, the one who can do all things – looks to His Church to carry His light through the darkness, through the unbelief of this world. And he ties this Light back to His life-giving presence.

Read John 10:7-10

“I am the gate for the sheep” – and He goes on to talk about the thieves and robbers who are constantly attacking his “sheep”. In Jesus’ day, sheep folds that were located out in the hills weren’t used so much to keep the sheep in, but rather to keep danger out. There was one entrance and only one, and at night, when the flock was safely inside their safe place, the shepherd would lay down in the “doorway”, becoming, in essence, the gate of the fold.
Anyone who would enter the fold of Jesus Christ, any who want to become part of his flock, has to pass through this personal and powerful “gate” – they must believe that faith in Jesus is the only key of entry to Godly ways and heavenly life. Any other entry to the Kingdom is a false gate, is unguarded by anyone who cares, is without expectations, and will only lead to false hopes and destruction.

Read John 10:14-18

“I am the Good Shepherd” – a shepherd in Jesus’ day had a daunting task waiting for him. He had to guide the sheep to good grass and away from the dangers of harmful weeds, abrupt and steep cliffs, and contaminated water, to mention only a few. He also had to protect the flock from predators – both animal and deceiving human thieves.
A “good shepherd” took his responsibilities to the flock seriously – even to the point of personal injury, and sometimes, even death on behalf of his sheep. But many weren’t even close to being that conscientious – they were only in it for their own benefit, and didn’t care a bit for the flock.
We also read that a Good Shepherd knew his sheep intimately, and whenever he spoke to his charges, they knew that it was their shepherd, the one who truly cared for them, the one who had their best interests at heart. And they trusted him and his judgment. But the sheep of Israel weren’t the only ones who would be invited to follow this gentle and trusted voice – others would soon be joining them, and they would become one in this Good Shepherd.

Read John 11:17-25

“I am the resurrection and the life.” – this is the familiar story of Jesus’ friend Lazarus’ death and new life. And in this portion of the story, the man’s sister Martha says that she believes that her brother will live again when Messiah comes, when the dead of Israel will be raised into new life. But Jesus has some good news for her – Messiah has arrived, that He is that hope, and He not only brings resurrection, He is both the resurrection and the new life.
Messiah was believed to be coming for all of Israel, but Jesus wanted Martha to know that He, and His resurrection, were for all – Jew and Gentile alike - who believed in Him, and trusted in Him, and followed the ways laid out by Him. It was now about a relationship with Messiah, not simply with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Read John 14:1-7

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” We are being told that we need to trust that there is plenty of room for all who come to our Lord God. But there is also one more thing that we all need, and that is a relationship with the Lord.
Verses 2 & 3 are part of the traditional proposal of marriage between a young man and his beloved. With these words, he would take his family’s “Covenant Cup”, fill it with wine, and then offer it to the woman he wanted to marry. If the woman was agreeable to the marriage, she would simply take the cup and drink from it.
Jesus offers those same words to all of us – that if we would just take His Cup, and drink fully from it, we will have the most incredible relationship with our Almighty King, living with Him in a glorious home that Lord Jesus was preparing for us.
And Thomas asks just where is this place, and how do we get there?
Jesus tells us that He is that way, and He is the truth in all that He says, and by accepting His way and His invitation, life eternal will be ours.

Read John 15:5-8

“I am the vine, you are the branches ...” Israel had always seen themselves as the vine of Jehovah – chosen, preserved, blessed. But unfortunately, they had become an unruly, wild vine, bearing little, if any fruit for the Master. But a new vine has been planted, a new vineyard has been established, new branches were beginning to grow, and a glorious fruit was budding.
The old, broken, disconnected branches would no longer be chosen, preserved, or blessed. A new covenant, a new relationship has been created, a new way has been placed before us, and the fruit that will come from it will finally bring glory to our almighty God and King, and this relationship, the only one that will make us worthy of entry into God’s Kingdom, comes to us by faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

And all has come to be because the 2nd Person of the Trinity left his glory behind and came to live with us, to be abused and denied and rejected, and in spite of all the hatred directed at Him, to create a new way to eternity by the truth of God that lives within his very nature.

And this is only part of who our Jesus truly is.

“Our Triune God – the Father”

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27; Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 11:25-30; John 5:19-23

Today we begin a 3 part series on what our Triune God is all about. John Wesley once described the Lord as “three and one”, as opposed to the traditional “three in one”. Our Almighty God is absolutely one God, and is like no other. But at the same time, God is three – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We worship a singular and infinite Lord, but He comes to us, and works within us, in three ways.

During the next few weeks, we will endeavor to see how these “Three” are also “One” in everything they do on behalf for us. But for today, we take a look at the first Person of this Trinity – the Father.

Read Genesis 1:26-27

“Let us make man in our image, in our likeness”. God speaks to himself in the plural tense, telling us that our singular God is multiple in some way. Humanity was, therefore, created in the image and likeness of the Triune, and yet, we generally think that anyone who has multiple personalities as someone who is abnormal. But we must believe that when we were created in the image of the Trinity, it is totally different – that He has one image and one likeness, as well as one mind and one heart.

The Lord also has one plan, not several that are each dependent on the multiple aspects of His work within our lives. And from this verse, we discover that we are an integral part of that plan. And our involvement? The NIV translation uses the word “rule”, which in and of itself has been misunderstood by a lot of people. It doesn’t mean that we get to do whatever we want with God’s creation – that our “rule” is totally up to us. It means that we have the obligation to care for it. Other translations use the word “dominion”, or “responsible”, or “master”, and the significance for us is that God, complete and in agreement, without a dissention and always Triune, wants us, His creation, to be part of his existence and work among us.

But what part does the Father play in this relationship that includes each of us? For the rest of this message, we will be considering the words of Jesus regarding just who the Father is – for both him and for us.

Read Matthew 7:21-23

Jesus tells us that obedience to the word of the Father must be paramount in our lives – his will prevails in all matters. And if we do decide to accept the authority that the Father has, what do we get? We get to live and work within his will. It’s interesting to note that this reward has nothing to do with how well we do the Father’s will, or how much we gain for the Father, or how smart we are, or what we do for others, or any other worldly measure of success. So does that mean that the Father expects every single person is to do the exact same thing that everyone else does?

No one is equivalent with anyone else’s abilities, so apparently the Father has a singular plan for each person on the face of the earth! (Luke 19:11-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31) Does that mean that his commandments are unique for each of us? The commandments, the will of God are the same for all of us – it’s just that the way we are expected to live within this divine Will is unique for each of us.

As an example, many of the Psalms call us to worship our God in joyful gladness. (ex. Psalm 95) There are many ways to worship the Lord, and as long as it is honest, joyful, and directed in and at only the Almighty and Divine Presence, it is worthy to be offered in our praise..

In Isaiah 49:1-7, we read about the call to mission that the prophet received. The common denominator is that in responding to the Lord’s call, the Father has different expectations of each of us, and sometimes our call is difficult to follow, or even understand. But even in that, it will never be impossible if we trust the Father’s will for our lives.

Read Matthew 11:25-30

The first thing to note is that Jesus, the 2nd Person of the Trinity, is praising the Father for the way he works in the lives of humanity. Even though Jesus is part and parcel of God, he give honor to the first Person – the Father. The Father deserves praise and obedience, even from within God Himself.

The second issue that is raised up is one of the core precepts of the Christian faith – that we can never know the Father – the one whose will is the way to heaven – unless we first know Jesus. If we want to know what the Father is like, if we want to know what the Father desires, if we want to know the plan that the Father has put together for us, we need to know what his Son is all about first.

It would seem that the Trinity not only is intimate within each other, their work is also intimately tied to each other. But even at that, the Father seems to be the central figure in the Divine relationship. He is to be praised; our obedience to his will is the necessary factor for entry into heaven; and as we will see, he guides the work of the other two aspects of God.

The Father is the First Person of God, and rightly so.

Read John 5:19-23

In the verses proceeding this passage, the Pharisees have been at Jesus again, accusing him of “making himself equal with God.” (John 5:18) And Jesus responds to their accusation by revealing the relationship he has with the Father. He says that the Father has authority and control over all that he says and does, and that he doesn’t make a move if it isn’t in the Father’s plan and will.

He speaks about the love that they have for each other – Jesus shows it in his obedience to the Divine Plan, and the Father shows it to him by revealing the most incredible things to his Son. Love is the key. It completes the relationship, and true love never demands submission – love is far more powerful and truthful. It defines the relationship, and becomes the example for how we are to see the Father – not through submission to authority and power, but in acceptance of his will through love.
But we also have to understand the relationship that we have with the Father. Remember the passage from Genesis 1 where we read that humanity has been given responsibility for the care of God’s creation? Remember that we have been given the authority for carrying out mission to the people of earth? The Father could so easily have cared for all of these things by Himself. But he doesn’t – he wants those who he loves to be an integral part of the Godly work right here in this life.

He did that very thing for Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The Father gave Jesus the authority to be his emissary to the people of earth, to teach them, to correct them, to pray for them, to die for them. The Father has given the Holy Spirit the authority to continue to remind us, every day of our lives, of all that Jesus taught us, and all that the Father would have us know and do.

And he gives us the responsibility and authority to share his will and desires with each other. But how do we actually respond to the Father’s desire to be joined with him in his work? We deny it. We turn away from it. We claim that it isn’t true, and we set up our own will above the Father’s. The bottom line is that we sin. Sin is our failure to love God and his ways. Sin is our setting ourselves up as being wiser and truer than God is.

We talk about Jesus being our example for this life, but if we truly believed that, we would never deviate from the will of the Father.
Maybe it’s time we tried harder to stay within his bounds!

“Laboring in the Lord”

Scripture: Exodus 20:8-11; John 4:34-38; Philippians 1:21-26; Colossians 1:24-29

This is Labor Day weekend – the time we celebrate (if that is the right word!) the end of summer. But it is also a celebration, as the name implies, of the labor that all Americans give to their jobs and to our economy. Without the efforts of millions of people, nothing can be built, no service can be offered, nothing will ever happen for our businesses or our nation.

And while this is true for the Church, the purpose for our Christian labor has nothing to do with what we will create or what we will receive. Christian labor, and Christian rest, is all about what we can give to our Lord.

And our labor for Him isn’t ours to choose – it is God’s to define.

Read Exodus 20:8-11

It would appear from these verses, that our efforts, as the Body of Christ, are closely tied to God’s mission to his creation. We read that the Lord created all that there is in 6 “days”, and that our work, our labor, is also related to those same 6 days. And while our efforts, by comparison, can never bring anything as grand as what our God did, they are just as important, and just as divine as the Lord’s.
But not only our labors, but our rest is also in imitation of the Lord. But why did God need to rest, and what makes our Sabbath rest holy? First, it isn’t that God needed the rest, it was a time for his creation, his human creation, to begin our response to what the Lord has already done for us.

And our rest? Because we need time off to refresh and relax, and we need to use that “refreshing” time to refocus our lives on our Lord and his call on our lives. The commandment tells us to not only use this as a day of rest, but to keep this day “holy”. Holy! We are to give this day solely to the Lord and his glory. Not to do the work of earth, not to do the work that brings us wealth or prestige, but to use it to bring glory to God. And it is to prepare us for the labor that awaits us in the next 6 days.

Read John 4:34-38

So how do we know if we are on the right track with both our labor and our “rest”? Jesus is our example for all aspects of this life. He came to us with a divine assignment, and part of his Father’s will was that he would show us what our share of responsibility in this life was all about.
And Jesus’ job? It was to teach, and preach, and to clarify what God desires for each of us, and ultimately, to create a way to forgiveness and eternity. This is what brings completeness to the divine creativity that brought substance out of chaos, light out of darkness, a plan and plea and glory out of silence.
So what about our God ordained job? To work in the Lord’s field of endeavor – and that is to share his life and word with others, and to show them the way to his glory. And as we look at this passage, it seems that there is a divine division of labor at work – that no one is expected, or called, to do it all. The Church is a body of believers who are called to work together for one purpose and one goal – to live and function within the will of the one who created us. (1 Corinthians 12:12-31)

But Jesus’ analogy between the sower and the reaper is nearly lost when he tells us that the harvest is ready right now! No mention of sowing the seeds of faith, but here is the Lord’s call to begin the harvest.
But when we think about it, sowing is actually the beginning of harvest – there is no harvest without sowing. Granted, for us, there is an amount of time that is also involved in this effort, but time never seems to be a concern for God. If we do what we are called to do, the Lord will then do his part - in his time and way though, not in ours.

And the last verse in this passage will always cause some folks concern. Who is it that has chosen to do all of “the hard work”, and who is being described as harvesting from the labors of others?
When it comes to faith, we all would like to be “the harvesters”, the ones who bring a non-believer to salvation in Jesus. And we tend to see the work of Jesus – his ministry, his suffering, his crucifixion, and his resurrection as the hard work that has already been done. And that is certainly a valid interpretation of those words, but there is another aspect to this.
Some of us may be the ones who do the hard work of sowing seeds of faith in the world. This is probably the most difficult, and the least rewarding personally, of all that God calls us to do. We do the risky stuff – of reaching out to others who still have no love for God, of finding just the right words to convince that person to give their life to Jesus, of being able to answer the questions that someone may have that are keeping them from surrendering to Godly ways. We’re never quite sure if we have been faithful in these times, and we never seem to be sure that we have made a difference in that person’s life. We sow, while others get to see the product of the harvest.

Fruitful labor is one thing, but never getting to see the results of our witness can be frustrating, at best.

Read Philippians 1:21-26

Paul struggled a little with this issue of sowing and reaping. And he actually saw some of the successes that came from his efforts to show others the glory that comes by faith in Christ. But there was also a lot of suffering in his life. In 2 Corinthians 11:22-31, Paul offers an extensive list of the extremely hard work and abuse that he has endured for the Lord, and while his mind knows that to leave this life and join the Lord in glory will be the greatest experience he will ever know, his heart tells him that the better desire is to continue in the ministry that the Father has laid out for him, as this will lead to the great harvest of souls in the Last Days.

And he knows that this is the truth for his life, and he chooses to be faithful in following the Spirit’s lead. Ministry and mission would continue for Paul, but where do you think he was when he wrote this letter to Philippi? He was in a Roman prison. Ministry happens wherever the Spirit leads you, and usually it winds up taking you to places that you would never choose on your own! And yet, when you let the Spirit work through you, even in those frightening and undesirable places, the joy of the Lord will be incredible. Whatever the labor, whether sowing or harvesting, service in the name of Jesus will always bring us a sense of victory.

Read Colossians 1:24-29

In verse 24, Paul is acknowledging that his suffering is not a wasted struggle. He sees it as a completion of the suffering that Jesus endured on behalf of the future Church. And so must we, for this is the only hope that we have of finding joy and glory in our Christian service, in spite of all that we may have to endure.
William Barkley, in his commentary on “Colossians” (page 126), wrote “Jesus died to save his Church; but the Church must be upbuilt and extended; it must be kept strong and pure and true; therefore, anyone who serves the church by widening her borders, establishing her faith, saving her from errors, is doing the work of Christ. And if such service involves suffering and sacrifice, that affliction is filling up and sharing the very suffering of Christ. To suffer in the service of Christ is not a penalty but a privilege, for it is sharing in his work.”

Labor in the Lord is a privilege. Regardless of what that may require on our part – whether it is sowing or harvesting, freedom or prison, acceptance or rejection, or just wondering how it will all come together – doing the will of Him who called us, and being able to continue the work that he has begun, will be the greatest blessing that we can ever strive for.

May it be so for each and every one who labors in Christ’s Church.