Sermon 6-15-25

Pastor Ray Lorthioir

Trinity Lutheran Church

W. Hempstead, NY

Sunday of The Holy Trinity

The Problem of Doctrine

Today we conclude the part of the Church Year that began with Advent back on December 1st. The first half of the Church Year always takes us through the life of Jesus: His birth, His recognition as Messiah, His baptism, His conflict with Satan, His ministry of miracles and teaching, His conflict with human opponents, His triumphal entry as Messiah, His suffering and death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension into heaven and finally the pouring out of the Holy Spirit from heaven. The cycle takes us through the major Christian holidays of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Today the cycle finishes with the festival of the Holy Trinity. This holy day is devoted not to an event, but to the very being who is our Creator God. It’s different from every other holy day in that it’s devoted to a doctrine — the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

The word “doctrine” has a negative connotation in our culture. It implies fighting. And yes, there will always be fighting over doctrine unless consensus can be reached.

Let’s take an example very much in the news. There’s an ancient doctrine that says, “you shall not steal.” But, we can easily question the doctrine with a, “why not?” Or we can come up with a challenge to the doctrine saying that poor people have a right to steal because of their poverty. However, note something. Each challenge is also a doctrine. So, concerning the issue of looting, we have two doctrines opposing each other. Which one is correct?

Or let’s take male and female. There’s an ancient doctrine that says human beings were created male and female. One is not the other. Yet both are human. Now, however, there’s a contrary doctrine that says gender is a social construct. Any male can be female and any female can be male. It all depends on an almost now “holy” concept called “self-identity,” which is just another doctrine.

There used to be a strong social consensus concerning both the ancient doctrine of theft and the ancient doctrine of male and female. What happened? Well, alternate doctrines were put forward. How these alternate doctrines came into being is another story that I will ignore this morning. For, I’ve explored this in sermons over the last five years and more.

My point today is that there are competing doctrines in the world over various issues. Therefore, each of us has to determine which doctrine is correct. For me, there is a Creator of this universe. And since this universe is His and I only live in it by His permission, that’s the all-important doctrinal Truth I start with. Therefore, the decrees Yahweh, the Creator, has made concerning male and female and theft are the only correct doctrines on these matters that can exist. And this definitely divides me from all those who embrace made-up alternate doctrines.

Now, within the church for many decades there has been something of an anti-doctrine movement. Because doctrine divides, there are those who lament that we should stop fighting over doctrine and just come together over Jesus. We should stop all this terrible quibbling over mere doctrine. There’s only one problem, the assertion that we should stop fighting over doctrine is itself a doctrine. Therefore, is it a true and worthy doctrine?

And as for gathering around Jesus — which Jesus? The Muslims have a Jesus. So do the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons. But these are very different Jesus’s. Even in the Church there are various conceptions of Jesus. Therefore, which Jesus should we come together over? And which God should we gather around? We may not realize it, but both of those questions have been live-wire items since the beginning of time, and especially the beginning of Christianity.

In the course of human history there have been about forty authors of books who proclaim that their books are revelations given to them from a hidden supernatural being who calls Himself Yahweh — I AM WHO I AM — and who declares Himself Creator of everything that exists — except Himself. In order to be Creator of everything that exists, Yahweh must be Uncreated, Eternal, Self-Existing and Infinite. And these things we can pretty much figure out on our own without the revelation found in Holy Scripture. But Yahweh’s ways, His personality and nature cannot be discovered through human reasoning or speculation. To know Yahweh, He has to reveal Himself to us.

If we try to figure out Yahweh without His revelation to us, we just create an idol for ourselves and call it Yahweh. The same thing is true with Jesus. If we don’t pay attention to all that Jesus revealed about Himself to the Apostles and Evangelists, then we just create an idol for ourselves and call it Jesus.

As an inexperienced youth in high school, I had a girlfriend who turned out to be disloyal to me. There were things about this girl that fascinated me and had me under a spell. In effect, I projected on her everything I wanted in a woman. I created an idol for myself. But the hard reality was that she wasn’t that kind of woman. There was nothing I could do to gain her loyalty. If I wanted a loyal woman, I had to find the real thing and not just project on any old someone a romantic fancy of my own. As you all know, I did find the real thing. And she’s more than a thing . . . .

Well, the same is true with Yahweh. I can project on Him everything I want a god to be. I can even say I love this idol I’ve created for myself. But is my projection the real Yahweh? Indeed, in every relationship we do ourselves and the other party a disservice if we don’t recognize the other person for who they really are — if we only have a self-invented picture of that other person instead of their real self.

So, the question becomes, “how can I know the real Yahweh? How can I know the real Jesus? How can I avoid making my own idol?” The answer is that we must absorb and contemplate everything He has revealed about Himself. And out of this process a true picture of Yahweh must emerge. But you will complain that this means reading the entire Bible, and many more times than once. Precisely. And even then, it won’t be enough to know Yahweh truly. Therefore, this is where a group of people known as Systematic Theologians come into the picture.

Did you even know that there’s a branch of theology known as Systematics? Systematicians are people who have spent their entire productive lives examining Scripture. They have extensively read the important theologians who have come before them. Their task is to categorize from Scripture everything said about Yahweh, or that Yahweh says about Himself. In addition, their task is to categorize everything Yahweh says about His creation and especially about us. Then their task is to boil down all the material into subjects that can be learned and taught. Finally, their task is to assemble all the subjects and supporting material into a whole. This whole often consists of volumes. But it covers all the subjects and categories in Scripture. Good Systematic Theologians make it their business to create an accurate picture of Yahweh so that those who read their works can know, understand and relate to the God who says, “I AM and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:18)

But then there’s the problem of what is known as catechetics. That word comes from the same root as catechism. Catechetics is the task of teaching the basics to the person to whom Yahweh has given the New Birth. Believers need to know who and what they have been born into. Therefore, Systematics has to boil down the truth about Yahweh found in Scripture into short statements that can be easily memorized, understood and believed, even by children. Examples of this are the creeds.

Christian denominations that accept, earnestly believe and utilize the three creeds written in the early centuries of Christianity usually don’t go astray from the basic Truth about Yahweh. For, the three creeds were written not only to catechize — teach — the faith. They were written to prevent the spread of the various false doctrines about Yahweh that have arisen in the course of history.

The easiest creed is the Apostle’s Creed. Now that the first half of the Church Year is finished and we’ll be launching into what is called Ordinary Time next week, we’ll begin using the Apostle’s Creed for most of the Sundays until Advent comes again. But as you know, we’ve been using the Nicene Creed since Ash Wednesday.

The Nicene Creed was adopted by the First Council of Nicaea in 325A.D. and finalized in the form we know it at Constantinople by the Second Ecumenical Council in 381A.D. It was designed to separate true teaching about Jesus’ divine and human natures from false teaching. For, by that time in history various controversies about Jesus had arisen. And these controversies continue in various forms right to the present day. Islam, Mormonism and the Jehovah’s Witnesses represent various ancient theological understandings of Jesus that are rejected by the Nicene Creed. Islam, Rabbinic Judaism and the various other forms of Unitarianism stand in opposition to this day to the God who has revealed Himself as a Trinitarian being — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Lutherans recognize a third creed as true doctrine. It’s called the Athanasian Creed. We don’t know who composed it. But as its name implies, it was long attributed to the ancient theologian, Athanasius, whose work gave us the Nicene Creed. It’s the longest of the three creeds and spends a lot of effort properly describing Yahweh’s Trinitarian nature. Here are some samples from the Athanasian Creed:

“And the catholic faith [not Roman Catholic] is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. For the Father is one person, the Son is another and the Holy Spirit is another. But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. . . . So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. . . . 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 Sprit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another; but the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped. Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.”

All critics of true Christianity love to repeat the mantra that the word “Trinity” doesn’t appear in Scripture. They are correct. It’s a word coined by theologians. However, in Scripture Yahweh reveals Himself to be a Trinitarian being time and time again — especially in regard to the Lord, Jesus Christ.

For instance, here’s a passage from Isaiah 63:7-10, “7  I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. 8 For he said, ‘Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely.’ And he became their Savior. 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.”

Every time we saw LORD all in caps that was the great Name, Yahweh. So we saw that the Father has steadfast love for the house of Israel. But, then there is the “angel of His presence.” This Angel of the LORD appears throughout Torah and even in the book of Judges. He is separate from Yahweh, yet appears to be one with Yahweh. Here in Isaiah He is also called Savior. And we’re told that Yahweh “became” Israel’s Savior. Therefore, Christians have long understood that the Angel of the LORD is the pre-incarnate Christ. Finally, we saw that Israel grieved Yahweh’s Holy Spirit. So, in these three verses Yahweh revealed Himself to the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Now, in the New Testament, things get even juicier. Jesus said in John 10:30, “‘I and the Father are one.’” Then there’s this dialogue in John 14:8-9, “8 Philip said to him [Jesus], ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ 9 Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.’” Then, there’s what the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:9, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” In this short phrase Lord Holy Spirit stands by Himself, but then is called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. 

Now, when Jesus says that He and the Father are one, do you see all the complications of that statement? Jesus was born into this world as a real human being. He really went through everything we experience as human beings, including suffering and death. Can God die? So, how can Jesus and the Father be one? And that’s just one of the problems. But when the totality of Scripture is consulted, the following words of the Nicene Creed appear as true doctrine: “. . . Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of His father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made,” Those key words, “not made” express Jesus’ divine nature. For Yahweh is the only uncreated being. He is Creator, but Himself is uncreated. No one made Father, Son or Holy Spirit. 

Then the Nicene Creed goes on to say of Jesus, “being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made;” This language absolutely posits Jesus’ God nature. He’s of one substance with the Father. He is also Creator as the Father is Creator, all things being made by Jesus with the Father.

But, then we come to a marvelous change in the wording. “Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate [put in a physical body] by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man.” The key word here is “made.” It absolutely declares Jesus’ human nature. And so the Nicene Creed alerts us to the great mystery of Messiah. How can one being be both Creator and creature at the same time? How can one being be both uncreated God and created human at the same time? There’s no way to answer the question “how.” But since Scripture describes Jesus as having two natures, it’s true doctrine that He is both Creator and creature. True doctrine always describes Yahweh as He truly is and not as we want Him to be. Without embarrassment, true doctrine always describes the mystery of Yahweh’s being as He has revealed Himself to us, and not according to any understandings we might come up with on our own.

As we’re drawing to conclusion, first I want to share a little story. I was educated both in college and seminary in the Materialist worldview that dominated the 1960’s and 70’s. However, four years into ordained ministry, I heard an astute preacher say this: Sigmund Freud said that God is merely our experience of our human fathers projected on a large screen in the sky. But Freud was wrong. The human father is a poor and corrupted likeness of our Father in heaven.

I was stunned. In the time I was educated, the atheist, Freud, was still revered as a little god — the creator of psychotherapy. But I saw it. What made Freud the authority on this matter? That little event opened the door for me into the world of Scripture as inerrant and infallible. I share it as a Father’s Day story. To those to whom it applies, Happy Father's Day!

In conclusion, here’s what I hope is an easy way for you to understand the Trinity: You and I were created Unitarian beings. Each of us is one person in one being. If there’s more than one person in our being, we’ve either got a personality disorder, or we’re being possessed. In either case we’re in deep trouble and unhealthy. For, as humans, we’re created to be one person in one being.

Now, because Yahweh created us as Unitarian beings, our experience is limited to that of a Unitarian being. We not only have no experience being a Trinitarian being, we have no concept of how being Trinitarian is even possible. But that doesn’t stop a Trinitarian being from existing, does it?

Yahweh’s Name means I AM WHO I AM. To know Yahweh we’ve got to say to Him in return, YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE. I have no clue how you can be who You are but that doesn’t matter. YOU ARE WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE. You are a Trinitarian being. You are three persons in one being — an absolutely miraculous being from my Unitarian perspective. And so, I bow my knee and yield my heart to YOU, my Creator, as YOU are, and not how I want you to be or merely think You are.

Therefore, Lord Jesus, save me from the idolatry that lurks in my heart — the idolatry that wants to make of Yahweh what I want Him to be. Forgive my sin and lead me into all the holy Truth about Father, Son and Holy Spirit — all the holy and correct doctrine about You. For YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE. And this includes that Yahweh is the real forgiver of our sin. Amen.

All Bible quotes are from the ESV.