“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spiritand teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mtw 28;19-20, NRSVUE)
We’ve all heard this passage before. The Great Commission given to us by Christ himself. It is the task which we have been assigned, our marching orders as Christians. However, with Trinity Sunday coming up, I thought we might ponder this statement in another way.
The Trinity has always been something that people have a hard time describing. I mean, how can God be three-in-one and one-in-three? How is it that we really relate the entities of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit with one another? Are they separate or the same?
Well, I think the Great Commission gives us a hint. Notice what Jesus says – Go. Make disciples. Baptize them in the name of… In the name of, not names. Jesus himself utilizes this word in a singular sense, not plural. Jesus sees the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one being, not many separate ones. Also note what he says at the end – I am with you. Do you remember the name we often use to refer to Jesus, especially around Christmastime? Emmanuel – God with us. The Great I AM with us…always.
I think the reality is, it is the three-in-one nature of God that enables us to best understand God. For thousands of years, no one had ever seen God except in the rare instances as a fiery bush, a pillar of cloud, or a booming voice. And how is it that we humans, relational beings, can ever be in a relationship with someone that we have never seen? I suppose that is why Jesus said, “If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:7). In seeing Jesus, the disciples had seen the face of God.
Yet, what about us? Jesus lived in his earthly, physical form some two thousand years ago. There are no photos. There are no drawings. Nothing to show us what he looked like. Sure, over all that time, people have generated a plethora of images trying to depict him, but have any of them gotten it right? So, once again how can we be in relationship with him, a historical figure far removed from our current time?
Well, therein lies the importance of the Holy Spirit. According to John’s Gospel, Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-15). The Spirit is the liaison between God, Jesus, and us. It is the still, small voice which rings in our ears. The Spirit is the direct line we have with God and Jesus. The Spirit is them, talking to us, relaying the truth that we need to know and accept, for the Spirit has been there all along, with God, with Jesus, all a part of one another.
Consider for a moment the infamous Creation account recorded in Genesis. Do you recall what God said when humanity was about to be formed? Genesis 1:26 declares, “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image…” Let us…in our. God in the plural, right from the very beginning. And, as John also infamously records, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). Jesus there, right from the start. Finally, add to this the understanding that the Holy Spirit has always been understood as a sort of wind, or breath, a divine breath – the Breath of Life which was breathed into humanity at the very beginning (Gen 2:7). God’s own Word, own Breath, own Spirit blown into us all. How wonderful! How miraculous! How awesome and awe-inspiring! Amen?
So, perhaps today, instead of trying to create some scientific rationalization or mental maneuvering to explain God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let us all spend some more time in Scripture and see where the connections are. Let us use the Word to explain the Word and testify to the Truth. Amen? And Amen.
Always pondering,
Pastor Steve
