Readings: Isaiah 6:1-7 | Romans 11:33-36 | John 3:1-17
Text: John 3:1-17
Every discipline that is undertaken by people has a technical language, a kind of jargon that is foreign to those outside the trade.
~ Electricians have code manuals that they have to be
conversant in.
~ Lawyers need to know technical terms, precedents, and be
skilled at the art of arguing cases.
~ When teachers get together, they can speak a common
language of classroom management, curricula, lesson
plans, and formal evaluations.
In the same way, theologians have a specialized language for speaking about God. In reality, theology is no more than words or study of God. Yet, in order to get this precisely correct, theologians including pastors and professors necessarily go through years of study not only of the Bible, but also church history, systematics. For the people sitting in the pew, as you are, they also must go through homiletics, or the art of conveying messages from God’s Word to apply to your life.
That profound Word of God, which has been handed down to us as the Bible, is chalk full of God speaking to people. To use St. Paul’s words, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). All of this and more is done by God through His Holy Spirit in the humble act of the pastor preaching to the congregation.
But the pastor, in this work, is not doing anything new. When the pastor, myself or others, sit down to prepare a message, it’s not necessary to read the entire Scripture again. I don’t need to break out the dogmatics texts unless I want to drill down on a particular question. Such understanding is building on the labors of others, akin to the analogy St. Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 3:
“10According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:10-11)
Such labors are in full view on a Sunday dedicated to the Holy Trinity—God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If you or I are asked what we believe about God, where should we begin? With the Bible? Where in the Bible? There are 66 books! We rely on the faithful before us, who have studied and wrestled with these same questions. The answer hasn’t changed. However, there’s always depth to plumb. Let’s think about the Creeds that the faithful before us have composed.
The Apostles’ Creed is the one used in Baptisms and Confirmation. In twelve lines, it compiles a basic confession of the Triune God, who creates, redeems, and sanctifies people. Whether child or adult, Who is the God who is making an eternal claim on this soul?
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
What God has told us in His Word is summarized in this short statement, easy enough for most Christians to learn by heart. So much can still be drawn from it, and it provides a quick reference on all matters of Creation, the work of Jesus to redeem, and the work of the Holy Spirit among believers. For this reason, we do well to teach this to our children and grandchildren. They are not empty words, but convey the eternal truth which all men must personally believe to be received by God.
We often long for there to be one final answer for every need. But in this world of ours, truth is constantly challenged. Even in the Garden of Eden, truth did not go out unchallenged, as Satan hissed, “Did God actually say?” (Genesis 3:1). So, more had to be confessed about the Holy Trinity, in a time when Christianity had become a public entity. Under the bishops convened by Constantine, one of the major challenges to the faith came: Is Jesus truly, substantially the Son of God? Is the Holy Spirit a force, or actually truly God? Those 318 bishops gathered at the councils of Nicaea and Constantinople wrote for their posterity, so even still when the faithful gather in union with the church on earth and that in glory, we confess this Creed:
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord 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, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
It sounds increasingly more complicated. In a day when everything seems overthought and overanalyzed, we might wish for minimalism. But the Church has chosen this confession because it doesn’t go beyond Scripture. Every line alludes or directly quotes the Scripture. In part, we confess this Creed together when we are gathered for to commune together because we are the Church—(Greek: ecclesia) those who are called out of the world and together in Christ with a common faith and hope.
Then, on Trinity Sunday, it’s become the custom in Lutheran churches to confess a still longer Creed, the Athanasian Creed, that goes into detail about each person of the Trinity. This is the closest that the laity typically come to handling the technical language of theologians. Dry. Long. Repetitive. These are all things that we’ve thought or said about these 40 verses.
But on this Feast of the Holy Trinity, rather than lament our own time that is spent speaking this confession, I admonish us to give thanks to God for the truth handed down through the centuries. This faith in the true God is constantly under assault because the devil and our stupid sinful flesh would rather believe the easy lie. “God is whoever you would like him or her to be. You’re not that bad a person. The way is wide and the road is easy that leads to life.” We are not the only ones to be tempted by this. So together, with the saints before us, informed and inspired by the holy Word of God, the Holy Spirit teaches us how to confess the truth. He teaches us to repent of all that is earthly and false in our hearts. God, be merciful to us, as You have been in generations past, and we trust that You will be today for the sake of Christ!
So, do you need to speak in the language of theologians to be saved? Not at all! Last week, we heard the truth, “All who call upon the Name of the Lord will be saved” and this is true. We confess the truth that God is our Father. His Son, Jesus Christ, is our Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit has enlightened us and keeps us in this one, true faith. This is the astounding truth wrapped up for all of us in our Baptism: In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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