Gen 1:1-2:4a; Acts 2:14, 22-36; Matt 28:16-20

In His Presence!

            Let’s not get lost in the minutiae of an enormous topic today. I would wager most of you have spoken the Athanasian Creed before, yet wouldn’t be able to tell me a single line of it if you weren’t looking at it. To be honest, I’m not sure I would either. For the Church in all her wisdom set before us a specific day to teach and contemplate the doctrine of God. In case you think this is such a simple thing, realize that this one doctrine has occupied centuries of Christian thought and is also the easiest doctrine from which to go astray. For when someone comes up to you and asks, “What do you believe? Who is this God that you worship?” It’s not enough for us to say, “Yes, I worship God.” This is why we need finer language with which to confess our faith. Thus, we call today Holy Trinity Sunday. A word that never actually shows up in Scripture, yet is used so prolifically within our discussions that you assume it is. If there’s anything I want you to take away from today, it’s the ability to understand why we use the language that we do even as you come to learn the language itself. For there’s nothing easy about talking about God. When you’re trying to describe someone who’s very existence is indescribable. When you’re trying to fit God into a box which He himself created. When you’re trying to tie down God only to find out you can’t even reach him.

            For today, we endeavor an impossible task, to talk about God in his being. However, the only reason we’re able to even partially accomplish this task isn’t because of our own intellect but because of the nature of the Gospel itself. God has come among us to teach us himself! For you come to know someone only by dwelling among them, by spending time with them. Thus, may we come to pray and learn:

MAY GOD COME TO DWELL AMONG US ALSO!

I.

            There’s hardly any place on earth that God isn’t. This is one of the first attributes we learn about God. God is omnipresent. God is everywhere all at the same time. As the Psalmist attests, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” Ps. 139:8. Because God is present with us wherever we go, we can come to know him. There’s a natural knowledge of God that is accessible to everyone. That is, by looking at the earth, the trees, the stars, the orderliness of creation, we can know that God exists. St. Paul attests to this also, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse,” Romans 1:20. We come to know this also by reading Genesis. We read about how God made the earth and the heavens, the sea and land, and all the animals and especially, us! For as we look at creation, we can see the fingerprints of God over everything that has been made. Thus, we come to know God first as creator.

            But throughout human history, there’s been one problem with God’s omnipresence. He sees all that we’ve done… and not in a good way. He sees our many sins. He sees how we’ve failed him. He sees when we’ve defiled the place where he makes his name to dwell. God isn’t pleased to dwell in houses made by sinful hands. Just as God abandoned his own temple when his people rebelled against him, God can abandon us when we rebel by grievously sinning against him. Just as St Peter preached, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men,” Acts 2:23. Simply knowing that God exists doesn’t tell us anything about what or how he feels about us. It doesn’t tell us how or if we can be saved. For if all we know is of God’s existence, then we know nothing of who God is or how to call on him or how to please him. It leaves us at a deficit for coming to know God.

II.

            For whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Salvation hinges on knowing who God is and what he has done for us. And knowing who he is comes only from the one who came down to dwell with us. Indeed, the heart of the Gospel is God’s answer to our prayer. As John records in his Gospel, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth,” John 1:14. Yes, the only way in which we know God is by knowing the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It’s because God has sought to make himself known, to reveal himself to us through the patriarchs, the prophets, and most of all, through his Son that we can know him and believe in him. For so, we must understand that at the heart of the Great Commission is this very charge… that is, to know God as he has revealed himself to us. Just as Jesus told us, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19. It’s the triune name which Jesus gives us. It’s the triune name that’s placed upon our forehead and heart in baptism. It’s the SINGULAR name of God who is three persons. 

            As we come to know God through his dwelling with us, we can better understand who he is. That when someone comes to you and asks, “What God do you worship?” The best thing you can do is point them to the cross, point them to Jesus, and say, “He’s my God. He’s the one in whom I believe. He’s my savior.” For Jesus is the one who makes God known to us. Jesus is the one who shows us the Father. Jesus and the Father give us the Spirit. Yes, we come to see that the whole God-head is always active in every act of God. In Creation, in redemption, and in sanctification. Thus, we know exactly which God we worship. We worship a God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love! We worship a God who has given his own Son to die for us that we may live eternally. We worship a God who comes to dwell with us always. Just as Jesus said, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” Matthew 28:20. For if Jesus is with us, then so too is the Father and Spirit. 

            This is what we must know. We must know God as Father, Son, and Spirit who has created us, redeemed us, and now sanctifies us for eternal life! May all glory, honor, and praise be to our God, both now and forevermore! In Jesus’ name! Amen!