"The Wondrous Trinity!" Romans 11:33-36

The Feast of The Holy Trinity                               26-May-2024

Sermon Text: Romans 11:33-36

Sermon Theme: “The Wondrous Trinity!” I. He Shines Saving His Sinful Creatures! (Vs.33). II. He Reveals Himself In His Word! (Vs.34-35). III. His Glory Is Seen In All His Works!(vs.36) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert

I.N.R.I. “In the morning when you get up, make the sign of the holy cross and say: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Then, kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the Lord's Prayer.” From infancy, loving Christian parents, teach the children God has entrusted to their care to speak His mysterious Name, confess His wondrous reality establishing works, and pray His Word with Him. As we just confessed: “This is the catholic (that is what the true Church of all times and all places has confessed - universal Christian) faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.”

      Teaching the great mystery of the Trinity to the children entrusted to our care didn’t begin with Dr. Luther, nor the apostles, it stretches back to Adam and Eve catechizing their children in God’s Word, Works, Just Judgment, Commands, and His Word of Promised Salvation in the Messiah to come. Moses echos this instructing the second generation of the children of Israel freed from Egyptian slavery. Remember the Lord’s command in Deuteronomy 6? Deu 6:4-9 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! (5) You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (6) "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. (7) You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (8) You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (9) You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Hear - Listen to the Creator’s revelation of Himself in His Word alone! Confess the mystery: “The Lord our God, the Lord is One.” Three distinct persons within the One eternal Godhead. Pray His Word into the hearts of your children and family - let them be your daily bread in your home, as you travel, as you put your children to bed and awaken them in the morning.

      Memorial Day is a time to remember the sacrifice soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and gold star families made to defend God given liberty to our nation. Many college graduates have never read or studied the Declaration of Independence, our U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, or the Federalist Papers - they are ignorant of our nation’s history and its rule of law. Less than 11% ever recite the Pledge of Allegiance after grade school. More than half find the words “one nation under God” as offensive and would be happy to see them removed. If a nation loses its history, it will surrender its liberty for security and vote itself back into slavery under tyranny. Just as the children of Israel longed for the easy life of slavery with its free food and guaranteed income wanting to rebel against Moses and return to Egypt - refusing to obey God’s Word and promise.

       Nations rise and fall, but the Word of our God endures forever. Long after our nation self-destructs in sinful selfishness and delusions - the Word of our God will stand. Mal 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I do not change;” “Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Therefore this morning rejoice to know the Truth - “The Wondrous Trinity!” I. He Shines Saving His Sinful Creatures! (Vs.33). II. He Reveals Himself In His Word! (Vs.34-35). III. His Glory Is Seen In All His Works!(vs.36)

I. God the Holy Spirit writes the letter to the Church at Rome through the pen of St. Paul. By the 11th chapter Paul can no longer contain himself, he breaks forth into a doxology - a hymn praising the Triune God’s glory! (Vs. 33). On April 8th many put on glasses that blinded them to their surroundings - if they tried to walk wearing them they’d stumble. Some eye doctors warned not even to trust in those dark glasses as they stared upwards to view the fading light of our sun during the solar eclipse. If you try to study the sun with unshaded eyes you blind yourself and see nothing but darkness. Turning your eyes away from the sun by its light you see everything that you need to see in creation around you.

      In writing to the young pastor Timothy - St. Paul calls pastors and congregations to confess the wondrous Trinity: 1Ti 6:12-16 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (13) I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, (14) that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, (15) which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, (16) who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.” We overcome Satan the father of lies and murderer with God’s Word of Truth. Satan’s lie seems reasonable to our sin enslaved mind and thinking - it makes us feel good - as it enslaves us in darkness. Our God and Savior dwells in “unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see,” by our own reason or strength.

      Study Romans 1:1 up to 11:33 - here you will find the mystery of the Holy Trinity - the only True God shining forth in saving us sinners by His grace in Jesus’ cross and resurrection, by Holy Spirit given trust and confidence that we are reborn righteous in Jesus alone by baptism to be the Father’s beloved children. Hear the mysterious voice of the Trinity echo as Paul writes, “Rom 1:7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” God the Holy Spirit calls us to be saints - through the grace and peace of God the Father that only flows to sinners in the flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ!

    Behold the wondrous Trinity shining forth in saving us sinners! We need to be born from above to see Heaven’s kingdom. When Jesus stepped into the waters of our baptism - all heaven broke loose as God the Father’s voice thundered, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” Revealing the mystery of the Second Person of the Trinity incarnate in our flesh to rescue us from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil by His cross! God the Holy Spirit descended bodily to remain upon Jesus that through His Word and Sacrifice and Resurrection we might receive peace with our Father through sins forgiven with Jesus’ blood! Study the Scriptures and you will see from Genesis 1 to Revelations 22 the wondrous Trinity shining forth in saving us sinners!

II. How can we be certain that our confession of the Triune God is right? Aren’t all religions just a path to God? Aren’t we all like the five blind men in the Hindu story as they encounter an elephant? Each grabbed a different part of the elephant - one was certain the beast was like a tree, another like a wall, another like a snake, another like a rope, and the last like a smooth sharp spear. Hindus with their millions of idols/gods are certain that no man knows who the True God is - that is the LIE - first preached by Satan to our first parents, “Has God indeed said...?”

    Have you ever heard of SETI? The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence? Trillions of dollars have been spent scanning the universe for radio signals that could’ve been sent from advanced civilizations to our world. So far they’ve heard a lot of static, that some try to interpret as language, but as time goes on it appears that we are alone in this vast universe - according to man’s scientific investigations and reasoning.

     If only the Supreme Intelligence - Creator of the Universe - would communicate with us...(vs.34-35)... “Gen 1:1-3 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (2) The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (3) Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.” The wondrous Trinity doesn’t wait for fallen mankind to discover Him - He clearly reveals Himself in His Word from the moment all matter is brought into existence by His Word and power. St. John echos: Joh 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (4) In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

    Human beings are created language beings. Language is imprinted on our brains from the moment of conception. A newborn baby has listened to his mother’s voice for nine months and in a year learns to form and speak words.

      The wondrous Trinity reveals Himself in His Word. His mind is love - for the Holy Trinity is perfect love - He is whole within Himself - perfect love flows from the Father to the Son to the Holy Spirit in an eternal cycle. He didn’t create us because He needed us, but because He is love and wanted to shower His love upon His creatures. When we rebelled rejecting His Word choosing death and darkness over His living light - He spoke His Word of promise to reclaim us to Light by the Holy Spirit. Paul echos this glorious truth of God’s saving revelation to us lost sinners: Rom 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (17) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Know God the Father by hearing His Word - the Holy Bible - the message of Christ - as the Holy Spirit enlightens you to know the Truth of the Gospel which alone sets sinners free, raises the dead to life, comforts mourners, and frees us from Satan’s spiritual lies of darkness.

III. The prophet Isaiah mourned the death of Judah’s good king Uzziah, now his wicked son Ahaz would rule. As the prophet prays in the Temple heaven is torn open - “Holy, Holy, Holy” the angel armies sing out praising the wondrous Trinity. He alone orders all human history fulfilling His good and gracious will. His Name is hallowed - His kingdom comes - as God the Holy Spirit preserves us in His Word - Jesus and the Faith until we die! His glory is seen in all His works!(vs.36)

      Trace His works through Romans - He is the Creator whose invisible attributes and power are seen in His creation. Only wise fools deny Him and are given over to debased minds to rebel against biology, marriage, family, church, and the state’s rule under natural law. He doesn’t save us because of our goodness, morality, or that we’ve memorized enough of His Word - all have sinned - 100% of us fall short of His glory - He justifies us freely by His grace in Christ Jesus. He saves us by grace through faith, as Abraham was, in the second Adam Jesus. In Jesus the Holy Spirit births us from above in baptism - dying and rising in Jesus - we warn against sin in our fallen flesh. As we fail in the struggle the Holy Spirit comforts us in Jesus praying, assuring us that our Father predestined to save us from eternity in His Son - nothing can tear us from His love. His mysterious work of election from eternity in Jesus brings comfort through the message of Christ. Rejoice! Seek the lost! Pray for their reconversion.

In the evening when you go to bed, make the sign of the holy cross and say: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Then kneeling or standing, repeat the Creed and the Lord's Prayer. Amen!