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Blessed Trinity (2 Corinthians 13:14) - Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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Well, we come now to the preaching of God's word,
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and we're going to do so from 2 Corinthians chapter
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13 verse 14. Now. For those of you who are here
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this morning or may who you may have tuned in
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online, but you know that this morning's reading
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was quite long. This evening we have a shorter
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reading, but we will be. Still in many other
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scriptures. So just one verse tonight 2nd Corinthians
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13 14 and as I said, we're talking about the
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Trinity and so we'll see this within this passage
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Hb Charles said of this passage that it's beautifully
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stated Theologically rich and spiritually comprehensive
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and surely you will agree and so here this reading
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of God's inspired word The grace of the Lord
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Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship
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of the Holy Spirit be with you all. The classic
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way of describing the Trinity would be to understand
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that there are three persons of one substance
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equal in power and glory. You have God the Father,
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God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Now, I
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have heard some preachers and teachers say that
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when you preach a sermon, you got to have three
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points. And the reason for the three points is
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because of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
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Spirit. And that always made me laugh because
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when you examine the preaching of Jesus or of
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Paul or of Peter, they don't have those three
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points. Nevertheless, tonight, we will have three
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points. based on the Father, the Son, and the
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Holy Spirit. And so tonight, we're looking at
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the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love
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of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
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And so let's begin with the grace of the Lord
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Jesus Christ. And the way in which I want to
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begin would be to highlight an error, an error
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in thinking about the Trinity. And the error,
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I've mentioned this before, the error is called
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modalism. You may have heard of this. Modalism
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was, is a heresy that says God is not three persons
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in one, but rather that God is one person who
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changes maybe. You could say hats or masks. He
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performs different jobs and he does so as Father,
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as Son and Holy Spirit, but he's not eternally
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these persons. This is. the way that they would
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understand this. A motorist would say, well,
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when God needs to redeem people, he puts on his
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son hat. And when he wants to come at Pentecost,
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he puts on the Holy Spirit hat. And when he creates
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the heavens and the earth, he puts on his creator
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hat. Right? On and on and on. To combat this
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erroneous and heretical teaching, there was a
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North African theologian named Tertullian. Tertullian
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around the year 200 gave us this very helpful
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way to think about the Trinity, that the Trinity
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is one in essence, three in person. One essence,
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three persons. And this makes sense, because
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the word Trinity is from the word triune, to
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emphasize the three in one. The word can actually
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be broken up into two parts. Trinity can be broken
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up into tri, three, and unity. One, although
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God has always been triune, there was never a
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point in God's existence. He has always existed,
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but there's never been a point when he was not
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Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, Tertullian
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is credited with giving us the terminology. Now,
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to combat this heresy, we look at passages like
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the one we're looking at tonight that are clearly
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Trinitarian. And we must recognize this, that
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the Trinity is a critical, crucial doctrine.
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And yet if you just look at one text here and
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one text there, you might find yourself a little
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bit confused or not fully understanding the Trinity.
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The very fact is that the doctrine of the Trinity
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is from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. The doctrine
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of the Trinity is underneath every other doctrine
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of the Bible. And so we do not need to just jump
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around and look for the word Trinity. As many
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have mentioned, if you try and look for the English
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word Trinity in the Bible, you will not find
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it. But you do find the truth of the Trinity
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located across all of the pages of Scripture.
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And so we ought not read the Bible like a concordance.
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A concordance is a useful tool that helps you
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locate doctrines and verses. But I don't know
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anybody who reads the accordance what we need
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to do to develop a fully formed understanding
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of the Trinity to read our Bibles Again looking
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at this passage you have all three persons listed
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there But interestingly enough Paul gives this
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benediction that begins with the grace of Christ
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Now if you're like me You'd probably think well
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Don't you think Paul should begin with the love
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of God? Shouldn't it start with God? Why does
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he begin with the grace of Jesus Christ? Well,
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this is probably speculation, but I think it
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makes sense that what Paul is doing here is blessing
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the Corinthians with the order of salvation.
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This is not the order of God's decrees through
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redemptive history, but rather it's a hyper condensed
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version of the converted life, the grace of the
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Lord Jesus Christ. It reminds us that not a single
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one of us here or anywhere comes to God upon
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our own merits. None of us can earn salvation.
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It's completely a gift, isn't it? Well, actually
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what we really would earn then would be punishment,
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eternal punishment. but for the grace of the
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Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, who lived perfectly
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without sin, and he lived for us. He lived for
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people who have two big sin problems. Here are
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two big sin problems. One, original sin inherited
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from Adam, who is our representative head. We
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have all fallen in sin along with Adam. And so
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none of us starts out with a clean slate. None
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of us is neutral. We all are conceived in sin.
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Further, though, the second part of our big sin
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problem is that we struggle with our own sins,
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our own personal transgressions. The Confession
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says we sin daily in thought, word, and deed.
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And so what we need is the grace of Jesus Christ
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to come and provide us with His righteousness.
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You see, the entire Trinity is at work in our
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salvation. And the Trinity is grace, but grace
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works through Christ so that those who merit
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eternal punishment are given His righteousness
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and eternal blessedness. And Paul loves to Benedict
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in this way, if I can use that as a verb. Paul
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loves to conclude his letters with the grace
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of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's there in 1 Thessalonians
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chapter five. It's there in Galatians chapter
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six. It's there in 1 Corinthians 16 and it's
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there in Romans 16. Paul loves to speak of the
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grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's our
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good starting point for us. We start with the
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grace of the Lord Jesus Christ before we move
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into the love of God. Because you cannot experience
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the love of God if you've not experienced the
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grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are regenerated
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at this point, we really experience God's love.
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Now it is true there is such a thing as common
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grace, theologians like to talk about common
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grace, that the rain falls on the just. and the
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unjust. But the unjust do not experience the
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love of being in relationship with God the Father.
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The unjust do not experience the Father's love.
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As sons and daughters of him, 1 John 3 .1 says
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it the best. See what kind of love the Father
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has given to us that we should be called children
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of God. And so we are. The love of God does this.
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Or what about this scripture? And this is love.
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not that we have loved God, but that He loved
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us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for
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our sins. When He has poured out His love on
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such a child, nothing at all can separate the
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believer from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
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This is communicated in Romans 8. I was in Romans
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8 this morning. Let's go back there now for one
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of the most glorious pictures of God's love,
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Romans 8. I'll read 38 and 39. For I am sure
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that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
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rulers, nor things present, nor things to come,
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nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything
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else in all creation will be able to separate
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us from what? The love of God in Christ Jesus
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our Lord. Isn't that amazing? You are loved by
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the one true God. You are loved by the God who
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created all that is. He pours his love out on
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you. All of us have this deep need to be loved,
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right? You are loved by the one who personifies
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love. And God doesn't love you because you are
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lovable. God loves you because he is loved. That's
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what 1 John 4 8 says, God is love. And so he
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loves you perfectly. So you are saved by Christ.
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God pours out his love upon you. And then you
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get the incredible result of these things. You
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get fellowship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy
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Spirit is the glue that binds all of this together.
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us together with God and one with another. And
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the Holy Spirit is just as real as the Father
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and the Son. The Holy Spirit is no it. The Holy
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Spirit is a person, equal in power and glory,
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just as there is only one Son who saves by His
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grace and one Father who pours out His Son and
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His Spirit. So there is one Holy Spirit indwelling
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in all who believe in Jesus, who are elect in
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God. With his indwelling with this fellowship.
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We are united to one another into the entirety
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of the Godhead I don't remember who said it but
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but somebody said recently the fellowship with
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the Holy Spirit is fellowship with heaven And
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so you see what the Holy Spirit does he binds
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us to God The entire Trinity then is involved
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in your salvation such that you don't get what
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you deserve, but you get God, Father, Son, and
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Holy Spirit. And as we highlight the three members
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of the Trinity, we must see there's perfect unity
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in the Trinity. This is shown in several scriptures,
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like when Jesus says, if you've seen me, you've
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seen the Father. In other words, you do not have
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the Son without the Father, and you do not have
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the Father without the Son, and it's the same
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for the Spirit. 1 John chapter 4. Again, by this
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we know that we abide in Him and He in us because
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He has given us of His Spirit. The Holy Spirit
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seals us into salvation and consequently fellowship
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with God. These things and so many more verses
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show us that the Trinity is perfectly united
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and that the members of the Trinity do perform
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unique tasks And yet the confession says they
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are co -eternal. So there is no hierarchy Within
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the Godhead Father Son and Holy Spirit are equally
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divine, but not everybody has believed this if
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you know your church history you know this has
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been a thing throughout the centuries, especially
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going back to the first ecumenical council, Nicaea,
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in 325. There was a group of so -called Christians
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called Aryans, and they were causing quite a
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stir within the church. They denied the divinity
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of Jesus, saying he was a lesser god than the
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father. And what the Aryans would do, is that
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they would antagonize the Christians, the Trinitarians,
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and they would do so in song. The Aryans loved
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to make up songs to pastor the Christians, but
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the Christians came up with their own song, too.
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And I think you know the song because we sang
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it this morning. The Gloria Patri, glory be to
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the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost
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as it was in the beginning. is now and ever shall
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be world without end. Amen. This was the fight
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song of the Christians against the Aryans. They
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were fighting for the truthfulness of the Trinity
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presented in the scriptures. It's their fight
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song. And so remember, the next time you sing
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that song, just sing it like a fight song. Sing
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it with great gusto. Now, sadly, it's not just
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that the Trinity was attacked centuries ago,
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but the Trinity is still under attack today.
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Groups that call themselves Christians who deny
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the Trinity. Unitarians and universalists do
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this, as well as some cults. So you see Christian
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theology, Trinitarianism has always been at the
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forefront of Christian thought, and there's good
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reason for this. Because Christianity is the
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Trinity. Christianity is the Trinity. just as
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no other world religion has God taking on flesh
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to dwell with people. No other world religion
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has the Trinity, the three in one. It's simply
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too wonderful and it's too high to conceive on
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our own, which is why I think that illustrations
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to convey the Trinity always fall short. They
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usually fall into heresy. Perhaps you've heard
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of some of the analogies that people have used
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to communicate the Trinity. Anyone ever heard
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of the Trinity described like the states of water,
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liquid, solid, and gas? What's wrong with that?
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Well, because the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
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Spirit are always Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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They don't morph into other states. They are
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all co -eternal. the illustration that uses a
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person that would say, well, I'm a father, I'm
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a son, and I'm a husband, and therefore three
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in one. Well, that's just putting on those different
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hats. That's just modalism. Or since we just
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had St. Patrick's Day, what about the three -leaf
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clover? Have you heard that one? What's wrong
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with that? Well, it makes God into parts, right?
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But God is not made up of parts. God is made
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up of persons. And so we should believe in the
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Trinity not because of some silly illustration.
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And we should believe in the Trinity not just
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because Tertullian, Athanasius, Augustine, Luther,
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Calvin, Owen, B .B. Warfield, Edwards, or anybody
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else said it. We should believe in the Trinity
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because the Trinity is true. God is three in
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one, Father, Son. Holy Spirit. Take our verse
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for this evening. It's the last verse in 2nd
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Corinthians, isn't it? Now this is really interesting,
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because if you were to comb through 1st and 2nd
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Corinthians, you will not find a fully formed
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doctrine of the Trinity in those two books. You
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won't. Other doctrines are fully formed within
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these two letters of Paul, such as the Lord's
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Supper. Paul treats that in 1 Corinthians 11.
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You can really see that, but not so with the
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Trinity. And so why does Paul end this letter
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with a Trinitarian statement when he's not been
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speaking about the Trinity as much throughout?
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I think the reason is this, because it's presupposed.
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It's pre -supposed. The church at Corinth has
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its issues. They had a lot of issues. But they
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knew of the triunity of the God, of God. This
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is why he's able to conclude this letter in this
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Trinitarian way. Because they already knew of
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the Trinity. And you'll find that throughout
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the New Testament. That the Trinity is spoken
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of as if people already know about this. They
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already know about this because it's true. They
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know, they know that Jesus, at his baptism, had
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God say, this is my beloved son in whom I am
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well pleased, and they knew that the Holy Spirit
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descended like a dove and rested upon Jesus.
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They knew that Jesus sent out his disciples on
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the Great Commission, including the words of
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a Trinitarian baptism. The earliest Christians
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knew of God's triunity, and so my question for
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you tonight is do you? Do you know the Father,
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the Son, and the Holy Spirit? This is for you.
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Look at the last words of the verse. The last
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words in the English are you all. The Trinity
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is for you all. the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
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and love of God and the fellowship of the Holy
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Spirit be with you all. A blessing upon everyone
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who is in Christ loved by God and indwelt by
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the Holy Spirit. This is a benediction for you
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from the triune God. Now let me not move on from
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this without speaking about what a benediction
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is. We have a benediction in every worship service
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so we should know what it is. A benediction is
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not a prayer, but a benediction is a pronouncement
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of God's blessing, founded in truths by God.
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And this one here is a favorite because it's
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a blessing of the entire Godhead upon believers.
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It's a good word placed upon believers. And in
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this case, it's a good word about the entire
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Trinity. And so with our remaining time considering
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the Trinity, Let's think for a moment. How can
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we further appreciate and know the triune God?
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How can we know him better? It's key to know
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that the Bible is Trinitarian, so just kind of
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three points of application. We need to read
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the Bible Trinitarianly. We need to see Father,
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Son, and Holy Spirit all the way from the beginning
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cover to the end cover. The doctrine of the Trinity
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is underneath every other doctrine within Scripture,
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and so we need to read the Bible Trinitarianly.
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We also need to pray Trinitarianly, and by that
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I mean we need to recognize that all of God,
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Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are involved in
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prayer. We pray to God, but do we not also know
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that Jesus lives to intercede for us? Of course
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we do. We also know that the Holy Spirit helps
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our prayers on the way up with those groanings
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too deep for words. And so yes, all of the Godhead
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is involved in prayer. And then lastly, we know
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the triune God as we worship him. We must worship
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trinitarianly. When the first commandment says,
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you shall have no other gods before me, we must
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remember positively. that the one that we worship
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is triune and therefore all of our praise goes
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to Father, to Son, and to Holy Spirit.