May 31, 2026
"Three in One"
Matthew 28:16-20
We observe Trinity Sunday every year. On that day, we turn especial attention to who our God is. We refer to our God as a Trinity, three in one. Our God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We see this in our text from Matthew. Jesus commands His disciples to teach and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To this day, we baptize people using the same formula.
Now, the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible. You can read the Bible from cover to cover and you will not come across the word “Trinity.” So, where does the word come from? A man by the name of Tertullian coined the word “Trinity” around the latter half of the second century, or about 1,850 years ago. And ever since then that word has been used to somewhat describe our God. We refer to our God as a Trinity, three persons but one God.
I realize this might be difficult for us to understand. But this is how God has revealed Himself. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is not three Gods, but one God. This oneness is indicated in the word “name.” Jesus tells the disciples to teach and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus doesn’t say teach and baptize in the names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He uses the singular “name” and not the plural “names.” This indicates the oneness of God.
Why is it important for us to understand who our God is? Maybe some of us are thinking that we are making a fuss over nothing. We are splitting hairs. Just believe in God—and that’s enough, that’s all that is needed.
I realize that we will never completely understand the mystery of our God in this life. But God has revealed enough of Himself for us not to be in the dark about who He is. And what He has revealed about Himself in the Bible is what we must believe about Him. We must believe that He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as we see in our text. We aren’t at liberty to believe what we want about God. We can’t let our imagination determine our understanding of God. Instead, we are guided by God’s word in our understanding of who our God is.
The Bible reveals the true God. Isn’t it the true God we want to believe in? Of course. This is why it is important for us to understand who our God is. Why waste time believing in a God who is no God? Believing in a God who isn’t the true God isn’t going to do us any good. Only the true God can save us. Only the true God has made us and the universe, the visible and the invisible.
I often hear people say they believe in God. But I have to ask the question, what God do they believe in? Do they believe in the true God, as the Bible reveals God, or do they believe in some man-made god? So, when I hear someone say he/she believes in God, I need more information to determine what God he/she believes in.
There are people in the world today who say they believe in God, but it is not in the true God. For example, they say they believe in God, but they don’t believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. They don’t believe in the divinity of Jesus. So, how can they believe in God without believing in Jesus Christ? Just because a person says he/she believes in God doesn’t mean they are in our company.
The apostle John, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, writes, “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” This is in I John 2:23. In other words, if a person doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ, that person doesn’t believe in the true God, even though that person may claim that he believes in God.
This is why it is important for us to know who our God truly is. God has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the God we must believe in for our salvation and for the forgiveness of our sins.
So, we aren’t splitting hairs when we make it a point to understand who our God is. It’s necessary to know who He is for our eternal salvation. He is the only God who can save us.
It’s incorrect to say that all religions or gods lead one to the truth. Quite a few people believe that it doesn’t matter what religion or god a person follows. This is where many people are misled. As I’ve said many times before that it does matter. It matters for our salvation.
I hope no one gets the idea that we are being elitist when we say a person has to believe in the true God, the God we believe in. We are simply stating the truth. Moreover, we care about the salvation of others and that’s why we insist on belief in the true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We didn’t invent this God, and we don’t teach that everyone has to believe in a god we have made up. We teach and preach what the Bible has revealed about God. We aren’t acting elitist when we insist on belief in the true God. We simply hope people will come to faith in the in the triune God.
I pray that God will keep us committed to preaching the truth about our God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I pray that our congregation will continue to reflect our belief in the true God, the Trinity as we say.
I don’t know if we pay attention to this or not but our worship service reflects who our God is. It’s riddled with elements that indicate the triune nature of our God. How do we begin the service? We begin with the Invocation. We invoke the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as we begin the service. It indicates that our worship is centered on the triune God.
I should also mention that the Invocation reminds us of our baptism. Weren’t we baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Yes, we were. What happened at our baptism? We were born again. We became a child of God. Our sin was washed away. This is what the Invocation should bring to our mind. We begin the service in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
What about the Absolution? That comes right after our corporate confession of sins. In the Absolution, I pronounce the forgiveness of sins in the name of whom? In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In other words, in the name of the Trinity.
Do we pay attention to the last line of the prayers in the worship service? Does this sound familiar: through our Lord Jesus Crist, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. It surely is a reference to the triune God.
Some of the readings focus on the Trinity. They all focus on God, but some make it clear that our one God is three persons. Some of the readings focus on one of the persons of the Trinity, while others make it clear that our God is a Trinity.
Sometimes the sermon concentrates on the Trinity, the triune nature of our God. It is dedicated to helping us better understand who our God is and why it’s important that we understand who He is. So, the sermon is centered on the Trinity.
This next element of the service I’m about to mention should be obvious to all of us. We should clearly see that the emphasis is on the Trinity. If we don’t see the Trinity in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, which we have been reciting for years now, I suggest we get glasses or if we already have glasses, we get new ones. The teaching of the Trinity is obvious in the creeds. Pay attention to the structure of the creeds. They are broken into three parts, one part for each person of the Trinity.
Some of our hymns teach the Trinity. Pay attention to the words as you sing them.
Need I say anymore on the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our order of worship? The worship service is full of the Trinity, the true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Our worship service is centered on the true God, the Trinity. And it’s necessary for us to believe in this God. How can we believe in the true God if we don’t know who He is? The worship service helps us understand who the true God is.
Are we splitting hairs? Hardly. The teaching of the Trinity is a key teaching in the church.
As I said earlier, people can say they believe in God, but if they don’t believe in Jesus Christ, they don’t believe in the true God. And we know that we must believe in the true God for our salvation.
I pray that the Lord would keep us strong in our faith in the true God. I pray that we see how important it is to know who He is and believe Him.
May the Lord use us to continue to proclaim the true God. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.