Where do we begin in talking about God? Perhaps we might use reason to try to prove His existence. We might try by arguing from design or morality. Both assure us that we are not here by accident. A design comes from a designer, and morality comes from one who sets the standards. Maybe nature and the universe can give us some knowledge about God. The Scripture itself says that “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” The Apostle Paul also writes that God’s “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.” Some believe information about God comes from personal experience, whether that comes in the form of feelings, visions, dreams, or what they perceive to be miracles in their lives. Still others believe they encounter God through music and the arts. But if you aren’t as cerebral as all of that, Hollywood can always be counted on to give you their ideas about God. From the “Force” to some sort of earth goddess, there’s no end to the ideas the world has about who God is, what He’s like, and whether He exists at all!
And we would be in the dark as well, if we began at the wrong starting point. Even if we were to prove God’s existence from creation, we would still only end up with some kind of omnipotent intelligent designer, a god that even the Muslims confess. We would still not know if that god went by masculine or feminine pronouns, whether there were only one god or a multitude of gods, or how that god were disposed towards us. Nor would we know what we are celebrating today, that the one true God, the make of heaven and earth, is triune: one God in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
But this information does not come to us from reason or nature. We don’t get it from personal experience or through the arts, and Hollywood certainly doesn’t deliver this God to us. The only source for information about this God is from God Himself. But He doesn’t require us to come to Him for this information; rather, He comes to us, in the flesh, and reveals Himself to us in both His words and deeds, so that we might know Him, believe in Him, and live with Him for all eternity. This God is Jesus Christ, and because of this, He alone is the best starting point for any knowledge about God. Jesus is the One of whom nature itself speaks. The Apostle John writes, “All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” Nature can tell you that God exists, and yet it can’t tell you what He’s done for you and your salvation. It can’t tell you whether God is gracious towards you or whether He wants to punish and destroy you. Jesus, on the other, makes God known to you. John writes, “No one has ever seen God; the only-begotten God, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.” To see Jesus is to see God. To hear Him speak is to hear the words of God. To observe His works is to see God in action.
But how do we know this for certain? There are and have been many throughout history that have claimed to be gods (Egyptian pharaohs and Roman emperors, just to name a few). Others have claimed to have spoken for God and even tried to back it up with miracles. Jesus not only claimed to have spoken for God, but also claimed to be God, using not only divine names and titles for Himself, but also backing His claim up with some extraordinary miracles, like raising people from the dead, healing people of their diseases, and giving sight to the blind. Some try to deny that Jesus claimed to be God by saying that Jesus never said, “I am God.” Well, He made not have used those exact words, but in today’s Gospel text He actually says something even more offensive, something that would have caused any Jewish ear to tingle. Jesus used the Name of God for Himself. It’s not that clear in our english versions, but when Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am,” the words “I Am” are the words God had used of Himself on Mt. Sinai when He spoke to Moses from the burning bush. When Moses asked God for His Name, God said, “I Am who I Am.” In Hebrew the Name is Yahweh or Jehovah. And so when Jesus used this Name of Himself in talking with the Jews, He wasn’t just saying that He existed before Abraham, but that He was in fact God, the same God who appeared to Abraham, the same God who appeared to Moses, the same God who dwelt among His people in the temple and was worshipped by them there. No wonder the Jews picked up stones to throw at Him! They knew what Jesus was saying!
So, Jesus at least claimed to be God. But how can we know for certain that He was who He claimed to be? He performed many miracles, yes, but even the devil can mimic some of these signs. The Jews in their unbelief claimed that Jesus was demon-possessed, though they were aware of His miracles. And even when He cast out demons they claimed that He did it, because He was the prince of demons. Jesus, however, pointed out that Satan cannot cast out Satan. If he did, he’d be fighting against himself. His house would be divided. Jesus could cast out the demons, not because He was the devil, but because He was God. He also proved He was God by forgiving people their sins, something that the devil cannot nor would do. But still, given all this, how can we know for certain that Jesus is who He claimed to be? Many people can claim to be God, many can perform what appear to be miracles, many can claim to forgive sins. What is the sure sign that Jesus can and does? It’s His resurrection from the dead!
If anyone deserves to be called God it is this One who has overcome death and the grave for us. Death is our ultimate problem. All other problems pale in significance. And we’re not just talking about physical death here but also eternal death, which is separation from God under His wrath forever, which is the just punishment for our sins; death is the wages of sin. But by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus conquered death, something that no one else has ever been able to do. For those who trust in Him death no longer has the final word; Jesus does, and that word is life. Not only has physical death lost its sting, but so has eternal death, as our sins can no longer separate us from God. Because they have been answered for by our Lord on the cross, we who are baptized and believe in Him have eternal life right now and will on the Last Day be raised up just as our Lord was to live and reign with Him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit in His heavenly kingdom forever.
Christ’s resurrection from the dead not only proves that He is who He claimed to be, but it also proves that His words can then be believed. If He is God in the flesh, then His words are true. And if His words are true, then you can trust in them. And so, when He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my Word, He will never see death,” you can know for certain that these words are true. Their truthfulness is sealed and confirmed with the death and resurrection of God in the flesh. His words give what they say. By faith in those words you have what they promise: life and salvation.
All this is to say that we must begin any talk about God with God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. Since He is God, proving that He is by His resurrection from the dead, which was also attested to by many eye-witnesses, then His information about God can be trusted and believed. Jesus ought to know the truth about God, because He is God. If He says that you’re a sinner in God’s eyes, then you’re a sinner. If He says that God forgives you your sins for His sake, then your sins are forgiven. If He says that through faith in His words God grants you eternal life, then you have eternal life by faith in His words.
I said earlier that all talk about God must begin with Jesus. Not only must all God-talk begin with Him, but it must also end with Him. Jesus is God’s final and perfect Word regarding Himself, who He is, and what He has done for us. All the information we need to know about God and the salvation He’s worked for us He has given to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. To know Jesus is to know God. To not know Jesus or to deny His words is to still be in the dark about who God is. Some have claimed that the Church invented the teaching that God is triune. But the Church teaches and confesses that God is triune, because Jesus tells us that God is triune. If Jesus says that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then that’s who God is. Again, if anyone ought to know it’s Jesus. He knows the Father and keeps His Word, as He says here. According to Jesus, the Word of the Father is that Jesus lay down His life as the sacrifice for our sins and then take it up again on the third day. Jesus says that God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. That this good news might be proclaimed, the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit. Of Him Jesus says, “He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.” From Jesus we learn not only that God is triune, but that all three persons of this one God work together for our salvation. The Father, because He sent the Son, the Son, because He shed His blood on the cross to atone for our sins, and the Holy Spirit, because He now delivers Jesus and His gifts to us through the ministry of the Word. According to Jesus, the Father glorifies the Son, the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son, and the Son glorifies the Father. All this so that you and I might know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. This is eternal life, says Jesus, and it’s a gift to us from God.
In his first epistle John writes, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” At the end of this letter he writes these words, “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” On this Holy Trinity Sunday, we rejoice that God has so graciously revealed Himself to us through His Son Jesus Christ, that we might know Him, the only true God, and knowing Him have eternal life. We have been baptized into the Name of this God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who through such a bath has claimed us as His own, given us a new birth, cleansed us from all of our sins, and clothed us with Christ. Let us, then, also keep ourselves from idols, for the gods of the nations are no gods at all. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever, is the one true God. There is no other. Amen.