2020.6.7. Trinity Sunday, “In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”

Genesis 1:1-5; 1:26-2:3/ 2 Corinthians 13:11-13/ Matthew 28:16-20

The last verse of Matthew read today is the Great Commission. This is the same mission that Jesus entrusted to the disciples before leaving the world after the resurrection. This Jesus’ command is valid not only for the disciples of the day, but for us today. In a way, it can be said that the purpose of existence of Christians, the meaning of life, and the significance of the existence of the church are contained in this verse.

Indeed, one of the reasons we can consider this mission to be the best of all is that the word “all” is used four times in this short statement from Jesus. All authority, all nations, everything I have commanded you, these three are clearly stated in the Bible you read today. The fourth “all the days” is missing in the translation process. In the section “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” the phrase “the end of the age” is in Greek as “all the days until the end of the age.”

Isn't ‘all’ not ‘part’ or ‘some part’? Doesn't that mean to think first, think deeply, invest the most, and spend the most time?

First, Jesus Christ has all powers of heaven and earth. No matter how evil seems to be rising on this earth, and those who live on injustice and falsehood seem to be doing well, it is not. It means that Satan's power is in vain, and that you should not be afraid or envious of the evil forces of this world. It is to admit the sovereignty of Christ as King in the big and small realms.

Second, Jesus asks us to make disciples of all nations. The Bible says in many places that God wants to save everyone in the world. Our narrow thinking is not to narrow the door to salvation, and not to make the conditions of salvation difficult. Our wrong conduct should not make people around the world mock or evade the Gospel. You said to go and make disciples of all nations. This is not just a geographic meaning. We must go to those who are far away from us, who are near, who have not yet experienced the grace of the Gospel, and stand in their position to share the love of God. No one should say that they do not deserve the Gospel.

We became Christians today because there were missionaries who came across the Pacific 135 years ago and came here to preach the Gospel. Even at this time of the earth, there are many souls who are eagerly awaiting the gospel of God's life and peace in every corner of our society. When we go to heaven, we will have to prepare to meet someone we never thought we would meet there. The tolerance of God's love goes beyond human prediction. God wants to save everyone.

Third, Jesus tells us, "Let them teach and keep all that I have commanded you." First of all, what is all that Jesus commanded? In this regard, we are in a more favorable position than the disciples of Jesus' day, because all of Jesus' teachings and ministries have been summed up and summarized in the Bible. It is very important to read the Bible harder than it is now. And it is especially necessary to read the Gospel more often. When we meet Jesus through the Bible, we have a different experience than simply reading a classic. In John 14:26, Jesus said: “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, and he will teach you all things and will remind you of all that I have told you.” “Teach everything you have commanded” is also a command, but it is a command that includes the promise that Jesus will help us.

Understanding and teaching Jesus' command is another dimension. But if you look at the Bible today, you are told to teach and keep it. From our point of view, there are several steps involved in listening, understanding, teaching, and keeping the words of Jesus. However, if you think deeply, you will realize that all of these are not connected steps, but one that is closely connected to each other. If you listen and understand the words of Jesus, your life is bound to change. So, in today's text, aren't all the disciples making, baptizing, teaching, and keeping things connected? Preaching the Gospel is not just about conveying any information or knowledge, it is about passing on a new way of life. In John 8:31-32, Jesus said: "If you remain in my words, you are indeed my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Knowing the truth means that we are closely related to staying in the Word of Jesus, living by keeping it, and living as Jesus' disciples.

Fourth, Jesus says he will be with us in “all the days to the very end of the age.” When is this day? It is today. And again tomorrow. It is a promise that He will always be with us, whether in the rain, the sun rises, the moment of victory, the moment of suffering, the calm waters, or the gloomy valley of death. The promise of Emmanuel. The WWJD movement has been active for a while. WWJD stands for What Would Jesus Do, which means "What would Jesus do?" It is an exercise to always live by asking the question. If you live like this, you will live a life that always accompanies Jesus. One of the slogans of the Reformation is the "coram Deo." It means “before God” in Latin. The idea is to live your life with the thought that you are always standing in front of God. When we are tempted, when we are confused, when we are in trouble, the faith that Jesus is always with us and that God protects us as pupils gives us relief and power.

So far, we have looked at Jesus' command of the earth, focusing on four “all ” Now, at this point, we understand why the end of the Gospel of Matthew is the supreme order. It is the most comprehensive and complete command, proclamation, and promise. But there is another element that makes this order more important and complete, which is the Trinity.

Today is the day to celebrate the Trinity Sunday. If you look at Genesis 1:2 in the text you read today, it says that when God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning, the Spirit of God was moving on the water. And if you look at 1:26, it says that God made man in the image of God. In the story of human creation in Genesis 2, it is said that God made man from dust and brought the breath of life into his nose, so that man became a creature. You can associate God's image with the breath of life. From early on in the book of Genesis, we can see clues about the Holy Spirit.

In today's epistle, there is a phrase that says, “Blessed be the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. It will be a phrase of congratulation too familiar to our ears. And in the text of Matthew, we can see the command “Baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

The word Trinity does not appear in the Bible, and its contents are not fully explained in the Bible, and it is difficult to understand. So I tend to avoid speaking on this subject. However, we must keep in mind that the Trinity doctrine is the most important doctrine in the Christian faith. Without the Trinity doctrine, Christianity would have become a religion similar to Judaism or Islam. The Trinity is the doctrine that God is essentially one, but exists in three persons: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Since it is a claim that 1+1+1=1, it seems logically contradictory.

Let's think about it. We have some understanding of what God the Father is like. He is the one who creates the heaven and the earth and controls all things. We are also well aware of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus is God who incarnated to save humanity, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. We always talk about God the Holy Spirit. It is the God who dwells in us beyond time and space. We experience God in so many ways, and we know that the object of all experiences is the one and only God. However, it is difficult to explain. It is too difficult to explain logically that 1=3 and 3=1. So I think that the doctrine of the Trinity is not a completely logical explanation, but a confession of faith in the mystery of God that we do not fully understand.

The doctrine of the Trinity is a well of theological mystery. No matter how enlightened and explained, the mystery is not removed from it. However, as we continue to realize more about this mystery one by one, we deepen our understanding of God, and through it our joy increases. Therefore, it is important to approach the Trinity theory in a historical background and flow, and it should not be taken that a single theory is right and everything else is wrong.

For a long time, the discussion of the Trinitarianism has been held from a metaphysical point of view. In the process, there were all kinds of troubles to overcome the contradiction of 1=3. However, in recent years, many discussions have been conducted from a social or relational perspective. God did not exist as an isolated being, but existed as a relationship before eternity. And to make the Trinity one is a unity of love; one side is not absorbed by the other and is not lost but each buttresses the others. This is the heart of the Trinity doctrine.

One of the theologians who interprets the Trinitarianism in this way is Jürgen Maltman. He said that the enemy that the Trinity doctrine had to deal with was "monarchistic monotheism." It is the belief in the one God who has absolute power and rules everything unilaterally. It is said that even when the European church speaks of the Trinity, there are many cases where the Son is subordinated to the Father and the Holy Spirit is subordinated to the Son, and there exists hierarchy. It is pointed out that these theories also applied to the earth and became the basis for absolute rule, and the basis for all kinds of discrimination including sexism and racism.

I think the significance of the Trinitarianism today should be important in this respect. We do not understand God from philosophical new ideas or general religious beliefs, but we must break that preconception and renew our understanding of God from Jesus. The ancient Trinity was developed on the basis of the metaphysical concept of God, “impassibility of the incapability of suffering.” On the contrary, modern trinity refers to God who suffers from the sufferings of Christ. The meaning of the father must also cut off the notion of a father contaminated with patriarchy and accept the image of the father Jesus understood.

Humans are called social animals. What would be left of human beings except for the social dimension? Sociality is the core of humanity. Isn't the content of God’s command closely related to the social dimension? The kingdom of God is the space where the social relationship that God wants is formed. The social relationship that humanity should imitate has its prototype in the Trinity. Each has its own personality, without interfering with, governing, or invading each other, a relationship of unity, a relationship of mutual support, mutual support, co-existence without discrimination, without support. Shouldn't this kind of relationship that the Trinity God enjoyed before eternity be made on earth? It is the mission of Jesus' disciples to devote this relationship at home, at work, in the church, in society, in the global community.

Jesus' Commission is a promised command. In fact, this command is an exciting invitation when you think about it. When we respond to this invitation, we enter into eternal fellowship with the Triune God and participate in God's providence, which is perfectly prepared from creation to the end. Let's go invite all peoples to this fellowship.