All for One & One for All
Trinity Sunday
A Message by Jeffrey Westbrook
Crossroads International Fellowship, 15 June 2003
Text: John 17:20-23 (NIV)
Intro: “Three is a magic number”
(from Schoolhouse Rock)
Three is a magic number,
Yes it is, it's a magic number.
Somewhere in the ancient, mystic
Trinity
You get three as a magic number.
The Trinity is a
difficult concept, and it is a mystery, but we still can understand it at least
somewhat. It is, after all, one of the central doctrines of the Christian
faith; we ought to understand it as best we can.
What is Trinity
Sunday?—simply the day we celebrate the Holy Trinity.
Why is it this
week?—Because it the Trinity is in part a mystery which must be accepted by
faith, and faith comes through the Holy Spirit, Trinity Sunday is the Sunday
after Pentecost, the festival of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Today, we’ll
focus on one aspect of the Trinity: its unity.
Thesis: The
Trinity is a Unity that should be reflected in the Body of Christ.
I.
There is unity in the Trinity
A. Jesus’ words in the Upper Room Discourse
1. Father & Son are one (17:20-23)
a. Not just taught here: common theme in Jesus’
teaching
b. Most concise statement of it: Jn. 10:30— “I and the
Father are one.”
2. Son & Spirit are one (14:16-18)
a. Does the Spirit indwell us, or does Christ live in
our hearts?
b. Christ lives in our hearts via the indwelling
Spirit (they are one!) (Romans 8:9)
3. Father & Spirit are one (Jn. 15:26; II Cor.
3:17)
B. Different jobs, one common goal
1. In Creation
a. Worked together, but each had a different part to
play
b. Gen. 1:26a: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our
image, according to Our likeness.”
c. Their roles
i.
The Father: The
author of Creation: (Is. 45:11-12 “Thus says the Lord…’It is I who made the
earth, and created man upon it.”)
ii. The Son: the Word (John 1:1)
iii. The Spirit: the breath of God that moved across the
formless chaos and gave life to the creation
2. In Salvation
a. The Father—willed it and sent the Son
b. The Son—came and died on the Cross to save us
c. The Spirit—calls us to saving faith; regenerates us
3. In Sanctification
a. The Father—“Sanctify them by the truth; Your word
is truth,” (Jn. 17:17)
b. The Son—“I sanctify Myself, that they too may be
truly sanctified,” (Jn 17:19)
c. The Spirit—works sanctification in us: “…by the
sanctifying work of the Spirit…” (I Pet. 1:2)
C. Unity of Love
1. “You have loved Me,” (Jn. 17:23b).
2. “I love the father and do exactly what My Father
has commanded Me,” (Jn. 14:31).
3. God is love, so obviously there is love between the
members of the Trinity
A. Jesus’ words in the Upper Room Discourse
1. He prayed for unity of the believers—unity with
each other and with God
2. Notice how He repeated it in these few
verses—obviously quite important
3. Communion is closely connected to it—the act of
sharing the cup and the bread unites believers through time and space (1 Cor. 10:17,
“Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake
of the one loaf”)
4. Illustration—Urbana—20,000 people united for one
purpose—proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and united in a Communion
service
B. Different jobs, one common goal
1. Creation: Gen. 1:26a—if we are created in His
image, and He is a God of unity, then we are to know unity
2. One body, many parts—made to work together; gifted
differently in order to work interdependently—we need each other (I Cor.
12:12-13, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though
all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were
all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or
free—and were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
C. Unity of Love
1. Horizontal and vertical (relationship w/ God and w/
brothers & sisters in Christ)
2. God wants—and makes possible an intimate, loving
relationship with Himself
a. Illus.: When Harry Met Sally—towards the end of the
movie, they’ve had a falling out, but after a lot of soul searching, Harry runs
half-way across NYC on New Year’s Eve & crashes a party to see Sally. (read quote from script)
b. “That’s how our loving, Triune God feels about you.
Just as Harry traveled across town to pursue a relationship with Sally, God
traveled through heaven and time and space to pursue a relationship with you.”
(Marc Axelrod)
3. Our love for one another flows from God’s love for
us & our love for Him
4. Ps. 133:1 “Behold how good and how pleasant it is
for brothers to dwell together in unity!”
5. I John 4:7-8
So we don’t understand the Trinity completely, but we do see
this aspect of unity rather clearly. And the biblical evidence that we are to
live in unity with one another is rather compelling, too.
This unity is to be the normal Christian life for those who are
part of the body of Christ. Not those who show up for church on Sunday, or
those whose parents are believers, but those who know salvation by grace
through faith in Christ. If you don’t know this salvation, if you aren’t part
of the body of Christ, isn’t it time you did something about it? And if you are
part of the body of Christ, remember, we’re family!
John 17:20 – 23 (The Message)
20I'm praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
21The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind--
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
22The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they'll be as unified and together as we are--
23I in them and you in me.
Then they'll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you've sent me and loved them
In the same way you've loved me.
All original parts © 2003 by
Jeffrey Westbrook
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