Amen. I love the Trinity. That's what John White has said. James White rather has said, I love the Trinity in his book, The Forgotten Doctrine. And as I was thinking about that this week, I thought to myself, I wonder how consciously I have fought about that in my Christian life, in my Christian walk, how consciously have I fought about the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We just sang one of the most popular and traditional of all Christian hymns called the Doxology. In fact, if you think about that particular hymn, that chorus has probably been sung in multiple churches throughout the United States and deep throughout the world on the Lord's day, on this Lord's day. And if you notice that that particular hymn is trinitarian in its structure, praise God, right? Father's Son and Holy Ghost, it's trinitarian. And I often wonder how intentionally, how consciously trinitarian is my Christian life. And as I was thinking about that, and I was reflecting about that this week and last week, because last week was Trinity Sunday. And I did not preach last week. We had a guest speaker. But if I would have preached last week, I would have preached a message on the Trinity. And so I decided to speak about the Trinity this morning, because I didn't want to let this go by. Because I think that this is a neglected doctrine in our lives, as James White has said. It's a Forgotten Doctrine in our lives. And so I didn't want to let this pass and want to let this go by without making note of this, without stopping, thinking, contemplating, meditating, speaking, talking about the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the idea that we worship one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are co-equal and co-eternal. This is what has been called one of the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith, one of the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith. That is to say that this is one of the most important things that we confess and believe. And as I reflected about that in my own life, I realized that I am confessionally trinitarian. That is, I believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That is my confession. That is what I acknowledge as a statement, an essential statement of my faith. But what I realized is that while I am confessionally trinitarian, I am not so much consciously trinitarian. That is, I'm not sure to what extent the reality of the fact that we worship one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, actually impacts and influences my life, my daily life. That is to say, am I consciously trinitarian in the way that I think, in the way that I speak and the way that I live. Do I live life? Do I approach it from a consciously trinitarian perspective or is there very little difference between the way that I live my life and the way that I practice my Christian faith then from our non-trinitarian religious adherence? And I came to see that, you know what, in some sense there is little difference. I had to ask myself how much difference does it really make that I am trinitarian as opposed to unitarian or non-trinitarian? And what I realized was that a lot of the way that I live my life could be said to be non-trinitarian. Not anti-trinitarian, right? In other words, I'm not against the trinity, but I realized there are many parts of my life, many parts of the way that I live and speak and think and act. That are non-trinitarian. And I realized if this is one of the most important things we believe, this is one of the doctrines that separates us from Judaism and Islam on the one hand which we might call radical monotheism and from all the other religious or polytheistic, you know, tri-theistic religious practices on the other hand. Tonitarianism is one of the distinctives that separates us from both of those errors on either side of us and yet how much does that really influence my life? How much is that really influenced the way that I think and live? And I had to be honest with myself and say, you know what, maybe not as much as it should. And so I ask you today, are you consciously trinitarian? Not only in your confession, but in the way that you live your lives, the way that you practice your faith, are you consciously trinitarian. And, you know, as I thought about what text to use about this over the last couple of weeks, I realized that I had already preached on all the best trinitarian texts. So I knew I was going to have to repeat myself here and I didn't want to do that, but that's what I was left with. And so we're going to look at Matthew, chapter 28, verses 16 through 20, because there is a text there. I wanted to use a text which is trinitarian, explicitly trinitarian. And in Matthew 28, of course, we know that in verse 19, Jesus says, therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And so this is a text that is decidedly trinitarian. It is explicitly trinitarian. And I want us to see that this is about more than just this moment, this snapshot, if you will, of our baptism, but that the trinitarian way of thinking ought to permeate all of our lives. That is to say that we should live consciously trinitarian. And, you know, let me just back up a little bit, let me just unpack this passage as we have done in the past, but because I want you to see how this idea of the Trinity affects everything that is going on, and this text, this passage, this paragraph that we usually call the Great Commission. And it says that the 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. Now, what that tells us here, what that underscores us for in the language here, and Matthew's language, is that what he is about to say is absolutely important. And we know it's important because Matthew takes the time to tell us that it's happening on a mountain. Whenever Matthew wants to point out something important, he lets us know, he usually brings in the idea of a mountain. It's on a mountain. If you go all the way back to Matthew chapter 5 when Jesus gives the sermon on the mount, here are some of the most important things that Jesus said. Where do they take place? They take place on a mountain. Then we know with Jesus feeds the 5,000. Where does that take place on a mountain? Jesus is transfigured where? On a mountain. See, so whenever something important is going on, Matthew takes great pains to point out that this took place on a mountain. It's his way of underscoring for us the importance of what's going on. And Matthew 24, when the disciples come to Jesus and ask him, when will all these things happen? When will all this take place? When is the end of the age and the end of the times? Where is the disciples on a mountain? And so this is Matthew's way of saying that what I'm about to say is absolutely important. And so it takes place on a mountain where Jesus had told them to go. And we would do well here to figure out who is Jesus for Matthew? And each of the gospels present Jesus in a little different way. And they all have their own coloring, if you will, of who Jesus is. And Matthew's gospel comes to a climax in chapter 16, where we have the famous confession of Peter, where Jesus has asked the disciples, who do you say that I am? And they say, well some of you say that you're the prophet, some of you say you're Elijah, some say you're John the Baptist, come risen from the dead and so forth and so on. All pretty good company, but all still lacking who Jesus is. And then Jesus says, well, who do you? Who do you? Who do you? My disciples say that I am. And Peter speaking for, on behalf of all the disciples, says, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus says, blessed are you, Simon Bargona for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father, which is in heaven. And I say unto you, that thou art Peter. And upon this rock, I will build my church. And so for Peter and all of the disciples, for Matthew, Jesus is the Christ, that is to say he is the Messiah, he is the long awaited anointed one who would deliver his people from all of their sins. And so in that respect, Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. But if you look at Matthew's gospel, and the way that it's arranged, it also tells us something else very important about who Matthew thinks Jesus is. And again, this points to the, to the deity of Christ. It points to the fact that Christ is the Son of God, God the Son. And so in that way, this too is Trinitarian. You know, if you think about how Jesus is presented in the gospel of Matthew, you can, you can see a strong parallel to the life of Moses. Right? Moses had a unique birth. Remember that? Jesus had a unique birth. Moses came out of Egypt, right? In the Exodus and delivered his people from the bondage of slavery. Jesus, after he had gone, Mary and Joseph and Jesus had gone into Egypt, they have come out of Egypt and Jesus too is coming out of Egypt as the great deliverer who will lead his people on a second Exodus, on a new Exodus. Moses went through the Red Sea and was, in essence, baptized as Paul tells us. So along with all the Israelites into the Red Sea, Jesus, we see in Matthew chapter three is in the Jordan where he too is baptized. Moses then goes out into the wilderness with the people of Israel and they wander for 40 years. Jesus is taken into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit where he is tempted by Satan himself. Moses goes up onto a mountain where he was given the law of God and expounds it for the people of Israel. Jesus in chapter five goes up on a mountain where he expounds the true meaning of the law. And so if you look at this literary arrangement that's going on here, what Matthew is saying, in the fact, is look to the Jewish people. He's saying, look, a better one, a greater one than Moses is here. And so for Matthew, Jesus is the new Moses. He is the one, he is the prophet that Moses spoke about. And he is the Messiah. He is the anointed one, the anointed prophet priest and king. And so it says the 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go and when they saw him, they worshipped him. See beloved, that's really what it's all about. As John Piper has said, that what God desires is worshipers. So often we get confused into thinking that the end result of our goal and our efforts as Christians is to just bring someone to Christ and as much as they are converted to Christianity. But that's not that's not the end. That's the beginning. What we are doing when we do that is to gather together worshipers for the king. Jesus is the king and he desires worshipers. As Piper has said, worship is gladly reflecting back to God, the radiance of his worth. And he goes on to say that that everything that God has created reflects back to God, the radiance of his worth. But only Christians, only the redeemed, only those who are born again can do it gladly. And so worship is something that we do gladly. It's the glad reflection back to God of the radiance of his worth. And then he goes on to say that we will either gladly reflect back to God, the radiance of his worth or we will reflect back to him the radiance of his justice. And what does he say here? And it says then the 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go when they saw him, they worshipped him but what? But some doubted. You see? And beloved, you'll either gladly reflect back to him the radiance of his worth or you will reflect back to him the radiance of his justice, his judgment, his wrath. And so if you're here this morning and you are not reflecting back to him, gladly reflecting back to him the radiance of his worth. You see? Then we call you with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, with the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ and we say come to him, trust in him, believe and repent so that you will gladly reflect back to God the radiance of his worth. And so that you will be rescued saved from reflecting back to God the radiance of his. Justice. And so they came and they worshipped him but some doubted. Then Jesus came to him and said all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. And when he said this he was using the language of the kingdom of God. Jesus is the king. He is the one with all authority. Not only heaven but on earth. He has all authority and implicitly here again is Trinitarian language. It is the recognition that Jesus is worthy of worship and Jesus has all authority. He has all of God's authority because he is indeed God. And so you see that all of this is surrounded by Trinitarian language, either explicitly or implicitly. Jesus said all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. Do you see? Do you understand how thinking about this is advantageous to our mission? The idea of making disciples in all nations is directly connected to the idea of baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
That is to say that our approach to mission should be consciously Trinitarian. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. You know sometimes I think we think too narrowly about baptism. We think of baptism as something that takes place in a moment of time and space which it does indeed our conversions take place in time and space but baptism is so much bigger than that. Baptism is a sign and seal of the covenant of grace which means that it goes back way much farther than that one moment when we stand up here and are baptized. That the idea that we are baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit recalls to us. It usures us back into eternity past if you will. With the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit agreed together to redeem humanity, to redeem you not just in time and space but back in eternity. Our baptism is about what God was doing in eternity not only in history but eternity. The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and the covenant of redemption that is and their Trinitarian Council decided that you would be redeemed and how you would be redeemed. That moment that you stand up here and are baptized looks all the way back to eternity past and it looks all the way forward to the eternity future. You baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is not the triune God eternal and so it points all the way back and it points all the way to the future. Baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy. Spirit and the other thing I think we think too nearly about baptism is this that we think of it in terms of only the beginning or the initiation or the inauguration into our life as a Christian and into the life of the church. It is that but it is much more than that. Baptism isn't only about introductions it's about a relationship that will go on into eternity with us and the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and so in that way we are not supposed to be just to think Trinitarianly about our baptism but we are to be consciously Trinitarian in the whole way that we live our lives and that this should shape our worship. Our worship should be intentionally, fervently, consciously Trinitarian. Our prayer should be consciously Trinitarian the way that we think and speak about the gospel should be consciously Trinitarian. Our mission the way we go about our mission should be consciously Trinitarian. Our whole world and life view should be consciously Trinitarian and this is what is unique about the gospel. This is what separates the gospel, the biblical gospel from all of other religious practice and so that everything we think and everything we do should be consciously Trinitarian and maybe not just consciously Trinitarian but as James White has said fervently, dogganly, passionately Trinitarian. And so beloved as we prepare to take the Lord's supper this morning what I want us to think about is all of life lived as consciously Trinitarian that what we do from baptism, Lord's supper, worship, prayer, living the Christian life do it all from a Trinitarian perspective and the name of the Father and of the Son. Heavenly Father, we do give you thanks and praise for your word which is sharper than a two-edged sword dividing between the bone and the marrow the thoughts and the intense of our heart between the soul and the spirit. We pray, Lord, that your word would do its work. We pray, O God, that you would by your spirit work your word deep into the recesses of our hearts and to those hidden secret chambers. We ask, O God, that you would help us to think in terms of your oneness and your oneness that we would think Trinitarian, that we would think in terms of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, that we would think of the Father as our creator, the maker of heaven and earth. The Son as our redeemer, the one who has paid for our sins and as the Holy Spirit as the one who applies his redemption to us and seals it. Lord help us to approach our worship in this way, our prayers in this way, and our very lives in this way. We ask this now in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.