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The Gospel of the Trinity

5/29/2024

Trinity Sunday
John 3:1-17
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
May 26, 2024

That God exists is self-evident. There are two natural reasons that we know God exists: the creation and the conscience. The creation declares that God exists. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” writes David in Psalm 19. If you see a building, you know that there was a builder. And so, when you see creation, you know that there is a Creator. Only great pride and arrogance can deny this. This is why St. Paul writes in Romans chapter one, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For His 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. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20) And the study of science should only strengthen one’s conviction that God exists.
Second, our conscience bears witness to us that God exists by convicting us and accusing us when we do wrong. Only a fool says in his heart that there is no God (Psalm 14:1). Rather, the conscience of everyone bears witness that we have a creator and a judge, as St. Paul writes in Romans 2, “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” (Romans 2:14-15)
Everyone knows that there is a God, whether he acknowledges it or not, unless he has so seared his conscience that his heart cannot acknowledge what is self-evident to all. Yet, no one can know the true God except through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. No one can know that God is one, yet He is three persons, unless this truth is revealed through Holy Scripture. And Holy Scripture does reveal the Holy Trinity. Scripture does not articulate the doctrine of the Trinity in concise, dogmatic words as we hear in our creeds. Rather, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is taught throughout Scripture. God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). Yet, there are distinct persons within the Godhead. This is taught from the very first pages of the Bible.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters and God said…” (Genesis 1:1, 2-3a) Holy Scripture teaches that God is three in one by teaching that there is one God, yet also presenting distinct persons, who though they are distinct from God, are God. The Spirit of God hovering over the waters is distinct from God. Yet, no one can doubt that He is God. “God said.” This doesn’t simply mean that God spoke. This demonstrates that God created with the Word. St. John begins his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) So in the very first verses of Genesis, God is introduced as three persons, yet one God. And this is the doctrine taught in all of Scripture. The Psalmist proclaims, “By the Word of the LORD the heavens were made and by the Spirit (רוּחַ) of His mouth all their hosts.” (Psalm 33:6) By the Word, that is, the Son of God the heavens were made, and by the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, all their hosts. God creates and sustains the universe through and in the Son and the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul writes in Romans 11, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (11:36)
The Son of God, that is, the Word is presented to us throughout the Old Testament as the Angel of the LORD. The Angel of the LORD, as His name makes clear, is a distinct person sent from God. He is God’s Messenger. That is what angel means, messenger. Yet, when the Angel of the LORD appeared to Abraham (Genesis 22), Moses (Exodus 3:2-6), and Manoah and his wife, the parents of Samson (Judges 13), the texts call the Angel of the LORD, God. The Angel of the LORD is the LORD. HE is distinct from the LORD and yet, He is one with the LORD. And our text from John 3 does the same thing. Nicodemus tells Jesus, “We know that you are a teacher come from God.” So, Jesus is distinct from God the Father. Yet, Jesus later asserts in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”
Nothing reveals the nature of the Holy Trinity as purely as the Gospel, because the Gospel is the greatest work of the Holy Trinity. God is love. God loved the world in this way, that He sent His only begotten Son. Who is this only begotten Son? He is the Son of Man, who has descended from heaven, who still is in heaven by virtue of His divine nature. He has become the Son of man, and not only a man, but He took on the very form of our curse, and like the cursed bronze serpent in the wilderness, which bore the image of the snakes, which were biting the people and causing their death, the Son of Man was lifted up on a tree, so that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life. The Son is distinct from the Father. The Father sends the Son; the Son does not send the Father. The Son became man and suffered and died for our sins. The Father did not become man nor did He suffer and die. Yet, they are one God.
Jesus says that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, He cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Who is this Spirit? Jesus makes clear that He is distinct from God. Yet, it is also clear that the Spirit is God, as St. John writes in chapter one, “But to all who did receive Him, who believed on His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13) Those who are born of the Spirit are born of God. The Spirit is God.
The Gospel cannot be told without confessing the nature of the Trinity, that is, that God is one in three. The Father sends the Son to take on our human flesh and suffer for our sins in our place. He raises His Son from the dead and accepts the sacrifice offered by His Son and justifies us for His sake. The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit, who is God, to cause sinners to be born again, so that they may believe in Jesus and be saved.
Yet, this teaching cannot be found in nature by looking at creation nor by following your conscience. The creation can tell you that you have a creator, and your conscience can tell you that you have a judge, but neither can tell you that God is three in one, who loves you and sends His Son to redeem you and His Holy Spirit to sanctify you. This can only be revealed by the Holy Spirit through the proclamation of the Gospel. This is why Nicodemus is so flabbergasted when Jesus tells him that one must be born again to be saved. He thinks in a human way, so that he is blind to the things of God, as St. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 2, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (vss. 12-14) Nicodemus was the teacher of Israel and he did not understand these things. This is not a teaching comprehended by human reason. It is taught by the Spirit of God.
“That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is spirit,” Jesus says. St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” (vs. 50), and again in Romans 8, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (vs 8) You cannot gain the kingdom of God by your own strength, merits, or works. You cannot believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or come to Him by your own reason. You cannot comprehend the Gospel or the Trinity by your human wisdom. Unless you are born again by the Spirit, you cannot be saved. All who are born of the flesh are children of wrath and doomed to hell, unless God saves them by grace (Ephesians 2).
When Jesus says that unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God, He is saying that unless one is baptized, He cannot be saved. He is speaking of Baptism. Baptism is water joined to the Word of Christ. The Holy Spirit comes to us through Jesus’ Word. St. Peter promises that we receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism in Acts 2:38. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him as a dove. The Holy Spirit comes to all who are baptized through water and the word.
Now, many will protest, “But God can save a person without Baptism! A person can be born again by the Spirit without Baptism!” And technically, this is true. God can send His Holy Spirit without the water to cause a person to be born again and be saved. Baptism does not limit God’s capabilities. But the fact remains, that unless you are born again by the Spirit, you cannot be saved, and Jesus promises you rebirth by the Holy Spirit in Baptism. If Jesus opens a door for you, do not reject Him and say that you can get through the window just fine. Rejecting Baptism is rejecting Jesus and the Holy Spirit, He offers in it.
“The wind blows where it wishes, you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from or where it goes, so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” This means that the Holy Spirit creates faith where and when it pleases God. We cannot blame God for our unbelief or the unbelief of others. The fact that some are baptized, yet reject the faith is not the fault of Baptism or the Spirit, just as the fact that some reject the preaching of the Gospel is not the Gospel’s or God’s fault.
We must humble ourselves concerning our human capabilities to know and please God. We must not be arrogant and judge the doctrine of the Trinity or whether water Baptism can grant rebirth. Rather, we should meekly receive the Spirit as Scripture says He is given in Baptism and in the preaching of the Gospel, and thank God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that He has revealed Himself to us in the Gospel. Our sinful flesh, which drives us to sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealously, fits of anger, envy, and drunkenness, is the same sinful flesh that resists the Holy Spirit and makes you think you are too smart to believe the Gospel. So, we must daily crucify our sinful flesh by repenting of our sins, pride, and arrogance, and as newborn infants of God, receive the Word of God as our spiritual milk. In Baptism, the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has been placed on us. This means that we are born from above. We know the Holy Trinity. And to know the Holy Trinity is to have life eternal. Amen.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14) Amen.

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How to Love Jesus

5/22/2024

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Pentecost 2024
John 14:23-31
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
May 19, 2024

If you asked people today if they love Jesus, most will say, “yes.” I think that is safe to say. Yet, how do they love Jesus? The truth is, many claim to love Jesus, when their actions show that they do not love Him. Jesus gives us a description of who actually loves Him. He says, “If anyone loves me, He will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come and make our home with him.” (John 14:23) In the Confirmation Rite, we ask our confirmands, “Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully?” to which they respond, “I do, by the grace of God.” Yet, it is frustrating and disheartening that many, who make that promise do not really intend to hear God’s Word and promptly stop listening to it. So, many in the church try to figure out how we can prevent this, children leaving the church after they promise that they will remain.
But Jesus tells us the answer. He says, “If you love me, you will keep my word.” If a child loves Jesus, he will keep Jesus’ word. He will continue to listen to it and cherish it in his heart. The only way that a confirmand can keep this promise to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully, is if he loves Jesus. But how can someone love Jesus? The Holy Spirit creates love for Jesus in our hearts through faith through the proclamation of the Gospel. St. Paul writes to the Christians in Ephesus, “In [Christ] you also, when you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit.” (Ephesians 1:13) Again, the Apostle writes to the Thessalonians in chapter 1, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our Gospel came to you not only in Word, but also in the power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction… And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Thess. 1:5-6) And again, St. Paul writes to the Romans in chapter 5, “And hope does not put to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (vs. 5)
The Holy Spirit comes to us through hearing the preaching of the Gospel (Galatians 3:2). Through the preaching of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit produces faith in our hearts, so that we truly believe and trust in God through Christ Jesus. This faith in God’s love for us produces love in our hearts toward God, as St. John writes in 1 John 4:
By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in the world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:13-19)
You listen and keep Christ’s Word, because you love Him. You love Him, because you have faith in Him and trust that He has taken God’s punishment away from you and that God loves you. You have this faith, because the Holy Spirit has convinced you of the Father’s love through the proclamation of the Gospel. And you continue to listen to the proclamation of the Gospel, because you love Christ. All this is the work of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus suffered and died to take away your sins. God the Father, who sent Jesus to do this, now forgives you for the sake of Christ’s suffering and death. The Holy Spirit proclaims this message of forgiveness and reconciliation with God, and thereby pours faith and love into your heart.
And so, is fulfilled what Jesus said in one of His parables, “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” (Luke 8:18) The love you have for Christ has been given to you by the Holy Spirit through the proclamation of the Gospel. So, if you love Christ, then you will continue to hear His Word and the Holy Spirit will give you even more faith and love. Yet, if you stop hearing, even the faith and love that you thought you had will be taken way. This is why Jesus warns, “Whoever does not love me does not keep my word.” To keep Jesus’ Word, you must first hear it.
Today, we celebrate Pentecost, the day Christ fulfilled His promise to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to His disciples. Pentecost is rightly considered the birthday of the Holy Christian Church, because it is through the Holy Spirit that we are born again and become members of Christ. Pentecost could also rightly be considered the anniversary of Christ and His bride the Church. Christ is the head of His bride the Church. The Church is His body. It is the Holy Spirit, who unites the Church to Christ her head.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would teach His disciples all things and bring to their remembrance all that He said to them. And indeed, the Holy Spirit did just that. The Apostles preached Christ’s Word with power on that Pentecost, and continued to preach Christ’s Word as long as they lived. Some of them wrote down Gospels and Epistles by the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, which is how we got our New Testament today. Yet, the Holy Spirit continues to work in the Church. In fact, without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to be a Christian (1 Corinthians 12:3). But we have this promise from Christ, that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, will continue to work in the Church through the preaching of the Word and the Sacraments.
And what benefits do we receive from the Holy Spirit, who works through the Word of Christ? I’ve already mentioned faith in Christ and love, which draws us ever closer to God, who in turn produces more faith and love in us. Yet, listen to this promise of Jesus, “And my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit makes His abode in His Christians. There is no temple in Jerusalem anymore. The temple was where God dwelt with His people. Now God dwells with His people even more closely. I just read from St. John, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit.” (1 John 4:13) It is the Holy Spirit who gives us certainty that God dwells with us through faith. St. Paul writes in Ephesians 3, “according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith… and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16-17, 19) Again, he writes in 1 Corinthians 3, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you! If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (1 Cor. 3:16-17)
The Holy Spirit has made you God’s temple through faith. This is a wonderful comfort, because God will protect His temple from attacks from the Devil, demons, and any other power on earth. It is another reason to guard your faith in Christ, so that you do not drive the Holy Spirit away from you through wicked sins and unbelief.
Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Comforter or Paraclete, who gives us peace. The peace Jesus gives us through the Holy Spirit is peace, which the world cannot give. It is peace that comes from the forgiveness of Christ and from being declared righteous by God for Christ’s sake (Romans 5:1). The world cannot give you this peace. The peace the world gives is shallow and fleeting. The peace the world gives you is slavery, which tells you not to confess the truth what might offend others. The peace that the world gives you fades away and cannot withstand the test of time. But the peace that Christ gives you through the Holy Spirit endures forever. The world cannot give it to you, but neither can it take it away from you. Rather, this peace and comfort that comes from the Holy Spirit endures even suffering and death. It gives you reason to rejoice, even if you are in prison, alone, or in pain. This is peace, which can comfort you when every medicine fails, when the doctors give up, when your friends have forsaken you, when your sins accuse you, when the world melts away. Because this is peace with God, who stands forever. And this peace with God will grant you confidence to stand even on the day of judgment.
The Holy Spirit never stops giving, so never stop receiving from Him. Scripture says, “He whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure.” (John 3:34) When you hear Christ’s Word, you receive the Holy Spirit without measure, who continues to increase your faith and love toward God, to cause God to dwell in you as His temple, to comfort you with the peace which surpasses all understanding and cannot be taken away by poverty, sickness, or death. This Holy Spirit also works in you to put to death your sinful impulses and to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. Scripture calls this the fruits of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” We live by the Spirit through faith in Christ Jesus, so we also walk by the Spirit, crucifying our sinful flesh with its passions and desires and walking in love toward God and one another. This is all made possible through the working of the Holy Spirit, whom you received through hearing the Word of Christ.
If you love Jesus, you will listen to His Word and He will give you His Holy Spirit, so that you may keep it and walk according to it. When you sin, the Holy Spirit will convict your conscience, so that you repent. When you repent, the Holy Spirit will comfort you with the Gospel that God forgives you for the sake of Jesus’ blood shed for you. When you are tempted, the Holy Spirit will strengthen you to pray. And when you do not know what to pray for as you ought, the Holy Spirit will intercede for you with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26). When you are sick, alone, or afraid, the Holy Spirit will give you courage. This is why those who love Jesus continue to hear His Word and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully. Because they have been granted such faith and love by the Holy Spirit and they want to receive more. And the Holy Spirit is more than willing to give more. Amen.

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All Our Enemies Under Christ's Feet

5/15/2024

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Ascension Observed
Mark 16:14-20
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
May 12, 2024

So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. Mark 16:19-20

Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! Psalm 24:7-8

We recite this Psalm on the first Sunday in Advent to commemorate King Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Yet, at the Ascension the angels of heaven sing these words, so that the even more ancient gates, which had been closed for much longer, would open themselves for this same King of glory, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Psalm 47 also speaks of Christ’s ascension when it says, “God has ascended with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. … God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.” And of course, King David famously prophesied of his descendant according to the flesh, when he declared in Psalm 110, “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.” This is what St. Mark is telling us when he writes that Jesus was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
Christ Jesus, who is true God and true man is victorious over all His enemies. Like King David, who defeated his enemies on every side, so that his son Solomon could reign in peace from his throne, Christ Jesus has defeated every enemy, which stood against us, and He now enjoys His victory from His throne in heaven. The enemies Christ defeated are sin, death, Satan, and hell. These were our enemies. Through our sin came death and eternal damnation. And Satan, who goaded our first parents into sin and death, continues to harass us with the hope of our damnation. But Christ came in human flesh to battle against these enemies. There was nothing these enemies could do against Him. Christ is eternal God. His throne at the Father’s right hand has been His dwelling from eternity. Neither sin nor death nor hell nor Satan had any claim on Him. Yet, Christ took on our human flesh and battled these enemies of ours as our brother. And now He is victorious over them.
Christ, who sits on God’s throne in heaven is a man. The Apostle Paul summarizes it well to the Philippians in chapter 2, “Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (vss. 6-11)
To be at God’s right hand means to be God. A man sits at God’s right hand, victorious over man’s enemies. We have a representative of our human race in heaven, who has defeated all our enemies. This gives us good reason to rejoice and celebrate His ascension. It is no surprise that God sits on His own throne, impervious to Satan’s attacks, unaffected by sin and death. Yet, now it is a man, who is God sitting on God’s throne! Under our brother’s feet, Satan’s head is crushed. Christ came to earth, not to attack us for our sins, not to wage war against us, though we deserved it, but to free us from Satan’s clutches. Scripture teaches us that mankind is so corrupted by sin, that our very hearts produce corruption. You cannot separate sin from the sinner any more than you can remove a leopard’s spots (Jeremiah 13:23). Yet, Christ has done what only God can do! He has made a distinction between the sinner and his sin and removed it, and He has made a union between God and man, which can never be separated forever. Christ’s victory over sin is our victory over sin.
In the book of Exodus, God commanded Moses to build the tabernacle, where God would dwell with His people. The tabernacle had two parts, the nave, and then behind a curtain, the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place. Behind that curtain, in the Holy of Holies, stood the ark of the covenant upon which was the mercy seat, where God Himself sat. The High Priest would go daily into the nave, but no one went into the Holy of Holies, except once a year on the Day of Atonement. In Leviticus chapter 16, Moses writes how the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat and make atonement for the people. Atonement means to cover the sins of the people.
Yet, the tabernacle with its nave and Most Holy Place were just an earthly pattern of the heavenly reality. The fabric of that tabernacle would eventually wear away, and the blood of the bulls and goats, which was sprinkled on the mercy seat never actually made atonement for anyone’s sins. Rather, these ceremonies looked forward to their fulfillment in Christ. The Apostle writes in Hebrews 9:
9 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. … 23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer Himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then He would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.
This is why there is no longer any need for the temple or the sacrifices and festivals of the Old Testament. Christ Jesus has established a New Testament with His blood, and has entered once and for all into the Holy of Holies in heaven. He now intercedes for us at all times at the Father’s right hand, so that whenever you pray, “Have mercy on me, a sinner!” God has already had mercy on you and forgives you. We have an ever forgiving, an ever merciful, an ever hearing and answering God, because we have an ever present Jesus at the Father’s right hand making intercession for us. And His intercession is complete. His blood lacks nothing. We do not need to pray to Mary to appease her Son for us. Her Son is already mediating for us. We do not need her to mediate. We have no need to pray to any of the saints. We have direct access to a gracious and willing heavenly Father, who constantly looks at us through the intercession of His Son Jesus Christ.
Although Christ has ascended to the Father’s right hand, so that we cannot see Him anywhere here on earth, Christ is still very much present with us. St. Mark writes that the Lord, meaning Christ, continued to work with them after He ascended. Although an ordinary man cannot be present in more than one place at one time, Christ is no ordinary man. He is true man and true God at all times and in all places. So, our crucified Savior is able to be with us always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20), as He promised, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20). The right hand of God is not a physical location like a bird’s cage up in the sky, so that Christ is kept away from us. No, the right hand of God is the right hand of power, where there are no limitations placed on Him. This is why St. Paul writes to the Ephesians about Christ’s ascension, “He who descended is the One who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.” (4:10) When the Gospel is preached to us, it is Christ who preaches it, although you do not see Him. Baptism is Christ’s work, whereby He saves you by clothing you with Himself and washing away your sins. The very body and blood of Christ are present in the Sacrament of the Altar and are truly eaten and drunk by the recipients. Sinners should consider the voice of their pastor forgiving their sins as the voice of Christ Himself, who always holds us in His presence.
St. Paul writes to the Ephesians that even now, God has lifted us up into the heavenly places and seated us with Christ (Ephesians 2:6). Even now, we are being built up as members of Christ’s one body, the Holy Christian Church. And so, we have a firm connection to heaven right here on earth, through the means of grace. To neglect the means of grace is to neglect Christ Jesus Himself, who is the only way to the Father. Through the means of grace, Christ gives to us what He has gained and received at the right hand of God. You should consider your Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the preaching of the Gospel as gifts directly from Christ’s throne in heaven, which, if you receive in faith, will draw you up to Christ in paradise. This is why Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Baptism gives what faith receives. But without faith, nothing Christ gives you can save you. So, guard your faith by diligently receiving what Christ pours out to you from His throne.
When Adam and Eve sinned, God expelled them from paradise and placed cherubim with flaming swords to guard the gates of paradise to keep mankind out. But now Christ, the man, has entered through the gates of paradise, and the angels have sheathed their swords. The angels no longer keep our kind out of paradise, but they welcome with singing and joy, all who follow Christ into paradise.
So, dear Christians, consider your own ascension. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you will appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4) So, put to death what is earthly in you, and put on Christ in faith, love, and purity, until you finally experience your own ascension. Amen.

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In That Day

5/6/2024

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Rogate Sunday
John 16:23-30
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
May 5, 2024

In Numbers 21, the people of Israel grumbled against God and against Moses in the wilderness, so God sent fiery serpents to bite them and killed many of them. Since the people were too afraid to cry out to God directly, they asked Moses to pray for them, which he did. God commanded Moses to make a fiery serpent and put it on a pole, so that whoever was bitten could look at the bronze serpent and live. Moses did so, and many were saved. The people were afraid to speak to God directly, so they asked Moses to be their mediator. Yet, the prophet Isaiah foretold of a day, when God would answer His people before they called and while they were yet speaking, He would hear (Isaiah 65:24). In other words, God promised that His people could pray to Him directly, and He would answer them. It is that day, which Jesus speaks of in our Gospel lesson, when God will make a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17), that is, when He will establish His holy Christian Church on earth through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When Moses lifted-up that serpent in the wilderness, he not only foreshadowed how Christ would be lifted up for the sins of all people, so that whoever believes in Him will be saved (John 3:15), he also foreshadowed a day when the people would ask the Father directly through Christ Jesus, who was crucified for their sins. Jesus tells His disciples and us that the day will come when we will not ask Him to speak to the Father for us, but we will ask the Father directly, and whatever we ask Him in Jesus’ name, He will give to us. It is no longer like the people of Israel of the Old Testament, who asked Moses or the high priest, or one of the prophets to pray for them. No, in the New Testament Church, we pray directly to the Father, because Christ has been crucified for our sins, risen from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of God the Father, and is now and ever interceding for us. This is what St. Paul writes in Romans 8, “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (8:34) We do not need to ask Jesus to pray on our behalf, because before we even think to pray, Christ Jesus is already interceding for us for the sake of His suffering and death, which atones for our sins and appeases God to us. Before we call out to the Father, Christ is already calling out for us. Before we pray, the Father is already listening for the sake of His Son.
So, it is for those who live in the New Heavens and the New Earth, the Holy Christian Church, established by the blood of Christ. We are currently living in that day through faith in that blood. Jesus not only teaches us to pray directly to the Father, but He also teaches us what to pray for in the Lord’s Prayer. We begin the Lord’s Prayer with, “Our Father Who art in Heaven.” This prayer cannot be prayed without faith in Christ Jesus, God’s own Son. But because He, who makes constant intercession for us before the Father invites us to pray in this way, we are confident and bold to pray to God as dear children ask their dear father.
The Lord’s Prayer has seven petitions. A petition is a request. With these seven petitions we ask God to take care of three things: the Holy Christian Church, our bodies, and our souls.
The first three petitions, “Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” teach us to pray for Christ’s Church. “Hallowed be Thy name” means that we are praying that God’s Word would be taught in its truth and purity, and that we, as the children of God, would also lead holy lives according to it. We also pray that God would protect us from false teachers. By praying, “Thy kingdom come,” we pray that God would send His Holy Spirit, so that we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and thereafter in eternity. “Thy will be done” means that we pray that God would break and hinder every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which fight against God’s name and kingdom. In other words, we pray that God would place us firmly into the New Heaven and the New Earth, where God answers our prayers before we even ask them. He does this by creating faith in our hearts by the preaching of His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. This is why Jesus says that He will speak to them plainly and not in figures of speech. In the holy Christian Church, Christ speaks the Gospel clearly, so that we may have faith in Him and ask the Father in His name.
This is why it is so wrong to pit prayer against the means of grace. People often say that they don’t need to go to church, because they can pray anywhere. But the first thing Jesus teaches us to pray for is that we would go to church and hear His Word taught clearly and faithfully. When you pray, “Hallowed by Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,” you are praying that the Holy Spirit would guide your pastor to preach truthfully, clearly, and powerfully, and that your heart would be elevated to hear and accept the Word of God from his mouth. We cannot pray to the Father except through faith in Christ. And faith comes from hearing the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17).
The fourth petition, “Give us this day our daily bread,” teaches us to pray for our bodies. Because we live in this world and constantly feel the woes of our flesh, most of our prayers fall under the fourth petition for daily bread. Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body. This includes the elderly, sick, and pregnant women in our church prayers, as well as prayers for our government, travelers, and farmers, prayers for our marriages, and our children’s future marriages, for good friends and neighbors, and the like.
Of course, God gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people. But we pray this petition, so that we would realize this and receive our daily bread with thanksgiving. This may seem like a small thing, but consider the people of Israel. They complained, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” (Num. 21:5) There is no food, and we loathe this food. Don’t they sound like children. “I’m hungry!” Eat your vegetables. “I’m not hungry for vegetables!” But adults are the same way. They just don’t have their parents telling them to be thankful for what they’ve got. But we should learn to be hungry and grateful for what the Lord provides us. By being content with what the LORD provides for us, we can focus more on God’s kingdom, which is eternal, and have greater confidence that God will answer all our prayers.
The fifth through seventh petitions teach us to pray for our souls, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil.” We are taught in our catechism that we deserve nothing for which we pray, because of our sin. For this reason, we must daily pray that God would forgive our sins. Why do bad things happen? While you cannot determine that people who suffer greatly suffer more than others because their sins are greater, suffering is always an opportunity for self-reflection and repentance (Luke 13:1-5). The children of Israel were plagued by fiery serpents, because they grumbled against the Lord and Moses instead of being grateful for the food and water God provided for them in the wilderness. This is why the people were afraid to call out to God. They knew their sin and were afraid to call to God on account of their sin. This is why, in order to pray to God, we must believe in and receive the forgiveness of sins.
Our sin is the greatest danger to our souls. So, we must daily pray that God would forgive us. And as a sign of our faith in God’s forgiveness, we must forgive one another, knowing that the forgiveness we take comfort in from God is offered to all. Yet, being forgiven is not enough as long as we live in this world. We must also daily pray that God lead us out of temptation. For, although I stand forgiven now, I know that the devil, world, and my own treasonous sinful flesh will in the next moment try to draw me to guilt and shame. The final two petitions stand together, because it is the evil one Satan, who leads us into temptation, so that we fall into false belief, despair, and finally unbelief and hell.
Yet, we must again consider the children of Israel in the wilderness. They asked Moses to pray to God to take away the snakes from them. Yet, you’ll notice that God did not take the snakes away. Instead, He provided a remedy for the snake bites, so that when they were bitten, they could flee to the cross and be saved. The snakes represent the many temptations and evils of this world, which daily plague us. We pray that God take them away from us, but often God tells us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) And so, we must carry on with fiery serpents all around us. Yet our awareness of these serpents draws us to constantly look to Jesus lifted-up for us as our advocate before God the Father. Only through Jesus can we find forgiveness of sins. Only through Jesus can we find aid against temptation and every evil. Jesus is that balm for the soul, which heals and strengthens.
So, when you are assailed by doubts, lusts, and every evil vice, flee to prayer and pray for your soul, that God would forgive you for Christ’s sake and grant you every good thing by grace, that He would lead you out of temptation, and deliver you from Satan. And do not simply say a quick prayer and rush back into the thicket. Keep praying until the temptation passes. Set your eyes on Christ and His crucifixion for you until Satan flees from you.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.” Jesus said in our Gospel lesson. Amen means yes, yes, it shall be so. Amen means that what is said is trustworthy and sure. This is why we close our prayers with “Amen.” We believe that what we ask, we shall receive, for Christ is no liar, neither is anything impossible with Him. By beginning your prayer, with, “Our Father,” you are confessing that you have faith in Christ Jesus, because no one can come to the Father except through Jesus (John 14:6). And by closing your prayer with, “Amen,” you declare your faith that God will give you what you ask. To say Amen, while doubting, is to take God’s name in vain. So, whenever you say Amen, you need to say it with sincerity and faith. The word Amen should teach you to pay close attention to what you pray for, and to take comfort in Christ’s promise to give it to you.
Dear Christians, through faith in Jesus you currently dwell in a New Heavens and a New Earth. You live in that day, when whatever you ask of the Father in Christ’s name, He will give it to you. So, ask. This is your greatest power and privilege. Ask. And it shall be given to you. Amen.

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Way to the Father

5/4/2024

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Cantate Sunday (Easter 5)
John 16:5-15
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
April 28, 2024

“Now to my Father I depart,
From earth to heav’n ascending,
And, heavn’ly wisdom to impart,
The Holy Spirit sending;
In trouble He will comfort you
And teach you always to be true
And into truth shall guide you.” (LSB 556:9)

So, paraphrases Martin Luther the words of our Lord Jesus from our Gospel lesson in John 16, “But now I am going to Him who sent Me,” that is to say, He is going to the Father. What does He mean by that? He means that He is going to suffer excruciating pain at the hands of evil men, be crucified while bearing the guilt of all mankind on His soul, and die for our sins. This is the way that Christ will go to the Father. Yet, why does He use this euphemism, “I am going to Him who sent Me”?
First, to give comfort to His disciples, who will shortly witness Him arrested and taken away to be crucified. As they watch the horrid sight of His crucifixion, they should remember the words of Christ, that by this, He is going to the Father, accomplishing everything He was sent to do. Having suffered for the sins of the whole world, He will rise again from the dead and ascend in glory to His Father’s right hand. In fact, by saying that He is going to the Father, He is not really using a euphemism, but He is getting to the heart of the matter. Do not get distracted by the outward appearance and gore. This is Jesus going to the Father in victory.
Second, he uses this expression to comfort His disciples when they themselves make their journey to the Father. Immediately before this Gospel lesson, Jesus predicted that His disciples would be kicked out of synagogues and killed for His sake. So, when Peter went to be crucified upside down or when John went into exile, they would not despair that something strange was happening to them, but would take comfort that they were following Christ to the Father.
And so, you too should take comfort in your journey to the Father. When you are mocked for the name of Christ and lose friends and even family for standing on the Word of God, when your body grows frail and weak and you can see your grave ahead of you, do not despair. You are going to the Father. It does not look pretty to the eyes. But as with Christ’s passion, we must look beyond the suffering and death, and see the goal.
And if Christ does not go this way to the Father, that is, the way of suffering and death by the cross, then He cannot send us the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth. And if Christ does not send us the Comforter, then we have no way to the Father; then our weakness, frailty, and death are not our way to the Father, but merely the foretaste of eternal death in hell. But since Christ has gone to the Father through the cross, He sends us the Holy Spirit, who prepares our way to the Father.
Christ says of the Comforter, “He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine; therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you.” The Comforter glorifies Christ by declaring to us what is Christ’s. This proves that we are justified by faith apart from works of the Law. To be justified means to be declared righteous. The Holy Spirit declares to us Christ’s righteousness, and so justifies us. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that justification is not only the forgiveness of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man, that is, they teach that justification is not a pure gift of Christ’s righteousness to you, but that you yourself must earn your own righteousness. This changes the sinner’s focus from Christ to himself. But this is the opposite of what Scripture teaches. St. Paul, rather, considers all his gain as rubbish, that he may be found not having a righteousness of his own that comes from the law, but the righteousness of God that comes through faith in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3). The Holy Spirit declares to us all that belongs to Christ. He speaks it, and it is ours. We do not earn it. It is given to us and received through faith. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies us through faith in Christ.
This is the office of the Holy Spirit. He speaks. He declares, and it is so. The instruments of the Holy Spirit on earth are the Word of God and the Sacraments, which are empowered by the Word of God. The Holy Spirit has no other tools on earth. He declares to us what belongs to Christ. He tells us that it is ours, His righteousness, His forgiveness, His kingdom. And we receive it by hearing it with faith (Galatians 3:2) And what the Holy Spirit begins through hearing with faith, you do not complete by your works (Galatians 3:3). The Holy Spirit declares to you Christ’s righteousness. He doesn’t infuse this righteousness into you partially, so that you can complete it by your own works. He declares it to you, so that you can only receive it through faith as a gift. It is Christ’s righteousness, which He earned for you by going to the Father. And He sends the Holy Spirit to declare it to you, as David says in the close of the 22nd Psalm, “they shall come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn, that He has done it.”
The ESV translates John 16:13, “He will not speak on his own authority.” This is a bad translation. The text says, “He will not speak from Himself.” The Greek text does not have the word authority. The Holy Spirit shares one essence with the Father and the Son. He is of equal glory, majesty, and power with the Father and the Son. And He shares the same authority! Yet, the Holy Spirit can do nothing apart from the Father and the Son, for He proceeds from Them and He is of one substance with Them. When Jesus says, “Whatever He hears He will speak.” He is saying that the Holy Spirit will only proclaim what the Holy Trinity in unity has determined. He will speak of Christ and the way to salvation through Him alone.
There is an obvious reason why people do not go to church or go infrequently. It’s because they don’t really believe Jesus is there, at least, not in any more significant way than He is anywhere. And they doubt Jesus’ presence, because they can’t see Him. That’s understandable. Yet, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have believed.” (John 20:29) And Christ certainly promises to be present where His Word is proclaimed and His Sacraments are administered (Matt. 18:20; 28:20). So, you should repent of your doubt and take comfort in Jesus’ true words that He is indeed here with us, although we cannot see Him. And He is here specifically, in a special way, in a different way than He is present in the fishing boat or couch or wherever, because He is here with His grace comforting and forgiving us through His Word.
So, it is wrong and evil to doubt Christ’s presence with His Word and Sacrament, although it is somewhat understandable, because you cannot see Him. Yet, it is not only wrong and evil to doubt the presence of the Holy Spirit with Christ’s Word and Sacraments, but it is also unintelligible. The Holy Spirit is invisible. You cannot see Him. So, to not go to church, because you don’t think the Holy Spirit is there, because you cannot see Him is not only faithless, but it is foolish. You cannot see the Holy Spirit. Then how can you know where the Holy Spirit is? The Holy Spirit is where Christ’s Word is proclaimed. That is what Jesus says. So, where Christ’s Word is proclaimed, you have certainty that there is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit who is equal in majesty, and power, and glory to the Father and the Son; the Holy Spirit who has the same authority as the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit who is worthy of your worship and praise as your God, the very Lord and giver of eternal Life is present and speaking here today, because Christ’s Word is being declared. And He is speaking to you.
Because Christ Jesus has gone to the Father by way of the cross, the Holy Spirit still today convicts the world of three things: sin, righteousness and judgment. He convicts the world of sin, because they do not believe in Christ. Unbelief has become the only sin for two reasons. First, because it is the root of every sin. The reason you skip church, as I mentioned before, is because you don’t believe. The reason you give into your lusts, is because you do not believe that God sees you and that He has washed you clean in Jesus’ blood. The reason people covet, steal, gossip, slander, hate, murder, and refuse to forgive is because they lack faith. Every sin goes back to the First Commandment. This is why Martin Luther begins the explanation of every commandment with the words, “You should fear and love God, so that…” The second reason why unbelief is the only sin is because Christ has borne the sins of the whole world. He died for every last one of them on His way to the Father. Everyone who believes in Christ has full forgiveness of sins and certainty of eternal life. Yet, if you do not believe, then you become guilty of all your sins. This is why the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, so that people would believe in Christ and be saved.
The Holy Spirit convicts the world of righteousness, because Christ goes to the Father. Christ went to the Father through the cross, where He took our sins away. Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). So, the whole world is declared righteous, because Christ Jesus has taken away the unrighteousness of the whole world. Yet, how can the same Holy Spirit convict the same world both of sin and of righteousness? Because this righteousness can only be received by faith. Faith does not earn righteousness. The righteousness exists independent of your faith. It belongs to Christ and is declared to you by the Holy Spirit. Your faith receives what the Holy Spirit declares through the Gospel. In fact, the Holy Spirit creates the faith in your heart to receive it.
Finally, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. The ruler of this world is Satan, who judges and condemns Christ and His Church through his lies. The Holy Spirit convicts Satan of judgment, by declaring that Christ Jesus has gone to the Father by way of the cross, and has crushed the head of Satan. Now everyone who follows Satan and his lies is judged and condemned. But those who believe what the Holy Spirit declares of Christ will pass from judgment to life.
You cannot be comforted by what you see, at least, not for long. You can only be comforted by what you cannot see, which the Holy Spirit declares to you. The disciples saw blood, gore, a cross, and death. Yet, Jesus told them that He was going to the Father. They saw their own suffering, shame, and death. Yet, the Holy Spirit comforted them that they too were following Christ to the Father. And you see your own sin, your own shame, weakness, and death. You don’t see Jesus nor His Spirit. Yet, the Holy Spirit still comforts you today by declaring to you everything Christ won for you by going to the Father through the cross: forgiveness of sins, Christ’s crucified and risen body and blood, peace with God, and righteousness before God’s throne. You have not earned these nor can you see them. But the Holy Spirit declares them to you today. Blessed are those who believe it. Amen.

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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

The Gospel of the Trinity

How to Love Jesus

All Our Enemies Under Christ's Feet

In That Day

Way to the Father

Rev. James Preus

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