Holy Trinity Sunday, 2025

Rev. Thomas Van Hemert

Isaiah 6:1-7; St. John 3:1-17

Holy Trinity

June 15, 2025

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The Athanasian Creed is one of the three official creeds of the true Christian Church, which all Christians must confess if they are to be called “Christian.” Those who do not adhere to the teaching and doctrine espoused and confessed in this creed are not Christians.

The Athanasian Creed is clear: “Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.”

The Athanasian Creed goes on to confess what we believe concerning the Holy Trinity: The Father is uncreated, infinite, eternal; the Son is uncreated, infinite, and eternal; the Holy Spirit is uncreated, infinite, and eternal. There are not three eternals, but One eternal. There are not three uncreated, but One Uncreated. There are not three infinites, but One infinite. They are all Almighty. Yet, there are not three almighties, but One Almighty. All are Lord. Yet, there are not three lords, but One Lord.

The Athanasian Creed continues: “The Father is not made nor created nor begotten by anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding.” Quite obvious to us: there are not three Fathers but one Father. Not three Sons but one Son. Not three Holy Spirits but one Holy Spirit.

Then, the first half of the Athanasian Creed concludes with the phrase, “Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.” The question becomes: How are we to think thus about the Trinity? By rightly thinking about the Holy Trinity, what we do is we meditate upon what God has revealed to us about Himself—the Holy Trinity—in His Word.

Consider the following Scripture passages that speak about the Trinity. From Genesis 1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” God was there before the beginning. During creation, the Spirit of God—the Holy Spirit—was also there before the beginning. Also in Genesis 1, on the sixth day of creation, God says, “Let Us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Here, He uses the first-person plural, “Let Us…” clearly a nod to the three persons of the one Trinity.

Later in Genesis 11, God says concerning the children of men who are building the tower of Babel, “Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” God is one. All three persons of the one Trinity are involved whenever God acts.

Consider also Isaiah’s vision in chapter 6: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’” The angels in the heavenly temple cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy.” They aren’t crying out the word “Holy” three times to add emphasis. This is a direct reference to each person of the Holy Trinity. The Father is Holy. The Son is Holy. The Holy Spirit is Holy. The one God is holy.

St. John begins his Gospel by writing, “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. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” So in the beginning was the Word of God—the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. He was with God—a clear reference to the persons of the Holy Trinity. And yet, being with God, from the beginning, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity was God—a clear reference to the one Godhead of the Trinity.

And finally in the last chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reveals the full name of the Trinity by commanding His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Notis that He uses the word “name” one time. One name for one God: the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is Who God is. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God in three persons.

Again, we think rightly about the Holy Trinity, when we contemplate and meditate on what He has revealed to us about Himself. We know, based on the Small Catechism that God is our Creator. The Father sent His Son, the Second Person of the Trinity to redeem His creation, not with gold or silver, but by becoming a man, with His holy and precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death. Thus, the Holy Spirit continues to call, gather, and enlighten us by the Gospel, and keeps us in the one true faith. All we do is confess, “This is most certainly true.”

To be sure, the Holy Trinity is a mystery to us. How can there be three Persons of the Holy Trinity and yet, only one God? This holy truth is shrouded in mystery due to our fallen flesh and reason. Our fallen reason cannot comprehend this. There is no analogy that we can use to teach the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity is not like an egg or an apple, because eggs and apples are created things. The Holy Trinity is uncreated. We in our fallen flesh cannot fully comprehend this mystery. But that’s what the Holy Trinity is: a mystery.

The Holy Trinity is not a secret. God has revealed Himself to us. First in the Person of Jesus Christ and then through the teachings and words of Christ and also through the inspired writers of the Bible. The Holy Trinity as three Persons of the one Godhead is no longer a secret, yet is remains a mystery. The difference between a secret and a mystery is that once a secret is revealed, it is no longer a secret. When a mystery is revealed, it still remains a mystery. We ought to think thus about the Holy Trinity. We worship this mystery of the Holy Trinity and Trinity and Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.

In the end, all mysteries will be solved. When Christ comes again in glory, He will bring us to Himself. And then we will see with our own eyes, like Isaiah did, the majesty and glory of the Holy Trinity in His heavenly temple. And we will cry out with the seraphim, with the angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, even as we will shortly in the communion liturgy, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

In +Jesus’ name.