Worship Helps for Trinity Sunday
Nicodemus Visiting Jesus
Henry Ossawa Tanner
Worship Theme: On this Sunday we celebrate the mystery of
God being three-in-one, a mystery he reveals both for his glory and on our
behalf. Isaiah rightly trembled at God’s holiness. But to Nicodemus Jesus
reveals something even more profound about the Trinity. The Father sent the Son
to die in our place; whoever trusts in the Son, by the new birth the Spirit
gives, has life with the Trinity forever.
Old Testament: Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe
filled the temple. 2Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six
wings. With two they covered their faces. With two they covered their feet.
With two they flew. 3One called to another and said,
Holy, holy, holy, is
the Lord of Armies!
The whole earth is
full of his glory!
4The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of the one who called,
and the temple was filled with smoke.
5Then I said, “I am doomed! I am ruined, because I am a man with unclean
lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have
seen the King, the Lord of
Armies!”
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand,
which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7He touched my mouth
with the coal and said, “Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is
taken away, and your sin is forgiven.”
8Then I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for
us?”
Then I said, “Here I
am. Send me!”
1. What did Isaiah have the unique privilege of seeing?
2. What was his initial reaction?
3. How did Isaiah receive a call into prophetic service to
God?
Epistle: Romans 8:14–17
14Indeed, those who are led by the
Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of
slavery so that you are afraid again, but you received the Spirit of adoption
by whom we call out, “Abba, Father!” 16The Spirit himself
joins our spirit in testifying that we are God’s children.
17Now if we are children, we are also
heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, so
that we may also be glorified with him.
4. What relationship does the Holy Spirit create between
God and us?
5. What practical changes does the Spirit create in us
when he makes us sons of God through faith in Christ?
Gospel: John 3:1–17
There was a man of the Pharisees named
Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus
at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come
from God, for no one can do these miraculous signs you are doing unless God is
with him.”
3Jesus replied, “Amen, Amen, I tell you:
Unless someone is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be
born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and
be born, can he?”
5Jesus answered, “Amen, Amen, I tell you:
Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God! 6Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of
the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be surprised when I tell you that you
must be born from above. 8The wind blows where it pleases. You hear
its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it
is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9“How can these things be?” asked
Nicodemus.
10“You are the teacher of Israel,”
Jesus answered, “and you do not know these things? 11Amen, Amen, I
tell you: We speak what we know, and we testify about what we have seen. But
you people do not accept our testimony. 12If I have told you earthly
things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly
things? 13No one has ascended into heaven, except the one who
descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
14“Just as Moses lifted up the snake
in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15so that
everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
16“For God so loved the world that he
gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but
have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
6. What did Jesus tell Nicodemus was the only way “to see
the kingdom of God”?
7. What is this “new birth” all about?
Answers:
1. Isaiah saw God in his heavenly temple. Magnificent
angels were singing the holiness of the Almighty God, into whose presence
Isaiah had been brought. (Do you see God’s utter superiority as even holy
angels cover their faces and feet before him? And do you hear a hint of God being
three-in-one, as the angels sing, “Holy, holy, holy” to the One who rules all
the angel armies?)
2. Isaiah was petrified in the presence of holy God. The
LORD’s holiness made Isaiah’s sinfulness stand out even more (like dirt on a
pure white shirt). Isaiah felt unworthy, and feared God would condemn him in
court.
3. God called and purified Isaiah by having an angel touch
a coal from the sacrifice altar to Isaiah’s lips. The LORD removed the guilt of
Isaiah’s sin by the sacrifice of the holy Messiah whom Isaiah would describe in
amazing accuracy.
4. We used to be God’s enemies, but those whom the Holy
Spirit leads to trust in Jesus begin to see another side of God. He is our
Father; we are his adopted sons.
5. Because the Father has adopted us, the Spirit shows us
that we can come confidently before the holy, mighty God. Not only can we feel
fearless, even comfortable (though still reverent) in his presence, but we can
see ourselves as people sharing our brother Jesus’ eternal inheritance.
6. The only way for Nicodemus to see God’s kingdom was to
be born again of water and the Spirit. Evidently, Nicodemus had refused to go
down to the Jordan River and be baptized by John. Today too, without rebirth
even smart, religious people who respect Christ do not have God ruling in their
sinful hearts. Without rebirth no one is spiritual.
7. Just as no one decides to be born the first time, new
birth is a gift from God, not a human decision. New birth involves trusting in
what God has done to save us by sending his Son to live and die for us. It
gives us eternal life.
Putting your faith
into action
You can understand the sheer terror of Isaiah. Who was he
to see the high and exalted throne? Who
was he to watch the seraphim? How could his eyes see the King? His unclean lips
disqualified him. The same blessed angels come and touch his lips. His guilt is
taken away. How can he not answer the summons of the Holy One of Israel? He
volunteers for service, “Here am I. Send
me!” The same Savior touches us with the holiness of grace. Forgiven, we
volunteer, “Here am I. Let me serve!”
Our churches teach with common consent that the decree of
the Council of Nicaea about the unity of the divine essence and the three
persons is true. It is to be believed
without any doubt. God is one divine
essence who is eternal, without a body, without parts, of infinite power,
wisdom, and goodness. He is the maker
and preserver of all things, visible and invisible [Nehemiah 9:6]. Yet there are three persons, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit [Matthew 28:19].
These three persons are of the same essence and power. Our churches use the term person as the
Fathers have used it. We use it to
signify, not a part or quality in another, but that which subsists of itself.
Our churches condemn all heresies [Titus 3:10–11] that
arose against this article, such as the Manichaeans, who assumed that there are
two “principles,” one Good and the other Evil.
They also condemn the Valentinians, Arians, Eunomians, Muslims, and all
heresies such as these. Our churches
also condemn the Samosatenes, old and new, who contend that God is but one
person.
Through sophistry they impiously argue that the Word and
the Holy Spirit are not distinct persons.
They say that Word signifies a spoken word, and Spirit signifies motion
created in things. – Augsburg Confession, Article I, God, paragraphs 1-6
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
Who was and is and evermore shall be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
Only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
Perfect in pow'r, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and
sea.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
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