CW-A Epistle Lesson - Holy Trinity - - K B Kuschel
II Cor 13:11-14
(11) Finally, brothers, goodby. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. {12} Greet one another with a holy kiss. {13} All the saints send their greetings. {14} May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Draw a triangle. Draw the intersecting circles. Triune/ Trinity is not in the Bible. Shorthand for
Today we want to discuss. Our Triune God’s Gifts to Us.
IA1 {14}May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. What is grace? Grace is God’s love for sinners who don’t deserve to be loved. It is His desire to forgive sinners who deserve to be punished.
2 Grace is a characteristic of God. What God? The Triune God. The Father, Son, Holy Spirit God who is still only one God. Remember the whole idea of triune doesn’t fit our heads. According to mathematics how many is three? Three. How many is one? One. Three isn’t what? One. One is not what? Three. But the Bible teaches us that our One God has this Father, Son, Holy Spirit threeness about Him.
B1 Even though grace is a characteristic of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit God, in the words before us today Paul writes: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” Did God the Son love sinners who don’t deserve to be loved? Did God the Son desire to forgive sinners who deserve to be punished? Look at His life. He came into the world in order to take on Himself our humanity so He could be our Savior. What was one of the earliest recorded things that some humans did because He had come into our world? Tried to kill Him. Did they deserve to have Jesus take on Himself humanity among them? No. Did they deserve to be punished? Yes. How do people respond today to the concept that Jesus of Nazareth was God and Man in One person? They reject it. Do humans today deserve to have had God the Son take on himself our humanity in order to be our Savior? No. Why did God the Son take on Himself our humanity? Because of his grace - His love for sinners who don’t deserve to be loved.
2 God the Son, who knew God’s truth perfectly, attempted to give God’s truth to people over the course of three years. How did the majority of people respond? They rejected him. How did the religious leaders respond? Accused Him of blasphemy. What happened on several occasions when He taught in certain towns and regions? People asked Him to leave. How do people today respond to the truth which Jesus taught? They don’t want to bother with it. Did/do humans deserve to have God the Son teach them God’s truth? No. Why did/does God the Son continue to teach God’s truth? Because of His grace - His love for sinners who don’t deserve to be loved.
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3 God the Son lived a perfectly holy life as the God-Man so that He could give to us His holiness so that we could be acceptable to God. How did the people respond? They wanted a powerful kinglike Messiah, not a humble servant who lived to benefit others. How do people respond to Jesus’ lifestyle today? They continue to live their selfish, sinful lifestyles instead of striving to mimic His lifestyle. Do humans deserve to have God the Son continue to live a holy life among them? No. Why did He do so? Because of His grace - His love for sinners who don’t deserve to be loved.
4 God the Son took on Himself the punishment of physical death and separation from God which we deserve because of our sins to rescue us from that punishment. How did the crowds respond? They laughed at Him for claiming to be God. They called on Him to come down from the cross. How do people today respond to the idea that somebody 2,000 years ago could do something to remove our guilt? They laugh at it. Did they deserve to have had Jesus die for them? No. Why did He do so? Because of His grace - His love for sinners who don’t deserve to be loved.
C1 How does Paul urge us to respond to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? {11}“Aim for perfection.” What does that mean? Try to do everything God tells us to do. Try to live the holiness Jesus has given you. Why? Not to earn eternal life by our perfection. We already have perfection & eternal life because of Jesus.
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2 Why? Why aim for perfection? Because of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Trying to do what God tells us to do is the only way we have to thank God the Son for loving us even though we don’t deserve to be loved. Trying to do what God tells us to do is the only way we have to thank God the Son for forgiving us even though we deserve to be punished.
IIA1 {14}May the love of God be with you all. What is love? Sexual attraction? You make me feel good when you are around? The Bible defines love as the intent to live one’s life for the benefit of someone else.
2 What was grace? God’s love for sinners who don’t deserve to be loved. So what is the difference between grace and love? I suppose we would have to say His grace is a subcategory of His love. God’s purpose is to benefit His human creatures. That is God’s love.
B1 Love is a characteristic of God. What God? The Triune God. The Father, Son, Holy Spirit God who is still only one God. When you are reading your Bibles and you run across the term God, who is the Bible referring to? All three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Unless it clearly states that the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit is the one under discussion.
2 In the verse under discussion right now, the term God is probably not referring to all three persons. Here it is probably referring to the Father. Why can I say that? Because the other two persons of the Triune God are clearly
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mentioned. Sandwiched right between a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit the term God here most likely is referring to the Father.
3 So, let’s assume we are talking about the love of the Father. In what areas of life does the Father benefit us other than those areas of life in which the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is primary? The Bible says the Father brings us into physical existence, provides us with what we need, protects us, and takes care of us in numerous other ways.
C1 How does Paul urge us to respond to the love of God? {11}“Live in peace.” How can we live in peace? “The God of love and peace will be with you.” When the Lord has led us to understand and believe that He exists to benefit us, that His love surrounds us, then we can be content in every circumstance of life. We won’t have to be using and abusing other people in order to achieve contentment. God’s love brings peace to our lives.
2 When the Lord has led us to understand and believe that He exists to benefit us, that His love surrounds us, then we can be confident. We are not facing tomorrow alone. The all-powerful One who made us is using that same power to benefit us. We won’t have to be using and abusing other people in order to achieve security. God’s love brings peace to our lives.
3 When the Lord has led us to understand and believe that He exists to benefit us, that His love surrounds us, then we can be comfortable communicating with Him, asking Him to bless us and thanking Him for blessing us. We won’t have to be overwhelmed with anxiety about knowing the right people and dealing correctly with the right people . God’s love brings peace to our lives.
IIIA1 {14}May the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Fellowship. What is fellowship? Fellowship is being fellows, friends, good buddies. When you hang out with somebody you are expressing fellowship.
2 May the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. May the Holy Spirit hang out in your life. May the Holy Spirit be present in your life. May the Holy Spirit be a part of your life. May the Holy Spirit become your good friend. May you find it comfortable to hang around with the Holy Spirit.
B1 What happens when the Holy Spirit hangs out in a person’s life? Since the Holy Spirit’s purpose is to bring people to faith in Jesus, when the Holy Spirit hangs out in a person’s life, the person is brought to faith in Jesus. When the Holy Spirit hangs out in a believer’s life through the Bible and the Lord’s Supper, He strengthens faith, so that the attacks of the devil, the unbelievers and our own human reason don’t drive a wedge between ourselves and Jesus.
2 When the Holy Spirit hangs out in a person’s life through Word and Lord’s Supper, He works in the person the desire to live a godly life. He gives us direction on how to live our lives in accord with God’s will. He strengthens our resolve so we are not taken in by the temptations of the devil, the unbelievers, and our own selfishness.
C1 How are we to respond to what the Holy Spirit does in our lives when He hangs out in our lives? Paul writes: {12} “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” Acknowledge that you are united with each other. Express your connection with each other. Indicate to each other that you are buddies, that you like to hang around with each other, that you like to be good friends with each other, that you like to spend time with each other.
2 How are we to respond to what the Holy Spirit does in our lives when He hangs out in our lives? Paul writes: {11}“Be of one mind.” Have a united focus. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus together. Study the Word together. Receive the Lord’s Supper together. Why? To express the oneness in faith we have. To say publicly to each other - we believe Jesus is our Savior. We believe the Scripture is true. And to strengthen the oneness that we have. To help each other focus on the importance of the spiritual side of our lives.
3 How are we to respond to what the Holy Spirit does in our lives when He hangs out in our lives? Paul writes: {11}“Live in peace.” Spiritual oneness can be destroyed by constant battling. Admit your sins to each other when you have wronged, slighted, or left each other out of your lives. Forgive each other when you have been wronged, slighted or left out of each other’s lives. Jesus has forgiven us. We forgive. That’s the only way to live at peace. That’s the only way to maintain spiritual oneness.
4 How are we to respond to what the Holy Spirit does in our lives when He hangs out in our lives? Paul writes: {13}“All the saints send their greetings.” If we are really good buddies, if we truly enjoy each other’s presence, then we will say so.
Conc. We cannot understand the concept of the Trinity. But His presence can be sensed by the gifts He gives. Grace, love, and fellowship.