Presentation in Cokato 04.05.2019

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us join in starting this evening's discussion by saying the Lord's Prayer all together.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

So I was asked to prepare a presentation on the theme for this service, which is taken from the First Epistle of John, where he talks about these three that bear record. So in these verses, John wrote: "This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ. Not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. There are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood. And these three agree in one." So, the First Epistle of John, fifth chapter, verses six through eight.

All right, first of all, dear brothers and sisters, I have to admit that, like so often happens to us before the holy Word of God, we find that we are really small and lacking in understanding, and we pray that God would open and give understanding. And so that is my hope and prayer for this evening's discussion: that this which I have drawn together using that basic principle, which we always use in this kingdom of God, that we explain the Scriptures with the Scriptures.

But I trust and believe that you, dear brothers and sisters, can add into those aspects that I miss. But I also desire to hear the Gospel. Can I believe, I said? Yes. I promise to be with you.

So with that prayer, that God would so bless: "This is He that came by water and blood." So what I've done with these, then, is started with this aspect of this text, where he talks about these three in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.

Of course, John is writing about the Triune God. And so I thought, let's start out our discussion by all standing, and let's confess this Apostolic Creed, which you always confess together. Let's stand and recite the Creed. If you can stand; if you can't, feel free to sit.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. On the third day, He rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

So this Creed that we confess, and as you notice, as you're reciting with me, we recite from memory. And some of the verbiage I took from a little bit more modern English. I didn't add it at all to the way we normally said it.

But this dates from, obviously, the time of the apostles as they created, wrote these things that would help explain faith. And the other one, of course, the aspect of that is that the writings of the Scriptures fill in then that background or the structure under which all these creeds are taken.

The other thing I've done with this presentation, besides using the Scriptures, is added in some slides from that presentation of our dear brother, Hari Vahayuk, kept at the workshop on the thirteenth.

So I'm going to deal, first of all, with this aspect as John wrote about it: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. Because he wrote in his Gospel describing what he means when he says the Word.

So in the Gospel of John, he wrote: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."

So John, of course, is talking about Jesus Christ, Him being in the world, and that life that He had was not just temporal life, but it was spiritual. And He revealed to the hearts of men that spiritual light, or spiritual enlightenment, we could also say in English, which would show it is the light of men. Why? Because it shows the way to heaven. It enlightens people's hearts. It shows us that we are sinners, because it shines into our hearts with the brightness of the Word of God.

So then he writes: "That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." So John, very simply, is capturing, which we believe, that every person born into this world, regardless of where they are born—North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, South America—it doesn't make a difference. They all have that spiritual life. They have two lives, temporal and spiritual.

"He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." It is a heavenly gift that a person can be a child of God, can believe.

"And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

So John points out the huge discrepancy between the Son of God, by whom the world was made, being in the world, but not everybody recognizing Him as the Son of God. It is the gift that God gives, and the person can't say, "Okay, I am going to decide today to take it off the shelf, and now I'm going to be a child of God." It is a heavenly gift. The person who believes is given the gift of faith by the will of God.

So we have a Triune God. So the Holy Spirit is one of the forms or persons in which God presents Himself. The Holy Spirit is not of itself a separate God, but is God Himself.

So now we have another creed, the Athanasian Creed. If you look at the timing, the person that this creed is named under, Athanasius, was one of the early church fathers, somewhere maybe four hundred A.D. So this creed came into its form after him, I think, is when it actually... But his name is on it, so they've sort of assigned it to him.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. Yet there are not three Gods, but one God. So God's actions are manifested through the three persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

So I thought it's worthwhile for us to just take a few minutes to read the Athanasian Creed because we don't normally read it. But the few basic things that are in that are so critical for how we look at the way our Triune God operates in this world.

So the Athanasian Creed is like this: "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity, neither confounding the persons nor dividing the essence. There is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one. The glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.

"The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Ghost uncreated. The Father unlimited, the Son unlimited, and the Holy Ghost unlimited. The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Ghost eternal, and yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also, there are not three uncreated nor three infinites, but one uncreated and one infinite.

"So likewise, the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty, and yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and yet they are not three Gods, but one God.

"So likewise, the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, the Holy Ghost Lord, yet not three Lords, but one Lord.

"The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created, but begotten." In other words, born. The Son is born of the Father in eternity before the creation.

"The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding." We will look at the Scripture. Jesus describes that.

So there's one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity, none is before or after another; none is greater or less.

So all of that tries to put together this concept of Trinity. So there, one unbelieving person had this comment that Trinity, that's so complex, you know, who can believe it? Who can understand it? Who can comprehend it? And to the carnal mind, of course, it appears to just fly over our heads.

So this one brother had a rather, I think, a simple revelation. He said, "Well, if I could give you an example from nature, would that help you? Would you then believe?" He said, "Yeah, well, nature is easy to understand. Anybody can get that." You ever heard of water? Water is liquid, it's also ice, and it's also water vapor—three forms of the same substance. Not that the person repented and wanted to believe, but it's a very simple way to describe three forms. That is, this is the way God acts in our world through these three persons.

At any rate, then John says that there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree in one.

What does he mean? I struggled with this verse of what to do with it, dear brothers and sisters. I felt this, this first of all, just went right over my head. But then when I started taking the Scriptures and to find the references of what is John referring to, I see this as the work of the Spirit in the world, and it has to be in one accord, in one agreement, and there cannot be any division or different understandings in the work of the Spirit in the congregation of God, in the kingdom of God.

So John says that He, the Spirit, is the Spirit of truth, and it is the Spirit that beareth witness because the Spirit is truth. Jesus says: "If you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

"If ye love me, keep my commandments, and I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. But ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

So what does the Spirit of truth do? Testifies of Jesus Christ. "And when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." So as we confessed in the Athanasian Creed, the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you."

So Jesus Christ: "This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood." Again, what does John mean? Well, let's look at some of the Scripture.

So, what does he mean, came by water? John the Baptist stated: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?" And Jesus answering said unto him, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he suffered him.

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

So the other aspect of water is, as Jesus then demonstrates for his disciples and to us, when he washed their feet. He rises from supper, laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. So in other words, Jesus took his clothes off and wrapped a towel around his waist so that he could dry his disciples' feet after he had washed them.

He who was King of Kings, Lord of Lords—the disciples saw him, knew him as the Son of God—he took upon himself the place of a servant to wash their feet. He poureth water into a basin, began to wash the disciples' feet, and wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Simon saith unto him, "Lord, dost thou wash my feet?" Makes us wonder what Peter was thinking, right? Either he was so disgusted that Jesus took this position of a servant, or maybe his feet were really dirty. We don't know, of course. It doesn't make a difference.

Jesus answered and said unto him, "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter." Peter saith unto him, "Thou shalt never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part in me." Simon Peter saith unto him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." Peter's penitence was immediate, of course. He recognized that he had gone into the flesh.

Jesus saith to him, "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all." So who wasn't clean? The one who didn't believe, Judas Iscariot, the betrayer. In spite of having Jesus wash his feet, because he didn't have faith, it had no impact on him. He could not, because he didn't believe.

So Jesus came by water. And so Paul writes: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." In other words, the Gospel word washes us from sin.

So is the church of God a golden candlestick, perfect and holy? Paul writes that the church is sanctified and cleansed by the washing of the word, "that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

So the other aspect of that, of course, is the commission, mission command of Christ, where he said: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

So the mission command includes the command to preach, teach, and then to baptize with the word, with the water, in the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Gospel work includes the washing of water for the covenant of Holy Baptism.

But John says he also came by blood.

So the first time this came up was when Jesus, because he had such a huge following after the initial times of his ministry, and he had those huge crowds—when he had, like, the Sermon on the Mount, and he fed four thousand men—four thousand men, plus women and children, and so on.

And so these people are following him and thinking that, "Let's make this man king, and we won't have to worry about daily bread." So Jesus gave a speech which separated those away from him who did not believe, but were just following him for everyday bread instead of spiritual bread. And he said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him.

"As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever."

So what happened with that sermon? People said, "This is a difficult saying. Who can believe it? Who can accept it?" And they left.

And as they watched those crowds go away, Jesus turned to his own and said, "Are you also going to leave?" And they said, "Lord, unto whom should we go? For you have the words of eternal life." There weren't many that stayed with Jesus and the disciples.

So Jesus then, at the Last Supper, as they were eating, he took bread, blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." And he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

So we can see from the disciples' reactions that they didn't understand that this picture had closed: that which Jesus had first taught them, explained, when he's talked about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, was now closed at the Last Supper, the final meal. But later, of course, after he was risen from the dead, they understood then what he was talking about and what it meant to eat his flesh and drink his blood, as we do in communion.

So on the cross then, one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came out blood and water, as John records.

So then Paul writes, the man who persecuted the church, when he received the grace of repentance, was called to serve. In many of his epistles, he writes words that so help us understand and believe, as it helped the people of that time and throughout time.

"So being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

You know, dear brothers and sisters, I'd never before, no matter how many times I've read, or probably even preached from this text, had those words struck me as they so struck me when I put them into this presentation: for the remission or forgiveness of sins that are past.

There's two words in these three verses, which I thought was worth writing what they mean, because maybe they don't always click. Redemption: the act of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. And propitiation: the act of satisfying or appeasing the wrath of God and being reconciled to Him.

So God set His Son as the sacrifice that would atone for our sins, would satisfy... appease. Appease is a really weak word, but would satisfy the wrath of God against our own sins and our own unrighteousness.

Paul writes to the Ephesians: "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace." And, "Having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven."

What does it mean, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven? I trust you, brothers and sisters, can add to that, but what I think of is that Christ reconciled all. So that means, of course, the saints of the Old Testament times, starting from Adam and Eve, who were already, of course, in paradise. Their sins were also forgiven.

They had lived their life here on this earth, believing on the Son of God. He, or the sacrifice of God—they didn't know and understand fully what it would mean, but when they offered that sacrifice for sin, they saw the atonement.

And John writes in Revelation that the Lamb of God was slain from the foundation of the earth. In other words, from the very beginning of time, all the way up until he died on the cross, the Lamb of God was slain for the sins of mankind.

So the writer to the Hebrews writes: "And neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctify us to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

So when Christ died on the cross, the veil in the temple between the most holy and the holiest was torn. So their access to the mercy seat was wide open. It represented that, because that mercy seat in the temple was just a representation.

Where the priest went only once a year to sacrifice, and he went with blood. If he didn't take the blood to sacrifice on behalf of his own sins and the sins of the whole nation, they were warned that he would die.

But that representation in that temple was just a representation of the mercy seat. So Christ entered into the Holiest of Holies, the mercy seat, by His own blood. Where is it? It's an eternal mercy seat. It's not a physical one here on earth that the temple represents, but it's eternal. He made the way open all the way to heaven by His blood.

And of course, so that we don't have to wait for once a year to receive forgiveness, but whenever. As the writer of Hebrews says later, we can have access to the blood of Christ, to the mercy seat for our sins.

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin." John writes, and that's part of our communion rites.

So John then wrote in Revelation: "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood." And: "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, 'What are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they?' And I said unto him, 'Sir, thou knowest.' And he said to me, 'These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'"

When I was thinking about the way the Holy Spirit works in this world and in the congregation, I thought that our brother, Hari Vahayuk, in his presentation at the workshop, covered it so well that I'm just going to add a few of these slides. And there is, of course... He had some fifty different slides that he covered different aspects of it, so I've only put a few of them in here.

But let's read them through, because it brings out some of that essence of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world and in the congregation.

"And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake in tongues and prophesied." So Apostle Paul is performing the duties of the office of the gospel as he was entrusted to do.

The authority to proclaim the gospel of forgiveness is held only by a person who has, through faith, gained the Holy Spirit, which abides in him or her. Only in this way is the blessing of Christ's redemption brought unto a person, to be owned by the person for his or her salvation, through the office of atonement.

God's Word and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit opens the Word of God to the possessor of that Spirit—a believer, a reader, a preacher—as well as to the listener of the Word, and the Holy Spirit makes the Word alive.

Paul writes: "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. It is the spirit that quickeneth, or makes alive; the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Words of Jesus.

Without the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God did not open to the Ethiopian eunuch. He needed a child of God, Philip, to help him. The eunuch said unto Philip, "How can I, except some man should guide me?"

Paul told Timothy: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils."

The Holy Spirit gives birth to faith in the fellowship of the congregation of God. In the first place, the Holy Spirit has a communion all his own in the world. That communion is the mother that brings to birth and sustains every Christian through the Word of God. Luther, from the Large Catechism.

The Apostle Paul describes how the relationship between Christ and his congregation is a great mystery. It is like the relationship of a husband and wife in a marriage. It is possible that even we do not understand this mystery, because we can be included in that marriage and feel joy therein.

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church."

Regarding the essential purpose of the Holy Spirit, Luther observes: "So the Holy Spirit from his office must be called the Sanctifier, or one that makes holy. But how is this sanctification accomplished? The answer is, the Son obtained his lordship by purchasing us with his birth, his death, his resurrection, and so on. So the Holy Spirit effects our sanctification through all of the following: the communion of saints, the Christian Church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life eternal. In other words, by leading us into his holy communion, so that he lays us upon the bosom of the Church, which becomes our teacher and leader unto Christ."

The sermon exhorting to repentance is heard from the congregation of God, and it is in the fellowship of this congregation that repentance can occur. The Holy Spirit works in many ways, but effects righteousness only when one has contact with the kingdom of God.

The fifth article of the Augsburg Confession states: "The sharing of the gospel and the sacraments, through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit, who works faith where and when he pleases in those who hear the gospel." It requires the audible transmission.

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

Luther observes in his explanation of the Creed: "For neither you nor I could ever know anything about Christ or believe in him and receive him as our Lord, if it were not first offered to us and given unto our hearts by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel."

Just as we can neither see nor know where the wind blows, neither can we see or explain by reason the presence or action of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, just as we can sense and hear the blowing of the wind, we can also sense the presence and voice of the Holy Spirit. And further, by faith, we can keep him in our heart.

The unity created by the Holy Spirit is actually more intense than any temporal feeling or mutually held opinion. The Holy Spirit gives birth to faith and makes the person a child of God. As a result of his or her faith, a person is a partaker in the unity of the believers, and also in their mutual understanding, love, and unanimity, as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Without the Holy Spirit, this unity is missing, and it cannot be restored through mutual wishing, understanding, or compromises made by people, as, for example, in ecumenism.

The Epistle of Philippians has this to say about the unity created by the Holy Spirit: "If there be any consolation in Christ, any comfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels of mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, and of one mind."

Hari added this: "The Finnish 1992 translation renders this as, 'Fulfill ye my joy, and be like-minded. May you be united together by love, harmony, and agreement.'"

The Holy Spirit effects love, tranquility, and one-mindedness among believers. Even though we have varying opinions and views on temporal matters, we need to be one-minded in matters of faith and doctrine of Christ.

Sin breaks the love and unity of the Spirit between the children of God. In this, the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil. "Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."

So I put together these points that we can spend time on, or take it whichever direction you want to, dear brothers and sisters. Obviously, we can discuss the Word, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, the aspects of water, the blood.

And then I added this in because of these last couple slides: cherishing, nurturing, protecting our mutual love. This is both our personal and our mutual responsibility. And nobody can say, "I'm not responsible for how my speech impacts the others." We all are responsible for our words, our actions: cherish, nurture, protect, care for, edify our brothers and sisters in faith, our mutual love.

And the Holy Spirit gathers the congregation of Christ, unites its members to each other, and edifies it as the body of Christ.