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DATE |
CHURCH |
SUBJECT |
PREACHER |
BIBLE
REF. |
|
18.05.08 |
All Saints Church |
Trinity Sunday:
The Mystery of God |
Tony Higton |
Isaiah 40: 12-31 |
|
Trinity Sunday speaks of the complexity and mystery of God.
Have a quick read through the following ancient attempt to
define the Trinity. It’s quite mind-boggling:
- “We worship
one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
- Neither
confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.
- For there is
one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of
the Holy Spirit.
- But the
Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is
all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
- Such as the
Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.
- The Father
uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.
- The Father
incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy
Spirit incomprehensible.
- The Father
eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.
- And yet they
are not three eternals but one eternal.
- As also there
are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensible, but one
uncreated and one incomprehensible.”
This is an ancient creed formulated by St Athanasius and some
people might conclude that the whole thing is incomprehensible!
But we are dealing with God, and:
God is an unfathomable
Mystery
Isaiah writes: “Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD ... his
understanding no one can fathom” (verses 13, 28).
It is wonderful that God revealed himself ultimately in
Jesus. But we should not fondly imagine that this means we can
fathom the total depth, wonder and mystery of the Divine Being.
He is beyond our thinking and imagination, a great and awesome
God.
Isaiah continues: “With whom, then, will you compare God? To
what image will you liken him?” and he quotes God: “To whom will
you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One” (verses
18, 25).
Even if we were to spend eternity we would never succeed in
plumbing the depths of the majesty of God. Put it in time terms,
if we spent millions and millions and millions of years thinking
about it, we would still only be scratching the surface of the
majesty of God’s glory.
God is an unfathomable mystery.
God is an awesome Creator
Isaiah writes: “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by
one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and
mighty strength, not one of them is missing” (verse 26).
There is a beautiful picture here. Just imagine Isaiah,
unhindered by street lamps and atmospheric pollution, looking up
into the awe-inspiring night sky. He imagines God calling each
of the stars to shine. “Come on Vega, shine. Come on Betelgeuse,
shine. Come on Pleiades, shine ....” The awesome creatorship
of God is such that he controls the mighty universe, stretching,
to our knowledge, 15.7 billion light years in all directions.
(That is the distance that light, travelling at 186,000 miles a
second, travels in 15.7 billion years!).
Isaiah continues: “Who has measured the waters in the hollow
of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the
heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or
weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?”
(verse 12)
The picture here is of God looking at a tiny pool in his
palm, which is actually the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific. He
holds the mountains and hill in his hands too, and weighs them.
What majesty!
Then Isaiah writes: “Surely the nations are like a drop in a
bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the
islands as though they were fine dust .... He sits enthroned
above the circle of the earth, and its people are like
grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and
spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to
naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing” (verses
15, 22-23).
The picture here is of the Lord dropping a small pebble in a
bucket of water. That is the insignificance of the nations
compared with his greatness. “Plop” and they’re gone.
Alternatively they are like the dust which he blows from the
scales before putting food on them.
Compared with God the world population is like grasshoppers,
hopping around, full of self-importance in its tiny world of
humanity.
He stretches out the vast expanse of space like an umbrella
or a tent. Such is his greatness.
The rulers in all their hunger for power and adulation will
be brought to naught by God. That will include a few dictators
(may it happen soon!).
But if the story stopped there, we could have a problem. How
could we believe that this great God was interested in or
concerned about us? But the even more wonderful truth is that:
This unfathomably
mysterious and awesome God is love
The doctrine of the Trinity depicts God as like a family –
Father, Son and Spirit - bound together by love. Hence Isaiah
can bring reassurance to God’s people about his infinite and
intimate care for them.
“Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, "My way
is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do
you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting
God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow
tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He
gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and
fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow
weary, they will walk and not be faint” (verses 27-31)
People have been known to give up hope and simply to die from
hopelessness. That shows by contrast the power of hope. If we
hope in this unfathomably mysterious God who is Love we shall be
borne up as if we were eagles.
Hope in him! |
