Week Fourteen-Day Two: Trinitarian

And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the Persons; nor dividing the Essence. For 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 coeternal. 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 eternal; the Son eternal; and 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.[1]

Can you get your mind around this statement of faith? How did the followers of Jesus come to believe such a thing?

We believe in the Trinity first of all, because Jesus’ first followers believed it and gave eyewitness testimony to it. Let’s begin by looking at how they thought about Jesus. (We’ll look at what they said about the Spirit later.)

We read John’s testimony about Jesus yesterday. Today, let’s look at John’s account of Jesus’ interaction with Thomas. This incident occurs after Jesus has been resurrected. He has appeared to a few of the disciples, but Thomas had not seen him and did not believe it. If you’ve stayed with us through the Daily Office Project, you may remember this passage from our discussion of doubt. Let’s look at it again.

John 20:24-29

²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

Warning: a few beating-a-dead-horse questions, but let’s not skate past these observations.

1. How would you characterize Thomas’ original response to the stories about Jesus’ resurrection?

2. What does this tell you about these early followers?

3. Look at the end of verse 26. What is John implying about Jesus?

4. Jesus addresses Thomas and Thomas’ doubts in verses 26 and 27. Again, what is John implying about Jesus?

5. How does Thomas respond after he has seen Jesus and felt his wounds?

“Did you catch what Thomas said here? “My Lord and my God.” This would have been … what? Surprising? Unsettling? Heretical? Maybe all of the above!

The first word Thomas addressed Jesus with is “Lord”. This translates the Greek word kurios. This term is sometimes used as a synonym for God, but it’s also possible that Thomas could have referred to Jesus as his Lord simply out of profound respect. This would have been a perfectly legitimate usage of kurios. For instance, this word could be used by a slave of his master. So we’ll allow it here without too much argument. But what does he mean by using that other term: “my God”!

This is troubling to say the least. I know he’s just witnessed something that has changed his worldview completely – he’s seen a dead guy walking around. “But come on, Thomas! You can’t toss the word ‘God’ around like that. Have you forgotten your Jewish respect for that word?”

And this is the point, isn’t it? Over the centuries, Jews had gotten in the habit of leaving a blank space for the word “God” in their manuscripts. They regarded it with such reverence in some cases they wouldn’t even write it!

If you are reluctant to accept what you read in the Athanasian Creed at the start of today, then know that you are right where Thomas was. Repeat: you are where Thomas was. But he obviously ended up somewhere very different.

This is why the first followers came to be known as “Christ”ians pretty quickly. This is why the church has spoken so freely over the centuries about worshipping Jesus. If you’ve been around the church for a long time you may have grown used to that sentiment, but if you really think about it, it’s very awkward. We encourage one another to WORSHIP Jesus. There’s got to be something wrong with that … unless the concept of the trinity is actually true.

As we end this morning, consider this:

• If Thomas was right, then can you truly believe in God if you don’t get the Jesus thing?Consider this illustration.If I told you fantastic tales about my son Dawson, if I told you what a hero he was, if I described what he was like and how much he could help you no matter what your problem was – you could then choose to believe me about Dawson or not.You could just disbelieve me and write it off to an overzealous father.But you could also believe me.You could believe that Dawson was exactly as I said and you could look forward to meeting him and having him help you with your problems.But if Dawson came to see you and you refused to believe that he was in fact the Dawson I had described, then it’s really hard to see how you could legitimately say you believed my stories about Dawson.You may have believed in the idea of someone like Dawson, but if you did not believe the real thing, then … well you get the idea.

Christianity has often been criticized for its exclusive claims. Perhaps the critics are right. Perhaps there are many paths to understanding God. But if God showed up on the planet and you cannot accept that idea, then do you really believe in God? You may believe in the notion of a God in the abstract, but you have rejected the actual thing!

BEFORE YOU START YOUR DAY

1. Look at John 20:30-31.These verses follow immediately after the incident between Thomas and Jesus.

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

1. Turn John’s words into a prayer to launch you on your day.Pray that your faith might grow and that you would experience more of the life that is offered in his name.