Empowering Discipleship
- jillolish
- Jun 2
- 3 min read
Please read Matthew 28:18-20. Trinity Sunday is a day connecting our theology (what we believe) to the community. In these few verses we read that our God is three persons in one, that we are commanded to share the gospel, and that we are never without God.
There is no single explanation that will completely satisfy us regarding the Trinity. Why? Because God is a mystery with some certainties. It is hard to describe God because we do not have the capacity to understand God. The fact is some of Scripture cannot be comprehended apart from divine revelation.
This text is set in Galilee, the place Jesus arranged to meet the disciples after the resurrection. Jesus emphasized that all authority was given to him as he was God. Church, claiming this would have been blasphemy had he not been authorized by the Father. Jesus then commanded the disciples to make disciples. In these few verses, Jesus broke from the traditions of Judaism, he commanded them to baptize in the name, singular, of the one and only God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
From Genesis 1 to the last chapter in Revelation we hear of our one God rooted in love, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. On the cross the Father gave up the Son, the son suffered and died to take our place and Jesus Christ offered himself an atonement for sin through the Holy Spirit. God the Father created us, Jesus, the Son, saved us, and the Spirit our advocate and helper, has been sent to create and sustain faith, unite believers to Jesus Christ, and equip the church to pursue justice, reconciliation, and service in the world.
Acts 1:8 reads, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When we hear this verse maybe like me, you leap to the exotic “ends of the earth” but upon a second read you will hear, the people in Jerusalem were expected to witness in Jerusalem meaning to their families, at their businesses and in their neighborhoods… making disciples of people they knew personally and those with whom they would have an occasion to interact, and then is the mention of Judea and Samaria, implying – those with whom there are commonalities, acquaintances. Finally, is the mention of people in various locations and of unfamiliar cultures – the ends of the earth – this means an ongoing continuation - until everyone knows. Friends, we all have a circle of influence, we all have been given this mission – as I have said before, to many we are the only Bible some are reading – what story are you and I telling? You and I are created by the Father, saved by the Son, and equipped by the Spirit to be participants of God’s work here on Earth.
We cannot be spectators; we need to be available even if it is inconvenient or uncomfortable. We need to trust that God has prepared us with the guidance of the Spirit. When Jesus commanded to “go and make disciples,” he was not expecting us to meet a quota -what was understood is, that as you go, live life following Jesus and the byproduct of your living will make disciples.
With God’s help we learn to model Christlike behaviors through Christ’s example and reading The Word, obeying to commands, and praying and then we go into the world advocating, showing up, and caring for others. Friends, you have met a missionary and that missionary is you; you and I are sent on a mission with a message. Meeting people where they are and welcoming them as God did us. So, wherever you happen to be live for God and work with God so that everyone experiences the love, peace, comfort, and grace of God our Creator, Savior, and Intercessor, who is with us, before us, around us -everywhere and always. And all God’s people say, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Kerry
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