Tri - Une - Fuggetabootit -

TRI - UNE 

Forget it. You won't understand it. Your not suppose to. 

Yup, it is frustrating especially when you are trying to think that we can "understand" God. We don't understand Him. We believe him.

He gives. We receive. He tells us who He is. We say, "ok." We can't even begin to understand that He (singular) is Three persons (plural). We say, "ok," we believe You.

Tri - three persons; une - one God. Geesh, it'll drive you crazy if you try to understand how Jesus died for you, but not the Father, nor the Spirit. It makes no sense, especially since there is One God. Whenever we try to explain it, rather than accept it, we end up thinking there are three gods, or we end up thinking there is one god who puts on three different outfits. Both are wrong and don't reflect what scripture teaches.

It is no different than believing your sins are forgiven. Jesus did the work a couple of thousand years ago, but at that point in time, he endured all the eternity of the punishment of God for everyone's sins. We say, "ok." We believe You, even though I wasn't alive when Jesus died for our sins.

Thankfully, God gives faith and strengthens it. He paid for your sins and the faith He gave receives the forgiveness Jesus earned. Then, the Holy Spirit is the person of the Trinity who strengthens and preserves you and the whole Christian Church in heaven and on earth.

"Ok, it doesn't make sense, but, "I believe... Thank you Lord."

Blessings in Christ,

prsell

The Holy Spirit - Don't Brag about Having Gas

The Holy Spirit. The person of the Holy Trinity who is completely misunderstood. Let's simplify it.

Word + Water = Holy Spirit
Word + Bread and Wine = Holy Spirit
Going to Church = Holy Spirit
God's Word in study = Holy Spirit

There is nothing more to it.

The Spirit's Work is the Trinity's Work

Why is He so terribly misunderstood? 

Because we try to separate Him from the work of the Trinity. There is so much bad information out there. The new age movement took advantage of the Holy Spirit as if the Spirit's work isn't the work of the Holy Trinity. 

Two examples of this are Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyers. These two popular television preachers reject the work of Christ in Baptism and the Lord's Supper, exactly where the work of the Spirit takes place. They try to build their followers around the Holy Spirit instead of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. They believe the Spirit works outside of God's means of grace. It is why Joyce is a former member of OSL. She simply doesn't believe Jesus' words, Given and shed for you, nor baptism for the forgiveness of sins - the two things you can't do on television within the community of saints.

The Spirit Gives You Gas, But You Don't Brag about Having Gas

When the Spirit becomes the focus of the work of the Trinity, then Satan has done his job. The work of the Spirit is completely behind the scenes. He is the gas that powers the engine of condemning sin and forgiving it. The focus of the work of the Spirit is Jesus' life, death, and resurrection in exchange for ours. In other words, His work is like the gas engine of your car. If you smell gas, there is something wrong. The engine is God's Word, not the Holy Spirit.

On the other hand, we confess the work of the Spirit as the gasoline that drives the power of the Word of God. Lutherans never judge the work the Spirit is doing because we don't pretend to know when and where He does His work outside of the bible and the sacramental life. True, the Spirit gives you gas, but you don't brag about having gas. 

He empowers you and drives you to the humility of a penitent heart. He brings the very forgiveness

you need in the Word. The Spirit powers the engine that runs the church. That is what the Spirit does when He "moves you." He moves you to be one with Christ in the Lord's Supper to receive forgiveness. He moves you to get to the place where the body of Christ dwells - only in church, because that is where the sacraments of Jesu dwell. 

99.9% of the Spirit's Work is Unknown

The Spirit powers your life to follow God's will and do the right thing as God revealed it in His law. Of course, this means that 99.9% of your life and the work of the Spirit is unknown - except that we know 100% that the Spirit is at work in the word of God alone and any other place is none of our businesss. (1 Corinthians 12:28)

Blessings in Christ,

prsell