Sermon May 30, 1999 Trinity Sunday based on The Athanasian Creed

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today is designated Trinity Sunday in the church calendar, being the first Sunday after Pentecost. There has been broad observance of this festival in the Christian Church from 1334 onward. On this day we emphasize the proper understanding of God's triune nature, that He is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but only one substance or being.

Our two most common creeds deal with the teaching of the Trinity, but not so thoroughly as the third of our creeds, the Athanasian Creed. This creed clearly corrects the many errors that have occurred in understanding God's nature as a Trinity. That is the purpose of creeds, to correct error and keep us on track with God's Word. The Word of God is primary, of course, but some have misunderstood that Word, and so creeds and confessions have been written to correct the misunderstandings.

The three creeds, Athanasian, Nicene, and Apostles' are called the Ecumenical Creeds, and the majority of Christian church bodies would accept these creeds as reflecting their beliefs. In our traditions we use the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds often, but the Athanasian Creed is only rarely used. It is a tradition to speak this creed on Trinity Sunday, and we will do so today.

You may wish to locate this creed in your hymnal on page 53/134. [If you have Lutheran Worship, you may find it on page 134, or if you have The Lutheran Hymnal, you may find it on page 53. It is also printed in the Lutheran Book of Worship and may be in other hymnals.] As you turn to it, you see that the most obvious reason it is not used much is its length.

We in our microwave, instant, drive-up generation, do get anxious with things that take longer. Church services over the years have declined in duration and there is constant pressure on pastors to make things shorter. Yet we ought to remember the reason we are here. The Small Catechism says of the Third Commandment, "We should not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it." In the Athanasian Creed, we have God's Word summarized for us. Let us gladly hear and learn it.

Another reason the Creed is neglected may be the use of the word "catholic." Note that this is spelled with a small "C." In other words, we are not speaking of the Roman Catholic church here, but the universal Christian church. The word "catholic" is understood as meaning "universal." We have no reason to take offense at this word.

While a Seminary student I preached and conducted worship in a church on Trinity Sunday. I wanted to use the Athanasian Creed. The secretary of the church insisted on typing the entire creed to give out as a bulletin insert, even though it was printed in the hymnal. She did this so she could replace every occurrence of "catholic" with "Christian" as many of our hymnals do with the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. There is no reason to be alarmed, however, at the word catholic.

This creed is named after the church leader and theologian Athanasius who lived 293-373 AD in Alexandria. That is the Alexandria in Egypt, not Minnesota. Strangely, Athanasius did not write this creed and it is improperly named after him. Several others are suggested as authors of the Creed, such as Hilary or Ambrose. It was probably written sometime in the years 450-600 AD, after Athanasius had died. Yet, the name "Athanasian Creed" persists because, until the seventeenth century it was commonly ascribed to him.

It was ascribed to Athanasius because the creed coveys the same message which he fought so hard for in the Christian Church. He fought an almost continuous battle against a widespread group of heretics called Arians. This is spelled A-R-I-A-N-S and named for Arius. Arians taught that the Son of God, Christ, was not true God, but was created by the Father and is inferior to Him. The Athanasian Creed battles this error by carefully enumerating the teaching of the Trinity.

There are two major parts of the creed, the first dealing with the Trinity and the second with the two natures of Jesus Christ. The first part deals with the error of the Arians, making Jesus Christ be something less than fully God. It also deals with those who would make the Holy Spirit something less than fully God. Any sort of ranking, one above another, is denied in the Creed.

The second part deals with Jesus' nature as both God and man. This section combats errors which denied that Jesus Christ is true God and true man in one person. Some want to make Jesus only God. Others want to make Him only man. Yet He is both, two natures in one person, as the creed shows us.

The first part deals with the Trinity, explaining that God is three persons in one God. We are to neither confound or confuse the persons, that is to think they are really just two or one person; nor are we to divide the substance of God, so that God has one part Father, one part Son and one part Spirit. God is one substance, which cannot be divided into parts.

These three persons share the attributes of God. That means they each are uncreated, incomprehensible, eternal, and almighty. Each person is God, and there are not three Gods, but one. Each is Lord.

The persons are unique in some ways, however, according to the words of Scripture. The Son is begotten of the Father, but this does not mean being created. The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With regard to the rank of the three persons, the creed says none is before or after another, none is greater or less than another. The three persons are of equal position, and are each eternal, that is, they have always existed and always will.

The second part of the Athanasian Creed deals with the incarnation of the Son, that is that He came into human flesh in Jesus Christ. This supernatural event requires careful understanding. We must say that Jesus is both God and man. He always was God, being eternal with the Father and Spirit. Yet, He took on human form, the substance of His mother and was born into this world.

Jesus Christ is fully God as to His Godly nature and is equal to the Father, but He is inferior to the Father in His human nature. He did not come about by man turning into god, but by taking human nature into God. As with the Trinity, we do not confuse the substance, thinking that He is some sort of mixture of human and divine. He is fully God and fully man, but He is just one person.

The Creed then confesses the events of Christ's ministry to us, that He suffered and rose, ascended and will come to judge the living and the dead. At His coming all men will rise with their bodies.

The judgment is described in these words, "all men...(shall)will give an account of their own works. And they that have done good will go to life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire." Now, this statement at the end of the Creed causes some people to stumble. In fact, this statement is probably a reason that some churches do not recite the Athanasian Creed on Trinity Sunday.

What is the stumbling point? It is this: this statement suggests to us that we are judged based on our works. How is it we can support this along side of the teaching of salvation by grace? After all, salvation by grace says that our salvation, our reward when Christ comes is given freely by God's love for us, and is not determined by our works or deeds.

First of all, this statement is wholy Scriptural. For example, Rev 22 reports Jesus saying: "My reward is with me...I will give to everyone according to what he has done."

An appropriate understanding requires that we first see the Law: that we are totally sinful. We have nothing to offer God in terms of works that would merit a reward. We all fall short. We all deserve death. Then we understand God's gospel, which says that Christ suffered and died for us. We realize that Christ was our substitute upon the cross, which earned us forgiveness of sins, and further supplies us with Christ's righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." When we become the righteousness of God, we are seen as holy by God. When Christians are judged, God will see us as pure and free from sin. Our account of our works will be to simply point to Christ. We might say, "I have no works to my credit, because I am a sinner. I claim Christ's righteousness, who died for my sins." So when judgment comes, we who trust in Christ for our righteousness will go to life everlasting.

The Athanasian Creed includes a stern warning at the beginning, between the two parts, and at the end regarding holding to these teachings. Whoever wants to be saved will hold to these teachings regarding the Trinity and the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This is, of course, something we should want to do. When our Lord calls us to faith by the Holy Spirit, we desire to keep a strong grip on that gift of faith. We should always be seeking to learn more about our faith and correct any misunderstandings.

Some will try to lead us astray to think that the details of our faith are not important. Yet, the correct understanding is important. The Athanasian Creed deals with errors that were fundamentally errors in understanding Jesus Christ and His work. Jesus Christ and His work is the chief article of the faith. Martin Luther says, "I have found and experienced that all who had and held the chief article concerning Jesus Christ correctly remained safe and sound in the true Christian faith." On the other hand, he says, "..All errors, heresies, idolatries, offenses, abuses and ungodliness within the Church originally resulted from the fact that this article of faith concerning Jesus Christ was despised or lost." The chief article is indeed the chief. By proper understanding of who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for us, we can remain true to the faith we are blessed with.

All proper understanding is a gift of God, however. Those who reject the true faith and understanding are rejecting God. Those, however, who do not turn away from God's grace will be blessed. They will go into life everlasting based on the works of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.