Luther Sermon for Trinity Sunday

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, OR TRINITY SUNDAY

by Martin Luther

Text: John 3:1-15 (KJV)

I. THE HOLY TRINITY.

1. Today we celebrate the festival of the Holy Trinity, to which we must briefly allude, so that we may not celebrate it in vain. It is indeed true that the name “Trinity” is nowhere to be found in the Holy Scriptures, but has been conceived and invented by man. For this reason it sounds somewhat cold and we had better speak of “God” than of the “Trinity.”

2. This word signifies that God is threefold in Persons. It is a heavenly mystery which the world cannot understand. I have often told you that this, as well as every other article of faith, must not be based upon reason or comparisons, but must be understood and established by means of passages from the Scriptures, for God has the only perfect knowledge and knows how to speak concerning himself.

3. The great universities have invented manifold distinctions, dreams and fictions by means of which they would explain the Holy Trinity, and have made fools of themselves. We shall therefore quote only passages from the Scriptures in order to determine and establish the divinity of Christ. In the first place, we quote from the New Testament, where we find many proof texts; for instance, John 1:1-3: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.” Now if he is not made, but is himself the Maker, he must indeed be God. John also says afterwards: “And the Word became flesh.”

4. Again, we quote from the Old Testament, where David says, in Psalm 110:1: “Jehovah saith unto my lord, Sit thou at my right hand,” that is, sit upon the royal throne and be a lord and king over all creatures, all which must be subject to thee — “until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” In Psalm 8:4-8, we read: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him but little lower than God, and crownest him with glory and honor. Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” That means: Thou hast made him Lord of the whole world. Paul explains this passage, in Ephesians 1:20 and Colossians 2:9-10, in a masterly way. Now, if God has set him at his right hand and made him lord of all in heaven and on earth, he must indeed be God; for it would not be fitting that he should set him at his right hand and give him as much power over all creatures as he himself possesses, if he were not God. God will not give his glory to another, as he says in Isaiah 48:11. Thus, we have here two persons, the Father, and the Son to whom the Father has given all that is subject to him.

To “sit at the right hand of God” means to be over all God’s creatures; he must therefore be God to whom is given all this.

5. God has also commanded us not to worship strange gods. Now, we read in John that, according to the will of God, we should honor the Son even as we honor the Father. These are the words of John 5:19-23, where Christ says to the Jews: “Verily, Verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and greater works than these will he show him, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth the dead and giveth them life, even so the Son also giveth life to whom he will. For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son; that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him.” These are, to my mind, truly clear and distinct words concerning the divinity of Christ. Now, as God commands that we should have only one God, and should not render to any other creature the glory which belongs to God and is due him, and yet he gives this glory to Christ, Christ must indeed be God.

6. Paul says in Romans 1:2-4: “The Gospel he promised afore through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; even Jesus Christ our Lord.” Therefore, according to the flesh he began to exist, but according to the spirit he existed from eternity, although it was not clearly understood before; as it was not necessary that we should make a God of him, but only that we should declare and understand that he is the Son of God. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, as Christ himself says in John 16:13: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth.” And elsewhere the Evangelist writes, John 17:1-5: “These things spoke Jesus; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the Son may glorify thee: even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life. And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”

7. We also read in Psalm 2:8: “Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” He is truly enthroned king of all. He is God’s child, and the world it subject to no other prince or king. Likewise, in another psalm, David openly calls him God, when he says: “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of equity is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Psalm 45:6-7.

God will make no one such a king who is not God, for he will not give the reins out of his hands; he alone will be the Lord over heaven and earth, death, hell, the devil and all creatures. If he, then, makes Christ Lord of all that is created, Christ must truly be God.

8. We can. therefore, have no surer foundation for our belief in the divinity of Christ than that we enwrap and enclose our hearts in the declarations of the Scriptures. The Scriptures gradually and beautifully ‘lead us to Christ; first revealing him to us as a man, then as the lord of all creatures. and finally as God. Thus we are successfully led to the true knowledge of God. But the philosophers and the wise men of this world would begin at the top and so they have become fools. We must begin at the bottom and gradually advance in knowledge, so that the words of Proverbs 25:27 may not apply to us: “It is not good to eat much honey; so for men to search out their own glory is grievous.”

9. Our faith in these two persons, the Father and the Son, is therefore sufficiently established and confirmed by passages from the Scriptures. But of the Holy Spirit, the third person, we read in Matthew 28:19 that Christ sent forth his disciples, saying to them: “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Here divinity is also ascribed to the Holy Spirit, since I may trust or believe in no one but God. And I must trust only in one who has power over death, hell, the devil and all creatures, whose authority withholds them from harming me, and who can save me. None will suffice except one in whom I may trust absolutely.

Now, Christ in this passage commands that we should also believe and trust in the Holy Spirit; therefore he must be God. In the Gospel according to John, Christ speaks frequently to his disciples of the Holy Spirit, his power or existence.

10. In Genesis 1:2 we read: “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” But this passage is not as clear as the one last quoted; the Jews attack it and affirm that the word “spirit” in Hebrew signifies “wind.”

11. David says in Psalm 33:6: “By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the Spirit of his mouth.” Here it is quite clear that the Holy Spirit is God, because the heavens and all their hosts were made by him. And, again, David says in Psalm 139:7-8: “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.” Now, this cannot be said of any creatures — that it is everywhere and fills the whole world — but only of God, the Creator.

12. Therefore, we cling to the Scriptures, those passages which testify of the Trinity of God, and we say: I know very well that in God there are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; but how they can be one I do not know, neither should I know it. This may suffice for the first part. Now we will come back to the Gospel and say something on that in the time that is left us.

II. EXPLANATION OF THIS GOSPEL;CHRIST’ S CONVERSATION WITH NICODEMUS.

I. THE CONVERSATION IN GENERAL.

1. In this Gospel you see clearly what reason and free-will can do. You may see it distinctly in Nicodemus, who was the best of the best, a prince and leader of the Pharisees, and the Pharisees held first place in their day.

They were, however, in the highest things — in spiritual life — altogether blind and dead before God, however holy, wise, good and mighty they may have been considered by men. The longer Nicodemus associates with Christ, the less he understands Christ, although he is expected to understand only earthly things and the manner of Christ’s death. Reason is so blind that it can neither perceive nor understand the things of God, nor all things which properly belong to its own sphere. This is a blow to nature and human reason, which have been rated so high by philosophy and the wise men of this world; the wise ones have said that reason always strives to attain the best.

2. God has here given us an example showing that even the best in nature must fail. In instances where human nature is at its best it is blind, not to speak of its envy and hatred. Christ has here demonstrated by examples, words and deeds that human reason is altogether blind and dead before God, Hence, it cannot appreciate divine things nor desire them.

3. Now, Nicodemus, who is a pious and well-meaning man, cannot grasp the work and Word of God; how then would Annas and Caiaphas? He comes to the Lord at night, which he did from fear, not desiring to be called a heretic by others. From this we may conclude that he was in nature an old Adam, cowardly seeking Christ by night, and that he did not yet possess the true light. If he had been a “new man,” he would have come in the bright light of day, fearing no one. Because of his hypocrisy, the Lord deals sharply with him, cutting off his salutation and all further speech, as we shall see. Nicodemus approaches the Lord with these words: “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him.”

II. THE CONVERSATION IN DETAIL.

4. He thinks that he has uttered these words in all sincerity; but there is still the old life and nothing but hypocrisy. For this reason Christ will not accept his salutation, but will take from Nicodemus everything in which he feels secure and will make a “new” man of him, giving him a new heart and enabling him to walk by faith. He says to him: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

5. Christ’s words are as if to say: No, my dear Nicodemus, I am not moved by your beautiful words. You must give up your old life and become a new man. You have not the faith which you say you have; you are still afraid.

Although the natural man hears the Word of God, the Gospel, and delights in it, yet it does not enter the heart. Therefore, we must slay reason and experience the new birth. This is what Christ means when he says that we must be born anew. Reason cannot understand this, wherefore Nicodemus replies: “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”

6. Thus reason takes offense at the Spirit, imagines unreality’s and conceives of this new birth as a natural birth. Therefore Christ proceeds, explaining this birth to him to clear his misunderstanding, and says: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

7. In other words: The new birth of which I speak must be otherwise explained. I do not abolish the natural birth but I speak of a birth which is of water and the Spirit. Then he continues: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is borne of the Spirit is spirit.”

8. These words cannot be grasped by reason, which seeks to explain the words “Spirit” and “water,” speculating how such birth may be. Here it sees nothing in the nature of a birth and therefore plays the part of a fool by saying: How can a man be born of water and the Spirit? Indeed, such a source would produce but water-bubbles.

9. Now, Christ speaks and destroys reason, saying: “Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?” You should teach others the spiritual birth, that they might become righteous, but you yourself do not understand it. He defeats reason and the whole law and says: My friend, do you not know how these things can be? It is plain to me, as it was also to the prophets, who corroborate my words. Renounce your reason and close your eyes; cling only to my Word and believe it. Again he says: “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born anew. The wind bloweth where it will, and thou hearest the voice thereof, but knowest not whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

10. As if to say: You presume to judge spiritual things by your reason, and at the same time you cannot understand the simple things of nature. He calls Nicodemus’ attention to the wind. No philosopher or scientist has ever been able to comprehend and describe the nature of the wind — where it has its beginning or where it ends. We cannot see where the wind comes from, or how it blows past us, or how far it goes. Now, if we cannot by our reason fathom those things which we see daily in nature, much less will we be able to fathom with our reason the divine works which God accomplishes within us.

11. How a man is born anew may easily be told in words. When, however, it is a question of experience, as it was here with Nicodemus, then it is a hard matter to understand and it requires effort to attain the experience. It is easy to say: We must blind our reason, disregard our feelings, close our eyes and only cling to the Word — finally die and yet live. But to persevere in this, when it becomes a matter of experience and when we are really tested, requires pains and labor. It is a very bitter experience.

12. An example of this new birth we have in Abraham, whose son was to inherit the world and whose seed was to be like the stars in heaven, as was promised him in Genesis 15:5 Then God came and commanded him to slay his son. Now had Abraham acted as reason dictated, he would have concluded thus: Aye, God has given me this seed, by which he has promised to increase my family, and now he commands me to offer him up as a sacrifice. Surely, God cannot command this; it must be the devil. But Abraham slays reason and honors God, thinking: God is so powerful that he can raise my son from death and increase my family through him. or he can give me another son, or effect his purpose in some other way, which I do not know. So Abraham commends all to God. Here Abraham leaves his old life and surrenders himself to God, believes in him and becomes a new man. Then the angel comes and says to him: “Abraham, Abraham, lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him,: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me,” Genesis 22:11-12. Abraham could not have imagined that God would thus come to his rescue; nay, he had already in his heart slain his son.

13. Now, the beginning of this birth was in baptism. The water is baptism; the Spirit is that grace which is given to us in baptism. The result of this birth is clearly seen in the hour of death or in times of test by poverty and temptation. He who is born of the flesh fights to defend himself, looks hither and thither, employs his reason to make his living. But he who is born anew reasons thus: I am in God’s hands, who has preserved and nourished me before in a wonderful manner: he will also feed and preserve me in the future and save me from all sorrow and misfortune.

14. When we are about to die we feel that we must depart and we know not whither; the house of shelter is not ready and we know not whether it will be a white or a black house. For where there is flesh and blood, there is still the old Adam, who does not know where he shall go, whether below or above, to the left or to the right; on what he should rest his soul and depart. Then there is anxiety and misery in the nature of a real hell; for the torment of hell is nothing but fear, terror, dread and despair. But if I believe in God and am born anew, I close my eyes and do not grope about. I am willing that the condition of the soul be changed entirely, and I think: O God, my soul is in thy hands; thou hast preserved it during my life and I have never known where thou hast put it, neither do I wish to know, to which place thou wilt now assign it. I only know that it is in thy hands and thou wilt take care of it. Thus we must abandon the life of the flesh and enter into a new life, being dead to the old. This is a real dying and not merely a painful sensation, like the scratching off of a scab, as the philosophers have said; and they have compared the entering upon the new life with the rinsing of a pot by the cook. There must be a real change and an entire transformation of nature, for the natural state and natural feeling must be completely overthrown.

15. Now, the Lord says here: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” “Flesh” means the whole man, with body and soul, reason and will, who is not yet born of the Spirit. For the soul has entered so deeply into the flesh to guard and protect it from harm that the soul is more flesh than the flesh itself. We see it in death, when the flesh does not willingly give up life because the soul is still present; but as soon as the soul has departed, the body allows itself to be mutilated and permits everything that may be done with it. The Lord our God also alludes to this with these words in Genesis, spoken before the deluge: “My Spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he also is flesh.” Man does not desire the destruction of the flesh, or, in other words, to die; but this is the will of the Spirit, wherefore he desires that the flesh may soon be destroyed. Thus the nature of the soul must change and it must become an enemy of the body, desiring that the body may die, so that it (the soul) may enter into a new life. That this will be, we are to believe, but not to know how. It is the work of God, and he has not commanded us to fathom it.

16. Thus the Lord would point out with this simile of the wind that the spiritual man is neither here nor there and is not limited to any time or place. He does not put on a hood, neither does he do any of the things that are merely material, for he knows that they will not avail. In brief, no pilgrimage, no fasting, no money given for masses, no good work at all, is of any avail; there must be a new life, that is, all our works must perish and come to naught, as has been said. The new life, however, consists not in dependence upon works, but it abides and perseveres in the grace of God, which he gives us through Jesus Christ. If I would then hold my ground, my works and all I have devised must fall to pieces and come to naught.

Consequently, there is in the new man no definite beginning nor end. We indeed hear the blowing of the wind, but do not know whence it comes and whither it goes. Thus it is here: A man preaches and the Word is in his mouth, but no one knows whence it comes to him, what it will accomplish and where it will bring forth fruit.

17. Hence, we conclude from this passage that a Christian should not depend upon works, upon certain places or persons. Reason wonders at this and inquires: How can it be that everyone, who is born of the Spirit is to be compared with the wind and that all our works mean nothing? What results can possibly follow? If this were so, all priests, monks and nuns, with their beautiful and worthy lives, must be condemned. Christ answers Nicodemus’ question, “How can these things be?” as follows: “Art thou the teacher of Israel, and understandest not these things?”

18. In other words: You surely should know this, because you are one of those who teach the people, but I see that you know nothing of it. That which I have explained to you, namely, that we must be born anew, you should have taught the people. But you have taught them the contrary — have endeavored to know whence the wind comes and whither it goes, have concerned yourselves about its blowing and other useless things; but the things most necessary to you and the people, you have disregarded.

Hear then what I tell you: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.”

19. As if Christ said: Should I point out to you how these things can be? It cannot be done. You should believe me, since you say yourself that I am a teacher come from God. When I have said that a man must be born anew and that all your works are worthless, it cannot be demonstrated so that you may see it with your eyes; it can only be explained in words. If you believe it, you will understand it. But Nicodemus did not understand it.

Therefore, the Lord, disclosing more and more to him his folly, continues: “If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things?”

20. I have only told you of earthly things — how we must all come to naught; that man is dust and must return to dust: how the wind blows — and yet you do not understand it. What would you know if I should tell you much about God? I have spoken to you about insignificant things, and you do not understand them. How would you understand if I told you that our immortal bodies, after death, will shine as bright and clear as the sun?

And what if I told you of what comes after death? You would understand this much less. He then explains to Nicodemus a few of these heavenly things and continues: “And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven even the Son of Man, who is in heaven.”

21. Reason does not understand what this means, for it is a sermon from heaven; as if Christ would say: The Son of Man came upon earth and yet remained in heaven. He again ascended into heaven; that is, he became Lord of heaven and earth and all creatures. Know then that I am he who has come down, who even descended into hell, and yet remained in heaven.

For when Christ was in death, he lived; when he was considered the most insignificant and despised of men, he was before God regarded as the most worthy of honor, and the greatest. He ascended again into heaven, after he rose from the dead, assumed again all power, and has become lord of all creatures on earth. No one has followed him in this.

22. We are truly also in death, but at the same time we are in heaven like Christ. Sin and death rule within us, but they have not been able to conquer Christ; nay, in his hand and in his power are life and death, as he says in John 10:17-18: “Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” No one but Christ obtains such power that all things are subject to him. Although before the world he was dead, yet he lived before God, his Father; and although before the world he was in great disgrace and shame, he was yet greatly honored by God. But all this he did only for our sakes. For in the fall of our first father Adam, we are all fallen. Christ had to atone for this fall by his disgrace, shame, ignominy and death, so that we might again obtain honor and life.

23. Christ rebukes Nicodemus here again, as he had done before when he said: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” He says in effect: You presume to ascend into heaven and to escape from hell, but you will fail.

Flesh and blood cannot enter into heaven. Only he ascends into heaven, who has come down from heaven, so that the control of all may be in his hands. He can destroy all that lives, make alive all that is dead and make poor all that is rich. It is then here determined that nothing can enter into heaven that is born of the flesh. But Christ’s ascent into heaven, as well as his descent to us, was for our benefit, so that we, who are carnal, might also enter heaven. Yet it is only on the condition that first our mortal body must perish. In short, we cannot effect anything by our own works, for God will save us only through Christ, who alone is the ladder by means of which we ascend into heaven. How this ascent into heaven is granted to us, how it becomes our own, Christ explains when he says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth may in him have eternal life.”

24. What does Christ mean by this? He means that all who would enter heaven and follow him must become new creatures; he ascended into heaven that we might follow him. The narrative to which Christ refers is written in Numbers 21:6-9: “And Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against Jehovah, and against thee; pray unto Jehovah, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it. shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.”

25. Christ uses this Scripture to point to himself; his reference is as if to say: Just as the Jews in the desert, who were bitten by fiery serpents, were saved by looking upon the serpent of brass, which Moses set upon a standard, so it is also with regard to me. None who looks upon me will perish; that is, all those who have an evil conscience, are tormented by sin and death, should believe that I have come down for their sakes and have ascended again. Then neither sin nor death shall harm them; nay, they shall not perish in all eternity. Whoever would enter heaven and be saved, must be saved by this serpent, which is Christ; otherwise he will perish. Thus, this Gospel condemns freewill and everything of human accomplishment and points only to this serpent.

26. The spiritual significance of the narrative in Numbers is this: The serpent, which bit and poisoned the Jews is sin, death and an evil conscience. I know that I must die and that I am under the power of death; I cannot free myself and must remain in this state until a dead serpent is set up for me, one which, because it is not alive, can harm no one, but rather benefit, as did the serpent of Moses. Now, this is Christ. I see him hanging on the cross, not beautiful nor greatly honored. If his death upon the cross were in fashion to win for him the plaudits of men, the flesh might say that he deserved his honors and his exaltation by his works. But I see him hanging in disgrace on the cross, like a murderer and malefactor; thus, reason must say that he is cursed before God. The Jews believed that this was true and they could only consider him the most cursed of all men before God and the world, for they remembered this passage in the Law of Moses: “He that is hanged is accursed of God.” Deuteronomy 21:23.

27. Moses had to set up a serpent of brass, which looked like the fiery serpents, but did not bite or harm any one, nay, it rather saved the people.

Thus, Christ also has the form and the appearance of a sinner, but has become my salvation; his death is my life; he atones for my sin and takes away from me the wrath of the Father. The living, fiery serpent is within me, for I am a sinner, but in him is a dead serpent; he was indeed regarded a sinner, but he never committed any sin.

28. If, then, man believes that the death of Christ has taken away his sin, he becomes a new man. The carnal, natural man cannot believe that God will gratuitously take away and forgive us all our sins. Reason argues in this manner: You have sinned, you must also atone for your sin. Then it invents one good work after another and endeavors to take away sin by good works. But the Gospel of Christ is: If you have fallen in sin, another must atone for you, if a man believes this, he becomes one with Christ, and has everything that is Christ’s.

29. This Gospel, then, signifies that our works are nothing, and that all human power can do is useless, but faith in Christ does it all.

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Knowing the Spirit by His Work

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

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Sermon for the Day of Pentecost

Joel 2:38-32  +  Acts 2:1-21  +  John 14:23-31

You’ve heard today about the coming of the Spirit of God. There are many spirits in the world, unclean spirits, wicked spirits. St. Paul says to the Ephesians that even now the spirit of this world, the devil, is at work in the sons of disobedience. You don’t see these spirits, any more than you can see the wind (the word “spirit” means wind or breath), but you can see the results of their work in the world, just as you can see what the wind does to the ocean, to the trees, to the dust of the desert, to anything in its path.

Where there is false teaching about God and His Word, where there is compromise on Scriptural doctrine for the sake of peace, there is an unholy spirit at work. Where there is a mindset that God’s Word is just a matter of personal interpretation, there is an unholy spirit at work. Where there is apathy toward what God says and a stubborn determination to follow human reason and human desires regardless of what God’s Word says, there is an unholy spirit at work. Where there is rebellion against God’s Word or against God’s preachers, where there is lovelessness and selfishness and self-centeredness, there is an unholy spirit at work, seeking to keep people out of God’s kingdom, or to pull people out of God’s kingdom.

There are many of these unholy spirits in the world, putting evil for good and good for evil, convincing people to seek God anywhere and everywhere but in His holy Word, convincing people to justify their sins, or to despair in them. There are many unholy spirits, but there is only one Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of God. And today we celebrate, because Jesus kept His promise and sent His Holy Spirit into the world, to be with us forever, to testify about Jesus, to call, gather, enlighten and sanctify the whole Christian Church on earth, and to keep it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

You don’t see the Holy Spirit. No one saw the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. But they certainly saw the results of His work, like a great wind that blew through the city of Jerusalem, and has made its way throughout the world, even here to us. We see three kinds of works of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

First, there were the outward miracles. The loud sound from heaven of a rushing, mighty wind, so loud that it got the attention of the whole city of Jerusalem. Not only does the word “spirit” mean wind or breath, but Jesus once compared the Holy Spirit to a wind, as we’ll hear in next week’s Gospel: The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. So the wind signaled, “The Spirit has come!”

Then there were the tongues like fire that divided and rested on the heads of Jesus’ disciples. Fire is fueled by the wind, and driven by it. Jesus had promised His disciples that they would be baptized with the Spirit and with fire. He also said, “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!”  But it couldn’t be kindled yet when Jesus said those words. First He had to suffer and die and rise again and ascend into heaven. Then He would send His Spirit to kindle this fire.

What is the fire? It’s not an accident that the Scripture mentions “tongues” of fire. This fire is spread, not by lighting a match, but by speaking. It’s the fire of God’s spoken Word that kindles faith in the heart, from which love also flows. God said through the prophet Jeremiah: Is not My word like a fire?” says the LORD, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Picture a large fire with the wind blowing behind it, like the wild fires that so often damage our lands in this part of the country. Such is the Word of God, spoken by men, but driven and spread into the hearts of the hearers by the wind of the Holy Spirit.

Then there were the different tongues or languages spoken by the disciples, a special gift of the Holy Spirit to announce to the world that these Christians, these apostles, were approved by God, who had sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for all men and who wants all men to be saved, people in every nation, Jews and Gentiles. The Gospel of Christ does not know any race except for the human race, so it was to be preached in every corner of the world. In this way the fire of faith would spread.

These miraculous signs of Pentecost—the sound of the wind, the tongues of fire, the different languages—were not ongoing works of the Spirit, but attention-getting works of the Spirit, works, designed to teach us something about how He works through the Word of Christ and the message of the apostles. We don’t need to see those signs for ourselves in order to learn from them and benefit from them.

The second kind of work of the Holy Spirit is an ongoing work of His. The second work of the Spirit on Pentecost was His work on the disciples, on the believers. They had been huddling together quietly. They had been fearful and doubtful and silent. But now they are bold to speak to the crowds. Why? Because their faith in God has been strengthened, and their love for their neighbor has been increased. It’s love for the neighbor to speak the truth to him—the truth about his sins and rebellion against God and the judgment that awaits, and also the truth about God’s judgment poured out on Christ crucified so that all who trust in Him are judged innocent by God. This immense growth in faith and love on the part of believers is a work of the Holy Spirit; He was responsible for strengthening and fueling the fire of faith and love in the hearts of believers.

That ongoing work of the Spirit is also for you who believe. We call it “sanctification.” St. Paul said to the Thessalonians, “Brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.” It’s the Spirit of God, working through Word and Sacrament, who builds us up in faith and love, in peace and in holiness of living. Just as He did with the first disciples, He makes us bold to speak God’s Word. He makes us courageous to face the cross and temptation. He takes the peace that Jesus gave to His disciples and works it into your heart, so that the world can crumble around you, and you can still say, or maybe just sigh, “My God loves me, because He gave His Son for me. I am baptized into Christ.”

Finally, the third kind of work of the Holy Spirit we saw today in the crowds that heard Peter’s preaching. (We didn’t read about it today, I urge you to read the rest of Acts chapter 2 when you get home.) Peter preached about how the Messiah had been sent to Israel and then rejected and crucified by Israel, and then raised from the dead by God and set at God’s right hand until all God’s enemies are defeated. Those words aren’t all that convincing to human reason. But the Spirit of God works through preaching. He brought at least 3,000 people in the crowd that day to fear and tremble because of their sins, so that they asked the apostles, “What shall we do?”

Then Peter announced the Gospel to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” And amazingly, miraculously, they did. Many who didn’t before believe in Jesus as the Christ suddenly did. Many who before were impenitent enemies of God were now converted to repentance and faith in Christ the Savior. And they were baptized for the remission of sins, and adopted in God’s family. And then it says that they kept gathering and adhering to the apostles’ teaching, and receiving Holy Communion, and praying together.

The Holy Spirit carries out this same work today. You can’t see Him, but you can see a world that has been filled with this Gospel, a world in which millions and billions of people over these past 2,000 years have been brought to faith and baptized and have formed congregations to continue gathering together around the apostles’ teaching and the Sacraments. Yes, the unholy spirits are also at work among these churches, seeking to mislead Christians by false doctrine and temptations, and there are many false Christians throughout the world. But in spite of all the obstacles, the Church of Christ continues to exist and to grow, soul by soul. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

I hope you see how vital, how essential is the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, and in our own hearts and lives. You can’t see Him; He works invisibly. But you know how He works— through Word and Sacrament. And you can see the results of His work. Where the Word of God is preached in its truth and purity, there is the Holy Spirit at work. Where Christians gather around the Word of Christ and the Sacraments are administered according to Christ’s command, there is the Holy Spirit at work. Where the Law of God convicts sinners of their sins and brings them to their knees in repentance, where the Gospel of Christ leads penitent sinners to look to Christ for forgiveness and mercy, there is the Holy Spirit at work. Where there is comfort and conviction in the Gospel, where the Gospel inspires courage under the cross, thanksgiving under affliction, and patient endurance under trial, there is the Spirit of God at work. Where there is zeal for the Word of God and for living holy lives here on earth, where Christians show genuine love for one another, where Christians confess the Word of Christ as true and every other religion as false, where Christians are willing to die rather than compromise on a single article of the Christian faith, there is the Holy Spirit at work. Let us give thanks to God for sending us His Spirit, and let us pray for His continued work among us. Amen.

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Cheer up! It’s the cross Jesus told you about!

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

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Sermon for Exaudi – The Sunday after Ascension

Ezekiel 36:25-27  +  1 Peter 4:7-11  +  John 15:26-16:4

Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus told His disciples up front what things would be like for them after He had returned to the Father. You heard it in the Gospel today, how He forewarned them about the persecution they would endure, the cross of suffering for the sake of their testimony, their confession of Christ. The same holds true for those who have believed the apostles’ testimony, because it’s the nature of a Christian to confess Christ before the world, and it’s the nature of the world to hate Christ and those who confess Him.

But the message of Jesus in the Gospel isn’t one of despair. It’s one of hope—not the hope of avoiding persecution (the only way to avoid it is to join the world and deny Christ), not the hope of avoiding suffering, but the hope of comfort, or rather, a Comforter who will help you to endure it.

Jesus says, when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father… Helper comes from a Greek word that has lots of shades of meaning. It’s the One who is called to your side as Helper. Mediator. Advocate. Intercessor. Encourager. And Comforter. Jesus promises to send His disciples such a One, called from the Father’s side to your side. Jesus further identifies this Comforter as the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father. This is the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to send.

He proceeds from the Father and the Son, meaning that this Comforter is divine. He is the Creator-God—one God, with the Father and the Son. So when He comes to comfort, it’s not with the empty or the fickle power of human words, but with the divine power of God.

What does He come to do? How does He comfort? Jesus says, He will testify of Me. Jesus’ disciples had no strength, no courage, very little understanding of Jesus before the Spirit came on Pentecost. Before the Spirit came we find them running away from confrontation. We find them hiding behind locked doors. We find them asking Jesus if now is when He is going to restore the kingdom to Israel, which shows how little they grasped His purpose. But the Spirit would testify to them about Jesus and build up their faith and kindle courage in their hearts as He enlightened their eyes to know Jesus better, and to trust in Jesus more firmly.

This is the gift Jesus promised to send His disciples and did send on the Day of Pentecost, and through their preaching and baptizing, the same Spirit was given to all the baptized, and is still given to all the baptized, as St. Peter proclaimed: “The promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And how does He the Lord our God call? Ever and only through the preaching of the Word of Christ.

Now St. Paul says that The Spirit Himself bears witness (i.e., testifies) with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. He testifies about Jesus—the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He testifies about Jesus, that He is true God and the Savior from sin, your Savior from sin, and that there is no other God or Savior besides Him. He testifies about Jesus, who died and rose again and washes you in His holy, precious blood in Holy Baptism, making you a child of God and an heir with Christ. That’s the testimony of the Spirit. It’s a testimony that enters through your ears but penetrates all the way to your heart, so that you believe it, so that you’re comforted by it.

And so that you confess it. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning. Those eleven apostles had a special task, a special, direct calling from Jesus that no one since has ever had, except for the apostle Paul. They were with Jesus from the beginning—the beginning of His earthly ministry, from the time He was baptized until His crucifixion and resurrection and ascension. They were eye-witnesses of all that Jesus had said and done. So their testimony would be unique.

You and I have believed the word and testimony of the apostles, that Jesus is the only Savior from sin, our Savior from sin, and the only true God. By that faith we are justified before God. And then, listen to what Paul says about those who believe: The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. You not only believe in Jesus, but if you believe in Him, then you confess Him with your mouth. You confess Him with your mouth, and, to an extent, with your actions, in every area of your life as you confess Him to be the only God and the only Savior. You confess Him at work. You confess Him at home. You confess Him in the grocery store. You confess Him before your friends. You confess Him on Facebook. And knowing how poorly the world around you understands Jesus, you have to be careful in your confession to distinguish the real Jesus, who reveals Himself and forgives sins alone through the Word and Sacraments, from the false images of Jesus that are often passed around by the sects.

So you, too, as Christians, as royal priests of God, confess Christ in your daily life, proclaiming the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. —which means that it will go for you like it went for Jesus apostles. He told them ahead of time. The cross is coming.

These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

This is the kind of reception the true Gospel has in the world. Some believe, but not most. Most persecute. Most scoff. Most reject the testimony about Christ, including those, Jesus says, who claim God as their Father. In fact, He says, after they have excommunicated you and shunned you and killed you, they will sing praises to God and rejoice that they finally got rid of the “troublemakers.”

I think we often forget what all these crosses hanging all around really mean. Yes, they represent Jesus, but they represent Jesus because they represent the suffering and death of Jesus, and the suffering and death of those who follow Jesus. Welcome to the Christian life! It’s a life of rejection, both by non-Christians and by false Christians. It’s a life of bearing the cross.

And the cross takes many shapes. For confessing Christ before men, you may be killed or beaten or imprisoned, all of which is happening to Christians right at this moment in some part of the world. For confessing Christ before men, you may struggle to get or to keep certain jobs. For confessing Christ before men you may be unliked by your peers, looked down upon by the scholars, even rejected by other so-called Christians who believe and teach false doctrines. But more burdensome still is when Satan presses down on these crosses and attacks your faith, and makes you question everything and despair of God’s help.

So, it sounds like you could really use a Comforter, a divine Helper. And it seems that Jesus knew that all along, which is why He promised to send the Comforter from the Father’s side to yours. Divine help in the face of the cross. For as heavy as the cross may be, if the Creator-God is standing by your side as your advocate, what creature can be more powerful than He? And as the divine encourager, He speaks to your heart and says, “Cheer up!” Remember, Jesus lives and reigns at God’s right hand on your behalf. Cheer up! Remember, Jesus told you all this would happen. His Word is still faithful and true.

So instead of getting depressed or angry when you or your fellow Christians are suffering under the cross, remember that Jesus said that these things would happen. They’re part of His testing of your faith so that you persevere in it until the end. They’re also part of His judgment on the world, so that it may be clearly seen that you belonged to Jesus, the Suffering One, the Cross-Bearer.

Remember Jesus’ promise. The Comforter will come, and we will celebrate His coming next Sunday on Pentecost. Cheer up! That’s not my personal encouragement to you. That’s the work of God’s Spirit in you. Stay close to where He does His work, to the Word and Sacraments. And hear your God telling you, in Baptism, in preaching, in the body and blood of Christ, cheer up! God is on your side. And even more, God the Comforter is at your side. Amen.

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Luther Sermon for the Sunday after the Ascension

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

SUNDAY AFTER CHRIST’S ASCENSION. (EXAUDI).

Preached by Dr. Martin Luther, Wittenberg. (1522)

Text: John 15:26-16:4 (KJV)

1. Beloved, you have heretofore heard much about faith. Today you hear also of the witness of faith and of the cross that follows. Paul says to the Romans, “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Romans 10:10. If one be pious, he must begin in his heart and believe. That serves only unto godliness; it is not enough for salvation. Therefore, one must also do what the Christian life requires, and continually abide in that life.

Hence, Paul adds: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, thou shalt be saved,” It is these two things that constitute our salvation, faith and the confession of faith. Faith rescues from sin, hell, Satan, death and all misfortunes. Now, when we have this we have enough. For God permits us to live here so that we may reach out a hand to our neighbor and help him. This is how God desires to have his name praised and his kingdom increased. Therefore, we must praise his name, confess our faith and win others to do the same, so that God’s kingdom may be increased and his name praised.*

2. Thus, faith must be exercised, worked and polished; be purified by fire, like gold. Faith, the great gift and treasure from God, must express itself and triumph in the certainty that it is right before God and man, and before angels, devils and the whole world. Just as a jewel is not to be concealed, but to be worn in sight, so also, will and must faith be worn and exhibited, as it is written in 1 Peter 1:7: “That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire,” etc.

3. Now, by confession I must take upon myself the load of Satan, hell, death and the whole world — kings and princes, pope and bishops, priests and monks. By faith, everything falls that reason can or ever has devised for the salvation of the soul. It must chastise the apish tricks of the whole world, and its jewel alone must be praised. The world cannot endure this, therefore it rushes in, destroys, kills, and says: “It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not,” as Caiaphas says in John 11:50. Thus, the confession must break forth, that God alone is the Savior; and the same confession brings us into danger of losing our lives. As the Lord says later to the disciples: “They shall put you out of the synagogues.”

4. One cannot paint the cross differently than it is here painted; that is its true color. But the cross of illness — to lie in bed at home ill — is nothing compared with the cross of persecution. The first is indeed suffering: but the suffering is golden when we are persecuted and put to death with ignominy; when our persecutors have the praise; when right and honor apparently are on their side, while shame, disgrace and injustice are on our side, compared with the world that wishes them thereby to have God’s honor defended, so that all the world says we are served right and that God, the Scriptures and all the angels witness against us. There can be no right in our cause, and without trial we must be banished and isolated in shame and disgrace. So it also was the lot of Christ — they put him to death in the most scornful and disgraceful way, and crucified him between two thieves or murderers; he was regarded as chief of sinners, and they said, with blasphemous words: Aye, he called himself God’s Son; let God help him now, if he wills it differently. Since he does not, God and all the angels must be against him. So Christ says in our Gospel, “They will kill you,” and not in an ordinary way, but in an infamous manner, and all the world will say that they thereby offer God a service. It is, indeed, hard to hold and confess that God is gracious to us and that we have a Savior who opposes all the world, all its glitter and shine. But, let the struggle be as hard and sharp as it will, faith must express itself, even though we would like to have it otherwise.

5. Faith must expect all this, and nothing follows its confession more surely than the cross. For it is certain to come to us, either in life or at death, that all our doings will appear to be opposed to God and the Scriptures. It is better that it be learned during life, from the people, than from the devil at death; for the people cannot force it further than into the ears, but Satan has a pointed tongue that pierces the heart and makes the heart tremble.

Satan torments you until you conclude that you are lost and ruined, that heaven and earth, God and all the angels, are your enemies. This is what the prophet means in Psalm 6:7-8, when he says: “I am weary with my groaning; every night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye wasteth away because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine adversaries.” It is hard to endure this. Now you see how weak you are who are permitted to bear witness of this faith. One fears his wife, another his children and riches, and a third fears himself.

6. Faith is in vain where it does not continue steadfast to the end. Christ says in Matthew 10:22, and 24:13: “But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. Hence it is better to experience persecution here than punishment at the end. If one flees persecution, there is no faith in his heart — only a dead knowledge or erroneous belief, without sap and strength, marrow and bone; but where there is a true, living faith, it presses forward through sword and fire. Let us now notice how the Lord comforts his disciples. He says: “But when the Comforter is come.”

I. CHRIST’S SERMON OF COMFORT.

7. That we may, under no circumstances, despair, Christ says, I will send you a Comforter, even one who is almighty. And he calls the Holy Spirit here a Comforter; for although both my sins and the fear of death make me weak and timid, he comes and stirs up the courage in my heart, and says:

Ho, cheer up! Thus he trumpets courage into us; he encourages us in a friendly and comforting manner not to despair before death but to cheerfully go forward, even though we had ten necks for the executioner, and says: Aye, although I have sinned, yet I am rid of my sins; and if I had still more, so that they overwhelmed me, I would hope, that they should do me no harm. Not that one should not feel his sins, for the flesh must experience them; but the Spirit overcomes and suppresses diffidence and timidity, and conducts us through them. He is powerful enough to do that.

Therefore. Christ says further: “Whom I will send unto you from the Father.”

8. For he, the Father, is the person that takes the initiative: I am the Son; and from us the Holy Spirit proceeds. And the three persons are one, and one essence, with equal power and authority, as he better expresses it when he says: “The Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father.”

9. That is as much as to say: He who will comfort you is almighty and Lord over all things. How can the creatures now harm us, if the Creator stands by us? Notice how great the comfort of the Holy Spirit is. Now let all the Turks attack us. As long as he is our guard and rearguard, there is no danger. John also says in his first Epistle,1 John 3:19-20: “Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him; because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” Likewise, in the following chapter, verse 4, he says: “Ye are of God, my little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” So the Lord now says, Him will I send unto you, so that nothing can harm you. Is not that liberal comfort? Who would not be fearless and cheerful in view of this?

And Christ calls him “The Spirit of truth;” that is, where he is and comes there is a rock foundation through and through, the real truth. Neither falsehood nor hypocrisy is there, for the Spirit is not hypocritical. But wherever he is not, there is nothing but hypocrisy and falsehood.

This is also why people fall away in the moment of truth, because the Spirit of truth is not present.* Christ now further says: “He shall bear witness of me.”

10. That is, if he is in the heart he speaks through you, and assures and confirms you in the belief that the Gospel is true. Then, as a result, the confession of the Gospel springs forth. What, then, is the Gospel? It is a witness concerning Christ, that he is God’s Son, the Savior, and beside him there is none other. This is what Peter means when he says: “Ye are a royal priesthood, that we are elected thereto, that we preach and show forth the excellencies of Christ.” 1 Peter 2:9: Hence, there must always be witnessing. Witnessing loads upon itself the wrath of the whole world.

Then the cross follows, then rebellions rise, then the lords and princes and all who are great become angry; for the world cannot hear, nor will it tolerate, this kind of preaching. Therefore, the Gospel is hated and spoken against.

11. Reason thinks: Aye, one can, nevertheless, easily preach the Gospel in a beautifully simple and plain way, without a revolution in the world, and then it will be heartily welcomed. This is the utterance of Satan; for if I believe and say that faith in Christ alone does and accomplishes all, I overthrow the monkey play of the whole world; and that they cannot allow. Therefore, Christ’s teachings and man’s teachings cannot stand together; one must fall. Priests and monks, as they are at present, are dependent in name, character and works upon human institutions, which the Gospel thrusts to the ground. Hence, they dare not accept the Gospel, and they continue as they are.

12. Thus, I say that the Christian faith is founded upon Christ alone, without anything additional. The priests will not permit their affairs and institutions to fall; in consequence, seditions and rebellions follow.

Therefore, there must be dissension where the Gospel and the confession of Christ are; for the Gospel opposes everything that is not of its own spirit. If the teachings of Christ and the priests were not antagonistic, they could easily stand together. They are now pitted against one another. As impossible as it is for Christ not to be Christ, so impossible is it for a monk or priest to be a Christian. Therefore, a fire must be kindled. The Lord himself, in Matthew 10:34 and Luke 12:51 says: “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Then follows in our text: “And ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”

13. Yes; then, first, when you become certain of your faith through the Holy Spirit, who is your witness, you must also bear witness of me, for to that end I chose you to be apostles. You have heard my words and teachings and have seen my works and life and all things that you are to preach. But the Holy Spirit must first be present; otherwise you can do nothing, for the conscience is too weak. Yes, there is no sin so small that the conscience could vanquish it, even if it were so trifling a one as laughing in church, Again, in the presence of death the conscience is far too weak to offer resistance. Therefore another must come and give to the timid, despairing conscience, courage to go through everything, although all sins be upon it. And it must, at the same time, be an almighty courage, like he alone can give who ministers strength in such a way that the courage, which before a rustling leaf could cause to fear, is now not afraid of all the devils, and the conscience that before could not restrain laughing, now restrains all sins.

14. The benefit and fruit of the Holy Spirit is, that sin will be changed to the highest and best use. Thus Paul boasts to Timothy, when he was converted, that whereas he had lived such a wicked life before, he now held his sin to be so contemptible that he composed a hymn and sang about it thus, in 1 Timothy 1:12-17: “I thank him that enabled me, even Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to his service; though I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: howbeit I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his long-suffering, for an example of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

II. CHRIST’S SERMON OF WARNING.

“These things have I spoken unto you that ye should not be caused to stumble.”

15. Now that Christ had comforted and strengthened his disciples, he warns them of their future sufferings, in order that they might be able to bear them valiantly. He is an especially good friend who warns one; and the evil visitation is much easier borne when one is prepared beforehand for it.

Christ says: “They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the hour cometh that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.”

16. You will certainly experience this; therefore, arm yourself and be prepared. The most of all will be that, when they have treated you in the most shameless manner, they will think they did a good work in doing so, and it will appear to them as if your God had taken stand against you, and they will sing over it a Te Deum laudamus (Lord God, we praise thee), as if they had done God’s will and offered unto him a service. Hence, he arms them here, that they may be of good courage when it comes to pass; and he concludes with the thought that they shall have God’s favor, although at the time there shall be no signs of it; for God does stand on the side of his disciples. He adds: “And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me.”

17. Therefore, be patient, be prepared, be firm. See to it that ye, by no means, take offense at me. Remember that I told you before that they have known neither the Father nor me; and therefore they will heap upon you dishonor, shame and persecution. You should never forget this, for it will give you great comfort and make you bold, cheerful and undismayed.

Therefore, Christ concludes the admonition by saying: “But these things have I spoken unto you, that when their hour is come, ye may remember them, how that I told you. And these things I said not unto you from the beginning, because I was with you.”

18. Who, now, has been considered to be worse than he who told the pope that he knew not the Father? The pope would, of course, declare the contrary and say: Aye, Satan has commissioned you to speak that. Now, they all say that they know the Father. The Turk also says that he does. In like manner, they declare they believe God and the Scriptures. But there are two kinds of knowledge. The first for example, such knowledge as one might have of the Turk from his noise and reputation; the other the knowledge one would have of the Turk through his deeds were he to capture and occupy Rome. In this latter sense we do not know the Turk.

19. It is this first kind of knowledge that some people have of God. They know very well how to say of him: I believe in God the Father, and in his only begotten Son. But it is only upon the tongue, like the foam on the water; it does not enter the heart. Figuratively a big tumor still remains there in the heart; that is, they cling somewhat to their own deeds and think they must do works in order to be saved — that Christ’s person and merit are not sufficient. Thy work is nothing, thy wisdom is foolishness, thy counsel is nothing, thy truth also amounts to nothing, neither does the mass avail anything before God. Then they reply: Aye, the devil has prompted you to speak thus. They say, Christ has truly died for us, but in a way that we, also, must accomplish something by our deeds. Notice how deeply wickedness and unbelief are rooted in the heart. The puffed-up pride of the heart is the reason why man can know neither Christ nor the Father.

20. But to know Christ in the other and true sense is to know that he died for me and transferred the load of my sin upon himself; to so know this that I realize that all my doings amount to nothing. To let go all that is mine, and value only this, that Christ is given to me as a present; his sufferings, his righteousness and all his virtues are at once mine. When I become conscious of this, I must in return love him; my affections must go out to such a being. After this I climb upon the Son higher, to the Father, and see that Christ is God, and that he placed himself in my death, in my sin, in my misery, and bestows upon me his grace. Then I know also his gracious will and the highest love of the Father, which no heart of itself can discover or experience. Thus I lay hold of God at the point where he is the tenderest, and think: Aye, that is God; that is God’s will and pleasure, that Christ did this for me. And with this experience I perceive the high, inexpressible mercy and the love in him because of which he offered his beloved child for me in ignominy, shame and death. That friendly look and lovely sight then sustain me. Thus must God become known, only in Christ. Therefore, Christ himself says to his disciples: “No one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.” Matthew 11:27.

21. On the other hand, those who parade their own works, do not know Christ. Neither do they know what the Father has done through Christ.

Nor do they know that God is not interested in their good works, but in his Son alone. Thus, they do not know the Father, neither do they know what they have received from the Father, through Christ. Therefore, they must fall and perish, and behold God in his severest aspect — as a judge. They try to silence the judgment with their good works, but they find no good work that is sufficient to do this, and then they must finally despair. When people see that they, themselves, are nothing, and establish the foundation of their hearts upon Christ, esteem him as the highest good, and know God as a Father in death and life — this is to “know God.” Enough has been said on this Gospel. We will pray to God, to give us grace to know him and his Christ aright. Amen.

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Whatever you ask in Jesus’ name

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Rev. Paul Rydecki

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Sermon for Rogate Sunday – Easter 5

Jeremiah 29:11-14  +  James 1:22-27  +  John 16:23-30

This Thursday we will celebrate Jesus’ ascension into heaven, forty days after He rose from the dead. But before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave gifts to His disciples—lots of them. Paul says to the Ephesians: “When Christ ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”

First and foremost—and really the foundation for all the other gifts—He gave Himself. Paul says in Eph. 5, “Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her.” He Himself is God the Father’s gift to a world full of sinners that could never deserve for God to give His Son into our humanity and into death for us, who were His enemies. And yet He did it. He gave His life. For us. To pay for our sins and to earn forgiveness and God’s favor for us.

Then, He also gave the gift that actually connects us sinners to Him for the forgiveness of sins, the gift through which He gives us His life: Holy Baptism is Christ’s gift. As Paul goes on in Eph. 5, He gave Himself for her, “that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.” With the waters of Holy Baptism, Christ gives the gift of His Holy Spirit. As Peter said on Pentecost, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit, through Baptism, works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil and gives eternal life to all who believe this. Gifts!

Faith is a gift! Paul says in Eph. 2: “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

The Word of Christ itself is a gift! A gift that never passes away, though heaven and earth pass away. Faith only comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. And Christ left that word here on earth for us, so that each one here has every opportunity in the world to read, hear, learn and study God’s Word.

Pastors, ministers of the Gospel, are gifts from Christ to the Church. Paul says in Eph. 4, Christ Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

And just before the words of our Gospel today, Jesus had given a great gift to His disciples. On the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus gave the gift of the New Testament in His blood, the gift of the Sacrament of the Altar, His body and blood given to us Christians to eat and to drink, to seal to us the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

Our Gospel today speaks of yet another gift that Jesus gave to His disciples before He went away to the Father, a different kind of gift. He gave them—He gave us—the right to ask things of God, and more than that, the command to ask things of God, as well as the amazing promise that what we ask will be granted. He gave us the gift of prayer. Whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Let’s take a moment this morning and consider what a great gift that was and is.

Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you…Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

This is a most important gift, because we are truly needy creatures. First, we have bitter enemies in this world: the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. And they are all more powerful than we are. They seek to destroy faith in Christ. They seek to separate you from God. They seek to silence the Word of God. Not a day goes by, not a moment goes by when you don’t need the Father’s protection and help against these enemies.

Then, aside from our enemies, there is the simple fact that we are not in control—not in control of our health, our future, the weather, the government, the actions of other people. Our actions may have some influence in those things, but ultimately, God is the One who decides whether the earth keeps spinning or not. And Jesus has given us Christians the gift of being able to approach our Father in heaven—the One who is in control—and ask for things which He has promised to grant.

To ask for things “in My name,” Jesus says. What does that mean?

First, Jesus tells us what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean, He says, “that I shall pray the Father for you.” Now, you can pray to Jesus. But you shouldn’t pray to Jesus as if you couldn’t pray to the Father, as if you want Jesus to take your requests to the Father for you, because the Father is big and mean and scary and would never listen to you directly anyway. No, Jesus says. The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.

So, to pray in Jesus’ name means to ask the Father directly, as one who loves and believes in Jesus. That is the basis of a Christian prayer, a prayer in Jesus’ name. That you bring your requests before God the Father, not relying on anything you’ve done, but instead, with the name of Jesus on your lips, as one who has been baptized into the name of Christ. Hear me, Father, for the sake of Jesus, Your dear Son, and for His sake alone. Whether you say those words, or whether you simply believe those words, God knows.

And where He sees faith in Jesus, Jesus tells you, the Father loves you. He loves you because you have loved Jesus and believed in Him, that He came from God, that He has made satisfaction for your sins, that He is your Savior.  He loves you, not just because you exist, not just in the same way He loves all people, but in a special way, a fatherly way. You have a direct Father/son, Father/daughter relationship with God the Father through faith in Christ.

See, then, how useless are the, “God, I don’t know if you can hear me” prayers. If a person doesn’t know if God can hear him, if a person doesn’t know if God cares, then he clearly doesn’t believe in Jesus or in His promises and God won’t hear such prayers from unbelievers.

See also how useless are the, “God if You do this, then I’ll do that” prayers. That’s not praying in the name of Jesus. That’s praying in your own name, offering your own deeds to God. God will not hear such prayers.

See how useless it is to pray to the saints, as if you needed them to carry your petitions to the Father. Jesus says that you don’t even need Him to carry your petitions to the Father, but you can go to Him directly, through faith in Jesus.

Now, if God loves you, as Jesus says that He does, if God has invited you to pray in Jesus’ name and has promised to grant your prayers in His name, then see how foolish it is not to pray.

And what do you pray for in Jesus’ name? If you’re praying in Jesus’ name, you’re praying as Jesus prayed, and as Jesus has taught us to pray. Here the Lord’s Prayer serves, not only as a prayer that Christians are to pray, but as a model of prayer, so that you know what things Jesus would have you ask.

First, you pray to your Father, our Father, the Father of our Brother Jesus. And as one who loves Jesus, you also love God’s name, so you pray for God’s name to be hallowed—for His saving name to be holy through pure teaching of His Word, and through pure living on the part of those who bear the name of Christian. As those who love Jesus, you pray for God’s kingdom to come, for God to send out His Word and His Spirit to bring people into the kingdom of the Son He loves and to tear down the kingdom of Satan in the process.

Then, whatever requests you make, whatever godly desire of your heart, you pray as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, adding, “Thy will be done,” because you know that God’s will is always good and right, even when you don’t understand it, even when your flesh disagrees with it. You know God’s will is best.

You pray for daily bread and ask our Father to provide for the specific needs of your body, your family, and of others. A godly spouse for yourself one day, or for your children. Godly friends, a job through which God will continue, not only to provide daily bread for you, but that He may provide through you to others, to your church and to your church family, to the poor and needy.

You pray for forgiveness as you repent daily of your sins, and you pray for strength to beat down your Old Adam, to bring your flesh into submission.

You pray for God’s help in every temptation and for deliverance from every evil of body and soul, including the final deliverance of a believer’s death and of the blessed resurrection of the body.

Just about everything you could ask for in Jesus’ name falls somewhere among those petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, and Jesus has already promised that such prayers will be granted.

Cherish the gifts that Christ left behind for His Church before He ascended into heaven. But don’t just cherish them theoretically. Use them. His gifts aren’t for being admired up on a shelf. They’re for Christians to use. So use them. Use the Sacraments—those blessed gifts. Use the Word of God and take advantage of the opportunities God gives to read it and to hear it preached. Use the ministry of the pastor God has given you to learn and to grow in God’s grace and knowledge. And use this other gift, too, this gift of prayer that you can use anytime, anywhere. Your Father will hear, and your Father will help, because He loves you and has called you into fellowship with His beloved Son. Amen.

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