A ministry of…

Author: Dr. Roger Pascoe, President,
Email: [email protected]

I. Renforcement De L’interprétation Biblique
“Comment Lire Et Comprendre La Bible ” (Pt. 4)

Introduction

C’est la partie 4 de notre étude continue sur le “Renforcement de l’Interprétation Biblique : Comment Lire et Comprendre la Bible.” Dans les trois premières parties de cette étude, (les problèmes 34, 35 et 36 de ce Journal) nous avons jeté un coup d’œil sur les sujets suivants :

Partie 1

1. Trois taches basiques dans l’interprétation Biblique

2. Deux questions importantes d’herméneutique

Partie 2

1. Interprétation littérale

2. Interprétation de certains genres et dispositifs littéraires

3. Un sens unique ; des applications multiples

4. l’impact de la culture sur notre compréhension – cultures anciennes et contemporaines

Partie 3

1. Deux extrêmes d’interprétation culturelle et transculturelle

2. Deux exemples d’interprétation culturelle et transculturelle

a) Le lavage des pieds

b) le voilement de la tête pour les femmes

3. Quatre directives pour comprendre et interpréter les questions culturelles

Maintenant, dans cette partie 4, nous allons esquisser Dix Règles Simples De l’Interprétation Biblique. Pour ce sujet, j’ai trouvé les page 63-99 du livre de R.C. Sproul intitulé Knowing Scripture (Connaître l’Ecriture) d’un grand apport.

REGLE #1 : Interpréter l’Ecriture En Conformité Avec Le Sens Originellement Voulu par l’Auteur

Si vous étudier le texte de façon appropriée et adéquate, vous devriez être capable d’écrire ce dont l’auteur avait l’intention de dire à ses premiers lecteurs. Vous devez déterminer cela avant de penser à ce que ça signifie pour vos auditeurs aujourd’hui. Je recommande que vous écriviez le passage avec vos propres mots (le paraphraser). Cela vous permettra de savoir si vous connaissez le sens de du passage. Si vous n’en connaissez pas le sens, vous ne serez pas capable de l’écrire avec vos propres mots. Essayez de l’écrire en amplifiant le sens des mots et des expressions, expliquant l’imagerie avec vos propres mots.

REGLE #2 : Interpréter l’Ecriture A La Lumière d’Autres Ecritures

Du moment où nous croyons que l’Ecriture est divinement inspirée, nous croyons aussi qu’aucune partie de l’Ecriture ne peut être en conflit avec une autre partie de l’Ecriture, parce que Dieu ne peut pas se contredire Lui-même.

Ce principe (interpréter l’Ecriture à la lumière d’autres écritures) est très important pour deux raisons. Premièrement, à cause des attaques des incroyants contre l’Ecriture. L’une des attaques primaires contre l’Ecriture est l’assertion selon laquelle elle se contredit elle-même. Du moment où la Bible a été écrite par 40 auteurs sur une période de 16 siècles, si elle n’était pas un livre dont l’auteur est Dieu, les contradictions et les incohérences y seraient très possibles. En interprétant l’Ecriture à la lumière de l’Ecriture, vous pouvez montrer qu’elle est en cohérence avec elle-même.

Deuxièmement, interpréter l’Ecriture à la lumière de l’Ecriture est un principe important à cause de l’attitude avec laquelle les Chrétiens lisent l’Ecriture. Les chrétiens ne lisent pas et n’interprètent pas la Bible avec l’intention de trouver des incohérences dans le texte (comme le ferait un non-chrétien). Nous cherchons plutôt des incohérences dans notre interprétation du texte qui pourraient être révélées par ce principe « d’interpréter l’Ecriture par l’Ecriture ». En plus nous lisons et interprétons l’Ecriture avec une attitude de soumission à l’autorité inhérente, l’exactitude, l’intégrité et à la cohésion du texte, de telle sorte à ce que s’il y a contradiction ou incohérence dans notre interprétation, le problème nous incombe, mais pas au texte.

Pour cela, un principe basique d’une interprétation biblique saine est que pour comprendre correctement un passage de l’Ecriture, vous devez apporter d’autres textes qui sont soit comparatifs, soit contrastants. Si votre interprétation du texte que vous étudiez est en conflit avec l’enseignement d’autres passages comparatifs et contrastants, cela veut dire que votre interprétation est incorrecte. Ou, si un verset ou un passage a plusieurs options d’interprétation, et que celui que vous avez choisi n’est pas cohérent avec d’autres passages comparatifs et contrastants, vous devez alors rejeter cette option d’interprétation et choisir une option qui est cohérente avec les autres passages.

Suivre cette règle d’interprétation biblique aide de plusieurs manières :

(1) Elle élargit votre étude et exposition du texte en y apportant plus de lumière par d’autres textes.

(2) Elle agit comme une sauvegarde pour assurer que vous n’êtes pas en train d’interpréter le texte d’une manière incohérente par rapport à d’autres textes.

(3) Elle vous rassure que vous comprenez le déroulement progressif de la révélation de Dieu dans l’Ecriture. A mesure que le temps avançait, Dieu nous a révélé par l’Ecriture, et ce, de plus en plus, sa personne, sa volonté, ses desseins, etc.

(4) Elle vous aide à voir les différentes bases sur lesquelles Dieu a traité et entretenu des relations avec des gens d’autrefois. Ainsi, l’Ecriture n’est pas seulement un dévoilement progressif de la révélation de divine, mais aussi un dévoilement progressif de sa relation avec l’humanité.

REGLE #3 : Utiliser Les Versets Claires Majeures, et Nombreuses Pour Expliquer Les Moins Claires, Mineures et Peu nombreux.

Du moment où la révélation est progressive, il est compréhensible que la révélation première soit moins Claire que la révélation dernière, parce qu’elle est partielle et parfois obscure. Les Ecritures qui sont partielles ou mineures dans leur traitement du sujet n’ont pas d’autorité interprétative sur celle qui sont plus complètes et plus claires. Les révélations claires majeures clarifient celles qui sont moins claires et mineures.

Cela met l’accent encore sur le besoin de la règle #2 : Interpréter l’Ecriture à la lumière de l’Ecriture.

REGLE #4 : Soyez Prudents Lorsque Vous Faites Des Déductions, des Inférences « Logiques ».

Cette règle est intimement liée à la règle précédente. Ce qui peut ressembler à une déduction logique, peut ne pas être nécessairement vrai. Ce qui est logique pour nous peut n’est pas être logique pour Dieu ou pour ses pensées. Clairement, si un enseignement explicite contredit votre inférence ou ce que vous pensez être implicite, alors l’enseignement explicite l’emporte. Il est alors important, de chercher une instruction explicite qui soutient ce que vous pourriez croire implicite dans le texte.

C’est très facile d’adopter des interprétations et applications de l’Ecriture basées sur les déductions logiques, ou des instructions ou inférences implicites supposées, que vous tirez du texte, qui pourraient ne pas être du tout ce que l’auteur a voulu communiquer.

Tandis que nous devons être prudents à faire des déductions et des inférences, nous avons besoin d’identifier les principes généraux qui émanent des détails spécifiques dans le texte que nous étudions. Soyez très prudents de sorte à ce que les conclusions que vous tirez de votre texte soient sous-jacentes, universelles, des principes intemporels qui sont révélés dans le texte.

REGLE #5 : Ne Pas Faire En Sorte Que l’Ecriture Satisfasse à Une Norme Littéraire Déraisonnable

Par “norme littéraire déraisonnable” j’entends une norme que vous n’exigerez pas d’autre littérature. R.C. Sproul appelle cela « lire la Bible comme n’importe quel livre »(Knowing Scripture [Connaître l’Ecriture], 63). Un commentateur le dit ainsi : “En interprétant la Bible, nous ne demandons pas des faveurs que nous ne croyons pas être des règles adéquates pour lire toute littérature sérieuse ” (Mal Couch, ed. A Biblical Theology of the Church [Une Théologie Biblique de l’Eglise], 15).

Bien sûr, la Bible n’est pas juste comme n’importe quel autre livre parce que : (1) elle est unique (aucun autre livre ne lui est semblable) ; (2) elle est divine (aucun autre auteur ne lui est semblable) ; (3) elle est inspirée (aucune autre source, communication, révélation ou puissance ne lui est semblable).

Mais nous devons la lire comme tout autre livre dans le sens qu’elle est construite avec des mots comme tout autre livre – des mots qui avaient une signification ordinaire comprise alors ; des mots qui ont besoin d’être interprétés et compris en conformité avec les règles de grammaire de l’époque et qui sont élaborés pour être compris sur cette base. Aussi, nous ne lui attribuons pas des libertés littéraires que nous ne permettrions pour tout autre littérature.

Mais notez cet avertissement : Bien que nous puissions comprendre le sens des mots et de la grammaire correctement, cela ne veut pas dire que toute personne qui lit la Bible parviendra à des conclusions correctes concernant ce qu’elle dit et la manière dont elle doit être appliquée dans nos vies. Pour cela, nous avons besoin de l’illumination du Saint Esprit, qui est une possession exclusive des croyants seulement. Les incroyants peuvent comprendre les mots sur la page ; ils peuvent également s’engager dans la même analyse littéraire qu’ils pourraient appliquer à n’importe quel autre œuvre littéraire. Mais les incroyants ne parviennent pas à des conclusions correctes la concernant, parce qu’ils n’ont pas l’illumination du Saint Esprit (1 Cor. 2 :14 ; Eph. 4 :18) – leur capacité de compréhension de la Bible est limitée au niveau littéraire seulement. Bien qu’ils puissent en avoir la compréhension intellectuelle ils n’en ont pas la compréhension spirituelle. Ainsi, les incroyants ne se soumettent pas à l’autorité de l’Ecriture ; ils ne lui accordent pas une valeur adéquate ; ils n’acceptent pas les implications de l’Ecriture pour la foi et la pratique ; et ils n’accepteront pas l’application de l’Ecriture à leur vie. Si nous voulons accorder à la Bible une valeur adéquate, parvenir à des conclusions justes concernant ce qu’elle dit, et l’appliquer pertinemment à notre nos vies, nous avons besoin de l’illumination du Saint Esprit.

Ce que j’essaie de faire ressortir ici lorsque que je dis “ “ne pas faire en sorte que l’Ecriture satisfasse à une norme littéraire déraisonnable” c’est que bien qu’elle soit grammaticale dans sa construction (mots, expressions, propositions, etc.), son contexte (historique, culturelle, politique, etc.), et ses genres littéraires (poétique, narratif, etc.) elle doit être examinée de la même manière que vous examineriez et liriez tout autre littérature, mais avec l’aide du Saint Esprit. Cette méthode objective de l’interprétation biblique protège contre l’interprétation subjective, mystique, qui n’est pas enracinée dans l’érudition et qui peut la faire signifier tout ce que le lecteur veut ou pense.

REGLE #6 : Lire et Interpréter la Bible à Partir d’Une Perspective d’Application Personnelle.

Ne demander pas « Qu’est-ce que cela signifie pour moi ? » mais « Comment cela s’applique-t-il à moi ? » En nous posant cette question, non seulement nous mettons en évidence son application courante et pertinente, mais nous découvrons comment elle a été appliquée premièrement aux personnes pour lesquelles elle a été originellement écrite. En voyant comment l’auteur à organiser ses arguments et en voyant qu’elle a été appliquée à une situation réelle de vie de ses lecteurs originels, (c’est-à-dire pourquoi il a écrit, quel problème il traitait, etc.), nous découvrirons comment elle pourrait s’appliquer à nous-même dans la limite de son sens originel voulu.

Notez cette limite : Même si nous pouvons faire plusieurs applications à partir d’une vérité, ces applications sont toujours limitées par l’enseignement de l’auteur tel qu’il l’a voulu originellement. Vous n’êtes pas autorisés à appliquer l’Ecriture de n’importe quelle manière que vous voulez. Comme quelqu’un l’a dit : « Il y a plus d’hérésies enseignées dans le domaine de l’application que dans l’explication ».

Ainsi, nous devons lire et interpréter la Bible dans une perspective “d’application personnelle” en identifiant le sens voulu par l’auteur (et ce que ses lecteurs originels auraient pu comprendre) ; en identifiant la situation de la vie des lecteurs originels (et comment ce qui a été écrit s’est appliqué à eux); et en l’appliquant de manière appropriée à notre propre situation de vie et de culture (c’est-à-dire, d’une manière cohérente, et correspondante à la situation originelle).

REGLE #7 : Identifier le Dispositif et le Genre Littéraires et Les Interpréter Convenablement.

J’ai déjà définit ce que j’entends par interprétation littérale, particulièrement quand il s’agit de dispositif littéraire (tels que les figure de style) et les genres littéraires (tel que la poésie, le genre apocalyptique, l’allégorie, etc.). Chaque genre littéraire doit être interprétée convenablement. Par exemple, la poésie Hébraïque doit être interprétée en conformité avec ses règles et coutumes – ex : le parallélisme, etc. (ex : Ps. 2 :4 ; Prov. 1 :20 ; Gen. 4 :23 ; Isa. 55 :6-7). Nous devons distinguer entre proverbe et loi. Comme nos proverbes Anglais, les proverbes Hébreux ne sont pas faits pour être des truismes universels pour les gens de tous les temps, mais des principes généraux qui sont généralement vrais pour ceux qui vivent une vie pieuse.

REGLE #8 : Etudier La Construction Grammaticale et le Sens Des Mots Prudemment.

Vous ne pouvez pas interpréter l’Ecriture correctement si vous ne prêtez pas une attention méticuleuse à la grammaire – (1) les parties du discours (ex : nom, verbe) ; (2) la forme de chaque mot (ex : singulier ou pluriel ; temps présent ou future, etc.) ; (3) le sens et l’emploi des mots dans leur contexte et leur relation les uns avec les autres (c.-à-d. la syntaxe) pour former des expressions, des phrases et des paragraphes. Ne prêtez pas aux mots le sens que vous soulez ou pensez qu’ils signifient en vous basant sur l’emploi contemporain. Vous devez comprendre le mot de la manière dont il était utilisé dans les contextes littéraire, culturel, et historique. Souvenez-vous que parfois le sens des mots change avec le temps.

Faites attention aux mots-clés importants et répétés. Les mots et expressions répétés vous disent souvent quelque chose sur lequel l’auteur veut mettre l’accent, et/ou sur le thème du texte (ex : Phil. 1 :27 ; 2 :2,3,5 ; 3 :15,16 ; 4 :2,7). Les mots importants pourraient être : (1) des termes Théologiques (ex : la justification) ; ou (2) le verbe principal dans une phrase ; ou (3) des conjonctions et des prépositions. Les mots ne peuvent pas être interprétés hors de leur emploi. Par conséquent, rassurez-vous de toujours déterminer ce que signifie un mot en analysant sa forme et son emploi dans son contexte.

Lorsque vous avez un mot avec des sens multiples possibles, vous devez voir son contexte et à ses emplois varié dans la Bible pour déterminer son sens.

REGLE #9 : Lire et Interpréter la Bible de Manière Christologique.

Par cela, j’entends lire la Bible à partir d’une perspective Néotestamentaire. Chaque message devrait diriger vers Christ ou la vie Chrétienne en Christ. Chaque sermon devrait être mu par l’accent rédempteur des Ecritures (cf. « Fallen Condition Focus » [Accent de la Condition de Chute] de Bryan Chapell (FCF) dans Christ Centered Preaching [Prédication Centré sur Christ], 1994). Cet accent n’est pas seulement le salut des perdus, mais aussi la croissance des croyants pour qu’ils deviennent tout ce que Dieu veut qu’ils soient. Chapell déclare que « la compréhension adéquate d’un passage et l’accent d’un sermon exigent une Prédication claire, Centré sur Christ » (Bryan Chapell, 42).

Théologiquement, chaque sermon doit avoir comme but le même but que le passage, qui est « un aspect de la condition humaine qui exige l’instruction, l’admonition et/ou la consolation des Ecritures » (Chapell, 43). En ayant cela comme objectif, chaque sermon sera unifié avec son but.

REGLE #10 : Lire et Interpréter la Bible Théologiquement.

Cherchez des indications dans le texte de(s) vérité(s) essentielle(s) que l’auteur exprime. Posez-vous la question : Quelle doctrine (théologie) l’auteur originel du texte exprime-t-il ? (2) Quelle vérité primordiale émerge du texte ? N’imposez pas vos préjugés doctrinaux au texte. Ne lisez pas dans le texte ce qui n’y est pas. Posez-vous la question : (1) Que dit le texte sur Dieu ? (2) Que dit le texte sur la relation de l’homme avec Dieu ? (3) Que dit le texte sur comment vivre pour Dieu ? Si vous ne pouvez pas trouver la réponse à ces questions dans le texte, c’est que probablement vous ne connaissez pas ce qu’est l’accent théologique du texte.

La difficulté de cette tâche dépend souvent du genre littéraire. La vérité enseignée peut s’avérer difficile à découvrir dans le genre non didactique– ex : le Cantique de Salomon, ou le livre de Jonas. Est-ce que livre de Jonas traite de la manière dont Dieu agit avec un prophète rebelle ? Ou traite-t-il de la souveraineté de Dieu dans toutes circonstances, qu’elles soient des actes de la nature (tempêtes, plantes, et vers), des marins païens, des prophètes rebelles ou des méchants Gentilles, etc. ?

Dans ce sens, vous devez être très prudents dans l’interprétation des narrations dans le but d’être sûr que vous comprenez la théologie qui y est enseignée. Vous devez extraire le sujet théologique des détails de la narration.

II. Renforcement Du Leadership Biblique
« Servir Notre Maître Dans Un Monde Qui Le Hait : Une Etude Exégétique De Jean 15 :18-27 »

En tant que leaders chrétiens nous faisons souvent face au rejet, à la fois dans nos églises et dans le monde. Vivre en tant que chrétien est difficile et intimidant, n’est-ce pas? Le monde est opposé à l’évangile et à Christ Lui-même. Parfois, leur animosité fait que nous avons peur de tenir ferme pour Christ. Mais là est l’encouragement – Jésus a dit : « Vous aurez des tribulations dans le monde ; mais prenez courage, j’ai vaincu le monde » (Jn. 16 :33).

Ainsi donc, que faisons-nous en tant que serviteurs du peuple de Dieu, pour encourager nos assemblées à témoigner pour Christ quand la culture environnante est hostile ? C’est notre sujet dans cet article : “témoigner pour Christ dans un monde qui le hait ” (Jn. 15 :18-27). J’espère que l’étude de la Bible vous aidera et vous encouragera tandis qu’il devient difficile de confesser Christ publiquement dans ce monde.

Dans notre passage, Jésus venait d’exhorter les disciples à demeurer en Lui (15 :1-11) et de s’aimer les uns les autres (15 :12-17). Maintenant, Jésus continue de les prévenir de la haine du monde contre Lui-même et contre eux qui le suivent (15 :18-25) et les encourager à témoigner de lui au milieu d’une telle haine (15 :26-27).

Le principe que nous apprenons de ce passage est que : « malgré l’opposition venant du monde, nous pouvons fidèlement témoigner de Christ ». Nous distinguons trois principes théologiques dans ce texte…

I. Le Monde Hait Ceux Qui Suivent Christ (18-20).

Remarquez que 1. Le monde hait ceux qui suivent Christ parce qu’il a haï Christ lui-même le premier (15:18). « Si le monde vous hait, sachez qu’il m’a haï avant vous » (15 :18). Quand Jésus dit: « si » le monde vous hait, il n’est pas en train de déduire qu’il se peut que le monde vous hait ou ne vous hait pas. C’est une « si » de raison, non pas un « si » de doute. Il n’y a aucun doute que le monde hait ceux qui suivent Christ.

Les disciples eux-mêmes avaient déjà expérimenté cela. Ils savaient ce qui était arrivé à l’aveugle-né et ses parents dans le ch. 9. Ils savaient que les parents de l’aveugle-né « dirent cela parce qu’ils craignaient les Juifs ; car les Juifs étaient déjà convenus que, si quelqu’un reconnaissait Jésus pour le Christ, il serait exclu de la synagogue » (9:22). C’était de la pure intimidation des Juifs contre ces personnes parce qu’ils avaient expérimenté la puissance de guérison de Jésus. On avait contraint les Juifs de taire leur témoignage de ce que Jésus avait fait pour leur fils. Dans les jours qui devaient venir, les disciples allaient même connaître un dégrée de haine plus grande de la part du monde. Il y a une haine innée qui jaillit de ceux qui sont amèrement opposés à Christ. La vérité est que le monde hait les chrétiens parce qu’il hait Christ. Le monde est rempli d’hommes et femmes méchant(e)s dont la haine contre Christ, inspirée par satan est manifestée dans leur haine contre ceux qui suivent Christ.

Jésus console ses disciples en disant : « Si le monde vous hait, sachez qu’il m’a haï avant vous » (15 :18).”La consolation en cela c’est que les chrétiens qui expérimentent la haine souffrent avec leur Sauveur. Jésus a souffert la haine du monde en premier, et les chrétiens souffrent pour Christ maintenant. L’apôtre Paul appelle cela un privilège, un don : « car il vous a été fait grâce, par rapport à Christ, non seulement de croire en lui, mais encore de souffrir pour lui » (Phil. 1 :29). Jésus ne nous appelle pas à vivre quelque chose que lui-même n’a pas vécu en premier. A cause de la souffrance et de l’opposition, plusieurs des disciples de Jésus ont arrêté de le suivre (Jn. 6 :66). Ils ne pouvaient pas supporter l’intolérance, le rejet, l’humiliation, les sévices corporel. C’est là le défi auquel plusieurs chrétiens sont confrontés aujourd’hui.

Ainsi, 1. Le monde hait ceux qui suivent Christ parce qu’il hait Christ lui-même; 2. Le monde hait ceux qui suivent Christ parce qu’ils ont été choisis par Christ (15:19-20). « Si vous étiez du monde, le monde aimerait ce qui est à lui, mais parce que vous n’êtes pas du monde, et que je vous ai choisi du milieu du monde, à cause de cela, le monde vous hait » (15 :19). Etre “du monde” signifie s’identifier au monde, tenir les croyances et les valeurs morales du monde, adopter les habitudes et le caractère du monde. Si vous faisiez cela, dit Jésus, “le monde” vous “aimerait” comme les siens. Si vous étiez motivés et caractérisés par les valeurs du monde, le monde vous aurait accepté comme les siens propres. Mais la vérité est que le monde ne vous accepte pas. En réalité, le monde vous hait « parce que vous n’êtes pas du monde ». La raison pour laquelle vous n’êtes pas du monde c’est que Jésus « vous a choisi du milieu du monde ».

Avez-vous compris cela ? Jésus est en train de dire qu’il y a une seule raison pour laquelle vous n’êtes ni acceptés, ni soumis au monde et c’est parce que ; « Je vous ai choisi du milieu du monde ». Cela, c’est sa souveraine grâce et miséricorde envers eux qui le suivent. La raison pour laquelle les disciples étaient séparés du « monde » n’était qu’il y’avait quelque chose de bon ou de méritoire en eux aux yeux de Dieu, mais parce qu’ils étaient choisis par Jésus. Et tout comme Jésus les avaient souverainement appelés, de même, il appelle souverainement tous les croyants aujourd’hui à lui-même, à le suivre et à être ses porte-paroles. C’est cela qui nous rend différent du monde. Nous avons été appelés hors du monde par Dieu et séparés pour Lui ; pour Son usage et Son dessein exclusif.

En répétant ce qu’il leur avait déjà dit dans 13 :16, Jésus dit : « Souvenez-vous de la parole que je vous ai dite : le serviteur n’est pas plus grand que son maître. S’ils m’ont persécuté, ils vous persécuteront aussi ; s’ils ont gardé ma parole, ils garderont aussi la vôtre ». (15:20b). En d’autres termes, la manière dont le monde réagit vis-à-vis de Jésus sera la même à l’égard de nous qui le suivons. Inversement, s’ils avaient obéi à sa parole, ils auraient également obéi à la parole de ceux qui le suivent. Bref, le monde réagira à votre égard de la même manière qu’il a réagi à l’égard de Jésus.

Le monde hait ceux qui suivent Christ - 1. Parce qu’il a haï Christ lui-même ; 2. Parce que les chrétiens ont été choisi du milieu du monde par Christ, et, 3. Le monde hait ceux qui suivent Christ parce que le monde ne connaît pas Dieu. (15:21). « Mais ils vous feront toutes ces choses à cause de mon nom, parce qu’ils ne connaissent pas celui qui m’a envoyé. » (15 :21). Le monde persécutera et haïra ceux qui prennent le nom de Jésus « parce qu’ils ne connaissent pas Celui qui M’a envoyé ». C’est en Jésus-Christ seulement que l’on peut connaître Dieu. Si vous haïssez Jésus, c’est parce que vous ne connaissez pas Dieu – « Celui qui L’a envoyé. » Celui qui connaît vraiment Dieu, sait que Jésus est son seul et unique Fils éternel, qu’il a envoyé dans le monde. S’ils avaient su que Jésus était l’Envoyé de Dieu, ils ne l’auraient pas traité comme ils l’ont fait. Car la Bible dit que « le Père a envoyé le Fils comme Sauveur du monde. » (1 Jn. 4 :14).

Par conséquent, le premier principe théologique dans ce passage est que le monde hait ceux qui suivent Christ. Mais remarquez le second principe…

II. Il N’y A Pas D’excuse Pour La Haine Du Monde A L’egard De Christ (15 :22-25).

1. Il n’y a pas d’excuse pour la haine de Christ, à cause des paroles qu’Il a dites (15 :22-23). « Si je n’étais pas venu et que je ne leur avais pas parlé, ils n’auraient pas de péché ; mais maintenant, ils n’ont aucune excuse de leur péché » (15 :22). La vérité, c’est qu’ils auraient dû connaître qui était Jésus. Il est venu les amener à connaître Dieu et c’est ce qu’il a fait en paroles et en actes. Si Jésus ne leur avait pas révélé qui il était dans ses enseignements, alors ils n’auraient pas commis le péché de le rejeter comme leur Messie, parce qu’ils auraient été dans l’ignorance – « il n’auraient pas de péché. » Mais, puisque Jésus leur a révélé son identité, “maintenant, ils n’ont aucune excuse de leur péché”. Rejeter Jésus est inexcusable ; ils sont coupables. Pourquoi ? Parce que Jésus leur a clairement déclaré la vérité au sujet de son identité et de celle de Dieu. Cependant, ils l’ont quand même rejeter. Et il n’y a pas d’excuse à cela. Aucune personne qui soit née dans ce monde n’aurait d’excuse de rejeter Christ devant le Trône Blanc du jugement de Dieu – rien à dire, pas d’excuse, pas de justification de soi. Pour quoi? Parce qu’ils ont entendu la vérité et l’ont rejeté.

« Celui qui Me hait, hait aussi Mon Père » (15 :23). Vous ne pouvez connaître Dieu qu’en connaissant et en croyant et en obéissant à Dieu. Si vous haïssez Jésus, vous haïssez le Père aussi. Les Juifs du temps de Jésus disaient que Dieu était leur Père mais, ils ont rejeté Jésus en tant que Fils de Dieu, le Messie. Cela est impossible parce que Jésus est un avec le Père. Vous pouvez revendiquer connaître Dieu, mais si vous rejetez Jésus, vous rejetez Dieu le Père aussi. Ainsi, des gens et des groupes religieux qui disent adorer Dieu mais renient la divinité de Christ, son expiation substitutive pour le péché, sa résurrection d’entre les morts, etc. ne connaissent pas Dieu et ne peuvent pas le connaître.

Ainsi, 1. Il n’y a pas d’excuse pour la haine de Christ, à cause des paroles qu’Il a dites. And, 2. Il n’y a pas d’excuse pour la haine de Christ, à cause des œuvres qu’Il a faits (15:24-25). « Si je n’avais pas fait parmi eux des œuvres que personne d’autre n’a faites, ils n’auraient pas de péché » (15 :24a). Non seulement les paroles de Jésus (15 :22) sont des preuves irréfutables de qui il est, mais ses œuvres le sont aussi. Il est le seul à avoir dit ce qu’il a dit et fait ce qu’il a fait. S’il n’avait pas fait des signes miraculeux qu’il a faits, alors, il dit : “ils n’auraient pas de péché”. Mais Jésus a fait « des œuvres que personne d’autre n’a fait. » et pour cette raison, chacun est responsable de sa réaction à son égard. « Mais maintenant, ils les ont vues, et ils m’ont haï et Moi et Mon Père » (15 :24b). Les gens du temps de Jésus ont montré leur réaction en le rejetant de son vivant et à sa mort. Un tel rejet était inexcusable en ce qui concerne l’identité de Jésus. En le rejetant ils ont rejeté Celui qui l’a envoyé.

Maintenant, ce n’est pas différent aujourd’hui. Nous avons la preuve des paroles et des œuvres de Jésus là, devant nous dans les Ecritures. Ainsi, tout un chacun est responsable de la manière dont il réagit par rapport aux preuves. Ce que nous voyons dans ce passage est que les preuves ne sont pas souvent suffisant pour convaincre certaines personnes de leur péché et de leur besoin d’un Sauveur. Telle est la dureté du cœur humain.

« Mais cela est arrivé afin que s’accomplît la parole qui est écrite dans leur loi : il m’ont haï sans cause » (15 :25). C’est malheureusement la triste vérité – « il m’ont haï sans cause ». Habituellement, les gens nous haïssent sans raison. Mais dans le cas de Jésus, ils l’on haï sans aucune raison. Cela va simplement montrer la dureté et la méchanceté incroyables du cœur humain ! Jésus est venu, faisant du bien aux gens gratuitement. Il a fait du bien à des gens qui ne le connaissaient même pas, guérissant ceux qui étaient malades, nourrissant ceux qui étaient affamés, et ressuscitant certains d’entre les morts. Il est venant déclarant des paroles de grâce et de miséricorde. Il est venu nous faire connaître Dieu.

En le haïssant sans cause, les détracteurs de Jésus accomplissaient deux choses par ignorance : (a) ils étaient responsables de sa mort ; et en même temps (b) ils ont accompli les desseins rédempteurs éternels de Dieu. Dieu a utilisé les actes méchants de l’homme, pour accomplir sa volonté parfaite, de telle sorte que les êtres humains sont responsables de la mort de Jésus, tandis qu’en même temps, par sa mort, Dieu offre la vie éternelle à la race humaine. Cela, c’est l’amour et la grâce merveilleux de Dieu !

Qu’avons-nous appris jusqu’ici ? Premièrement, le monde hait ceux qui suivent Christ (15 :18-20). Deuxièmement, il n’y a pas d’excuse à la haine contre Christ (15 :22-25). Ainsi donc, en tant que des leaders de Christ dans Son église, comment Le servons-nous et témoignons-nous de Lui dans un tel monde rempli de haine ? Bien, voici l’encouragement.

III. Malgre La Haine Du Monde, Nous Pouvons Temoigner De Christ (15 :26-27).

1. Nous pouvons témoigner de Christ par la puissance du Saint Esprit (15 :26). Dans 15 :18-25, Jésus a averti les disciples de la venue de la persécution et expliqué la raison pour laquelle ils seraient persécutes. Maintenant, dans15 :26-27, Jésus exhorte et réconforte les disciples en leur disant d’où viendrait notre source de force pour témoigner de Lui au milieu de l’opposition et de la persécution. Tout comme il leur avait dit au début du chapitre 14, Jésus nous rappelle encore que notre réconfort et notre puissance face à l’opposition, c’est le Saint Esprit. « Quand sera venu le consolateur, que je vous enverrai de la part du Père, l’Esprit de vérité, qui vient du Père, il rendra témoignage de moi » (15 :26). Jésus a promis que lorsqu’il retournerait au ciel, il enverrait « le Consolateur (l’Aide)…de la part du Père. » C’est ce qui, bien sûre, est arrivé à la Pentecôte.

La nature du Saint Esprit est “l’Esprit de vérité” (15 :26b). Tout comme la parole de Dieu est vérité et que Jésus est la vérité, le Saint Esprit est aussi la vérité parce que la Trinité est une. Ainsi, la nature du Saint Esprit est la vérité même et l’œuvre du Saint Esprit c’est de « rendre témoignage de Moi ». C’est là, l’un des rôles primaires du Saint Esprit dans le monde aujourd’hui. « Quand il sera venu, il convaincra le monde en ce qui concerne le péché, la justice et le jugement ». Dans le monde, le Saint Esprit témoigne de la plénitude du péché de la race humaine, de la plénitude de la grâce de Dieu, et de la plénitude de la merveille de la rédemption de Christ. Le Saint Esprit est “l’Esprit de vérité” qui atteste la vérité de Dieu.

Ainsi, 1. Nous pouvons témoigner de Christ par la puissance du Saint Esprit, et 2. Nous pouvons témoigner de Christ à cause de notre relation avec Lui (15 :27). « Et vous aussi, vous rendrez témoignage parce que vous êtes avec moi depuis le commencement » (15 :27). Très tôt, les disciples allaient expérimenter le manque total de témoignage pour Christ lorsqu’ils l’ont tous abandonné et fui. Mais après la venue du Saint Esprit, ils allaient être hardis et remplis de puissance pour être sans crainte. Des hommes qui avaient abandonné Christ par peur allaient bientôt être des hommes courageux, qui rendaient de Christ sans crainte, même jusqu’à la mort à cause de leur relation avec Lui depuis le commencement.

Comme les disciples, parce que nous avons une relation intime avec Christ, nous sommes rendus puissants par le Saint Esprit pour témoigner de la grâce de Dieu sans peur. Nous pouvons rendre témoignage face à la condition morale pitoyable de la race humaine. Nous pouvons rendre témoignage à la grâce salvatrice de Dieu en Christ. Et tout cela au milieu de l’opposition du monde. En tant que dirigeants d’églises, notre responsabilité aujourd’hui, c’est de donner l’exemple de comment témoigner de Christ même dans l’opposition. En tant que des personnes qui suivent Christ, le Saint Esprit demeure en nous et nous sommes placés dans le monde pour rendre témoignage de qui est Jésus, pourquoi il est venu, ce qu’il a fait, où il est maintenant, et son prochain retour. Nous rendons témoignage de lui chaque fois que nous prions pour notre nourriture. Nous rendons témoignage de lui chaque fois que nous disons une parole de la part de Christ aux autres. Nous rendons témoignage de lui quand nous prenons position contre ceux qui rabaissent Christ. Nous rendons témoignage de lui par notre style de vie, nos paroles, nos actions, nos priorités, nos associations, nos habitudes. Tout ce que nous disons ou faisons doit être avec pour but de glorifier Dieu par notre Seigneur Jésus Christ.

Observation Finales

Ce que nous avons appris dans ce passage est que : 1. Le monde hait ceux qui suivent Christ parce qu’il a haï Christ lui-même (15 :18-20) ; 2. Il n’y a pas de haine contre Christ à cause of (a) des paroles qu’il a dites, et (b) des œuvres qu’il a faites (15 :22-25) ; cependant, 3. Malgré la haine du monde, nous pouvons fidèlement témoigner de Christ, (a) à cause de la puissance dont le Saint Esprit nous équipe (15 :26), et (b) à cause de notre relation avec Lui (15 :27). C’est ça notre consolation et notre encouragement.

Que cette parole soit un encouragement et un défi à chacun de nous aujourd’hui, spécialement ceux d’entre nous qui dirigeons et paissons le peuple de Dieu. Jésus a averti que rendre témoignage de lui ne sera pas facile. Et il nous a encouragé et équipé pour le faire malgré la haine du monde. Puissions-nous tenir ferme pour Lui dans un monde qui le hait.

III. Plan Du Message

Titre : Lettres Aux Sept Eglises : Sardes – Le Christianisme Nominal (Rev. 3 :1-6)

Thème : Une église peut entretenir une façade de Chrétienté, même quand elle est sur le point de mourir

Point I : Il y a une différence entre la renommée et la réalité : « Je connais tes œuvres. Je sais que tu passes pour être vivant, mais tu es mort ». (3 :1)

1. Par la renommée (« nom ») cette église était « vivante ».

Point II : Il y a une connivence entre se réveiller et travailler (3 :2)

1. Cette église devait « se réveiller » – et « de veiller »

2. Cette église devait « travailler » – « pour affermir ce qui reste »

Point III : Il y a la nécessité de se souvenir et de se repentir (3 :3-6)

1. Il est nécessaire de se souvenir du passé – « se rappeler de ce que vous avez reçu et entendu » (3 :3a)

2. C’est nécessaire de reconnaître le présent – « garde et repends-toi » (3 :3b)

3. Il est nécessaire de se refocaliser sur l’avenir

a) Beaucoup de dormeurs seront surpris par le jugement de Christ – « Si tu ne veilles pas, je viendrais comme un voleur, et tu ne sauras pas à quelle heure je viendrai sur toi » (3c)

b) Quelques saints seront satisfaits de l’approbation de Christ – « cependant, tu as à Sardes quelques hommes qui n’ont pas souillé leur vêtements » (3 :4a)

A ces saints fidèles, Christ promet…

- « Ils marcheront avec moi en vêtements blancs, parce qu’ils en sont dignes. Celui qui vaincra sera revêtu de vêtements blancs » (3 :4b-5a)

- Je n’effacerai pas son nom du Livre de Vie (3 :5b-c)

Conclusion : « Que celui qui a des oreilles entende ce qui dit l’Esprit aux Eglises » (3 :6).

 PREACHING DOCTRINE: 

A Call To Preach The Trinity
Introduction
When was the last time you preached or heard a sermon on God – his nature, character, purposes, plans, ways, and will?  I suspect for some it may have been a long time.  Sadly, we hear and preach all too few sermons about God.  And yet, those are the sermons that we, and our people, need the most.  J. I. Packer states: “The average Anglican clergyman never preaches on the Trinity save, perhaps, on Trinity Sunday.”   Why is this?  Why is there such a lack, or even absence, of preaching on doctrine and, in particular, the doctrine of God and of the Trinity?  Let me propose several reasons.  
First, many preachers do not “fight the good fight of faith” any more (1 Tim. 6:12).  They do not contend for our Christian confession in advancing truth, correcting error, and opposing heresy.
Second, I venture to suggest that some preachers do not preach the doctrine of the Trinity much anymore because they do not understand it, it is difficult to explain, and it takes hard work – in research, sermonizing, and application.
Third, perhaps some preachers don’t preach about God anymore because they are driven by a consumer-oriented mentality, preaching what the people want to hear, not what they need to hear.  These are surely the days to which Paul referred when he said that “the time would come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).  No wonder Paul exhorted Timothy to “hold fast the pattern of sound words” (2 Tim. 1:13).  No wonder he warned against those things that are “contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God” (1 Tim. 1:10-11).  No wonder he pressed home the need for “sincere faith,” from which some had strayed having turned aside to idle talk, “desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm” (1 Tim. 1:5-7).  No wonder he insisted that the leaders of the church be men who are “bold in the faith which is in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 3:13), men who “hold fast the faithful word” so that they “may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict” ( Tit. 1:9).  No wonder he urged Timothy to “instruct the brethren in these things” so that he would be “a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine” which he had carefully followed (1 Tim. 4:6).  No wonder he warned about those who would “not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to doctrine which accords with godliness” (1 Tim. 6:3).
It is not my intention in this paper to “proof text” my way to the doctrine of the Trinity, nor to show you “how” to preach the Trinity, but rather to issue a clarion call to preach the Trinity by (1) developing a biblical basis for preaching the Trinity; (2) providing some reasons why we must preach the Trinity; (3) suggesting a preferred approach to preaching this doctrine; (4) motivating you with some goals for, and benefits from, preaching the Trinity; and then (5) drawing some conclusions.
It is the thesis of this paper that just as the biblical authors did not present a systematic theology of God and the Trinity, but assumed and acknowledged it as their understanding of God was enlightened and filled out by God’s progressive revelation of himself, so we should preach the Trinity in like manner, preaching the nature, character, and ways of God as he has progressively revealed himself to us.
First, then... 
I.  The Biblical Precedent for Preaching the Doctrine of the Trinity
Even a casual consideration of Jesus’ teaching quickly and clearly indicates his  emphasis and focus on God.  Consider His high priestly prayer: “This is life eternal,” Jesus said, “that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn. 17:3).  Or, consider His Great Commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37).  Or, consider His response to Satan: “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve” (Matt. 4:10).  Or, consider how he, the Son of God, led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, defended his Father and his own deity (Lk. 4:1-13).  
More particularly, in his dialogue with Nicodemus, Jesus openly and clearly articulated the work of  the Trinity in redemption as he outlines the work of the Spirit in  regeneration (Jn. 3:8), the work of the Son in the crucifixion (3:14-15), and the work of God himself in the plan of redemption (3:16-17).   Of course, Jesus himself made no secret of his deity, which always incited the wrath of the Jews against him (e.g. Jn. 5:16-18; 10:33-38).  
Jesus’ lengthy discourse with the disciples in John 14-16 and his pursuant high-priestly prayer in chapter 17 give us his most detailed and explicit teaching on the Trinity.  Here, he carefully and intricately unfolds the doctrine of the Trinity by moving from his unity and oneness with the Father (Jn. 14:7-11; cf. also 12:45) to the unity and oneness of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (14:16-17).  Bringing comfort to their saddened hearts as they reacted to the news of his departure, Jesus promises them another Comforter, “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name” and who would “abide with them forever” (14:16, 26).  This “Holy Spirit,” Peter Toon comments, “...is described in personal terms as he who dwells within the disciples, teaches them, and bears witness to and glorifies Jesus.”   This is the Spirit of truth, who would proceed from the Father and who would “testify of Me,” Jesus says (15:26).  To have eternal life is to know not only the Father but also the Son (17:3), who had finished the work of redemption which the Father had given him to do, had manifested the Father’s name and given the Father’s word to his disciples (17:4-6), who now needed to be kept by that self-same word, the word of truth (17:17), and who would now enjoy a mutual indwelling with the Father and the Son similar in character to the mutual indwelling that exists between the Father and the Son (17:21, 23).
Further, Jesus’ commissioning of his disciples was a trinitarian commission.  As the Father had sent him, so he was sending them, and then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn. 20:21-22).  His final instruction as to the nature of the disciples’ commission continues this trinitarian theme, as Jesus declares that they were to baptize disciples from all nations “in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:18-20).
The gospel writers preached about, were focused on, and were absorbed with, God.  From the time of Jesus’ birth, to his baptism, death, resurrection, and ascension, they present a trinitarian God.  They declare the God, who through the overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit, became flesh and dwelled among us, “Immanuel, God with us” (Matt. 1:23; cf. Isa. 7:14).  They tell us about the Word, who pre-existed his incarnation, who was with God and who was God (Jn. 1:1).  They faithfully record that Jesus, upon whom the Holy Spirit descended at his baptism, was affirmed by God the Father as his beloved Son in whom He was well pleased (Lk. 3:22).  Indeed, the transfiguration of Jesus was such a powerful testimony of Jesus’ deity to the disciples of the inner trio that it indelibly marked their ministry (Lk. 9:28-36).
The God whom the Gospel writers believed, followed, and preached was none other than the triune God as both Peter (“You are the Christ the Son of the living God”) and Thomas (“My Lord, and my God”) boldly confessed.  
 The apostle John openly declared, was focused on, and absorbed with, God, not only in his gospel, but also the epistles and Revelation.  Perhaps more explicitly than any of the other gospel writers, he declares the truth of the Trinity concerning the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Christ, and the Father (e.g. Jn. 14:17-23).  For John, understanding who God is and believing in Him is of prime importance.  For John, to know God is to know him as Trinity.  “Then he [the Spirit through one of the seven angels] showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:1-5).
Stephen preached, was focused on, and absorbed with, God.  This is  powerfully evident at his martyrdom when, “being full of the Holy Spirit,” his final experience on earth, as they stoned him to death, was to gaze into heaven and see the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-59).  That’s where his life was lived – in the presence of the triune God.
The apostle Peter preached, was focused on, and absorbed with, God.  He preached a trinitarian God who raised up Jesus from the dead and exalted him in ascension to his own right hand, having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:32-33).  He preached the gospel of our trinitarian God who anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power and who raised Him up on the third day, and showed Him openly; the God to whose command Peter and the apostles responded by preaching to the people and testifying that it is He, Jesus of Nazareth,  who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead, to whom all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins (Acts 10:38-43).  
This is the God who elected us according to his foreknowledge in sanctification of the Spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:2); the God who raised Jesus from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope might be in God (1 Pet. 1:21).  This is the triune God whom Peter witnessed on the holy mountain of transfiguration when he heard the voice of God declaring from heaven that Jesus Christ was his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased (2 Pet. 1:16-18).  
The apostle Paul preached, was focused on, and absorbed with, God.  He emphatically teaches the primacy of preaching about God, who he is and what he has done.  In Romans, Paul preached the gospel of our trinitarian God concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was “born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:1-4).  Paul preached about a trinitarian God who demonstrated his love toward us by sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom. 8:3) to die for us while we were still sinners in order that, through His death, we might be reconciled to Him, and whose Spirit has poured His love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5-11).  He preached about the God whose Spirit now indwells us, and by whose power he will give life to our mortal bodies, just as He raised Christ from the dead (Rom. 8:9-11).  Paul’s God is the God whose Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God and who helps us in our weaknesses by interceding for us in agonizing, unutterable prayers; the God who foreknew us and predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son, and who has called us, justified us, and will glorify us; the God who did not spare his one and only Son but delivered him up for us all; the God who freely gives us all things and from whom we can never be separated (Rom. 8:13-32).
In Corinthians, Paul preached the testimony of our trinitarian God concerning Jesus Christ and him crucified, not to convince or impress his hearers with human wisdom or oratory but to demonstrate the Spirit’s power so that their faith would not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1 Cor. 2:1-5).  Paul’s gospel was the wisdom of God in a mystery which can only be known through the Spirit of God who alone reveals to us the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:8-14).  Paul’s God is the trinitarian God whose Spirit baptizes us into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12), in which there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit, differences of ministries, but the same Lord, and diversities of activities, but the same God who works all in all (1 Cor 12:4-6).  Paul’s God is the trinitarian God who always leads us in ministry triumph in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14) and whose Spirit has engraved on the tablets of our hearts that we are epistles of Christ (2 Cor. 3:2).  The trinitarian God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shone into our hearts by his Holy Spirit to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).  This is the God in whose trinitarian name and character Paul blesses the saints (2 Cor. 13:14).
In Galatians, Paul’s God is the trinitarian God who sent forth his Son, born of a woman, and who has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts (Gal. 4:4, 6).  In Ephesians, Paul’s trinitarian God is the Father who elected us before time began (Eph. 1:4-5), the Son in whom we have redemption (1:7), and the Spirit who has sealed us and guarantees our inheritance (1:13-14).  Paul’s God is the trinitarian God to whom we have been reconciled through the cross of Christ in one body, through whom we have access by one Spirit to the Father, and in whom the whole building of the church body is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Eph. 2:16-22).  Paul’s trinitarian God is the Father to whom we direct our prayers, so that his Spirit may empower us in the inner man and that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith (Eph. 3:14-16).  Paul clearly and unequivocally declared the doctrine of the Trinity as “one Spirit...one Lord...and one God and Father of all” (Eph. 4:4-6).  
In Timothy, Paul exalts the God whose Son, Jesus Christ, is “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the God who alone is wise” (1 Tim. 1:17), “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see, to whom be honour and everlasting power” (1 Tim. 6:15-16).  Paul’s insists that “there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).  Paul’s God is the trinitarian God of salvation – the Father, whose kindness and love toward us has appeared and by whose mercy he saves us through the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit, whom he has poured out on us abundantly through his Son, Jesus Christ our Saviour (Tit. 3:4-8; cf. Tit. 2:11-14). 
 The writer of Hebrews declared, was focused on, and absorbed with, God.  He wrote of the God who spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets and who has in these last days spoken to us by His Son (Heb. 1:1-4).  This author affirms the trinitarian work of salvation by the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, to cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb. 9:13-14).  
For the N.T. authors, then, the notion of a triune God was intuitively obvious such that they saw no need, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to inscripturate a systematic formula.  “What the Bible provides is not a developed doctrine of the Holy Trinity and not even proof texts for developing such a  doctrine.  Rather the whole New Testament stands as a witness to a basic Trinitarian consciousness in the hearts of the writers and of the early Christian church.”  
Evidently, from the moment the apostles understood the truth and reality that the One whom the wise men and shepherds worshipped was the one true God who alone is truly worthy of worship (and who, as God, received their worship); from the moment they comprehended the implications of his calling of them to follow him; from the moment they grasped the truth of his perfect, sinless life, his performance of miracles, his radical teaching about the principles for living in his kingdom, his outright claim to deity, his prophesy and fulfillment of his death and resurrection, his ascension to heaven and his promise to return again, together with the coming and powerful indwelling of the Holy Spirit as the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise (Jn. 16), so that they themselves performed miraculous deeds - from that time forward their Judaic notion of one God underwent a dramatic shift, but a shift that was, for them, understandable, acceptable, logical, and which needed no systematic explanation.  As Paul Rees states, “Nothing short of this three-personal God does justice to the experience of the early Christians.”   Their explanation of who God is did not lead them to deny their belief in the one true God of Israel, nor to abandon their notion of the one sovereign Creator, nor to add Jesus as a second God, but to “accept and confess a mystery” and to confirm their conviction of God as Father and Son and Holy Spirit – one God in three eternal, co-existing, co-equal persons.  “These persons had a trinitarian Christianity even before they had a trinitarian theology.”   Peter Jewett writes, “Being inchoate Trinitarians from the start, Christians became conscious Trinitarians in the end.  Confessing with the prophets of Israel that the Lord their God was one, and with the apostles of Christ that Jesus is Lord, they eventually came to unite these truths, so fundamental to their faith, in the doctrine that God is the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”  
So then, the biblical precedent and basis for preaching the Trinity is enormous.  In addition, we have, of course, the model of the Reformers and Puritans, who also declared, were focused on, and absorbed with, God.  I do not have the time to develop this here, but just to note that they regularly preached on the nature, character, and attributes of God.  They were transfixed by God.  Luther, Calvin, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, and others all give united testimony to their absorption with God both in their personal and public lives.  One only needs to read a sample of Jonathan Edwards’ sermons to safely conclude that they focus on the nature and character of God both in their content and in their application.  He was possessed by the glory of God, and obsessed with declaring God in his sovereignty, beauty, glory and majesty at every opportunity.  
Alas, such is not the case today.  Why do we hear so little preaching about God the Father – his attributes, his purposes, his ways?  Why do we hear so little preaching about God the Son – his person, his redemptive work, his teachings?  Why do we hear so little preaching about God the Holy Spirit – his deity and present operations in our lives and in the world?  I think it is because contemporary preaching in many evangelical churches has been caught by, and caught up in, the spirit of the age – in a culture that wants “how to” sermons that focus on us, our needs, our lives, our well-being, our success.  It is anthropocentric preaching, not theocentric or Christocentric.  It panders to our supposed “felt” needs not “real” needs.  It is market driven, not God centred.  It has corporate objectives, not kingdom directives.  It is therapeutically oriented, not spiritually motivated.  
Doctrinal preaching has long fallen out of favour.  It is considered a subject for theologians, not congregations.  It is discussed in seminaries, not churches.  It is articulated by denominational leaders, not church members.
II.  Why Preach the Doctrine of God and the Trinity?
One of the concerns about preaching doctrine, specifically the doctrine of the Trinity, is that the general attitude today is that doctrinal preaching is boring, irrelevant, of no practical value for the Christian life, and, in the ultimate analysis, incomprehensible anyway.  But the truth is that if our people do not know God – who He is, what He is like, and how He acts – they cannot adequately, properly, or fully live their lives in God’s world, under God’s control, and for God’s glory.  
How can we possibly strive for, much less achieve, our primary goal in living – namely, to glorify God in thought, word, and deed, if we do not know Him?  As J. I. Packer rightly puts it: “Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfold, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you.  This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.”   
We are compelled to preach the doctrine of the Trinity because this doctrine throughout history has been and continues to be maligned, distorted, mocked, and perverted.  How can our people properly distinguish between truth and error if we have not taught them the truth about God?  How can they discern the error, if not outright heresy, of liberal theologies, such as Open Theism, which propose a God who is different from the God of the Bible, if we have not taught them the truth?  How can they adequately and appropriately respond to Jehovah’s Witnesses who come to their doors with the age old Arian heresy, if we have not taught them the truth about God?  The reality for many Christians is that they can’t properly respond to, nor adequately discern, theological error.  
We are compelled to preach the doctrine of the Trinity because there are many false prophets, deceivers and antichrists in the world (1 Jn. 4:1; 2 Jn. 7).  Some of them are trying to tell us that we can and should properly refer to God as female by using the female pronoun “she.”   Such terminology is foreign to the Bible and must be counteracted.  In the spirit of the age others in the egalitarian movement propose that God be referred to as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier rather than as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in order to be non-gender specific.  The fact that God is genderless and that He is described in Scripture as having some attributes associated with females does not authorize us to refer to him as “she.”  I understand that God is not defined adequately by any of our pronouns: God is spirit, wholly other than we are in his essence.  He is not defined by male gender or genitalia; nor are males more like God than females; nor does referring to God as Father imply any sort of male privilege or preference.   But Scripture throughout refers to God as “He,” being consistent with the gender of Father and Son.
Unless we properly instruct our people in this doctrine, how will they be able to “test the spirits whether they are of God” (1 Jn. 4:1)?
We are compelled to preach the doctrine of the Trinity because to be wrong about God is to be wrong about one’s eternal destiny.  This is a doctrine that clearly has eternal consequences if we get it wrong.  It will lead to destruction if we believe in a god who is not the God of the Bible.  The truth of the gospel can only be retained and maintained so long as we uphold, defend, and boldly proclaim the truth about God – the truth about God in election, salvation (justification and sanctification), and glorification.  We must preach the one, true gospel of Christ, not a gospel of a different kind (Gal. 1:6-10).
We are compelled to preach the doctrine of the Trinity because the doctrine of the Trinity is fundamental to the Christian faith and separates it from all other belief systems.  “The doctrine of God is the doctrine which is basic to all others and...the doctrine of the trinity is basic to the doctrine of God.” We are compelled to preach the doctrine of the Trinity because, as Paul Rees, puts it, “nothing short of it fully satisfies my heart.”  We need to hear about and inculcate the truth of:
(1) the grace of Christ – that grace that has met my need (2 Cor. 8:9); 
(2) the love of God – that love that deigned to send his Son to be my substitute; and 
(3) the fellowship of the Holy Spirit – that fellowship of believers, “who are indwelled and baptized by the Spirit into one body and who are now the testimony of Christ on earth.” 
We are compelled to preach the doctrine of the Trinity because the responsibility is ours, as preachers and church leaders, to preach on this challenging but fruitful subject not only for the edification of God’s people but for the worship and glory of God.
We are compelled to preach the doctrine of the Trinity because, as John Piper rightly asserts, true expository preaching is trinitarian since, as he says, “the goal of preaching is the glory of God, the ground of preaching is the cross of Christ, and the gift of preaching is the power of the Holy Spirit.” 
III.  Suggestions for Preaching the Trinity
Of all the doctrines to preach on, the doctrine of the Trinity is perhaps the most challenging, because it is a difficult concept to understand and explain, and because it is hard to relate to life. 
The first challenge is: “How do you approach such a topic homiletically?”  If you take a systematic approach, your sermon quickly sounds like a list of proof texts, which becomes tedious for the congregation and seems more like a seminary lecture than a sermon.  Such a clinical, academic approach can also detract from the impact of awe and worship that should result from preaching this topic.  Just as Sidney Greidanus astutely points out concerning miracles, that “a turgid apologetic for miracles, or, worse, any rational explanation of miracles may scuttle the sense of ‘wow’ (that it is designed to evoke) and, therefore, be homiletically inappropriate,”  so, it seems to me, a systematic explanation or dissertation would not be an appropriate homiletical approach to the doctrine of the Trinity.  I am not in any way minimizing the need for, or the benefit of, systematic theology, nor am I suggesting that we should not teach our people dogmatics.  Rather, I am suggesting that since the doctrine is not presented that way in Scripture, we would be wise to follow the pattern of Scripture, which pattern is more likely to evoke a response of wonder that it surely should.
Therefore, I would suggest that rather than a systematic approach to preaching the Trinity in a congregational setting, you take a biblical theology approach – i.e. teach the truth of the Trinity as it unfolds throughout the Bible, tracing the biblical history of God’s progressive revelation of who He is.  Deal with who God is, how He acts, what He likes and dislikes, and what He has done (i.e. God’s nature and character and works as Scripture progressively reveals them), all of which can only be explained ultimately in trinitarian terms, which, of course, makes clear why the concept of Trinity is everywhere assumed and acknowledged in the N.T.  You may preach on the divine attributes of the Trinity – omniscience, omnipresence (Ps. 139), omnipotence, immutability (Mal. 3:6), eternality (Psalm 136:1?), perfection (Matt. 5:48), self-existence, sovereignty (Matt. 5:21), worthiness (Rev. 4:11) and so on.  You may preach on the trinitarian God as our Creator, and our the Judge.   You may preach on the moral attributes of the Trinity – holiness (Isa. 6:3), righteousness (Rom. 3:22), and justice (2 Thess. 1:6).  You may preach on the love of God (1 Cor. 13:8), his mercy (Deut. 4:31), compassion (Matt. 9:36), goodness (Matt. 19:17), kindness (2 Sam. 9:3), truthfulness, faithfulness (Deut. 7:10), trustworthiness (Amos 5:24).  You may preach on the ways of God – his revealed will, his chastisement, his comfort and compassion.  Or, you may preach on “the pleasures of God” (to use John Piper’s phrase) - what brings him joy, what incites his anger.
These aspects of the nature, character, and ways of God are now often, and sadly, unfamiliar to some of our congregants, but were at one time regularly preached.  Take, for example, the fourth question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism which asks: “What is God?”  The answer: “God is spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”  These simple catechisms are no longer taught or memorized, so that if you ask someone to tell you what, for example, “justification” means, most Christians could not give you a succinct answer.
Such a sermon series on the doctrine of God would be quite lengthy, but appropriately so given the subject matter.  And it would be out of this series that you would then be able to draw logical conclusions about God, one of which would be that the God of the Bible is a triune Being.
I would suggest that the biblical theology approach to preaching the Trinity is the most commendable, most edifying, and most relevant.  It allows you to follow specific passages and preach them expositorally, so that the people can see from the text what you are talking about.  As your sermon series progresses over the weeks and months, they will see the progressive revelation of Scripture concerning the nature, character, and ways of God, from the Judaic view of the oneness of God in the O.T. (e.g. Deut. 6:4; 4:35; Isa. 43:10; 44:6-8; 45:5-6; 21-22) to the oneness-and-threeness of God as revealed in the N.T.  Gradually, they will begin to see the connection between the “Lord” of the Shema and “the living and true God” of the Christian confession (1 Thess. 1:9; cf. alsoEph. 4:6; 1 Cor. 8:4; Mk. 12:29).  
By preaching the Trinity this way you will open up to your people the progression of revelation in Scripture from a God who is holy and just, punishing sin and rewarding righteousness, to a God who fulfilled his promise to redeem his people in and through his Son, whom He sent to be the Saviour of the world; from a God who is transcendent and awesome, to a God who cares and provides for his people; from a God who is love and light, in whom mercy and truth unite, to a God who has revealed himself in his word, in which we see his purposes and plans laid out; from a God who has sent his Spirit to indwell us so that we are capable of living for his glory, to a God who will complete salvation history at our glorification. In sum, a God who alone is worthy of all our praise.  
Let me issue two caveats about preaching the Trinity using a biblical theology approach.  First, we need to be careful when preparing sermons, not to make a sharp distinction, which we so often do, between the O.T. and N.T.  They are one Word of God; they are a unit with historical, theological, and revelatory progression and continuity.  Granted, when we turn the page from Malachi to Matthew we might well ask: “What happened?”  Nevertheless, our hermeneutical and homiletical task is to preach both Testaments as one revelation from God, in which we see:
(1) the typological connections between the O.T. and the N.T. (such as institutions like the tabernacle, events like the feasts and offerings, and people like Moses and Joseph) as salvation history unfolds; 
(2) the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the coming Messiah fulfilled in the New in Christ; 
(3) the offices of the O.T. which point forward to their fulfillment in Christ as prophet, priest, and king; 
(4) the progression of salvation history from the O.T. toward its eschatological goal in the New;  and 
(5) in the specific case of our topic, the trinitarian inferences in the O.T. which become more evident in the New.  Thus, we move, as Sidney Greidanus puts it, not so much “from the lines drawn from the O.T. to the N.T. but in the prior move in the opposite direction – the move from the fullness of the N.T. revelation to a new understanding of the O.T. passages.” 
Therefore, our task is to preach this unfolding of God’s self-revelation by faithfully communicating the O.T. understanding of God and tracing it through to the New Testament trinitarian understanding as it developed.  
Further, this biblical theology approach to preaching the Trinity requires great sensitivity to the various literary genres in which it is presented in Scripture.  We must let Hebrew narrative or gospel genre, for example, shape how we preach the truth of the passage, being sure to find their theocentric purpose – namely, “to show God at work in His creation and among His people.  The narratives glorify Him, help us to understand and appreciate Him, and give us a picture of His providence and protection.”   We must interpret and explain the Psalms and Prophets in accordance with their respective genres and in the light of unfolding redemptive history.  In O.T. prophetic literature, the central focus is on the coming King in His kingdom (e.g. Isa. 42:4).  Thus, we need to look for corresponding references and inferences.  Nevertheless, we must be careful to interpret these texts in the way the original audience would have – namely, associating the person with the immediate referent before associating him with the fulfillment in the N.T.  
Of course, once such passages have been exposited accurately we can draw the appropriate theological conclusions.  Then, we will see how these O.T. truths become clearer through the incarnation and teachings of Jesus (whose most extensive teachings on the Trinity occur in his discourse with the disciples in John 14-16) through to the book of Acts where their understanding of God develops and a more complete expression of that understanding is recorded.  We can trace this natural development and see the apostles intuitively coming to grips with the concept of God without stating it in systematic form, so that, ultimately, the progressive unfolding of truth led them to the only rational conclusion that adequately synthesized their experience and data and concluded with their universal presupposition as to the trinitarian nature of God.  
Second, we need to be careful not to reverse the order in which the doctrine of God is developed by trying to teach the systematic doctrine of who God is before we have preached the biblical history of who God is and what He is like, as revealed in his acts in the world and the biblical authors’ understanding of God.  Therefore, let us preach the doctrine as it unfolds in Scripture, declaring God’s mighty acts in history, culminating in the apex of redemptive activity at the cross and resurrection, showing how God is present and active and what His relationship is to the human race and his creation in general before we try to synthesize all of that into a systematic unit called the doctrine of the Trinity.
If you take this homiletical approach that I am suggesting, as your people listen to you preach the biblical theology of God in the context of biblical history, they will come to understand that even though the systematic theology and creedal articulation of the doctrine of the Trinity was developed over the first three or four centuries in response to heretical teachings about God  that were beginning to surface in the second and third centuries,  and that even though universal, formal adoption of a single creedal statement by orthodox churches did not occur until the fourth century,  nonetheless, the doctrine and concept of God as Trinity is pervasive throughout the N.T.  As Darrell Johnson explains it, “What really triggered the theological process was what ordinary people experienced when they encountered Jesus Christ...The doctrine of the Trinity is not the result of philosophical speculation carried out in ivory towers, cut off from real life.  It is the result of ordinary believers trying to make sense of the facts of God’s self-revelation and trying to live in the light of those facts.”    Or, as Alister McGrath points out, “The doctrine of the Trinity is the end result of a long process of thinking about the way in which God is present and active  the world…The scriptural witness to and Christian experience of God came first, and reflection on it came later.”   
So much, then, for the first major challenge in preaching the Trinity – namely, “How do you approach the topic?”  The second major challenge in preaching the Trinity is: “How do you apply this doctrine to people’s lives?”  How do you make such a doctrine relevant to contemporary Christian life?  How do you overcome the “so-what” hump of your audience?  Doctrine must always be related to life when we preach or teach.  As Peter Toon points out, “If we give the impression that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is only and solely the doctrine of the immanent or ontological Trinity then we run the risk of its confession being irrelevant to Christian worship, life, and service.”   
We can and must relate the doctrine of the Trinity to some very practical aspects of the Christian life, by showing how our understanding of the Trinity uniquely applies to our Christian worldview and mission.  For example, when preaching the Trinity, you would probably want to apply the doctrine to such topics as:
1.  The creation of the world and the Trinity.  The godhead unitedly created the universe.  The Father planned it; the Son implemented it; and the Holy Spirit empowered it.  Most importantly, the human race was created in God’s image.  Since we are created in God’s image, we are to reflect the many dimensions of God’s nature and character.
2.  Our human existence and the Trinity.  God providentially cares for and controls the universe that He has created.  For “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).  As John Calvin says: “It is perfectly obvious... that our very being is nothing else than subsistence in God alone.” 
3.  Our salvation and the Trinity.  God the Father through the Spirit delivered his Son into the hands of wicked men.  He went to the cross and rose again, and in so doing, reconciled the world to himself.  In this the love of God is manifest to the world in that, through him, our sins are expiated and we have eternal life (Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 4:9).
4.  Our Christian lives and the Trinity.  Our lives are intimately related to, bound up in, and united to (1) the Father’s care, provision, protection, love, goodness, and holiness; (2) the Son’s truth, grace, liberty, and forgiveness; and (3) the Spirit’s guidance, illumination, teaching, power, and comfort.  “The doctrine of the Trinity gives expression to the fact that...God has opened himself to us...in such a way that we may know him in the inner relations of his Divine Being, and have communion with him in his divine life as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”   
The Father sends the Spirit in the name of the Son to indwell believers, sanctifying us, illuminating us, and empowering us for godly living.  God is in us, so that, as new creatures in Christ we are “partakers of the divine nature” (1 Pet. 1:4). Therefore, because God is holy, so we are to lead holy lives.  Because God has given us his illuminating Spirit, we are able to fully and properly understand the truth that God has given us.  “The Father is light, the incarnate Son is light, and believers are called to live and walk in the light...For one to see the light, to have the light shine in his heart, and to walk in the light, he needs the illumination of the Holy Spirit of light.  In other words, light shines upon and within him from the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit” 
5.  Our Christian community and the Trinity.  Our fellowship, relationship, and unity are intimately bound up in the relationship of the Trinity (1 Jn. 1:3; Eph. 4:3-6).  God is not an isolated God but one who lives in relationship with his creation and his people in particular.  He is a God of intimacy, “Immanuel, God with us.”  The intra-trinitarian intimacy and relationship is to be reflected in the Christian community.  Our fellowship with each other is made possible through our fellowship with the Father and the Son (1 Jn. 1:3).  Because God is love and first loved us, we love Him (1 Jn. 4:19) and because love is of God, we love one another (1 Jn. 4:7) and demonstrate that love in fellowship and mutual care.  As Jewett points out, “when we are admonished to ‘maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ (manifest in the one body which is the church [Eph. 4:3]), we are being admonished in our Christian communal life to imitate the communal life of God himself.” 
6.  Our Christian worship and the Trinity.  Our worship is truly Trinitarian when we render worship and prayer to the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit.  Such worship is not possible with any other concept of God.  Peter Toon states, “True worship must be offered to the Father through (i.e. according to the truth which is in) Jesus and by / in the Spirit, who is given by the Father...To worship in Spirit and in truth is to worship the Trinity by the Trinity.”   In the language of the seraphim, we worship God and cry: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isa. 6:3).  As Darrell Johnson writes, “The Father draws near to us to draw us near to himself so we can praise the Son the way he does.  The Son draws near to us to draw us near to himself so we can worship the Father the way he does...The Spirit comes upon us to fill us with his passion to see the Father and Son glorified.” 
7.  Our Christian mission and the Trinity.  Because God is love and we are of God, we love the world he has made.  We are ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), so that “as He is so are we in the this world” (1 Jn. 4:17).  Jesus said: “As the Father has sent me, I also send you” (Jn. 20:21).  We are “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14) even as Jesus himself was the Light of the world, reflecting the God who is light.
Let me also suggest that preaching the doctrine of the Trinity gives you an opportunity to make relevant certain creeds, hymns, and spiritual songs by utilizing them in your services to underscore the doctrine on which you are preaching.  I recommend that you adopt regular recitations of the various orthodox creeds, especially in this case as they relate to the Trinity (e.g. the Apostles’ creed, the Nicene Creed, or the Athanasian Creed) to provide support to and a framework for your doctrinal preaching.  Incorporate into your services the singing of the great hymns of the faith that declare powerfully the triune nature of our great God.  If we encourage our congregations to participate in worship by reciting these creeds and singing these hymns, they will at the same time, become familiar with our basic Christian doctrines and especially the doctrine of God, so that they should be able to give an answer of the hope that lies within them – particularly, what they believe about God.
IV.  The End for Which We Preach the Trinity
Our pursuit of God must be practical more so than theoretical – i.e. “to know and enjoy God himself”   (cf. Psalm 119:12, 18, 97, 103, 125).  In other words, our goal is to know God personally and practically and the means to that end is the knowledge and experience of God.  The more we know about God, the more our lives will reflect his nature and character in our own godliness and manner of life.  Our knowledge about God is then reflected in our values, our priorities, our speech, thought, and behaviour, our worship, our prayer, and our occupation with God.
Our pursuit and preaching of the truth about God must have as its aim not merely the knowledge about God, but to know Him – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The duty and delight of the preacher must be to preach about the God who created us, redeemed us, guides us and keeps us, and the God who is coming for us.  Our duty and delight must have as its proper object not theological knowledge or academic pursuit as an end in itself, for that can lead to arrogance, spiritual pride, and intellectual superiority, and is self-centred, not God centred (cf. Jer. 9:23f) - but our proper object is to have the knowledge that leads us into a deeper relationship with God.  Our motive and objective must be to know him more fully, love him more deeply, and follow him more devotedly.  This is the grand goal of preaching and of preaching the Trinity in particular.
I believe that the pastor who regularly preaches about God will do his congregation a great spiritual service, the benefits of which will become readily apparent.  There will be an increased zeal for God among your people, evidenced in (1) evangelism; (2) the advancement and defence of the truth and opposition to false teaching; (3) in corporate worship, (4) in Christian fellowship, and (5) in congregational unity.
There will be an increased occupation with God.  The orientation of their lives will change.  They will begin to think biblical thoughts about the ways and character of God in the day-to-day events of their lives.  They will live in the atmosphere of God, thinking, acting, and speaking as children of God.  Their thought lives will improve as they meditate on the glories of God.  Their lives will be enriched as they live in awe of God.  As you preach about God, you should find increasing evidence of their inner peace with God, their willingness to “be still and know that I am God,” their dependence on God not self, their spiritual maturity, their relationships, and attitudes.
VI.  Conclusions
This, then, is why I am issuing this clarion call to preach the Triune God whom we know, worship, serve, and obey – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, “God in three persons, blessed Trinity.”
Until and unless we understand, believe, and acknowledge that (1) God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; (2) that the Father, our Creator, is God; (3) that Jesus, our Redeemer, is God; (4) that the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, is God; and until we understand, believe, and acknowledge the truth of our triune God, we can never  effectively proclaim the Gospel of God or truly worship the God whom we trust for eternity.
There is, as Steven Lawson’s title to his book says, a “famine in the land”  – a famine of expository, doctrinal preaching.  I whole-heartedly affirm Timothy George’s exhortation that “The recovery of doctrinal preaching is essential to the renewal of the church.”   He goes on to say:
“The presupposition in doctrinal preaching is that the God who has once and for all come in Jesus Christ and once and for all spoken in Holy Scripture still comes and still speaks to His people through the faithful proclamation of His Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.  ‘Doctrine’ is not an abstract formulation of belief divorced from this saving reality and divine revelation.  To the contrary, it is the irreducible content of this very reality, conveyed through God’s authoritative, infallible Word and elucidated through what the church of Jesus Christ believes, teaches, and confesses on the basis of that Holy Word.” 
Similarly, John Piper writes, “Our people are starving for God”   “They are starving for the grandeur of God, and the vast majority do not know it.”   Our task, then, is to so declare God to our hearers in all the aspects in which he has revealed himself to us, so that the hunger of their hearts and minds is satisfied and they are wholly occupied with Him.  This demands preaching that is trinitarian in its exegesis and proclamation.  As Piper says, 
“If anyone in all the world should be able to say, ‘I have looked upon thee in the sanctuary, beholding thy power and glory,’ it is the  herald of God.  Who but preachers will look out over the wasteland of secular culture and say, “Behold your God!”?  Who will tell the people that God is great and greatly to be praised?  Who will paint for them the landscape of God’s grandeur?  Who will remind them of the tales of wonder that God has triumphed over every foe?  Who will cry out above every crisis, ‘Your God reigns!’?  Who will labor to find words that can carry the ‘gospel of the glory of the blessed God’?
“If God is not supreme in our preaching, where in this world will the people hear about the supremacy of God?  If we do not spread a banquet of God’s beauty on Sunday morning, will not our people seek in vain to satisfy their inconsolable longings with the cotton candy pleasures of pastimes and religious hype?  If the fountain of living water does not flow from the mountain of God’s sovereign grace on Sunday morning, will not the people hew for themselves cisterns on Monday, broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer. 2:13)?” 
The overriding need is not for more “how-to” sermons but for more of God.  Let us, then, resolve that through our preaching, our people will know God more intimately, see him more clearly, live for him more devotedly, worship him more passionately, and love him more deeply so that, with the Psalmist, they cry: “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple” (Ps. 27:4).  
No preaching accomplishes this task better, it seems to me, than preaching the Trinity.
 
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge, vol. 1. London: James Clarke & Co., Limited, 1957.
Carson, D. A. The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991)
Fee, Gordon D. and Douglas Stuart, How To Read The Bible for All Its Worth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993.
George, Timothy. “Doctrinal Preaching” in Handbook of Contemporary Preaching, ed. Michael Duduit. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992.
Goldsworthy, Graeme.  Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.
Greidanus, Sidney. The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988.
Jewett, Paul K.  God, Creation, & Revelation: A Neo-Evangelical Theology. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991.
Johnson, Darrell W. Experiencing the Trinity. Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 2002.
Lawson, Steven J. Famine in the Land. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2003.
Martin, Dana. “God in Three Person” in Best Sermons, vol. 6, ed. James W. Cox (San Francisco: Harper, 1993)
McGrath, Alister E. Understanding the Trinity. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988.
Packer, J. I. Knowing God. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1973, 1975 edition, 16th impression 1987.
Piper, John. The Supremacy of God in Preaching. Grand Rapids; Baker Book House, 1990.
Rees, Paul.  Stand Up in Praise to God. Grand Rapids:  Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1960.
Toon, Peter. Our Triune God: A Biblical Portrayal of the Trinity (Vancouver: Regent College Publishing, 1996)
 

Introduction

Mother Teresa is quoted as saying that, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer. It’s the feeling of being uncared for, unwanted, of being deserted and alone.” (Leadership Magazine, vol. 1, no. 4). A 1990 U.S. census reported that 23 million American adults lived alone and that since 1970 this figure had increased by 91% for women and 156% for men.

At some time in your life you’ve probably felt lonely, forsaken, deserted, abandoned, let down, betrayed. I remember when, as a university student, I went to Germany to work for the summer, and how homesick I felt during that time.

Perhaps your experience has been more than homesickness or loneliness. Perhaps you have experienced alienation from family members, fellow students, work colleagues, or perhaps even the church. Perhaps you’ve known the pain of an unfaithful spouse. Perhaps you’ve suffered parental rejection by rebellious teenagers. Or, perhaps you’ve been deeply hurt when you’ve been let go from a company that you served faithfully for many years. Undoubtedly, many of you know the pain that loneliness, isolation, and rejection can inflict.

It’s one thing to be lonely (that’s bad enough) but it’s another thing to be rejected. Jacob experienced rejection during a dark period in his life. What we are going to see here is that when we come to a dark, forsaken place in our lives, that’s where God draws near and the dark, forsaken place becomes the house of God. Sometimes…

1. When We Are Forsaken, We Flee Into The Darkness Of Rejection (Gen. 27:41-28:9).

Rejection may all start with something as common as a family problem (27:41-28:5). Jacob faced severe dysfunctional family problems. It all started with favoritism – Isaac loved Esau but Rebekah loved Jacob (25:28). And from there, things went steadily down hill in the family relationships. First, Jacob faces his brother’s savagery (27:41). Esau hated Jacob for defrauding him of his father’s blessing. His plot to kill Jacob is a crime similar to Cain’s, except that Cain’s crime was born of uncontrollable passion and rage whereas Esau’s was premeditated revenge.

In addition to his brother’s anger, Jacob is manipulated by his mother’s scheming (27:42-46). Rebekah always seems to find out what’s going on. She found out about her husband’s intention to bless Esau (27:1-5). Now she finds out about Esau’s intention to kill Jacob (27:41). Jacob’s mother is a master-schemer. First, she devised a scheme for Jacob to get Isaac’s blessing instead of Esau. Now, she devises a scheme to protect Jacob from Esau’s wrath - she will send Jacob to her brother Laban’s house in Padan-Aram for a while, too far away for Esau to hunt Jacob down.

She assures Jacob that his brother’s fury will subside in “a while” (27:44). “He’ll soon forget what you have done to him. Just give him time to cool off, for his temper to subside. It should only be a few days. Then, when it’s all clear, I’ll send for you and bring you back again.” In fact, “a little while” turned into 20 long years and she never did send for Jacob to come back. As with most schemers, Rebekah rationalizes her action: “Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?” (27:45b). “If you stick around, Jacob, you’ll be killed. Then Esau will be executed for murdering you. You wouldn’t want your dear old mom to suffer the loss of both her sons in one day, would you?”

Then, Rebekah convinces her husband of her scheme. First, she took advantage of Isaac’s poor eyesight (27:1f.) Now she takes advantage of his disapproval of Esau’s wives - “the Hittite women” (27:46; cf. 26:34). She says to her husband: “I am weary of living, Isaac, now that I have two Hittite daughters-in-law married to Esau. And if Jacob marries one as well, then what would I do. Poor me, my life wouldn’t be worth living.”

Jacob’s problems started with his brother’s anger, then his mother’s scheming, and finally Jacob is failed by his father’s subservience (28:1-5). Isaac is completely dominated by Rebekah’s manipulative arguments and he fails miserably in his responsibility as the leader in his home. With no mention of God or prayer (a) Isaac forbids Jacob to marry a Canaanite (28:1); (b) he orders Jacob to go to Padan-Aram to find a wife among his cousins, Uncle Laban’s daughters (28:2) – it was common then to marry a cousin – (c) Isaac blesses Jacob with the same blessing Abraham received from God (28:3-4); and finally (d) he sends Jacob away (28:5). We never hear that Jacob ever sees or speaks to his mother again.

Rejection may all start with something as common as a family problem, and rejection may all end up with something as unusual as a forsaken place (28:10-11). This is where the text of our story begins. “¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. ¹¹ And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep” (28:10-11). It’s bad enough to be rejected by your family but it’s worse when you have nowhere to go but a forsaken place. Years ago, one of our daughter’s school friends was put out from her family due to some disagreement. We took her in and she lived with us until things got straightened around. Jacob has no one to take him in and, to add to his rejection and desertion, he doesn’t appear to have any true relationship with God either.

Jacob is about 40 years old now. He was born and raised in a religious family. He knows about God but there’s no evidence that he knows God personally. He had head knowledge about the God of his grandfather and father but little or no personal relationship. There is no record of any encounter with God yet in his life - no revelation from God, no word from him - and spiritual issues and disciplines weren’t evident in his life. In fact, there’s no mention of any relationship with God at all.

But all that is about to change, not because Jacob is seeking God but because God is seeking Jacob. Before Jacob finds a wife God finds him. Jacob’s purpose in this trip gives way to a higher purpose - the establishment of a relationship with God based on faith. What is of most importance is not whom he will meet at Haran but whom he will meet on the way to Haran. He certainly didn’t expect to meet God on the highway to Haran anymore than Saul expected to meet God on the highway to Damascus. Jacob wasn’t thinking about calling on the Lord, he was thinking about calling it a day because “the sun had set” (28:11). It had set in more ways than one, both literally and metaphorically, for Jacob is about to enter the nighttime of his life.

So, he comes to “a certain place” (28:11). It’s a “certain” place because it was a place prepared by God, a forsaken, deserted, dark, remote place where he would meet no one but God. There are no motels here, no restaurants, no comforts of home – just the stars above and the ground beneath. This wasn’t a town, it was just a place, obscure, desolate; a place that is unnamed and unknown to men but special to God. That’s where Jacob lay down for the night with a stone for a pillow. If ever Jacob felt alone, deserted, miserable, rejected, and forsaken it must have been now. The stone pillow must have made him long for the comforts of home; maybe he even felt a tinge of homesickness. But this is where he would have the greatest experience of his life; this is where he would encounter God.

Sometimes, when we are forsaken, we flee into the darkness of rejection. But often…

2. In The Darkness Of Rejection, We See The Light Of God’s Revelation (28:12-15).

The whole tone of the story changes here. What had formerly been narrated in the past tense (28:10-11) now shifts to the present (28:12-13), and what the narrator has seen Jacob doing (28:10-11) now suddenly shifts to what Jacob himself saw.

In the darkness of our lives God often reveals to us his presence (28:12). No sooner did Jacob fall asleep than he dreamed “…and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it” (28:12). During my teenage years I lived in the City of Bath in England. Every day that I went to school I had to climb up “Jacob’s Ladder,” steps up the side of a steep hill that led to my school. If you have ever been to Bath you will probably have seen Bath Abbey. Carved into the stone on the front of Bath Abbey is a depiction of Jacob’s Ladder with angels ascending and descending.

Jacob’s dream isn’t about steps up the side of a hill or a staircase carved into the stone of a church. It’s about a ladder that joins heaven and earth. Its bottom rests on earth (where Jacob was) and its top reaches to heaven (where God was). The Tower of Babel also extended to the heavens (Gen. 11:4). It was the product of human invention, of delusions of grandeur, of human ambition and pride, the attempt by man to reach up to God. Jacob’s ladder also extends to the heavens, but it was made by God (not men) and angels were climbing it (not men). It is God’s means of reaching down to men (not men’s attempt to reach up to God). This is a ladder that makes God’s presence known. The inhabitants of heaven who dwell in God’s presence are going up and down it; heaven itself is accessible and open.

Have you ever experienced anything like this? Have you been so drawn into the presence of God that you have felt as though heaven has opened up to you? Do you know that God is accessible, that he wants to make himself known to you, to communicate a message to you?

In the darkness of our lives, God often reveals to us his presence. And in the darkness of our lives God often reveals to us his person (28:13a). God initiates contact with Jacob so that he might know him. “And behold, the Lord stood above it (the ladder) and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac’” (28:13a). He is the God of the first and second generations of Jacob’s family. The question that is inferred is: “Will he be the God of the third (Jacob’s) generation as well?” He is the “God of Isaac,” Jacob’s father, the one Jacob deceived and took advantage of. The question that is inferred is: “Will Jacob try to deceive and take advantage of God as well?”

Perhaps you’re the third generation in your family. Your grandparents were Christians and so were your parents. The question is: “Is the God of your grandparents and parents your God too?” Are the spiritual values of your parents and grandparents your values too? Are you walking in their footsteps of faith? So often, the second and third generations throw spiritual things on the scrap heap of life as outdated, worthless traditions of the past, irrelevant. That’s how spiritual darkness creeps into families and churches and societies. Perhaps you need to examine your own life to see whether you are following in the footsteps of faith, those who have gone before, or whether you have lost your zeal for God.

In the darkness of our lives, God often reveals to us his presence and his person. And, in the darkness of our lives God often reveals to us his promise (28:13b-14). “The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. ¹⁴ Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (28:13b-14).

God faithfully repeats his threefold promise, the same promise he gave to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3). First, the promise concerning the land (13b) - the inheritance that God had promised to Abraham is still secure. Second, the promise concerning the nation (14a) - the descendants God promised to Abraham will still be numerous. Third, the promise concerning all mankind (14b) - the influence God had promised Abraham will still prevail and spread to all the families of the earth through Jacob and his descendants.

Despite his bad behavior, notice that Jacob is included in the chain of blessing. This is the fifth reference to a patriarch as the source of worldwide blessing (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4). Previously Jacob had been occupied with obtaining the blessing for himself, but here he is the source and means of blessing to be bestowed on others. When Abraham received the promise of this blessing he was married but childless. Here, Jacob is both unmarried and childless!

Often in the dark times of our lives we think that God has abandoned us; we think God’s promises have failed; we think God’s word is unreliable. But that’s just the lie of Satan, who wants to disrupt our relationship with God and our trust in him. The truth is that when we encounter God in those dark and lonely times of life, we find that his word never fails and that he never changes. His promises and plans may not occur when we expect or how we expect but they are still the same. Our lives may take twists and turns that we find dark and depressing at times but he remains faithful - He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).

In the darkness of our lives, God often reveals to us his presence, his person, his promise, and God often reveals to us his provision (28:15). “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” God will unilaterally and unconditionally provide for Jacob. God will provide for Jacob’s need for companionship: “I am with you” - even though your family isn’t. God will provide for Jacob’s need for protection: “I will keep you wherever you go” - even though no on else cares about you. God will provide for Jacob’s guidance: “I will bring you back to this land” - even though you’ve just been sent away from it. God will provide for Jacob’s comfort: “I will not leave you - even though your family has let you down - until I have done what I promised you.”

In Jacob’s darkness these were sweet words. Though he felt totally abandoned and alone, God brought him comfort. Though his mother and father were not with him, God was with him. Nothing can happen to Jacob until God has fulfilled his promise through his divine provision.

When we are forsaken, we often flee into the darkness of rejection. In the darkness of rejection, we see the light of God’s revelation. And…

3. The Light Of God’s Revelation Brings Us To The Ultimate Realization (28:16-22).

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it” (28:16). First, we realize we are in the presence of God. This was a great discovery: God was present here! He wasn’t just present in the dream but he was present in “this place.” Jacob had just met God! He thought he was alone in a forsaken, deserted, desolate place but he was wrong. He discovered that God was here. He is shocked to discover God’s presence when he thought he was alone, just as Isaac was shocked to discover Jacob’s presence when he thought he was alone with Esau (27:33).

We often discover God in the places we least expect. It has been my experience that we learn more about God in those unexpected circumstances, those forsaken places, than anywhere else because those are the times when we must “be still and know that (he) is God” (Ps. 46:10). What Jacob had not known before is now a reality. He seems ashamed that he wasn’t aware of God’s presence before: “I did not know it.” He says to himself, “How could I have missed it. How could I have been so dumb. The God of my grandfather and father is real, alive, near, in this very place.”

This is a personal encounter with God. It’s one thing to dream, but it’s another to know the reality. It’s one thing to envision God, but it’s quite another to hear God speak and to know his presence. This isn’t a nightmare that makes Jacob’s heart pound, but which has no lasting significance. No! God has met him and God has spoken. God has revealed to him his eternal plan! His plan to bless all the nations of the earth. His plan of redemption for the human race!

No wonder Jacob is filled with fear! “And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven’”(28:17). That’s what happens when you encounter God face to face. God’s presence instils fear into the human heart - fear of his awe-inspiring presence, fear of his perfect holiness and our sinfulness, fear of failing him and being disobedient to him. That’s why Peter feared the Lord, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Lk. 5:8). Job feared the Lord: “Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). Isaiah feared the Lord: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”(Isa. 6:5).

If you haven’t trusted Christ for salvation, you too should be filled with fear - a fear that drives you to repentance, to confession of sin, to God for forgiveness through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. This wasn’t just an “awesome place” it was “none other than the house of God.” This wasn’t just a lodging place for Jacob for the night. This was God’s house and God’s house must surely mean that “this is the gate of heaven,” the place where God dwells!

In the light of God’s revelation, we realize that we are in the presence of God, and we realize we need to worship God. “So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it” (28:18). Jacob builds a monument. A stone becomes a statue. A pillow becomes a pillar for God. Faith is always expressed in action. This monument would be a permanent reminder of this discovery both for him and for all those who came behind him.

“He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first” (28:19) – Bethel (the house of God), the very same place where Abraham had stopped years before when he himself was on a journey from Ur to Canaan, where he had called on the name of the Lord (Gen. 12:8b). This isn’t a forsaken, desert place of darkness anymore. This isn’t a place where Jacob stopped because “the sun had set” (28:11). This isn’t a foreign place anymore where he had lodged while fleeing from a family problem. This is now “the house of God!” His whole perception of the place has changed since he met God. What was formerly known as Luz (a place of refuge) becomes for Jacob a place of spiritual refuge – Bethel, the house of God. That’s how it is when we encounter the living God. Our whole perspective on life and circumstances changes. When we enter into a faith relationship with God and grasp the reality of God’s presence, person, promises, and provision in our lives everything changes.

In the light of God’s revelation, we realize that we are in the presence of God, that we need to worship God, and we realize we need to dedicate our lives to God. Jacob sealed his devotion with a vow of dedication. “²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you’” (28:20-22).

This is not a conditional commitment: “if God… then I.” No! This is not an “if” of doubt but an “if” of reason. Jacob is making a vow of dedication in which he repeats what God has just said. He is saying: “I cannot do this alone. God must help me. And if the Lord God is with me and keeps me in this way in which I am going and gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear so that I return in peace to the house of my father and the Lord becomes my God, then by God’s grace the stone which I set up as a pillar will be the house of God and out of gratitude for all that God gives me I will give him back one-tenth.”

This vow includes two expressions of his newfound faith. First, worship - he would always worship God at Bethel. He will never fail to remember what happened there and to worship God wherever he is. Second, service - before it ever became the Law, he commits to serve God by giving to God some of God’s rich provision for him. Here Jacob dedicates his life to God. He recognizes that he is totally dependent on God. The one who had used his own resources to the full to manipulate his father and his brother now is completely out of resources and at God’s mercy. Just as Esau was once dependent on Jacob in his desperate hunger, now Jacob is utterly dependent on God. That’s why he repeats God’s promise (cf. v. 15). If God will accompany me (and he has promised that he will); if God will protect me (and he has promised that he will); if God will sustain me (and he has promised that he will); if God will guide me (and he has promised that he will); if the Lord will be my God (and he has promised that he will); then, since all of that is true, “of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” This is Jacob’s vow of dedication.

Final Remarks

What a marvellous thing to discover who God is, even when that happens in the dark experiences of our lives. Many of you have probably had that experience. Perhaps you are going through it right now and you’re finding that it isn’t pleasant. But it’s necessary as it stretches you and makes you dependent and challenges the reality of your faith and relationship with God.

For 18 years I suffered from undiagnosed Lyme disease, whose lingering effects continue to this day. It was so bad sometimes that I could barely lift my arm off the arm of my chair. Eventually I had to quit my work. That was a particularly dark period in my life. But it was in that dark place that I learned more about God than I had ever learned in the light.

We discover God in Bethel experiences. We discover God when we’re completely alone, totally beyond ourselves, with no one and nothing to count on but God. Remember our thesis for this sermon: When we come to a dark, forsaken place in our lives, that’s where God draws near and the dark, forsaken place becomes the house of God.

We all need a Bethel experience where God reveals himself to us in powerful ways, when we realize that God is a holy, awesome God, when his presence and person fill us with holy “fear”, when we realize our insignificance and his greatness.

Bethel experiences are not comfortable. It’s not just a matter of making a decision or walking to the front or raising a hand, but it’s a matter of knowing God in the remoteness of our experience, when the sun has set on our lives and darkness envelopes us. It’s a matter of knowing his presence, his person, his promises, his provision in a powerful and life-changing way.

If you’re not a Christian, you need to meet God personally. Salvation is personal - no one else can do it for you. You need to personally experience God’s saving grace expressed most fully through Christ on the cross in order to enter “the gate of heaven.” God’s grace through Christ is available to all (2 Pet. 3:9) but it is only effective in those who believe (Jn. 1:11-12).

If you’re a Christian, how well do you know God? You met God when you got saved, but what about since then? Have you learned about the ways and character of God in the dark experiences of your Christian life? Have you grown in your faith during those times? Has God become particularly precious to you through your heartaches and trials?

A Bethel experience changes your life forever because that’s when you respond to God’s revelation. That’s when you experience God intimately. That’s when you enter the “house of God.” That’s when you express your devotion to God, make a lifelong commitment to God. That’s when you worship the Lord. And it manifests itself in a practical expression of thanks for God’s grace and the dedication of our lives to God.

Have you been radically changed by a Bethel event so that your life is devoted to following Christ, so that you follow him in practical ways by using your gifts for him, by being baptized, by worshipping God from your heart, by standing in awe of his holiness, by giving your time, talent, and treasure to God out of the abundance he has given you and out of thanksgiving for his free gift of salvation?

May this be true of each of us today! May each one of us be able to say of our dark experiences of life: “How awesome is this place. This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

Introduction

Perhaps your past has brought you to a point in your life of complete helplessness and hopelessness; when everything seems black and you don’t know where to turn; when you want to forget the past because it only brings you pain. Sometimes, the experiences and hurts of the past just don’t seem to go away, do they? The memories still stare you in the face as if it were yesterday. Old attitudes and habits still plague you.

Perhaps you’ve spent your life in an attitude of self-sufficiency, “I’ll-do-it-my-way,” “I-don’t-need-God” kind of attitude. But now you’re not so sure anymore. Perhaps you’ve perpetuated the habits with which you grew up. Your home life was anything but stable, perhaps abusive even. And now you realize that you’re just a carbon copy of all that you despise about your past and you desperately want to leave it all behind. Or, perhaps you’ve worked all the angles; you’ve taken all the tax breaks (interpreted the income tax rules liberally), and you’ve gained a measure of success and status.

But all of a sudden your life has come unravelled. Your empire has come tumbling down, and like Humpty Dumpty “all the kings horses and all the kings men can’t put it back together again.” Perhaps you’re facing the night of your life right now.

Well, remember this: The night of agony always comes before the dawn of relief. That’s the primary teaching of our text. The darkness of dread precedes the light of liberty. Chaos of conscience goes before the calm of communion. The trauma of struggling blocks the tranquility of resting. The turmoil of striving pre-empts the security of trusting.

A few years ago I had a frozen shoulder. I had never heard of such a condition before. One morning I woke up and thought I had slept on my shoulder the wrong way. But it didn’t go away. In fact, it gradually got worse so that by the time I went to the doctor, it was fully frozen. The pain was excruciating. In fact, one time I was waiting for my wife in a store, and someone brushed up against me, making me move my arm quickly. I nearly passed out, the pain was so bad. When I began physiotherapy treatment, the physiotherapist said, “I’ll have to hurt you to make you better.” In other words, the night of agony always comes before the dawn of relief.

Twenty years have now passed since Jacob tricked his brother, Esau. And many more years than that have transpired since he chased his twin down the birth canal, grabbing onto his heel for all he was worth. And so began a life of fancy footwork. Up to this point, Jacob has been running away, but ...

I. Running From The Past Doesn’t Solve Your Problems (32:22-24a).

Jacob was a product of his past ambition. From his birth he couldn’t stand to be in second place. He had to be number 1 and he set out to prove that he was the best. He cheated his twin brother twice (first, out of his birthright and second, out of his father’s blessing), pulled the wool over his old father’s blind eyes, and conned his father-in-law out of the best livestock. Jacob was a product of his past ambition.

And Jacob was a product of his past environment. He had been raised in a dysfunctional home. He observed his parents’ divided affections – his father Isaac loved Esau; whereas his mother, Rebekah, loved him, Jacob. He recognized his father’s lack of leadership and godly example. He learned from his mother how to stretch the truth convincingly. And then there was his twin brother, who was so much like him and yet so different: Jacob was a mother’s boy; Esau was a “man’s man.” Jacob was level-headed (Mr. Cool, the strong quiet type) and ruthless to get his own way; Esau was rough and ready, an outdoorsman, but complacent about life (he undervalued the things that mattered, like his birthright). Jacob was the product of his past.

So, when things turned ugly at home, Jacob began running. He ran to uncle Laban’s house where through cunning and clever manipulation he prospered. By this time he had 12 children and he had accumulated a significant net worth.

But, when things turned ugly again, he began running again. When Laban wasn’t looking Jacob loaded up his animals and his family and left without even saying “goodbye.”

And so you can see how Jacob’s past shaped his values and character. For him the end always justified the means. Friends and family were treated just like anybody else - if that meant stealing, fraud, scheming, treachery, so be it. With friends like him, who needs enemies?

But God is at work again in his life. When God tells him to return to his family in Canaan, Jacob thinks it’s a great idea to escape from Laban’s clutches, manipulation, and jealousy. But what he didn’t know is that God was saying: “Jacob, it’s time! Time to deal with your past!”

Running from the past doesn’t solve your problems because (1) the past has a way of catching up with you (22-23). It caught up with Jacob here at the river Jabbok. So far, he had gotten what he wanted but at a great cost. We don’t know if he ever saw his mother again and he had certainly severed his relationship with his brother. Up to now, he hadn’t worried about meeting Esau again. He could patch things up; he could buy him off with presents. After all, he was wealthy now (32:1-5). But Esau’s wrath has been festering for 20 years. When he hears that his brother is returning, his anger boils over.

Jacob’s men return from taking peace offerings to Esau and they report that Esau is coming with 400 men (32:6)! Jacob intuitively knows that this isn’t a welcome home party. Esau means business: this is all-out war! Jacob’s fancy-footed, slick-handed scheming now looks pretty inadequate. He has just run right into a brick wall, and with no more tricks up his sleeve, he has to face the music. He has to look himself square in the face and he has only one place to turn – that’s to God!

He could have kept running, I suppose, but he didn’t. Perhaps by this time he was sick of running, tired of the sleazy side of his character, hated who he was and wanted to put it right. Perhaps he had finally reached the end of himself and his self-sufficient, self-improving, ambitious lifestyle. Or, perhaps he knew that he had just run out of options: he’d tossed the dice just one too many times. Whatever the reason, he played his last card (22-23) by dividing his company into two, so that if Esau got one party the other could escape (cf. 32:7f.), and he sent them on ahead while he was left alone.

Running from the past doesn’t solve your problems because (1) the past has a way of catching up with you and (2) eventually you have to stop running. There comes a time when you’re “left alone” (24a).

To be “left alone” with God is both frightening and exhilarating. Jacob had been alone with God once before when he was on the run at Bethel, as we noticed in a previous article (“When the sun sets: Jacob meets God,” Gen. 27:41-28:22). That time it was exhilarating. There was the vision, the ladder, the angels. And God’s promise to Abraham from years ago was renewed so that Jacob declares: “Surely, the Lord is in this place. And I did not know it…How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the very gate of heaven” (28:16). That was exhilarating and undoubtedly Jacob made a genuine commitment to serve God at that time. But he still has issues to deal with. He still has the old “end-justifies-the-means” ethics to deal with. He still has his old scheming character that he had inherited from his mother to deal with. He still has the past to deal with before God.

Last time his encounter with God was exhilarating, but this time his encounter with God is frightening! Now he meets God again – not at Bethel, but at the river Jabbok. Jabbok is the place where we stop running and fighting; the place of intense blackness - the midnight of the soul; the place where the moment of truth dawns - that we’re completely spent, no more ideas, the past has caught up to us, we’re at the dead end in the road, we’re trapped in the web of our own weaving; the place where we are alone; the place of wrestling; the place of a meeting with God.

Running from the past doesn’t solve your problems but…

II. A Meeting With God Brings You To Your Senses (32:24b-29).

Jacob wrestled tenaciously and desperately all night “until the break of day” (24b). Perhaps he wrestled about his past behaviour and habits - his duplicity, lies, scheming, fraud; about his present predicament which loomed large - his pending meeting with Esau; about his future destiny: “How could he change once-and-for-all and face the future? How could he be a man of integrity, at peace with God and other people?” You can be sure of this, a meeting with God stops you in your tracks (25). When God “wrestles” with you, you don’t go anywhere. You may struggle but you can’t get away.

Many of you have probably experienced a night of wrestling with God. Some people are very content with the way they are - complacent, no longing for God, no hunger for him. But others would do anything to change the way they are and what they’ve done. Great people have wrestled with God in the night of their lives. After his tryst with Bathsheba, David cried out in the agony of his soul: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13). After his seduction by Delilah, Samson pleaded with God: “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once” (Judges 16:28). After Elijah had succumbed to Jezebel’s threat, he moaned: “I, even I only, am left and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kgs 19:10). After Peter had denied the Lord with oaths and curses, he “went out and wept bitterly” (Lk. 22:62).

Some people come to Jabbok and decide to keep on running. They never face their past – only live for the present – and they don’t care about the future. They banish the past into the closet with all the other skeletons of their lives. They just rationalize what happened - make lifelong excuses: “I was a victim! It wasn’t my fault. There are lots worse than I.” They keep on running hoping that in the end they’ll escape. But there is no escape from God.

Some people decide to keep on running, others decide to wrestle this thing to the ground. They’re at the Jabbok where God stops them in their tracks. In fact, the only way to overcome your past is to “wrestle” with God. Maybe that’s where you are right now. Perhaps you’re plagued with regrets - about your family, about relationships. Or, you’ve abused your position of power - in your family, your church, your work. Or, perhaps you have a secret sin that for years you’ve tried to cover up or beat, but you can’t. Maybe you’ve neglected God in your Christian life and you have lived like an unbeliever; you’ve hurt someone and never been reconciled; you’ve suffered from abusive relationships that torture you; you’ve engaged in immoral behaviour that torments you; your shady business dealings keep you awake at night; your cheating on exams gives you cold sweats; your unfaithfulness to your spouse haunts you; you have character traits that you long to change – a poisonous tongue, a bitter spirit, a hot temper, or a critical attitude.

And now you’re at the point you can’t stand it any longer. Your conscience is driving you crazy if you don’t deal with it. You can’t cover it up any more nor can you ignore it. Now, naked and exposed under the midnight sky you wrestle with God. The veneer is stripped off; you look yourself straight in the mirror and you’re forced to face it head on - no more hiding down the dark alleys of your past, no more mind games, but a head-on confrontation with God.

Be aware your hip may be dislocated in the process (25). Jacob had been a survivor. He had always won out. Every time there was a dispute, he came out smelling like a rose. Every time he was in a fix, he came up with a solution. But now he would have an experience like none other. God would permanently wound him.

When you wrestle with God you may be wounded. You’ll certainly lose; God always conquers. And sometimes he has to cripple you. When you wrestle with God, you feel his body next to yours. You feel his power as he inflicts a wound. And when you feel that stabbing pain in your hip, you know the reality of his presence and his power. Wounds bring contrition, repentance, yearning for God. A. W. Tozer put it like this: “I doubt that God can use a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply.”

Where was your first Jabbok? When have you been wounded as you wrestled with God? When did you feel the stabbing dislocation of your hip as God deals with you and your past? When were you driven to call on God in your trouble?

A meeting with God (1) stops you in your tracks and (2) a meeting with God makes you cry for a blessing (26-29). Jacob knew all about the blessing of God. He knew how God had blessed his grandfather, Abraham, with a son at 100 years old. He knew how his father, Isaac, had been delivered from the jaws of death on Mt. Moriah. And he himself had received a blessing from his father. To wrestle with God is to plead with God for a blessing.

If you’re in pain today that others have inflicted on you, then cry from the bottom of your heart: “O, God, I will not let you go until you bless me! Rid me of the pain from all those years of abuse. Take away the torment of my mind. Remove the pangs of conscience that hang like a thick cloud.”

Perhaps you’re the perpetrator of sin – you’ve inflicted pain on others. Then cry to God in the agony of your soul: “O, God, I’m sick of the past. I need a second chance, a new beginning. I hate who I am and what I have done. I desperately want a fulfilling life. I want to put right the wrongs I have done. I desperately want to know You. Change me, O God!”

If you need to get right with God about anything, say: “O, God, I will not let you go unless you bless me! Forgive the sin of my life - my self-sufficiency that left you out; my infidelity, lusts, envy, covetousness; the pornography I’m addicted to; my pride; my unfaithfulness to my spouse; my cheating; my fraudulent habits; my deceitfulness; the abuse of my body with drugs and sex.”

God will honour your cry and bless you (27-29), just as he honoured Jacob’s cry and blessed him. And he’ll radically transform your life. He’ll bless you with a new name, a new identity (28). God asked Jacob: “What’s your name?” (27). That seems like a strange question for God to ask – didn’t he know Jacob’s name? Perhaps God asked Jacob his name to remind Jacob of the last time he had been asked that question, “Who are you?” (27:18). That question was asked by his old, blind father and Jacob had lied to him. Now he is before an all-seeing God and he gives his correct name. He acknowledges who he was and God responds with a great promise: “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed” (28).

Jacob’s name told the story of his life. It was his identity as a usurper, whose birth portrayed what his life would subsequently be - the second-born twin who sought to overtake his first-born brother by grabbing onto his heel as he exited the birth canal; the one who would seek to trip others up and overtake them.

You need to acknowledge your old name, who you really are. Then, God will give you a new name – a new name that will take away the stigma of the old life; a new name to remind you that, formerly, you took charge of your life but that you struggled with God and finally prevailed; a new name that acknowledges that now “God is the ruler of your life.”

Running from the past doesn’t solve your problems but a meeting with God brings you to your senses, so that now…

III. Facing The Future Gives You Renewed Hope (32:30-32).

(1) You can face the future with renewed hope when you’ve “seen the face of God” (30). God breaks through our past and opens the future so that we can say: “I have seen God face to face and yet my life has been delivered” (30).

The place of wrestling is the place of divine appointment. It’s the place where we suddenly realize that the person with whom we wrestled is none other than God, that we have actually met God face to face and lived to tell the tale!

Have you ever seen God face to face? No one can see God and remain unchanged. You’ll get a new name and you’ll lose your independence. You’ll walk with a limp and lean on a cane for the rest of your life. To walk with God means to lean on him, to claim his power. Remember, Esau is always at the gate threatening, swaggering, waiting to throw us off the path. He’s the Judas (betrayer), the Diotrephes (pre-eminence), the Demas (loved the world), the Alexander the coppersmith (opposer). Whenever he shows up, he whispers: “We’re at the Jabbok again.”

You can face the future with renewed hope (1) when you’ve seen the face of God, and (2) you can face the future with renewed hope when the sun finally rises (31). As an aside, notice how the author has book-ended this segment of Jacob’s life with these two expressions: “The sun had set” (28:11) and now “the sun rose” (32:31).

Jacob emerges from the night and “the sun rose upon him” (31a). When God breaks through our past, the darkness of night becomes a beautiful sunrise. Sorrow may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning (Ps. 30:15).

Perhaps the sun hasn’t shone much in your life recently. You may have spent a lot of time in darkness, desperately longing for the sun to finally rise. Is that what you want more than anything today, to walk out of this service into the sun rise of your life? To feel the sunshine of God’s love shine upon you? To know the beauty of God’s truth as it infiltrates your soul? To bask in the radiant heat of God’s all-embracing mercy and power?

As he goes to meet Esau, Jacob “limped on his hip” (31b). The limp serves two purposes: (a) it reminds us that we can’t stand on our own, that we’re totally dependent on God, that we must lean on him. Every time you take a step, get out of bed, put your shoes on, you’ll know that a life lived for God is a dependent life. So, it reminds us that we can’t stand on our own, and (b) it preserves us from ever trying to run again. It ensures that we stay close to God.

The subsequent practice by the Israelites of not eating “the sinew of the thigh” (32:32) would surely have served as a constant reminder to them of what happened to Jacob that memorable night when God changed him from one who was running away to the man who was returning to be the leader of God’s people.

Final Remarks

Remember our thesis: The night of agony always comes before the dawn of relief. This scene closes at the dawn of a new day. In the early morning sunlight we see Jacob limping into the sunrise across the Jabbok, ready to face Esau with courage and joy. Now his life can begin anew. If you need to settle things with God and with other people, don’t continue to fight it, to put it off, to rationalize it. Don’t think there will be a better time. There’s never a better time than now.

Don’t be afraid that it’s too late or it’s too complicated. No amount of years is too long for God to span. It took Jacob years to deal with his habits, attitudes, and self-reliance until God wrestled him to the ground. And he has gone down in history as the father of the Israelites. No life is too far gone for God to bless.

If you had to choose whether to bless Jacob or Esau, whom would you choose? You’d probably choose Esau, because we look on the outward appearance. But remember that God looks on the heart, for where we see a cheat God sees a champion; where we see a runner God sees a wrestler; where we see a liar God sees a leader.

God sees into your life with all its past and he wants to bless you for the future. For you that may seem like a daunting task, but, as Max Lucado puts it: “For God… it’s all in a night’s work.”

If this message today has touched a cord in your life, why not make a commitment to God now, whether you have suffered pain or inflicted pain; whether you’ve been running or you’ve stopped running? Remember, God pours healing into hearts that are hurting; God gives grace to people in pain; and God extends mercy to sinners and saints who repent.

Perhaps this was what the hymn writer had in mind when she wrote:

I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
no tender voice like thine can peace afford.

I need thee, O I need thee; every hour I need thee!
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.