Houston Congregational Christian Church

Pastor James Manuel
4883 Russia-Houston Road
Houston, OH  45333
Phone:  937-295-3591
Email:  click here

Message Title:     A Bigger Box

Call to Worship:     Genesis 1:26

Scripture Reading:                                 Matthew 28:16-20

Prayer:   May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable unto You O Lord on this Your day.

A Bigger Box.  Several years ago a commercial on TV showed a little dog trying to catch Godzilla.   This little dog has a box with a stick holding it open,  a string attached to the stick,  and the end of the string in his mouth.   He’s waiting for Godzilla to come so he can catch him in the box.   As he calls---here lizard,  here lizard,   he peeks around the corner to see Godzilla knocking over buildings,   and with a look of sheer terror on his face he says----I think I need a bigger box.

As imperfect human beings we all fall prey to the temptation to place God in a box,   in an airtight system we can comprehend.   If we continue to grow in our faith  we discover an important truth---God is always bigger than our boxes.     Isaiah 40:28 says,  ‘Do you not know?   Have you not heard?   The Lord is the everlasting God,   the Creator of the ends of the earth.   He will not grow tired or weary   and His understanding no one can fathom.’

My friends there is one fundamental belief that we as Christians must accept.   It is the Godzilla of Christian belief   and yet at times we speak and act as if it would fit into our little boxes.     May I say the central belief of Christianity   is the Trinity,    that God is one being who consists of 3 persons as Matt. 28: tells us,   ‘God the Father,   God the Son  and God the Holy Spirit.’     Not 3 Gods  but one God with 3 distinct,  separate,    yet interrelated persons.  

The whole concept of the Trinity raises the question of whether Jesus was and is really God.   And may I say this is a good question because Christianity rises or falls with this question.     Why do we affirm a doctrine that is not even named in the Bible?       I believe in God as Trinity because this is how God has revealed Himself in the Bible.   As early as the creation of mankind in Genesis 1:26 God says,   ‘Let us make mankind in Our image.’     

Here we hear God speaking   but He is using the plural pronoun,   not the singular,  in reference to Himself.     I believe that this means that there is a multiperson dimension to God   that is unlike what we may experience on earth.      God and our universe are much more complex than we have ever dreamed.  

When we come to the New Testament   we discover that there can be no doubt that Jesus is the Son of God    and God has revealed Himself as Trinity.   Colossians 1:15 tells us that,  ‘He is the image of the invisible God,  the firstborn over all creation.    For by Him all things were created,   things in heaven and on earth,   visible and invisible,  whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities,    all things were created by Him and for Him.’

This is one of the strongest statements about the divine nature of Jesus found in the Bible.      Jesus is not only equal to God,      He is God.    John 10:30 says,  ‘I and the Father are one.’         As the image of the invisible God  He is the exact representation of God.        He not only reflects God,  but He reveals God to us as the firstborn over all creation.   He has all the priority and authority of the firstborn prince in a king’s household.     He came from Heaven   not from the dust of the earth.   He is Lord of all.   He is completely Holy and He has authority to judge the world.   Romans 2:16,  ‘This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ   as My Gospel declares.’

Therefore Christ is supreme over all creation.   We like the early Church must believe in the deity of Jesus Christ,   that Jesus is God.       If we can’t believe this then our Christian faith is hollow,   misdirected and meaningless.       This is a central truth of Christianity    and we must oppose those who say   that Jesus was merely a prophet    or a good teacher.    Jesus is God.  

To accept the Incarnation,   that Jesus is God the Son,   and the Trinity that God reveals Himself as Father,  Son  and Spirit---three in one---is to accept that God has and still does personally come to us.    It is to accept that in Jesus we see God with a face on,    that the Creator of this universe has indeed visited planet Earth in the form of the Son   and still does in the form of the Spirit.    

What does it mean if we believe in the Trinity or not.    Belief in the Trinity can and should change how we live.    To accept the Trinity is to acknowledge that God is beyond our human comprehension.    We need Bigger Boxes.          To accept the Trinity is to acknowledge that the God of the universe is the God we meet in Jesus Christ,   the God revealed in Scripture.    John 1:1-2 tells us that,  ‘In the beginning was the Word   and the Word was with God   and the Word was God.   He was with God in the beginning.’ 

Some years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics nine contestants were gathered at the starting line for the 100 meter dash.   The gun went off and they began to run.   One boy stumbled and fell,  rolled over on the asphalt and began to cry.   The other 8 heard the boy,  stopped and returned to him.    Every one of them.   One girl with Down’s syndrome bent down and kissed him and said---This will make it better.    Then all 9 linked arms and walked to the finish line together.   The stadium exploded with cheering for more than ten minutes. 

My friends here we have a picture of God---Father,  Son,  Spirit----walking arm in arm with us to the finish line.    The Father who created us.    The Son who redeemed us.    And the Holy Spirit who sustains us.   Father   Son   Spirit---The Holy Trinity  all ensuring that we finish the race.