My last article concluded with this challenge: Preach as Trinitarians, and I dealt with two issues: a) Preach the Trinity in the Whole story of Scripture; b) Preach all Three Persons. Now we consider two further aspects. Preach the Trinity in Scripture texts. Keep looking for the Trinity in every text.

While the word “Trinity” is absent from Scripture, its concept is woven throughout the New Testament texture. Out of its post-resurrection conviction that the one and only God of the Old Testament had encountered them in Jesus Christ, the historical Jesus is confessed as divine in the earliest confessions, as in John 20:28, “My Lord and my God,” where the Greek translation of the Hebrew “Yahweh” is applied to Jesus. Further, the apostles experienced the person of the Holy Spirit (“another Advocate” John 14:16), as the church burst into life at Pentecost (Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 32-33).

The gospels record an intimate connection between God’s three persons in the ministry of Jesus. See especially the annunciation (Luke 1:35) and baptism (Luke 3:21- 22). Jesus spoke about his unique relationship with the Father (Luke 10:22, John 5:18-23) and with the Spirit (Mat 12:28). John’s gospel underlines the unity of Father and Son (10:29-30; 14: 9-10) and Jesus’ sending of Spirit (16:7-15).Matthew 28:19 offers the clearest Trinitarian statement with each name preceded by the article, emphasizing both singularity and plurality – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

New Testament writers directly applied Old Testament passages to Jesus, such as Phil. 2:9-11 (Isa. 45:23) and Rom. 10:11 (Isa. 28:16). Within the epistles there are occasional explicit references, such as the benediction of 2 Cor.13:14. Father and Son are used with differentiation as in Col. 1:19 and 1 John 1:3.

Importantly, there are longer passages about the work of Trinity especially in salvation (see Rom. 8:3-4; 15-17; 1 Cor. 1:4-7; 2:4-5; 6:11; 12:4-6; 2 Cor. 1: 21-22; Gal. 4:4-6; Eph. 1:13-14; 3:16-19; 4:4-7; 1 Thess. 1:2-6; 2 Thess. 2:13; see also other epistles: 2 Pet. 1:2; Jude 20-21). Trinitarian implications are to be found everywhere.

Provocative pluralities are also found in the Old Testament, in spite of its rigorous monotheism, (Exo. 20:2-7, Deut. 6:4). Particularly significant is Gen. 1:26-27: “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness’…. So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them.”

Humanity’s creation as male and female somehow reflects God’s personal intercommunion, as unity within plurality. Plural language (Gen. 3:22; 11:7) is intriguingly personalized, for example, in the role of the Spirit (Gen. 1:2), the angel of the Lord (Gen. 16:7-14; 22:11; Ex. 3:2-6; Jgd. 13:2-22), the three visitors (Gen. 18:1-9), and Wisdom (Pro. 8).

So, undeniably, the God of Scripture is triune and Christian faith is Trinitarian. Preaching should therefore consciously reflect God’s self-revelation as One God in Three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

• Preach explicit texts clearly. Preachers should preach conscientiously and vividly on the (few) specific Trinity texts, so that congregations are confronted by the reality of God’s three-in-oneness. For preachers who follow the lectionary, Trinity Sunday provides a strategic annual occasion for emphasizing this doctrine. Ideally, preachers in other worship traditions should also plan for equivalent opportunities, to ensure direct teaching on the mystery and wonder of God’s triunity. Texts such as Matt. 28:19 and 2 Cor. 13:14 deserve Trinitarian emphasis. While Matt. 28:16-20 (“The Great Commission”) is rightly preached as a mission challenge, it needs to be understood properly within its Trinitarian framework as Father, Son and Holy Spirit are explicitly named.