The Name We Bear: Trinity, Baptism, and Identity in Christ

The Name We Bear: Trinity, Baptism, and Identity in Christ

Holy Trinity – 5/31/2026

John 3:1-17

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer

That portion of God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our reading from the third

chapter of the Holy Gospel according to St. John with special emphasis on verses five and six which read as follows:

“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear friends in Christ, this day stands before us as a testament to the revealed nature of God, that is, that our God, the God who created us, the God who saved us, the God who makes us holy, is eternally One and yet is three Persons. This is not some little point of esoteric Christian teaching, that is, some doctrine for the real spiritual go-getters. No dear friends, this teaching is at the heart of who God has revealed Himself to be and, subsequently, who we are in Him. While it may sound like theological hair splitting, false teaching on the nature of God as Trinity sets the stage for all kinds of false teaching, that ultimately robs people of their comfort in Christ.

It works something like building a house. If one builds a poor foundation, one that is full of cracks or uses cement unable to handle the stress of the weight of the home to be built on top, the house will fall. At the very least, when the foundation settles, it will lead to the house being misshapen and unsightly. At worst, the structure becomes uninhabitable and those who live there will be forced to move out.

Doctrine works like this. That is to say, if one messes up a basic, foundational teaching of the Christian faith, it will affect the other teachings that are built upon it. So, if we deny that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not each God, each eternal, each their own divine Person, and yet still One, then we will inevitably mess up something else. For example, if we teach that Christ is not God, the careful reader of the Bible will recognize that the blood of creatures is not sufficient to atone for sin. Atonement is only possible when the blood of a divine Man is shed on the cross. Or, if one denies that divinity of the Holy Spirit, then those who hear such a teaching will be robbed of the reality of the Comforter, as only a Person can comfort. Impersonal forces do not give peace or comfort, at best they only give power. And so, many have been led astray by partial teaching.

And so, dear friends, confessing this teaching rightly is a matter of confessing salvation and our place within the works of God. So, let’s be clear about this. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are each, in their own Person, God. And yet, these Three are one God. This is essential for us to confess. If God was not One, then such a being would be made of parts, so to speak. And if something has parts, this indicates it is both a creature and that it is possible for such a being to be broken apart. Neither of these things can be of God, as God is supreme and no force can act against Him without His willing it to be so. Further, God is three Persons as He has revealed to us this reality in His Son and through the Son into the very Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. The Father, Son, and Spirit each have their areas of emphasis in the work of salvation, and yet, they are united in their One-ness in every act of God. Simply put, we let God speak for Himself on such matters.

Consequently, we reject the teachings which stand against this Scriptural reality. We

have no fellowship with those who would rob us of the comfort of salvation by denying Christ’s divinity. We have no fellowship with those who deny the personhood of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, thereby denying us the peace and comfort of God. We have no fellowship with those who deny the supreme divinity of God, making God – with a capital “G” - into “god” - with a lower case “g”. In other words, God is the perfect, eternal, holy, just One beyond human comprehension. He is not a lower case “g” god on the level of the triple goddess of the Wiccans or the level of Thor in the neo-pagan Arastru movement.

And this holy, eternal, perfect God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, this is Who we have been baptized into. We, each of us, bear the holy Name of God in our Baptisms. We have been marked with this Name forever, each of us carrying this invisible mark through our lives. It shows that we have been ripped from this age of death and been instead made citizens of the heavenly Kingdom of God Himself. And it is good for us to remember this, to know who we are.

There are three ways that our identities rest in God. Firstly, we are His creatures, made by Him in His image. Secondly, we are saved by the death of God the Son, Jesus Christ. Finally, we are made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Every person, no matter how old or young, good or bad, skin color or race, is a creature made by God in the image and likeness of God. And though we have lost the fullness of that image in the fall, that is, we no longer bear the original righteousness God intended for us to have due to sin, we still reflect the divine nature in part in our lives. And so, each of us then bears natural rights, given by God, something well understood by the founders of our nation. It is a terrible shame that many today operate under a theory of rights that assumes the power of granting rights to the government, rather than recognizing that our rights truly come from God. As a creature of God, you have the dignity of being a human being. You are given the beautiful gift of life, life which is from the providential hand of God Himself. This is true of every human person, no matter how outwardly pious or sinful they might be. Murderers, gossips, and pious (and not so pious) Christians stand as equals here.

But this is not the whole of our identity in God. When you were baptized, you were made sons and heirs of eternal salvation by being placed into the very Sonship of the Son, Jesus Christ. You heard me right, in the Father’s eyes, each of us is the image of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ in Baptism. And as such, we are now all brothers and sisters and children of God. You’ve been adopted as God’s own child and been given an inheritance that you neither deserve or can earn. So, your identity is no longer mere creature, but is now beloved son of God, inheritor of the blessings of the Kingdom. You are Baptized, this is now who you are.

Finally, you are the dwelling place of God Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit. You are made holy righteous by the death of Christ that atones for your sins and allows for God the Holy Spirit to dwell in you, bringing His blessings of peace, comfort, and faith. So, you are not only a creature, nor just a son and heir. You are also the very dwelling of God, for your sanctification, that is, your personal holiness.

  Compare this, dear friends, to what the world says to you about who you are: We are told that we are conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, rural and urban, gay and straight, transsexual and cisgendered, black and white, German and Norwegian, drunk and sober, and on and on. But, dear friends, these things are not who you are. You are not the bottle you crawl into, the drugs you do, the lusts that live in your heart, the gossip you can’t suppress, the covetousness you indulge. You are not your gluttony, your work, your family, or your town. You are not the bad things you done or said. You are God’s. You bear His Name. You are His creature, His redeemed Son and Heir, and His holy dwelling place.

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] John 3:5-6 English Standard Version. All further quotations are from the ESV.