First Peter, chapter one. What page is that on? What? 1201. 1201, the Bible. I'll be preaching today from the first two verses, but... 1203. Oh, sorry, 1203. Wrong direction. But I'm going to go ahead and read through verse five to sort of set the context. So, First Peter, chapter one, verses one through five. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood, may grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Let's pray together. Holy Father, we come to you in the name of your Son, by the enablement of your Spirit, we ask you to open up this passage to us today. and give us understanding, Lord, of your word and the revelation that you have made to humanity and especially to your church. So we commit this time with thanksgiving to your blessing. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen. Please be seated. Today is Trinity Sunday. We are celebrating God as Trinity. There's no more important truth in the Holy Scriptures than this. That the true and living God, the eternally existing One who created the heavens and the earth, is a Being who is so much higher and majestic and awesome, that we could never have imagined how He is. Well, to begin with, the Scriptures reveal to us that He is one God. One God. And there's only one God, according to the Christian Bible. There are not two gods. There are not two forces, such as some ancient religion has said, an evil force and a good force at war with one another. There are not many gods, as the Romans and Greeks believed. There's not even a multitude of gods, millions of gods, such as found in India among the Hindus. God is one. This is a fundamental declaration of scriptures. Hebrew children were taught Deuteronomy 6.4. The Lord our God is one God. And this was their basic confession. Well, there's a depth and richness in the being of God. He's not only one, but He's also three. He is three persons. Within the one God, there are three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is hard for us to grasp, because we're individual people, and we're separate people with separate personalities. and thinking and worldview and so forth. But God is different than us. He's much higher and more majestic and, if I could say, even more intricate than we can really grasp totally with our minds. But what He has revealed is wonderful and we need to study the person, the being of God. One of the marks of the Christian life is that we are continually growing in the knowledge of God and of His great salvation. So it is a journey that never ends. And the more we study about God, the more we rejoice and the more we are amazed at His person, how awesome He is. Well, God is Trinity. What does the word Trinity mean? Well, it means unity in threeness. The Christian Church has always confessed that there is one true and living eternal God, and He's always existed in eternity past, now, and eternity future, in three persons. This is the way the Church has chosen to describe the distinctiveness within God, His persons. There's the Father, He is God, The Son, He is God, and the Spirit is God. But there are not three gods, there is only one God. How can that be, you say? Well, it is hard to understand, but we have to accept what God has revealed to us. Well, it is very important that we understand the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. It's important that we understand this, that we study this, that we deal with this, Because the Bible reveals that this is the nature and the being of God. And so it's our obligation as Christians to study God, to seek to understand his person, his being as much as possible. Now, the revelation of God's nature and being was made progressively throughout redemptive history. It wasn't all just poured out at once upon Adam in the garden. But it was poured out over time. For example, we read Isaiah chapter 6, where Isaiah saw a vision of Yahweh in the temple, and the heavenly creatures were declaring, Holy, Holy, Holy! And so these three persons of God are just hinted at there. And there are other hints in the Old Testament of the threeness of God. But it was fully revealed the depth of God's person when Jesus came, the Son of God, fully God, it was evident that He was God in the flesh. And then when He, after He died and ascended, He sent the Spirit upon the church in power. And so the church was faced with this reality. Here's Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And here's Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One, who is Yahweh in the flesh. And here's the Holy Spirit poured out upon us. We have come to know the Spirit of God. We've experienced Him. We've been worshiping Yahweh. We've come to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. So how do we understand the person of God, the depth of God? Well, they had to conclude. The Father is God. The Son is God and the Spirit is God, but there's not three gods, there's one God. Well, you see this view of God as being Trinity is a distinctly Christian view of God. You don't find this doctrine of God in any other religion. And so it's unique because it is the revelation of God. It's beyond human ability to conceive of the person of God. Other world religions make a poor and pitiful attempt to describe God, but he's made in their own image or under the inspiration of demons. Now, it's important to understand also that God is Trinity because we experience him as Trinity in our salvation. This is an ongoing living experience for the Christian. We don't just have a relationship with God the Father, and that's it. And we don't just have a relationship with God the Son, and that's it, or only a relationship with God the Spirit. No, we have a relationship with all three of these persons on a daily basis. We pray to the Father in the name of Jesus because of his blood, and by the enablement of the Spirit of God. And so every day we live in fellowship with the Triune God. How rich is our salvation. You see, if anyone of the three persons of God is not intimately involved in our salvation, then we're lost. We're lost. if all three persons are not involved. You see, because the Father is the one who calls us, who elects us, who sets his love upon us. If he didn't do that, if he hadn't set this great plan of salvation in motion, it never would have happened. The Son never would have come. He sent the Son, The Son died on the cross, the Father didn't die on the cross, the Spirit didn't die on the cross, only the Son of God, the second person of the Triune God, He took upon Himself human flesh, human nature, and died on the cross as our substitute. So if He didn't die on the cross, we're sunk for all eternity. And even if the Father had sent the Son and planned our salvation, And if the Spirit didn't apply the work of Christ to our hearts and minds, we'd still be lost. We'd still be floundering around in our ignorance and our sin, even though the great redemptive act had taken place. If the Spirit doesn't apply it to us, if he doesn't make it real to us, if he doesn't come in our hearts and minds, then it's to no avail. It's useless. So you see, it's essential to our own salvation that we understand that all three persons of the Triune God are intricately, intimately, and vitally involved in our salvation. It's a great salvation. It's a great God. And He spared no effort to save His people, to keep His people, to love His people, to commune with His people, to fellowship with His people, day by day. This is why the Gospel is so great. It's why we go out and share with people who are lost, who are ignorant of all these things. Listen, this is the true God. He's the Eternal Father. He sent His Son to die for our sins, to rescue us, to bring us into His fellowship, and He sent the Spirit to abide in our hearts and minds and live with us every moment of every day. Oh, what a blessed salvation God has provided for His people. You see, not to understand the triune nature of God, not to understand the Trinity, is to deprive the Christian of the full understanding of the blessing and benefits that are at his fingertips. The communion that he or she has with God, and it leaves that person lacking knowledge, lacking understanding. They're still in fellowship with God, but they don't understand how rich This fellowship is, you see, to know our God, to study Him is our highest calling and pursuit. To remain weak in our understanding of the Trinity is to leave ourselves deprived and in some spiritual poverty, when actually there are great riches for us in the knowledge of God, if we would take the time and effort to study God, to dig into the gold mine of the blessing of his person and nature for us, his people. Now, we believe that every Christian should be a theologian. What is a theologian? That's a studier of God. No Christian is exempt. That is our calling. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. We need to read the Bible. We need to read books about the Trinity. We need to listen to sermons. We need to grow in the knowledge of God. By doing this we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Now what are we going to be doing for all eternity? One of our primary activities, besides worship, is studying the person of God. Because he's infinite, and we can spend all eternity thinking, studying about his nature, his attributes, and we're never going to exhaust the greatness of God. So we have a great future ahead of us, and it begins right now. So let's get to know the Trinity better, the Trine God. The Christian lives in daily fellowship with the three persons of the one God. And to understand this clearer will enrich our Christian lives and our walk with God. So our text today introduces us to some of the basic knowledge of our mutual relationship and dependence upon the three persons of the Triune God. So let's look at our text. 1st Peter 1, verse 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion. Well, he begins his letter in a familiar way. Those of us who familiar with the New Testament letters know that this is a common way this was customary in those days you began a letter with your name who's writing it and who it's to so Peter identifies himself as an apostle now an apostle is a person who's sent on a mission with a message to deliver now there are people that can have an apostolic ministry they can be sent to share the gospel but he here is indicating that he is a special apostle he's an apostle of Jesus Christ and we know that he was one of the original twelve apostles so he's he's been given authority in a special way to teach and preach regarding Jesus Christ you remember on that last night before Jesus was crucified. He was teaching his disciples. In John 17, verse 8, Jesus said to his disciples, including Peter, For I've given them... He's praying to the Father. Jesus says, For I've given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them, and have come to know in truth that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me." And then he goes on to tell them further that you are to take the words about me, the information, the truth, and you're to teach it to others. So, the apostles were in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, the original twelve apostles, and they received the teaching from him, and then the Holy Spirit we learn, enable them to remember the things that Jesus had taught. And so, Peter was in this special relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He was guided by the Spirit. The Spirit inspired him to write this letter. Now by the time he wrote this letter, he was a veteran apostle and a Christian. So you can tell by the way he writes, that he was a mature man in Christ. He was not a baby in Christ. He'd been through probably many trials, many ups and downs. Now, according to tradition, the Apostle Peter was beheaded, probably during the persecution of Nero, the Roman Emperor Nero in 64 AD. And this letter of 1 Peter is written to a church that's under persecution. If you read this letter, we see that the church is suffering. And so, what does a suffering church need? They need encouragement from their God. Now, he's an apostle of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Savior, the Anointed One, the Christ. Who's the letter written to? Another characteristic of letters in the first century, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion. and he named several places here. Place names Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia. These are found in present-day Turkey. Mostly in northern Turkey. And he calls them elect exiles. Now, another word would be sojourners or pilgrims, for example. because they've been dispersed. They've been sent out from their home area, their home church, Jerusalem, into various parts of the world. Now, exiles. They've been exiled. You may have read about Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian man. who criticized, through his writings, the communist government. And he was a bold and strong writer, but he was exiled by the Russians. They kicked him out. Later, he was welcomed back. But these people were kicked out, and so they were dispersed in different parts of the world. Now, the church was evidently from the context of this book under a time of persecution. Now, if a church is under persecution, what they need to know, they need a word from God. And so Peter says, you are elect exiles. In other words, you're chosen. Your exile is not an accident, but it's under the sovereignty of God. You are chosen ones. Now, to be elect means to be chosen by God. And so they didn't choose to be Christians on their own. God chose them to be Christian. They were elected by God to come to know God. And because of their knowledge of God, they ran into some trouble. And they were exiled from their home territory. Now, he calls them elect, or some translations say chosen. Election, according to what one person said, and I believe him, it's a very good statement. In biblical teaching, election is a central theme of the scriptures. You can't get around it. It's found everywhere. And it's the foundation of spiritual blessing. Election by God to choose unworthy people is woven throughout the fabric of scripture. It's everywhere. One of the clearest statements in the Old Testament was God's statement to the Israelites. Why did he choose this particular tribe out of all the hundreds of tribes on the earth? It says in Deuteronomy 7 verse 6. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love upon you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples. It's because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers. So why did God choose this Israeli nation? Because of his love, his promise to the fathers. There's no other explanation. It's God's sovereign love is the source, the foundation of election. Now, many people don't like that term. They don't like that concept. But it's because they don't understand how desperately they need election. Humankind, every person ever born, comes out of the womb condemned for their sin. because of Adam's sin. Now you say, well that's not fair. Why should I be condemned for what Adam did? It's because Adam was a representative appointed head of the human race. And what he did affected not only himself, but everybody who followed. Now, to balance that out, there was a second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. And what he did on Calvary's cross, the resurrection, is applied to his people. He paid for our sin. He took our place. He rose from the dead. And so, to be elect of God means that we are people who deserve to go to hell, but He has rescued us by the grace and mercy of God. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4 is one of the clearest statements in the New Testament regarding the doctrine of election. That is, it says here, Even as He, that is God, chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. So before the foundation of the world is when election began. It's very clear there, a statement you can't get around it. God elected His people from before the foundation of the world. Are you a Christian today? It's because God elected you from before the foundation of the world. Praise the Lord. Can you pat yourself on the back and say, oh, I'm a little more holier than my neighbor. He does all kind of bad stuff. No, the only reason you're a Christian is because God loved you and rescued you from your sin. Otherwise, you'd be as bad or worse than your neighbor. So, election does nothing but produce humility and praise in the people of God. God, why did you love me? I didn't deserve your love, but you did. I thank you for doing that. You see, chosen of God, elect, chosen, exiles. Chosen means something happened outside of me. I didn't choose myself. Humans are passive in initiating salvation. It's God who takes the initiative. We cannot save ourselves. God has to break into our world and upset our apple carts. He does things we never even thought of, we never imagined. But as we learn more and more, it becomes amazingly wonderful that God would take selfish, hell-bound sinners and turn us into unselfish, loving servants of God. We weren't looking for this. We weren't planning on this. It just came our way. But it wasn't an accident. It was God's plan from before the foundation of the world. It was because of only one reason. the unmerited love of the eternal God for his people. His love was placed upon us from before the foundation of the world. That's enough for us to fall down right now and worship him. Oh God, why did you choose me? Thank you for choosing me. I want to serve you and worship you all my days for your gracious, loving election to me. What does a persecuted church need to hear? They need to hear that God has elected them, that they are chosen, and they are in God's plan in spite of the difficulties that they are undergoing. And so, Peter does not fool around when he begins this letter. He doesn't gradually build up into strong theological doctrine. He hits them right in the face at the very beginning. to those who are elect exiles. You're chosen. You're God's chosen beloved people. This is the word they need to hear in their suffering. That this is not an accident. What's happening to me? My suffering, hunger, and thirst in this prison and rats running all over my feet is in the plan of God. This is not an accident. He still loves me no matter what happens to me. God loves me. Well, these sojourners, these strangers in the world, these pilgrims, they've been banished from the world, from the world system, the world's way of thinking, the world's behavior, the world's value, the world's worldview. because they are clinging to Jesus Christ. Now, they are chosen, the scripture goes on to say, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. What is the source of their election? It's the foreknowledge of God the Father. Now, Peter does not choose his words loosely. every word is inspired by the Holy Spirit according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. He doesn't say God the Son or God the Spirit but God the Father and he calls the Father God. He's no less than God according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Now He calls him God. Shows his authority, his sovereignty, and his power. The one who had elected them. And he's Father. This indicates relationship, love, care, discipline. They've been elected by the sovereign, loving Father of all eternity. Well, this word is found or derivations of it in different parts of the New Testament. For example, in Acts, we read, Acts 2.23, Peter's preaching, he says, this Jesus, the day of Pentecost he's preaching, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. So Jesus' crucifixion was according to the foreknowledge of God. He knew it and he planned it. Now, another way this word is used is in Romans chapter 8, verses 28 through 30. Paul writes, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose, for those whom he foreknew. He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called, He also justified. And those whom He justified, He also glorified. So this foreknowledge indicates not only that God knew ahead of time what was going to happen, but he planned what was going to happen, he ordained what was going to happen. And he calls each of his people according to his selective love for them, out of his mercy for them, not in anything worthy in themselves, for knowledge has the idea of sovereign undeserved love. Do you know why you believe in Jesus today? It's because of His foreknowledge. His sovereign elective love for you from before the foundation of the world. And in time, we hear the gospel The Holy Spirit enables us to understand the Gospel. The Holy Spirit enables us to respond to the Gospel. We come into an active relationship with the Living God. This is no haphazard thing. It was planned by God from before the foundation of the world. We're just living it out now. We're chosen according to the foreknowledge of God. the elective, selective love of God the Father. Now, in addition, the scripture says, we're chosen in the sanctification of the Spirit. If it wasn't enough for God the Father to love us, from before the foundation of the world, we also are beneficiaries of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. What does the word sanctify mean? Basically, it means separation. Separation from the world unto God. No longer belong to the world. We now belong to God. We're God's beloved people. You see, under the law, the Mosaic law, Israel was separated from the pagan nations around her. They had a particular land to live in, Israel. They ate certain foods. They had particular laws that governed their life and society. and they were to keep themselves away from pagan peoples. But in the New Testament, we are separated not by such food laws and civil laws, but we are separated spiritually. We still live in our culture and our society. We rub shoulders with people every day who are not Christians, but we are separated unto God. We're chosen unto God. He has called us to himself, separated us unto himself, and we grow in our understanding of this separated relationship to God. It's the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who sets us apart. who regenerates us, who brings new birth into our lives. The same spirit who was at creation in Genesis chapter 1, hovering over the waters, is the very same spirit who comes invisibly into our hearts and minds and creates new birth, enables us to believe the gospel and respond to the gospel in repentance and faith. Otherwise we never would. We're walking dead people. Spiritually speaking, it takes the gracious, mighty work of the Spirit of God to create life, that spark of life within our hearts and minds so that we can believe the Gospel and embrace the Gospel. Well, we're chosen, we're elect pilgrims in this world by the love of the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, Now, the scripture goes on to say, for, for obedience to Jesus Christ, for sprinkling with his blood. What has God saved us for? It's for obedience to Jesus Christ. One ancient writer, theologian said this, the obedience of faith means just to believe the gospel and live under its influence. That's a simple definition of obedience to Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul has a little more specific things to say about obedience to Jesus Christ. For example, in Romans 6, verse 16 and following he says, Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, of obedience which leads to righteousness. But thanks be to God that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed." Now, how does this obedience come about? It's by the work of the Spirit, the sanctifying work of the Spirit. It's the one who enables us to obey, otherwise we couldn't do it. but it is a wholehearted, serious, growing obedience to the Word of God. Now, Titus chapter 2, verse 11 through 14, is pretty much a parallel text with 1 Peter 1, 1 and 2. This scripture, Titus 2.11, says, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. So what are we called to do? Live obedient lives to God. Waiting for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Notice here. How does he call Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior? You see, this is what I mean. The doctrine of the Trinity is woven into the fabric of Scripture. I often use this text when I have an opportunity to talk to Jehovah's Witnesses. They don't believe Jesus is God. I say, well, it says it right here, Titus 2.13. Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. There it is. He is God. He's very God of very God, as the Nicene Creed says. He's not partial God. He's not 99% God. He's 100% God in the flesh, waiting for the coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. were chosen by the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood. It says here, well that's kind of a strange idea to us, sprinkling with blood? What's the scripture talking about here? Well, the probable primary reference is to Exodus 24, where we see that Moses comes out, he's received the law, and all the people are standing there, and the people say, everything the Lord has said we're going to do. And Moses wrote down the words of the Lord, and he rose up early in the morning, he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with 12 pillars, according to the 12 tribes of Israel, And he sent young men of the people who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. So they were slaughtered. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins and half the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and he read it in the hearing of the people and they said all that the Lord has spoken we will do and we will be obedient. And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words. And so this covenant sacrifice, this ceremony, this sprinkling of the blood on the people symbolized their part in the sacrifice of their entrance into covenant relationship with Yahweh. And the reference is to the blood of Christ, which really does take away sin. The blood of animals could never do it. The blood of Jesus provides us with cleansing from sin, with purification, with forgiveness. You see, under the Old Covenant, people enjoyed only a ceremonial remission of their sins, a ceremonial removal of pollution. But under Jesus Christ spilled blood, it was an actual removal of guilt, of condemnation, of the pollution of sin. Peter goes on in this same chapter and he says, knowing that you were ransomed from the feudal ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. So this seems to be pretty clearly here, it's a reference to the blood of Christ which is applied to the lives of God's people to cleanse us from our sins. Now, and so we see here Peter talking to these elect chosen people who are being persecuted for their faith. And he says, listen beloved ones, you've been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. And the sanctifying, separating work of the Holy Spirit is active in your lives. and you've been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, you've been saved to be obedient to Jesus Christ. And then he says, listen, because of this great God who's saved you and is saving you, may grace and peace be multiplied to you. Now, what he's doing here is he's saying because of the great work of the triune God in your salvation, you have multitudes of grace and peace available to you. In other words, it's not just the father who's issuing grace and peace to you, it's not just the son, it's just not the spirit, but it's the whole triune God, the one God who is pouring out upon his people, these persecuted people and us today. Multitudes, multiplied grace and peace. Not just singular, not just plural, but multiplied. grace and peace. Grace means receiving what I don't deserve from God as a gift. Peace derives from the ancient expression among the Jews which indicated total health, total well-being. In other words, all that God bestows on his people in order for them to live in fellowship and joy with Him is extended to these people and to all God's people from the Triune God. Grace and peace be multiplied to you from the One God, from Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Do you see how rich we are, how blessed we are in our God? This grace and peace be yours in full measure be multiplied to you. So, we see these truths. repeated other places in the New Testament such as 2 Thessalonians 4 13 where Paul writes and says we ought always to give thanks to God for you brothers loved by the Lord because God chose you as his firstfruits to be saved through the sanctification of the spirit and belief in the truth. You see here again is triune reference to God. Beloved by the Lord usually that refers to Jesus because God chose you through the sanctifying work of the spirit of belief in the truth. Well, to be the elect people of God is a mystery. We don't know why Jesus chose us. There's that gospel song that Andre Krauts sings, I don't know why Jesus chose me. I don't know why he loved me. but I know that he did and I'm so thankful. You see, we don't know why the Father chose us. We do know this though, that we were guilty and condemned and just as sinful as anybody else. We do know this, that we were not worthy of God loving us and saving us. But for some unexplainable reason, only know to God He chose each of us. He chose to love us. And so he sent the Holy Spirit to set us apart from the world, to consecrate us unto God. The Spirit does an invisible work in our hearts and minds. It's the Holy Spirit who does this, not the Father specifically, not the Son. The Son is at the Father's right hand, but the Spirit of God is the one who's present here among us, although it's also true that where one person of the Trinity is present, the other two persons are also there in a very real way. So, because all three persons are at work on behalf of the people of God, Peter can confidently issue this apostolic benediction to these persecuted believers grace and peace be multiplied to you and to you brothers and sisters you see you and i don't deserve anything from god all we deserve is indictment in the court of heaven guilty our thoughts words and actions would be found in the court of God's justice to be permeated with rebellious sin against the eternal God, of going our own way with no thought of Him, of sinning impetuously, boldly, with no fear of God in our thoughts and our mindset. I think of some of my own sins. How I never thought of God. Sins of my youth. Oh, God had mercy though. Well, what I wanted us to understand through this text today is that the three persons of the Triune God contribute in particular ways to the salvation of God's people. And so we're grateful. We need to be grateful for the work of each of the three persons of the Triune God in our lives. and to marvel at God's whole-hearted effort to save us, sanctify us, and secure us. I want us to be more consciously aware of the work of the Father, Son, and Spirit in our lives and our indebtedness to each of these persons. to be more aware of our ongoing active relationship and communion and fellowship with each of these three persons, to love our God more, to appreciate him more, and to enjoy his fellowship even more. Thanks be to God who has chosen us from before the foundation of the world to be his elect people according to his own for knowledge. He's electing love. And He sanctified us. He separated us out from the world by the work of the Spirit. And He keeps us in the Christian way by the work of the Spirit. And it's by the work of the Spirit that we can obey Jesus Christ and receive the forgiveness of our sins. What great beneficiaries we are to the work of the one Triune God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let us praise and thank Him now and forever. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, we were beggars. We were poverty-stricken spiritually. We were without hope and without God in this world. We were on our way to an eternal destruction and you intervened. You set your plan in motion from before the foundation of the world when you brought the gospel to us. You sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts to enable us to believe in Jesus Christ, to embrace Him as our Lord and Savior, to fall before Him and worship Him. We thank you, O God, that you never leave us for one moment, that we have continual fellowship with you, the triune God, and that this fellowship that has begun now will only continue and be more richer in the years to come and into eternity. We give you thanks. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.