Reformation

 The Festival of the Reformation, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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Daylight Savings Ends Next Sunday

Hymn # 262      A Mighty Fortress         

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Hymn #387     Dear Christians One and All            

The Turmoil Made Plain

The Communion Hymn #267   If God Had Not Been on Our Side                    

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #259  Flung to the Heedless Winds 

Announcements and Prayers

• Randy Anderson in treatment, Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes, Pastor Jim Shrader - improving, Callie and her parents, C.  
• Lori Howell's mother, Carol Olsen, died October 8, last year.
• The I AM Sermons books (revised) will be sent out today or tomorrow.

Ministries of Bethany Lutheran Church 

1. The Christian Art of Norma Boeckler and Norma's print books.
2.  Martin Chemnitz Press - Kindle and print books, and free pdfs.
3.  Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry and Lutheran Librarian - low-cost print books - Alec Satin.

           

KJV Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

KJV Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Romans 5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Collect

O almighty, eternal God: We confess that we are poor sinners and cannot answer one of a thousand, when Thou contendest with us; but with all our hearts we thank Thee, that Thou hast taken all our guilt from us and laid it upon Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and made Him to atone for it: We pray Thee graciously to sustain us in faith, and so to govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may live according to Thy will, in neighborly love, service, and helpfulness, and not give way to wrath or revenge, that we may not incur Thy wrath, but always find in Thee a gracious Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Background for the Sermon - Reformation Day

We are the Evangelicals and the Protestants. First, of all, Luther did not want his name used for those who disagreed with the Church of Rome. Instead, they were called the Evangelicals or the Evangelical party, which is now ironic, since the Lutherans are deprived of the term - Evangelical, for continuing the Creeds, the liturgy, and the Sacraments. 

Later, the Evangelicals used the term Protestant, which literally means "a positive witness," in countering Roman Catholic claims. Protest did not mean "against" but a testimony in favor of the truth. Rejecting the liturgy and sacraments came from Zwingli first and was followed by his equally prolific and rationalistic counterpart, Calvin.

The German Luther Bible was created by Luther and his associates, using the Majority or Traditional Text. The King James Version uses the same Apostolic text, which has over 5,000 witnesses. The Church of Rome has its own text, and has many versions of this Latin Vulgate. They promote the Vaticanus Text, which is a Greek version of the (later) Latin Vulgate, which Erasmus refused to consider. Today, Lutheran apostates promote the corrupt Vaticanus "Greek" text. 

Playing around with the Scriptures - rejecting the original text and the good translations - comes from denying the efficacy of the Word of God. 

If that were not enough, they separate the Holy Spirit from the Word, which makes the Word "a dead letter" in their version or invents new, strange content (Enthusiasm) the basis for all false doctrine.

1. If people start with their human reason in dealing with the Bible, they are bound to distort the results, as Zwingli and Calvin did. 
2. If they consider their church the ultimate authority, as the Church of Rome always has, that will also distort the text and the translation.
3. Another type of corruption comes from the ecumenical wing, where the participants, in the name of unity, love every doctrine but their own. This is the majority attitude today.

The Turmoil Made Plain

KJV Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. [GJ - the Kingdom is forceful, and the forceful seize it]

This lesson seems perplexing, which is often true with a few verses by themselves. However, the context teaches us a lot about its meaning. The issue is - John the Baptist. Many events built up before the appearance of Jesus preaching. 

• The Star of Bethlehem signaled a great change coming, and Herod saw it as a challenge to his throne.
• The Wise Men were equally disturbing because that meant the Star was known outside of their little kingdom, so that gave it even more meaning.
• The Age of Prophesy was over for centuries, but they looked for a new Elijah, a signal that a new age was upon them.
• John the Baptist fulfilled what was promised in Isaiah 40 - the Voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the Way of the Lord.

There were two objections to this. One was that John was just a man, and it is easier to be awed by a promised man than by someone standing there and being so ordinary looking, maybe even dusty and sweaty. So the excuses start rolling out - he is just another man!

Secondly, Jesus was the least likely prophet of them all, because He was to be even greater than the Elijah - the Messiah, not just a great prophet. Because He did not display His divinity all the time, Jesus was the most difficult one to be promised by the wilderness prophet. Where was the glory? the power? the thunder and earthquakes?

This verse by itself is a puzzle, because of that word violence. Let's try - forceful. The Kingdom of God comes along forcefully - by God's will, not man's will. Go spoke through the prophets who risked their lives to speak the truth - they were forceful too and died for teaching through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The history of Christianity began with the slaughter of Christians for the entertainment of the pagans in Rome. The early martyrs accepted the violence because they knowingly went to eternal life by allowing the forcefulness.

How many of the apostles were killed for the Faith? Most of them. One telling fact is that we know little about them, only a fragment about Paul, most of it his writing. Luther assumed he was going to his death at the Diet of Worms, 1517, and in 1530 could not be present at the Augsburg Confession. 

13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 

Jesus commended John for being more than a prophet, by teaching the truth, John the Baptist was jailed and beheaded. He might have confessed his sins or run away to escape violence, but he felt and knew the power of the Spirit, which would give him the strength to continue as long as God allowed. "Elijah" means John was the last prophet and the sure sign of Jesus being the promised Messiah.

14 And if ye will receive it, THIS is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

14 και ει θελετε δεξασθαι, αυτος εστιν ηλιας ο μελλων ερχεσθαι

Pronouns are very important, which is why people are trying to corrupt them and mix around he and she. The Greek pronoun here is for emphasis and is found used the same way in John 1. Who listens and accepts what is coming? The forceful receive the Kingdom of Christ and accept what comes with it.

The Cross Denied

Some of us have been discussing how the Christian Church in America became so riddled with false doctrine and false teachers - not the tiny details which people love to fuss about, but the basics of the Christian faith and the authority of the Bible.

I date the beginning with the hated failure, the 1881 Revision of the King James Version. Various power brokers allowed the worst people to take over the slight revision of the KJV and turn it into a freak of text and translation - unsellable after the first edition was exposed as horrible and false.

The minority in England and America chose to work on their minority view and began showing their oats by 1930 or so. Since then, it has been a race to the bottom of the barrel - silly translations, false texts, thick books filled with denying all the articles of the Christian Faith.

And one dare not respond to this debacle. Whether one denomination or another, Lutheran or Methodist, the apostates and unbelievers were in control and perfect at dramatizing the evil of the faithful.

My wife and I exposed how the insurance companies (united as Thrivent) were working with ELCA, WELS, and the LCMS in the same programs. I let ELCA know that their friends were lying about working with them. The answer was - no more stories about them all working together.

The best we can do is teach the basics to the next generation. The Boomers have failed and their children are already abandoning what is left in favor of what is Left. 

Trinity 19 2022

 The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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The Hymn # 377:1-5       Speratus - Salvation Unto Us
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Say unto my soul, I am thy Salvation: The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth.

He delivereth them out of their troubles: He is their God forever and ever.

Psalm. Give ear, O My people, to My Law: 

incline your ears to the words of My mouth.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O almighty and most merciful God, of Thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech Thee, from all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready, both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that Thou wouldst have done; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual 

Gradual

Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense: 

and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song: for He hath done marvelous things. Hallelujah!

The Gospel 
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #377, 6-10     Salvation Unto Us                               

Put on the New Man

The Communion Hymn #376                Rock of Ages
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #261       Luther - Lord Keep Us Steadfast  

Our Prayers and Announcements

• Ongoing medical - Kermit Way, Pastor Jim Shrader, Randy Anderson.
• Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes.
• Seizure treatment: Gavin; Callie. Therapy - C.
• Michael Oak and Amanda Meyer were married last year on October 16th. Congratulations and God's continued blessings.
• October 25th is John Popp's birthday - John is Diane's husband.
• The I AM Sermons revision should be sent out this week.

Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity

O mighty and everlasting God, who by Thy Son Jesus Christ didst mercifully help the palsied man both in body and soul: We beseech Thee, for the sake of Thy great mercy: Be gracious also unto us; forgive us all our sins, and so govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not ourselves be the cause of sickness and other afflictions; keep us in Thy fear, and strengthen us by Thy grace that we may escape temporal and eternal wrath and punishment, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

KJV Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

 Books by Norma A. Boeckler

 Put on the New Man

KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

Ephesus was the Mother Church of a vast area where Christians flourished for a time. But they lost their first love (Revelation 2), much like Laodicea - which became lukewarm, neither cold nor hot.

In this letter before his death, Paul wanted to remind all the churches about the truth he offered them as a witness to the risen Christ. We often list in our histories the witnesses to successes and catastrophic failures. They are named and carefully described to show that they had important things to say about those events. 

The Apostle Paul had a triple score in this area. 

• First of all, he was converted by Christ Himself on the road to Damascus. This was so dramatic and factual that the other apostles accepted him as an apostle. Peter, who was with Jesus from the beginning, had to accept Paul's admonition to be sincere about the issue of kosher foods.
• Secondly, Paul was imprisoned and put to death for being a Christian leader. The martyrs (witnesses) were a special class of believers in the earliest days, accepting death as a reflection of Christ dying for their sins. 
• Thirdly, then as now, a dying person's final address was considered especially powerful and truthful, because that person had no more successes or failures.

So Paul was urging the Ephesians and all Christians to keep off the way they used to live, being driven by earthly desires, very much like today. Similar to pagan Rome, our country seems to be chasing after the worst behavior and its destructive power. People passively go along with the radicalism, though there are signs that too many groups have been angered by what is happening to them and their children, their businesses and their future. 

Following our basic instincts is the Old Adam, doing whatever we want instead of acting on our faith in Jesus the Good Shepherd. Paul in various ways contrasted Adam - or the unbeliever - and the New Creation, born of the Gospel Word (not a decision, or we would be called New Decisions and not New Creations).

Luther graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD, from a Catholic university. He not only studied the Scriptures with a concentration on the Bible, but also taught it to his students. Besides that, he was guided in the Gospel by his advisor, which helped to wean him away from the Medieval slavery of salvation by works.

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 

Unfortunately for Rome, Luther's concentration on the Scriptures revealed the contrast between Middle Ages' focus on salvation by works and the Scriptures' emphasis upon grace through faith in Jesus Christ (aka Justification by Faith).

Salvation by works is so popular today among Lutherans and Calvinists that one can scarcely find the Gospel among both groups. 

Luther was carefully taught that works earned him a place in Purgatory, possibly Heaven. The more he physically tortured himself, the more holy (saintly) he was supposed to be. However, he found that no matter what he did, the more he punished himself, the more burdened he felt as a result.

Worse, when he visited Rome, the "center of the One True Church" (he thought), the lack of faith and the corruption were deeply disturbing. Rome was not the best but the worst. Where is the righteousness and the holiness of Ephesians 4:23-24?

Simply put - righteousness throughout of the Bible is the "righteousness of faith." And Jesus Christ gives us holiness through faith. We can see that as forgiveness through faith first (John 15) and the fruit of forgiveness (also John 15).

Grace is the favorite word in the Christian Church. The 100 year celebration of the LCMS is One Hundred Years of Grace.

English dukes are called "Your Grace" and hundreds of churches are named Grace.

An LCA leader said on the Word and Witness tape that the Evangelicals "have no grace," spoken with anger and bitterness. Paul wrote in Romans -

KJV Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham [in Jesus]; who is the father of us all,

KJV Romans 5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

This brings us to -

KJV Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Without the faith of Jesus leading Him forward, there is no righteous of faith, forgiveness of sin, and holiness. Our faith begins with the faith of Jesus, and we have access to grace only through faith in Him. 

Just as love is the result of faith in Jesus, so are all the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5). Luther had to unwind the decades of forgiveness through works in order to enjoy and teach forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ (rather than the tortured agonies of the man Luther).

25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

After teaching the true grace of faith in the Savior, Paul wrote a list of actions to avoid. 

It is curious that the modern Lutherans (the heretics: ELCA, WELS, LCMS, ELS, CLC, ELDONUTs) of today constantly lie about what they teach. 

1. They do not follow Luther or the Book of Concord and mock the Reformation with doggy t-shirts and Here I Stand socks.
2. They despise the best, Traditional or Majority New Testament with 5,000+ witnesses and love the worst two frauds - Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.
3. They love their modern, money-making Bibles with so many verses erased and words mangled, and even added (all are justified?, the whole world?)
4. They bristle at mention of the King James Version and loathe the fact that the Cinderella Bible is better and so much more loved than their wicked step-sisters - Beck, NIV, ESV, RSV, NRSV, Jerusalem, TEV, Goodspeed.

Trinity 18 2022

  

 

  Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Vimeo Link - 

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Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn # 239                 Come Thou Almighty King                         

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Reward them that wait for Thee, O Lord: 

and let Thy prophets be found faithful.

Hear the prayer of Thy servants: and of Thy people Israel.

Psalm. I was glad when they said unto me: 

Let us go into the house of the Lord.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O God, forasmuch as without Thee we are not able to please Thee, mercifully grant that Thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #259            Flung to the Heedless Winds

Stumped by the Truth 

Communion Hymn # 307              Draw Now and Take the Body of the Lord 

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 54     Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah  

        

Announcements and Prayers

• Therapy, diagnosis - Kermit Way. Improvement, Pastor Jim Shrader. Callie and her parents. C.
• Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes.
• The I AM Sermons book will have a revision.
• We are working together to improve the audio - and learning a lot in the process.
• Thank you for the birthday greetings and blessings on or about my birthday.

 Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler

    

KJV 1 Corinthians 1:4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

 Graphic based on Norma Boeckler's Art

Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We are poor, miserable sinners; we know Thy will, but cannot fulfill it because of the weakness of our flesh and blood, and because our enemy, the devil, will not leave us in peace. Therefore we beseech Thee, shed Thy Holy Spirit in our hearts, that, in steadfast faith, we may cling to Thy Son Jesus Christ, find comfort in His passion and death, believe the forgiveness of sin through Him, and in willing obedience to Thy will lead holy lives on earth, until by Thy grace, through a blessed death, we depart from this world of sorrow, and obtain eternal life, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Stumped by the Truth

KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

The practice of asking questions and being asked in a long-standing Jewish tradition. The rabbi asks the first three and then he is asked the final question.

Krister Standahl, the Dean of Harvard Divinity at the time, gave a lecture to Yale Divinity students. He said Christians should not try to convert Jews. Just after that, Yale's Professor Malherbe gave his class some examples of "To the Jew first and then the Gentiles."  The Apostle Paul returned to his rabbinic clothing and customs to do the very thing Standahl did not approve. It might be added that the Risen Lord Jesus converted Paul, but the Harvard Dean also overlooked that.

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

One of the interesting facts is that the second has been standard in our culture and it has parallels in all religions. The rationalists think Christianity is borrowed, so that explains it. But that would mean the Lord of Creation had to be taught by religions which deny Him.

When people are afraid to ask or answer honestly about the truth, they become stumped.

So this is the fourth question, with Jesus asking the religious teachers.

This is the opening of the trap.

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. 

This is the opening of the trap. 

I have used it many times about minor matters. "Do you expect me to pay?" The vendor says "Yes!" So I add. "You expect me to honor my word?" They say, with some emotion, "Yes we do!"

We were so created that our brains work based on truth and the consequences of truth. That is our gyroscope. Due to our fallen nature, we often skirt the issue, play verbal games, and fail to deal with the truth. But the gyroscope of God's own Creation through the Word (Logos) Jesus works to correct us. 

So I ask the ultimate question, "So shouldn't I expect to honor your word?" Silence always follows as they hurry to honor their word.

The Closing of the Trinitarian Trap

43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?

If you are like the rest of the world, including me, this question seems tricky and confusing. Jesus warned that He could phrase things so the hardened would be even more hardened. This is ideal for the college religion class, where the professor makes a joke out of the puzzle. My future wife followed the professor around, knowing he was a Harvard apostate and asked, "How can you teach these things and give Holy Communion at Salem?" (Salem in Moline is where we worshiped. He assisted in Holy Communion there.) He was embarrassed and silent.

This professor declared in class that there was no Trinity in the Bible. When I cited the Great Commission, he said, "That was put on the lips of Jesus by a later editor." (What a grasp of history! He could go back 2,000 years and separate Christ from His teaching!) That exchange made me very interested in the "problems of the Trinity in the Bible."

But wait. The Trinity is in this passage, once we look again, using a faithful translation (KJV). 

The Old Testament is given to us by the Holy Spirit, and the passage Jesus quoted from David's Psalm is 

KJV Psalm 110:1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

God has given us the Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is - by far - the oldest ancient manuscript in existence. The Bible is also the most copied and translated work in the world. In fact, there is no comparison with anything else, whether Homer's Iliad or Shakespeare (Oxford).

I am not an expert in this, but the KJV uses LORD to name the godhead, and Lord in reference to Jesus. So is this not saying?...

Through the Holy Spirit, God the Father said to God the Son, Sit down at My right hand in glory until (the final consumation) I turn Your enemies into Your footstool. (paraphrased)

Someone has said, the Jewish teachers knew the Trinity, and that is entirely possible since it was taught repeatedly in their own Scriptures. What is almost comical is the denial of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the rapidly decaying mainline (apostate) denominations.  

46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Silence is the greatest and most powerful sign of denial, because the false teachers know they are stepping off the cliff. They will often rage, fume, and toss out every insult they can, so that others are afraid to correct them. 

Faithful Christians have this to strengthen them 

We are already in the Good Shepherd's flock, so the Lord Jesus Christ shepherds us as we go through life. He uses His staff to guild us and to ward off evil, especially the evil of false teachers, wolves who love to scatter the flock.

We have the eternal Word, so we know that this is a treasure far beyond our ability to measure, as if we have won Fort Knox (without the tax burden). 

We know the Spirit is always helping us with this Word, correcting and comforting us, giving us the peace of forgiveness through faith in Christ. Grace? While everyone is talking about grace, we know that we have access to this grace through faith in the Good Shepherd (Romans 5, John 10, Psalm 23).

This inspired Word is so powerful because it is God the Holy Spirit at work to continue us in life and into eternal life.