Introduction
When preachers see Holy Trinity Sunday on the calendar, we might instinctively reach for a theological diagram, a historical creed, or (God help us) a clover or egg analogy to “explain” the Trinity. But Jesus doesn’t do that in John 16. Instead of giving a lecture on divine substance, Jesus speaks of relationship. He speaks about what is shared, revealed, and given among the persons of the Trinity, and with us.
“All that the Father has is mine… He will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
There’s movement here: from Father to Son, from Son to Spirit, and finally, from Spirit to you. The divine life isn’t a static triangle. It’s a living relationship that includes and welcomes us. On Holy Trinity Sunday, the invitation isn’t to explain God’s nature, but to preach how God makes relationship the heart of divine revelation and how that relationship draws us close.
A God Who Shares
The passage begins with Jesus’ acknowledgment: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” This line is deeply pastoral. Jesus knows his disciples’ limits, and he promises that they won’t be left alone to figure things out. The Spirit will come to guide them.
This is the fifth final time that the paraclete is promised in the Farewell Discourse (14:16-17; 14:25-26; 15:26; 16:7-11). In this moment of confusion for the disciples and in preparation for a farewell, Jesus promises the guidance of the Holy Spirit five times.
And the guidance isn’t generic. It is shared truth—“he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” The Greek word for “declare” (ἀναγγελεῖ, anangelei) appears three times in just two verses. It’s not just about divine speech, it’s divine self-giving. What is being declared is intimately related to God in Christ Jesus. The Spirit doesn’t bring new truths from nowhere. The Spirit brings what belongs to Jesus, and what belongs to Jesus belongs to the Father. This chain of belonging becomes a circle of communion. The fullness of God is not hoarded or kept at a distance. It is continually shared, poured out, and, astonishingly, given to us.
Declare – Proclaim – Proclamation
That Greek word, ἀναγγελεῖ, (anangelei) is sometimes translated as proclaim in the New Testament (John 4:25; Acts 20:20; 1 John 1:5). It is not so farfetched for us to see the chain of preaching in this text then. We say that the Holy Spirit guides us in our preaching and we are preaching the Word of God, and the Good News of Jesus Christ. These things that all belong to God.
Bonhoeffer has one of the best Christology’s around preaching. He says:
“The proclaimed word is the incarnate Christ himself. As little as the incarnation is the outward shape of God, just so little does the proclaimed word present the outward form of a reality; rather, it is the thing itself. The preached Christ is both the Historical One and the Present One… Therefore the proclaimed word is not a medium of expression for something else, something which lies behind it, but rather it is the Christ himself walking through his congregation as the Word.”[1]
According to Bonhoeffer, In the proclamation of the Gospel (not just the reading of the text but in the preaching of the Good News), Christ walks among the congregation as the incarnate word among us.But if you wanted to over-theologize our preaching in response to this particular Gospel text, there is one more way to go.
Of course, we, as preachers, are called to preach Christ crucified (and risen). In this particular text we hear, “you cannot ‘bear’ them now.” The Greek word “bear” is βαστάζειν (bastazō) and is the same verb John uses for Jesus “carrying/bearing” the cross (19:17). Christ will bear the cross and it is more than the disciples (or we) can shoulder. So the Spirit carries it to them over time. The Spirit carries it to us, as the preachers over time. We too cannot bear the truth of the cross. We struggle to bear the truth of the incarnate Word that walks among us. But the Spirit will guide us into all the truth.
The Trinity as God-With-Us
John’s Gospel presents the Trinity not as a math problem but as the story of God drawing nearer. In John 1, we’re told the Word was with God and was God and that the Word became flesh to live among us. In John 14, Jesus promises the Advocate will come and dwell with the disciples. Now in John 16, Jesus makes it clear, the Spirit brings us into the very heart of the divine life.
This isn’t just theology from Jesus, it’s pastoral care. Jesus is preparing his friends for his departure. He knows the cross is near and he knows that he will ascend even after the resurrection. He will leave and they will be shocked. But even in his absence, the divine presence continues, and their relationship with God deepens. And the Spirit that guides the disciples into truth, guides us today as preachers and as disciples.
Preaching Possibilities
Preach the Trinity as Relationship, Not Riddle
Rather than trying to “solve” the Trinity, preach the triune God as a relationship that includes us. This text shows divine life as mutual, flowing, and shared. Drawing us into communion, not confusion. Preach with the Trinity, not about the Trinity. God is not a puzzle to be figured out but a community of love that makes space for us.
Preach the Spirit’s Continued Declaration
The repetition of ‘anangelei’ reminds us that the Spirit is still declaring, still proclaiming. That means God didn’t stop speaking after the Gospels. Preach the ongoing, Spirit-led proclamation of truth in our time, especially in places we least expect it. Bonhoeffer’s writing in a time of severe upheaval and tragedy. The only way is through the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit bears us through the times that we cannot bear alone. But most especially in those times (these times) the proclamation of Christ crucified must still be shared with God’s people. Through unexpected voices, in painful reckonings, and even through the preacher’s own faltering words.
Lean on the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth.
[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Worldly Preaching: Lectures on Homiletics (Clyde E. Fant, ed. and trans.; New York: Thomas Nelson, 1975) 126.
Micah Krey 
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