Friday 19 February 2010

Essence of Christianity : Trinity

In Hebrews 1 the bible explains to us how to properly see Jesus.“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He had appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds: who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much beter than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?” But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him”. And of the angels He says “Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire”. But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever: A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions” And “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain: And they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fall. But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?”Scriptures doesn’t use the word “trinity” anywhere, but the concept are supported in many places in Scripture. For example “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all [2 Corinthians 13:14]” and“To God’s elect. . .who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood [1 Peter 1:1-2]” Also refer to Romans 15:15,16 Paul states it was God who gave him grace to be a servant of Jesus Christ, to bring the gospel of how the heathen can be justified, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Word that became flesh (John 1:14). Jesus is the brightness of the Father’s glory (Hebrews 1) and the express image of his person. There is only one Father (Eph 4:6). The Father of Jesus, can become our Father also, through the path Jesus (Yeshua) opened to us through the cross, by His blood, through which the wall of separation between us and the Father is torn down (Eph 2:13-18). When we become children of God, the Spirit of the Son gets poured out in our hearts and we also cry out “Abba Father” (Gal 4:6). Through the blood of Jesus we can have confidence to draw near to God the Father (Hebrews 10:19) because Jesus tore the veil through his flesh and made a way for us to enter in.Barry Hall explains this excellent article come drink of the glory of God: “Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). But, what was the reason for joy? The Bible tells us, "for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2b). It made dying easier to know that He would soon be sitting next to the Father. The Bible explains even more of the reason for joy in Acts chapter two. Jesus endured the cross "with joy" because of a promise the Father had made to Him that couldn’t be fulfilled until after He ascended and went to be with the Father. Even though it was a promise between the Father and Son it was regarding the Holy Spirit and us.
The promise was that Father would give the Holy Spirit to Jesus in a way that would allow Jesus to then "pour" out the Holy Spirit upon us. The events in the book of Acts are a record of the result. Jesus told His disciples, "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49). It is no wonder that Jesus looked forward to being able to give the Holy Spirit to us.
Jesus endured the cross so that we could find much-needed forgiveness, but that wasn’t the only reason. The Bible says of our Lord Jesus that the Father highly exalted Him. That Jesus has been so highly exalted is much to our benefit.
That Jesus was raised up and was "highly exalted" means He was glorified by the Father. His present state of having been glorified is of vital importance to why you and I can quench our thirst with the Holy Spirit. Right after Jesus command us to come to Him and drink the Bible explains why we would be able to quench our thirst with the Holy Spirit, "Come to Me and drink...But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37,39). We can drink because the Father has fulfilled His promise to glorify Jesus.
Speaking about Jesus’ present glorified state the Bible says, "His Son...is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature...He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:2,3a). Please note that "radiance" and "representation" are two completely different things. Our Lord Jesus is both. Concerning right now, Jesus is both a reflection of the Father’s nature and by the Father’s doing, Jesus is also radiating the Father’s glory. The word "radiates" is completely different from being a reflection. The original language reveals that the word "radiance" means that Jesus is shining out the light of the Fathers glory much like the sun radiates light. Elsewhere, the Bible tells us, "His radiance is like the sunlight" (Hab. 3:4).
The Bible explains that "God is Light" (1 John 1:5b), and also that "God is spirit" (John 4:24). It also calls the Holy Spirit, the "Spirit of glory" (1 Pet. 4:14), and also, "the Spirit who is from God" (1 Cor. 2:12). The radiance that shines from our Lord is the Holy Spirit. We are to come to Him and drink so that -by the radiance around Him—a river of the Holy Spirit can flow out from inside us (John 7:37-39).
Roles and Relationships Between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
It will be helpful at this point to clear possible confusion concerning the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
When Steven saw "into heaven" he saw Jesus, but he did not see the Father in physical form, "But being full of the Holy Spirit, he [Steven] gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55). Steven saw Jesus and he saw the glory of the Father. When Steven saw Jesus He was standing- other times He sits down. Concerning Jesus, the Bible also says, "He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Hebrews 1:3b). Here again, that Jesus sat down beside the "Majesty" doesn’t mean the Father has physical form.
Concerning the Father, it was Jesus who said, "true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23,24). Because Jesus said the Father is Spirit, we should not think of Him as having a body with physical form.
Ezekiel wrote concerning a vision he saw of heaven, "On that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man." (Ezek. 1:26b). It was Jesus that Ezekiel saw on the throne.
It is important to think of both Jesus and the Father as God. Of Jesus it says, "I...overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Rev 3:21b). The throne Jesus sits on belongs to the Father. The Bible also talks about, "the Lamb in the center of the throne" (Rev 7:17). The "Lamb" in the center of the throne is our Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:29,36). It is right to think of both Jesus and the Father as God because "God sits on His holy throne." (Psalm 47:8). Our Lord didn’t correct Thomas when he said to Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28b). Even though Jesus is God, you should also think of the Father as God too. Jesus told Mary to tell the disciples, "I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’" (John 20:17b). When you enter the throne of God you are drawing near to both the Father and the Son.
Even though I have tried, I haven’t found clear evidence in the scriptures of two thrones—one for the Father and one the Son. Sometimes Jesus stands (Acts 7:55). Sometimes the Bible says Jesus sits on the Father’s throne—with the Father on the throne at the same time (Rev. 3:21). Other scriptures talk about Jesus sitting at the right hand of God (Heb. 12:2). If there aren’t two thrones, one would have to conclude that the throne is wide enough for Jesus to sit in the center of the throne or to the side. Let’s go back now to scriptures that are more clear.
While the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are separate beings, they are One. Jesus told us, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). Even though Jesus is sitting with the Father on the Father’s throne, the Bible talks about, "One sitting on the throne" (Rev 4:2b). The reason the Father and Son are One because of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says the Holy Spirit is, "the Spirit of Jesus" (Acts 16:7b). The reason you should think of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus is because it is the Holy Spirit that Jesus is radiating. The Bible takes it a step further when it says of the Holy Spirit that "the Lord is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:17b). At the same time however, you should also think of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the Father because the Holy Spirit "proceeds" from the Father to our Lord Jesus and then on to us (John 15:26). Speaking of the Father, Jesus told us that "God is Spirit" (John 4:24a). It is because the Father is Spirit that Jesus could pray for us saying, "that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us" (John 17:21a). It is because of these roles and relationships that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are One. In the same way, it is because of the Holy Spirit that we too can, "abide in the Son and in the Father" at the same time (1 John 2:24).
Just as Jesus has joined Himself to the Father and became One with Him by the Holy Spirit, the same can be true for you and I, "But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him" (1 Cor. 6:17). Certainly, being "joined" to the Lord happens at salvation, but it needs to happen on a practical level also. David said, "My soul clings to You" (Psa. 63:8a). By directing your affections away from earthly sources you can stop cling to "other gods" and cling to the Lord. By drawing near to the Lord and making Him your first love, your very soul will be "joined" to the Lord because you will cling to Him—even while you sleep..."
The Helper is the Holy Spirit that comes from the Father. John 15:26 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me."But Jesus will sends the Helper out again. John 16:7,8 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged". "There is only one sin for which the sinner will be judged; that is the rejection of Jesus Christ" (Advanced Bible course: studies in the deeper life E.W. Kenyon, ISBN 1-57770-017-1, 2004) Kenyon explains further: "First He convicts of our union with Satan: "Of judgment, because the prince of the world is judged," that the natural man is judged in Satan, is a child of Satan. Second He convicts of Righteousness, showing that although we are children of the Devil, Righteousness is available and belongs to us. And third, He convicts of sin, because we believe not on Him. This is the convictions that the Helper, the Holy Spirit brings"..
Barry Hall explains how the Father and Jesus are both God and joined in the Holy Spirit. "The reason the Father and Son are One because of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says the Holy Spirit is, "the Spirit of Jesus" (Acts 16:7b). The reason you should think of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus is because it is the Holy Spirit that Jesus is radiating. The Bible takes it a step further when it says of the Holy Spirit that "the Lord is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:17b). At the same time however, you should also think of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the Father because the Holy Spirit "proceeds" from the Father to our Lord Jesus and then on to us (John 15:26)."

1 comment:

  1. What is the significance of the borromean circles (three interlocking) and the occult?

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