If Day 6 Triune God

July 19, 2021 by Rebecca Adams 1 Comment

If Day 6 Triune God

Rebecca Adams

July 19, 2021

Fullness,God,Holy Spirit,Jesus,Mercy,Perfect,Praise,Scripture,Truth

One God.
Three persons.
Three holy Beings comprising One Divinity.
Wholly singular, yet holy They.
God the Father. God the Son. God the Holy Spirit.
Co-equal. Co-eternal.
None created. None superior.
One. Perfect. Deity.

Scripture is clear, yet we still question.
Inquiring minds beg to be satisfied.

Wouldn’t one-without-three be simpler?

Does God “need” to be triune in order to be perfectly righteous and holy?

Our Messy Misunderstandings
We tend to think of God the Father as an Old Testament reality.

Creator, judge, righteous (perhaps arrogantly so), and wrathful (perhaps overtly). This leaves us with a half-baked picture of the Father; powerful, but crotchety, maybe even petty. This “Father” is more likely vengeful than benevolent, while also disconnected and disinterested in our everyday lives.

Jesus, God the Son, appears, but not until centuries later. Maybe He’s the lesser, gentler, version of God. Jesus is God’s Son, right? So, Jesus came from somewhere, right? Maybe the Father created Him? Maybe Mary?

Jesus lives His life, makes a sacrifice to atone for all of mankind’s sin, past, present, and future (Ephesians 1:7), yet this redemption is only available if we choose to accept His offering for ourselves (Ephesians 2:8). But, to Whom is Jesus sacrificing? If Jesus is “God”, is He sacrificing to Himself?

Finally, God the Spirit enters the scene after Jesus ascends back to the right hand of the Father. (Mark 16:19) Jesus said His disciples could accomplish more through His Spirit than when Jesus physically walked beside them. (John 14:12) But how? If there is one God, why are there three Beings? Wouldn’t one-without-three be simpler?

Sift For Truth
We bring our messy misunderstandings, and for most Christians, we simply shrug our shoulders and say something spiritual, “Well, God’s thoughts aren’t our thoughts; He is a mystery. We surely can’t expect to understand God!” While true, these phrases allow us to keep our messy misunderstandings swirling in some dark corner of our heart, while we continue living with a very incomplete, dangerous, concept of who this beautiful, infinite, majestic, and yes, mysterious, but truly knowable, Triune God is.

We become caught in technicalities of what we cannot understand,
while missing what God has clearly revealed as foundationally essential.

Father God is Creator God. Yes!
“…God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

So is God the Son
“For everything was created by Him (Jesus).” (Colossians 1:16)

So is God the Spirit
“…the Spirit of God has made me (Job)…” (Job 33:4)

Father God is Judge. Yes!
“…for God is the judge.” (Psalm 50:6)

So is God the Son
“The Father… has given all judgment to the Son.” (John 5:22)

So is God the Spirit
“…He (Spirit) will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment.” (John 16:8)

Father God is all-powerful. Yes!
“…nothing is impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)

So is God the Son
“Jesus… said, “All authority has been given to Me…” (Matthew 28:18)

So is God the Spirit
“…you will receive (God’s) power when the Holy Spirit has come…” (Acts 1:8)

Father God is disconnected and disinterested. No!
“You (God) have recorded my wanderings (and) put my tears in Your bottle.” (Psalm 56:8)

Neither is God the Son
“When He (Jesus) saw the crowds, He felt compassion…” (Matthew 9:36)

Neither is God the Spirit
“…the Holy Spirit (…) will teach you all things and remind you of everything.” (John 14:26)

God the Son is created. No!
“In the beginning was the Word (Jesus) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

Neither is God the Father
“You are the same, Your years will never end.” (Psalm 102:27)

Neither is God the Spirit
“…through the eternal (Holy) Spirit…” (Hebrews 9:14)

God the Son is the “gentle version” of God. No!
“…Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead…” (2 Timothy 4:1)

The Father’s core nature is merciful
“…For He (The Most High God) is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:35-36)

The Spirit’s delight is to make Father & Son known to us
“He (Holy Spirit) will glorify Me (Jesus), because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is Mine.” (John 16:14-15)

Are Father, Son, and Spirit One Divine God? YES!
“You, Father, are in Me (Jesus), and I am in You.” (John 17:21)

“The words I (Jesus) speak to you I do not speak on My own. The Father who lives in Me does His works.” (John 14:10)

“The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My (Jesus’) name, will teach you all things..”. (John 14:26)

“The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

If we accept one part of the Bible, we do not have the leisure to exclude the rest of it based on feeling or whimsy. All of Scripture is God-breathed; Triune God breathed.

Dangerous Deceptions
If God were only a singular Being, He would have no community to enjoy within Himself.
He would indeed be stodgy and self-focused.
There would be no natural generosity, no loving deference to another, no joyful sharing of delight, because there would only be a single Divine Being to occupy, rule, and reign over anything and anyone else.

As soon as He created people, He would have easily lost interest in them because His nature would be to love Himself, not others. Instead, His very nature as Triune, is to give of Himself in pure radiant delightful love to another over and over endlessly.

God, as Father, Son, and Spirit, divinely chose to be triune in nature because only here is perfect love eternally made manifest.

One God who sacrificed Himself, making atonement for rebellious human hearts, that He might satisfy His own righteous justice and cleanse for Himself a people, His own possession, to dwell with for eternity. Here, the Triune God experiences the fullness of delightful community by extending to His children what He has already shared from eternity past among the Divine Singular Being of Father, Son, and Spirit.

The Triune God came to us, to accomplish what we could not, that we might enjoy Him, and one another, forever.

What radical love!

Isn’t this a God who is worth every adoring thought and action of our lives?

Isn’t this a God who is both beautifully mysterious and yet divinely knowable?

Praise this Triune God!

Tags :

All-powerful,Clear,holy,If,One,question,Radical Love,righteous,Three Persons,Triune

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Beloved Day 3 Radical Love of Marriage

November 18, 2020 by Sarah Afan Leave a Comment

Read His Words Before Ours!

Song of Solomon 1:1-11
Song of Solomon 5:2-8
Song of Solomon 8:5-14
Genesis 2:18-25
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Beloved, Day 3

Studying the Song of Solomon gave me a fuller perspective on marriage. The book describes the relationship between a man and a woman from its beginning, into marriage, and thereafter. All along, their relationship was marked by romance.

Their love was radical; it was original.
It was God’s kind of love, which is unconditional.
The couple compared the strength of their love to fire, saying many waters cannot quench it nor can rivers drown it. (Song of Solomon 8:6-7)
No force, or condition, would alter their decision to love one another.

This is a picture of the marriage relationship God wants His children to enjoy.
He desires marriage relationships soaked in a deep friendship, emotional bonding, and physical pleasure; this is an enduring marriage. Though misunderstanding and disagreement arise, these cannot quench the love of a husband and wife who are committed to the perfect plan of God.

Marriage, we know, was instituted by God Himself with the command for two becoming one flesh. God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.” (Genesis 2:18) When the man saw the woman, he exclaimed, “This one at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken from man.” Therefore, Scripture says, a husband leaves his parents to be united to his wife. Here within the mystery of radical love, God binds two into one. (Genesis 2:23-24)

God’s handiwork is marvelous! He made them two kinds, one man, one woman, but one pair with one intention. Our differences as individuals help us acknowledge we are fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator. (Psalm 139:14) Though two kinds, we complement each other, and our union achieves something altogether unique.
Oneness doesn’t mean sameness!
Within the context of marriage, God designed individuals to create a single bond together. We can celebrate our Maker God and His creativity on display in marriage!

Unfortunately, sometimes we fail to appreciate
the beautiful combination of our differences crafted by God,
instead elevating ourselves over our spouse.

We wish our spouses were more like us, so we could get things done our own way.
We want them to think our thoughts, follow the direction we go, and do what we want.
We forget our Maker crafted us as individuals to complement each other and fulfill His perfect plan for us in marriage, as opposed to our plan in our way! The apostle Paul told the Corinthian church regarding unity, “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?” (1 Corinthians 12:17)

If we want all things done our way,
we miss the beauty of the union.

Furthermore, it’s difficult to celebrate God’s creativity in crafting us as individuals
unless we first pursue a deep relationship with Christ.
Only in Christ, can we find our true identity and deepest delight.

We were once in darkness, following the inclinations of our sinful nature. Our Plan. Our Way. God the Father sent Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God. Our faith in Christ has made us new creatures in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17-21); this is our new and true identity.

Finding our identity in Christ is one thing, choosing to remain in Him is another. The Lord Jesus said we must remain in Him, because without Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5) When we fail to remain in Him, we hold on to our old, selfish nature of sin.
This selfish nature is all about having our way, even if it is wrong.

But if we choose to remain in Christ, He fills us with His radical, sacrificial love.
This is the love that drove Him to the cross to pay for sins He did not commit.
He willingly put Himself in our place, receiving the punishment meant for us,
so we may have fullness of life in Him.

We must learn sacrificial love from Him.
According to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, His love is patient and kind,
it is not jealous or boastful, proud, or rude.
It does not demand its own way, neither is it irritable nor keeps a record of wrongs.
It never gives up, never loses faith, but is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.

This is the love expected of us whose Master is the Lord Jesus.

As I was preparing to write this study, I spoke with my husband, and he said something that hurt me deeply. I almost reacted negatively, but immediately the Holy Spirit reminded me love is patient and kind, and not easily provoked. I was humbled and quickly refrained from being angry. The Bible says love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

When we surrender our control to the Holy Spirit, our pattern of thinking changes.
Radically, we begin appreciating one another as individuals. When we look at our spouse through the lens of a lovingly handcrafted being with unique gifts, talents, and insights, our appreciation for God and our spouse both broadens and deepens.

When we firmly root our identity in God,
appreciate our spouses as individuals,
and share a common aim of pursuing and honoring the Lord together,
our relationship allows radical romance to thrive in our marriages!

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Ten Day 1 Only One Worthy

August 3, 2020 by Rebecca Adams 2 Comments

Ten Day 1 Only One Worthy

Rebecca Adams

August 3, 2020

Creation,Focus,Forgiven,Freedom,God,He,Jealous,Love,Power,Redeemed,Worship

Read His Words Before Ours!

Exodus 20:1-4
Acts 17:22-31
1 Kings 18:20-46
Isaiah 44:9-23

Since the beginning of time, created beings have had an affinity for worship, we were in fact, handcrafted for worship! Alas, we set our worship on what we can visually feast our eyes on, or we worship the longings of our hearts. In all transparency, we worship ourselves.

Before you push back from the table and roll your eyes, can you see it?
Laundry folded my way.
The routine planned in benefit of me.
The fight with my spouse because I wasn’t being heard.
The dishwasher re-arranged to satisfy my preference.
Frustrated at church because they didn’t play the music I like best.
My playlist.
My meal plan.
My fitness agenda.
My way.
My pride.

Hold on and take a breath in, then say this with me, “I worship myself.”
Oh, that stings doesn’t it?!
My eyes are burning with tears having just said that out loud with you. Let its truth sink into the far-reaching corners of your heart, the areas we toss decorative throw pillows so no one sees what’s actually under there, least of all ourselves.

So, why would God’s first, most critically important commandment, and the second, jump off the page because it calls our attention to solely focus on Him as being God and the only One worthy of worship?

Because He loves us.

Wait, what?

Yes, do it with me again, take a breath in and linger over each syllable as you whisper out loud, “Because He Loves Us.”

Oh, that fills my heart and chills my skin.
What radical love exists that desires to loosen our death-like grip on ourselves, lift our chin to One Worthy, and allow us to bask in pure, brilliant love cascading over us?!

You shall have no other gods before Me.
I alone am He who brought you out slavery. (Exodus 20:2)
I alone have chosen you for My own possession and beautiful inheritance. (Deuteronomy 7:6)
I alone have cleared the ground before you, giving freedom. (Psalm 18:19)

You shall make no carved image and shall not bow down and worship it.
I am a jealous God, longing to pour out My steadfast love on you. (Exodus 20:5-6)
I alone am forgiver and redeemer. Only I can do what no created thing can. (Isaiah 44:17-22)
I alone am worthy. (Revelation 5:1-10)

One man stood atop a high hill, flanked on all sides by men who worshipped wooden idols their hands had created. They mocked him for worshipping Yahweh.

The man called aloud an impossible challenge, “You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of my God. The God who answers with fire, He Is God.” He built an altar, dug a ditch around it, and flooded the entire area with so much water, it flooded the ditch.

All the while, the men mocked. They pleaded for hours and hours for their god to send fire. They cut themselves. They danced provocatively. They slaughtered an animal. Silence.

Dusk crept around the crowd, tensions ran high, and Elijah beckoned to each bloody man, “Come near me.” With an audience of enemies tightening around him, he lifted his head and said, “Answer me, Yahweh! Answer me so this people will know You, Yahweh, are God and that You have turned their hearts back.” (1 Kings 18:37)

Yahweh’s fire fell and consumed the meat, the stones, and even the water.

Only One Worthy

A death sentence pressing against him because he refused to worship a man, Daniel fought against the grip of pride, and fell to his knees before an open window, choosing to publicly worship the Only One Worthy. The Lord God shut the mouths of the lions and spared Daniel’s life. (Daniel 6:10-21)

Dusty feet walking around a mega-city, eyes falling on a sign over an altar reading, “To The Unknown God.” With burning clarity, Paul turned to the citizens following him and said, “This God you worshipped in ignorance, I now proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:23) He, the Creator of all things, does not live in a shrine made by human hands. He who breathes into your lungs and fashioned your DNA is drawing you to Himself that you might worship Him, and Him alone. For He is the Only One Worthy of your worship. (Acts 17:24-29)

A vast multitude, innumerable by any standard, representing every nation, tribe, people, and tongue, stood as one body. Robed in white. Palm branches in their hands. They cried aloud with one, thunderous voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”. (Revelation 7:9-10)

One who had power to pay our death penalty for sin by dying in our place.
One who offers to slay our pride so we can enjoy eternal life with Him.
One who commands our true worship because He loves us.

Only
One
Worthy

Who will you worship?

Tags :

eternal life,hearts,longing,Only One,Radical Love,Ten,worthy,Yahweh