Friday, January 6, 2012

In the Beginning

What a blessing to know that before anything was, God was. And not just God the Father, but the Triune God also manifest as God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1: 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

The word translated as “God” in the first chapters of Genesis is “Elohim,” a plural noun using a singular verb, indicating that the three aspects of God act as One Being. The Spirit moved upon the surface of the waters (Genesis 1:2), showing His role from the beginning of creation in providing the power or energy needed to carry out the plan of God the Father. And the Son also played an integral role, speaking into existence the Father’s plan.

As God said, so it was created: light (Gen. 1:3); Heaven (Gen. 1:6-8); Earth and Seas (Gen. 1:9-10); vegetation and trees (Gen. 1:11-12); sun, moon and stars (Gen. 1:14-16); sealife and birds (Gen. 1:20-21); and land animals (Gen. 1:24).

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

The Word is another name for Jesus Christ, King of Kings (Revelation 19:13), so given because whatsoever He speaks is done, whether it be creation of the universe, healing and forgiveness of sins (Luke 5:12-13; 18-25; Matthew 8: 1-17), or defeating the enemies of Israel at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19: 11-16).

John 1:1 tells us that Jesus Christ was not only there at the beginning with God the Father, but that He Himself was (and is) equally God, the Creator of all. He is the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega (Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6; 22:13), existing before time and eternally present when time is no more.

Genesis 1: 26 And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness.
(capitals mine)

This verse is another clear indication of the triune nature of God -- one of the divine mysteries that we will never fully understand until we reach glory. Yet we may draw some insight from this verse, because human beings also have a three-part nature: body, mind and spirit. Each of us is a unique person defined by these three aspects, which must all be present and functioning for us to realize our God-given potential.

Before we do anything, we must first think of what we are going to do, even if the time between the thought and the action is so short that the action seems like an involuntary reflex. Thus, our body responds to our mind and carries out the planned action. But our soul or spirit – our motivating force that underlies and determines all we do and how we react to what happens to us – shapes and energizes our thoughts. So our soul or spirit determines what we think, and, accordingly, what we say and do.

That is why believers are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15), as His indwelling Holy Spirit motivates and directs our thoughts (Romans 8:9-11), giving us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5). If we die to our sin nature and follow the mind of Christ, our words and behavior will show others that we belong to Him (Romans 12:1-2), and our body will be His temple reflecting His presence (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

God made us in His image; He is a triune Being; and we have a three-part nature. One way to consider the triune nature of God is that God the Father is the Originator or the “mind” of the plan, including the plan of creation, of salvation, or of anything in between or thereafter. God the Son could be regarded as the Embodiment of the plan, the One Who spoke the worlds into existence and Who wrapped Himself in human flesh to redeem us (John 1:14), and the Holy Spirit as the Empowerment of the plan (Micah 3:8; Luke 4:14; Romans 15:19; 2 Timothy 1:7). The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to draw attention to Jesus Christ (1 John 4:2-3; 1 John 5:6), Who is the only Way we can know the Father (John 1:18; 5:37; 14:7,9).

How amazing it is to think that the Creator of all loves us so much that He created us in His image, gave His Son to redeem us, and indwelled believers with His Holy Spirit to empower us with the mind of Christ. May we glorify Him in all we think, speak and do (Romans 15:6).

33 comments:

Frank E. Blasi said...

Excellent post!

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Frank! God's blessings to you.

Nadwrażliwiec said...

When I was in the school, I was learned about evolution. And I believed that evolution is fact. But in the middle school I started to doubt about it - when I became sick, my teacher taught us about natural selection - and I thought: "Well, but if there is natural selection, what with chronically ill people? What with disabled, with handicapped?". My second question was: "If there is evolution, why crocodiles, chimpanzees and cows didn't create any art, literature, culture, civilization, religion...?". And after this my faith in evolution was destroyed.
In Lutheran and Catholic church people in Poland think that evolution can be connected with Bible. But there is no connection. When You tell here, that You are creationist, people look at You like at mental ill man.
Greetings and blessings for You :)

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Zim,
Thanks, as always, for sharing your experience from the perspective of living in Poland.
To believe in evolution takes a far greater "faith," although a foolishly misplaced faith, than to believe in the Creator God of the Bible. Each of us knows in our heart that something didn't just arise by itself from nothing, and that nothing we see around us becomes more complex or ordered unless an intelligent mind is involved. If we read a book, we assume someone wrote it, and not that the ink molecules happened to form themselves into letters on the page. If we find a beautiful watch, we assume someone designed it and put it together, not that lightning struck a pile of tin cans and caused them to evolve into a watch. The universe speaks of the Creator, and only the fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
May God bless you, your studies, and your ministry.

Lisa Dreamchild said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lisa Dreamchild said...

You have explained the mystery of the trinity very well Laurie. I have heard it described in so many ways, using every analogy imagined and then some :) This is so good I will copy it & save it if you don't mind! ( I am also intrigued by your description, as you have worked very closely with the human brain..which is just the physical manifestation of what we consider the habitation of the mind! ;)

Indeed we are Wonderfully made in His image!

~God Bless~
Lisa

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Lisa, Thanks so much for your kind words! I'm honored that you would like to copy and save my Trinity analogy. The distinction between and integration of mind and brain is a fascinating subject!
Praise God that He knit us together in His glorious image!
God's blessings to you,
Laurie

Ian Curtis said...

Creation is one of my favorite topics, so I enjoyed reading your post. The triune nature of God is fascinating. The natural order demonstrates it too. Past, present and future exist: two invisible and one visible, like God the Son became flesh on our behalf. God is a communal being, a social being like ourselves, since we are made in His image. Would He not have needed to create us (and therefore be incomplete) to experience love if He was simply a singular being? But John writes that God is love, and He did not need humans to be the object of His affection before creation.
At any rate, a ramble... Very good post. Thank you.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Ian, Excellent points -- the analogy with the 3 divisions of time, and the inference that God -- Who is love -- is a social Being as are we. It is truly amazing that the all-existent, self-sufficient Creator chose to create us.
Thanks and God bless,
Laurie

a joyful noise said...

God in me! Amazing that He can dwell in my heart and at the same time be everywhere else too!

Laurie Collett said...

Amen! Another great mystery that blesses us, but that we won't fully understand until we get to glory.
God bless you,
Laurie

Laura said...

I appreciate this teaching-especially the part about the Trinity. I grew up in a faith that does not believe in the Trinity, so it means a lot to continue to learn these things. Blessings to you, Laurie.

Joan Davis (Jo) said...

I especially love your comments to Zim above...Your example of the creation of a watch and the author of a book are great examples to help support Creation! I guess evolutionists just want to figure everything out. They don't want to believe that something is beyond their comprehension. However, to me, believing in a Supreme Being who intelligently put the world into motion and linked everything together by His hand...is much, MUCH easier (and more logical) to accept! I much prefer knowing that God is in control and HE has it all figured out!

Blessings, Joan

Donald Fishgrab said...

Evolutionists seem to believe they are capable of determining how everything happened. I can't understand how they can convince themselves all these things happened by accident when we cant even do some very minor things deliberately. I'm glad we have a God who can do it without my having to understand it all.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Laura, Thank you for your encouragement, and blessings to you and to your family also!
Love in Him,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Joan! The human mind is not even capable of understanding itself, let alone of understanding the God Who created it. I believe that pride gets in the way of the evolutionists accepting this, as it means acknowledging their own limitations. Praise God that He is not only still on His throne, sustaining us and His whole creation, but that He loves us infinitely so that we can trust Him to work all things together for good.
Love to you,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear dfish,
Thanks as always for sharing your thoughts. The evolutionists are fond of quoting "science," when, in fact, the "science" behind their theory is shoddy at best and in large part is nonexistent (the missing link is still missing). Even worse, their theories fly in the face of science as we know it. If you take papers from a file cabinet and toss them in the air while high-speed fans are blowing, they're not going to land in a more ordered fashion than they were originally. The Second Law of Thermodynamics tells us that entropy, or disorder, naturally increases. Something arising from nothing, and simple organisms becoming more complex by chance, are nonsensical concepts. Scientific theories come and go, but God and His Word are the same yesterday, today and always.
Blessings to you,
Laurie

Barbara Neubeck said...

Hello Laurie,
Believing in the triune God is an act of Faith.
Good post.
God Bless
Barb from Australia

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Barb! Like so many of the divine mysteries, we must simply believe, until we see clearly in glory. May God bless you, your family, and your ministry!
Laurie

Anonymous said...

Hi Laurie - I love seeing your face on my blog hop. Would not be the same without it. I love your last paragraph here, "How amazing it is to think that the Creator of all loves us so much that He created us in His image, gave His Son to redeem us, and indwelled believers with His Holy Spirit to empower us with the mind of Christ. May we glorify Him in all we think, speak and do (Romans 15:6)." Great post Laurie
God bless
Tracy

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Tracy,
I love how you are such a great encourager! You are a great blessing to me, and I know to all those who read your blog. We all appreciate the blog hop too!
God bless you,
Laurie

Joan Hall said...

Laurie:

At the age of 19 I visited Colorado for the first time and had my first sight of the Rocky Mountains. I was awestruck by their beauty and remember wondering how anyone could look upon something so majestic and think it "just happened", denying a Creator.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful post!

Blessings,
Joan

Trish said...

Such a good post, Laurie.
Trying to understand the Trinity is like trying to hold the wind in your hand.
You know it's real but you can't truly grasp it!
By faith..we can see glimpses of Who God is in all His perfections and unity.
Full revelation awaits us in the future.
Meanwhile..Jesus said "if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father".
The Holy Spirit helps to reveal Christ, and those who have eyes to see Him, see the Father also!
Thanks for linking to LACE.
Have a blessed week in the Lord..Trish

Mommy Emily said...

thank you for reminding me that God is unchanging. that i can depend on him. bless you, e.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Joan, He truly is not only the Creator, but the most sublime and creative Artist!

May God bless you and your family,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Trish,
What an apt analogy -- like holding the wind in your hand! Praise God for the glorious hope that He will one day be revealed to us completely, when we reach glory.
Love in Him,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Emily,
Thank God for His faithfulness and that He is the same, yesterday, today and forever!
God's blessings to you,
Laurie

Charlotte said...

The Trinity is not easy to explain. I think you have done a good job of doing that.
Blessings,
Charlotte

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Charlotte, I appreciate the encouragement!
May you have a blessed week in Him,
Laurie

betty-NZ said...

It's quite daunting to try to understand all that He is! But knowing that faith will take us through the parts we don't understand is truly comforting.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Bettyl,
His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and now we see as through a glass darkly. But faith will sustain us until we see Him face to face!
Laurie

Ms. Kathleen said...

What a great study -- Our God is a triune being and so many things in nature follow his example - eggs, apples, flowers, trees, etc.... So many wonderful examples - oh and people! It is a comfort to know He does all in his power to make us realize how much He loves us.

http://theemptynestexpress.com

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Ms. Kathleen! His creativity and expressions of love always amaze me.
May God bless you and your ministry!
Laurie