Relationship to God: Trinity

As we saw last week, God’s Triune nature is reflected not only in all of His creation, including mankind created in His own image, but even in our relationships to one another. When we examine man’s relationships to God, groups of three are again a dominant theme. 

All mankind can be characterized as Jews, Gentiles, or saints: the Hebrews who are God’s chosen people but who have rejected Jesus as their Messiah (Matthew 21:42); unsaved people of all other nations (Ephesians 2:11-12); and the remnant of Jews and Gentiles who are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

When God spoke to Peter in a dream about salvation being extended to those Gentiles who believe in His Son, He did so through the symbolism of a sheet containing “unclean” animals under the law, which now were made clean through God’s grace. This sheet was let down three times to Peter (Acts 10:16).

When the inner circle of Christ’s closest apostles --  Peter, James, and John, -- witnessed His Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2), they saw Him glorified with two resurrected Old Testament saints. Peter, not understanding what he was seeing, wanted to build three tabernacles for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses (Matthew 17:4),.

Based on their response to God’s free gift of salvation, all mankind can be divided into three groups: natural man, carnal man, and spiritual man. The natural man (1 Corinthians 2:14) is unsaved and still governed completely by his sin nature. The carnal man (Romans 7:14) is born again but allows his sin nature to quench the indwelling Holy Spirit, and therefore he is not in God’s will. All believers should pray to be the spiritual man (1 Corinthians 2:15), in whom the Spirit moves freely, allowing them to be ambassadors for Christ and to live completely for Him.

The believer’s walk with Christ has three progressive stages:  justification, sanctification, and glorification. At the moment we trust Christ as our Savior, we are positionally justified – the righteousness of Jesus is attributed to our account, and all our sins are attributed to Jesus’ account, so it is “just as if” we had never sinned (Romans 3:24). This occurs instantaneously at the moment of salvation.

Through trials we face, suffering we endure, and choices we make to glorify God in our thoughts, words and deeds, we become progressively sanctified (Romans 15:16) throughout our lifetime once we are born again. This is a gradual, often difficult process that Paul describes as “working out” our salvation (Philippians 2:12), even though it is clear that we are saved by faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We cannot lose our salvation once we have truly repented of our sins and trusted Christ, but through sanctification we become more like Him each day. Paul explains our progressive sanctification as a three-step process involving our “work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:3). This process is only possible through the indwelling Holy Spirit, which gives us the spirit “of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

At the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17), believers will instantly become glorified and become as Christ is, completely free of sin and in a glorious body that will never die, age, or suffer (1 Corinthians 15:51-55). While we await that glorious moment, we should be “stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Until then, our progressive sanctification also involves prayer, studying God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:15), and corporate worship. Prayer engages all three members of the Trinity, as we pray to the Father (Matthew 6:9), in the name of Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5), empowered by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26). God answers our prayers in one of three ways: “Yes,” “Later,” or “No.”

Because He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28), we can have faith that each type of answer is the best possible. He answers “Yes” when our prayer aligns with His perfect will and with His perfect timing; “Later” when our request is in His will but its time is not yet come, and “No” when we ask for something in opposition to His will (James 4:3) or when His solution to our problem is even better than what we are requesting.

We may not always understand how “No” could be the best possible answer, especially when God denies our prayer for physical healing or other needs, but we must trust that He is faithful and loves us infinitely, desiring to give His children only the best of gifts (Matthew 7:11; Luke 11:13).  Paul asked God three times to remove his thorn in the flesh, finally accepting that God’s strength would be made perfect in Paul’s weakness.(2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Studying the Word carries a threefold blessing: God calls those blessed who read His Word, who hear His Word, and who keep or follow His Word (Revelation 1:3). There are three expected outcomes if we study Scripture: we will be approved unto God, we will not need to be ashamed, and we will rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

Praise God that when we finally behold Him in glory, we will have unimaginable joy, for Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

© 2012 Laurie Collett