Triplets of Grace: God in Three Persons

 

 

God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9), so only He can understand His own nature as One God in Three Persons. Like the mysteries of the Incarnation (John 1:14), the Church (Ephesians 5:32), and the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-52), the Trinity is a great mystery that our limited human minds cannot understand fully until we reach glory (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Yet the Scripture is clear that God is one God, yet a three-part Being – Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22). We may not fully comprehend it, but we can have faith that it is so because God’s Word says it (2 Timothy 3:16). Each Person of the Trinity is unique, and yet All are equally God and perfectly aligned in Their will.

God is Spirit (John 4:24), Love (1 John 4:8) and Light (1 John 1:5). The spirit, or mind, of Father God formed a plan (Job 33:4; Psalm 143:10; Isaiah 61:1; Romans 8:9,14,27;; the body of God the Son offered Himself in perfect love to fulfill that plan (John 10:15,17; 15:13; 1 John 3:16). and the light energy of the Holy Spirit empowered that plan (Genesis 1:2). Father, Son and Holy Spirit are self-existent (Exodus 3:14), present from the beginning of time (John 1:1), and each possesses all the divine attributes.

From the beginning of Scripture (Genesis 1:1), the Trinity appears as Elohim, or Hebrew for God -- a plural noun used with a singular verb form, reflecting the constancy of all three Persons of God acting as One Creator. God the Father loved the world so much that to save it He gave His Son (John 3:16), conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20).

When Jesus the Son was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily shape like a dove, and God the Father in Heaven voiced His approval of His Son (Luke 3:22). As Jesus died for our sins, He with His last breath recognized that the Spirit was leaving His earthly body and was returning to the Father (Luke 23:46).

Thank God for His Triune nature, for without it, how would the plan of salvation be possible? Jesus suffering and dying as human flesh to pay for our sins would have no meaning or value unless God the Father raised Him from the dead, by the power of the Holy Spirit. All who trust in that as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6) can therefore have everlasting life (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

After His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus Christ’s last words to His disciples before He ascended into Heaven were: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19).

When a person is saved by placing their faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), they are indwelled by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8; 2 Corinthians 1:22), Who instructs them in the knowledge of Jesus Christ (1 John 4:2). In turn, we can know the Father through knowing Jesus Christ (John 5:37;14:7-9). Paul prayed that the Father of glory would give believers at the church of Ephesus the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:17).

Many of the other epistles acknowledge and recognize the distinct yet unified Persons of the Trinity.  Jude tells us to pray in the Holy Ghost to keep ourselves in the love of God (the Father), looking forward to eternal life through the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 1:20-21). Peter says that believers are foreknown by the Father, sanctified by the Spirit, and cleansed from our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:2).

When we are born again and then baptized as a public act of obedience to God, we are baptized “in the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” reflecting the “the fact that all three persons of the Trinity have accomplished our salvation,” as the Prince of Preachers Charles Spurgeon put it (Sermon no. 115; 1 February, 1857). Spurgeon goes on to say:

The Father blots out my sin; the Father accepts me and adopts me into his family through Christ. The Son could not save without the Father any more than the Father without the Son; and as for the Holy Spirit, if the Son redeems, do you not know that the Holy Spirit regenerates? … When you say, “Saviour,” remember there is a Trinity in that word—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, this Saviour being three persons under one name. You cannot be saved by the Son without the Father, nor by the Father without the Son, nor by Father and Son without the Spirit. But as they are one in creation, so are they one in salvation, working together in one God for our salvation, and unto that God be glory everlasting, world without end. Amen. 

There are numerous passages in which Jesus prays to the Father or where He tells the disciples that He will leave but that the Comforter (Spirit) will come, again emphasizing that the Three Persons of the Trinity are distinct yet One in their perfect will. May we be ever thankful to the Trinity for our salvation -- to God the Father Who sent His Son to save us and His Spirit to guide us!

© 2013 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Feasts and Prophecies: Reflecting the Trinity

Just as God’s Triune nature is reflected in His creation, in the names of His Son, and in Temple worship, so it is in the special feasts Jehovah designated for Old Testament worship, and in prophecies corresponding to these feasts.

The Seven Feasts (Leviticus 23) that God set apart for Israel as special times of worship include three spring feasts, one summer feast, and three fall feasts, each with prophetic meaning. The prophesies of the three spring feasts: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits, have already been fulfilled by Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection -- the triad underlying Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15) -- at the times of year God set apart to celebrate these feasts.

Jesus Himself declared that He was the fulfillment of prophecies in all three divisions of the Old Testament (Luke 24:44): the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (poetic books),

Passover (Leviticus 23:5) commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from the curse intended for the Egyptians. The destroyer claimed the life of every firstborn unless the home was protected by the blood of a sacrificed lamb, marking the three points of the cross on the two side posts and upper post of the front door (Exodus 12). This foreshadows the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God, Who paid for all our sins. At the Feast of Passover in 33 AD, Jesus was crucified and shed every drop of His blood as the Lamb Who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

He was buried the next day, on the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6-8; Exodus 12), symbolizing Jesus as the Bread of Life (John 6) containing no leaven, which represents sin (Matthew 16; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8). On the third day, on the Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:10-14), Jesus rose from the dead, representing the firstfruits from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20-23) and making the way for us to follow. Because He rose and ascended into Heaven, all who trust in Him have eternal life (John 3:16).

The summer feast was the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-22). This feast was also fulfilled prophetically at the preordained time when, 50 days after Christ’s ascension, the Holy Spirit descended with flaming tongues of fire upon the disciples of Jesus (Acts 2:1-4), empowering them to spread the Gospel to those speaking any language.

Prophetically speaking, the remaining three feasts are still unfulfilled, but the prophecies symbolized by these fall feasts (Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles) will one day come to fruition, again through Jesus Christ. The Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:23-25) corresponds to the trumpet of the Lord sounding at the Rapture, for all believers to be caught up in the air to meet with Jesus (1 Thessalonians.4:15-17). This glorious moment, long awaited by believers, will also begin the prophesied 70th week of Daniel (Daniel 9:2) and the seven-year Tribulation period (Matthew 24:21; Revelation 7:14).

The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26-32) foreshadows the return of Christ (Matthew 24:29-31), which will occur at the end of the seven-year Tribulation. The King of Kings will return in glory and power for the battle of Armageddon and judgment to occur at the Day of the Lord (Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 13:30; Revelation 16:16).

Finally, the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-43) originally commemorating the Israelites dwelling in tents as they fled from Egypt, will be fulfilled as Jesus Christ dwells among, or tabernacles with, His people during the 1000-year Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 21:3). This will be an unprecedented time of joy, peace and productivity as the deserts will bloom (Isaiah 35:1-2), rivers will spring forth (Isaiah 43:19), and former animal predators will be harmless to us and to their fellow creatures (Isaiah 11:6; 65:25).

In this seemingly long interval between the past fulfillment of prophesies corresponding to the spring and summer feasts, and the future fulfillment of prophesies corresponding to the fall feasts, God has continued to guide our Church Age worship in ways still reflecting the Trinity. Praise God for His perfect plan, orderly creation, and continued guidance!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Edited and reposted from the archives

In His Image: Reflecting the Trinity

 

The Triune God created man in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), with mind, body and spirit corresponding to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus the Son is the express image of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3). We are made in His image for His pleasure (Revelation 4:11), so it is not surprising that our three-part nature is captured in so many different facets of our being.

Our physical body consists of three main elements: the head, body, and limbs. The head is the seat of our mind, representing God the Father Who is the Originator of the divine plan. Our body contains all our vital organs needed to maintain life, corresponding to Jesus the Son, Who is the Embodiment of the plan: the Word wrapped Himself in human flesh (John 1:14) and came to earth as the perfect sacrifice to pay our sin debt through His shed blood (1 John 1:7). 

And our limbs carry out the plans we devise in our mind, much as the Holy Spirit empowers the plans of God the Father (Genesis 1:2). Our hands can build or destroy; heal or harm; steal, or work and give to those in need (Ephesians 4:28). Our feet can be beautiful if they lead us to spread the Gospel (Romans 10:15); they can reach high places if He sets us there (2 Samuel 22:34; Psalm 18:33; Habakkuk 3:19); or they can lead us into sin. Psalm 1:1 warns us not to sit, stand, or walk in places or with people who will get us into trouble.

Our brain, which is the seat of our mind and which governs our body and limbs, can be divided into three main substructures: forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The forebrain includes the cerebral hemispheres responsible for conscious thought; the midbrain regulates our bodily functions, emotions, and arousal; and the hindbrain controls movement. Although this is an oversimplification because the whole brain works in concert, we can see that the forebrain to a large extent governs our mind, the midbrain regulates our body, and the hindbrain controls our limbs (which carry out actions motivated by our spirit).

The indwelling Holy Spirit empowers us to glorify God in all we think, say, and do (Colossians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 10:31) for He has given us the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), and in Him we live, move, and have our being.( Acts 17:28).

Below the realm of conscious thought, our brain processes sensory input providing information about our environment that allows us to respond in ways that ensure our survival.  The three senses involved in a newborn’s obtaining nourishment through nursing are touch, smell, and taste. The mother stroking the baby’s cheek causes him to turn his head toward her; the scent of her skin and milk cause him to open his mouth and suck; and the taste of the milk keeps him feeding.

The same three senses continue to be highly involved in eating, which is why food seems tasteless when we have a cold, and why we often crave food with a meaty or crunchy texture. The unique body chemistry of a loved one’s scent helps us to recognize them (Genesis 27:27).

Because of connections in the brain between areas responsible for smell, emotion, and memory, a distinct aroma may release a flood of memories and emotions surrounding a particular person or event. The scent of gingerbread baking may take you back to the love and joy of a childhood Christmas. Incense or sacrifices burned during worship (Numbers 29:36; Ezra 6:10) may remind the believer of God’s love and greatness, and He even experiences the faithful as a “sweet savour” reminding Him of the sacrifice of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15; Ephesians 5:2).

Smell, taste and touch heighten intimacy with our spouse, and even with God Himself (Song of Solomon 2:3; 3:6,4:10-11,5:5,13,16,7:8). His words are sweet as honey (Psalm 119:103; Ezekiel 3:3), and He urges us to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

The loving touch of the angel of the Lord comforted Elijah (1 Kings 19:5-7), the Lord Himself touched young Jeremiah’s lips to give him the words to speak (Jeremiah 1:9), and Jesus healed the blind, mute and sick with a single touch (e.g. Matthew 8:3,15; 9:29).

God gave us three special abilities with which to communicate ideas: speech, hearing and vision, using our mouth, ears, and eyes. James warns us to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. (James 1:19). A study at UCLA showed that up to 93 percent of how we perceive what others say is based not on words, but on nonverbal cues including the tone of their voice, facial expression and gestures. 

Yet God also intends for us to use our words wisely, refraining from “corrupt communication” and to speak only “that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29). All verbal communication, spoken or written, is based on sentences composed of subject, verb, and object. To compare different things using adjectives, language uses three degrees of qualities – for example, good, better, and best.

To be in God’s will, the main focus of our communication should be to bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and to encourage believers to live for Him. Before He ascended into Heaven, our risen Lord commanded us to go (spread the Gospel), teach (instruct others in His Word), and baptize all nations (facilitate their obedience to God’s will; Matthew 28:19-20).

Because the unsaved will be born again only through faith (Romans 10:17), they must hear God’s Word; evangelists must preach the Word; and believers must send forth preachers to lost people (Romans 10:14-15), Salvation has three parts: the lost hear the Word, they trust it in their heart, and they speak aloud their confession of faith (Romans 10:9-10), in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only way to Heaven (1 Corinthians 15).

May we use our mind, body and spirit to glorify God in all we think, say and do!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Triplets of Praise: How to Worship

 

God’s Triune nature is reflected in His creation, His attributes, the names of Christ, Old Testament worship, feasts and prophecies, and the birth of His Son. Not surprisingly, His instructions for worship in the New Testament are also triplets of praise!

God designed mankind to need Him, because only He gives us all we need: life, breath (spirit), and all things (Acts 17: 25). He designed us to be complete only when He indwells us at the moment of salvation. This occurs in a three-step process (Acts 17:27) – we seek Him (an intellectual process involving the mind seeking truth), we feel after Him (an emotional process involving the heart realizing its own emptiness), and we find Him (our spirit places its faith in Him as the only true Savior and living God).

Jesus promised that anyone who asks, seeks and knocks in this fashion will receive, find and gain entrance (Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10). From that moment on, we are His, and in Him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). Only then can we love Him as Jesus commanded us (Matthew 22:37), and as was foreshadowed when the Lord spoke to Moses (Deuteronomy 6:5), with all our heart, soul, and mind.

When we are born again, we place our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15) as the only Way to Heaven. Before ascending to Heaven, Jesus Christ gave His followers (including present-day believers) the Great Commission: to go, teach, and baptize (Matthew 28:18-20). When we pray, we pray to the Father (Matthew 6:9), in the name of Jesus Who intercedes for us (1 Timothy 2:5), empowered by the Holy Spirit Who searches our heart and delivers to the Throne Room the prayers we cannot even utter (Romans 8:26).

As Jesus taught His disciples in the model prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), our prayers should include adoration (praise and thanksgiving for Who He is and for what He has done; Matthew 6:9-10,13), repentance (confession of our sins; Matthew 6:12), and supplication (petitions asking for the needs of others and of ourselves; Matthew 6:11,13). The prayer closes by recognizing that to God alone belongs the kingdom, and the power, and the glory (Matthew 6:13).

Prayer is an important part of our corporate worship, as is praise and preaching the Word. The writer of Hebrews (10:24-25) urges us to continue meeting together for worship, especially as we draw closer to Christ’s return. By doing this, we can exhort one another (to refrain from sin) and encourage one another to love and to do good works.

Paul tells us that we can do this by speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and that in addition to uplifting each other by speaking in this way, that we should sing aloud and make melody in our heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19).

When Paul urges us to follow the path Christ has set before us (Ephesians 4:1), He reminds us that we are rooted in one Lord, one faith, and one baptism and that God is above all, and through all, and in us all (Ephesians 4:5-6). God blessed each believer with a special role within the church body, which can broadly be grouped into three categories: for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12).

Jesus tells us that God is spirit (John 4:24), and John tells us that God is light (1 John 1:5), and love (1 John 4:8,16). Accordingly, Paul tells us to walk in the spirit (Galatians 5:16,25; Romans 8:1,4) and in love (Ephesians 5:2), and John tells us to walk in the light (1 John 1:7), Three gifts of grace: faith, hope and love (1 Thessalonians 1:3).enable believers to do this.

May we always worship God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit with triplets of praise!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Christ’s Earthly Ministry: Triplets of Love

 

As the world prepares to celebrate Valentine's Day and its homage to earthly "love," Christians can experience, appreciate, and give thanks for the perfect love of Jesus Christ. The holiday on February 14 exalts eros, or romantic, sensual, and physical love, but born-again believers (John 3:8) can honor Christ's agape, or self-sacrificing, boundless, and transformative love every day of the year.

The third Greek word for love, in addition to eros and agape, is philia, or brotherly love. Eros, often translated as lust, diminishes its subject to the status of an object for the lover's gratification or pleasure, often without consideration for that person's well-being. Philia is based on common interests and beliefs, and the relationship typically benefits both parties, as in the colloquialism "You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." But agape, exemplified by Christ's love for us, gives all to the loved one with no expectation of receiving anything in return.

After all, what could the Lord Jesus Christ, Creator of all (Genesis 1; John 1:3), King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16), need from us? Yet He suffered, bled on Calvary's cross, and died to pay our sin debt in full, while we were still His enemies (Romans 5:10). The agony He experienced to save us was not only physical torture, but the emotional pain of betrayal, rejection, and abandonment, and, as He became our sin, the spiritual ordeal of momentary separation from God the Father, with Whom He had been since eternity past (John 1:1).  

The Lord Jesus Christ proved His divinity when He rose again on the third day so that all who trust Him would be justified in God the Father's sight (Romans 3:24,28), reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:18-20), and adopted into His family (Romans 8:15).

As joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), our love gifts from Him include eternal life with Him and our loved ones in Him (John 3:16), an eternal home of unimaginable splendor in Heaven (1 Corinthians 2:9), and glorified bodies that will never age, die, or experience sin, pain, or sorrow (1 Corinthians 15:35-58). Even in this world, He gives us abundant life (John 10:10), joy in His salvation (Isaiah 61:10), and peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). We are blessed that He calls us His friend (John 15:13-15), bride (Isaiah 61:10), and ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8) – throughout all time He was, is and will be Almighty God. He represents and is the fullness of the Godhead – Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- as cited in three verses (Ephesians 3:19; 4:13; Colossians 2:9). Even in His earthly ministry, which lasted three and a half years, we see the signature of the Trinity reflected in triplets of love.

The apostle John described the Trinity in Heaven reflected in the life and work of Jesus Christ through the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: for these three “agree in one” (1 John 5:6-8). 

John further explained that Jesus came in the flesh (i.e. with human blood and born out of the water in Mary’s womb), empowered by the Holy Spirit. We see the water and the blood again when a spear pierces His side (John 19:34) and Jesus lays down His life to suffer and dies on the cross, which was possible only through the power of the Spirit.

At His baptism marking the beginning of His earthly ministry (Matthew 3:16-17), we see all of the Trinity in one picture: Jesus the Son being baptized, the Holy Spirit descending on Him in the form of a dove, and God the Father announcing that Jesus is indeed His beloved Son.

This was the first of three proclamations from God the Father Himself that Jesus is His Son, worthy of God’s love and glory and our praise and obedience (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; John 12:28). The second of these Divine revelations was the transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-8). His inner circle of Peter, James and John witnessed three glorified beings: Jesus, Moses, and Elias, prompting Peter to want to build three tabernacles.

After Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tested by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). Three times the devil tempted Him, appealing to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16) and each time Jesus rebuked the devil by quoting Scripture – three times He replied, “It is written…”

Jesus’ closest friends, apart from His disciples, were Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (John 12:1-3). The precious ointment Mary used to anoint Jesus’ feet was worth three hundred pence (John 12:5). Lazarus was one of three people Jesus raised from the dead (John 12:9), the other two being Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:35-43) and the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-15).

Jesus summarized His work on earth in terms of three types of miracles: spiritual healing, physical healing, and His own perfection, or resurrection from the dead (Luke 13:32). That perfection occurred on the third day, when He had paid all of our sin debt by suffering and dying on the cross, was buried, and rose again, so that all who believe this may also have eternal life (1 Corinthians 15). 

May we all trust in His completed work and become joint heirs with Him (Romans 8:17), His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20, and rulers in the Millennial Kingdom! (Revelation 20:4)

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives, edited and expanded

Human Relationships: Reflecting the Trinity

 

In today's troubled world, I often wonder how much of the apparent confusion has resulted from ignoring God's plan for human relationships. As many of my readers prepare to celebrate Mother's Day, I thought it would be an appropriate time to repost this article. May all mothers be blessed on this special day and throughout the year!

As we can see throughout Scripture, God’s Triune nature is echoed in His creation, His attributes, His prescribed patterns of worship, and in mankind created in His own image. Even in our relationships to one another in our community, globally, and to Our Creator we again see groups of three playing a central role.

The grammatical construction of all languages describes all relationships in terms of three persons: first person (I and we), second person (you), and third person (he, she, and they). The basic unit of society is the family, which in its simplest complete form is father, mother, and child. Even though Jesus Christ had God as His Father and was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:16-20), He began His earthly life in the family comprised of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. (Luke 2:16).

God has structured these elemental family relationships by commanding children to honor their father and mother (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16); and fathers not to drive their children to anger, but to raise them with the loving care and correction of God Himself (Ephesians 6:4).  This basic pattern should prevail in all our earthly relationships: the person in authority leads not with brute force but with self-sacrificing love and Godly example, and the person under authority respects, honors and submits to the one leading them (Ephesians 6:1-9). 

The marriage itself can be viewed as a relationship among three, with Christ at the Head, the husband submitting to Christ and loving his wife self-sacrificially, and the wife submitting herself to her husband (Ephesians 5:20-33).

Our family should be knit together in obedience, love and prayer. Obeying God's Word demonstrates our faith in Him, for faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26). God is love, and we cannot genuinely love one another without first loving Him (1 John 4:8). The apostle Paul urges us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and the sincere prayers of believers for one another are effective (James 5:16).

Our position in the life cycle and in extended family life can broadly be divided into childhood, adulthood, and old age. In childhood, we depend on our elders for our physical and spiritual nourishment (Luke 11:11-13). In adulthood, we may marry and have children, providing care for our loved ones and for others in our community. In old age, we may again depend on adults to care for us if we are physically or mentally infirm (Mark 7:10-13), or we may be blessed to mentor others through our wisdom and experience (Titus 2:2-5).

In other societal groupings, many relationships can be categorized into three levels: self, superiors, and subordinates. For example, a worker reports to his employer, but supervises his secretary. A teacher answers to the principal but is responsible for her students.

Whether applied to the basic family unit, to work or school environments, or to friendships, Solomon’s metaphorical wisdom is that a cord of three strands cannot be easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12). In Old Testament law, two or three witnesses were required before someone could be accused of a crime (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; Matthew 18:16, etc.). In the New Testament, Jesus promised that God would be present whenever two or three worshippers are gathered in His Name (Matthew 18:20).

The Bible gives many examples of relationships among three persons. The sons of Noah (Shem, Ham, and Japheth) were the progenitors giving rise to the southern, middle, and northern peoples after the flood  (Genesis 10:1). The three Hebrew boys refusing to renounce God and delivered by Him from the fiery furnace were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3). The three apostles in Jesus’ inner circle were Peter, James, and John, as these three witnessed His Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-2) and were invited to go further into the Garden of Gethsemane with Him to pray on the eve of His crucifixion (Matthew 26:33).

Three-person relationships within the human family and within society mirror the association of self to others and to God. If we imagine ourselves as located at our home base on earth, we could draw a circle around that point to indicate others within our circle of influence. The radius of that circle depends on how far we can travel and on the sophistication of our communication devices. Nowadays, anyone with an Internet connection theoretically has a worldwide circle of influence.

Our individual relationships with others may vary, particularly in our local communities, so that we may be in a position of higher authority over some (e.g. our children, our employees) and in a position of submission to some (e.g. our employer, law enforcement, government leaders). But as we travel further away from our home base, those in our circle of influence are more likely to be in positions of equal footing relative to one another (for example, all of us connected on the Internet).

If we think of our circle of influence on earth as a base, and we draw an imaginary line upward from the center extending infinitely high to God, the enclosed space would be a three-dimensional cone symbolizing the meaning of our existence: ourselves in relationship to others and to Our Creator.

No matter how much or how little authority we have in our earthly relationships, He regards us all as equal in His sight (Acts 10:34; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11). We must all submit to Him, either in this life by placing our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and in His completed work on the cross (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 15) or at the day of judgment when those who rebelled against Him will bow the knee and confess that He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings (Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 17:14; 19:16).

May we all choose in this life to recognize Christ as Lord and enjoy eternal, abundant life (John 10:10) with Him here and in Heaven (John 3:16), rather than once it is too late to avoid the just punishment of eternity in hell (Matthew 10:28; Luke 16:19-31). May our obedience to Him in our Christian life include following His divine plan for human relationships!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Edited, expanded and reposted from the archives

Are You Like the Prodigal Son or the “Good” Son?

 

God’s Triune nature as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is illustrated in patterns of threes found throughout Scripture. As we saw last week, Jesus told three parables about the loss of a treasured animal, object or 

person, and the rejoicing that follows when the lost treasure is found (Luke 15).

The third and most detailed of these salvation parables, often referred to as the Prodigal Son, shows most clearly that to be found, we must first confess that we are lost; we must want to be found; and we must know the person who will find us. Jesus taught this parable not only for the benefit of the sinners who knew they were lost, but also for the Pharisees and scribes 

who thought they were superior, self-righteous, and in no need of help (v. 2).

The parable has three main characters: a father, his younger son, and his older son (v. 11-12). We can safely assume that the father, like the scribes and Pharisees Jesus was attempting to reach, was a religiously observant Jew. The younger son disowned, disrespected, and disgraced his father in three ways.

First, he disowned his father by demanding that he give him his portion of the inheritance (v. 12), which was essentially the same as telling his father that he wished he were already dead. Second, he left Israel and traveled to a pagan nation, thereby disrespecting his father, his heritage, and Jehovah God. Third, he disgraced his family by wasting his fortune on the pleasures of sin (v. 13).

This chain of three events resulted in his extreme poverty, which in turn led to three consequences of his sins. Because there was a great famine in the foreign country, he had to enter into bondage as a slave; he defiled himself by having to feed swine (considered by Jews to be unclean (Leviticus 11:7; Deuteronomy 14:8) because of the Mosaic law); and he was about to die from hunger, for no one would give him so much as a corn husk to eat (Luke 15:14-16).

But then, miraculously, a threefold process of salvation began. First, he “came to himself” (v. 17), realizing how far he had fallen. Second, he admitted three things: that he needed his father to save him, that he had sinned against God, and that he was unworthy to be his father’s son (v. 17-19). Third, he reached out to his father in three ways: he was willing to humble himself by being his father’s servant; he journeyed home to his father; and he confessed his sins to the father (v. 18-21).

The parable then illustrates how God seeks out the sinner who takes the first step toward Him! The father had been on the lookout for the son from a great distance, he had compassion the moment he came into view; and he ran to meet him (v. 20). No doubt the scribes and Pharisees gasped in shock when they heard of this behavior, in stark contrast to the typical Jewish patriarch who would maintain his reserve and dignity and wait for the son to fall prostrate at his feet!

Instead, this Father hugged his son’s neck, kissed him, and forgave his sin (v. 20-22). Because of His grace, He answered the son’s prayer far beyond his expectations (Ephesians 3:20), accepting him as His son, writing off his debt (of having squandered part of the family estate), and clothing him with the finest robe, a ring, and shoes (Luke 15:22). He brought forth the fatted calf that was being kept for a special occasion, sacrificed it, and had it prepared for dinner (v. 23).

The Father rejoiced over his son with a great celebration that included not only feasting, but also music and dancing (v. 23-25), because He received him from danger to being safe and sound, from death to life, from being lost to being found (v. 24-27).

But sadly, the tale does not end here, but turns instead to the elder son. John MacArthur refers to this parable as the “Tale of Two Sons,” because the fate of the elder son is as much at stake as that of the prodigal. The elder son was a “good” son, hard-working in the field (v. 25), serving his father for many years, and saying that he never disobeyed any of his father’s commandments (v. 29).

No doubt the scribes and Pharisees listening to this story identified with the elder son, for they worked hard at being “good” Jews, prided themselves on their years of religious works and service (Matthew 23:1-7), and thought they were self-righteous (Matthew 5:20) and able to keep the law perfectly.

Yet Jesus criticized them for following the letter of the law, tithing even the tenth part of their garden herbs, while being far from God in their hearts and lacking judgment (discernment), mercy and faith (Matthew 23:23-29). They had substituted their own traditions for God’s law (Matthew 15:1-10); they did not recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah Who was God’s Son; and they had no true love for God or for one another (Matthew 23:13-15).

So the scribes and Pharisees were correct in identifying with the elder son in the parable, for all were far from the Father’s heart. When he heard of the great celebration over his long-lost brother, the elder son got angry, refused to take part in the feast, and criticized his family -- his brother for wasting the family fortune on prostitutes, and his Father for celebrating the prodigal’s return rather than his own self-righteousness (Luke 15: 28-29).

Perhaps this part of the story pricked the hearts of some of the scribes and Pharisees, if their consciences were not already too seared (1 Timothy 4:2). Did any of them recognize that they were angry with Jesus and His followers, that they had no joy over the salvation of others or the opportunity they had to be saved by trusting Jesus, and that they were judgmental to Jesus and His followers (Matthew 12:2,14,24), when judgment is solely the province of God? (James 5:9; Matthew 7::1-5; Romans 12:19)

But instead of rebuking the elder son, the Father sought him out, begged him to join the party (v. 28), and explained the situation. He told the elder son that he was continually in the presence of the Father and exposed to His love, teachings and blessings; that he was still the rightful heir to all the Father owned; and that it was appropriate to celebrate his brother’s safe return, restoration to the family, and regeneration from spiritual death to life (v. 31-32).

During His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke predominantly to the Jews, so I believe the intended parallel here is to the relationship between God and His chosen nation of Israel. God continually sought out Israel despite her unfaithfulness, begged her to be faithful, and patiently explained the nature of their covenant relationship, as we see throughout the book of Judges and elsewhere, as well as allegorically in the book of Hosea.

Jesus blessed the Jews with His presence during His earthly ministry, promised that He would return as their King even though they rejected Him during His first coming (Mark 15), and found joy even in the shame of the cross (Hebrews 12:2). He knew that His suffering at Calvary would open the gates of Heaven to all, Jews and Gentiles (Matthew 12:18-21), who placed their faith in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way (John 14:6).

This parable therefore speaks to all three classes of mankind: the Jews of Israel, the Gentiles of all other nations, and the Church, representing all, either Jew or Gentile, who receive His freely given gift of salvation by trusting Him (1 Corinthians 1:2; 10:32)..

Knowing that the Father in the parable represents the Triune God -- Father, Son, and Spirit – we should ask ourselves whether our relationship to Him is more like that of the younger or the elder son. Do we know, like the prodigal, that we strayed far from God and were doomed to hell (John 3:18); that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves (Ephesians 2:8-9); and that we want the blessings of forgiveness, abundant life, and eternal life (John 3:16) that only He can provide?

If so, we have the living hope (1 Peter 1:3)  that God, in His mercy, love and grace (2 John 1:3) has forgiven us (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; 1 John 1:9), credited us with the perfect righteousness of His Son (Romans 3:22; 4:6,11; 5:17,21) and made us a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17): His children (Romans 8:16-21), His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), and joint heirs with Christ! (Romans 8:17)

But if we are more like the elder son, we must let the Father change our hearts before it is too late (Luke 13:25-28). How many in churches today are like the “good” son, dutifully occupying the pew, tithing, and calling themselves Christian, but having no relationship with, faith in, or love for the Father, His Son, and the brethren?

Trusting in our own good works to get to Heaven will forever separate us from the Father (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5). Believing in our own self-righteousness is like filthy rags in His sight (Isaiah 64:6). Instead of joy, peace and love that comes from trusting the Father, we will be consumed by anger, bitterness and hatred. The choice is freely available to all, so may we all open our hearts to our Lord Jesus Christ and turn from death to life today!

© 2015 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives