Triune Christ: Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer

In a previous post, we looked at the triune nature of Jesus Christ as Priest, Prophet, and King, worthy of our worship, loyalty and submission. Because He is pure, holy and just, He is filled with righteous anger and wrath at sin (Jeremiah 10:10; John 3:36; Romans 1:18). 

 

Yet the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 17:14; 19:16) is also a God of love (1 John 4:7). He has a gentler, more nurturing side, also described in three aspects as our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer. 

 

The Creator spoke us and the universe into existence (Colossians 1:16); the Sustainer satisfies all our physical and spiritual needs to maintain life (Ephesians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 9:10-12); and the Redeemer or Deliverer (Romans 11:26) bought us with the price of His own shed blood, freeing us from the bondage of sin and death (Romans 3:23-25). 

 

Names of Jesus reflecting His creative powers include Maker, Builder, and Author. Jesus is the just, pure, and righteous Maker (Job 4:17; 36:3) of all men (Proverbs 22:2), of the heavens and earth (Isaiah 51:13), and of the Holy City (Hebrews 11:10).

 

Our Maker is therefore worthy of our worship (Psalm 95:6), respect (Isaiah 17:7), and obedience (Isaiah 45:9).

He is the Master Builder Who places us on His sure foundation (Hebrews 3:3; Matthew 16:18), and the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). 

As the Sustainer, Jesus Christ feeds us. He is the Bread of Life (John 6:32-:51) Who came down from Heaven, the Living Water, and the True Vine (John 15:1,5) Who nourishes us as a vine brings life-sustaining nutrients to its branches. 

The roles of Jesus as the Sustainer, Who upholds all things (Hebrews 1:3) include Physician or Healer, Teacher, and Bridegroom (Husband and Spouse). The Physician heals our diseased bodies, casts out demons, cleanses us from our sins, and restores our troubled souls (Matthew 8:16; 9:12; 10:8;  Mark 2:17; Luke 4:23). 

The Teacher taught from the Scriptures, in parables, and by example. His teachings are the words of eternal life (John 6:68; I John 1:1). 

The Bridegroom (Matthew 9:15; 25)  is the perfect Husband (Isaiah 54:5), Who loves us with self-sacrificing agape love (Ephesians 5:25), Who will always be faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9) and Who will never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). 

We are further blessed that our Spouse is the fairest and chiefest of ten thousand (Song of Solomon 5:10). His matchless beauty (Isaiah 33:17) is compared to that of three plants: the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley (Song of Solomon 2:1), and the glorious Branch of the LORD (Isaiah 11:1; 4:2;  Zechariah 6:12;; Jeremiah 33:15, 23:5). 

The sustenance of Jesus Christ is the only source of everlasting life from the Father, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one can come to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). 

Three roles of Jesus befitting His nature as the Truth (Revelation 3:7) are the Faithful and True Witness (the Amen; Revelation 3:14; 1:5; 19:11; Isaiah 55:4), a Covenant of the people (Isaiah 42:6) in that He is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Messiah, and the Testator (Hebrews 7:22; 9:16,17) Whose death allowed all believers to be joint heirs with Him. 

The Sustainer also guides us on our journey through life, for He is not only the Way (John 14:6), but also the Light (Isaiah 9:2; Luke 2:32; John 1:4,9, 8:12, 12:35,46), and the  Shepherd Who leads us out of danger and to safety (Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34:23; John 10:11,16; Zechariah 13:7; Isaiah 40:10-11; 1 Peter 2:25; 5:4) because He Himself is the Door of the sheep (John 10:7). 

Even the selfless love and care of Christ the Shepherd has three progressive stages. He is the Good Shepherd Who knows His sheep and lays down His life for them (John 10:14-16). The power of His resurrection makes Him the Great Shepherd Whose blood is the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20). When we see Christ in His glory at the judgment seat, He shall be as the Chief Shepherd  (1 Peter 5:4). 

As the Light, Jesus is described as the Morning Star; as the Dayspring (dawn’s first light; Luke 1:78), and as the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2). The Morning Star, which refers to Venus or other bright planet when visible in the east before sunrise (Revelation 2:16,28), is also known as the Star (Numbers 24:17) or Day Star (2 Peter 1:19. These names remind us that His Light is always there to guide us, faithful as the sun rising every morning, brightening our days, and giving us hope when darkness seems to surround us. 

The Sustainer also guards and protects us with His infinite strength (Joel 3:16), which is like a strong Tower (Proverbs 18:10) or Fortress (Psalm 31:3; 71:3) protecting us from the storms (Isaiah 25:4; 32:2) or our enemies (Psalm 31:2, the spiritual Rock of our salvation (Matthew 16:18, Psalm 61:2; 62:7; 71:3; 94:22; 2 Samuel 22:47; 1 Corinthians 10:4), and a Foundation or precious and living chief Corner Stone (Psalm 118:22, Isaiah 28:16, 1 Corinthians 3:11, 1 Peter 2:4,6). 

Praise God that He is not only our Creator and Sustainer, but that He is our Redeemer (Job 19:25; Psalm 19:14; 78:35; Isaiah 41:13; 43:14, 44:6,14), Who set us free from sin and death! (Romans 3:23-25). He is known as the Redeemer, Deliverer (Romans 11:26), and Arm of the Lord (Isaiah 51:9; 52:10; 53:1; 62:8), mighty to save but tenderly protecting us (Isaiah 40:11).  

He paid the price in full for our freedom, giving every drop of His precious blood to pay our sin debt in full. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the completed work to buy our liberty from the bondage of hell. Praise God that whosovever believes in Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, and Himself the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, has everlasting life! (John 3:16).

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Mourning Doves, or Morning Doves?

As I swam at dusk in the secluded pool at our island getaway, a flock of mourning doves sprang up from secret hiding places – the hibiscus bushes along the fence, the pool’s edge just beyond my line of sight, from within the tall pines. They fluttered around the pool in an excited whirl, congregated near the deep end as if to cheer on my laps, then settled on a nearby rooftop. 

Mourning doves are so named because of their sorrowful, lamenting song. Some males may have a pink or rust-colored stain on their chest, reminiscent of a bleeding heart. Their sudden appearance saddened me at first, bringing to mind the unexpected deaths of so many friends, church members, public figures, and acquaintances in recent times. 

Some of these deaths were expected and even a blessing, like that of the elderly woman with Alzheimer’s who could no longer recognize her own family. Others were shocking tragedies, like the young, active dance professional who was struck by a car while he was standing in the street in front of his house. 

It reminded me that our earthly life can vanish before our eyes like a puff of smoke, for we are not promised tomorrow (James 4:14). Those who procrastinated with their salvation, assuming they would have plenty of time to have their intellectual questions answered, or to “clean up their act” before coming to Christ, will spend eternity in hell if death caught them unawares. 

Now is the accepted time of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2), and those who put it off risk quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and having their conscience seared, to the point that they can no longer recognize that they are sinners in need of a Savior (1 Timothy 4:2; Psalm 95:8; John 12:40; Hebrews 3:8,14). 

Even for those of us who are saved by trusting in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6), we may find ourselves on death’s doorstep regretting what we have left undone, particularly missing service or witnessing opportunities God offered to us, or allowing fear or distractions to keep us from walking through doors He has opened (Hebrews 12:1). 

And yet, the appearance of the doves, their lively cooing, and the musical whistling of their wings in flight, was more of a blessing to me than a harbinger of gloom. It reminded me that God can turn our mourning into singing and dancing (Isaiah 51:11; Psalm 30:11). Weeping may persist through the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). 

The prophet Isaiah described his sorrow as the mourning of a dove (Isaiah 38:14; 59:11; Ezekiel 7:16), yet the upward flight of a dove symbolizes salvation and transformation from earthly sadness to Heaven’s joy-filled glory (Psalm 55:6; 68:13; Isaiah 60:8). 

Doves call to mind the Holy Spirit, descending on Jesus Christ in that form the moment He arose from the baptismal waters (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32); the deliverance of Noah from the global destruction of the flood (Genesis 8:8-12); and the sacrifice Mary and Joseph brought to obey God as they presented their Child at the temple (Luke 2:24). 

Scripture often uses animals to teach us lessons about our desired character and behavior, such as the industriousness of the ant (Proverbs 6:6; 30:25), or the wisdom of the conies who recognize their own weakness and seek shelter in the rock (Proverbs 30:26). Jesus told His disciples to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). Dove is used as a romantic term of endearment in Song of Solomon (1:15; 2:14; 4:1; 5:2,12; 6:9), so I began to interpret the flight of doves all around me as an encouraging message. 

Even the “bleeding heart” of the mourning dove can be viewed as God telling His story through His creation, for without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). Praise God that only the shed blood of Jesus Christ can wash away all our sins (Revelation 1:5), so that God the Father views His children as holy and sanctified, meriting an eternal home in Heaven not by our own works or righteousness (Ephesians 2:8-9), but by the imputed righteousness of His Son! (Romans 3:22; 4:5,22; 5:17-21). 

There need be no mourning for those who are born again (John 3:3-8) into the glorious morning of eternal life!

© 2020 Laurie Collett