Once we did a survey in our church and one of the questions was: “Do you often feel lonely and unnoticed?” A full 75% of the respondents said no, which made me glad for those who had connected with other people. But my heart went out to the 25% who said yes. Loneliness is an awful place to live. I have only had passing experiences of loneliness in my life, but each time I have, usually when far from home and detached from the people and ordinary fixtures of my life, I have thought, “May I never be unsympathetic or glib about those who struggle in the darkened corners of aloneness. I hope I have eyes to notice the lonely person.”
God’s great sweeping plan of salvation, his way of pulling us out of the pit of separation and self-entrapment and isolation, includes bringing us into a new community. The blood of Jesus makes Christians blood brothers and sisters. It is the way of reconciliation and of humble leveling. It means finding a new kind of family.
So should it surprise any of us that God himself is a kind of divine communion? That’s what we mean when we speak of God as the Trinity, or in the biblical terms, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This was not our idea; it is the way God has shown himself. It is true that the word “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible, but that does not mean that the truth of the Trinity is not there. It was later Christians who tried to think of a single word that summarized this great revelation of the divine Father, eternal Son, and Holy Spirit, and so they used trinitas, “Trinity,” the God who is one and three at the same time.
The first hint came when early in Genesis God said, “Let us make man in our image.” This was not a chorus of gods speaking like the Greek gods whom people envisioned living on Mt. Olympus in a god-sized melodrama, for the rest of the Old Testament speaks radically of the oneness of God.
Go down any street in Jerusalem, a thousand years ago or today, and you will find inscribed on Jewish doorposts the heart of the faith of children of Abraham, the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4). One God, not competing gods. One divine nature, not a clash of supernatural temperaments. One creator-over-all, not a bevy of regional lords with regional interests and personal idiosyncrasies.
It is the oneness of God that curtails our inclination to keep making new gods. It is the single voice, the sole object of devotion, the unambiguous source of revelation, the headwaters of spiritual life. God’s oneness is his strength, his purity, and his simplicity. His oneness is our assurance that there is not a competing Dark Lord who pulls toward evil as hard as God pulls toward good, and we wait breathlessly, hoping that the good will win out in the end.
[Excerpt from Putting the Pieces Back Together: How Real Life and Real Faith Connect. Click for more.]
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Constantine has done Christ’s church a great disservice by approving and instituting the trinity!
The modern church has agreed with the 325 AD decision and pushed this concept on an un-
knowing world-wide congregation because of misconceptions and acceptance of academia.
It is imperative that man accept Jesus Christ, God’s SON and not God the Son!!! As 1 John 5:5,
and hundreds of other scriptures define, our propitiation is in The Son of God, The Holy One and
Him alone. Acts 4:12 Upon Christ’s resurrection, He told Mary to go and tell His brethren that
He was acending to His Father and Your Father, and to His God and your God. John 20:17
The only way man will stand before Almighty God, unblemished by sin, is by the blood of the
SON OF GOD, shed on the cross as our redeemer and Savior. What say you?
Amazing message !!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you.
” His oneness is our assurance that there is not a competing Dark Lord who pulls toward evil as hard as God pulls toward good, and we wait breathlessly, hoping that the good will win out in the end.”
I don’t know if I am misunderstanding this ending, but last I knew there is a Dark Lord pulling toward evil as hard as God pulls toward good. His name is Satan. Thankfully, God is much stronger and the Bible tells us that good will win in the end. It is a story whose ending is already written and the evil one knows he will lose, but he will try to take as many as he can with him. We should always be watchful, for Satan prowls the earth looking for those he may devour.1 Peter 5:8
King James Version (KJV)
8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
I find your understanding of The Word is amazing! You made my advent so incredible. Giving me great Understanding of our Glorious Bible. You help my journey with Jesus. I just bought your book! Thank you. :). Your in Christ, Debra
Well put, very understandable, and thank you for that insightful information.
Very well documented Mr. Parsons.
I’d like to respond to Henry’s comments. You’re absolutely right. We must accept Jesus’ blood sacrifice on the Cross for our sins or there is no redemption for any of us. It’s the basis of our faith. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are Three yet One in perfect harmony so there is never a need for us to try to “create” new gods for any reason. When you know the Truth, you don’t want a counterfeit.