This month we celebrate
the birth of our nation. Before its birthday on July 4, 1776, the pilgrims and
the founding fathers of our nation incubated their plans until they became a
reality. It was a united yet diversified plan; each person had a part to
fulfill. This is very similar to 3 members of the Trinity: God the Father, God
the Son—Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit.
In creation, all 3
members of the Trinity had a united yet separate part to fulfill. God the
Father is sovereign (Rom. 11:36). He developed and was primarily responsible
for initiating the plan of creation. Meanwhile, the Son physically carried it
out the Father’s plan (Col. 1:16).
“Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has
been made” (John 1:3; see also 1 Cor. 8:6; Heb. 1:2). And the Holy Spirit helps
to sustain it (Gen. 1:2). “You send Your Spirit, and new life is born to
replenish all the living of the earth” (Psa. 104:30 TLB). The Holy Spirit “is
generally pictured as completing, filling, and giving life to God’s creation”
(Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 266).
For hundreds of years
people were united with the thoughts of a free nation which they could call
home. Therefore, when the opportunity was given to many living under the
oppression of England to leave for the possibility of freedom, they seized it.
Freedom did not come easy for them either. When they arrived here, they faced
harsh living conditions, added to this were some unfriendly present inhabitants,
and a war with England to break their oppression. Freedom was very costly, but
well worth it.
This is very similar to
a united yet diverse role which each of the three Persons of the Trinity agreed
to play in the plan of salvation. J.C. Ryle said, "It was the whole
Trinity, which at the beginning of creation said, 'Let Us make man' (Gen.
1:26). It was the whole Trinity again, which at the beginning of the Gospel
seemed to say, 'Let Us save man' (Matt. 3:16-17)."
The Father devised the
plan (Eph. 1:3-6). This plan was more than just extending mercy. It involved
graciously allowing all who would receive His Son to become children of God and
have spiritual blessings lavished upon them. Second, the Son made salvation
possible by physically paying the price which our sins deserve on the cross
(Eph. 1:7-12). Thus, forgiveness is possible by simply receiving what Jesus did
for us as Scripture teaches (see
http://eugenechristianchurch.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-to-understand-bible-101-lesson-4b.html).
Thus, we can be blessed as a result of Jesus’ performance. And third, the Holy
Spirit perfects our salvation (Eph. 1:13-14). He does this by dwelling within
us as Christians ensuring our salvation. Thus, we can be blessed by the
Spirit’s presence.
When the 56 signers
together wrote the Declaration of Independence, they wrote a document that was
united with one accord for the liberties of all people. “We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The Bible records the
declaration of independence from the chains of sin and death to life
everlasting, written by a united yet diverse group of the 3 Persons of the
Trinity. The Father inspired its writing (2 Tim. 3:16). Meanwhile, Jesus is
called “The Word of God” (Rev. 19:13). It was Jesus’ role to communicate the
character of God to mankind (John 1:18); “The Word became flesh and dwelt among
us” (John 1:14). And the Holy Spirit enabled the earthly authors to record it
accurately (John 14:26).
Once freedom was
assured for our founding fathers and the pilgrims who settled here, it was time
to take care of matters on the home front. Now people could focus their
attention on their family. Many of the settlers had large unified families, yet
each person of the family had a role to play.
This is very similar to
the family which the Trinity established, the family of God. “See how very much
our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are” (1
John 3:1a NLT). Children of God are those received what Jesus has done from
them thus they love God, and they love others (Mark 12:30-31; John 13:35).
As a part of the family
of God, each person has an equal yet unique role to play. God “gave some to be
apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors
and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of
Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and became mature, attaining to the whole measure
of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13).
Therefore, every
believer has a very special yet unique role to play. Maybe you are one whom God
has called to fulfill one of the 5 offices listed above. Or maybe you are one
whom God has gifted for an administration role, or compassion ministries, or
acts of service. Every person has a God-given ability to be used as a part of
the united yet diverse family of God
Therefore, it is my
prayer that we learn the lessons of the Trinity. May we recognize the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit for who they are, the One True God. And may we recognize
the value of being united yet diverse, for united we stand.
Because of God’s love,
Matt
No comments:
Post a Comment