LIFE IN THE TRINITY

We confess from the heart that Jesus is Lord. But how do we come to this inner conviction and outer confession?  Only by the Spirit.  Paul says, “…no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12.3).  Apart from the Spirit, we are under other lords and not free at all to respond to Jesus as Lord in any way. Only the Spirit can set us free to see who Jesus really is and confess him as Lord from the heart.  As the Spirit opens the eyes of our hearts we believe in the utterly astonishing truth that this person, who is one of us, is Lord of heaven and earth.  The Spirit is himself  Lord setting us free to confess Jesus as Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

As those who confess Jesus as Lord, we are called to live under him as Lord so that we no longer serve the lords we once lived under, but only by the Spirit and not mere self-effort. There is absolutely nothing we can do to earn or receive the Spirit; there is nothing at all we can do to attain the divine indwelling (e.g., Romans 8:10, Galatians 3:1–5). Instead, we are to simply draw from this deep well within us, and then we will no longer serve sin and any other Lord, but only the one true Lord, Jesus. The divine indwelling is never earned by any behaviour whatsoever or any ritual, but only as a gift recognised and realised as personal presence trusted and treasured.

We give thanks to God for giving us the indescribable gift of his Son as human.  Nothing in us indicates that we were worthy to receive this gift. The gift was given to us freely even though we were hostile towards God. Furthermore, we were called by God to accept the gift personally even though we did not want it apart from God working in us by his Spirit. We also have to say that we had no qualifications for this calling.  We came to know God not based on our intellectual capacity or skill in inquiry.  The initiative here was entirely God’s (“having come to know God, or rather having been known by God,” (Gal.4:9). From beginning to end, God moves towards us giving himself to us irrespective of any worth in us, indeed in the absence of worth.  Yes, In Jesus, God comes to people making them his own without them being worthy of his attention in any way.

Paul was once a man zealous for God’s law, but the risen Jesus encountered him and everything changed.  From that moment, Paul was now captivated fully by God’s free gift of himself in Jesus.  Following his encounter with Jesus, Paul went on to nurture new communities that would be shaped entirely by grace. The patterns of life within these new communities were significantly at odds with other communities. In these Jesus’ communities, shaped by grace, people did not seek for worth or value in themselves or something else. They were valued simply because they belonged to Jesus who wanted them only for themselves.  Their whole identity was based, not on who they were, but rather on WHOSE they were. 

God came personally into our world as Jesus.  He came to rescue us from the present evil age and to bring us into a relationship with himself.  In coming to us this way, God revealed himself so that we can now see what he is like.  Furthermore, the inbreaking of God into the realm of darkness also made visible the extent to which all human beings are in the grasp of powers larger than themselves. These cosmic powers are enemies of God that reign over the whole world holding humans as captives. But, God came into this dark realm to defeat his enemies and reclaim the world that he created. And so, we must say that the gospel is first, last and always about God’s powerful and gracious initiative. He has entered our world to do for us what we could never do for ourselves as captives within the domain of darkness. 

God’s reclaiming of the world means liberation for humans.  In Christ, we are set free from sin and death and all the powers that held us in bondage.  Now we are free to live with God and for God.  However, our liberation is not complete.  We still sin and we also die.  And yet, in union with Jesus, we have died to sin to live new lives sharing in Jesus’ resurrection.  Furthermore, we have also received God’s Spirit who is the Presence of the future and the guarantee of our full liberation to come. Truly, God has rescued us from the domain of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.  Now we live as the  community of the King under his reign of light and life and love. 

In the opening lines of Galatians Paul reminds us that it is by God’s gracious will that Jesus gave himself to rescue us from the present evil age.   Our religious self-effort plays no part at all in this rescue.  It is entirely God’s initiative.  Through his Son, God’s dynamic presence came on the scene with liberating power.  And yet, his power is displayed in human lowliness and weakness.  That’s the way the powers of this dark age are defeated and rescue happens.

Jesus is the inbreaking of the new age right in the middle of the old, so there are now two ages – the old and the new. In the old age, we humans were in bondage to sin and death.  With the inbreaking of the new age, however, there is a “new creation”, a new era of freedom in newness of life. Now we say, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Everything is made new in Christ. 

By his Spirit, Jesus encounters us personally so that we come to know God participating in this new age.  However, we must stress that even this personal knowing is entirely down to God’s initiative. As Paul says to the Galatians, “But now that you know God—or rather, now that you have been known by God” (Galatians 4:9).  God is the primary mover, and human beings are the receivers who simply respond gratefully to God’s gracious action.  And we respond by the enabling of God’s Spirit.

God created the world good.  However, his good creation has been invaded by the powers of darkness.  Now, the whole cosmos is under sin that reigns in death along with satan and his underlings.  Nevertheless, God has taken the initiative to rescue us from these powers.  Through the coming of his Son as human God came dramatically on the scene with liberating power.  And so now we thank God for he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 

The dying and rising of Christ is at the heart of God’s rescue mission.  In his death, Jesus brings an end to the reign of sin in death. Furthermore, all the dark powers that rule over us were disarmed and defeated through his death.  In his resurrection, he arose as the new man into a new creation so that he now rules over us in the new order.  The old is gone the new has come.  Truly, the dying and rising of Jesus marks the turning of the ages. 

So the coming of the Father’s Son among us is God rescuing us from the powers of darkness and also reclaiming his creation from dark powers so that he puts everything right.   And yet, a battle still rages between light and darkness that will eventually reach a climax in the final triumph of God over all his enemies This means that the Gospel is first, last, and always about The Triune God’s gracious initiative.

Jesus is God as human.  That is good news, for we can now say that God is not some distant being who is abstractly ‘over us’ or ‘above us,’. but rather God is always ‘among us,’ ‘with us,’ and ‘for us.’

Through Jesus, the God-human, God has reclaimed the world that belongs to God alone. Humans are held in bondage to sin as a power that reigns over us. However, God freely enters into our plight to rescue and restore us. Through Jesus, he has already done what we attempt to do for ourselves through our good works and good intentions. In doing so, he makes us his new humanity in union with Jesus, the new human. Now we can live in relationship with the Father, through his Son and in his Spirit. 

Paul says, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself…” (2 Cor. 5:19). In another place, he tells us,  “… in him (Jesus) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him, God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven” What God does, through Jesus and by his Spirit, involves and includes all of humanity and the entire cosmos. We do not make this happen; it has already happened because of God’s action in Jesus. In him, God has reclaimed the all that belongs to God alone. 

The gospel is not simply good news of one sort or another, but the specific action of God in Jesus rescuing and restoring humanity and all things to himself.  And, by his Spirit, we participate personally in what God has done, is doing and will do.

The world is constantly moving away from the true God and so towards total ruin. And no one is able to turn things around. Indeed the world doesn’t even want to change its ways. Why?  It is in bondage under the domain of darkness. 

But God came into this lost and broken world to do personally what the world cannot do.  He came as one of us to turn humanity around. He does not owe this to the world. because the ways of the world are directed against him. It isn’t overstating the case to say the world is hostile towards God.  It is always alienated against the true God and opposed to him. So the world has no claim on the love of God.  His love simply moves freely towards the world taking up the cause of the humans who reject him. 

Furthermore, God does not need this expression of love for his own self-fulfilment.  Nothing would be lacking in God himself if he simply left the world to its folly. Nothing would be lacking in his inward being as the triune communion of joyful love if he allowed it to complete its course to nothingness.

Nevertheless, God does, in fact, want to rescue and restore the world.  He wants to restore the relationship he created us for. We cannot say this must be so. All we can do is stand in awe of the one who truly IS love.  With John, we say, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Nothing more to add.

God came into the world as a human.  He came as one of us taking up our cause and making it his own.  In doing this, he makes known his glory. John says we saw his glory as the one full of grace and truth.  In one very special moment, John saw the shining forth of transcendent splendour as Jesus was transfigured on a mountain.  But as John moved constantly with Jesus he saw his glory in the lowly self-giving of the man for others.  So we see no division between what God does for us and our salvation and what he does to show his glory. It is through his grace expressed towards us in self-giving love that we see his glory.  

Moses once prayed, “Lord show me your glory”.  In response, the Lord revealed himself to Moses as The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness… (Exodus 34: 6).  In Jesus, John sees this same glory expressed in the lowly self-giving of the man for others.

Did God need to display his glory in the world?  I suppose God could have enjoyed his self-knowledge within his own Triune communion of joyful love. Nevertheless, he wanted to come to us showing his glory as the one full of grace and truth.  And now, God shines his light into our dark hearts so that we might see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Yes, the God of Grace, shows his glory personally to us in the face of Jesus as the Spirit enables us to gaze on his glory.  

God made all things good, but evil invaded his creation.  All of God’s creation now exists under the domain of darkness that reigns over everything and everyone. There is now chaos and disorder within all.  

We cannot begin to understand evil.  We can never explain it or explain it away. It defies human understanding altogether.  It is radically antagonistic to all that is holy and orderly, right and good.  Evil raises questions to which we have no answers.  

When Jesus came to serve his Father in the power of the Spirit he confronted evil directly.  The evil powers were terrified of him.  They knew who he was and also his power over them.   And they knew that he was intent on liberating people from their dark grip.  Jesus confronted these evil powers rebuking them and driving them out with only a word.  

However, it was through the cross that Jesus exposed the power of darkness and triumphed over it. There, the power of God in weakness demolished all the powers of darkness that reign over all.  And we see that this power in weakness was magnificently triumphant as God raised Jesus from death.  Furthermore, he was exalted far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

On the cross, God as human descended into the terrible darkness of evil even into the depths of its ultimate domain in death.  He penetrated the domain of darkness disarming the rulers and authorities and putting them to open shame, by triumphing over them. (Col.2:15) And now, through the same human, God rules over all things, including all evil powers, to fulfil his Sovereign purpose in love. 

This triumph over evil has happened once and for all and cannot be repeated.  And yet, God is still active within the world working out the effects of his triumph. He does so through the same crucified and risen Jesus.  He is the lamb of God enthroned at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. Yes, the crucified and risen Jesus is now exalted as head over all things. As supreme head over all, he reigns with supreme authority from the Father’s right hand. He does so, however, as the God-human who is constantly present with us in all our distress and desperate need under the menace of evil powers.  He remains the Lord who will not allow us to be overwhelmed by the powers of darkness as he works out the fulfilment of his sovereign will for the whole of his creation.

We still live in the darkness, but we do so with the eyes of our hearts enlightened by the Spirit to see Jesus as supreme Lord.  God’s Spirit brings Christ Triumphant to us and us to him as the one who rules over all.  And by the Spirit, we await the day of final restoration under Jesus’ reign.  With confident expectation, we say, with the Spirit, “Come Lord Jesus”.