Tag: Trinity

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study

Image Bearers

Posted on by

based on the Love God Greatly Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w1d2

Read: Genesis 2:4-17; SOAP: Genesis 1:26-27 – KJV

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

27 So God created human beings in his own image.
    In the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27 NLT
Made in God’s Image

This verse is breathtaking in its implications and puzzling in the questions it raises.

bibleref.com

Among other questions that it raises, it begs us to explore what it means to be made in the likeness or image of God. As bibleref.com points out: “This statement does not mean that God created humans to resemble Him physically.” John 4:24 makes it clear that God is a Spirit, or as bibleref.com goes on to clarify: “He is not simply a more complex physical being, or a limited creature … restricted to seeing, hearing, or being in a single location, like the false gods of most religions.” In other words, we do not physically look like God, but “we do possess God’s capacity to experience and understand love, truth, and beauty.” Because we share this capacity, He has called us to be His representatives here on earth. We are to share His truth with ‘the world’ (Matthew 28:19-20) and we are to love others just as Jesus (our role model) has loved us (John 13:34). Actually, as Paul taught the Colossians, “whatever we do and say, we are to do as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. In other words, we are not just to be His representative, we are to represent Him so well that others will see Jesus in us and be drawn to the Father.

As human beings, this side of sin, when we contemplate our “image,” we may not feel as carefree and natural as our ancestors, Adam and Eve. Instead, we may balk at the idea that it is made after the “likeness of God, because unlike Adam and Eve, we were born with sinful natures, inherited from Adam after the fall (Rom. 5:12; Prov 22:15; Ps 51:5 and 58:3). Sin marred the innocence that Adam and Eve knew “in the beginning.” Before the fall, Adam and Eve had no insecurities or shame and did not know any evil. As Bibleref.com explains, “Their lack of shame was not due to ignorance: it was due to innocence.” The commentary explains, “As chapter 3 will make clear, the shame we feel over being naked is tied to an awareness of one’s own sinfulness and rebellion.” Now, only when we are made new in Christ1 (born again) is the old sinful nature (that came to us through Adam) traded for the new nature of Christ’s Spirit, who lives in us and was given to us by God.2 So that we no longer have to live under the power of sin.3 You see, God made a way where there was no way! Though we were once slaves to sin, we are now, through faith in Christ, sons and daughters of the living God. He has legally adopted us through Christ and has given us the Spirit of adoption, allowing us to live in a relationship with Him – free from the chains of the old nature.

Wonder and Awe

21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.

“This one is bone from my bone,
    and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’
    because she was taken from ‘man.’”

Genesis 2;18-23

From the first ‘sighting’ of the Trinity (1:26) to the first ‘surgery’ by the Great Physician (Genesis 2:18-23), this passage is filled with God’s wonder and leaves me standing in awe of His power and creativity, and praising Him for creating me in His image. Friends, may we never forget that we are made in the image of God so that we might have a relationship with Him and reflect His character to those around us – that He might be made known through us and receive glory, honor, and praise. Oh, that He might continue to work within us through the power of His Holy Spirit so that we do not live by the old nature but faithfully by our new nature through Christ and His Spirit in us.

The More We Know

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time, Secure In Christ

A Dwelling Place

Posted on by

based on the LGG Study, Secure in Christ/w2d5

Read: Ephesians 2:19-22; SOAP verse 21-22

 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 20 because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Eph 2:19-22 (Read in KJV)

Regardless of your Bible translation, I believe this is a beautiful declaration of truth. I’ve read it and heard it preached many times before. However, this time, after spending two weeks reading through the first two chapters of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, it seems brighter and clearer.

It has put being a member of God’s household in a whole different light for me. Not only is the fullness of the Trinity involved in the building of God’s household, but the apostles and prophets are involved, as well as all believers then and now. Through Jesus, we have been made part of the Church. We have become a dwelling place of God by His Spirit. This is a wonderful gift of our salvation. It is an honor and an undeserved privilege to be cherished.

Previously, Paul described the collective church of Jesus, the apostles, prophets, and all other believers as a temple. Here, Paul also includes his readers as an important part of the building process. Notice that this work takes place “by the Spirit.” We worship by the Spirit (Philippians 3:3), live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25), are led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:18), walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), are taught by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:13), and are washed, sanctified, and justified by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:11). Just as salvation is something owed purely to the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8–9), success in the Christian life is owed entirely to the power of God through the Holy Spirit.

Bibleref.com
The More We Know

Enjoy more insight into today’s journey from the LGG, Secure in Christ, journal, p83.

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Quiet Time

The Importance of the Trinity

Posted on by
Scripture and Observation

Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17 and 28:16-20/SOAP: Matt 3:16-17

After Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the heavens opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my one dear Son; in him I take great delight.”

Matthew 3:16-17

Yesterday, we looked at God’s existence and explored the importance of believing (in faith) that He does exist and that He rewards those who seek Him. Faith in God and His existence are the bedrock of a firm foundation. –

Today’s journey will reveal that it isn’t just faith in God, the Father, but in the Triune1 God – Father, Son, and Spirit- as we will see emphasized through the baptism of Jesus and again in His command in Acts 1:4-8, first, to wait for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit and second, to baptize new believers in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is clear that the Trinity is another foundational piece of our faith.

The Triune God is a Christian doctrine that states that God is one being that exists in the three divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are coeternal, consubstantial, and share a single nature. 
Christians believe that the three persons of the Trinity are intimately related, and that each person is omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly benevolent. The Trinity is also known as the Three-in-One.

Google/AI Overview
Application from the Journey

As with God’s existence, the doctrine of the Trinity requires faith. For how can we even conceive “three persons in one?” However, God’s Word is firm on the teaching and emphasis of the Trinity, the Father – Son – and Spirit. We see it in today’s passages as well as in Genesis 1:1, John 1:1 and 14, and others.

Consider with me Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 4:17-24, where Paul teaches not just the Ephesians but all believers, that our faith calls us to “live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness, they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him.” He goes on to say, “But that isn’t what you learned about Christ…” and then encourages them by instructing them to “let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes … Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.”

Clearly, the Trinity is a foundational ‘piece’ of our faith, as baptism, the very act that identifies us as followers of Christ, is meant to also identify us with the Father and the Spirit.

  • We are made to be like God … Genesis 1:27
  • When we are in Christ, we are new creations; our old nature is gone – replaced with His righteous nature… 2 Corinthians 5:17
  • We are filled with His Spirit, who not only teaches us everything we need to know and remind us of all that Jesus taught … John 14:26, but He develops in us the characteristics we are meant to exhibit as God’s children: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. – As Luke taught us through the words of Jesus, The Spirit is God’s equipping power to live as God has called us to live.
Prayer and Worship Response to the Journey

Father, I have sweet memories of singing the doxology2 every Sunday morning at church when I was growing up. I didn’t realize its importance then, but I loved it and now realize that it was a call for us to praise You, Father-Son-Holy Ghost, the ONE –> The three in ONE from whom all blessings flow! I am so grateful for this memory flooding my mind – for the teaching of my youth and the foundations of my faith. – To You be all the glory and praise! Amen –

Reflections on the Journey

How does Scripture describe the roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the work of salvation?

The More We Know