THE FOUR TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS, BY KIANG P LEE

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Greetings Friends! When God created our first parents, He gave them a home to live in and look after – the Garden of Eden! Although there were just the two of them, they were hardly alone, since living in God’s Garden facilitates the company of holy angels who taught and showed them God’s way of Love. (Gen.1:26-31). So, our first parents were witnesses to the enormous angelic powers around them with which they were not endowed as physical humans. Angels were created spirit, and served God in specific areas with divine responsibility. Adam and Eve were created from the earth, albeit existing in semi-immortality, so they could fellowship with the divine life of God and learn about His divine plans for them and all humanity. (Gen.1:26-31; ). Only after Adam sinned, did God remind them of their physical makeup – death – “For dust you are and unto dust you shall return” (Gen.3:19). This is what the sin-condition does to our physical condition, it brings death upon the sinner, ultimately (Rom.6:23).

Then God promised to send another Adam, a second Adam through Jesus Christ. He came to redeem humanity from sin’s death grip, and in its place bring new life – in fact, true immortal life through none other than Christ Himself. (John 3:16; Rom.6:23). You can read God’s promise for humanity, and His curse upon Satan in Genesis 3:14-15.

When John came baptizing people in the Jordan, he uttered an important message for all to hear, “I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mar.1:8). Then we read this, “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him” (Mar.1:12-13).

Before we go into the temptations of Jesus, we must begin with God’s word of encouragement for us – we can overcome the enemy’s temptation because Jesus has already done it for us – not because we can do it on our own. The first thing we learn about ourselves and the devil’s lies and temptations is that Jesus came to expose the enemy’s schemes so we won’t have to be ignorant of his deceptions, and “not be ignorant of his devices” (2 Cor.2:11, KJV). Just as Jesus was crucified for us, so He overcame Satan’s temptations on our behalf. It conveys the beautiful grace of God and the principle of attribution.

What doe the principle of attribution tell us? It conveys the truth that we cannot defeat Satan on our own, without Jesus. It means to be responsible for another. It speaks of this principle of substitution as an inherent part of God’s Triune nature where the three Persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united by nature and substance and thereby inseparable. So, the act One is the act of All, and the act of All is the act of One. This principle finds its validation on the basis of God’s divine Love. (1 John 4:8, 16) It is the miracle of assignment, of superimposing one for another. In this case, Jesus glofified resurrected life is superimposed over us, so whenever the Father looks upon humanity, He views us in our union with Christ. Humanity is never alone, but always united and made one with Christ. (Gal.2:20; 2 Cor.5:17; Col.3:3).

The Bible reveals this principle of substitution like this, “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous” (Rom.5:18-19, NLT).

But here is the most vital truth of Jesus’ work: Jesus has defeated Satan on behalf of humanity when He faced him in His own temptations. (Matt.4:1-11) By defeating Satan He has defeated him for humanity. What does that mean? Paul said it like this, “For if, by the trespass of the one man (Adam), death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (Rom.5:17).

The four temptations tell us the four areas of life which the devil will tempt humanity as he did with Jesus and Adam. They are, 1) sustenance, 2) reliance, 3) materialism, lastly 4) power and influence.

Let’s begin… 1 Sustenance: What does sustenance mean in relation to Satan’s temptation? In Jesus’ first temptation, He had fasted for forty days for spiritual strength. Satan knew Jesus had divine power, so he tempted Jesus to concede His divine powers to him by turning stones into bread and satisfy His famished body after having fasted for forty days. (Matt.4:1-4) The temptation had both physical and spiritual aspects wrapped into one.

The temptation was not really about food, but power. Power was the spiritual aspect of the temptation, and bread to satisfy His hunger was the physical aspect. Satan said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matt.4:3). Jesus replied, saying, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt.4:4).

Jesus recognized both the physical and spiritual aspects of His battle with the devil. In other words, every human is a mortal being and also a spiritual person who was created in God’s spiritual Love-image. (Gen.1:26-27; 1 John 4:8) Both the physical person and the spiritual person must be fed and sustained in different ways. The physical person is fed through food and drink, and the spiritual person is fed through God’s Word and His Love. There is a balancing act to be lived out, we are not to feed one while ignoring the other.

“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matt.4:3) (Yahoo.com)

Jesus made this abundantly clear when He taught the people of His day, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

“Yet, I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

“But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness (power), and all these things will be given to your as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt.6:25-34, italics mine).

Here, Jesus explains what our priority should be, He said, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. For your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (V.33, 32). Yes, the power to sustain the spiritual person takes priority over physical sustenance. And this is what Jesus said was the vital point concerning life and the way it ought to be lived. Jesus had been fasting to feed the spiritual person, while the devil was tempting Jesus to switch His priority by taking care of the physical need above His spiritual sustenance.

How do we prioritize our lives before God? It is not wrong to look after our physical bodies through proper nourishment, but Jesus is asking us to evaluate our priorities because Satan will tempt us to reverse our priorities and wrap our lives in material preferences and trappings for the physical life over the spiritual life. Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever (attain immortality)” (John 6:51, also John 11:25). Jesus, the Personified Word and power of God, is the spiritual food that feeds the spiritual person.

God’s ultimate plan for humanity is to give us the gift of immortality so we will become His Loving children forever. As immortal humans in God’s Kingdom we will have the power over physical matter. Our spiritual bodies will be sustained by the spiritual food of God’s powerful Love. The Bible states, “And so we know and rely on the Love God has for us. God is Love. Whoever lives in Love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16).

God’s Love is His eternal Word of truth which is food for immortal humans. This is the only way by which humanity can and will be sustained forever. The Bible also reveals that God’s Word is Personified in His Son, Jesus, hence through Him we have access to the divine Triune Life who has glorified our humanity forever in Himself. (John 1:1)

God’s Word Is Spiritual Food That Powers and Feeds The Spiritual Man. Jesus Is The Personified Word of God – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1.

If we feed on Jesus for our sustenance, then His Word will come true, for He said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink” (John 6:54-55). Jesus was not talking about cannibalism by any stretch of the imagination, but He was speaking metaphorically about adopting His new spiritual humanity…it is spiritual flesh and blood that requires spiritual food which His new humanity feeds upon. (You may read my post about Jesus’ new humanity at: http://bulamanriver.net/19496)

Further, Jesus said, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:39-40).

So, the Father’s purpose is to bring humanity to immortality, and the devil’s ploy is to try his utmost to stop it through death. And the way in which the Father will do this is to sustain us well every day with and through His Son. Hence, the devil will emphasize the physical matter to blind our eyes to the spiritual food of Jesus as the personified and literal (Bible) Word of God which truly saves. (You may read my article, title, “Study to Show Yourself Approved,” at: http://bulamanriver.net/9482).

Jesus, The “Personified” Word of God, Teaching His Followers (Wiki Commons)

2 Reliance: What does reliance mean in terms of the temptation of Satan? Let us see how Satan tempted Jesus in this area of life. “Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You a up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone’” (Matt.4:5-6). Just like the first temptation about sustenance, the temptation had both the physical and spiritual aspects wrapped in one.

“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You a up in their hands” (Yahoo.com)

As we see from the context, the temptation revolves around a vital promise the devil quoted to Jesus which God gives humanity, beginning with Jesus. Reliance is about dependence upon God and His promises for us, that is the spiritual aspect of this temptation. Then there is the physical aspect of

human self-reliance and doing what seems right in our own eyes. Reliance is about a way of life of inter-dependence with the divine as opposed to independence in yourself under the devil’s sway.

But in this case, Jesus was well versed with God’s promise, that is why the devil quoted it to Him. However, there was no physical way of saving Himself by jumping off the highest point of the temple. There was no modern-day contraption that He could use to ensure a soft landing. So, what was the temptation about? It was about deliberately placing Himself in danger without cause to test God at His promise. And there is a specific command to not do such a thing. The Bibles states, “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test” (Deut.6:16). To do that would mean, a person is tempting God instead of wholeheartedly trusting and believing His promises.

Humans are God’s creation and He may from time to time test us, as He justifiably should, for humans remain fallen and susceptible to rebellion since Adam’s fall. However, humanity is commanded to never put God to the test for His Word is sure like a rock that can never be moved. There is a difference between ‘test’ and ‘tempt.’ We must remember God tempts no one. James tell us, “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone” (Jam.1:13).

Rather, our first parents were living in the dynamic of God’s Love and a relationship that is motivated and wrapped in His Love. Love is real and alive when it is made to grow and flourish. Love is eternal and can never stagnate, nor be inoperative and unfulfilled. With humans, Love is made to flourish through free choice and the testing of a person’s free-will.

Jesus saw Satan’s ploy, and responded appropriately, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (V.7). We ought to take note of how Jesus defeats the devil – He quotes God’s Word. Jesus’ spiritual sword was God’s Word which He wielded to defend Himself and apply offensive tactics to defeat Satan’s temptation. (Eph.6:17) We do likewise to defend ourselves and overcome the devil’s wiles and deception.

So, we have read the specific command given to humans to not test God at His word and promise. (Deut.6:16). We simply trust His Word in childlike faith. Scripture tell us, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Heb.11:6).

Further, James tell us the following about faith, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” (Jam.1:6-8). Yes, whatever God has promised in His Word is true and sure and can be forever relied upon. (You can read more on, “Jesus Faith” at: http://bulamanriver.net/2811)

However, most humans are not well versed with God’s Word like Jesus was to be tempted by the devil in the way He was. Most of humanity are hugely unaware of God’s promises for them. So, the devil will use their ignorance to tempt them. Does that ring true for any of us? We ought to be well-versed with God’s Word and promises for us. Our salvation depends upon it. Just as assistance and pointer, I would refer you to the following website to get acquainted with God’s promises: http://scripturepromises.com/.

I do not sponsor this site nor do I benefit from what they do. I merely use it as a reference point for you to further explore God’s Word and discover God’s precious promises for you and your loved ones in your reading and study of the Word of God, the Holy Bible. Peter tells us the following, “He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Pet.1:4).

You see, through God’s promises He joins Himself to us becoming “partakers of His divine nature.” The question is, are we joined to Him through His promises? That happens when we know and understand His promises, and live by them. We saw in the first point of sustenance that God’s Word is what sustains the spiritual person. And God’s promises are part of His Word.

So, the second temptation we will face in the world of Satan concerns reliance upon God’s promises, and desisting from doing things that seems right in our own eyes. Proverbs tell us this, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death” (Pro.14:12, NLT). Humanity desperately needs all the promises of God. Without them we are in constant danger of spiritual and physical exposure.

In most cases for humanity, this is the way Satan tempts humans to sin on this second point – through ignorance and self-reliance instead of looking to God’s Word and promises for guidance and support. And of course, as we get to be more versed with God’s promises, remember the command to never put God to the test by trying Him on His promises. Just believe and trust His Word wholeheartedly.

(You can read more on this vital topic by going to my post, “Standing On The Promises” at: http://bulamanriver.net/15209)

3 Materialism: What does materialism mean when it comes to Satan tempting humans to sin? Let’s learn from Jesus’ own encounter with this aspect of the devil’s temptation. We will pick up the account from the Message translation, “For the third test, the Devil took Him to the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth’s kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, “They’re yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they’re yours.” Jesus’ refusal was curt: “Beat it, Satan!” He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God, and only Him. Serve Him with absolute single-heartedness” (Matt.4:8-10).

From the account, we can see there are two obvious temptations here that can befall man: materialism and power. They both go hand in hand. Because of the diverse application of each we will deal with them separately. We will deal with materialism in the third temptation, and power and influence in the fourth temptation.

What is materialism? As a form of temptation, materialism has a broader across-the-board effect upon humanity. It affects people at every level of societal structure and economic strata. Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luk.12:15). Greed and avarice can be manifested in the broad spectrum of human relationship as it concerns material concerns.

Materialism is idolatry and goes against one of God’s commands. (Exo.20:3-6) Idolatry means to worship material things which people assign higher value than their worship of God. Our lives can become totally wrapped up in the material life and its net effect is we render God’s Word and promises ineffectual due to our reliance upon them through the fallen self who worships material things. Our lives are dictated by them and become literal gods.

Basically, that is what materialism does – we turn on the ‘self-reliance switch’ and turn off the ‘God-reliance switch’ through His promises. Self-reliance becomes self-worship inspired by Satan. In ‘self-reliance’ we falsely assume this is ‘my doing,’ ‘my way,’ ‘my dreams,’ imagining you are the master of your own destiny. Little do we realize that inadvertently Satan is actually the one who is worshiped. Unwittingly, humans have become mere puppets he manipulates in his evil schemes. (Rev.12:9; 2 Cor.11:14) We turn off the ‘God-reliance switch’ along with His promises. (Pro.14:12; Rom.6:21) Our possessions has taken a higher meaning than our relationship with God and His promises. (You can read more about “The Trues Self and False Self” at: http://bulamanriver.net/7523).

Material prosperity is not evil of itself. God blesses humanity in this physical life. All the beautiful creation we see around us reveal His generosity. However, Jesus contextualizes this temptation in that the human life and God’s material blessing comes within the framework of the greater spiritual treasure of His Kingdom we ought to pursue first. He said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt.6:19-21, 33).

Note, there is material wealth and spiritual wealth. God is not denouncing material wealth, He is against the worship of material stuff as a false god. That is what materialism means. God created all wealth and all the riches of this world belongs to Him, and confers them upon us as stewards, not heirs of them – not yet! (see Rom.8:17-39) He declares, “The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty” (Hag.2:8, also read Psa.24:1; Psa.50:10-11).

In other words, the material and physical are not true riches, but merely shadows, figures, of the greater spiritual treasures which are eternal and will never fade away. It is a matter of prioritizing their value in the way we live. You may read the Parable of The Rich Fool in Luke 12:13-21. Thereby, we must not live foolishly as to give ourselves to material riches at the expense of His Kingdom’s riches.

Our priority is to seek the true Kingdom wealth first, then the genuine physical wealth will follow automatically without our asking. (Matt.6:33) When humans are blessed by God, the material things brings true freedom and joy because they are interwoven with our eternal destiny rather than being end in themselves. On the other hand, Satan uses material things to enslave humans through idolatry.

Jesus answer to this temptation must ring audibly and clearly in our minds, “Worship the Lord your God, and only Him. Serve Him with absolute single-heartedness.”

4 Power & Influence: What is the temptation of power and influence which Satan tries to inflict upon humanity? Satan tempted Jesus by “Pointing out all the earth’s kingdoms, how glorious they all were.” Then he said, “They’re yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they’re yours” (Matt.4:8-9, MSG). Mattthew Henry is his commentary said, “The glory of the world is the most charming temptation to the unthinking and unwary; by that men are most easily imposed upon.” So much so, people can become drunk with power, whether it is in politics, in military domination, in business empires, in family legacies, even in human talents like music and athletic prowess, in the occult, satanism and mystical affiliations, the accumulation of money and possessions, in personal dreams and projects, etc.

Materialism aside, this is about have the power and influence to control others and desired outcomes. It is about acknowledging and bowing to the spirit of competition and domination. In the beginning, God gave humanity dominion over the earth to administer in Love. (Gen.1:26; Psa.8:3-9) But Satan has turned dominion into domination. Since worldly power comes from the devil, then it is about worshiping Satan.

Aerial View Of City Buildings At Night

Temptation of Jesus, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” (Wiki Commons)

When power, in whatever form or appearance, is idolized and worshiped, be it personal or collective, then Satan is its prime motivator. Christ rejected this proposal with abhorrence and declared, “Away from Me, Satan!” From this fourth temptation, we see the ultimate purpose of his deception, he is seeking to be worshiped. Self-worship is devil-worship. People may imagine their own ideas, but ignore who is behind the scenes, and it is the devil as instigator who is actually worshiped. And that can never happen because there is only One who is worthy of worship – God Almighty! Jesus answers perfectly when He answers Satan, “For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’”

The Scriptures tells us plainly the truth about power, “Once God has spoken; Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God” (Psa.62:11, NASB). The Bible explains how this divine power can be made to inhabit human life. Jesus said, “All authority (power) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” (Matt.28:18). The divine power of God is channeled to mankind only through Jesus who took our humanity into Himself (Immanuel) and glorified it in the Triune Godhead of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

The power Satan exercises in this fallen world is given under God’s suffrage until His divine purpose is completed. (Rom.13:1-2; John 19:11) Satan was allowed to create a worldly system that’s based on lies, and deception, but they are really illusions. Beginning with Adam, he has created pseudo and artificial power bases which has no basis in reality to God’s sovereign power by which He creates and sustains the universe and all in it, both in the spiritual and physical realms.

Humanly speaking, all of creation from which we see power manifested ultimately finds its source in God, not Satan. The enemy possesses no power to create nor is he given free hand to do with humanity as he pleases, or else we would have been destroyed long ago. His power is given under constraint and under proviso. It is one where he deceives, lies, and masquerades illusions for realities in order to keep humanity blinded to the truth.

In other words, God limits all his evil intents and actions for His own divine purposes. If Satan’s power is artificial and temporary, why do we invest our lives and souls upon something that’s fabricated and based upon lies and deception? Jesus said, “What profit will a person have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life (soul)?” (Mar.8:36, ISV). That is the question that stares us in the face and demands a just answer.

Yes, that is the end-result – it’s nothing more than a mirage and has no power in reality, and anyone who bets his life on it will lose it. The “whole world” means the devil’s world. Though worldly power may seem real in the physical sense, we are reminded by Elijah about where the true power base lies, he said, “Don’t be afraid. We have more forces on our side than they have on theirs” (2 King 6:16, GWT).

Consider the various world-ruling empires that have existed upon this earth which have eventually disappeared for one reason or other. There were world-dominant empires of Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Rome, Mongols, Caliphates, Spanish and British empires, and others. Why? Because it is power that exist in a vacuum (world) unbeknownst by humans through deception by Satan. This applies to all kinds of power bases, not just political.

Why not invest in the real thing, in true power? Why not invest in God’s world – the Kingdom of God of which Christ is King of kings, and Lord of lords. (Rev.19:16) To lose your true self to a power that cannot stand the test of time and reality (eternity) is nothing short of absurd and ludicrous. It ought not to be worthy of our consideration. It is a shameful proposition to even consider losing your divine destiny as a person made in the Creator’s image for a promise for empty power.

Here is a promise of God’s power He gives to support and defend us, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isa.41:10, ESV). Here’s another similar promise, “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me, declares the LORD” (Isa. 54:17).

We saw the promise about angelic protection which Satan quoted to Jesus, “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psa.91:11). Here’s an all-important one from Jesus Himself, “For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:40).

Yes, God gives us power, but it is all about vindicating His purpose in each of us. It usually starts small – overcoming the ‘false self’ (Adam’s fallen humanity), and living the ‘true self’ (Christ’s new glorified humanity) by means of the framework where life is lived overcoming the four temptations of the enemy. It is the expression of a Love relationship with our God and our heavenly Father. When we will have grown to genuinely live the “Triune Life,”* His power will manifest itself in our lives. For divine power proceeds forth from no other place than His Trinitarian Being. When we find our place in His Triune Being we will receive gifts with divine power in the Spirit to carry out His divine will for us in our walk of faith. (Eph.4:7-8)

The Scriptures utters God’s promise for those who wait upon Him, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor.2:9). Yes, it is beyond what our limited human mind can fathom, but in a restrained way, much like squinting in a fog and peering through a mist as Eugene Peterson states aptly, we are made to understand for the Spirit reveals to us the hidden things of God, “These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Cor.2:9-10, ESV). This is the miraculous life believers are privileged to live supernaturally in the Spirit.

Jesus Defeats Satan for Humanity in the Temptation “Away from Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” (Yahoo.com)

Conclusion: The enemy’s role in the four temptations follows on from his initial rebellion against God and His plan for humanity. (Isa.14:12-14) So he promotes his lies and create deceptions, sows schism and discord wherever he can in humanity to hinder and destroy the Love relationship with God, and if possible, to totally sever this Love relationship altogether. And these are four of his main arsenals with which he attacks us, and if possible, destroy our Love relationship with God our Father. But Satan will not succeed because God’s plan to create mankind in His Trinitarian image and likeness will never be thwarted.

God created humanity to Love God above all else, and secondarily to Love his neighbor as he Loves himself. (Mar.12:29-31) Jesus said “there is no greater commandment than these” two, therefore, all of creation is merely the vehicle and means by which to accomplish that singular end. Everything in the created universe was never intended to be taken as end in themselves much less worshiped and idolized. That divine end is very simply to fulfill our purpose as humans of living life in God’s likeness and image of Love, for the Scriptures say, “God is Love” (1 John 4:8,16).

To find out more about the Victorious Life, you can go to: http://bulamanriver.net/7730

Petition: Friends, thank you for investing your precious time with me in the sharing of the good news of Jesus’ new humanity the Father has given us to adopt. Jesus is alive today as our High Priest ceaselessly mediating for us. I hope that in your heart of heart you will receive Jesus as your personal Savior, receive God’s Spirit, and be part of a gloriously magnificent future for humanity. You can privately and quietly pray this prayer in your heart. I am asking you to pray this prayer as a human Christ died for, not as a member of any religious sect or denomination:

Prayer: “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, forgive me of all my sins for I receive Your Son, Jesus, as my personal Savior. In Your incalculable grace, grant Your promised rebirth into Jesus’ Immanuel Humanity through Your Holy Spirit, and open my eyes to the wondrous gifts you have conferred upon me. May Your Love guide and protect me and my loved ones always, and bring us and all humanity into Your beloved and divine Kingdom. I praise and thank You, Amen.”

Welcome to the Life of Love in God’s eternal Triune Being and Family. Then keep in touch with God’s word for you by visiting this blog and website and look at various subjects that may be relevant for your situation. Or you can email me with your question at the address shown below.

If you have any thoughts and observation you wish to share, please don’t hesitate to write to me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com

The Resurrection to Immortality-The Hope of Humanity. Jesus said, “For My Father’s Will Is That Everyone who Looks to the Son and Believes in Him Shall Have eternal Life, and I will Raise Them Up at The Last Day” (John 6:40) (Pic: Wiki Commons)

Blessing: Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love,* be with you always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the Triune Love. Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Farewell for now,

Kiang P. Lee (Your Servant In Christ)

The belief in the process of ‘deification’ is understood in accordance with Jesus’ teaching, when He said, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’? If He called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside (cannot be broken)” (John 10:34-35; Psa.82:6). (You can read about the Triune Life at: http://bulamanriver.net/9199, and other posts)

The Human Resurrection to Immortality Through Jesus

“The Empty Tomb” – Persuasive Imagery of Jesus’ Own Resurrection to Immortality and the Promised Deification of Humanity in Christ Who Directly Reflects the “Image of God” (Col.1:15; Rom.8:29; Gen.1:27; John 11:25; 1 Cor.15:45-47)

Adam was solitary and incomplete until God made Eve. He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone (solitary). I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen.2:18, italics mine). So, God gave Adam a family to raise composed of a father, mother, and offspring, to reflect Himself in His plural Being. The Bible states that the Church’s or humanity’s destiny is to marry Christ, the second Person of the Triune Godhead, in the new age to come which will be an everlasting divine relationship. (2 Cor.11:2; Eph.5:23-27, 32; Rev.19:7) The Bible is abundantly clear about God’s nature and declaration of Himself in His relational Triune Being from the past, the present, and the future. God has never lived as a solitary Being, but a Tri-Personal Being.

It’s noteworthy to understand that Eve was not created an individual creation from the dust of the earth as was Adam. She was not created apart from Adam as an individualized separate human being, instead, she was taken out from Adam’s side to show she was biologically one and indivisibly part of Adam, like God is in His Tri-Personal Being of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. Eve was not detached (solitary) from Adam, but intrinsically inseparable from Adam’s innermost humanity, as God is in His divine triunity. When Adam saw Eve, he said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (Gen.2:21-23) God created humanity to reflect Himself in His unified Tri-Personal Being (Trinity)

Rublev’s Icon of The Trinity (Wiki Commons)

When God sent Jesus His eternal Son, He became human in order to unify humanity spiritually to the Triune Being of God through Christ once for all time. Hence, when the prophet Isaiah proclaimed Jesus’ coming, and gave Him the prophetic name, Immanuel (Isa.7:14). The name means “God with us” (Matt.1:23). Humanity is ‘organically’ one with the Triune God through Christ, just as humanity is one with Adam who was created in God’s image and likeness. (Gen.1:26-27)

Most religions believe God as some solitary being. The true God is not solitary by any means, He is the one Triunity in His Tri-Personal Being. God consist of three Persons in One divine triune Godhead. (Matt.28:18-20) They exist in One “homoousion” meaning consisting in one substance, or “consubstantiality.” The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in One hypostatic union, One substance, like Eve was biologically part of and never physically separate, but of one substance from Adam, for she came out of Adam. Likewise, humanity is made of one spiritual substance with the triune God through Jesus Christ who took our humanity upon Himself and joined it to the divine Light of God in His triune Being forever.

The three-dimensional Triune Light/Life/Love is opposed to living the one-dimensional solitary life of the fallen humanity inherited from Satan through Adam’s rebellion. For additional information about the Triune Life: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036. Also at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092.

**Bulamanriver: is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love and Light of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, you may obtain a copy of my book, “Bula Man-River,” from Amazon.com; xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online book stores. All proceeds will go towards furthering the work of Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

“Bulamanriver” Book Cover

***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664.

Mission, Vision, Value, Statements

(Our Home address: www.//bulamanriver@gmail.net).

****The “Love-Fruits of the Holy Spirit:” *the fruit of patience, *the fruit of kindness, *the fruit of contentedness, *the fruit of modesty (unboastful), *the fruit of humility, *the fruit of honor, *the fruit of unselfishness, *the fruit of calmness and dignity, *the fruit of forgiveness and compassion, *the fruit of delighting in good and shunning evil, *the fruit of tolerance, *the fruit of responsibility, *the fruit of enduring hope, *the fruit of steadfast perseverance, *the fruit of joy, *the fruit of peace, *the fruit of goodness, *the fruit of faith, *the fruit of gentleness, *the fruit of self-control, *the fruit of zeal and spiritual fervor, *the fruit of friendship, *the fruit of sharing and generosity, *the fruit of prayerfulness, *the fruit of hospitality, etc. (1 Cor.13; also Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 12:9-21).

God is never without His Love activity through the Love-Fruits in the Spirit, for His activity and His triune Being are essentially and eternally one through Love (1 John 4:16). The act of God is not one thing, and His Being another, for they coinhere mutually and indivisibly in one another. God can never be anything but Love. These Love-Fruits may seem ordinary and mundane, but when empowered and propelled in the Spirit’s power, they are transformed into divine elements of growth and maturity.

The “Love-Fruits” of the Holy Spirit:

These Love-fruits speaks volumes and gives us a peek into the different tones of God’s Love. They are not rules to live by as if they are legalistic requirements to follow. They tell us how God in His Tri-Personal Being in the Father, Son, and Spirit, have lived in One unified shared Love-experience from eternity as God, and desires to share His “Triune Life” with believers. They reveal the holy emotions of the Tri-Personal Being of God. These are not human emotions, they reveal the divine passion and desire of how God lives “naturally” in an intuitive and spontaneous fashion together as One God who is Love. All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise. Note: All information is copy-write material. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information. Thank you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025

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A happy New Year 2025 to all my Friends! Loving relationship is the most important of all human interactions. It forms the basis of human existence and the foundation upon which all decent societies are built. The origin of relationships is founded upon the nature of the Creator God who reveals Himself in His Trinitarian nature as the God who is Love (1 John 4:8).

God has lived from eternity in their Loving Tri-Personal relationship in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matt.28:19). Their Tri-Personal Love relationship in one another is the basis of human relationships. Humanity was created to reflect God’s divine Loving Tri-Personal likeness (Gen.1:26-27), hence, the term I call, “Triune Life.” (You may read the footnote below under Triune Life at the end of this post to get a fuller explanation of the term).

Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity. Living The “Triune Life” (Wiki Commons)

Let us begin with the most basic subject by which we identify God: LOVE! Why Love? Because the Bible states, “God is Love” (1 John 4:8, 16). God is Love, or, Love is God, it conveys the same meaning. Love is God’s inherent spiritual nature. Love is the substance of which He is composed. Love is God’s inseparable reality. Humans were created to live by and in His Love-image to reflect Him in His underlying Love through His Tri-Personal Being in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Gen.1:26-27; Matt.28:19) God also gave another vital pillar to stand upon, besides Love – it is freedom or free-will.

God did not create Adam a rebellious being. Adam acquired sin from someone apart from God – Satan the devil (see Gen.3:1-6). Be that as it may, the Bible states God created humanity in His Love-image. Adam’s nature rests upon two eternal vital pillars – Freedom and Love. Though the underlying image of God’s Love can never be eradicated from humanity, it lies dormant deep in the heart their very essence of our humanity, waiting to be awakened by our freedom to make choices (free will). We can choose between liberty (righteousness) or bondage (sin).

Each topic I will write about will follow what I call the Triune Life format, to reveal God’s intrinsic nature of Love. The format follows three steps revealing the three-dimensional aspect of how the Tri-Personal Being of God in the Father, Son, and Spirit (Trinity), are directly and collectively involved in the life of humanity as it concerns His divine Love. We do this individually and collectively to bring humanity to God’s salvation or His condemnation. Scriptures tell us, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).

Love’s three-dimensional Ascent or steps are:

1 Rebellion-Holy Spirit (Love)

2 Deliverance-Jesus

3 Rest/Reconciliation- Father

There is a fourth ascent, called ‘manifestation.’ It reveals the subject under discussion, in this case it is the divine Love expressed through the heart, mind, and actions, of humanity.

4 Manifestation-Love…Humanity

This three-dimensional ascent or steps appear in an ascending order, so I will call each an ascent or step. There are 3 three ascents (steps) and the fourth step is the manifestation of the subject under discussion, which is Love. I call these four-step process the Triune Life, for the three ascents (steps) directly involve the Triune God of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Trinity). The fourth step is the manifestation of God’s divine Love. Each ascent dovetails into the next and finally reveals the manifestation of the topic – Love!

The three progressive Ascents which leads to Love are: i) rebellion, ii) deliverance, and iii) rest. These Ascents represent the movement of God’s Love in an inward, outward, and upward, trajectory in humanity. The fourth step is the divine Triune Love being manifested in the life of humanity. I will expound each ascent and how they are connected to each other and to God’s Love.

First Ascent – Rebellion: The first Ascent of Rebellion reveals the energy that is opposite from Love. Therefore, the first Ascent represent the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. So, here we see two conflicting energies: Love and rebellion. (Gal.5:16-17) Why is this, what does the two opposing energies teach us? This first Ascent is intended to remind and teach us that before embarking on this journey of Love, we must first understand who we are and where we came from. We cannot understand our road to Love without the knowledge of our past. Our past shapes our future.

Paul informs us masterfully how the Love of God is made to manifest in the life of humans, “For we know how dearly God Loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His Love” (Rom.5:5, NLT). The important point about this first Ascent is it reveals a person’s relationship with the Holy Spirit, because He is the personification of the divine Love, the opposing energy of rebellion, working in humans.

This is God’s inward act of revealing His divine Love in humanity. Why the Holy Spirit? Because in the Person of the Holy Spirit is the manifest power of God’s Love in humans – the reverse of the spirit of rebellion. (1 Cor.3:16) We read this truth explained by Paul is 1 Corinthians 13. (Please see the proviso below which explains in more detail about God’s Love).

He (Holy Spirit) enters the human life to replace the evil spirit of the rebellious heart of humanity we inherited from fallen Adam. The rebellious heart causes humans to commit sin and bring on all the negative consequences leading to suffering, unhappiness, pain, loss, and ultimately death. We read in Paul’s epistle to the Romans, “We know how dearly God Loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His Love” (Rom.5:5). Yes, by filling humans with God’s Love, the Spirit empowers humans with Love and defeat rebellion and sin.

This first Ascent calls for an answer to the obvious question, how did rebellion first invaded and entered and became part of the human character and psyche, when Scripture clearly tells us humans were created in God’s Love-likeness? (Gen.1:26-27). God did not create humans to rebel and sin, but to Love. Yet, Paul said, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23).

The “Glory of God” means the source and sum of all that He is in nature and substance by which He has eternally existed in Love. If God created humans in the likeness of His Love, how did sin and rebellion become an intrinsic part of mankind? Paul answers by saying, “You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death” (Rom.5:12, MSG).

Rebellion, sin, and death became part of mankind’s lot through Adam’s fall at the hands of Satan, the devil. (Gen.3:1-6) Paul gives us the ultimate punishment for rebellion and sin, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23). Here, we see God’s promise of Love to save humanity from sin and death, and more importantly, to bless humans with immortality. The path to Love ultimately leads humans to God’s gift of immortality. (John 3:16)

Jesus was abundantly clear about His role as Savior, “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate (Holy Spirit/Love) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). So, the Spirit cannot enter human hearts without Christ’s mediation as our Redeemer and Savior.

So here, in the 1^st Ascent, we see why we stress upon rebellion and sin, because the Holy Spirit brings the Love of God and empowers us to defeat all the negativity of rebellion which produces sin and ultimately death. (Rom.5:12)

Later, Jesus the second Adam, who came from God, entered our humanity and defeated the devil in His own temptation and through His cross rescinded the death penalty which hung over all humanity. Jesus rescued us from sin, rebellion, and death. Thus, Jesus opened the way for humanity to receive the Holy Spirit and the divine Love from God. (Matt.4:1-17; 1 Cor.15:45; John 16:7; Rom.5:17, 5) This first Ascent of rebellion is really the step showing how Love defeats rebellion for it reveals the human relationship with God’s Love through the Holy Spirit.

Now we come to the second Ascent of Deliverance. What is Deliverance? It is God’s miraculous act of liberating humanity from the spirit of sin, rebellion, and death. Paul tells us, “For the wages of sin (rebellion) is death” (Rom.6:23). This is the stark reality of sin and a rebellious heart – it brings death, literally!

Paul said this, “For since by a man death came, by a Man also came the resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor.15:21). Through the sin of the first Adam, humanity has inherited death, so also by the Second Adam (Christ/Immanuel), came the resurrection or human salvation. So, Deliverance points humanity to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (John 3:16-17)

This second Ascent of Deliverance is the outward act of God’s Love for humanity. (John 3:16-17) We have seen God’s inward act through the Holy Spirit in the human heart. Is there some sort of reversal of order here? Not so, because Scriptures tell us, “We Love because He first Loved us” (1 John 4:19). Humanity cannot defeat rebellion and sin, if God had not first Loved us, and moved us through His Spirit (His Love) to embrace and conform to God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Humanity cannot receive Christ without the Spirit’s move in a person’s life. The Trinity works as One Tri-Personal Being in you and me, and every other human God calls. Humanity first receives God’s Love through the Spirit who supplies the faith and Love to receive Jesus as Savior and Redeemer. This is God’s Tri-Personal Being moving in your life and mine.

In the act of Deliverance, Jesus lived the perfect human life. He was baptized for humanity in the Jordan, He fasted and overcame the devil in the temptations. (1 John 3:8). He went about doing good and healing all who came to Him. (Act.10:38). Then He suffered the most excruciating and humiliating deaths at the hands of His Roman captors. He was betrayed and crucified at His cross. (Heb.12:2). After three days God resurrected Him from the dead. He was seen by many for forty days. (Act.1:3). Then He ascended into heaven, where He was appointed by God as humanity’s High Priest forever, mediating for mankind. (Heb.4:14). All believers await His second coming when He will be given power, and resurrect His people to immortality. (1 Cor.15:51-57).

Jesus was resurrected from the dead, ascended to the Father and became our eternal High Priest, where He forever mediates for sinners before the Father. (Mark 9:31; Act.1:9-11; Heb.2:17)

Third Ascent – Rest: Now, with the Messiah Jesus having opened the way for the Spirit as recorded in the Book of Acts, humans enter the third ascent of Rest! (Act.1:4-5; 2:1-4). This ascent reveals the human relationship with the God the Father, and thereby the Triune Godhead. This Triune union has been severed since the fall of Adam. What does rest mean? It means peace and the eradication of human condemnation and unity with the Trinitarian Godhead. This is God’s upward act of Love for humanity in bringing humanity to Himself in divine completeness. Paul said this about how peace and rest is attained with the Godhead through God the Father, “And through Him (Jesus) God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross” (Col.1:20).

So, rest means reconciliation and oneness with the Triune God has been achieved with the Father when He surrendered His Son and gave us the gift of His Spirit to make human union with the Triune God a reality again. Thus, this union shows the Father caresses humanity in His Love, thereby, spontaneously channeling the divine Love to flow from the Triune Godhead to humanity, accomplishing the fourth Ascent of the Manifestation.

Consequently, it is God’s Love shed abundantly in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which empowers the divine relationship with the Tri-Personal Godhead that brings peace and reconciliation with God the Father in Christ. (Rom.5:5; 2 Cor.13:14)

Jesus, Shown Defeating Satan in the Temptations. (Matt.4:1-17)

So, there you have it. That is how the divine Love enters human life to replace the devil’s rebellious spirit through the three ascents and the manifestation of divine Love through the Father, Son, and Spirit. It has to take a personal relationship with the Tri-Personal God to remove the cause of separation between God and humanity. Sin brings on evil, human suffering and pain upon mankind. My hope is you will receive Jesus in your hearts before our heavenly Father in prayer, and entreat Him through faith to fill your heart with His Love (Spirit) by receiving Jesus as your personal Savior.

Fourth Ascent – Manifestion. What is manifestation? It means with the three progressive ascents (steps) through the 1) Spirit (Rebellion/Love), 2) Jesus (Deliverance), and 3) Our heavenly Father (Rest/Peace), the end-result is the manifestation of God’s Love in humanity.

This is how God’s divine Love is made to enter human life. Let us now answer the vital question about Love. When Love enters the human life, how do we recognize it? What does the Spirit (Love) do to us? Yes, what does Love look like in a typical day in a person’s life is inspired by the Holy Spirit?

How do we identify the Spirit’s work of Love on a day-by-day basis? Paul told the Romans, “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin might be annulled, that we are no longer enslaved to sin” but by Love through His Spirit. (Rom.6:6; Rom.5:5).

Jesus is the personification of Love as God’s only Son in the Triune Godhead. Jesus took our humanity upon Himself and became the only human who lived a life in perfect Love in the Spirit. Becoming Jesus’ disciple means to become Love as God is Love. In this passage, Jesus gives us two fundamental hallmarks about Love – self-denial and taking up our cross daily. (Luk.9:23). Self-denial or self-discipline is the primary motivating force in the application of Love. Why is self-denial an indispensable part of living in the Spirit’s power of Love? (Rom.5:5)

Manifestation – God Is Love!

When we consider Love’s opposing energy, we can have a clearer picture and answer as to why self-denial is paramount and mandatory? Rebellion, Love’s opposing nature, shows itself in selfishness, greed, lust, self-worship, idolatry, etc. Self-indulgence, depravity, and corruption are the footprints of the fallen humanity inherited from the rebellion of Adam. These and such fruits stand up against God’s nature of Love. Humans acquired this self-centered rebellious nature from Adam’s fall at the hands of the devil in Eden.

Yes, it requires personal change through an act of acknowledgement that we harbor the spirit of rebellion and sin by receiving Jesus as personal Savior, and be given the divine Spirit of God’s Love in exchange for the curse of the rebellious spirit. Jesus explained the scriptures as it relates to human deliverance to His followers, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luk.24:45-46).

Dove-Symbol of Holy Spirit

“God’s Love Poured Out Through The Holy Spirit” – Rom.5:5

Let us end in prayer. Prayer: Let us end this post in contemplative prayer to our great triune God: “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, Father of Lights, thank You for Your infinite mercy for humanity, that though death has been our tragic lot because of Adam’s fall in Eden, You prepared the Second Adam in Your Son Jesus Christ, to enter our temporary existence as the Immanuel and Savior and redeemed and saved us from sin and death. (Rom.6:23).

Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father.

“Thank You most mighty God of Lights that through Your Son, Jesus, You have shone Your divine Light through Him upon humanity. Thank You that in Jesus You have brought humanity out of our darkened and deathly world into your marvelous “Light of Life” (John 8:12).

“Grant Your promised celestial life in Your Son through Your Holy Spirit, and open our eyes to the wondrous gifts You have divinely conferred upon us all so we may serve one another in Your Love. We praise and glorify You in your Son, Amen.”

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or you may email me on bulamanriver.net. Thank you for visiting.

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always (Matt.28:19). May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you and your loved ones be an ever shiny success. Be strong in the Lord’s joy. Have a happy Christmas and a great New Year.

Kiang, (Your Servant In Christ)

The Human Resurrection to Immortality Through Jesus

Rublev’s Icon of The Trinity (Wiki Commons)

“Bulamanriver” Book Cover

***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664.

Mission, Vision, Value, Statements

(Our Home address: www.//bulamanriver@gmail.net).

The “Love-Fruits” of the Holy Spirit:

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise. Note: All information is copy-write material. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information. Thank you.

CHRISTMAS 2024: CREATED FOR “LOVE” BY KIANG P LEE

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A glorious Christmas greetings to all my Friends everywhere!

The Scriptures reveal that God’s Spirit is the “Giver of life.” (Psa.104:30; Job 27:3) It was God’s Spirit who breathed life into a shapeless and uninhabitable world, and vitalized creation with life, form and character. (Gen.1:1-3; 2:1-3) It was the same Spirit who breathed the “breathe of life” into Adam and gave humanity physical existence with the power of the human mind to make choices. (Gen.2:7) Later, Jesus would say this self-same Spirit would bring us another life-form, the divine life of God. He said, “Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to (divine) spiritual life” (John 3:6, NLT, also John 7:37-39, my emphasis)

Much Like our Uninhabitable Universe, God’s Spirit Made Earth the Blue Marble we See Today Giving It Life, Form, and Character. Thus, God declares, “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Isa. 23:24)

This divine life consists of the essence of God’s very Being for the Holy Spirit springs from the singular identical nature of the One Triune Godhead of the Father, the Son (Logos/The Word), and the Holy Spirit (Matt.28:19; 1 Cor.12:13).

John was inspired to reveal what this essence of God intrinsically is: “God is LOVE” (1 John 4:8,16). So, the apostle Paul tells us what the Spirit brings and infuses us with through our spiritual birth, “God’s Love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Rom.5:5).

It was, and continually is, God’s purpose today. This is the central purpose of Christmas: “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in Our image, in Our likeness, so that they He created them; male and female He created them” (Gen.1:26-27).

It is vital to realize this divine Love was what inspired and kept the relationship between God and our first parents in perfect personal union in the Garden of Eden. Humans were made in God’s Love likeness, that is what it means when the Bible says humans were created in His “image and likeness” (Gen.1:27; 1 Joh 4:8). Created with the freedom of choice (mind), Adam and Eve had to continuously eat from the “tree of life” (Holy Spirit) God gave them, much like we would turn to the holy Scriptures (Bible) today to receive guidance and continuous inspiration. (Gen.2:9; Psa.119:105)

The “tree of life” represented the work and move of the Spirit in Adam and Eve. They were supernaturally fed with God’s Love from the fruits of the “tree of life” which kept their relationship with God aglow and responsive. They were made humans with spiritual awareness, however not innately fully Spirit as God is the uncreated triune Spirit Being from eternity (Matt.28:19). So, as humans they needed to feed on the Love God had planted deep in the essence of their beings and hearts (God’s Love-likeness) through the fruits of the Tree of Life (Holy Spirit).

As humans, they also had physical and material proclivities, like human interests and stimulations, worldly and sensual desires as every humans have. They were made to Love God above all else, that was the purpose why humans were created in God’s Love-likeness. And in turn God Loved humans unreservedly as seen in all His creative works, both seen and unseen, physical and spiritual.

But as personal and individual freedoms cannot be divorced from Love, but is necessarily part and parcel of Love, humans had to make the constant decision to Love God above everything and everyone until at such time when humans are given immortality and become fully and completely Love like He is. Until then, fallen humans were subjected to wrong choices to contend with as they both responded to God and other humans.

A Depiction of the “Tree of Life” which Is Symbolic of the Move of the Holy Spirit

God planted another tree in Eden called the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen.2:9). God told our first parents, “Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die” (Gen.3:3, The Message). Together with the “tree of life,” the two trees represented the freedom of choice humans possess throughout life: humanity had to choose God’s purpose for them, or to turn from Him and choose their own purpose. You can say the two trees has always depicted which way humanity will choose in his heart and being through the freedom of human will given them by God.

So, when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit it was not so much “sin” as it was “turning” their Love away from God to the themselves. For what is sin but an act of separation. To turn means to be separated from God’s Love. That’s all sin was: it was an act of “turning” away from God’s Love. In other words, we have not stopped Loving as we ought to. We have “turned” from Loving God to love of the self, or selfishness and self-centeredness.

We can get all legalistic about sin, and we miss the point about Love and why we are made in His Love-likeness – to Love Him above all else. The term “sin” in its legalistic sense entered human consciousness after the law was given. While sin is legalistic with “do’s and don’ts,” Love is relational and familial. So, obedience is about Loving God, and disobedience is an act of turning away from Love for God. Lovers we may remain, because we are made in God’s Love-image.

No human was made in the image of a sinner, but in the likeness of the Love of God. No one was created in the similitude of sin, not even the devil. The devil was created the archangel Lucifer, a ‘light bringer.’ (Isa.14:12) God is Love and nothing but Love in all its gregarious majesty and magnanimity exuding from His Person and holy presence. But man has “turned” Love from Loving God to loving self.

Love has been reduced to a mere humanistic expression without the Holy Spirit (divine Love). Note the Genesis account after Eve succumbed to the temptation of Satan, “When the woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate” (Gen.3:6).

Sin Is Separation From God

Having turned their love from God, from here on it was human earthly desires and interests that inspired and drove human love. A lover humanity remained, but no longer a lover of God but the self. What was good or evil, what was right or wrong, how Adam and Eve and subsequently mankind would live life, was now all a matter of self-determination as seen through the lens of Love – is it Love for God, or self-centered love for the himself/herself.

From the fall of Adam, God had no input in human life because of the nonexistence of the Spirit (tree of life) in mankind. Humanity was cutoff from the way to the “Tree of Life” (Gen.3:24) That was man’s choice, not God’s. Mankind was cut off from access to His Spirit, however, His Love remain intact and unquestionable for “God is Love” and humanity’s future is to inherit God’s Love-image through Christ. (1 John 4:8; Gen.1:26-27; Gal.2:20).

We must understand without a shadow of doubt that humanity was given God’s Love so man will Love God first and above all else. (see Mark 12:28-31) Genesis records the account after our first parents turned their Love from God, “After He drove the man out, (after Adam ate the forbidden fruit) He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen.3:24, my emphasis). The spiritual Love of God in His Spirit stopped flowing to Adam and Eve because they had turned away from God and from His Love (Spirit).

The Gentle Dove, Symbol of Holy Spirit and Content Of God’s Divine Love

Adam and Eve had turned their Love for God to self-centered love. Hence, we read Paul say, “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God… For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim.3:2, EST; 2 Tim.3:4; Phi.2:21). Lovers we remain for we were made in His Love-Image, but love has been turned inward and became a mere human expression, no longer divine but humanistic.

God’s indictment upon humanity is clear-cut, “The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Psa.14:2-3). Yes, we all have “turned” our love away from God to love of the self.

God will not force His Spirit (Love) upon humans since His Love comes with free will or the freedom of choice. We have chosen to reject His Spirit in Eden. God says to Israel and mankind, “You have abandoned Me and turned your back on Me’ says the LORD” (Jer.15:6). But God promised to rectify the situation by sending His Son as the Messiah and restore His Spirit and so turn our hearts back to Him and His Love (Gen.3:15; Heb.8:10-12).

Jesus was abundantly clear about His role as Savior,.. “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate (Holy Spirit/Love) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7; also Rom.5:5). At last, since Adam’s sin in Eden, the Holy Spirit can now be made available to mankind once again.

And this is the essence of the story about Christmas. It is about God the Father freely giving His Son so we can be redeemed and saved from sin and death, and be given the gift of immortality in God’s presence. When Jesus gave His followers the new ‘Love command’ saying, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another,” it was ‘new’ in its literal sense. The ‘new Love’ enters the human life only through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who has not been present with humanity since Adam’s fall. (Gen.3:23-24; Rom.5:5; 1 Cor.6:19-20)

By saying, “As I have Loved you,” Jesus speaks of the Spirit as the prime mover of the ‘new divine Love.’ Jesus gave us the model by which the Spirit enters humans life when He Himself was baptized in the Jordan River, then the heavens opened and the Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. (Matt.3:16-17) Jesus inaugurated the arrival of the gift of the Spirit to mankind in the post-Adamic era and later poured out upon all believers on Pentecost. (Act.2:1-4) John the Baptist baptized Jesus under his ministry of repentance and forgiveness to prepare the way for the Messiah. (Mar.1:1-4) John said, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt.3:11).

“As I Have Loved You…”

We do not become true children of God until the Spirit indwells us as His temple where He does the work of manifesting God’s Love in and through us. (1 Cor.3:16) The Spirit is the seed of the divine Love nature conceived in humanity much like Mary was supernaturally conceived by the Spirit’s power to carry the baby Jesus in her womb. (Matt.1:18; Eph.1:13; 4:30) In effect, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, the life of the Triune God (Trinity) through the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, was united to the life of humanity again. (Matt.28:19)

Sin, by its simplest definition, means separation from God and His Spirit, and Jesus came to give Himself as a ransom to remove the wall of separation through His blood and provide access to the Spirit and restore man’s relationship with the Triune God and His Tri-Personal Love. The Holy Spirit sanctifies man by living in humans as His very own temple, and conforms us to be like Jesus. (1 Cor.3:16-17; Rom.8:29). A temple is a place where God and man meet and fellowship in Love. The temple is your human body. The Spirit inhales and exhales the divine Love in a moment by moment nourishing of the body-temple He now indwells.

Some have asked if God is self-centered even narcissistic because He commands us to Love Him first before all else, even ourselves? But how can Love, a giving and outgoing medium and way of life, be narcissistic? The two contradict each other and cannot go together. Think about this, to Love an Entity that is made in your own likeness is in reality an expression of Love for yourself. (Gen.1:27) It is like family, you can’t deny your flesh and blood, you are part of them. It is in your DNA. We don’t think of it like that. When God commands us to Love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul, He is commanding us to Love ourselves for we reflect Him. (Matt.22:37)

To Love the Triune God above everything, is the only way to Love ourselves best. Only the Spirit can open our hearts to surrender to God’s Love just as He has yielded Himself to us by giving us His eternal Son to be sacrificed as our Savior. Theologian Thomas Torrance said, “…For in refusing to spare His Son whom He delivered up for us all, God has revealed that He Loves us more than He Loves Himself.” (The Christian Doctrine of God, One Being Three Persons by T. F. Torrance).

So, there is a legitimate ‘love for self’ in God’s purpose, but it is not done through man’s rebellious mode of ‘loving the self first,’ but by Loving God first. The way to Love the self perfectly is to Love God our Father perfectly which humans can do only through the Holy Spirit’s Love in them. When God sees you, it’s like looking at Himself in the mirror because He made you in His likeness. With the Father, each of us is His child as His eternal Son, for Jesus lives in us: “For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’” (Act.17:28).

“Where Love Is, God Is”

Though we have turned from Him, He remains faithful, and the Scriptures affirm His Love like this, “If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is (in us)” (2Tim.2:13, my emphasis). God is Love, thereby, by Loving Him first we are truly Loving our self in the most exceptional and divine way. We are living the “Triune Life” in Christ by the Spirit’s power, not the “solitary life” in the self under the devil’s influence. So, when God commands us to Love Him above everything and everyone He is placing the focus of attention on us, not Him, because we are one with Him in His Triune Being. (Deut.6:5)

The Scriptures say that “Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow” (Jam.1:17). It says every perfect gift is from above, there is nothing imperfect with God, why is this so? Because God is Love and He oozes Love with noble generosity. Are we seeing this? We will never know in a million lifetimes all that is truly good for us – only God can manifest them because we are made of Love as He is Love. We are in our place of superabundance in His Love from which every good and perfect gift flows.

But Adam took us down the path of self-love and self-determination in place of the Spirit and His divine outflowing Love, and look what it has brought us – the pages of history is full of human suffering, pain, and man’s unimaginable inhumanity to man with one deathly act of atrocity after another.

The Spirit will give us eyes to see and the heart to believe that every desirable and beneficial gift that’s tailored for our personal and individual wholeness of being in His Love, comes from no other source but our heavenly Father. These gifts, according to James, are like rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. (John 7:38-39) Light means there is no deceitfulness with God (Love), He is never two-faced, never fickle or untrustworthy but consistently dependable and steadfast. The Bible then encourages believers to “live as children of light” (Eph.5:8). Walk, knowing fully His Love and grace never leaves our side.

As we step into another year, we have the choice to make in 2025 and beyond, a truly refreshing and memorable one. Let us consider that since God created us in His Love-image, He did so primarily for the purpose of Loving Him above anything and everything so we can learn to Love ourselves in the best possible way in the process. We must be aware that we can only live life fully, totally, and perfectly when we share in the life of the Tri-Personal Being of God (Love) by living it ourselves.

That is what living the “Triune Life”* means. It means to allow the Spirit to sanctify us, by uniting us to Jesus in heaven who in turn mediates all our inadequate human responses so we may obtain mercy and divine unity (Love) with the Father. (Heb.4:14-16) This is the heart and soul of what living the “Triune life”* and what living in His Love-image and likeness entails.

I end with an assuring passage from the Bible about God’s Love which He has locked into our human DNA. This ought to guide us into the future God has prepared for us in His Son, Jesus, in the Spirit’s empowerment and inspiration. His “Love will never fail” us if we focus on Loving Him first through and in His Son. (1Cor.13:8).

In closing,

As we celebrate the birth of Christ, let us be pragmatically astute about the transparent purpose of His coming. We are told, “We Love because He first Loved us” (1 John 4:19). If God had not first Loved us, we would not know how to Love God and our neighbors in return. Yet again John spoke about God’s Love, “This is Love: not that we Loved God, but that He Loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

The principle of substitution and exchange commanded by God through Moses in the first Passover ceremony is obvious and clear (Exo.12:12-13). It tells us that whenever God looks at believers, He sees us through the eyes of Jesus His Son, our Passover, not as fallen humanity through Adam’s sin. Paul said, “Just as one trespass (first Adam) resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous (last Adam/Christ) act resulted in justification and life for all people” (Rom.5:18).

Prayer: Let us end this post in contemplative prayer to our great triune God: “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, Father of Lights, thank You for Your infinite mercy for humanity, that though death has been our tragic lot because of Adam’s fall in Eden, You prepared the Second Adam in Your Son Jesus Christ, to enter our temporary existence as the Immanuel and Savior and redeemed and saved us from sin and death. (Rom.6:23).

Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or you may email me on bulamanriver.com. Thank you for visiting.

Blessing:

Kiang, (Your Servant In Christ)

The Human Resurrection to Immortality Through Jesus

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***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664.

Mission, Vision, Value, Statements

(Our Home address: www.//bulamanriver@gmail .net).

The “Love-Fruits” of the Holy Spirit:

THE PATH TO TRUE FREEDOM, BY KIANG P LEE

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Greetings Friends! What is the path to Freedom? We will begin where this virtue can be found. Paul told the Galatians, “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So, take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you” (Gal.5:1, MSG). The NIV says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Gal.5:1). When Paul speaks of the “yoke of slavery,” he was referring in this instance to law of circumcision. (see Gal.2:1-8). However, not only circumcision but to many other Jewish laws Paul enlisted together as “yoke of slavery.” The “yoke of slavery” can refer to anything which act as a stumbling block or hindrance to advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Gal.2:2).

James gives a slight twist about the same path to our freedoms. He said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, a whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (Jam.1:2-5). In saying, “You may be mature and complete, not lacking anything,” it speaks of not being yoked to any inconsequential matter, but instead experiencing true freedom in Christ.

What James does is give us a step-by-step process of advancing one step at a time until a person arrives at the freedom we have in Christ. First, he speaks about the trials we encounter each and every day. He says, “to consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds.” He says to consider it nothing but joy in the face of trials.

The apostle Peter said, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials” (1 Pet.1:6). Peter goes on to say, “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you” (1 Pet.5:10). By saying “God will secure you, strengthen you, and establish you,” that’s on par with the freedom we enjoy in Christ.

Freedom in Christ is the end-result, that is the ultimate goal. However, there are … other ascents or steps which we need to pass through in the process. James tells us, “The testing of your faith produces perseverance” (Jam.1:3). He says, be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance resulting in the sprouting of the virtue of perseverance. Then perseverance or endurance, lead to spiritual maturity and inner peace. In other words, true freedom in Christ.

Now, let us go back to the ascents or steps James has given us. First, he speaks of living by our faith. Then James tells us to “consider these trials by experience as something joyous to experience, because in the end it produces perseverance. In other words, the trials brings a perfection where you may have been lacking in your life, which is to say, you have entered the doorway of freedom which only Christ brings.

There is so much James tells us about faith. Paul told Timothy, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim.3:12, NLB). Jesus told His disciples, “Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to Me, they would listen to you” (John 15:20, NLB). So, when we seek to do God’s will through His Word, we will be acting against the grain of our faith in His Words, and as a result we will be suffering persecution or trials.

Then James tells us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (Jam.1:2). He says when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. Obviously, this joy is an off-shoot or by-product of your faith. What do I mean? Quiet simply, because this is not your faith but the faith of Jesus!

Let me explain, the Scripture affirms that when we surrendered our fallen Adamic humanity, it was nailed to the His cross with Him. Paul told the Romans, “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin” (Rom.6:6, NLB). That is the symbolism and reality we live and experience through the cross of Jesus.

Further, Paul told the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20). So, you see through Jesus’ cross humanity experience the death of the “sinful selves,” and through Christ’s resurrection we have experienced a new life so that now “Christ lives in me.” Paul says, “the life I now live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20).

Through Christ’s resurrection we have become caretakers of Christ’s faith that helps us live and walk as Jesus did through His Spirit. Where then is our human faith? It was nailed to the cross with Christ once for all.

Since Christ’s resurrection, we have risen with Him and given His brand-new faith by which we live and walk today. Paul told the Romans, “And the righteousness of God is through faith from Jesus Christ toward all those believing. For there is no distinction” (Rom.3:22, Berean L.B.). Make no mistake, human faith is still involved. By saying “toward all those believing” (Rom.3:22), the word ‘believing’ identifies our human faith. But the faith of Jesus is altogether different where genuine joy is found. We have a participatory God who values our human output and want us to place our human faith in Christ’s own personal faith and live through and in Him.

We must not mistake or misplace our human faith for Christ’s own faith. Jesus’ faith truly empowers us with His joy which James speaks about. When we make that mistake of transposing the two faiths in ignorance, we’ll see our human faith cannot measure up. We must understand where we stand, acknowledge Christ’s own powerful faith, and give ourselves to Him in the Spirit. (Gal.4:6). The old fallen Adamic humanity which was crucified and died upon Jesus’ cross, and is ineffectual and impotent to do anything God desires of us in our fallen human life.

With Christ’s resurrection humanity has been given new life in Christ and through the Holy Spirit’s intervention, the brand-new faith of Jesus! As Scripture says, there is no distinction. (Rom.3:22). In other words, and this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

And Paul explains why, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins” (Rom.3:23-24). It is when we utilize Jesus’ faith that we are filled with the joys the Spirit brings into human hearts. (Gal.4:6).

So, we must recognize that our brand-new faith is Jesus’ own Personal faith as God’s gift to humanity. Paul told believers this wonderful truth, first the Galatians, “A man is not justified by the law ‘but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even as we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ'” (Gal.2:16). Then, to the Romans, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe” (Rom.3:22). Again, “Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by (Jesus’) faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by (Jesus’) faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God” (Gal.5:1-2).

Paul encourages us to “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer” (Rom.12:12).

Let us end this post in prayer to our great triune God: “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, Father of Lights, thank You for Your infinite mercy for humanity, that though death has been our tragic lot because of Adam’s fall in Eden, You prepared the Second Adam in your Son Jesus Christ, to enter our temporary existence as the Immanuel and Savior and redeemed and saved us from sin and death. (Rom.6:23).

“Thank you most mighty God of Lights that through Your Son, Jesus, You have shone Your divine Light through Him upon humanity. Thank You that in Jesus You have brought humanity out of our darkened and deathly world into your marvelous “Light of Life” (John 8:12).

Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father.

Each and every human being has an open welcome into the celestial life of Love in God’s holy, eternal Family. (1 Tim.6:19) Then keep in touch with God’s Word for you by reading and studying your Bible, and visiting this blog and website and look at various subjects that may be relevant for your situation – go to: http://bulamanriver.net. You can email me with your questions at the address shown below.

Blessing: Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life” of God. Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

In Love, farewell for now!

Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)

The Human Resurrection to Immortality Through Jesus

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***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664.

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(Our Home address: www.//bulamanriver@gmail .net).

God is never without His Love activity through the Love-Fruits in the Spirit, for His activity and His triune Being are essentially and eternally one. The act of God is not one thing, and His Being another, for they coinhere mutually and indivisibly in one another. God can never be anything but Love. These Love-Fruits may seem ordinary and mundane, but when empowered and propelled in the Spirit’s power, they are transformed into divine elements of growth and maturity.

The “Love-Fruits” of the Holy Spirit:

THE “LIGHT OF GOD” BY KIANG P LEE

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Greetings Friends!

What is the “Light of God?” The “Light of God” is the very inner celestial Being of the holy Triune God who exists in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matt.28:18-20; 2 Cor.13:14). In Scripture, God is called the “Father of Lights” (Jam.1:17-18; also, 1 John 1:5).

The Book of Hebrews tell us, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His Being.” In other words, Jesus is the exact shining glory of God Himself. Jesus is the exact representation of the light and character of God. Hebrews continues, “God appointed Jesus heir of all things, through whom He made the universe. He (Jesus) sustains all things by His powerful word” (Heb.1:1-3).

Paul refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of His Son” in his letter to the Galatians, “God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father” (Gal.4:6, NLB; also, Phi.1:19). Whenever the name of God or Jesus is used in Scripture, it must be applied and understood through God’s integrated and harmonious Tri-Personal Godhead of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Later, Jesus said this about Himself, “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life” (John 8:12).

John confirmed this glorious, eternal, truth about God, saying, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18, NKJV). By saying the Son exists in the “bosom of the Father,” it makes reference to Jesus’ coeternity with God, and His intimate one-on-one, and face-to-face, relationship with the Father. Jesus is the “Light of God” for He springs from the inner wellspring of the “Father of Lights” (Jam.1:17-18; 1 John 1:5). God’s self-revelation to humanity takes place through His self-giving to us in Jesus Christ His Son.

John continues, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). This speaks of the wonderful truth concerning the incarnation of Jesus, wherein God became human in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, and became our Savior and Redeemer. The prophet Isaiah called Jesus, Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Isa.7:14; Matt.1:23).

Jesus spoke passionately to His listeners about His relationship with His Father, “I am not here on My own authority, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know Him, but I know Him because I am from Him and He sent Me” (John 7:28-29). So, Jesus originated from the “Father of Lights” and the inner trinitarian Godhead of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Jam.1:17-18; Matt.28:19)

Author Jon T. Murphree, said, “In the Trinity, Each Person “occupies” the Others’ personalities. Each of the thee Persons becomes a “home” for the other Two. One is Host and the Others are Guests (2 Cor.13:14). The Tri-Personal God (Trinity) are not separate human beings, but have always existed in the Spirit in coeternity as One triune Godhead. It is impossible for our limited human minds to conceptualize this astonishing truth without God revealing it to humanity openly and directly. (Matt.28:19; 2 Cor.13:14).

When we intergrate Genesis 1:2, and John 1:1, we see God utters the Word (Jesus), and the Spirit together, as Agents of the creation of heaven and earth. Sometimes, we may assume some physical likeness to overtly compare with the Trinity, but they all fall short of comprehensively expressing God in the richness of His bounty in His Trinitarian Being.

Humanity would be totally unknowing and ignorant of this beautiful divine truth unless it was revealed for our human comprehension through the revelation of Scripture. (Matt.28:17-20; 2 Cor.13:14; 1Pet.1:2; 2 Thess.2:13; Act.7:55; John 17:10-12; John 17:20-23; John 10:25-30; John 15:1-17; John 14:9-11; 16-21).

Remember, after arresting Jesus, the Jewish authorities sought grounds to falsely accuse Him. Matthew records the account as follows, “The high priests, conspiring with the Jewish Council, tried to cook up charges against Jesus in order to sentence him to death. But even though many stepped up, making up one false accusation after another, nothing was believable. Finally two men came forward with this: “He said, ‘I can tear down this Temple of God and after three days rebuild it.’” The Chief Priest stood up and said, “What do you have to say to the accusation?” Jesus kept silent.

“Then the Chief Priest said, “I command you by the authority of the living God to say if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus was curt: “You yourself said it. And that’s not all. Soon you’ll see it for yourself: The Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Mighty One, Arriving on the clouds of heaven.” At that, the Chief Priest lost his temper, ripping his robes, yelling, “He blasphemed! Why do we need witnesses to accuse Him? You all heard Him blaspheme! Are you going to stand for such blasphemy?” They all said, “Death! That seals His death sentence” (Matt.26:59-66).

So, Jesus was falsely accused of blashemy for claiming He was the Son of God. Jesus came to reveal the truth of who God is in His Trinitarian Godhead (Matt.28:19). But the Jewish authorities never believed what Jesus told them. All they wanted was to find cause in accusing Jesus of sin. Jesus told His listeners, “I and My Father are one…If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me (John 10:30; 8:32, MSG).

Jesus goes on, “For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me” (John 17:8, MSG). So, Jesus was falsely accused of the beautiful truth of His position as God’s one and only Son. He was crucified for revealing the truth about God the Father, and His Sonship as Jesus. Jesus was crucified for revealing the wonderful truth about the true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God Moses worshipped, whom the Jewish authorities held in highest regard.

Jesus further affirms this beautiful relationship of the Father and the Son, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father Loves the Son and shows Him all He does” (John 5:19-20). This speaks of the unified coeternity of God in the Spirit through their spiritual existence as the Trinity.

How can this be? Unless humans were given divine revelation through Scripture, we would not believe such synchronized coeternity subsisting in the three divine Persons of the Trinity. In the Trinitarian Godhead, the Father is known only in relation to the Son; and the Son is known only in relation to the Father; and the Holy Spirit is known as the Spirit of God. What they are as spiritual Persons is what they are in relation to their coeternity in each other. In the Trinity, relational unity is basic to divine personhood.

In the Trinity, we will never witness ‘life’ lived independently as human persons, but for all practical and wholesome purpose, as One Spirit in coeternity within the Trinity from which divine Light proceeds. We are reminded again that whenever the name of Jesus or God is used in Scripture, it must be applied and understood through God’s omnipotent Tri-Personal Godhead in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, wherein God’s Light consist and radiates forth.

God asserts His divine authority and sovereignty by saying, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa.55:8-9).

In God’s loftiest ways and thoughts which is beyond human comprehension, Jesus projected this beautiful truth to His disciples this way, “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not speak on My own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves” (John 14:9-11).

All of Jesus’ miraculous works, whatever they were, could not have taken place without the Love of the Father and the Son working together as One through the Spirit. Their miraculous work was the result of the spillover of their outgoing Love for humanity. The trinitarian quality for a healthy relationship with God is – Love! (1 John 4:8; John 3:16).

By saying, “It is the Father living in Me who is doing the work,” what did the disciples miss when Jesus asked, “I have been among you for such a long time, how can you say show us the Father?” What is the single ingredient which binds the Trinity together as One with no schism whatsoever? It is their Love for each other which they possessed from eternity…ever since forever!

John said this of the Love relationship between the Father and the Son, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Hmself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father Loves the Son and shows Him all He does. Yes, and He will show Him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He is pleased to give it” (John 5:19-21). So, did the disciples missed this important Love ingredient in God’s Tri-Personal relationship within the Trinity?

If a relationship is coerced or enforced, it is meaningless. It has to be based upon genuine free voluntary fellowship. Anything else is mechanical or judgmental. God is complete within the Trinity because He is Love, and it is the nature of Love to desire fellowship with others, for “God is Love” (1 John 4:8, 16; John 3:16-17).

We are told, “We Love because He first Loved us” (1 John 4:19). If God had not first Loved us, we would not know how to Love others in return. Yet again John spoke about God’s Love, “This is Love: not that we Loved God, but that He Loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

In saying, “Believe Me when I say I Am in the Father and the Father in Me” Jesus means we are existing through His “living Faith” alone which Paul spoke of, saying, “The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who Loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20, also Rom.3:22).

Jesus further asserted, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you” (John 14:16-18, 20-21).

Jesus is identified as our glorified human High Priest in heaven in the Father’s presence. So, essentially mankind through Jesus is made to come face-to-face with God Almighty. How can this be? Through the Book of Hebrews, Jesus is called our High Priest who brings humanity before the Father, “Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence (face-to-face), so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb.4:14-16).

Through the principle of substitution and exchange commanded by God through Moses in the first Passover ceremony (Exo.12:12-13), it tells us that whenever God looks at believers, He sees us through the eyes of Jesus His Son, our Passover, not as human entities whatever our imagined merits. Paul said, “Just as one trespass (first Adam) resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous (last Adam/Christ) act resulted in justification and life for all people” (Rom.5:18).

Thereby, the book of Hebrews tell us, we must look at ancient Israelite’s example and to, “Remember what it says: “Today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled” (Heb.3:15; 17-19). A whole generation of Israelites that left Egypt did not enter God’s rest (Promised Land) because of unbelief and disobedience. (Heb.3:18-19). Ancient Israel experienced a type or pattern of rest, but today we’re looking to the greater spiritual rest promised through Christ our Savior and High Priest.

God reveals His plan for humanity through Jesus, “When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:20, NLB). Note, the principle of coeternity and cohabitation – yes, all humanity will be unified with God through Jesus in the Spirit, as God has always been unified in His Tri-Personal trinitarian life forever. This objective of unification through coeternity with all humanity has always been God’s plan from the start. (Eph.1:11, NLB)

We had read earlier the bona fide beginning of the creation account from John’s Gospel (as contrasted with the traditional Genesis creation account), “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).

So, the passage identifies Jesus is the Creator, and that “through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the Light of all mankind. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:3-5). While stating that He is Creator and essentially part and parcel of the “Light of God” radiating from the “Father of Lights” (Jam.1:17-18; 1 John 1:5).

Let me ask a relevant question, what would be this improbable divine direction Jesus explained His listeners is the enlightened but incredible pathway for humans to embrace “God’s Light” in Jesus, as this was God’s ultimate purpose for mankind – to take on the very Love-image of God. (Gen.1:27; Rom.8:28-30). Jesus expounded this inconceivable highway to the Pharisee Nicodemus, “You must be born anew in the Spirit” (John 3:3, 5-6). It may sound absurd as much as it is incredible, yet it is the truth.

It fulfills what John the Baptist told his hearers, “I baptize you with water. But One who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16). Without the Holy Spirit we will remain where fallen Adam has consigned humanity – we remain in the utter darkness of sin. The Holy Spirit was given to humanity through Christ mediation as Savior and Redeemer of mankind. (John 7:39; 1 Cor.3:16).

We read this after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven, “Now He (Jesus) is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as He had promised, gave Him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today” (Act.2:33). Yes, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, we can be made complete in God through Jesus Christ.

John reminded us of our ultimate destination, “This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all…If we walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanse us from all sin” (1 John 1:5, 7). Sin is utmost darkness emerging from the devil himself, while “God’s Light” is reflected through Jesus Christ. This passage speaks of saved humanity becoming Lights with Christ, who is the “Light of the world” (John 1:4; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35-36, 46; Matt.5:14).

Paul warned the Corinthians, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” (2 Cor.11:14-15). The enemy is the angel of utter darkness.

John speaks of eternal life this way, “Now this is eternal life; that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent” (John 17:3). John attested, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:40). Yes, the Light of Life exists in the divine presence of the holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Recall, humanity was cut-off from access to the Holy Spirit, as illustrated by the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, when our first parents disobeyed God. Think back about what God said when He created Adam: Adam was created to exist fully in the “image and likeness” of God. (Gen.1:27). But in Adam’s moment of weakness, he fell for Satan’s devious guile and cunning, and ate the forbidden fruit. (Gen.3:1-6)

The Scripture tell us, “And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the Tree of Life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the Tree of Life” (Gen.3:22-24).

Now, in God’s time, with the divine manifestation of the incarnation, Jesus took our fallen humanity upon Himself as the Immanuel, just as John attested, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14; Isa.7:14; Matt.1:23). Through the incarnation, Jesus has opened the pathway for the Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, to enter human life again as it was before the fall of Adam. (1 Cor.3:16-17; Act.2:33).

By stating the “Word became flesh” in the above passage, does not mean the Word (Jesus) ceased being God; rather, the Word, who was God, also took on humanity as the Immanuel (Phi.2:6–7; Isa.7:14; Matt.1:23). The incarnation is the most remarkable event in all of human history. And with the coming of the Messiah to redeem humanity, Jesus had given passage for the Holy Spirit, (and the Trinity) to unite the triune Godhead with mankind forever (Act.2:33). Yet, its ultimate fulfilment will be known fully at Christ’s second coming in God’s time. (1 Cor.15:50-58).

On the day of Pentecost, when all the believers were gathered, the Holy Spirit was poured upon mankind. This momentous activity inevitably inaugurated the new covenant under Christ (2 Cor.3:6; Rom.7:6; Heb10:16).

We read the following from Scripture, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues a as the Spirit enabled them” (Act.2:1-4). What an astounding revelation of the introduction of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, ushering in the new covenant in Christ for all humanity.

Then Peter told his listeners the unmitigated truth, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Act.2:38-39). What a beautiful revelation of God’s divine nature and wondrous declaration of the third Person of the Trinity. (Matt.28:19; 2 Cor.13:14).

Later, Peter was given a vision and to baptize the whole household of Cornelius, the Roman centurion, into the church. Cornelius was a Gentile. But this act was a message from God that He was opening the message of Christ’s gospel, so the whole Gentile world may also be saved as His people. (Act.10:1-48).

Through Jesus’ mediation as human Savior, He gave passage for the Holy Spirit to enter human life, as affirmed in Scripture, “Exalted to the right hand of God, He (Jesus) has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (Act.2:33). Yes, with Jesus’ work as mankind’s Redeemer, He has given validation for the Holy Spirit to enter the heart of human life. Paul said, “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (1 Cor.3:16).

After Adam’s fall, Satan introduced his most potent weapon to keep humanity enslaved to sin: fear! By accepting the spirit of fear, Adam became a product of the devil’s evil fortification which engulfed mankind as a whole. However, with the coming of Jesus in the incarnation, He gave passage for the Holy Spirit to enter the human heart, and bring the “Love-Fruits” of the Spirit to repeal and defeat forever every spirit of fear of the devil in humanity. (1 Cor.13:1-12; Gal.5.22-23; Gal.5:19-21; 1 Cor.3:16; see Appendix **** below).

What we are seeing here is the Tri-Personal Godhead in the Trinity, comprising the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, being united in Love for and in saving all humanity through Jesus forever. (Act.2:38; Matt.28:19; 2 Cor.13:14; John 3:16-17). Thus, we read of our oneness and completeness in Him, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col.1:27). The Love of God is bound up in all humanity through the Loving triune Being of the three Persons in the Trinity forever.

Jesus declared openly, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life” (John 8:12). Yes, Jesus is the true Light of Life, and the true Life of the Light. Jesus openly promised the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Father, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this He meant the Spirit” (John 7:37-39; John 14:26; Luk.24:49; Act.2:33).

Author J.T. Murphree said, “In the Trinity, intimacy is complete. Through Love, diversity, and unity they are so inextricably interwoven that the Father, Son, and Spirit do not exist as Persons alongside each other as much as they exist in and through each other.” (Pg.29, “The Trinity and Human Personality”).

Yes, the Holy Spirit is freely available to humanity when humans abide in Jesus, and Jesus correspondingly indwells mankind. For apart from Him, we remain in the dark without His Light, and we will be unfruitful, and barren. (John 15). Speaking of immortality, Paul said this of the Spirit, “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you” (Rom.8:11).

So, let’s go back to our first question about the title of this post about the “Light of God.” “God’s Light” is found nowhere except in the divine adorable Love and Light of the divine trinitarian presence of God composed of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Matt.28:19). What does Light means in other terms? It would be the same as equipping a person to allow the Spirit’s Love to empower and immerse a person’s life.

That being the case, we read John’s passage, “God is Love. Whoever lives in Love lives in God, and God lives in them” (1 John 4:16). “God’s Light” means to be immersed in the Love-Fruits of the Spirit. (See the Spirit’s Love-Fruits, at Appendix **** below).

Jesus said passionately, “A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it in a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and gives Light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your Light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt.5:14-16).

James gives us an aerial perspective into the way of this evil world, and the Love-Fruits of the Spirit, “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom.” Continuing,

“Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness” (Jam.3:13-18).

Notice how the Spirit’s Love-Fruits is associated with Godly light and wisdom. (See the Spirit’s Love-Fruits below: Appendix ****).

The Scriptures say, “But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “God is opposed to the proud and haughty, but [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away from self-righteousness].” So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you.” (Jam.4:6-8, Amp. Bible).

As humans, we enter the life of the Trinity through Christ who is in every way the true reflection of the “Light of God.” Jesus is the “Light of God” in each human life. Individually as a person we can only reflect Him and His Light in us. The apostle Paul tells about the path of believers, “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life (and Light) of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life (and Light) may also be revealed in our mortal body” (2 Cor.4:10-11; John 1:4; 1 Peter 4:12-13).

The Psalmist tells us zealously concerning our ultimate human destination, “Send out Your Light and Your Truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You live. There I will go to the altar of God, to God—the source of all my joy. I will praise You with my harp, O God, my God!” (Psa.43:3-5).

Let us end this post in contemplative prayer to our great triune God: “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, Father of Lights, thank You for Your infinite mercy for humanity, that though death has been our tragic lot because of Adam’s fall in Eden, You prepared the Second Adam in your Son Jesus Christ, to enter our temporary existence as the Immanuel and Savior and redeemed and saved us from sin and death. (Rom.6:23).

Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father.

In Love, farewell for now!

Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)

The Human Resurrection to Immortality Through Jesus

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The “Love-Fruits” of the Holy Spirit:

THE LOVE-FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

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Greetings Friends! What are the Love-Fruits of the Holy Spirit?

The Love-Fruits of God’ Spirit speaks volumes, for it gives us a peek into the different tones of God’s Love which in turn reveal His wondrous glory. You can see the different Love-Fruits of the Spirit as itemized in appendix **** below, which is taken from 1 Corinthians 13:1-12.

The Depth of God’s Love Reveals His Unfathomable Glory

These Love-Fruits does not reveal our human emotions, but the spiritual fervor of the divine passion and nature by which God lives intuitively and spontaneously in His Triune nature. (2 Cor.13:14; Matt.28:19). The Love-Fruits of the Spirit reveal God’s glorious divine nature.

What is the “Glory of God?” Quite simply it means who and what God is in His holy divine Being of Love (Luk.1:49). God’s holiness is immeasurable because His Love is unfathomable – that beautiful truth reveals the “Glory of God” which exists in perpetuity. (1 John 4:8; Psa.111:9).

There’s a beautiful physical flavor of “God’s glory” we see in the biblical passage, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Rev.21:23).

As for our human deficiency and insuffiency, the Bible tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Bible also gives us the only answer to imbibing and inheriting “God’s glory.” “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Yes, that is the human answer to “God’s Glory” – it is seen and experienced in the “face of Jesus Christ.” Hence, we read, “Christ in you, our hope of glory” (Col.1:27).

The “Glory of God” In The Face of Jesus Christ

At times, we think that our ‘human goodness’ are the actual likeness of “God’s Glory.” The Bible states that all good originate from God, including human goodness. (Jam. 1:17). But, His divine glory is beyond human comprehension, much less to attain through our human power or goodness. Only Jesus’ abode in human life brings “God’s Glory” to mankind, and its “Love-fruits” by extension. (1 Cor.3:16: 2 Cor.6:16; Rom.8:9).

The Spirit’s “Love-Fruits” are not legalistic demands placed upon us, which we may call human goodness. No, they reveal the ‘natural’ manner of God’s divine intuitive Love, which the Tri-Personal God (Trinity) have lived and exist by in themselves as far back as creation and beyond. Whenever we speak about God’s Love, we are revealing the truth of His mighty glory and more.

On the night of Passover before Jesus was crucified, Jesus gave His disciples His parting words, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have Loved you, so you must Love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you Love one another” (John 13:34-35). Recall that the Bible states that “God is Love” (1 John 4:16). Love is God, and God is Love, it means the same thing. By Loving our neighbors, we glorify God and each another. Jesus said, “And the glory You have gave Me I have given them; that they may be One, even as We are One: I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in One. I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in One” (John 17:22-23).

“As I Have Loved You, Love One Another”

Jesus further affirmed, “As the Father has Loved Me, so have I Loved you. Now remain in My Love. If you keep My commands, you will remain in My Love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have Loved you. Greater Love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know His master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you. This is My command: Love each other” (John 15:9-17). When the passage speaks of “bearing fruit” in this passage, it speaks of the “Love-Fruits” of the Spirit we can read in 1 Corinthians 13:1-12, also, refer appendix **** below). Jesus told the disciples, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

In speaking of God’s inspiring Love, Jesus gave an equally inspiring metaphor to make His Love command clearer. He said, “I am the true Grapevine, and my Father is the Gardener… Yes, I am the Vine; you are the Branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in Me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father” (John 15:1, 5-8). So, where is the Spirit’s work in this enlightening metaphor? It is shown in the fruits, or more precisely Love-Fruits, produced through the branches representing every human being.

Did you notice what John just said there, the more Love-Fruits of the Spirit a person produces, this in turn brings greater glory to God, and by extension the believer, the producer of the “Love-Fruits” through the Spirit. Jesus goes on to say, “He (the Father) cuts off every branch of Mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the Vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me” (John 15:2-4).

By saying, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you… You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in Me” (John 15:7), how do we interpret the Spirit’s functionality in Jesus’ utterances (Word)? The Bible shows that the Spirit’s work is like fire, wind, water, and breadth. (Act.2:2-3; John 7:37-39; Heb.12:29; John 3:8; John 20:22-23). So Jesus’ utterances can be associated in the divine manner that’s likened to physical elements we can humanly understand.

By saying “You cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me” in John 15:4, harmonizes with the passage quoted earlier, “Christ in you, our hope of glory” (Col.1:27). Recall, the Holy Spirit cannot enter human life without Christ first appearing to redeem humanity as Savior, thereby rescuing mankind from sin and death. (Rom.6:23; Act.2:33). When Christ was crucified upon His cross, all humanity was crucified with Him. Then, when He was resurrected, we were resurrected with Him, and in His ascension we were given new life in the Spirit of God’s power and glory.

In our fallen human state, we have inherited the enemy’s works which brings curse, incarceration, and ultimately death. However, Paul tells us this in his letter to the followers of his time, “You were dead in your sins, but God made you alive in with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; as He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col.2:13-15). Jesus guaranteed our deliverance and freedom and rendered Satan powerless through public humiliation at His cross.

So, in the act of baptism which believers undergo, they are always restating these astounding truths revealed by God our Father through His Son in fellowship with the Spirit. (Rom.6:5-7; Gal.2:20; Matt.3:16-17). The Spirit cannot enter human life without Christ mediation first (Rom.8:16). Acts 2:33 tells us that the Spirit’s ministry in humanity comes from Christ.

The Promised Holy Spirit Comes Through Christ’s Mediation as Redeemer

So, Jesus’s exaltation in heaven allows Him to continue His ministry by pouring out the Holy Spirit on humanity (John 7:39; Act.2:38; 1 Cor.3:16). The Holy Spirit is said to take up residence in the hearts of believers. According to Romans 8:16, when the Spirit of God leads a person’s life, “the Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”

In the first place, humanity must understand God has saved all mankind through Jesus as Savior, and appeals to us to receive Him so we can receive His Holy Spirit of power. (Act.2:38; John 3:16). Let us remind ourselves that due to Adam’s fall in Eden, the death penalty has passed down upon humanity. (Gen.3:1-6). Paul tells us, “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor.15:21-22).

By saying “In Christ all will be made alive,” actually speaks of eternal life or immortality, as John affirms, “For 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” (John 3:16). So, just as Paul affirmed to the Romans, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23). Jesus is the prophesied “Second Adam” who came to rescue humanity once for all from sin and death and bring eternal life (1 Cor.15:45-49, NLB).

The Last Adam—that is, Christ—is a Life-Giving Spirit.

So, the gospel of Jesus Christ has come a full circle and thus gave passage for the Holy Spirit to enter humanity, and making His home in the hearts of human life, “Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear” (Act.2:33; John 7:39; John 14:26; also 1 Cor.3:16) In this way, we are given the Love-Fruits of the Spirit to live and exist in the trinitarian life of God for eternity in Christ.

Yes, Christ’s sacrifice has initiated for all humanity a life of holiness by the power of the Holy Spirit, where we read the following truth, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God…By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb.10:10). Then later we read the following, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb.10:14).

By using the word “sanctified” the passage refers to the meaning of living life in holiness. Now, through the move of the Spirit He brings His Love-Fruits in order that we learn to Love people well through the divine emotions through the trinitarian life in Jesus Christ.

Made Holy in Christ Through Spirit’s Fellowship

Let us close with a prayer, “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, thank You for Your infinite mercy for humanity, that though death has been our lot because of Adam’s fall in Eden, You prepared the Second Adam in your Son Jesus Christ, to enter our temporary existence and redeem and save us from sin and death. (Rom.6:23). Thank You that in Jesus Your Son, we will find redemption and freedom for all eternity in your everlasting family and kingdom.

“Grant Your promised celestial life in Your Son through Your Holy Spirit, and open our eyes to the wondrous gifts You have conferred upon us all so we may serve one another in Your Love, we praise and glorify You in your Son, Amen.”

Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father.

I welcome you into the celestial life of Love in God’s holy, eternal Family. (1 Tim.6:19) Then keep in touch with God’s Word for you by reading and studying your Bible, and visiting this blog and website and look at various subjects that may be relevant for your situation – go to: http://bulamanriver.net. You can email me with your questions at the address shown below.

Blessing: Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life” of God. Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

In Love, farewell for now!

Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)

The Human Resurrection to Immortality Through Jesus.

“The Empty Tomb” – Persuasive Imagery of Jesus’ Own Resurrection to Immortality and the Promised Deification of Humanity in Christ Who Directly Reflects “God’s Image” (Col.1:15; Rom.8:29; Gen.1:27; John 11:25)

Rublev’s Icon of The Trinity (Wiki Commons)

When God sent Jesus His eternal Son, He became human in order to unify humanity spiritually to the Triune Being of God through Christ once for all time. Hence, when the prophet Isaiah proclaimed Jesus’ coming, He was given the prophetic name, Immanuel (Isa.7:14). The name means “God with us” (Matt.1:23). Humanity is ‘organically’ one with the Triune God through Christ, just as humanity is one with Adam who was created in God’s image and likeness. (Gen.1:26-27)

The three-dimensional Triune Life/Love is opposed to living the one-dimensional solitary life of the fallen humanity inherited from Satan through Adam’s rebellion. For additional information about the Triune Life: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036. Also at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092.

**Bulamanriver: is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, you may obtain a copy of my book, “Bula” Man-River, from Amazon.com; xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online book stores. All proceeds will go towards furthering the work of Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

“Bulamanriver” Book Cover

***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664

Mission, Vision, Value, Statements

The “Love-Fruits” of the Holy Spirit:

THE TWO TREES OF EDEN, PART 2, BY KIANG P LEE

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Greetings again Friends! We saw in Part 1 on this subject on how Adam was led by his wife to eat the forbidden fruit of “The Tree of Good and Evil” (Gen.3:1-6). We know that Eve was deceived by Satan into partaking the forbidden fruit which Satan also tempted Adam to eat. (Gen.3:13) We saw the two trees pictured the two ways of life God presented to the first man and woman. There was the way of freedom and the way of sin and death.

However, the next question we must ask and answer is what was the deception Satan placed upon Eve which made her eat the forbidden fruit? Before all this situation came to the fore, God said (including Lucifer, prior to becoming Satan) that God had planned to create another lifeform, humanity!

God said humans were to become the highest order of God’s creation. The reason humanity was the highest order of creation was because God created humans in God’s very image. Scriptures affirms this, “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So, God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Gen.1:26-28). In other words, the destiny of the new lifeform of mankind, would be to inherit God’s likeness and become God’s eternal children as inheritors of the new earth under Christ. (Rev.21:1-5).

Now, with that background, Lucifer was commanded by God to bow down to Adam. Lucifer would rebel against God and would not bow before Adam. One of the first things we must understand about ourselves is the seed of our conception, for that determines our eternal destinies. Paul says, “People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor” (1 Cor.15:39-44).

Concerning the world to come in which humanity will reign supreme, the Book of Hebrews tells us, “It is not to angels that He (God) has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking” (Heb.2:5). Angels were created free moral agents like humans, who was given the task to teach humans all kinds of knowledge and understanding. That is the basic responsibility given to angels and the purpose for their creation by Almighty God.

Therefore, Hebrews continues to say, “But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor, and put everything under their feet.” In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them” (Heb.2:6-8).

Angels were created for a specific purpose – to serve humanity. So, we read, “Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb.1:14). Who are those who will inherit salvation? The answer is clearly humanity, who were created in God’s image and likeness. (Rom.6:23; John 5:24; John 3:16-17; 1 John 5:11-12; Tit.3:5-7; Gal.6:8; 1 Cor.15:21-22; Rev.21:6-8)

Hebrews continues to say what humanity is experiencing now, “Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them (humanity yet). But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb.2:8-9). The world to come is where Jesus is King and Lord, and humanity follows Him into the salvation He brings for humans. It is the world where humanity reigns supreme under Christ in Love (Rev.21:1-5). The angels existed in a different eon or time in history for a different purpose altogether given them by Almighty God.

Lucifer, in spite of all the many talents and wonderful gifts God had placed in him, was created an angel and thereby serves as God’s servants to minister to those who would claim salvation as humanity in accordance with their promised destiny and pedigree as determined in their seed as God’s children. (Heb.1:14).

Jesus said this about humanity’s posterity and destiny, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’? If He called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside (cannot be broken)” (John 10:34-35; Psa.82:6). The Psalms speak of Jesus prophetically as follows, “For thou hast made Him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned Him with glory and honor” (Psa.8:5).

Perhaps, Lucifer (Satan) could not fathom the thought of bowing to Adam who would be weaker today by comparison, having emerged from two different eons and worlds. So he lead a rebellion which instigated the great flood of Noah’s time. In Jewish belief, Lucifer’s name is also known as Sammael or Angel of Death in the fifth heaven, where seven regents comprising two million angels are stationed. Be that as it may, all of creation be it moral, religious, and philosophical inclinations, are ethically obliged by the gift of freedom make choices one way or another through the common pillar of free moral agencies, despite being eons apart. As humans and angelic beings, we are bound by the pillar of Love and Freedom to choose.

Unlike animals that are given inbuilt instincts to act in one way or another, cows graze upon lush green grass fields, while tigers hunt for the meat of weaker animals to be sustained. In other words, in the order of creation, humanity would stand as the highest order of God’s creation, bearing the very image of God as divine children in Christ. Humans would be higher than angels, but only now humans remain lower than angels for obvious reasons and God’s ultimate divine purpose and plans. Scripture tells us, “We do see Jesus (as Immanuel), who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone” (Heb.2:9). Humanity follow in Jesus’ footsteps to ultimate immortality. (Rom.8:29; 1 John 5:11-12; Tit.3:5-7)

So, here we see the three-fold temptation Satan presented Eve. Scripture tells us Eve faced the 1) lust of the flesh, for Scripture tell us, Satan said, “You will not certainly die,” (Gen.3:4). Satan lied to Eve when God instructed clearly Eve, “‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die’” (Gen.3:3).

2) The lust of the eyes, for the Bible says, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened” (Gen.3:5a). The lust of the eye is part of our human pride which comes from a world deceived by Satan. (Rom.5:12)

Eve also faced the 3) pride of life, for Scripture tells, Satan said, “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen.3:5b). Satan was said to be more crafty or cunning than other animals.

The Pride of Life: 1 John 2:16-17

The story of temptation is simple yet subtle. The snake only speaks twice but it manages to disrupt the trust and obedience between the man, woman, and their Creator. When Adam was given God’s mandate to rule over the earth he became the first spiritual leader in human history. His responsibilities included overseeing the Garden and subsequently the whole earth, and provide guidance to his family. Adam was expected to be a responsible caretaker of his resources and relationships but he fell short in both areas.

You noticed that Eve’s actions were independent from Adam. It would have been wise for Eve to consult him instead of taking control. Although God commissioned Adam as her spiritual leader, Eve usurped the role of influencer. Satan was said to be crafty or cunning, which suggests a deceptive ‘wisdom.’ (guile) Adam had all the good he would have needed from God, but he wanted more. He was filled with pride and wanted to be like God – which was Satan’s original sin (Isa.14:14).

Although, they were promised to reflect the very image of God, instead they saw their unstable and weak human physical makeup and allowed their earthly pride to take over. Remember, in Eden our original parents existed in the company and presence of angels. They saw the tremendous power they exhibited in terms of intellectual and spiritual competence and capacity which God gave angelic beings as their inherent gifts. Perhaps, they wanted to be more like them, but for the time being, could not be like them according to God’s divine purpose.

Scriptures tell us humanity, although created in God’s image, were created human that’s lower than the angelic kind. (Psa.8:5) However, the same passage says in God’s time, humanity will “will be crowned with glory and honor” because of humans were created after God’s likeness. (Psa.8:5b). Perhaps, they forgot that angels were created to serve them, not the other way round. For now, humanity is held-in-waiting for God’s eternal crowning promise. (Gen.1:26-27; Psa.8:5).

Is this what Lucifer was vehemently jealous about when told to bow before Adam, but rebelled instead? However, Adam and Eve, in their utter foolish pride, had no vision to see beyond their unhinged pride through their limited humanity, but shortsightedly and egotistically wanted more. In their conceitedly and arrogantly utter lack and inadequacy, they allowed Satan’s pride to take hold of them as it did with him when he rebelled against God. (Isa.14:14). Remember, rebellion against God was Satan’s original sin, not Adam’s, although Adam lacked the insight to see through the devil’s deception.

Having eaten the forbidden fruit, fear seized them immediately. The man and woman hid and kept themselves hidden from the presence of the Lord God. (Gen.3:6-8) What was the reason for their fear? We saw earlier the importance of all lifeforms God has created after their kind. There are creatures and their specific kinds which always carry free moral agency where they have the freedom to choose between right from wrong, like human- “kind,” and the angelic-“kind,” and others of similar “kinds.” So, the reason for our first parent’s fear was because they were to appear before the Judge for the reason for their disobedient action. The Judge of all right and wrong is none other than God Almighty Himself. And God’s presence was only intimidating to those with guilty conscience.

We read, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Gen.3:8). This is important for it indicates to us the usual time God came to meet our first parents – “in the cool part of the day.” Prior to their sin, Adam and Eve would have eagerly run out when they heard His voice, and welcomed His gracious presence. But their guilt plagued them and “the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Gen.3:9). Adam answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid. And God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Gen.3:10-11).

The man’s answer was almost a scornful echo of Genesis 2:18 – that is, humanity’s perception of God’s blessing as the root of their problem – “The woman You put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (Gen.3:12). When Adam was given God’s mandate to rule the earth, his responsibilities included overseeing the Garden and providing guidance to his family. Adam was expected to be a responsible caretaker of his resources and relationships, but he fell short on both areas.

Adam failed to manage God’s creation properly by eating the forbidden fruit brought by Eve. He also failed to a take stand and be proactive in managing his relationships and his wife, resulting in both of them falling morally. Being the spiritual leader is to take responsibilities, however, sometimes leaders make the same mistake as Adam by avoiding their responsibilities at home, work, church, and in the community.

It’s important to remember that Adam’s failure started at home and it quickly spread to all his responsibilities, destroyed his beautiful surroundings, and ultimately ruined the whole world by introducing death to all humanity. (Rom.6:23; Col.2:9; 2 Cor.4:6, NLT). All these shortcomings can be attributed to Adam’s lack in taking leadership.

Scripture says, “Because you have listened attentively to the voice of your wife and have eaten the forbidden fruit concerning which I have charged you, saying, ‘You do not eat of it,’ cursed [is] the ground on your account; in sorrow you eat of it [for] all days of your life, and it brings forth thorn and bramble for you, and you have eaten the herb of the field; by the sweat of your face you eat bread until your return to the ground, for you have been taken out of it, for dust you [are], and to dust you return.” For failing to take a leadership role as the manager and head of his resources and relationships (household), his disobedience has brought a curse upon humanity.

This prevailing ‘sin-condition’ clothed every human being as a result of Adam’s fall. It introduced a life of ongoing penalties and curses for all mankind. Satan had cunningly disrupted the life of trust and respect between the man, the woman, and their Creator. Whereas once they welcomed God’s gracious presence with delightful joy, now their guilt plagued them because of their disobedience. Instead they hid from God’s presence, but Scripture tells us that no human being can hide himself from God. (Jer.23:24)

Adam and Eve Expelled From Eden For Following Satan by Eating the Forbidden Fruit

God asked the rebellious pair some questions before delivering judgement. In the end, God showed clearly the man’s lack of leadership over his resources and relationships. Adam tried to shift the blame to others (Gen.3:12). Likewise, Eve blamed Satan (Gen.3:13). Whereas the snake was crafty, now he is cursed. (Gen.3:14)

Satan at first took a third of the treasonous angels who knowingly rebelled against God. (Rev.12:4, 9). They now walk amongst humankind to deceive and cause them to rebel and sin and bring death upon rebellious humanity (Gen.6:1-4; Rom.6:23). Before driving Adam and Eve from Eden for their disobedience, God placed Cherubims with a flaming sword to close off the away to the tree of life. (Gen.3:24).

However, in God’s final judgment upon them, He uttered the most important promise about the Messiah who would come to save humanity from sin and give us a second chance at the salvation God has promised Adam, “I put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He bruises your head, and you bruise His heel” (Gen.3:14-15; Gen.1:26-27). Thank God for His unbound mercy in this awe inspiring promise of the Messiah.

In this one holy act, God has shown His incomprehensive compassion and mercy for humanity as a whole, saying through Paul, “But God demonstrates His own Love for us in this: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8). Majestically, God had set the stage for the next phase of His plan of sending His Son in Jesus Christ as humanity’s Savior and Mediator. (John 3:16-17; 1 Tim.2:5).

Yes, now we await the next glorious step in God’s plan when He brings about the birth of His Son through the virgin Mary. In God’s time, the prophet Isaiah prophesied, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel” (Isa.7:14).

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel” (Isa.7:14).

The Scripture records the angel Gabriel who was sent to announce to Mary of God’s calling in her life and the birth of Jesus, the Son of God. “God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

“Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you are to call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of his father David, and He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; His kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin? The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.”

“Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her” (Luk.1:26-38).

What we have just read shows God’s act of mercy upon humanity by restituting the dominion mandate given to Adam at creation over the earth, and subsequently usurped by Satan the devil when Adam ate the forbidden fruit. Jesus Christ is the Second Adam, chosen by God to be the architect to restitute God’s divine plan on earth and in the universe (1 Cor.15:45).

As the apostle Peter admonished the people of his day, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Act.3:19-21; Gen.1:26-28).

As the Second Adam, Jesus was assigned a unique name which shows He is the God of creation who became human to rescue humanity from sin. That name is Immanuel which when translated means, “God is with us” (Matt.1:23). Jesus is mankind’s Savior and eternal Mediator (John 3:16-17; 1 Tim.2:5).

So, with Jesus coming as humankind’s Savior, the stage has been set, for God’s plan of salvation for all humanity. Jesus lived a perfect sinless human life when He came. (2 Cor.5:21) He overcame Satan in the temptation where the first Adam had failed. (Luk.4:1-13). Then through false charges brought by those in authority, He was crucified upon Calvary where His blood was spilled upon His cross. (Mar.14:55-56; John 19:34). Then after three days God resurrected Him from the dead. (Mar.8:31; 1 Cor.15:3-4). After spending many days with His disciples and friends, Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven. (Act.1:3).

Jesus, Appointed By God High Priest Forever: Heb.7:23-24

Through an oath by the Father, Jesus was appointed humanity’s High Priest forever. We read this text from the Book of Hebrews, “There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, His priesthood lasts forever. Therefore, He is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf” (Heb.7:23-25). The text continues, “God appointed His Son with an oath, and His Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever” (Heb.7:28).

Before He ascended, Jesus reiterated the Father’s promise to send the Holy Spirit in order to empower and help His followers carry out Christ’s great commission, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Act.1:4; Matt.28:18-20).

Yes, with Jesus’ mediation enabling the Holy Spirit to enter humanity again, we read Paul said this, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Cor3:16). Yet again, Paul affirmed this astounding truth of the union of the Holy Spirit and humanity, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.” (1 Cor.6:19). So, the path has been set to move forward as the Spirit making His home in the heart of mankind guiding us onward in Christ.

The Great Commission Text: Matthew 28:18-20

“Thank You that the two trees of Eden tell us Your story of freedom and bondage for mankind whom You created in your likeness. (Gen.1:26-28) Thank You that in Jesus Your Son, we will find redemption and freedom for all eternity in Your everlasting family and kingdom. Grant Your promised celestial life in Your Son through Your Holy Spirit, and open our eyes to the wondrous gifts You have conferred upon us all so we may serve one another in Your Love, we praise and glorify You in your Son, Amen.”

Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father.

Welcome to the celestial life of Love in God’s holy, eternal Family. (1 Tim.6:19) Then keep in touch with God’s Word for you by reading and studying your Bible, and visiting this blog and website and look at various subjects that may be relevant for your situation – go to: http://bulamanriver.net. You can email me with your questions at the address shown below.

In Love, farewell for now!

Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)

*Triune Life: “Triune Life” speaks of the process of theosis or deification of humanity. What is theosis or deification? “It refers to apotheosis, meaning “making divine.” Theosis or deification is a transformative process whose aim is likeness to or union with God (as taught by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church).” (Wikipedia.org) The belief in the process of ‘deification’ is understood in accordance with Jesus’ teaching, when He said, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’? If He called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside (cannot be broken)” (John 10:34-35; Psa.82:6). (You can read about the Triune Life at: http://bulamanriver.net/9199, and other posts)

The Human Resurrection to Immortality Through Jesus.

Rublev’s Icon of The Trinity (Wiki Commons)

When God sent Jesus His eternal Son, He became human in order to unify humanity spiritually to the Triune Being of God through Christ once for all time. Hence, when the prophet Isaiah proclaimed Jesus’ coming, He was given the prophetic name, Immanuel. (Isa.7:14) The name means “God with us” (Matt.1:23). Humanity is ‘organically’ one with the Triune God through Christ, just as humanity is one with Adam who was created in God’s image and likeness. (Gen.1:26-27)

***Bulamanriver: is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, you may obtain a copy of my book, “Bula Man-River,” from Amazon.com; Xulonpress.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and other online book stores. All proceeds will go towards furthering the work of Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

“Bulamanriver” Book Cover

***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664

Mission, Vision, Value, Statements

*The “Love-Fruits of the Holy Spirit:” *the fruit of patience, *the fruit of kindness, *the fruit of contentedness, *the fruit of modesty (unboastful), *the fruit of humility, *the fruit of honor, *the fruit of unselfishness, *the fruit of calmness and dignity, *the fruit of forgiveness and compassion, *the fruit of delighting in good and shunning evil, *the fruit of tolerance, *the fruit of responsibility, *the fruit of enduring hope, *the fruit of steadfast perseverance, *the fruit of joy, *the fruit of peace, *the fruit of goodness, *the fruit of faith, *the fruit of gentleness, *the fruit of self-control, *the fruit of zeal and spiritual fervor, *the fruit of friendship, *the fruit of sharing and generosity, *the fruit of prayerfulness, *the fruit of hospitality, etc. (1 Cor.13; also Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 12:9-21). These attributes may seem ordinary and mundane, but when empowered and propelled in the Spirit’s power, they are transformed into divine elements of transformation.

THE TWO TREES OF EDEN REVEALS GOD’S TWO WAYS OF LIFE, PART 1 BY KIANG P LEE

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Greetings Friends! The story of the two trees of the Garden of Eden carries vital living recipient principles given to humanity at the creation of Adam. God gave Adam and Eve the two trees to show humanity the way live in freedom, as opposed to living in bondage. These are the two pathways of life – the way of freedom or the way of bondage, which our Creator has set before humans at the initial creation of humanity.

However, more often than not, humanity at times complicates God’s simple instruction by adding many ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ and making His teaching of no effect. The Scripture has warned us about ‘not adding to’ nor ‘taking away from’ what God has commanded. In Deuteronomy 4:2, God says, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it” (also, Rev.22;18-19).

In the Garden of Eden, there was the “Tree of Life” with its fruit, which leads to life and blessings – or freedom. The second tree, the “Tree of Good and Evil” with its fruit, leads to a life of sin and death – or bondage. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans, “For the wages of sin is death,” but he adds, “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23). So, the promise of the first “Tree of Life” carries with it, eternal life for humanity…if we make the right choice of following Jesus. (John 3:16-17)

God is Spirit and His one main objective is to look towards our spiritual welfare first before all else. So, when Adam ate from the “Tree of Good and Evil” humanity inherited death from his first act of disobedience in Eden. So, what did Adam gave us spiritually? Death! Or eternal bondage. The Scriptures tells us, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor.15:22). Here, Paul takes us back to Eden and making refence to the two trees, “as in Adam all humanity is given the death sentence spiritually,” …“even so in Christ humanity is given new life in Christ.”

Many years later, God reminded Israel about this wonderful “second chance” opportunity for humanity, despite Adam’s decision to clothe mankind with the death sentence. (Rom.6:23) Yes, God our Loving Father is giving humanity through His Son, Jesus, a “second chance” at life, in fact “eternal life” as He promised through John, “For 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” (John 3:16).

Listen to what Scriptues tell us, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” Deut.30:19). Yes, what is heaven, and what is earth to God today? Answer, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where is the house you will build for Me?” (Isa.66:1-2). He wagered His heavenly kingdom/domain and His earthly footstool, in other words God’s entire existence as the Tri-Personal God. (Matt.28:27-30).

So, God has His hands outstretched and saying, “Choose Life!” And “Life” means life everlasting. (Rom.6:23; John 3:16). Today, for all humanity, this “second chance” at true life is no different, God is calling out to us to “Choose His Son” and choose eternal life. (John 3:16-17).

Please share a prayer with me as we pray to God our Loving Father in heaven, Prayer: “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, forgive me of all my sins, and the death it has brought us, for forsaking Your precious Love. I receive Your Son, Jesus, as my personal Savior, and the “second chance” at life through Him. In Your incalculable grace, thank You for recuing me and my loved ones, and all humanity, from the enemy’s fearful and destructive waters, and bringing us home into the life-giving waters of your Ocean of Love.

“Grant Your promised celestial life in Your Son through Your Holy Spirit, and open my eyes to the wondrous gifts You have conferred upon me and all believers as we embark into the “second chance” You have blessed us with, and we may serve one another in Your Love. May Your Love guide and protect me and my loved ones always, and bring us all into Your beloved and divine Kingdom. I will praise and thank You always, Amen.”

Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father

The “Tree of Life” Symbol of the New Life We have In Christ (2 Cor.5:17)

In Love, farewell for now!

Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)

Rublev’s Icon of The Trinity (Wiki Commons)

Each one of us was created as an indivisible relational human being incubated and given birth from Adam’s mold as one species, for God created humanity to reflect the eternal likeness in His triunity. We are born for relationships with the divine triune Love as our guiding principle. All this show that humans were created to be indivisibly one to reflect God’s Tri-Personal image of Oneness (Trinity), not solitary separateness. When God sent Jesus His eternal Son, He became human in order to unify humanity spiritually to the Triune Being of God through Christ once for all time. Hence, when the prophet Isaiah proclaimed Jesus’ coming, He was given the prophetic name, Immanuel. (Isa.7:14) The name means “God with us” (Matt.1:23). Humanity is ‘organically’ one with the Triune God through Christ, just as humanity is one with Adam who was created in God’s image and likeness. (Gen.1:26-27)

***Bulamanriver: is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, you may obtain a copy of my book, “Bula” Man-River, from Amazon.com; xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online book stores. All proceeds will go towards furthering the work of Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world

“Bulamanriver” Book Cover

***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664

TRUE LIFE BEGINS WHERE OUR CONCEPT OF GOD TAKES ROOT, K. P. LEE

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Greetings Friends!

God’s nature, and the motivations for all His actions through His creation has always been Trinitarian in every way, shape and form. Although humans may not have understood God in His infallible triune expression, and even if man conceptualize God in forms other than Trinitarian, He nevertheless cannot deviate from who He truly is in His spontaneous Loving Trinitarian Being. He inhabits eternity in His triunity of Love – without beginning of days nor end, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matt.28:18-20; 1 John 4:8)

God is not human to live in physical structures. The Bible states He already has a physical temple – the whole of creation is His physical temple. The prophet states, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where is the house you will build for Me?” (Isa.66:1-2).

We could not build anything close to what He has already created. We have heard people having visited many natural phenomenon that takes their breadth away and holds them spellbound because of their sheer wonder like the river Cano Cristales in Colombia with waters which appear like rainbow, as example (see picture below). There are waterfalls, tropical beaches, and many unknown and untold natural wonders to experience the celestial presence of God. In our humanity, we fail to appreciate how God has gifted us with the natural beauty of His creation to dwell with Him upon His earthly temple.

The Rainbow River of Cano Cristales in Colombia.

“Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where is the house you will build for Me?” (Isa.66:1-2).

Why did God reveal Himself as the God who is Love by nature? (1 John 4:8; 16) He is not made of Love; He is Love. Love is God and God is Love – there is no distinction between the two. God by nature is unquestionably holy because His Love is unfathomably beyond reach. God and Love are one and the same substance. Now consider this revelation of God in relation to man’s concept of a solitary God. Is it possible for Love (God) to exist in isolation, in solitude, – unaccompanied, secludeds, alone in self-absorbed existence? Jesus Himself declared to His disciple, Philip, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9, NAS). God is a Tri-Personal Being. (Matt.28:18-20)

Rublev’s famous icon of Holy Trinity (Wiki Commons)

If God were One solitary “Person,” with no one to Love and share His divine Being, then His affirmation that “God is Love” would have no meaning. (1 John 4:8) Can Love cannot exist in solitary mode and isolation? Only the opposite, fear, can thrive in such a condition. So, right off the bat, and unhesitatingly, we encounter two philosophies of life which define God, and His antithesis – Love and fear. One is Trinitarian and collaborative (Love), while the opposite is solitary and alone (fear)!

Love exist and thrive exclusively in relationships and collaboration. Love and relationship are inseparably one. Fear and solitude are bedfellows. Therefore, Love cannot be compatible with the image of a Loving God who declares Himself as solitary! but it’s completely viable with a God whose nature is Trinitarian or Tri-Personal. (Matt.28:17-20). The Psalmist points to the importance of knowing God by Name, that is, His Name which portray His Tri-Personal Being, “I will rescue him; I will set him on high, because he has known My Name. He will call upon Me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him” (Psa.91:14-15).

“God Is Love” 1 John 4:8

The Scriptures affirms us this … picture of God Himself, “Perfect Love (God) cast out fear” (1 John 4:18a).” There is no place for fearful existence (fear) in a life that is committed to a relationship of Love. Be that as it may, the Bible speaks of a “proper fear” that can exist within the Love of God. It does not make us afraid of God, but instills a deep reverence of everything God is and stands for. But highest of all, that God took upon Himself our human form as the “Immanuel,” lived a perfect and sinless life and sacrificed Himself to become humanity’s Savior and High Priest. (see Phi.2:4-8; Isa.7:14; Matt.1:23) Hence, we hold a deep reverential fear for God. Then there is the fear that is the antithesis of Love, for John said, this “fear hath torment, and he that fears is not made perfect in Love” (1 John 4:18b). Torment is contrary to God’s Love and living in joyful vitality.

One of the most important and overlooked aspects of Jesus’ mission was He came to reveal to humanity the true Trinitarian nature of God. Throughout His mission, Jesus made reference to God as His Father (John 17, 1:1-5, 14-8). John attests to this Father/Son relationship, quoting Jesus as saying, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is the closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known” (John 1:18). Jesus also mentions another personage in the unified Godhead – the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-18, 25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus came to reveal the true nature of God by revealing the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and to show that God is Triune in His nature, not solitary nor reclusive.

God’s Perfect Love is Outgoing and Collaborative

Our God exists in ONE Triunity. In his book, “The Trinity and Human Personality,” author Jon T. Murphree, said, “In the Trinity, Each Person “occupies” the Others’ personalities. Each of the thee Persons becomes a “home” for the other Two. One is Host and the Others are Guests. As Each inhabits the Others, Each is a Host to the other Two, and Each is a Guest to the other Two. It is so reciprocal that each One feels more ‘at home’ with the Others’ personalities than His own. Trinitarian Persons do not exist in isolation, they live in and through One another, which makes their personalities relational and collaborative” and unified. (Page 135).

So, the Gospels makes clear to us that one of Jesus’ multifaceted earthly missions was to declare openly to the world that God is a Father to all mankind. By declaring the Fatherhood of God, He discredits all arguments that God is individualistic, much less solitary. A Father begets and nurtures children. Jesus declares Himself as the Son of God. He was born as the “Immanuel” (“God with us”) God who became one of us. (Matt.1:23).

Fear has Torment and is Self-centered and Exists in Solitude

Paul in his letter to the Philippians said this, “Though He (Jesus) was God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead, He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, (“Immanuel”) He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross. For this reason, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth — and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phi.2:6-11).

In the model prayer Jesus taught the disciples to pray, He begins with the words, “Our Father who art in heaven” (Matt.6:9). So, all of humanity are God’s children. Jesus was not declaring the Fatherhood of God to please the people or His followers, or to be controversial. He declared it because this is what Love does – Love tells the truth, Love cannot lie. By proclaiming God is His Father, and our Father, Jesus affirmed God is triune in His intrinsic divine nature.

“Jesus’ crucifixion to atone for mankind’s sin is the ultimate expression of God’s Love who knows no other way to live but through His inherent Loving relationship (John 3:16-17). Jesus’ sacrifice was the ultimate act of Love for He was both God and man or “Immanuel” (Matt.1:23). This is the key to the miraculous life humanity is privileged to live through Christ in the power of God’s Spirit.

“There they crucified Him, and with Him two Others” (John 19:18) The 3 Crosses Picture God in His Full Trinitarian Godhead, Surrendered and Died for All Humanity.

What then determines the proper concept of God’s divine nature? It starts with our belief as Jesus said – “Let it be done for you according to your faith!” (Matt.9:29). In other words, your life will be vocalized in accordance with the substance and anatomy of your faith about God’s divine nature.

As we have read earlier, Love and relationships are inseparably one because Love exists and thrives inherently in God’s collaborative nature: “God is Love” (1 John 4:8). Miracles are divine supernatural acts birthed out of God’s Love for His creation. Love and miracles cannot survive in solitary existence, but only through relationship for “God is Love” (1 John 4:16). God’s Loving relationship with humanity is what brought many miracles through the hands of Jesus. God has existed in His triune relationship from eternity through His Love as expressed and enunciated by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. (1 Cor.13:1-12; see appendix below *The “Love-Fruits of the Holy Spirit:” ) Through Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, He transported and brought humanity into fellowship with the very “Love-nature” of the triune God.

Because the triune God is of one substance (Greek, homoousios – “of one substance”) the act of one is the act of all three, making it singular and unified in the triune Godhead. God is the union of three Persons in one Triune Godhead. Man has not experienced this kind of integrated and collaborative life with the triune God ever since Eden, prior to Adam’s fall. And God created Adam and Eve and by extension all humanity, to reflect Him in His Love. (Gen.1:27; 1 John 4:8; John 17: 20-23)

God is not alone; He is not individualistic; He is not isolated or reclusive. Each Person in the Trinity “occupies” the others’ personalities, and become “home” for the other two. And God desires to bring man into the Loving fellowship of the Father, Son, and Spirit. The “fruits of Love” as Paul explained to the Corinthians, is the hallmark of the conduct they have lived and continue to live from eternity. (1 Cor.13:1-12). Here is where the miracle life humanity experiences and is birthed in God’s Love where it takes its stand.

Throughout history humanity has always tried to put God in a box to appeal to their short-sighted mindset. Yet, God tells us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9).

How vital that we let the Spirit inspire and energize us in His Trinitarian nature to nullify our natural “solitary” attitude. We can do good things in a “solitary” mode and it will take us only thus far (Jer. 17:9). We see plenty of this in the world today. But by connecting to the triune God through His Spirit, His love will lead us in the way true life was intented to be lived. (Gen.1:27) He instructs us to choose His triune life, not our solitary life (Deut. 30:19). In other words, we will commune with a relational God, not a private God. God is not solitary and intolerant as many have assumed.

Humanity exists in an attitude of isolation, in solitude, unaccompanied, secluded, alone in self-absorbed existence, due to Adam’s sin in Eden when he chose to follow Satan instead of God by eating the forbidden fruit. That is our human short coming. The last thing that humans can do is attempt to put God in a box of their own making. It is totally wrong for fallen humans to try to paint God with our corrupt human frame of reference.

By declaring the Father’s Trinitarian nature, we continue to affirm His Fatherhood as founded in Love, first amongst the three Persons of the Trinity, and then with all humanity God has created in His image and likeness. (Gen.1:27; John 17:20-23; 25-26). And that is what the ‘Second Adam’ or Jesus Christ came to bring humanity new life enabled in the Spirit’s power. (Gal.2:20; 1 Cor.15:45).

Matthew 28:19 – The Great Commission

Though a person may claim to believe in the Trinity, if he still lives the solitary and self-inclusive life in himself, he still lives apart from Christ and the triune life of God. This tells us that many Christians fail to know how to live the Triune Life in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul said this, “But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Rom.8:9). By taking the name of Jesus as Christians, we automatically receive God in His divine spiritual name in the Triune Godhead. (Matt.28:19) That is presumed to be a truthful affirmation. (John 17:20-23)

Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, in this way, “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own, He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is to come. He will glorify Me for it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from Me what He will make known to you” (John 16:13-15).

“When Pentecost Came They Were Together In One Place…” (Act.2:1)

I sincerely hope that just as we have celebrated the day of Pentecost (refer my previous post), a day which pictures the birth of the new covenant church, we will embark on this journey in our earthly pilgrimage with a new mindset about God’s divine Loving triune nature. In addition, God through Jesus invites us into this fresh new way of life we have been called to take into our lives and mindset and make it part of our mode of living. Remember, whenever the name of God is mentioned, it always portrays Him as a Trinity with His Son and His Spirit in One Trinitarian Godhead. (Matt.28:27-30)

God is calling out to all of humanity to come swim with everlasting joy in the river of His Love – eat freely from the food He has prepared for our true well-being.” Jesus openly declared, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this He meant the Spirit” (John 7:37-39; also Isa.55:1-2).

Jesus prayed this prayer for the disciples before He was taken to be crucified, “I do not pray for these (disciples) alone, but also those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be ONE, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be ONE in Us, that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be ONE just as We are ONE: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in ONE” (John 17: 20-23, emphasis added). Jesus told His disciples, “On that day you will realize that I am in the Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you” (John 14:20). Every word is uttered in its Trinitarian context in who God is in His Tri-Personal nature of Love. (Matt.28:19-20)

Jesus’ parting words to His disciples before He ascended to heaven was: “Go and tell the world about this wonderful Gospel, and unify (baptize) them into the name of the Triune God of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matt.28:19; 1 John 4:8,16).

Please share a prayer with me as we pray to God our Loving Father in heaven, Prayer: “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, forgive me of all my sins for forsaking your precious Love. I receive Your Son, Jesus, as my personal Savior. In Your incalculable grace, thank you for recuing me and my loved ones, and all humanity, from the enemy’s fearful and destructive waters, and bringing us home into the life-giving waters of your Ocean of Love.

“Forgive me if I possessed an inaccurate view of Your divine triune nature. Thank You that I stand before you, the Tri-Personal God in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who works in our lives to bring us salvation in Christ. Scripture tells us, “God is Love, and all who live in Love live in God, and God lives in them” (1 John 4:16).

“Grant Your promised celestial life in Your Son through Your Holy Spirit, and open my eyes to the wondrous gifts You have conferred upon me and all believers so we may serve one another in Your Love. May Your Love guide and protect me and my loved ones always, and bring us all into Your beloved and divine Kingdom. I will praise and thank You always, Amen.”

Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father

In Love, farewell for now!

Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)

The Resurrection to Immortality and Deification of Humanity Created In God’s Image

Rublev’s Icon of The Trinity (Wiki Commons)

***Bulamanriver: is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, you may obtain a copy of my book, “Bula” Man-River, from Amazon.com; xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online book stores. All proceeds will go towards furthering the work of Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world

“Bulamanriver” Book Cover

***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.

Note: All information is copy-write material. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information. Thank you.

“THERE IS NO FEAR IN LOVE, BUT PERFECT LOVE DRIVES OUT FEAR” – PENTECOST! KIANG P LEE

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Greetings friends! The season of spring is upon us. One of the best parts of spring is that beautiful flowers begin to bloom again. It’s wildflower season in many places. You’ll notice new growth on the trees around you, signaling the change in season. The animals who took a much-needed nap over winter and those who flew south for warmer climates are finally back. Hearing the happy chirps of birds or catching the first glimpse of your local wildlife are certainly reasons to love spring.

For humanity, it is also a time for renewal and regeneration. Paul gives us the negative fruits of the flesh which affects us unkindly and injure us. Paul said, “Now the practices of the sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control), idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and other things like these. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal.5:19-21, Amplified Bible).

One of the negative emotions that cripple a person is the destructive reinforcement of the mantle of fear and sin which cloak us as fallen humans beings from Adam’s sin of disobedience in Eden. Much of what Paul catalogs in Galatians finds it basis in the feeling of fear which provokes these negative reactions. Are there fears in your life you are struggling with?

Many lives have been crippled by this innate gut feeling of fear – both real and imagined. Let’s discuss this important topic. I hope by the end of this blog post, you will have found the only way to eradicate our fears which elevate these negative practices which overwhelms us as Paul states.

The Bible gives the answers to our fears. The Scripture says plainly and unequivocally, “There is no fear in Love. But perfect Love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18). Many believers have seen this passage, even tried to live by it as best as they know how, but regrettably their fears continue to pursue them like a plaque. Why? Quite simply, they have not known how to apply this passage. You have to ask and answer what is “Perfect Love.” That is the key to overcoming our fear. Once you have the answer, then fear will dissipate as quickly as it comes.

As we enter the season of Pentecost which comemmorates the birth of the New Testament Church, let us stop to reflect upon this vital topic, for which we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to combat vehemently with His perfect divine Love. For as much as Scripture tells us, after preached a Spirit-Inspired message from God that memorable Pentecost day, “The people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” (Act.2:37-41).

“Perfect Love” – What Does That Mean? (Wiki Commons)

I have always shown and explained through my blog there are only two ways of life to live: the “solitary life” verses the “Triune Life**” The “solitary life” is the condition in which fear is the motivation beginning with Adam’s fall in Eden. The “Triune Life” is the condition where Love is the driving force. The “Triune Life” finds its basis in Scripture where Jesus, prior to His ascension into heaven, said this, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt.28:18-20).

The ”Triune Life” speaks of the Life of the Trinity, in the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. Fear and Love are opposite conditions we freely choose and elect to live by. So, let’s answer what are these two broad conditions or ways of life.

“Solitary Life” – In the ‘False Self’

Living the “solitary life” means a life that’s lived in oneself apart from Jesus Christ. We are all born into the self-centered “solitary life” as a consequence of Adam’s fall. Paul said, “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (Rom.8:9). Christ is the second Adam. The Bible says the Spirit is the personification of God’s Love in us, and thereby empowers the “Triune Life”: Paul asserts, “God’s Love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom.5:5b).

The “solitary life” is life that’s lived under the influence of the devil, the instigator of human sin, pain, and suffering which breeds fear in humanity. The self-centered “solitary life” is synonymous with everything uncreative, corrupt and deathly in fallen humanity. Some of my readers may not have heard of these two terms. The “good” man does, God calls “filthy rags” because they are self-righteous acts which does not breed Love but promotes fear. (Isa.64:6) It’s the underlying motive of our hearts which counts. (1 Sam.16:7b) The “solitary life” in turn shapes the ‘false self’ who lives by fear, not Love.

Many call themselves Christians but still live the “solitary life” which is a paradox, for the essence of following Jesus is to live the “Triune Life.” It’s no fault of theirs if they had not been taught how to live it. They were told to “receive Christ” but were never shown how to follow Him. They may have been taught different terms which are ambiguous, and downright misleading, as we’ll see. I hope I can make this as simple to understand so you too can live the blessed life God has called us to in His perfect Love – the Love which drives out fear from us.

“Triune Life” Means the “True You”

The word Triune means consisting of three Persons in one Trinitarian Godhead. It conveys the Tri-Personal Being of God (Trinity) in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore, “Triune Life” means a life that’s lived in and under the influence of the divine Love of the Trinitarian God in heaven. However, all people since Adam have not known, let alone lived the “Triune Life.”

Because of Adam’s fall in Eden, mankind has been consigned to living this self-centered “solitary life.” The Bible speaks of Jesus as the “Second Adam” who would come and right the wrong of the first fallen Adam. As Paul said, “As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22; 1 Cor.15:45).

Jesus comes and introduces the “Triune Life” of Love to humanity by revealing the Father and Himself as the Son with our eternal Friend, the Holy Spirit (Matt.28:17-20). He said, “I and My Father are One,” and, “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate (Spirit) to help you and be with you forever… He will glorify Me.” (John 10:30; john 14:16; 16:14). That is one of the pillar objectives of His coming to earth, besides others, to reveal God is Triune – to show God is our Father, Jesus our Brother, and Herald* (Spirit) is our ever-present Friend and Miracle-Worker.

Humans Has to Change (“Born Again”) from the “Solitary Life” in the self to the “Triune Life” in Christ through the Power of His Spirit.

Thus, the “Triune Life” is born and made a reality in the life of humanity through humanity’s Savior, Jesus. The basic tenet of living the “Triune Life” is revealed by Jesus in His words, “By Myself I can do nothing” (John 5:30). By saying that, He disqualifies Himself from the way of life of the “solitary life” in the devil. In other words, He never does things solitarily on His own; the way He thinks, feels, and acts, is done in complete collaboration with the Father and the Spirit. How can He, when Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit, are of one substance and reality in the Triune Godhead. Even if He wants to, He cannot, so the act of One is always the act of all Three Persons in the Trinity, and the act of Three is the act of One.

Jon P. Murhpree, in his book , “The Trinity and Human Personality,” says this, “Each one (of the three Persons of the Trinity) transposes Himself into the others without confusing His own personality with the others. Through Love, diversity and unity are so inextricably interwoven that the Father, Son, and Spirit do not exist as Persons alongside each other as much as they exist in and through each other. Each One constantly has perfect access to the others complete thought and feelings.” (pg.29) So when we follow Christ, we live the same “Triune Life” in the Spirit’s power.

“Perfect Love” Comes to Man By Entering the Life of the Trinity – the “Triune Life”** (Wiki Commons)

As I said, many have been told to “receive Jesus” but were never taught the true cost of becoming His follower. Very simply, the “cost” involves giving up the fallen “solitary life” from Adam, and embracing the “Triune Life” in Christ. Jesus makes plain that it is possible to say one is Christian, but be none of His: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt.7:20-21).

By saying, “only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven,” Jesus was pointing a person to the “Triune Life” in the Trinity. God is trinitarian and indivisibly ONE in their Triune Love for each other. Each Person in the Trinity find completeness in their Love for each other, not in their individual selves. By receiving Jesus as Savior, the believer is translated into the same life where he lives this collaborative, interdependent, unified, and Loving, “Triune Life” in Christ, where we seek “to do the will of the Father.”

It is not based upon legalism and justification by law, as Paul tells us, “Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law” (Gal.2:16).

Rather it is a relationship of Love for each other as in the Life of Love within the Trinity. For in doing this, the believer must find his/her ‘true self’ in Christ, not in his or her ‘false self.’ God placed gifts upon us which the Spirit enunciates them (gifts) in life. Thus we read Paul’s words, “We are complete through Christ” (Col.2:10).

To think and live trinitarianly is to dwell and live in each other’s Love for each other, not in one’s own solitary self-centered self-will by being withdrawn in one self. In other words, you find your ‘true self’ only by discovering fulfillment in Loving one another. This is how fear is driven away when we cease to be self-conscious and be other-conscious, not self-conscious, just like God is in His Loving Triune nature.

“Perfect Love” found Only in the “Triune Life”**

The purpose of the “Triune life” is essentially to protect the believer from the inconsistencies and ravages of the “solitary life” which brings fear, suffering, heartaches, and ultimately physical and spiritual death. (Rom.6:23) We’re not living in the emotional juggernaut of the moment through the ‘false self’ who generates fear (intuitively), in all its manifestation and its dire consequences. Hence the “Perfect Love” which drives out fear from our lives is found only when we are living the “Triune Life” in heaven with the Father, through Jesus’ continuous mediation as our glorified divine/human High Priest, through the power of Herald the Spirit who lives is us as His temple. (1 Cor.3:16; 1 Cor.6:19)

To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of God’s Spirit in us. The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27). And His command are not grevious, “In fact, this is Love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). How can something which dispels and removes fear from your life be burdensome?

Gentle Dove, Symbol of The Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Wiki Commons)

From Fear to Love

God’s covenant promise to man is to give him a new heart to end his suffering from living a “solitary life” through a newborn “unified (Triune) life” in His Son (Ezek. 11:19; Heb. 8:10, 10:22). He will remove the heart of fear and give us the heart of Love to Love Him. In becoming a mortal human, Jesus vicariously assumed man’s sinful life, including his fears, in His perfect Being. In doing so, He destroyed fear and replaced it with God’s love. For, “As in Adam all die, so in Christ (Immanuel) all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). Finally man can reciprocate with the same Love with which God Loves man. This is the “perfect Love” which drives out fear of fallen humans and the devil.

How to Enter the “Triune Life”

Let me now state briefly how man enters the “Triune Life” of God, so you too can live it and defeat all your fears. It begins when God calls you out of your self-centered “solitary life” of fear and embrace the “Triune Life” of Love through the finished work of His Son. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father, except through Me. I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). In other words, we enter the “Triune Life” of God the Father when we accept His Son Jesus, as personal Savior who cleanses all sins of the ‘false self’ who has lived the ”solitary life” of the devil. The promised Holy Spirit inaugurates the “Triune Life” by bringing the ‘true self’ fashioned in the image of Jesus, the Son of God. (John 14:16; Rom.8:29)

We leave behind the ‘false self’ and everything to do with the “solitary life,” and embrace our ‘true self’ in the Spirit. We call this the gift of repentance and forgiveness, and the process of conversion of the new birth from the ‘false self’ to the ‘true self.’ (John 3:7) The Father’s promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit is the personification of His divine Love in us. (Rom.5:5) We become the temple of the Spirit: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you” (1 Cor. 3:16). Fear, which is part and parcel of the ‘false self,’ has once for all lost its grip and has no power over us. John said this of the devil, “the evil one cannot touch you” (1 John 5:18b).

Christianity and Religion

Here is the main issue of Christianity when it is practiced as a ‘religion’ instead of a way of life. Christianity as a religion has turn man back upon himself/hersef by saying that his/her salvation is the “human responsibility.” They say Christ has done His part, now man must play his part to earn it, as if salvation is a 50/50 proposition. If Christ is a partial Savior, then the Gospel is incomplete and not true. This is the devil’s deception at its very core because man carries on living the “solitary life,” and Jesus and the “Triune Life” is left out of the picture altogether. Jesus is not a 50/50 Savior. Jesus is 101% humanity’s Savior, period. As John declares, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). And Paul affirms, “In Him (Jesus) we live and move and have our being” (Act.17:28). Again, Paul continues in his letter to the Colossians “You are complete through your union with Christ” (Col.2:10).

Salvation is all grace and freely given to humanity by God. As Paul makes this point abundantly clear, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph.2:8-10).

God has not abdicated your salvation by placing it in your own hands, least of all nor the hands of another, and most likely in the hands if ‘religion,’ for that matter. If salvation is a free gift which comes from the free grace of God, it is impossible for man to earn it, much less 50%? It is totally 100% God’s.

Fear is Driven Out By Embracing the “Perfect Love” in the Spirit’s Love-Power (Rom.5:5) (Wiji Commons)

Our most difficult task is to learn to step out of the way, for the ‘false self’ is always tempted to dictate his solitary expressions in our human lives. Instead, we must step back and see the wonder of His hands at work – perhaps, for once in our life. God says, “Stand still, and see My salvation which I will show you. I will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exo.14:13-14, emphasis mine). Salvation is all God’s doing in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. For the Gospel tells us He is our complete Savior. (Col.2:10; Acts 4:11-12). Our part is simply to “hide in Christ” like the waters cover the riverbed (man), and let the Spirit live His life fully (overflowing) in man as “living waters” (John 7:37-39; Psa.32:7).

No part of the believer (riverbed) is seen or heard, as he is completely and overwhelmingly covered and hidden in Christ in the “living waters” of the Spirit. All our fears which lead to deprivation and want are overpowered by the overwhelming Love of Jesus just as the “living waters” cover the riverbed engulfs us completely (1 John 4:8). The riverbed (man) and the “living waters” (Spirit) the metaphor for the “Triune Life.”

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com.

Blessing: Until we meet again in my next post, may God bless you with the faith of Jesus His Son and may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life” as a Bulamanriver.* Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)

**”Triune Life”: Relationship with God has no meaning without Love. By its very nature, Love cannot endure in solitary existence. So, when God said “Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness…” He was revealing Himself as existing in His trinitarian existence. That is, His Tri-Personal Being as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Gen.1:26; Matt.28:19; John 14:10, 16; 16:7) The Hebrew word for ‘God’ in the creation account is “Elohim.” It describes God in His plurality, as the Trinity – the Tri-Personal Godhead, which other scriptures attests. (Matt.28:18-20; 1 Pet.1:2; 2 Thess.2:13; 2 Cor.13:14) So, God is Trinitarian in His Love nature. He is also clothed in Freedom. For the three Persons of the Trinity are three distinct and free Persons in the triune Godhead. Love and Freedom by nature is relational as God is in His Tri-Personal Being. Hence, a human being was created a relational being possessing freedom.

Rublev’s Icon of The Trinity (Wiki Commons)

***Bulamanriver: is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, you may obtain a copy of my book, “Bula” Man-River, from Amazon.com; xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online book stores. All proceeds will go towards furthering the work of Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world

“Bulamanriver” Book Cover

***Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.

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