Greetings Friends wherever you are! My hope is my post will find you filled with the Lord’s joy!
The Christian faith is founded upon our God who is a Trinity, not a solitary God. God is One hypostatic (unified) Godhead in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matt.28:18-20) As a verb, faith speaks of articulating our statement of beliefs in our daily lives. As a noun faith identifies who God is, for scripture tell us, “God is Love” (1 john 4:8, 16). So, faith as a verb can be utilized various ways, in this post I would like to share two fundamental meanings of faith and its application. There’s an interesting point about faith that’s worthy of note in Luke 17. Let’s read it…
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (verb) He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’” (Luk.17:5-10). The parable of the mustard seed appears in parallel passages in other Gospels, but Luke’s account is unique in that it interfaces the disciples’ question about faith with the account of the master and the servant.
Faith as a Grain – Quality not Quantity
The disciples asked for faith in the sense of quantifying faith! By saying, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,” Jesus is talking about the quality of faith, rather than the quantity of faith. We will see what I mean by “quality” a little later. In this passage from Luke, your Bible has a pause between Verse 5-6 and Verse 7-10 to indicate two unrelated topics. Verse 5-6 is about faith, and Verse 7-10 tells us about the parable about the Master and Servant. But the Bible in its original format had no verse or chapter breaks we see in today’s version. Verses and chapters were introduced to help readers navigate through different parts of the Bible.
But it has its pros and cons, and one weakness is we can be blinded by missing the context. Reading a small part is not always helpful when the author intended a passage to be read through to the end. So, this passage speaks about a single topic, not two unrelated issues. It is about faith and reads from verse 5 to 10. The parable was simply Jesus way of explaining the meaning of the “mustard seed faith.” So, what has faith to do with the “master/servant” relationship?
Jesus Teaching Disciples the Mustard Seed Faith (By James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum, Wiki Commons)
Two Faiths:
Jesus explains the ‘mustard seed faith’ in the context of the “Master/Servant” faith (verb), because it is distinct from but essentially part of the believer’s “Father/Offspring” (Son/Daughter) faith. The faith we express in terms of the “Father/Offspring” relationship has to do with our adoption into God’s eternal family through Jesus. One is foundational and unmoved (“Father/Child”), while the other is functional and mobile (“Master/Servant”). By ‘functional’ I mean something that is mobile and changes with time according to God’s move in the believer’s life, yet it has eternal ramification. (Matt.25:23) In one, God is our Father, while He is Master in the other.
What we see in our lives is identical with Jesus own life where His faith is applied in two contextual realities: the foundational “Father/Son” relationship He had with His Father from eternity, and the functional “Master/Servant” relationship in His role as Savior and Redeemer. So, Jesus possessed both faiths: the foundational “Father/Son relationship” in His role as the only Son of God; and in a “Master/Servant relationship” in His role as the Savior and Redeemer of humanity.
From here I will attempt to share the two faiths as Jesus stated in His parable about the important subject of faith in Luke 17:5-10. Firstly, the “Father/Offspring Faith,” and secondly, the “Master/Servant Faith.”
- Father/Offspring Faith “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith! He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you” (Luke 17:5-6).
- Master/Servant Faith “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’” (Luke 17:7-10).
Following are the explanatory notes:
1) Father/Offspring Faith: The commonly quoted passage from John says, “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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:16-17). This is the foundation upon which the “Father/Offspring Faith” is grounded.
2) Master/Servant Faith: Paul gave us these immortal servanthood passage about Jesus, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Phil.2:6-8). I stress the words of Paul, “Being in very nature God…He (Jesus) made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant...And being found in the appearance of a man, He humbled Himself by being obedient to death – even death on a cross” (Phil.2:7-8).
And again in Hebrews, we read, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth… because of His reverent submission. A Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek” (Heb.5:7-10). Note the words, “He (Jesus) learned obedience from what He suffered and once made perfect,” are words designated for a servant. And because of Jesus’ obedience and loyalty He was made humanity’s High Priest of God in heaven forever.
For us as humans, the faith we express in the “Master/Servant” relationship is no different, but this time it has to do with God’s Work, principally as it relates to the work of the Gospel. (Mat.28:18-20) God’s Work involves His labor of Love to save humanity from sin and eternal death called the ministry of reconciliation which we are given. (2 Cor.5:18)
Jesus Christ possessed both faiths. So, as followers of Jesus, we too must take on both faiths as He did. Jesus said, “Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt.28:20).
In this passage from Luke 17, your Bible has a pause between Verses 5-6, and Verses 7-10, presumably indicating two unrelated topics. Verses 5-6 speaks about faith as a mustard seed, and Verses 7-10 is a parable about the Master and Servant. But the Bible in its original format had no verse or chapter breaks we see in today’s Bible version. Verses and chapters were introduced to help readers navigate through different parts of the Bible. But it has its pros and cons, and one weakness is we can be blinded by missing the subject or context of the passage in question altogether. Reading a small part is not always helpful when the author intended a passage to be read through to the end as one subject. So, this passage speaks about a single topic, not two unrelated issues. It is all about faith and reads from Luke 17 Verse 5 to 10. The parable was simply Jesus’ way of explaining the meaning of the faith from two realities.
2 Cor. 5:18
So, let’s start with the second point of Jesus’ teaching about faith – what has faith to do with the “Master/Servant” relationship as shown in Luke 17:7-10? Jesus explains the faith in the context of the “Master/Servant faith” is distinct from but essentially part of the believer’s “Father/Offspring faith.” The faith we express in terms of the “Father/Offspring faith” is the relationship that has to do with our adoption into God’s eternal family through Jesus. John wrote the memorable text, “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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16-18).
One faith is foundational and unmoved (“Father/Offspring Faith”), while the other is functional and mobile (“Master/Servant Faith”). By ‘functional’ I mean something that is mobile and can change according to circumstance and time in line with God’s move in the believer’s life, yet it has eternal ramification. (Matt.25:23) In one, God is our Father, while He is Master in the other.
What we see in our lives is identical with Jesus own life where His faith is applied in two contextual realities: the foundational “Father/Son Faith” (relationship) He had with His Father from eternity, and the functional “Master/Servant Faith” (relationship) in His role as Savior and Redeemer. The faith we express in the “Master/Servant Faith” or relationship is no different and has to do with God’s Work, principally as it relates to the work of the dispensation of the Gospel of Jesus as Redeemer of humanity. (Mat.28:18-20)
The Great Commission
God’s Work involves His labor of Love to save humanity from sin and eternal death called the ministry of reconciliation which we are given. (2 Cor.5:18) The oft-quoted passage from John we read earlier from John 3:16-19 says everything we desire to know about the Father’s Love for humanity as a whole. That in a nutshell, is the very heart and soul of God’s Work. So, there are two faiths working interchangeably where one is built on top of the other and mutually dependent. One is expressed in form of a noun (“Father/Son” relationship), and the other is a verb (“Master/Servant” relationship).
Life As Seen Through The Triune Lense of The Trinity
As we dig deeper into this passage in Luke 17, we do so wearing God’s Triune lens and perspective. God exists in Three Personal realities of “the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matt.28:18-20). By looking at human life through God’s Triune lens and perspective we can arrive at the right explanation of faith, or for that matter any other topic in the Bible. Jesus brings each of us into the picture of this “Master/Servant Faith”: God is Master and we are His servants. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always interweaving and interpenetrating each other, are pure oneness in thought, purpose, and action, and are perfection and beauty-one God in three Persons eternally in Loving relationship.
Then Jesus asks, if we had a hired house servant, would we regard him as master and treat him with all the courtesies of a master in a role reversal? Is it okay that the master perform the work he has paid a servant to do? Is that how this faith works? Of course not! But what was Jesus getting at?
He desired to know if we are we true servants, or do we sometimes regard God like a servant and we are masters? That would be an unthinkable thought to consider let alone believe. In the “Father/Offspring Faith” (relationship) we know our place as offspring and children and don’t have an identity crisis here. But not so with the “Master/Servant Faith” (relationship) where the tendency to switch the roles are real. If we have initiated a role reversal in our relationship with God, whether inadvertently or ignorantly, then the faith which keeps the “Master/Servant Faith” (relationship) functioning properly has been compromised and made powerless and vulnerable if not incapacitated. But if this “Master/Servant Faith” is functioning correctly, even though it is small as a mustard seed, it will be powerful. And Jesus lived both faiths as a Son (offspring), and as a truthful and loyal servant of God the Father.
As we are now entering the period of Easter and Passover (2024), it s imperative and vital that we understand how we apply the two faiths. Intuitively, we tend to overemphasize God’s role as a caring Father who provides for His children. Yet, what about as our Master who wants us to participate in His saving and redemptive Work of dispensing the saving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (John 3:16; Matt.28:17-20) Humans are creatures of comfort and habit with the tendency to follow the path of least resistance. So, we are more inclined towards God’s Fatherly qualities, than His Masterly attributes and values.
As a Father we tend to ask Him for our many mundane needs, but do we express the same enthusiasm for His role as Master and faithfully responding as servants in His Work of the Gospel. We mistakenly assume we are entitled to a life without obstacles and setbacks as children, and we become perplexed not understanding the ground (faith) we are standing upon in life’s calling and circumstance as a dedicated and loyal servant of Jesus.
The modern-day so-called prosperity gospel is one such instance of inverting the priority and regarding God as servant who is the source for all our wants and desires, minimizing or entirely failing at the servanthood role. Do we see the Christian life like a vacation cruise and God’s part is to indulge us with the blessed life of plenty? We exploit passages out of context like, “Faith is the evidence of things not seen,” where the “unseen things” are cravings for the material and sensual? (Heb.11:1). We just made God a servant for our selfish appetites and ambitions, and have become masters in the process, and made God a servant…albeit inadvertently?
The Prosperity Gospel – Inverting The Priority of the Master/Servant Faith
When that happens, what we are seeing is the human version of faith which makes this role reversal a reality. But as we keep our pair of “Triune Life” lens firmly in place, we’ll find that it is an altogether different faith which keeps the “Master/Servant” relationship healthy between God and the Christian. But though this role reversal may convey the outward appearance of the material and sensual, its underlying stimulus is spiritual self-righteousness (“solitary life”) due to deficiency of the Holy Spirit by living God’s whole Tri-Personal Being as the Triune God. (Eph.5:18; 2 Thess.2:13).
Servanthood Faith
The “Master/Servant” faith starts small like a mustard seed because servanthood is something which grows from a seed to a fruitful tree for the benefit of others. In the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus taught, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Matt.13:31-32).
As we keep the Easter/Passover in 2024, the “Master/Servant Faith” seed (Jesus’ Personal Faith) maybe minuscule, but as long as it is a genuine article, the seed has the quality and character in its nature to do great things. Yes, Jesus was the greatest Servant of all even though He was a Son. He is called the “Suffering Servant” (Isa.53). As a Servant, Paul said of Jesus, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience (servanthood) from the things which He suffered (as the Messiah)” (Heb.5:8, NASB, emphasis mine).
Jesus – The “Suffering Servant”
A servant’s life usually takes effort, production, and brings successful outcomes in harmony with the divine will. At times, coupled with courage, humility, and unshakable determination, it can be different by comparison to living the sheltered life of a son or daughter (“Father/Offspring Faith”). We live the abundant life as children enveloped in God’s incomprehensible Love. In response, children take responsibility for their Father’s Love by becoming Love themselves as He is Love. John makes this point clear for God’s children, “But anyone who does not Love does not know God, for God is Love…We know how much God Loves us, and we have put our trust in His Love. God is Love, and all who live in Love live in God, and God lives in them” (1 John 4:8,16; also 1 Cor.13; Gal.5:16-26). This speaks of our faith as children in the “Father/Offspring Faith” relationship.
God Is Love
However, as a servant in the “Master/Servant Faith” (relationship), we may suffer hardships in the moment, but this is considered negligible when compared to the glorious future our Master has in store for us. (Rom.8:18) Jesus came as a “Suffering Servant,” and in His final moments at the cross, He cried to His Father, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt.27:46). Yes, as a servant we may feel seemingly forsaken at times, but we have His sure promise, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb.13:5b).
Before His death, Jesus taught His disciples the attitude of a servant by washing the disciples’ feet. On the third day after His death by crucifixion upon His cross, it was impossible for death to keep Him to hold Him, for He was the second Person of the Tri-Personal God as Acts 2:24 states. (also Matt.28:17-20) Jesus rose from the dead and forever secured humanity’s eternal destiny and faith for all eternity. (1 Cor.15:17) As a loyal Servant, Jesus fulfilled His Father’s work of redeeming mankind from sin, and endowing humanity with His Spirit of Love to assure immortality in His eternal kingdom. (John 3:16; Tit.2:13-14; Rom.8:11)
The faith based upon the “Father/Offspring” relationship is the rock foundation upon which the “Master/Servant” relationship is built. (Matt.7:24-27) However, the major portion of our lives will be lived out in the “Master/Servant” environment – the structure above ground which rests upon the foundation of the “Father/Offspring Faith.” The foundation is “unseen” but sure, and the structure upon it gives meaning, purpose, and destiny, is clearly “seen” in the believer’s life. This structure through the “Master/Servant Faith” relationship puts substance and structure to the family responsibility by which we will be judged and rewarded as this passage show at a future time of judgment, “His Master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master’s happiness!’” (Matt.25:23). Those are memorable words we must take with us as we observe the solemn occasion of Easter and Passover.
Life’s Strong Foundation
So, it goes without saying how vital this faith will be for us all, minuscule it may be from the outset (“mustard seed”). Our occupations and professions come under the umbrella of the “Master/Servant” relationship, founded upon the anchor and cornerstone of the “Father/Offspring Faith.” Paul said, “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were Working for the Lord rather than for people” (Eph.6:7). Your whole life is a platform for the Work of the Servant of the Lord and His Gospel. As we observe this Easter/Passover season, remember you are the living, walking, talking, Gospel of Jesus Christ. Peter tells us how to use our platform, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord (Master)” (1 Pet.3:15).
Peter continues, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet.3:15). So, we see how God takes our every-day reality and weave it into His plan for us to be both loving offspring (children) and loyal servants. A cautionary note, we ought to be careful about not turning our profession (servants with unique gifts) for mere material/financial benefits solely for this mundane human life and all its reciprocal appendages. Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need (for this physical life)” (Mat.6:33, also 1 Cor.15:19).
Jesus – Still Serving Humanity as High Priest
For the most part, while we are God’s children, the greater and best chunk of oue lives is about being a servant. Therefore, it is imperative we have the prerequisite faith to help us live the role of a true and loyal servant. The servanthood life is the extension of Jesus’ own life as the ultimate Servant of His Father and Master. Let’s keep in mind this Easter/Passover that Jesus’ role as Savior did not end at the cross, that was just the beginning. He continues to perform His role as Savior today as humanity’s eternal High Priest in heaven interceding on mankind’s behalf for all of humanity’s faults and transgressions and bringing us to salvation as the Father had planned. (John 3:16-17)
So, He continues to serve mankind in heaven and through us as His servants and temple on earth, as a ultimate and loyal Servant of God. (Heb.4:14-15; Eph.3:16-19; 1 Cor.3:16) Servanthood begins with faith – the servanthood faith is the engine of the “Master/Servant Faith” and relationship. It is initially given in its minutest form (mustard seed) upon our conversion and grows into a fruitful tree where people come to it for rest and nourishment. (John 15:16; Gal.5:22-23; Tit.3:14)
Growing the “Mustard Seed Faith” in “Good Soil”
The “Faith of Jesus”
How do we deal with our “mustard seed faith” and make it grow? With our “Triune Life” lens and focus firmly in place, let’s see the first and most worthy thing we can do: we sow our “mustard seed faith” on good soil so it will bring forth a bountiful harvest. What is the good soil? Jesus gave another parable about the sower where the seeds fell on four different soil types (Matt.13:1-23). Jesus explains the sower is God the Father, the seed (faith) is God’s Word (Jesus), the four soil types represent people and how they respond to God’s Word/seed (faith) represent the fruits of God’s Love-Fruits of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor.13:1-12; also see Appendix below)
Three seed types (human interaction with God) did not have it in them to sustain any growth, so the seeds perished. But it is only the “good seed” which fell upon and received by the “good soil” which brought forth fruit as Matthew records, “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop–a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matt.13:8). The “good soil” represents the work of the Holy Spirit in preparing the soil (humanity) to receive the “good seed” (God’s Word – Jesus’ Personal living, dynamic Faith). This Easter/Passover, we ought to remember that the Holy Spirit is working in our lives to make us dedicated, loyal, and true servants (the good soil) of Almghty God to receive His Son’s living Faith as Savior and Redeemer.
Now, according to this parable, your “faith seed” (Jesus/Word of God) is actually Jesus’ own Personal faith, not our weak human faith. He is the Personification of God’s Word – the “mustard seed faith.” That explains why it can move a mountain, despite the fact it is small as a mustard seed. (Matt.17:20) Paul affirms how we take ownership of the only workable faith a true servant can have to do His Master’s work, saying, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20, KJV). In another passage Paul reminds us, “Even the righteousness of God which is by the faith of Jesus Christ to all and on all them that believe.” (Rom.3:22, AKJV)
There is a difference between the faith in Jesus, and the faith of Jesus. When you say you have faith in Jesus it fundamentally speaks of the use of a person’s weak human faith in someone. However, when a person speaks of the faith of Jesus then it refers to a faith of Someone else, not you or your weak human faith – in other words, Jesus’ living, dynamic servanthood faith. It is important to keep this important difference of the use of prepositions in mind that indicate relationships between words.
Mustard Seed – The Faith of Jesus
So, the “mustard seed faith” in Luke 17 is the faith of Jesus sown in you, the “good soil” prepared by the Holy Spirit. A pertinent word about perception and mindset, the “good soil” is not conveying the goodness of the human heart – that is what a deceived person wearing the devil’s “solitary life” lens would see and like to believe. If anything, the human heart is rotten to the core through and through. (see Jer.17:9; Mar.7:20-23) Why is that? Because humanity has been spiritually ‘dead’ in sin since the fall of Adam in Eden, awaiting the coming of the ‘Second Adam’ – Jesus Christ. (1 Cor.15:45; Rom.6:23). But rather the “good soil” (you) is the work of preparation done by the Holy Spirit since He was given on Pentecost. (Act.2:38) He supplies the “living waters,” and prepares the “good soil” (you) to receive the “good seed” (Jesus’ Faith/Word) from the Father. (John 7: 37-39; Gal.2:20).
If there is any “good” in humanity, it rests upon the fact that God made humans in His image with a divine destiny to become Love as “God is Love.” (Gen.1:26-27; 1 John 4:16). God’s plan is to bring to reality His destiny in humanity, and the “good soil,” the Spirit in you, is an intrinsic part of it. (1 Cor.3:16). In keeping with the solemn Easter/Passover season, let us recall what we are to be contrite and distressed about – our fallen nature inherited from Adam’s first sin in Eden, and to now receive the Second Adam in Christ and accepting the new life in and through God’s Spirit. (2 Cor.15:45; Rom.8:1-2, NLT)
The Human Heart is Desperately Wicked- Jer.17:9
By having the “Triune Life” lens (mindset), we are always asking how each individual Person of the Tri-Personal God is involved with our lives and salvation. The Father and Son cannot work on their own without the Spirit for the Three Persons of the Triune God acting as One substance and act as One Being in the Triune Godhead. The “Master/Servant Faith” (mustard seed) is always Jesus’ own living faith. The “good soil” (humanity) is always showing the work of sanctification of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, only the Spirit (good soil/human) can receive Jesus’ faith (mustard seed) and give growth and true life and move mountains. For there is no other way for the “Master/Servant Faith” relationship to germinate and grow in humans except within God’s “Triune Life.” (Matt.28:18-20)
So, when we come back to the disciples’ question about faith in Luke 17, rather than quantifying faith, Luke qualifies faith by personifying it as Jesus’ own powerful living faith existing in you through the Spirit’s life. (1 Cor.3:16; Heb.3:4-6) In all of this, we see God’s “Triune Life” in motion: The Father sows the seed of His Son’s faith in the good soil (humanity) which the Spirit has prepared through spiritual watering or sanctification. (1 Pet.1:2,5; 2 Thes.2:13)
Human Faith Vs Jesus’ Faith
Many Christians today do not know how to live “Master/Servant Faith” and relationship. If they are, they are trying to do it on their terms with their human faith, and it can never be done. And this is the crux of the problem as to why many believers say their faith is weak. It is weak because it is still our human faith and unsuited for the task of a true offspring and loyal servant of God. The believer is still viewing life through the lens of his human “solitary life and faith.” He must replace his “solitary life” lens with God’s “Triune Life” lens. (Read more about Jesus’ faith and the human faith at http://bulamanriver.net/?p=2811).
This is what Jesus meant when He commissioned His followers to make disciples, “Baptize (induct) them in (into the life of) the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matt.28:19, emphasis mine). This is foundational truth of our understanding of God who exists in His Love as the Trinity! Being baptized means to be “immersed” into God’s “Triune Life” in a literal and real spiritual sense. If we do not get it right at this elementary level, then the “Master/Servant Faith” structure being built on the foundation of the “Father/Offspring Faith” is flawed and will be found wanting. (Matt.7:24)
We will find out soon enough our human faith is weak and inadequate to do God’s Work. It is going to be the Faith of Jesus, and nothing more or less. It must be remembered that it is the human faith which inverts the priority and regards God as servant and humans as master. (Luke 17:7-10) It is man’s self-centered ego that is trying to execute what only the Holy Spirit can do in humanity.
The Faith of Jesus
Faith Turns to Gift and Calling
Jesus’ own Faith (mustard seed) is made reality in man by the gift of the Holy Spirit, who in turn makes us His dwelling (temple/humanity) so He can always keep us as “good soil” for Jesus’ living servanthood Faith/seed. (John 16:13-15; 1 Cor.3:16; 6:19) The Spirit empowers each believer to embrace his/her calling with the accompanying God-given gift to do the Work of the Gospel. Paul clarifies the connection between grace, faith and gift, saying, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to each of us…in proportion to our faith, let us use them” (Rom. 12:6). You can read more about man’s calling (gift/faith) to do God’s Work in a post I wrote at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=3145
On the eve of Jesus’ departure from the earth as He was about to be taken into heaven by an angelic host, He commissioned His followers the highest work they will do in their “Master/Servant” relationship with Jesus, His Father, and the Spirit, “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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt.28:18-20). Always be cognizant of God’s sovereignty and take hope that His purpose is absolute.
At the end of the day, Luke tells us to reflect upon God’s grace of gifting us with the faith of His Son, and respond with humility, “I have done everything I was told to do, I am an unworthy servant, and I have only done my duty” (Luk.17:10).
Just as God is faithful to go out from Himself in Love, may the church in its communion and reliance on the Triune God, go out in Love as well, fully cognizant of its role as offspring and servant in the work of God.
If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to write to me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. Thank you for visiting.
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)
Appendix: *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.
**”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.
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)
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. (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 triune existence forever.
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
All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.
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