“I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well”

Greetings from Amsterdam, Netherlands to my readers everywhere!

Is God concerned about our physical well-being? Does God tell us how to live life that can bring on physical health? Let’s answer that question today. This is not another diet program, although one might say it is a spiritual guide which will profoundly affect our physical well-being. General Douglas McArthur famously said, “It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.” (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/douglasmacarthurradiojapanesesurrenderceremony.htm) The Bible concurs with McArthur’s statement, and puts it across as follows, “If by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Rom.8:13). I begin with two passages of Scripture which reveals God’s view on this subject which ought to comfort us from the outset.:

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well” (3 John 1:2)

“…I am the Lord, your Healer” (Exo.15:26, ESV)

Icon for Internal Medicine and Health (Wiki Commons)

Certainly, we cannot ignore the life of Jesus when He healed the people with all manner of diseases and sicknesses. This informs us about the Love of God for humanity as prophesied, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you. And when He comes, He will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf” (Isa.35:4-5). Two disciples of John the Baptist inquired if Jesus was indeed the Messiah, Jesus answered, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.  And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of Me” (Luk.7:20-25).  So, God’s concern for human physical health and well-being is  abundantly clear as shown through His Son’s miraculous work.

Man is Holistic:

Man is a whole being with essentially three perspectives to life: his relationship to God is the spiritual man; while his relationship with his community is the social man, and lastly man’s relationship with the material world around him is the physical man. These are not three different parts of man, rather all of life is always spiritual, social, and physical at the same time revealing the whole man. While man is mortal, he is driven spiritually, socially, and physically. The human mind, made after God’s triune image, is the center of human existence from which these three relationships are manifested. (Gen.1:26-27)

And most importantly, since Love is basically emotive, thereby all three relationships is governed by emotional response that is divine in nature (see 1 Cor.13; 1 John 4:8, 16). At the fundamental level of existence, human activity can never be unrelated to God, to community, and to the material (physical) world. Having the primary understanding of our spiritual/community/physical being with the underlying emotional response is the first step to the journey of good health. For these three perspectives of man are intertwined and inseparable and makes man a holistic being. Each of the three relationships reveals the well-being of the whole man. Therefore, good health is the sum total of the “health” of these three dynamic relationships that man is constantly living emotionally through Love”s divine emotions/fruits.

These three perspectives/relationships form the foundation for good health. We can say they make up man’s primary pathway to health and it doesn’t involve food, drink, and physical exercise yet. Man’s physical sustenance and health is basically the outgrowth of these three inherent and deeply influential relationships. These three dynamic perspective are always demanding our impulsive and compulsive emotional responses to them that they become the primary focal point of heath, undergirding what a person eats or drinks and how he keeps himself/herself physically fit. The human body will not achieve optimum health by just good dietary practices and physical fitness alone, but holistically through these three formative steps to health. In terms of good health, every aspect of human expression works in tandem so that you cannot have one without the other. When a person is unhealthy, or even sick, the basic cause can be traced back to the emotional breakdown in one of these three holistic relationships which defines man’s makeup.

Jesus’ Healing Ministry (Wiki Commons)

Let us go further. Man was made in the Creator’s likeness. (Gen.1:26-27) The Bible states that God’s likeness is Love: “God is Love” (1 John 4:8, 16). Therefore, the basis of man’s three-fold relationship we saw above is Love. In other words, Love is emotive and affectional. Love for God, Love for community, and Love for the physical world. (1 Cor.13) So, every part of man’s existence is related to God through Love. The ten commandments have these three relationships weaved into them: how to relate with God, how to relate with our fellow humans, and how to relate with the material world by rejecting covetousness and greed. (Luk.10:26-28). Its framework has been converted from a legalistic walk to a spiritual one (Love). God demonstrated His Love by sacrificing His Son so we may be saved from death from the legalistic demands of the law, and in place of death be given the gift of immortality through faith in Jesus Christ’s atonement. (John 3:16)

God: How do we relate with God? The primary characteristic of God is life. Life springs from His Being of Love. All of life was created by God because He is life and is the embodiment of it. God declares, “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Jer.23:24) True life is found only in Jesus Christ for as God the Son, He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Paul said this of Jesus, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His Being” (Heb.1:3). When he said, “I am the life,” it is a statement which only God can utter. Death is the opposite of life. When a man is ill or in the last stage of illness, he is said to be in the throes of death. So, we turn to God for life which essentially means to be restored to health. God’s purpose for man is eternal life, the opposite of eternal death. The Bible infers that man can be blessed physically to live healthy and die at the natural age of 120. (Gen.6:3)

Community: How do we relate with our community?  Jesus gave us the parable of the good Samaritan to explain how to Love our fellow humans. (see Luk.10:29-37) Loving others bring internal healing. James tell us, “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed” (Jam.5:16, The Message). “Confess your sins” simply means we are to stop treating others selfishly through greed, unkindness, hatred, and in any corrupt fashion, and start Loving others genuinely. It does not necessarily mean that you openly trumpet your past misdeeds to others. Rather, it is about a changed way of life from the moment of self-awareness and penitence. If we turn to God for mercy and forgiveness, then we ought to extend the same to others. (Mar.11:25-26) Compassion is the soil where the fruit of healing is grown and harvested. (Rev.22:2)

Material/Physical: How do we relate with the physical/material world around us? 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). Jesus said man “shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” (Matt.4:4).  He goes further by saying, “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? …But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt.6:25-27, 33).  “Seek first His kingdom” is about a way of life of Love. Love for God, for community, and for the physical world around you. God is speaking about a miraculous way of of life which these three drivers will produce. God is the wellspring from which life originates and is openly manifested. Loving God is the key to the miraculous life which undergird our physical well being.

Essentially, the Bible states that if we are good at anything, whatever that may be, and fail at Love, then we are nothing. (1 Cor.13:1-3)

I will continue on this theme in my next installment.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or you may email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. 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. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life”* in the person of Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity.” Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,
(Your Servant In Christ)

Indemnity Clause: The author does not assume any liability for the misuse of information contained in this post. The content of this post is provided for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as, nor should it be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The author is not a medical doctor, nor does he claim to be. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read. Always consult your medical doctor or your primary health care provider about the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your own symptoms or medical conditions.

*“Triune Life” means to inherit human personhood identifying us as true persons with gifts in Christ and living according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27; Rom.8:29) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional attributing life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself (“Adamic humanity”). It means to live in relationship with God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives and walks in you (“Immanuel humanity”). Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the 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) This is a life of divine power. You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092, also at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036)

*Read about my true-life miracle I shared in my book and post, titled, “Miracle Living-No Ordinary Life!” I hope you find it inspiring and encourages you to receive Jesus and live the “Triune Life.” Go to: http://bulamanriver.net/2634

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website, www.bulamanriver.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, xulonpress.com, and other book store sites where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living”

Mission Statement: Read the Triune Life 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.

“For if, by the trespass of the one man, 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)

Greetings again Friends!

What is the one word that defines the difference between our fallen Adamic humanity and Jesus’ new “Immanuel” humanity? The word is attribution! (Read about Jesus’ new humanity at: http://bulamanriver.net/9718) Another word is assignment. It is the principle of imputing and superimposing so that one is accountable to another. It means to be responsible for another. It speaks of this principle 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 and basis on God’s divine Love. (1 John 4:8) So, whereas Adam’s fallen Adamic humanity is self-centered, Christ’s new “Immanuel” humanity is other-centered for his whole motive and action is based upon Love and taking responsibility for others. It is called “Immanuel” because it is “the God with us humanity.” (Isa.7:14; Matt.1:23). This principle is inherent in His triune nature.

The Triune God, Heart of the Imputing Powerof His Love – the Act of One is the Act of All, the Act of All is the Act of One. (Pic: Wiki commons – Rublev’s Trinity) 

I will quote Jon Tal Murphree’s insight about God’s trinitarian nature to explain this attributing principle. In his book, “The Trinity and Human Personality,” Murphree writes,

“From eternity past, Love has characterized the triune God. Each Person of the Trinity identifies with the others. Each One 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 thoughts and feelings. Each is utterly transparent to the others, with no secretiveness – each reflecting the others, to use Dante’s language. Each occupies the others’ personalities. In the Trinity, intimacy (Love) is complete. These separate Persons have relational oneness.”

He continues and makes plain, “Relational oneness implies that separate persons relate to one another. Substantive oneness is sameness; it is organic union. Relational oneness is unity rather than union, and as such it requires separateness rather than sameness. Only distinct individuals can relate. Diversity is required for relationship. As divine beings, members of the Trinity have organic union – they all participate in deity. But as separate personalities, they have relational unity. Diversity suggests individual differences rather than uniformity. The Trinity is oneness of unity rather than uniformity, and therefore, it entails individuality.” (Pg.29, 26)

Murphree goes on to give an example we can relate with: the four-part musical composition of the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Musical harmony “requires that four separate notes be sounded at the same time,” rather than through solitary execution. Murphree notes, “This combining of the four musical lines into one composition through harmonious relationships is called counterpoint. In counterpoint composition, as in the Trinity, we have oneness from separateness. Unity comes from diversity. It is a oneness of harmonious relationship.”

We may transpose this analogy by Murphree on how the Triune God included humanity into relational unity with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As long as we are existing in our true humanity, the new humanity of Jesus, we are living in harmony with the tune of true life called Love. Paul said this about the changed life in Jesus’ new humanity, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So, I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20). Paul speaks of our new humanity in this fashion, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new (humanity) life has begun!” (2 Cor.5:17, NLT, Italics mine).

This harmonious way of life (spiritual musical composition) has been out of tune since we adopted and lived by the old self in the fallen Adamic humanity we inherited from Adam. Paul explained how God brought humanity out of sin and into harmony with Him, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Cor.5:21, NLT). Thus, here we see this eternal imputing principle in play. As humans, we are a long way from God’s Triune Life* lifestyle of identifying with one another in our diversity as each of the three Persons of the Trinity does, and learning at being responsible for, and living in harmony with each other as God does in His triune Being.

When we think of this attributive principle, we think about how God reaches out through His unfathomable Love and grace and freely and willingly embraced humans as His children by imputing the life of His Son (new humanity) upon us so we can be saved from our fallen self and from the enemy, Satan. Despite our fallen state, humans were created in God’s image, therefore this eternal imputing principle was passed down to Adam and Eve’s children until the second Adam, Jesus, appeared and ushered His new “Immanuel” humanity so He would superimpose His new humanity upon those who freely believe and receive Him as Savior and permanent Mediator. (1 Cor.15:45; Heb.7:23-25) The Bible reveals this imputing principle 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).  What is the difference? There are two humans representing two humanity and each handing down their respective humanity. One is the fallen Adamic humanity, and the other is the risen new “Immanuel” humanity of Jesus. One is led by the human spirit of “self-love,” while the other is led by the Holy Spirit of divine Love. (Rom.8:2, 9-10; Gal.5:25; Rom.5:5)

We continue to live under this imputing principle today and see its effect all around us – for good or for evil, based upon how this attributing principle is applied as we read in Romans 5:18-19. Humanity’s salvation depends upon undergoing a spiritual death and rebirth. Death means the fallen Adamic humanity with the rebellious heart must die and cease to exist. It must die because it imputes this principle in a way that’s evil and opposite from God’s Love. And rebirth means to give birth to the new humanity of Jesus with His heart of Love and godliness. The new humanity of Jesus applies this principle in God’s Loving way. Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). We are given the new birth through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit…the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life” (John 3:5-6). Jesus explains the meaning of what “being born of water’ means: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scriptures has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believe in Him were to receive” (John 7:37-39). Water signifies cleansing or the act of sanctification. The Spirit dwells in the temple of the human body for the purpose of sanctifying believers by the “washing of water through the Word” (Eph.5:25-27; also 1 Cor.6:19-20). Jesus is the personified Word of God who dwells and walks in believers through His new humanity in the Spirit’s sanctifying power. (You may read about human body as the temple of the Spirit at: http://bulamanriver.net/10700)

Modern day baptism in the Jordan River. Jesus inaugurated Man’s Baptism of Forgiveness of Sins in the Jordan. Baptism – Symbolizing the Death and Rebirth of the Believer. (Pic: Wiki Commons)

It is clear from these passages that a person’s faith in Jesus is what triggers the gift of, and birth in the Spirit, “Whoever believes in Me rivers of living water will flow from within them… Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink.” As the Son is sent by the Father, so the Spirit is sent by the Son. Let us see how water is utilized to signify death and rebirth. Through the ritual of water baptism we are given this spiritual death and rebirth experience.  Paul said, “Have you forgotten that when you were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in His death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives (in Jesus’ new humanity)” (Rom.6:3-4, Italics mine). Yes, when the believer steps out of that watery grave of baptism, God sees his/her faith in Jesus as the doorway into the reality of the new birth. (Eph.1:13; John 10:9, NASB)

In the temple architecture that God gave ancient Israel, one of the seven furnishings of the temple was called the “laver.” It was a large bowl filled with water that was used for cleansing before the priest could enter the temple and into God’s presence in the most holy place. (Exo.30:17-21; also 1 Pet.2:9) So, water baptism symbolizes God’s act of sanctifying the believer by means of death and rebirth through faith in Jesus (cross) and the gift of the Holy Spirit (life). We can say the interpretation of this under the New Covenant is given to us by Paul to the Hebrews, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place (heavenly temple/God’s presence) by the blood of Jesus…and since we have a great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb.10:19-22, Italics mine). Water symbolizes the spiritual cleansing activity of the Holy Spirit. (Tit.3:5; 1 Cor.6:11)

As I said, we see the effect of this imputing principle in our lives daily for inherently we are made in His Love-image with its spontaneous imputing principle. But here is the conundrum we face with this attributing principle: we must make a deliberate choice to live by it after we are given to understand it. The way of life we choose to follow becomes critical since the principle works both ways, for good or evil. Love or lust, generosity or greed, confidence or fear, is the exercise of the mind through free choice. God states this principle clearly through the prophet, “If I speak and give them warning from Me… and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways… I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person… and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved” (Ezek.33:7-9). The key word is “if” which means there is a choice to be made. Here, we are given a scenario where God wants His people to call those who carry out evil deeds to account for their actions. But if His people do nothing He holds them accountable, not the wrong doers. The perpetrators of evil become answerable only after being called to dissuade from their wicked ways, yet refuses to account for their actions. The principle of imputing accountability is shown clearly and is put into effect by choice. Paul was inspired to write, “For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in His sight” (Rom.2:13; also Jam.1:22).

We see this attributing principle of God’s Love at work from the very beginning when, after taking the life of his own brother, Cain answers God for asking about the whereabouts of Abel, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen.4:9). His answer was a clear self-indictment of violating this eternal principle. Yes, this principle of attribution and accountability calls upon us to be our brothers’ keepers. We are all “watchman,” watching out for each other’s welfare. In Loving triune union in Christ, this eternal principle calls upon us to be keepers of each other. (Gal.6:1-6; Phil.2:4; Rom.13:8; 1 Cor.10:24) Although this principle is out there and works spontaneously like the law of  gravity, we can take advantage of it when we make a deliberate decision to apply Love in our lives. Conversely, we can promote greed, prejudice, and various forms of evil, but we must understand that all our actions carries this unfailing imputing element which will pass on the detrimental consequences to others. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt.5:9). That is a statement with an attributing effect that carries a blessing for those who pursue peace and resist violence. This overarching principle is shown clearly throughout the Bible.

The apostle Paul gave us a view of this attributing principle from the Church perspective, “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy” (1 Cor.7:14). Because a person has received Jesus as Savior, then through this ascribing principle of God’s Love, His grace is automatically applied to cover his/her family.

The Cross: The Ultimate Show of God’s Attributing Power in His Love-Nature  (Pic: Wiki Commons) 

But the greatest of all acts of imputation was that of God the Father when He gave His Son, and Jesus gave no second thought about giving up His life for the salvation of mankind. John states this imputing principle in that famed passage, “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). Jesus’ life was superimposed upon mankind through this eternal attributing principle so we are no longer condemned but saved in Him.

I hope we can learn to appreciate why understanding and living God’s trinitarian attributing Love-nature is so critical to the life we live upon earth and ultimately for eternity in His Triune Being. For deep in the recess of our being we can never deny or escape the repercussion of our rejection of this imputing principle. And most importantly, we must question as to “who” is applying this imputing principle in our lives – the Adamic human or the “Immanuel” humanity of Jesus. Jesus said, “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luk.17:21). In other words, we are created in His Love-image, and therefore, genetically we cannot escape the spontaneous and inevitable effect of violating this vital principle. It works in our favor only when God’s Love is applied in our lives. Like the law of gravity we either live within its power utilizing God’s Love and be blessed and rewarded, or we break it by living the self-centered life to our own ruin and demise.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or you may email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. 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. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life”* in the person of Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity.” Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,
(Your Servant In Christ)

*“Triune Life” means to inherit human personhood identifying us as true persons with gifts in Christ and living according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27; Rom.8:29) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional attributing life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself (“Adamic humanity”). It means to live in relationship with God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives and walks in you (“Immanuel humanity”). Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the 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) This is a life of divine power. You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092, also at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036)

*Read about my true-life miracle I shared in my book and post, titled, “Miracle Living-No Ordinary Life!” I hope you find it inspiring and encourages you to receive Jesus and live the “Triune Life.” Go to: http://bulamanriver.net/2634

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website, www.bulamanriver.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, xulonpress.com, and other book store sites where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living”

Mission Statement: Read the Triune Life 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.

“Owe nothing to anyone–except for your obligation to Love one another” (Rom.13:8).

Greeting Friends!

This is the sequel to my blog posted in February 2018, titled, “The Command to Love God First.” You may read the post at http://bulamanriver.net/11833. I ended my post with the question… “How does God make it possible for humans to enter His reality in His Love and Triune existence?” This is a relevant question to answer as we approach the Day of Pentecost (May 20, 2018). The day depicts human union with God through the power of His Spirit.  Let’s answer that in this second segment of my two-part post.

“Whoever Lives in Love Lives In God, and God In Them” (1 John 4:16) (Pic: Wiki Commons)

There is just one place in all of the created and the uncreated universe where true Love resides and springs forth: the very Triune Being of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (1 John 4:8, 16; Matt.28:19; Eph.3:14-21) God is omniscient (knows everything), omnipresent (everywhere), and exist in all of life both physical and spiritual. God is the alpha and omega of Love in all its grandeur and glory. Most of what is seen and practiced in human experience that is called love, is self-righteous love. It is love based upon man’s expression in his fallen state of existence which began from the fall of Adam with the evil influence of the devil himself. Although it is selfish love, it is love nevertheless but directed inwards to the SELF. Be that as it may, it authenticates the Love-image of God in humanity which can never be erased but remain intrinsically part of man’s nature fashioned in God’s Love-likeness. (Gen.1:26-27; 1 John 4:8,16)

But since Adam’s fall, mankind’s love has ‘turned’ inward unto himself and cease to be outward toward God. Yes, God’s Love-likeness in man can never be erased. The enemy’s ploy is always to present a counterfeit to the nature of God and His work. Thus, Love becomes its opposite: fear and lust. Fear breeds hostility and hatred. The devil realizes he can never erase God’s Love-image He created and planted in man’s innermost being, so he contrive counterfeits in order to deceive man. Paul said, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Cor.11:14). Yes, counterfeit means he makes evil look right, virtue is turned into vice, and sin becomes trendy and accepted.

With fear as the driving force, our fallen humanity became self-centered, prejudiced, and inward-looking. Paul said, “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 God’s Love-likeness, but love has been turned inward and becomes fear, a mere human expression, no longer divine but humanistic. Yes, fear is the basis of the enemy’s counterfeit activity, and the Bible provides the only answer, “There is no fear in Love. But perfect Love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in Love” (1 John 4:18). Yes, God has a plan to bring man back to his rightful inheritance in creation and His Love.

We saw God’s Love as an exercise of the mind (spirit) and comes through a decision-making process, not something hard, fast, and inflexible. Love can be lived selfishly or unselfishly, inwardly or outwardly, and we are given the freedom to choose. Life beckons to us to ‘choose’ for all have the gift of divine freedom as the intrinsic makeup of Love. (see Blog Post “Freedom“ at http://bulamanriver.net/10980) The devil has always had a counterfeit to God’s moral character in order to deceive humans, and this is no different with God’s Love. He presents its opposite in attempts to deceive man to follow him. The devil turned Love into lust. His love (lust) is one that’s inward and selfish instead of God’s Love that’s outgoing and selfless. One ‘gives’ while the other ‘gets’ and they are the exact contradictory image of each other. The self-centered love may seem right and appealing but its end is death. (Prov.14:12; 16:25; Rom.6:21)

Man made in God’s Likeness: “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion” (Gen.1:26-27). (Wiki Commons)

However, man, through Adam and Eve, once shared God’s benevolent Love in His divine presence in the Garden of Eden. It was the most joyous and paradisiac union any human had ever lived and never experienced with God since. Eden was synonymous with God’s way of life of Love. In the middle of the Garden God planted the ‘tree of life’ to supply our first parents with God’s Love. (Gen.2:9) There was no record as to how long they remained faithful in their union with God before the fall, but as long as they ate from the tree of life which symbolized God’s Love, they had the Spirit to empower them with Love to live with God in His presence. (Rom.5:5) There was a second tree in the middle of the Garden, the tree of good and evil which symbolized the self-centered way of life of deciding for oneself what is right and wrong. They were commanded to not go near that tree, let alone eat of its fruit or they will die. (Gen.2:17; Prov.14:12) They succumbed to the devil’s continuous pressures and temptations and ate the forbidden fruit. Once was enough to sever their Love relationship with God. Having succumbed, Adam and Eve sinned.

What is sin? We may have heard many definitions, notably legalistic ones. But it all began from what is commonly called the ‘original sin.’ In its untainted definition, sin has to do with man ‘turning’ his love away from God and inward toward himself under the sway of the devil. Our first parents fell for the devil’s lies, and their love ‘turned’ from an outward focus toward God to an inward focus in themselves. (Gen.3) What happens when the self becomes the center of the personal universe? Yes, fear takes over and we live defensively rather than confidently. And so, sin and self-centeredness becomes man’s philosophy for living. God’s Love defines His nature and way of life, and ought to be the believer’s core value system. The two trees depict two ways of life that are diametrically opposed to each other, so God expelled our first parents from Eden and the pathway back to Eden and the tree of life was blocked. (Gen.3:6; Amos 3:3)

By planting the two trees with opposing motivation in the middle of the Garden, God gave man the gift of freedom to choose. Love and freedom are flip sides of the same nature of God, hence the two trees appear together in the center of Eden. (Gen.2:9) Love’s inherent double is freedom. Freedom must be constantly defended and cultivated through our choice of eating from the ‘tree of life’ (divine selfless Love), and reject the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ (human self love). Only through God’s Love is our freedoms safeguarded. Paul said, “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).

Since Adam’s fall, the seeds of self-love and self-worship was sown over the breeding ground for all kinds of evil fruits (activities) which grew and fester through fear, vain-glory, lust and narcissism. We saw in my first post how the self-centered person places the material world around him in higher priority above God, thus, turning material things into gods to be worshiped. (Psa.62:10) God does not deprive us of the material things in life. He created this earth and its abundance so we could see the generosity of His heart toward mankind. (1 Tim.6:17-19; Psa.50:12; 24:1; Hag.2:8) But it always comes down to Love and how to prioritize Love in our lives. It is a matter of the heart and what we choose to rank first above all else. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Luk. 16:13). The Bibles says if we “seek first God’s kingdom (His way of life),” He will bless us materially without our asking. (Matt.6:31-34; Prov.10:22; Deut.8:18) God promises that none of His children will beg for a living. (Psa.37:25) (You may read about how Jesus’ defeated the four material gods mankind has worshiped since the fall of Adam at: http://bulamanriver.net/11339)

Paradise Lost: Adam & Eve Expelled from Eden (Wiki Commons)

Our first parents had no mediator to reconcile them back to God, thus, from the outset when they were removed from Eden, God promised a Savior would come to restore Adam’s descendants (mankind) back to Him. (Gen.3:15) Four thousand years later, Jesus appeared as the second Adam, the Immanuel (“God with us”), with His new humanity to save and reconcile man back to God. (1 Cor.15:45; Matt.1:20-23) Today, believers are privileged recipients of God’s New Covenant promise ratified in Jesus’ blood (cross) so we can choose to be in a state of perpetual forgiveness through His unmatched grace. (2 Cor.5:21; Heb.8:7-13; ) Jesus lived the perfect life which man cannot live. This Bible passage lays down the incarnation principle for us: He (Jesus) became us (Immanuel) in order that we may become Him. He defeated Satan in the temptations and redeemed Adam’s (our) downfall, and died on the cross for our redemption. (Matt.4:1-11; Matt.27:32-56) He glorified our humanity through His resurrection and ascension so humanity may follow Him into glory. (Luk.24:1-8; Act.1:1-11; Rom.8:28)

After Jesus appearance, sin’s definition came into sharper focus. Jesus Himself explained it for us, “About sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:9, CSB). Here, sin is defined as our  rejection of Jesus as personal Savior. A person may reject Jesus through ignorance, or by denial and/or defiance. Jesus is the only Savior God has provided for our redemption upon whom our faith must squarely rest. (Heb.12:2) John said, “Whoever believes in Him (Jesus) 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 3:18). Only through the unbroken mediatory work of Jesus on our behalf as God’s heavenly High Priest today, can we be made at one with God the Father in our Love-relationship. (Heb.4:14-16) Hence, Paul said, “And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority” (Col.2:10, BSP). (You can read about Jesus’ High Priestly function at: http://bulamanriver.net/11230).

So, now humans can adopt Jesus’ new humanity in a new birth so we can live in unbroken Love-relationship in God’s Triune presence. Jesus said, “You must be born again… of the Spirit” (John. 3:7-8). Paul said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor.5:17). Jesus explained it was not a physical rebirth, but one that is from the Spirit. The human body is merely a temporary shelter, which Paul calls a temple for the Spirit of God to inhabit and do His sanctifying activity, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Cor.6:19; also John 14:16-17). If the human body of the believer is God’s earthly temple, then Jesus’ glorified divine/human body is the heavenly temple. The “new creation” is Jesus new humanity who now lives and walks in us and with the Spirit’s anointing consecrates us as the temple of God upon the earth. With the Spirit constantly transporting us spiritually to the heavenly temple of Jesus’ glorified body, He mediates for us in Himself as our High Priest so that we are presented holy and righteous before the Father always. “You have been made complete in Christ” (Col.2:10).

The human body is the temple for the Holy Spirit, but the real person is Jesus’ new humanity who is spiritual and housed in the temple with whom the Holy Spirit unites Himself through the human spirit/mind and dictates the activities of the spiritual person in the temple (body). Jesus said, “He (Spirit) will live with you and in you” (John 14:17). Without the human mind, the body is rudderless and unsteerable. Jesus said, “Life is spiritual. Your physical existence doesn’t contribute to that life. The words that I have spoken to you are spiritual. They are life” (John 6:63, God’s Word T.) Jesus is the Personified Word of God. So, Jesus attests that at the primordial level, true life is spiritual not physical. The spirit is the master of the physical for the body will always carry out the bidding of whatever spirit occupies and directs the mind. God’s Word (Jesus) is received by the person’s mind (human spirit) and with the help of the Holy Spirit (Love) fused to it, manifests the believer’s divine purpose and destiny. But unbelievers possess the self-centered spirit doing what seems right in their own eyes.

Before Jesus’ crucifixion He promised to send the Advocate or Helper to be with believers “forever.” (John 14:16) He said, “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7; also, John 16: 8-15). Here, we see the collaborative trinitarian principle at work where one cannot do without the other, for they exist in one Triune Godhead.  Then He explained the role of the Spirit specifically, “He will bring Me glory by telling you whatever He receives from Me” (John 16:14). The Spirit is the power who manifests Jesus’ glorious new humanity in human believers. Jesus repeats the Spirit’s role for double emphasis, “The Spirit will tell you whatever He receives from Me… He will not speak on His own” (John 16:15, 13).

So, in God’s trinitarian activity, our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit to personalize Jesus’ glorified humanity in us, thus unifying the true self (believers) to the Father in Jesus. (Rom.8:29; 1 Pet.1:2) The original New Testament Day of Pentecost is a memorial of the giving of the Holy Spirit so the Triune God can finally unite humanity to Himself forever. (Act.2:1-4) We have come full circle from Eden when the way to the ‘tree of life’ (Spirit/Love) was blocked because of sin, to that moment in time on Pentecost when man was given access back to the Spirit (tree of life) through Christ.

Paul expands further on the purpose of the Helper or Holy Spirit, “God’s Love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Rom.5:5). Jesus’ new humanity in His glorified form is Love, for “God is Love” (1 John 4:8; also John 1:18). The Holy Spirit is in us to personify Jesus new humanity in God’s divine Love, replacing the rebellious self-centered life inherited from man’s fallen Adamic humanity. The three Persons of the Godhead always work in harmony to bring to fruition God’s highest purpose of conforming humans in Christ’s Love-likeness. (Rom.8:29; 1 Cor.15:49) (You may read about Jesus’ new humanity at: http://bulamanriver.net/9718)

Jesus said, “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” (Matt.28:19). (Wiki Commons)

The Holy Spirit was part of Eden symbolized in the ‘tree of life’ (Love) and man was forbidden to reenter the Garden because of rebellion and sin. Sin is darkness, divine Love is light. Jesus said, “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). Despite Adam’s fall, God’s Love for man never diminished a single beat and He promised the Savior to rescue man from sin and Satan’s spiritual imprisonment. (Gen.3:14-15)

The devil had cunningly packaged the perfect lie when he tempted Adam and Eve, saying in effect that God did not love them because He was holding something out on them. This raised suspicion and mistrust in their minds. (Gen.3) What was the lie? Under this air of uncertainty, the devil falsely promised them immortality and a chance to become literal gods with matchless wisdom, “You will not certainly die…you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad… Eve thought how wonderful it would be to become wise.  So she took some of the (forbidden) fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it.” (Gen.3:4-6, GNT, emphasis added).

We need to appreciate the world of our first parents in Eden before the fall. Stop for a moment and consider: there were no other humans to relate with except each other and with God as their Father and supreme Creator Being who sustains all life. They were taught about other spiritual beings, especially angelic beings with superpowers and more wiser than them. Regardless of their mortal and limited human form, Adam and Eve lived a life of unequaled bounty and paradisiac happiness with angelic care and protection. But they were conscious of the fact they were weak and powerless by comparison to the spiritual reality around them.

Lucifer’s Rebellion-Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven”- Luk.10:18 (Wiki Commons)

Satan, realizing the power of human affinity and attachment, instilled in them a false sense of security. Appealing to their vanity, Satan promised our first parents immortality and wisdom beyond their wildest imagination, and circumvent this ‘human anomaly’ of human temporary existence with all its flaws and shortcomings, so they can be part of the far superior spiritual realm they saw and related with around them. (Gen.3:4-5). But Adam and Eve forgot what God taught them from the start about why they were created physical beings with mortal existence. Like the devil’s own sin, they let their pride and self-importance cloud their better judgment. We must appreciate that the Genesis account of creation and the fall of Adam in the Bible was very concise and bereft of details. Later, Paul was inspired to write about that valuable lesson when he said, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom.8:20-21, NASB).

Humans were predestined to be gifted with something that not even angels were offered: to become the very offspring of God like Jesus His Son, with Love at the core of their existence. (Heb.1:13-14) As a child of God, Love and immortality are inseparable, you cannot have one without the other. Jesus inaugurated God’s plan for human immortality by becoming the first human to become immortal through His resurrection, while at the same time being the second Person of the Triune Godhead. He was the prophesied “Immanuel,” God who became human. (Isa.7:14). He opened the way for mankind to follow in His footsteps to human immortality and glory. (Rom.8:29-30; Phil.3:10-11, Phil.3:7-9; 1 Cor.15:50-54) Our physical existence is a necessary part of God’s wondrous plan to bring mankind to immortality in His spiritual family, and restore the corruption, both spiritual and physical, that was brought on by Lucifer’s original rebellion. (Isa.14:12-14). Adam and Eve saw the outward appearance of power and wisdom, but true life was not about power, wisdom, or any other physical qualities they saw around them, but it was solely about “being Love” in the Spirit. They forgot that the holy angels are always present to serve God’s purpose in humanity of making us into the very Love-Being of God. (Heb.1:14)

But what Satan offered our first parents was a wicked boldface lie. (John 8:44) It was a false promise which the devil could never deliver on because only the everlasting uncreated God could confer immortality and true wisdom on whomever He chooses. And His plan is to confer immortality upon those who have His Love (Spirit) at Jesus’ return. (Rom.5:5; Rom.8:11, 9; 1 Thess.4:16) ) Any form of life that is created, whether spiritual or physical, have a beginning and has an end, and does not possess life in itself nor can it impart life to others. The only life form closest to God’s creative power is the physical procreation we see in humans and other non-human life forms upon this earth. However, physical life has its limitations for it ultimately ends in the graveyard of the dead … unless immortality is conferred as a gift from God alone and none other.

Adam and Eve forgot, perhaps momentarily, that true life was not about power and wisdom, but it was solely about Love. God could give power and might automatically as an inbuilt gift like He did with the angels, and certain fearsome beasts of this earth (read Job 40:15-24 & Job 41:1-34). But not so when we speak of God’s divine Love. Love is a matter of “BEING” like God is a Love-BEING. We must be “natured” in the Love-nature of God through His Spirit (Love). Paul said this, “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). Did you notice that, the Spirit is the One who will give human believers (in Christ) the gift of immortality with the gift of God’s nature of Love. (Rom.5:5). Adam and Eve were not deprived of that opportunity to be like God for the ‘tree of life’ (Spirit) was always available to them in the Garden. The prophet Zechariah quoted God, saying, “‘Not by might nor by power (knowledge/wisdom), but by My Spirit (Love/immortality),’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zech.4:6, emphasis added; Rom.5:5).

So, what was actually inside of the package of lies the devil handed our first parents: it was the fruit of rebellion. Rebellion is the opposite of Love. Rebellion is sin, and sin as we saw is Love being “turned” away from God to the self. And rebellion against God will mean certain defeat and death for mankind, and so it was. This cloud of death hung over mankind since Adam’s fall until Christ, the second Adam, came and removed it and brought humanity back from the road to certain destruction to the path of salvation. (John 3:16; John 3:36) So, instead of immortal life and wisdom, the devil cannot promise anything other than eternal death which he brought upon himself in his own rebellion. He was Lucifer, the angel of light who became Satan the angel of darkness (death). Jesus is the light in this dark world of the devil. (Eph.6:12; John 8:12; Col.1:13-14) Yes, that is what he handed down upon them, rebellion through ungodly knowledge resulting in death, not wisdom not immortality. Jesus alone is “the storehouse of all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom,” and immortality. (Heb. 12:2; Col. 2:3; John 11:25)

Satan resents the fact that humans can be given spiritual birth and conferred human immortality as God’s own children like Jesus. And he will do all in his wicked best to hide this wonderful message to mankind from God the Father. (John 3:16; Rom.8:29; 1 Cor.15:49) This was the same sin of rebellion Satan introduced to the angels much earlier which drew one third of them who have become fallen angels. (Isa.14:12-14, note especially V.14; Jud.1:6) Note how Genesis 3:5 and Isaiah 14:14 appear eerily familiar for it proceeds from the same rebellious heart of the devil himself. Satan was promoting a counterfeit love – the inward love of self in place of the outward Love for God and fellow man. (Matt.22:37-40) The devil had ‘turned’ the authentic divine Love that once embraced man in Eden and replaced it with the counterfeit human self-love (lust) of this world.

The Death of Jesus Made Possible the Gift of The Spirit (Dove) For Our Sanctification (Wiki Commons)

So, to answer the question we asked at the start, “How does God makes it possible for humans to enter His reality and receive His Love and immortality?” Fundamentally, it begins at the root of our existence where a person (believer) undergoes a spiritual rebirth from the fallen Adamic humanity so the glorified Christ can now enter and live His life in you and me in His new humanity, with His Love (Spirit) at the core of our being. (Rom.5:5; John 3:3; 2 Cor.5:17) This is what true conversion in the new birth looks like and comes only through the gift of repentance and forgiveness. (Act.2:38; Eph.2:8; Rom.3:24) Paul states rather succinctly what conversion and the rebirth is, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life which I now live in the flesh (temple) I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20, NIV, KJB; also 1Cor.3:16). The fact that we still have the freedom to choose whichever humanity we live by (Adam’s or Christ’s) proves that we do not lose our unique freedoms as humans. At the deepest recess of your being no one can decide a course of action for you, but you – it’s called self-determination. Our freedoms originate from the divine source. But it must be said that there is true freedom and a counterfeit freedom. (John 8:36; Gal.5:1) On true freedom, Jesus said, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Hence, we are compelled to attest to our divine destiny and personhood when we freely choose to live in God’s Love through the reciprocal interdependent Triune Life* in Christ through the Spirit’s (Love) power. (Gen.1:26-27; John 3:3; Rom.5:5; 2 Cor.13:14)

Jesus came as God the Son and embraced our humanity and becomes fully God and fully human. (Matt.1:23) Through Jesus’ glorification in His resurrection and ascension, human believers are made part of the Trinitarian God and thereby spontaneously receive the Spirit as part of the communal Triune Life.* (John 14:15-18, 26; John 16:6-11; Act.2:1-4) We are made to live within the sanctuary and shelter of God’s divine Love-nature in and by the Spirit who now makes His abode in our bodies (temple): “God’s Love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Rom.5:5). So, we see how the Triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit, each freely playing their part in expressing their singular Loving care for mankind. The end-result is the Father is always embracing us in His Love through the work of Jesus and Herald*** the Spirit.

Concerning immortality, Jesus said this, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die” (John 11:25-26). Paul was inspired to write, “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh (fallen Adamic humanity) but are in the realm of the Spirit (Christ’s glorified new humanity), if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. 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.8:9-11). At the last trumpet sound of the angelic hosts, Christ will return and we will all be raised to immortality and participate in the Love relationship the Tri-Personal God shared from eternity. (1 Cor.15:50-58) Though man’s existence is temporary and ends in death, he has the potential for eternal life in the resurrection. (1 Pet.1:3)

Fountain of Eternal Life, downtown Cleveland, Ohio, USA (Wiki Commons)

I will close with the prayer Paul offered for the Christians at Ephesus. Note how he invokes the names of the Father, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, in the Tri-Personal work of making believers become Love as “God is Love”:-

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in Love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the Love of Christ, and to know this Love that surpasses knowledge (power and wisdom)—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Eph.3:14-21). 

The function of the mind is the most complex aspect of human life. But it is made complex only because we are trying to compel the human mind to live by the fallen self-centered philosophy of Adam. We fail to understand that the human mind was created in God’s Love-image to function in harmony  with the Holy Spirit. Only then can the human mind can be opened up to an otherwise unknowable and unimaginable world. Regrettably, mankind has been defying the Spirit since Adam ate the forbidden fruit. You and I will never know in a million lifetimes all that is truly good for us – only God can manifest them when we choose to align ourselves to Him in His Triune Love-nature through His Spirit. In this place of abode where we live in alignment with His Love in Christ through the Spirit (Love), we are in our sphere of superabundance from which every good and perfect gift flows. (Jam.1:16-18)

So, to love the self above God is really an act of degrading and disparaging our humanity that’s fashioned in God’s Love-likeness. For this reason humanity is regressing not progressing. And we will drift further and further away from the only reality that matters in the continuum of space and time: God’s Love! (Zech.4:6; Eccl.9:11) Alternately, you authenticate, dignify, and honor your humanity when you Love God first and highest. Beyond question, it is the noblest thing you can do for yourself and humanity in this fleeting earthly life because the higher you Love God, the deeper you Love yourself – more than you can ever imagine possible, and this endows you to Love your neighbor fittingly, for you were created to become Love as “God is Love” (1 John 4:8; Gen.1:26-27; 1 Pet.1:23-25).

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or you may email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. 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. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life”* in the person of Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity.” Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,
(Your Servant In Christ)

*“Triune Life” means to inherit human personhood identifying us as true persons with gifts in Christ and living according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27; Rom.8:29) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself (“Adamic humanity”). It means to live in relationship with God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives and walks in you (“Immanuel humanity”). Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the 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) This is a life of divine power. You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092, also at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036)

*Read about my true-life miracle I shared in my book and post, titled, “Miracle Living-No Ordinary Life!” I hope you find it inspiring and encourages you to receive Jesus and live the “Triune Life.” Go to: http://bulamanriver.net/2634

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website, www.bulamanriver.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, xulonpress.com, and other book store sites where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living”

***Herald is the name I have come to call the Holy Spirit in my personal relationship with Him. It is personal and subjective with the way we relate to each other, not to be imposed on others.

Mission Statement: Read the Triune Life 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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Greeting again friends!

 As we enter the season when we commemorate the death of the Savior of the world, it is appropriate to talk about the most misunderstood and legalistic word in religion: sin! It is because of sin that God sent His Son to die as the only worthy and final answer and propitiation for it. Sin began in the very beginning when Adam was driven out of Eden because of it. It has been the scourge of the earth, and the cause of so much agony and suffering, and its ultimate ‘reward’ –death! (Rom.6:23) Let me share a perspective of sin with you that will unwrap all the legalistic trappings we have been fed time and again.

Depiction of Jesus Passion at Golgotha (Wiki Commons) 

Religion has made a gigantic football match out of sin, with sin as the ball, in a field of legalistic proponents. They have placed an unsustainable burden on man, akin to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matt.23:13-15,4,11-12)

This is what ReligionFacts tell us about Jewish religious observances, “In addition to the 613 mitzvot (commandments), Jewish law incorporates a large body of rabbinical rules and laws. These are considered just as binding as the mitzvot, although the punishments for violating them are less severe. Another difference is that it is possible, though unlikely, for the rabbinical laws to be changed, but no rabbi can change the Torah mitzvot.” (http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/practices.htm).

So the Jews have all these commandments, rules, and regulations to obey – not to mention the Ten Commandments. Most Christian churches, when you analyze their beliefs, teach their followers ‘how to manage sin,’ just as the mitzvot does for the Jews, but not as numerically detailed. On one hand, we are offered Christ as Savior, and on the other they put people back on themselves by teaching them how to cope with sin in their lives. You can’t do both, it’s one or the other. The reason you came to Christ is because you can’t save yourself. Sin can’t be managed – it has to be put to death which Christ did on the Cross!

Paul affirmed this when he said, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Col.2:13-15)

Crucifixion of Jesus (Wiki Commons)

Fresh Perspective – Sin & Uprightness Are “Conditions”

This passage shows us that sin is a condition, not some specific wrongdoing. Paul refers to sin as the “law of sin” (Rom. 5:10-17; 8:2b). Likewise, salvation is a condition, not some specific right-doing. Paul calls this “the law of the Spirit” (Rom.8:2a). James says this condition is the “royal law of Love” (James 2:8 emphasis added). The Holy Spirit is the personified Love of God that covers us: “God has poured out His Love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 5:5). Paul further elaborates this blessed state we have in Christ, “There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ and walk according to the Spirit (saved condition). For the law of the Spirit of life (Love), has made me free from the law of sin and death (sin condition)” (Rom. 1:1-2 emphasis added).

God’s Love is His only law. When a person is conditioned to sin, as man is in his fallen state under the influence of the devil, it is the condition that’s the trigger for wrongdoing. Paul also calls this condition “the power of the air” (Eph.2:1-2). The believer, who I refer to as the Bulamanriver* in my book, lives life in the flow of God-Life by the power of the Spirit – He is the condition of Love and uprightness in man. God and sin cannot coexist side by side. All darkness flees before the brilliance of God’s holy Love. The legalist would have us obey all the rules while living in the sin condition. It is self-defeating and self-deflating. The unbeliever lives in the condition of sin in the ‘solitary life’ of the devil, while the believer lives in the condition of the Spirit’s Love in the Triune Life of God. Obedience is the result of living in the      Spirit’s condition, not because we can do it. Legalistic obedience arising from our attempt to manage sin because we think it’s our part, will not save us. Proper and willing obedience is the natural outgrowth of the Love condition we have in Christ.

Sin is a condition created by the devil to perpetuate his reign in this world. Hence, the people who live in the sin condition are always thinking how to manage sin. It can’t be done, that’s the purpose of Calvary – to defeat sin once for all.

Jesus Is the Enabling Condition for Love and Uprightness

When you change the condition of how life is lived, the person’s life changes along with it. Let me present an analogy, which hopefully clarifies this point. Think of our vast ocean and all the marine life that populates it. The ocean is the enabling condition that supports all forms of marine life – no other life form can exist in it. The condition is what spawns the kind of life which that specific condition will support. A monkey or a zebra cannot live in the ocean because they require a different condition to survive. They survive above water, not underwater. In like fashion, the ocean is the condition of God’s Triune energy and Love in Christ. All rivers (believers) find their way to the ocean in the condition where all Bulamanrivers* now live. The oceanic condition of God’s Triune Love and dynamism is what generates continuous forgiveness, right thinking and living. That is what Jesus died to bring us – the condition of righteousness we continuously have in Him.

As the Ocean is the Enabling Condition for all forms of Marine Life, So Jesus is the Enabling Condition for God’s Righteousness. The Devil Is the Enabling Condition for Fear and Sin. (Wiki Commons)

Paul tells us, “Christ is our righteousness” (1 Cor. 1:30; Rom. 4:6, 22-25; Phil. 3:9; Ps. 32:2). That is a statement of condition. It’s the condition of being right in contrast to being sin. Paul is referring to Jesus as the saving condition for man. In this condition, Jesus does His atoning work, which overrides and covers and makes ineffective the sin condition. If this were not so, then His Messiahship falls short and is inadequate. The believer’s condition is the concealment of his life in Jesus, just as the waters cover a riverbed. You are the riverbed, the “living waters” that cover you is the Holy Spirit. (John 7:37-39) So,the spiritual ocean is the work of sanctification the Spirit is constantly carrying out in the life of believers. (Matt.3:11; Rom.15:16; 1 Pet.1:2) You are the Bulamanriver,* who does not exist in the devil’s fear environment and conditioning. Sin has no power over you (Rom. 7:14, 7:14; Col. 3:3-5, 2:10). Our condition was changed when our hearts believed and were “flushed out” in the baptismal waters of faith and the truth it symbolizes in our spiritual death and present life in heaven (Col. 2:12-13).

Does this mean we can do no wrong? Does this give us the license to live in careless abandon? No, our human body still exists in its fallen state with its proclivity to trespass, but we don’t have a rebellious but a compliant heart of Love in the Spirit. (Rom. 7:18-25). Man’s propensity to sin is no excuse to live licentiously, but to enlighten man of his need for a permanent Mediator. So, in truth, there is only one sin, Jesus said, “The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in Me.” (John 16:9, NLT) Jesus cleanses our hearts in the washing of the water of His Word that flows in us. It is a process that will take a lifetime, but in the same process we live in the condition of our true self, the new man, the Bulamanriver,* who lives in Jesus in a saved condition (Rom. 7:24-25). If Jesus is sinless, then we are; it’s that simple. John tells us the difference in these two conditions when he says, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63). Our minds must be focused on Christ and His Love, not sin! Jesus is the permanent Savior who has taken care of human sins past, present, and future. If that’s so, then our minds must be completely focused on the good the Spirit is doing in our lives – “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph.2:10)

Ultimate Sin is Disbelief in The Savior God has Offered as a Gifted to Man

All man’s sin and trespass, past, present, and future, are adjudicated in Jesus’ condition as Savior and Mediator, in His High Priestly role in heaven. The life condition we have in Jesus keeps us right with God (1 Cor. 1:30). This condition is the first of many miracles in man’s life and the birthplace of the miraculous life in the Spirit. Jesus and the Spirit mutually mediate and adjudicate each other in all man’s activity and comprise the condition that sustains the believer both in his humanity and eternity. (Rom. 7:4, 6) This is why the ultimate and only sin is disbelief in Jesus as Savior and Mediator set forth by God for man’s salvation – both physically and spiritually. “The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in Me.” (John 16:9, NLT). Why, because Jesus is the condition man steps into in order to be saved. God’s Love to free man is wrapped up in His Covenant Promise to save man, which same Covenant is ratified in the blood of His Son, Jesus. (Heb.8:12, 10-11) Paul reiterates this, saying, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Heb.9:18, 22) The New Covenant is conditional upon our receiving Jesus as Savior who shed His blood for our complete forgiveness, and brings us into the condition of righteousness in Christ.

Crucifixion of Jesus (Wiki Commons)

The Gospel is disarmingly simple if we believe it for what it truly says. Its simplicity is intended to bring people from all walks of life to receive it with joy. God desires that “all” enter this condition in His Son and be saved (2 Pet. 3:9). It is when man places his stamp of religiosity upon it that it gets complicated and legalistic, and imagines it is only for selected few who can ‘make it’ by obedience. It’s not about legalistic obedience, but Love – Love is the operative word which moves us to obey gladly from the heart, for “God is Love.” (1 John 4:8) (Read my blog posted 05/11/13 titled, “Bulamanriver’s* Answer To Obedience”)

Truly, the Cross calls all to this saved condition we can have in Christ. Receive Him, and God will honor you as His own.

Though Easter is the most solemn time in the believer’s life, it is also a time of celebration for we understand why the Father gave us His Son. (John 3:16) May I take this occasion to wish all a solemn and joy-filled Easter.

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”** in the Person of Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity.” Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,
(Your Servant In Christ)

*Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website, www.bulamanriver.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and other book store sites where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living”

** “Triune Life” means to inherit human personhood identifying us as true persons with gifts in Christ and living according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27; Rom.8:29) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself (“Adamic humanity”). It means to live in relationship with God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives and walks in you (“Immanuel humanity”). Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the 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) This is a life of divine power. You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092, also at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036)

Mission Statement: Read the Triune Life 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!

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”

Greetings Friends!

The command to Love God first and foremost and not worship other gods, is directly connected to our understanding of God in His Tri-Personal Being. (Gen.1:26-27; Exo.20:2-3; Deut.5:6-7; 1Pet.1:1-2) What do I mean? The first commandment is not something God plucked out of the air because He is narcissistic and self-serving. While God is Trinitarian, He reveals another side of His divine nature: Love! Love is always outgoing and never self-important. God’s Love is the embodiment of self-sacrifice never self-serving. John was inspired to record, “Whoever does not Love does not know God, because God is Love” (1 John 4:8). Jesus repeated the command in the New Testament, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luk.10:27). Rather the first commandment proceeds from  God in His uncreated divine Being who is Love and Tri-Personal in the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. (Jud.1:20-21; Luk.3:21-22)

It’s only when we view the first commandment from the Trinitarian perspective that we are given to understand the meaning and rationale for what may appear authoritarian in its stance. I suppose we can say the law is given as a “commandment” because God’s Love-nature is ‘set in concrete’ so to speak, so God remains unchanged and constant in His nature and character. Humans are naturally impetuous and unwilling to comply with dictatorial decrees, but they become malleable and responsive when an edict is understood logically and credibly. This is a natural response which comes from our human freedom. I will have more to say about the gift of our God-given freedoms.

We know the command in its legalistic form under the old covenant has been superseded by the new covenant of grace in Christ and in the Spirit’s power as Paul asserts to the Romans, “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit” (see Rom.8:1-4, NLT). With that said, be it the old or new covenant, the nature of God in His Trinitarian Love remains constant and unchanged. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb.13:8).

By being Triune in nature and substance, God can never be anything apart from who He is: Love! He saved humanity out of the richness of His Love. (John 3:16-17) Thereby, God, as three Persons in One Godhead exist as One Being inherently and internally in their Love for each other as John further affirms in Scripture, “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). That is to say that all three Persons of the Godhead exist in each other in Love, and humans were created to participate in their Love. (Gen.1:26-27)

Jesus said, “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” (Matt.28:19).

So, the Trinity identifies who they are as unified Personal Beings (name/noun), and Love characterizes them in their relationship with each other (action/verb). Love is the substance they consist in, so that God is not ‘made’ of Love, but is Love in substance and reality. Of course, we use adjectives to further elaborate Love’s attributes like God is gracious, generous, protective, uplifting, forgiving, caring, compassionate, and so forth. They have divine life in themselves and in the One Triune Godhead all life spring for they are the fountain of true Life.  Therefore Love, as a noun and as a verb, binds them into One Triune God. Consequently, they are inseparable and indivisible in their divine life. Because they are indispensably unified in each other, the act of one is always the act of three, and the act of three is always the act of one.

With Love as the substance of the divine life and activity, there has always been only one singular purpose for their existence, to devoutly Love one another. And that is how they have been from eternity. Jesus, in His prayer to the Father before His crucifixion, said this, “Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world” (John 17:24). This reveal the desire of One of the Persons of the Trinity (Jesus) to have mankind see and participate in their glorious fellowship of holy Love.

In truth, there wasn’t anything besides or outside of the Godhead that could be said to distract   from their Love of each other, because there was no other life form or reality apart from God. If there was another reality whether spiritual or physical, they had to spring from their Triune Being as Creator, for God alone possesses self-sustaining life and imparts physical or spiritual life to whomever He chooses. Until God created, there was nothing. God alone is uncreated. Whatever is created have no permanent but temporal existence, for only God is eternal and the uncreated reality. What is created has a beginning and an end. Try to imagine, if you can, God existing alone in His Tri-Personal Being from eternity. Nothing existed but the Triune God and they lived in the fullness of their Love for and in each other. The angelic hosts have not been created. The universe, this earth, and mankind have not been brought into physical existence. All that existed was the Father, the Logos/Word (Son), and the Holy Spirit. So I ask, who or what was there that would compete for God’s attention? There was absolutely nothing to distract them from their Love for each other? Nothing! For it is in this eternal place where God alone in His Trinitarian reality in the Father, Son, and Spirit lives, that He has called humans into His Triune fellowship.

“God is Love” (Wiki Commans)

This is the place of origin from which all life physical and spiritual finds its source and beginnings. This is the place of alpha (origin) as stated in Scripture, “In the beginning God…” (Gen.1:1a; John 1:1). God existed alone in His Triune Godhead. Then, Genesis continues, “…created the heaven and the earth” (Gen.1:1b). After conditioning the earth for human habitation with plant life and vegetation, and creating numerous non-human life forms, He then uttered the now famed words, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Gen.1:26-27, KJV). The place of alpha (origin) and the place of omega (end), is one and the same where God exists in His Triune Being with nothing nor any life-form but themselves in their eternal uncreated Godhead.

But out of their overflowing Love, they created humans with a grand plan. He invites mankind to share in their eternal existence of Love. God does not need man or anything He has created to exist as God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have self-sustaining and self-fulfilling life in themselves. All they had from the beginning was each other, and will remain unchanged in the end. Everything spiritual or physical apart from their Tri-Personal Being originate from them, and thereby are extensions of their God-life through the creative acts. There is nothing in all creation which exists independently of itself, but all spring from His living Spirit. His Love envelopes all creation. (Psa.139; Job 38)

We saw God has self-sustaining life in Himself, but this is one vital element of His image He has not given humans – immortality. (2 Tim.1:9-10) At least, not yet. Instead, He created humanity from the dust of the ground and gave him physical life with chemical existence, and the potential of inheriting immortality through a resurrection like Jesus His Son. (Rom.6:5) He was created a physical being and given all the ‘paraphernalia’ so to speak, to survive as a human upon earth, namely, oxygenation, food, water, clothing and shelter, and be granted dominion over the earth in the likeness of his Creator’s sovereign rule and  authority. It is a dominion man was given in which to administer the very Love of God with his fellowmen and the whole earth. (Rom.13:8) Mankind was supposed to live like the Triune God does and Love God and neighbor like He does in His Triune Life. (Matt.22:37; Luk.10:27) Thereby, this earth was given to man, that is to say each person regardless of origin or who they are, to choose his/her destiny. How do we choose to live this God-given material life? Do we choose to Love God above all else, like He does within the three Persons of the Trinity? His advice to us is, “Choose Life” (God/Love) (Deut.30:19).

In giving us free choice, He confers the gift of freedom upon humans. Freedom is the flip side of God’s Love, so Love always accompanies the gift of freedom. Without freedom Love is non-actionable, for freedom is the essence of Love. The Father, Son, and Spirit, freely choose to Love one other. It is from their Personal freedoms that humans are given the gift of freedom. They are not compelled to Love, but in their Tri-Personal freedoms choose to Love each other. Jesus came to bring us the gift of true freedom for the Bible states, “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (john 8:36, NLT). The apostle Paul reiterates how the gift of freedom is given, “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).

If someone is compelled or pressured to love, then it is not true Love for it does not come with true freedom. He/she acts out of fear. Fear imprisons and disempowers people, whereas Love frees and empowers. The Scripture says plainly, “Perfect Love expels all fear” (1 John 4:18, NLT). So, you cannot have Love without freedom, nor freedom without Love. Hence, man is given a mind with the basic motivation to choose and to Love, or not to Love. The opposing way to Love is one of fear. There are only two choices, there is no middle ground. To make a choice means decision-making. No other species created by God was given to have the mind to make choices, except humans who were created in God’s likeness.

He commands us to choose to Love Him wholeheartedly above everyone and everything like He does in His Tri-Personal relationship with each other. The reason God (Love) commands us to Love Him first and Love Him last (alone) is because there is no other reality aside from His uncreated Tri-Personal Being. Every created life and matter whether spiritual or physical is fabricated (created) and temporal and becomes sin if we choose to worship them. God desires that we bank our lives on the only reality in all of creation and eternity that exists – God, and not on what’s fabricated and meant to be temporary and serve His ultimate purpose of the eternal reality we have in Christ His Son. So, Jesus asked a pertinent question, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” The soul speaks of our eternal reality that’s reposed in the uncreated God through Jesus. God desires for humanity to choose Loving Him first and setting a solid foundation for life now and for eternity, keeping in mind that our reality and wholeness as a person is eternally and internally wired to the Love-likeness of the Triune God.

Man made in God’s Likeness: “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion” (Gen.1:26-27). 

However, as physical human beings having cellular life, and needing all the material ‘paraphernalia’ to survive, God supplies them from His bounty. These are: food and water for physical sustenance, clothing for bodily cover and protection, shelter for shielding from the elements, our internal defensive mechanism for security and safety, material possessions to express our calling and gifts, and dominion to rule the earth in Love. All these are real issues in as far as how human life is regarded and valued. And here is where humans face a challenge where their relationship with God comes into question in terms of their priority in life. They may pose a problem as to what humans may consider more important and first in life: God or any one of these vital necessities of life (temporary),  inconsequential compared to Love (true life). In other words, any one of these issues can be turned into gods and worshipped and loved above the true God. They become gods when we value them higher than the Triune God who alone is worthy of worship. For in worshipping God first we are actually serving our mutual interest first (Love/Trinitarian), for we are created in His likeness. However, human history has shown that in their fallen state of being, humans have worshipped the created instead of the Creator. (Rom.3:10)

I will continue this theme of Love in my next post, but I close with the following quote from Paul, keeping in mind God’s purpose of making man into His Love-image:

“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t Love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all His mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t Love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but don’t Love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, or what I do, I’m bankrupt without Love” (1 Cor.13:1-3, The Message). Yes, without Love we are nothing and less than nothing – for “God is Love” (1 John 4:8, 16).

So we have seen how the first command came to be, it was given because God is Love in Himself, and that is how He has lived from eternity in fellowship with His Son (Jesus) and Spirit (Herald*) in their Trinitarian Godhead, and invites humanity into His fellowship of Love.

Finally, let us live our lives and be passionate about Paul’s admonition to us, “Owe nothing to anyone–except for your obligation to Love one another” (Rom.13:8).

I will see you in my next post where we will see how God makes it possible for humans to enter His reality in His Love and Triune existence.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or you may email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. 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. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life”** in the person of Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity.” Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,
(Your Servant In Christ)

*Herald: the name I use in my personal relationship with the Holy Spirit

** “Triune Life” means to inherit human personhood identifying us as true persons with gifts in Christ and living according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27; Rom.8:29) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself (“Adamic humanity”). It means to live in relationship with God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives and walks in you (“Immanuel humanity”). Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the 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) This is a life of divine power. You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092, also at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036)

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website, www.bulamanriver.com, www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, and other book store sites where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living”

Mission Statement: Read the Triune Life 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.

“God Is Love. Whoever Lives in Love Lives In God, and God In Them” (1 John 4:16).

“God is Love,” that is the plain explanation from Scripture about God’s nature and character. If God is Love, then it is also true that Love is God. So, Love is a noun that identifies who God is (nature), and a verb which defines what His does (action). (1 John 4:8; 1 Cor.13:1-8, 13)

“Where Love Is, God Is” – L. Tolstoy (Pic: Wiki Commons)

Greetings once more Friends! In my New Year post titled, the “Four Temptations” (see http://bulamanriver.net/11339) I shared some vital information concerning the spiritual battle we will surely encounter in 2018. As we face the year before us, what would we consider as a primary quest and worthy task? No doubt, there will be many suggestions, ideas, and personal preferences. I would like to suggest that whatever our quest it ought to be something elementary, yet pivotal and has as far-reaching an impact that’s worthy of our pursuit. It ought to be something out of this world that is of a miraculous nature that can truly help in time of need and more so in distress. I would like to propose: Love! Why, because Love is the essence of life itself. It is not love in the sense of our human understanding of it, but rather it’s divine attribute.

We all have physical life, but to have true life is to be possessed by true Love. Physical life is temporary, but true life is spiritual. As the Scripture tell us, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen (physical), but on what is unseen (spiritual – God/Love), since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor.4:18, emphasis added). As humans we naturally lean upon and over-emphasize the physical over the spiritual, so we allow the apparent (seen) to stimulate our thoughts and decisions over the transparent (unseen). Jesus, who is God the Son in the Triune Godhead, said this, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). In another passage Jesus declares He is the “light of life” – “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” In the sheer expression of true life, Love positions itself as a genuine substance that’s out of this world and worthy of our wholehearted pursuit. Because Love is the “light of life” it fills all of time and space, and is subliminally eminent in that it permeates every fiber of our existence matched only in likeness to God’s Love-nature. (Gen.1:26-27) 

God is omniscient and fills all of time and space, and His presence and His Love surrounds us as the air we breathe. (Job 33:4; John 20:22) Listen to how the Psalmist contextualize Love into human life and existence,

 You have searched me, Lord,
and You know me.
2You know when I sit and when I rise;
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
3You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways.
4Before a word is on my tongue
You, Lord, know it completely.
5You hem me in behind and before,
and You lay your hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7Where can I go from Your Spirit (Love)?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
8If I go up to the heavens, You are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, You are there.
9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10even there Your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.
11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12even the darkness will not be dark to You;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to You.
13For You created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in Your book
before one of them came to be.
17How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with You. (Psa.139:1-18)

What an awesome passage from your Bible. This passage reveals something unique yet powerful about Love as it relates to humans: it is all-pervading that we cannot escape its all-embracing arms in our human experiences and life expression. In everything we do we cannot escape Love’s penetrating touch. Even before your conception Love was present to admire your uniqueness as a person. We either follow Love’s lead and be strengthened by its influence, or, we defy it to our own hurt and be weakened by our inattention. For such is the inescapability of Love in its all-inclusive embrace of our lives.

In Love, God Gave His Triune Being to Mankind Upon The Cross Through His Son’s Death at Calvary (Wiki Commons)

But we are all created with minds having free choice. The passage we read above tells us we cannot escape Love’s care for us. So, how do we make God’s Love part of our very being so we can respond to Love’s affectionate embrace as a person? How do we make Love part of our every-day life so we can rest in its care and providence? It can and will happen only when we obey the very first command to Love God above everything and everyone. This is how the command is stated in the Bible, “I am the Lord your God, You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exo.20:2-3; Deut.5:6-7). Love craves first place in your life and mine. Love will not settle for second best. Only when Love is first and best can we experience the richness of its expression toward those who honor her in first place.

Practically speaking, in all of creation this bond of Love is symmetrically replicated in the human species alone and none other. When a man and a woman enter into a holy bond of marriage and promise to Love one another “until death do us part,” it is essentially about seeking first place in their lives and finding it in their Love for each other. This is to impress the spiritual parallel of the Love-relationship between God and His people where we are affectionately devoted to God in Love above everyone and everything. (Read Rev.19:6-9)

Sometimes we wrongly imagine God has a narcissistic streak when He charges us to Love Him above all else. (Luk.10:27; Deut.6:5) Yet, we ourselves would expect no less from our spouses. Can God be Love and fear (self-absorbed) simultaneously? The two are opposites and cannot exist side by side together. Can light and darkness co-exist? No, wherever light enters, darkness flees. Try switching on a light in a dark room, and you will see what I mean. We fail to realize that if you are commanded to Love Someone who is in essence identical to you, then the command is tantamount to expressing Love for yourself, in as much as you’re the reflection of that Someone. (Gen.1:26-27) The only reason we can’t see God from that aspect is because we are  self-centered. We are self-absorbed and narcissistic, not God. Love is creative, giving and generous, self-love is uncreative, demanding and excessive. We Love God topmost because He does the same for us and more. (Matt.7:12) He sacrificed His Son for us while we were yet sinners. (Rom.5:8) Scriptures says He cannot deny us for He sees Himself in us, “If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is (in us)” (2 Tim.2:13, emphasis added). John said this, “God is Love. Whoever lives in Love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16).

Dove, Symbol of God’s Love (Wiki Commons)

The only way to Love yourself authentically is to Love God absolutely. A person who loves himself/herself first fails to grasp the core understanding of his/her own humanity and distinct personhood in God’s Love image. (Rom.8:29; Gen.1:26-27) To Love self above God is really an act of reproaching oneself as a person made in God’s likeness, and spontaneously attracts all kinds of harmful ills and brings on much needless burden. To worship the self is to live against the grain of who we are as humans made in God’s Love-image. Thereby, to Love God above everything is the highest and noblest thing a human can do. The higher we Love God, the deeper we Love ourselves as free personalities created in His Triune Love-likeness. Only through genuine Love for self can you Love others (neighbor) sincerely because you have become Love yourself by Loving God first. God has made us like Him in His Love to overcome all and live peaceably with our fellowmen. For God is who we are and growing to become for all eternity: LOVE! (Gen.1:26-27)

In whatever enterprise we will pursue today and the year ahead of us, ‘change’ will seem real and be the operative word. The prophet Daniel prophesied of our “age of increased knowledge” and the correlating dynamic of change and exchange which comes with it. (Dan.12:4) This requires us to adapt accordingly. Some are fearful of change because it brings on uncertainty and in turn breeds insecurity. But there is another more potent force at work in our favor which will remain unmoved and give us stability and security despite harmful influences. The Bible asserts, “Perfect Love expels all fear” (1 John 4:18, NLT). Love remains constant and unchanging and alters external pressures so peace and harmony may reign in your life. In whatever you do, it brings stability and security to those exercised by it. Be certain for the Bible states clearly, “The one who fears is not made perfect in Love” (1 John 4:18). For such is Love, for the Bible quotes God (Love) as saying He is “the same yesterday and today and forever…I change not, so you are not consumed (but saved).” (Heb.13:8, emphasis added; Mal.3:6). What it means is that God’s divine Love is the only known power in the universe which possesses a symmetrical force that counterbalances and defeat any and every hurtful and destructive force which may work against God’s will for us. For the Scriptures say, “If God (Love) be for us, who can be against us” (Rom.8:31).

Know without a shadow of doubt that Love is the only ingredient with the power capable of overriding our circumstances and surroundings and align them to our advantage rather than the reverse. (read Rom.8:28) How so…because the Scriptures tell us this, “Once God has spoken; Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God (Love)” (Psa.62:11, NASB). If power belongs to God, then power is inherent in and unalienable from His Love, for “God is Love” (1 John 4:8). Love is God Himself and He is the personification of power, so that Love is the process by which His power is dispensed. Everything else may change, but Love never does, but all things will adapt to Love, for God’s purpose prevails by virtue of His power.

There are numerous examples in the Bible showing how God alters events by His miraculous hand so His people are protected and blessed. Through Christ we have been blessed to live the miraculous life through His Love. Therefore, Love will always find its feet to stand no matter the circumstance, for “Love never fails” us. (1 Cor.13:8). There are times when God allows us to face trials but it never happens outside of His Love. The Bible admonishes us, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those He Loves. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?” (read Heb.12:5-12, NLT; 1Cor.11:32). We are promised, “there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” We can’t expect a fruit to ripen at once. It takes time to grow, mature and ripen. God’s Love will always bring the best out of us.

So, when we are ‘cornered in life’ so to speak by adverse circumstances, don’t we wish we had the power to extricate ourselves by quashing them and be free of their damaging impact so we may live at peace? Yes, the answer has always been there, waiting in plain sight: Love! When you imagine chaos and fear is about to overtake you, that is when Love thrives best to bring order and harmony. Love will always triumph in the face of all adversity. Never forget the promise, “And we know that God (Love) causes everything to work together for the good of those who Love God and are called according to His purpose for them” (Rom.8:28).

The Triune Being of God – Bound By and In Love in Whose Likeness Humanity was Created (Rublev’s Icon of Trinity, Wiki Commons)

Above all, remember that humans can be made to Love because Jesus died for our sins thus reconciling us to God the Father and opening the way for the Spirit to come and enter our lives and personify the very Love of God in and out of us. (John 3:16; Rom.5:5) I sincerely hope you will take that vital step to examine yourself and ask if God is your first Love above all else in 2018. Always keep His promise for you at the forefront of your mind, ”For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer.29:11). May God bless you abundantly in 2018!

To read more about God’s Love, you may go to my previous posts on the subject like Love’s fruits which is the proof of His Love in our lives. Jesus said, “By their fruits (deeds) you will recognize them” (Matt.7:16). You may go to:-   http://bulamanriver.net/9199  http://bulamanriver.net/9354;  http://bulamanriver.net/10401;

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or you may email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. 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. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life”* in the person of Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity.” Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,
(Your Servant In Christ)

* “Triune Life” means to inherit human personhood identifying us as true persons with gifts in Christ and living according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27; Rom.8:29) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself (“Adamic humanity”). It means to live in relationship with God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives and walks in you (“Immanuel humanity”). Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the 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) This is a life of divine power. You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092, also at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036)

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website, www.bulamanriver.com, where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living”

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

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“Be of Good Cheer (take heart), I have Overcome the World. In Me you may Have Peace”

Greetings and a Happy and spiritually beneficial New Year to all my readers. If you are new to this site, I welcome you and sincerely hope your visit with us is a favorable one. I invite you to become part of our growing readership. It is free and cost you nothing.

As we face the New Year 2018, let me quote a pertinent passage from Scripture that will put us in good stead as we face the future, “If by the Spirit you continuously put to death the activities of the flesh (sin), you will live” (Rom.8:13). I will borrow an astute paraphrase from General Douglas MacArthur, “It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh (humanity).” There’s a spiritual and physical aspect to man’s existence. With that said, I will share with you the method by which the devil (evil spirit) will attempt to lead you astray from doing what is truly good and wholesome for you and your family, to one that would otherwise be potentially damaging and discouraging. Although a path may seem rosy at first, its end is always negative for the devil’s intention is constant and always evil. (John 8:44; 10:10)

Temptation Of Christ, “Away from Me, Satan!” (Wiki Commons)

God’s will for you is always good, generous, and delightful, for He is Love. (1 John 4:8). God’s Love and promise for you in 2018, as it has always been, is wonderfully generous, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer.29:11). David testified, “O Lord my God, You have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all Your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them” (Psa.40:5, read whole chapter).

In the same breadth, He shows us how this promise can become reality in our lives, “When you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes” (Jer.29:12-14). Yes, prayer and wholehearted search for His answers to your life. This promise calls for a relationship based upon Love for one another, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (V.13, NASB). As David affirms, “I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart” (Psa.40:8).

A Love relationship is a matter of the heart – whole-hearted-ness! The Scripture tells us that God Loved us first, which enables us to Love Him in return. (1 John 4:19) So, He has taken the first step in this Love relationship – He surrendered His Son which we saw in the celebration of Jesus’ birth. (see: http://bulamanriver.net/11230) He then lived a perfect life and was crucified for our sins so that we may be made righteous, thus making the Love relationship possible between God and humanity. (John 3:16) Jesus died to free us from sin, and sin simply means to make wrong choices. David offers us insight to what sin and wrong decisions did to him, “For troubles surround me—too many to count! My sins pile up so high I can’t see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage. Please, Lord, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord, and help me” (Psa.40:12-13). And that is the life God desires to mitigate and save us from in 2018. “The 4 Temptations” will help us understand the enemy’s purpose to scuttle all the good and promise God has in store for us. Only through His Son can the Father chart a beautiful plan with hope and fortune for the future.

The Bible affirms God’s sovereignty over our lives, “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted,” Job was inspired to write. (Job 42:2). God assures us of our protection from Satan and from all worldly enemies, “This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” (Isa.14:26-27). Here, the passage is clear the enemy spoken of is none other than Satan the devil himself. (See Isa.14:12-15) And we have a part to play as humans created in God’s Triune image with freedom of choice, just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are free Persons within the Godhead. (You may read about the divine freedom given to humans at: http://bulamanriver.net/10980)

When Jesus returned to His eternal heavenly abode, He continued His earthly ministry through His High Priestly role and function. His first act was to honor the Father’s promise to send the Holy Spirit who would come and reside with and in His followers until they are brought to the resurrection to immortality. (John 16:7; 1 Cor.3:16) Paul said, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you” (Rom.8:11; also 1 Cor.3:16). So, the Spirit lives in you and me, but what does He do in our walk in this body/temple meanwhile? His work is to sanctify us and prepare us for eternity. This life of sanctification is what we have called the “Triune Life.”* (You may read my previous blog title, “How to Live The Triune Life,” at: http://bulamanriver.net/8036) Listen to what Peter said, you have been chosen “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet.1:2). The three Persons of the Triune Godhead is mentioned openly. So, you are called to the “Triune Life”*, chosen, and set aside under the charge of the Holy Spirit who lives in you as His temple (home). (2 Cor..6:16)

One of the ways the Spirit sanctify us is by infusing us with the right knowledge and mindset to “know thine enemy” and how he works so he will not take advantage and defeat of us. Listen to what Paul said in this regard, “That Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Cor.2:11). Who makes us wise so we are not ignorant of the enemy’s crafty tactics? The Spirit of course! He does this by guiding us through the Word of God, Jesus, who is the Personified Word in heaven and the literary Word on earth, the Holy Bible. Let’s now see the enemy’s schemes for this is what we will confront in 2018.

As sure as humans walk this earth, they will unquestionably encounter temptations, and these are the four areas of life that people will be tempted. Peter reminds us what our frame of mind ought to be when we are tried, “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the vey thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner” (1 Pet.4:12-13, The Message). If we live in the devil’s world, then temptations is nothing to wonder at. This is how Satan has fabricated his world spiritually and the physical consequences it manifests through sin. Only Jesus through the Spirit can break the curse, and through Jesus’ High Priestly mediation cleanse and consecrate our actions. (Gal.3:13; 4:5; 2 Cor.5:21; Heb.4:15-16)

Temptation of Jesus in the Desert (Wiki Commons)

Sun Tzu, a Chinese general and military strategist of the 6th century, in the “The Art of War,” said this, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” Remember, the first and primary tactic of warfare – “know thine enemy, and know thyself.” The Bible says the same thing, “Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes” (2 Cor.2:11, NLT). Paul said, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal.2:20) That is who we are. The question that remains and requires a response is, will we be faithful in our Love relationship with our Father and His Son, our Brother and Savior, so we can receive His Spirit to help us defeat the enemy? The Scriptures say, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Rom.8:16). That is our foundation as to “knowing thyself” – we are children of the living God. If children, then we live under His tutelage and care through His awesome promises. (1 Pet.5:7; Heb.8:10)

Recall what the Spirit brings to us, “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). It is not possible to Love God with our depraved human love. Only a Love as divine and unfeigned as God’s own Love can respond to an identical God-like Love. At any rate, if we have been faithful, we know that we have been crucified with Christ and no longer live to ourselves but in the Spirit. (2 Cor.5:14-17) Yes, Paul said, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor.5:17; also Gal.2:20). It is our new humanity we have in Jesus who is Personified in us by the Spirit who will oppose the enemy at all times. (2 Cor.6:16) Therein lies the knowledge of “knowing thyself” before we attempt to “know thine enemy.”

Let us begin. The first thing we learn about ourselves and the devil’s lies and temptations is that Jesus came to expose the enemy so we won’t have to be ignorant of his deceptions, and to “know thine enemy.” There were four areas of life which the devil tempted Jesus. They are sustenance, reliance, materialism, and power or influence. What we will go through is no different from what Jesus experienced except contextually, of course. Also, Jesus was perfect and sinless originating from God’s eternal Triune Being who became the Immanuel (God in human flesh), whereas humans are children of Adam’s fallen humanity. (Isa.7:14) (Read more about the two humanities at: http://bulamanriver.net/9718)

And here is 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. This is the “know thyself” aspect of our battle with the enemy. Jesus said, “Be of good cheer (take heart), I have overcome the (Satan’s) world” (John 6:33b, emphasis added). Jesus said earlier, “In Me you may have peace” (V.33a) Yes, in Him, not in us or what we can do, we will find and enjoy peace of mind even through the trials life the devil will throw at us.

An often-overlooked point of Jesus’ temptation was that He would not confront the devil until after He was empowered with the Holy Spirit at His baptism in the Jordan river. (Mar.1:9-11) Though Jesus was fully God, He was also fully human, and His humanity needed the Spirit’s power and influence. This was to show us that as humans we too cannot overcome the enemy’s wiles without the Spirit’s divine power to insulate us from the devil himself. Jesus also lives and walks in us by a rebirth which we continuously affirm through our participation in the communion of bread and wine. Recall, it was the Spirit who led Jesus into the wilderness of Judea to confront the devil, not before then, so it is with us. (Mar.1:12-13) Hence, Jesus told the disciples “Wait for the promise of the Father to send the Holy Spirit” (Luk.24:49). Only Jesus return to the Father would make that event happen, “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7).

Jesus inaugurated the gift of the Spirit from the Father to mankind in the Jordan, and poured fully upon all humanity on Pentecost. (Matt.3:16-17; Act.2:1-4) Why is this important? Because the devil’s main weapon common in all temptation is fear. He sows fear in the hearts of humans and paralyses them with it. Fear has an insidious way of guising itself in people’s lives that they cannot fathom just how deep a role it plays in their day-to-day lives. God tells us how fear can be defeated: “Perfect Love drives out fear, for there is no fear in Love…The one who fears is not made perfect in Love.” (1 John 4:18). Hence, the Spirit is the deposit of God’s Love in us – the opposite of fear. (Rom.5:5) Thereby, in the temptations, when we speak of sustenance it is the fear of hunger, thirst, and lack. In reliance, it is the fear of our security and safety. In materialism, it is the fear of poverty and not measuring up to the standard of society around us. In power and influence, it is the fear of impotence and powerlessness, of incompetency through loss of power. But when Love (Spirit) is perfected in us, fear cannot defeat nor cripple us.     . Let’s begin…

At the foot of Mount Quarantania, the traditional Mount of Jesus’ Temptation. (Wiki Commons)

Sustenance: sustenance begs the question with regard to our physical nourishment, bodily care, shelter, and what we do for a living and how we go about earning it. God has promised to provide for our physical sustenance. Jesus said, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans (unbelievers) run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt.6:31-33, read from V.26-34).

So, besides being physically sustained, it is also about how we earn a living or “seek the Kingdom first.” It is a question of ethics, is it principled and upright? Is it honorable or morally reprehensible? Does it serve the greater good of looking out for the welfare of others, beginning with our families? Is our attitude to work founded upon self-centered pride and indifference, looking down upon our dealings with others and being dishonest, disrespectful, and probably scornful? Or does all our action reflect God’s inclusive Triune Love for we are created in His image? So, there is the physical aspect of our sustenance, and there is the spiritual aspect as well (Kingdom).

In Jesus’ first temptation, Satan knew Jesus’ divine power, so he tempted Jesus to use His divine power to turn stones into bread and satisfy His famished body after having fasted for forty days. (Matt.4:1-4) The temptation had both the physical and spiritual aspects wrapped in one. In the four temptations Jesus confronted this was the manner in which Satan framed his battle. It will be no different with us, for as we saw “it is of the Spirit if we are to save the flesh (physical life).” Jesus was called to fast for a purpose, and abandoning it by breaking His fast by a miracle would have been the wrong use of God’s power, He replied, “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 evil one.

In ancient times bread symbolized the ‘staff of life’ and is a metaphor for work and livelihood. Jesus showed that bread is also about spiritual food. He said, “I am the bread (sustenance) from heaven” (John 6:35). Jesus represents the spiritual aspect of our sustenance from which physical wellbeing is also derived. He is God’s Word. How does our appetite for physical and spiritual sustenance measure up? Do we even have an appetite for spiritual bread? Satan wanted to turn the table on Jesus by using a symbol He uses of Himself (bread of life) to commit sin. 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).

Satan’s spiritual temptation was intended to deceive Jesus in conceding His divine power to the devil’s evil purpose as Adam conceded his divinely ordained dominion of the earth to Satan in Eden. The enemy covertly and treacherously  wanted to malign Jesus’ character as the Word of God, and the “bread of life” for humanity. (John 1:1-5) It was deviously repugnant to say the least.

We all have the power to commit to some higher good (Kingdom) to which we have set our sights. But we must exercise discipline and not waver and meet our obligation to seek the Kingdom to the end, and not surrender to temptations to give up something good and honorable. Jesus answered the devil, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt.4:4). Jesus, the Word of God, is the bread from heaven. (John 6:41). Do we turn to God’s Word for spiritual food, for His guidance and inspiration through His promises about how we exercise our freedoms and powers through the way we live, search for meaning, and most of all earn a living?

Some peddle illicit and dangerous drugs for a living, others peddle lies to make a sale. People follow unscrupulous business practices. Still others obstruct and reject the right of free choice as a basic inalienable human birthright in normal human interaction. There are those who use racial and other unholy biases when operating their businesses. People use deception to seek to dominate others, instead of practicing fairness and respect for all with no regard for color, creed, status, nationality, language, or whatever purports to divide us. These, and many such activity does not display Kingdom values. Life is not merely about working to surviving physically, more importantly it is about “seeking the Kingdom first” or as the Psalmist declares, “Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.” (Psa.37:3-4).

By “do good” it speaks of the acts of the Spirit manifesting the Love-fruits in believers. (see 1 Cor.13). Love is not an empty word, or some mystical substance we imagine can fill us. No, Love is a way of life with practical physical manifestation and consequences. All our acts must be wrapped through and through in the Spirit’s Love-fruits. Paul said we are to owe no one anything except the debt to Love. (Rom.13:8) Jesus commanded His disciples with these 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). Peter admonishes believers, “Above all, Love each other deeply, because Love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Pet.4:8). The Spirit will always guide and convict our actions, and inspire us to live the ‘Kingdom-good’ of God’s divine Love. (John 16:7-15) (To read in detail about God’s Love and what it means (fruits), please go to: http://bulamanriver.net/9199)

(Spiritually, sustenance is about our recreation and being forever washed clean through Jesus’ blood and born anew in the Spirit to a new life in Christ’s new humanity with changed spiritual appetites)

Reliance: reliance is about dependence upon God and His promises for us. It is the opposite of self-reliance and doing what seems right to us. Reliance is about a way of life of inter-dependence as opposed to independence. The Scriptures tell us about God’s many promises, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Pet.1:3-4; also 2 Cor.1:20). His promises shows how much He cares for us. We saw how the promise goes hand in hand with physical and spiritual sustenance, but His promises go beyond mere sustenance, He promises to give us security and safety. It is not possible for a person to genuinely have joy in life (sustenance) without security. God promised, “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest” (Isa.32:18; also Psa.4:8). All of God’s promises embrace us holistically as we’ll see in all four temptations and more. He blesses us with guidance and wisdom, He gives us victory and strength over our fears and trials, He supplies the faith for confident living, and a peaceful and happy life. (Isa.26:3) All His promises are intended to provide for us as His children He Loves wholeheartedly, and give us a life Paul describes to Timothy as: “Life that is truly life” (1 Tim.6:19).

Many are unaware of the many, many positive and holy promises God has made and laid out for us. If we have accepted Jesus as personal Savior then we ought not to be unfamiliar with God’s promises which have been ratified (made reality) in Jesus’ blood. The promises contained in God’s covenant with His people is the expression of Jesus’ power to save us, and more. Do we know and rely upon them as a way of life? You can read and study God’s promises from His Word, the Bible, at several helpful web sites. You may find this site helpful: http://scripturepromises.com/).

In this second temptation of Jesus, the devil quoted one of God’s promise to provide security and safety, “The devil led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You carefully; they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Luk.4:9-12). Ironic isn’t it, that Satan it seems knows more about God’s promises than most of us for whom these promises were committed. The devil is practicing an important principle of warfare: “Know thine enemy,” for he knows that God’s promises forms the backbone of our defense against his attacks. This is how we “know thyself” because our faith in His promises is a large part of our weaponry against the devil.

Temptation of Christ at the Temple Height (Wiki Commons)

Satan was cunningly tempting Jesus to doubt God’s promise to protect Him. To doubt God’s promise, to distrust His Father’s care concerning Him, is to tempt God, and Jesus made that abundantly clear to the devil. The devil uses fear to tempt us to doubt God’s promises. Do we sometimes allow fear instead of God’s Love (promises) to manage our lives? Fear creates doubt in our hearts and can breed distrust in His promises. We must ‘nip it in the bud’ and not allow it to fester and metastasize.

Earlier we read this passage, “Perfect Love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in Love” (1 John 4:18). Love, as we saw, is the foundation of our relationship with the Triune God. “Perfect Love” means simply that we are relying one hundred and one percent upon God’s promises. Love means God stands behind all His promises, and cannot lie. Gods’s Word assures us, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Num.23:19). He proclaims, “I will not dishonor My Covenant (Promise), because I will not change what I have spoken” (Psa.89:3, NSV emphasis added) 

We ought to pray for living faith to trust God at His promises at all times. The Bible speaks of a genuine faith as worth its weight in gold. (1 Pet.1:7) Why? Because it is the power by which the promises of God is switched on and comes alive in the life of the believer. Jesus told the blind men He healed, “According to your faith let it be done to you” (Matt.9:29). The Bible states, “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” and we please God by activating our faith in His promises. (Heb.11:6) If our life is riddled with doubt, then we will vacillate “like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind,” and worst mistrust His promises. (Jam.1:6) But we are not led about by our weak human faith corrupted by doubts – that was crucified to the cross. Now the Spirit imbues and empowers us with Jesus’ personal living faith now alive and active in His new humanity in us. (Gal.2:20; Rom.1:17; Rom.3:22; 2 Cor.13:5)

Yes, we have to be delivered from our dead human faith into Jesus’ living faith. Paul said Jesus’ faith is a shield which “extinguishes all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph.6:16). How do we snuff out the “flaming arrows,” or temptations, of the enemy? Through the living faith of Jesus in God’s promises. (You may read my post on faith at:  http://bulamanriver.net/2811, also http://bulamanriver.net/3168, and http://bulamanriver.net/8382) I mentioned that one of the primal weakness of the human faith is that it is filtered through the five senses, so that it says,  “I have to see, smell, taste, touch, or hear, to believe.” This is human faith. Jesus’ living faith takes us beyond the physical realm and into the spiritual world of God. It is not a world of the five human senses, but a spiritual world that can only be navigated by faith. Paul said, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor.4:18).

Jesus taught us to daily pray for protection from the devil to not tempt us beyond that we are able to cope. (Matt.6:13) To obey God for the sake of uncompromising obedience is mindless legalism and will lead to eventual failure when faced with devious temptations. But true obedience arises when life is experienced out of a Love relationship with God and faith in His many promises. God even makes a promise concerning the matter of temptation where Paul asserts, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Cor.10:13). Believe and trust the power of the Spirit in you.

(Spiritually, reliance is about our redemption through our regeneration in a surrendered life to the promises of God and His covenant with man)

Materialism: materialism is a form of idolatry. We worship material stuff when we assign value upon them higher than our worship of God. Our lives are totally wrapped up in them and its net effect is we render God’s promises ineffectual due to our reliance upon the ‘self’ who worships material stuff. Basically, that is what materialism does – it turns on the ‘self-reliance switch’ and becomes self-worship. We turn off the ‘God-reliance switch’ along with His promises. (Pro.14:12; Rom.6:21) Our possessions has taken a weightier meaning than our relationship with God and His promises. It becomes part of the ‘self’ in its own world. It can be in the form of a job, money, a car, real estate, a friend, a hobby, your boat, jewelry and precious stones, whatever material possession you treasure in your heart. It is the desire to accumulate material stuff so that they make up the ‘self’ environment which you cannot do without. It is the consumption of money with its purchasing power.

How do we measure success in our minds? Many people measure success by the accumulation of money and material possessions. Are we fearful of peer pressure and failing to keep up with others societally? When the economic temptation of money and material objects is above everything else, it turns into the sin of idolatry. God and His promises ought to define our measure of success. For example, do we see the following promise as the yardstick to success, “Seek first My Kingdom and righteousness, and all these (material) things will be given to you as well”? (Matt.6:33-34, emphasis added). God knows our needs and wants before we ask Him. His blessings are true blessings because they come without all the stresses that usually accompany worldly wealth which place enormous pressure upon us. Instead, His prosperity adds joy in our lives, for Proverbs utters God’s economic promise this way, “The blessing of the LORD brings (true) wealth, without painful toil (stress) for it” (Prov.10:22, my emphasis). Today, stress is an enormous emotional burden people carry daily and it has been medically proven to be the harbinger of many sicknesses and diseases.

Satan tempted Jesus in this area, “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” (Matt.4:8-10). There are two obvious temptations here that can befall man, materialism and power. Jesus’ answer to the devil clearly show the temptation is the idol worship of Satan himself, for the temptation of worldly materialism and power resides ultimately in the devil who is the architect and god of this world.

Jesus contextualizes our temptation in that the material life with which God blesses us is actually the framework of the greater spiritual treasure  of His Kingdom we pursue first, “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 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 real spiritual treasures. You may read the Parable of The Rich Fool in Luke 12:13-21. Thereby, we must not  be foolish as to give ourselves to material riches at the expense of the Kingdom riches. The priority is to seek the true Kingdom wealth first, then the genuine physical wealth will follow automatically without our asking. (Matt.6:33)    

(Spiritually, materialism is about our sanctification so our Love is focused away from materialism and find true freedom by choosing the true riches that’s heavenly and earthly He will supply)

Worldly Power & Influence: Matthew 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, in many human talents like music and athletic prowess, satanism and mystical affiliations, the accumulation of money and possessions, in personal dreams and projects, etc. When power is idolized, be it personal or shared, then Satan is worshipped. Christ rejected this proposal with abhorrence and declared, “Away from Me, Satan!”

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, beginning with Adam, from which 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.

When God says, “I create evil” (Isa,45:7), it does not mean He deliberates on how to bring evil upon us. That’s impossible because He is Love, and evil is never in His nature nor intent. The Bible states clearly, “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). Evil comes because God has allowed the devil latitude to do his evil deeds by sanction through His eternal wisdom, so nothing exists outside God’s sovereign will. Hence, we can say as the Scripture testify, “what was meant for evil, God meant for our good” (Gen.50:20). In His wisdom, He tell us through Paul, “All things God works for the good of those who Love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Rom.8:28). This takes place because God’s power in His Love resides in His Son who now lives in each of us, as Paul affirms, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col.1:27).

Humanly speaking, all of creation from which power ultimately finds its source is God’s creation, not the devil’s. 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. 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) 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, and others. Why? Because it is power that exist in a vacuum (world) controlled 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. 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 an empty promise for 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 faith walk. (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.

(Spiritually, power is about glorification when we are conferred power through our gifts from God and immortality to manifest His Loving will forever)

“The Devil left Him, and immediately angels came and began to serve Him” (Matt.4:11) (Wiki Commons)

The enemy’s role is to promote his lies and deceptions and create schism and division in our 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 man 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 worshipped and idolized. That divine end is very simply to fulfil 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).

Sometimes we wrongly imagine God has a narcissistic streak when He charges us to Love Him above all else. (Luk.10:27; Deut.6:5) Is He? We fail to realize that if you are commanded to Love Someone who is in essence identically like you, then the command is tantamount to expressing Love for yourself, in as much as we reflect Him. The only reason we can’t see God in that light is because of self-love. We are self-absorbed. Love is giving and generous, self-love is getting and taking. We Love God topmost because He does the same for us. John said this, “God is Love. Whoever lives in Love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16). The only way to Love yourself authentically is to Love God first. Loving yourself first before God is really disparaging yourself as a person made in God’s image, and brings all kinds of needless burden and preventable affliction. Thereby, to Love God above everything is the highest and noblest thing you can do for yourself. The higher we Love God, the deeper we Love ourselves as free personalities created in His Love-image. For God is who we are and growing to become for all eternity: LOVE! (Gen.1:26-27)

What does Jesus’ victory over Satan means for you and me? This past November I posted a blog about God’s imputive principle that’s intrinsic in His Love, whereby He attributes Christ’s victorious life on behalf of humanity so that His victory over the devil in the temptations and ultimately His death on the cross, is ascribed to us and is deemed our own personal victory. By a spiritual rebirth into Jesus’ new humanity we make that victory reality. (John 3:3,7). (You may read my post at: http://bulamanriver.net/10980) There is a word aptly used to convey this imputive principle and concept. That word is vicarious. It means to mediate, substitute, delegate, and impute. So, we speak of the vicarious humanity of Jesus to mean He overcame the temptations and died on the cross in defense of believers.

All the temptations we will confront in 2018 will come under one of these four sub-headings which encompass all the nuances of life’s expression in one form or another. We are not perfect by any means, but that’s just the point – the temptations are intended to expose our spiritual flaws and weaknesses and change us. The temptations are aimed at Satan not us, as he tries to exploit our vulnerabilities to further his wicked ways against God and us. We turn the table on the devil by metamorphosizing his temptations from a negative to a positive in the Spirit and see them as the framework by which we are being conformed to Jesus’ likeness as sons and daughters of our heavenly Father. (Rom.8:28-30)

As we read from Peter’s passage, “this is a spiritual process” (1 Pet.4:12-13, The Message). We will have successful lives on earth and ultimately becoming glorified humans similar to Jesus’ resurrection to immortality. (Rom.8:29; Col.1:18; John 6:47; 1 Cor.15:50-53) The vital point is that we are experiencing maturing repentant lives in the Spirit, so that Christ our High Priest is ceaselessly mediating for our salvation in His temple (human life/church). He is not a once-off Savior, but an ongoing One. (read my post about Jesus, “Born for His High Priestly Role” at: http://bulamanriver.net/11230)

My hope is that my post today has given you some insight into what to expect in the coming year in your physical and spiritual battles with our common yet unseen enemy. Paul said he is the “ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Eph.2:2). This is a spiritual battle first and foremost for our thoughts and minds. Though the devil is unseen, so is the Holy Spirit, who oversees and defends us in every battle. (Eph.6:10-18; 2 Cor.10:5-6) Always remember Jesus promise, “Be of good cheer (take heart), I have overcome (Satan’s) world. In Me you may have peace” (John 6:33, my emphasis). We can overcome because Jesus has gone before us, won every battle, and imputes His victory in our stead. In Him, may you enjoy and experience glory after glory in your victories.

We close with God’s Promise to protect us from Satan, “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (2 Thess.3:3). Have a glory-filled New Year!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or you may email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. Please continue to pray and help in whatever you can those affected by natural disasters. 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. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life”* in the person of Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity.” Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,
(Your Servant In Christ)

* “Triune Life” means to inherit human personhood identifying us as true persons with gifts in Christ and living according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27; Rom.8:29) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself (“Adamic humanity”). It means to live in relationship with God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives and walks in you (“Immanuel humanity”). Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the 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) This is a life of divine power. You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092, also at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036)

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website, www.bulamanriver.com, where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living”

Mission Statement: Read the Triune Life 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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“For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” – Isaiah.9:6

Greetings once more friends. May I begin by wishing all my readers a peaceful and joy-filled Christmas season.

It is that wonderful occasion of the year when Christians everywhere remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus. I have written about Jesus birth through different perspectives in past years, but I would like to do something different this year. I would like to share with you how the end result of His birth impact humanity’s liberation from all forms of evil, pain and suffering, frustration and heartaches, moral bankruptcy and degeneracy, ultimately from destruction and death, so we will appreciate this season of His birth and role as the Messiah.

God’s prime reason for His Son’s life was to die for human sins regardless of color, language, culture, nationality, or whatever station in life. The sin-condition of existing in the spirit of rebellion is the underlying cause for all these negative circumstances. Being a Savior means more than dying for humanity, important as that is, but it opens the door to a whole array of intermediary functions He performs as Mediator to bring humanity to freedom from sin and entering a new life liberated from the ravages of sin. I hope by the end of this post, you will see that Jesus’ birth is indeed Good News, the best news mankind could ever hope for.

Baby Jesus and Adoration of the Magi (Wiki Commons)

So, this post reveals the end-purpose of Jesus’ birth and all He has accomplished and continues to do today, reflects the embodiment of His birth as a babe in Bethlehem. Hence, He is the personification of the Gospel message. Can we look in one place to find all the things Jesus was born to become and do what He is required today to bring humanity to salvation and immortality? We know after Jesus was born He grew up and became a man who took the Gospel message from His Father to His people and to the whole world. (Matt.28:18-20; Luk.24:47)

Then He was crucified, but He did not remain in His tomb a dead Savior. God resurrected Jesus from the dead and He became the first human to be raised to immortality. (Col.1:18) He ascended to heaven, but not solely to return to His divine glory as the second Person in the Triune Godhead, but to continue what He began in His earthly and now glorified divine/human ministry. Now, His ministry is both heavenly and earthly.

Now, He lives in His glorious divine/human form as mankind’s High Priest by divine appointment of Almighty God His Father. (see Heb.5:1-10). By taking our humanity unto Himself as “Immanuel,” He glorified mankind by His life, death, resurrection and ascension, and thus God equipped Him as High Priest to mediate for and on behalf of humanity before God the Father, who in turn imputes Jesus’ glorious humanity upon mankind.

Jesus’ end-work, starting from His birth as a baby in Bethlehem, is wrapped up in His High Priestly office and responsibility He continues to do today for His people He Loves. (Heb.4:14-16; 5:1-10; 6:19-20; 7:1-17) He said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” of God’s work of Love for humanity. (Rev.22:13) The Father’s plan was for Jesus to take our humanity in Himself through Mary His human mother, and glorify our humanity in His now divine/human form (“Immanuel”) and be humanity’s eternal High Priest. He came as the Immanuel (“God with us”) fully God and fully man. (Isa.7:14; Matt.1:23)

No other Person born into the human race is deserved and suited for this eternal High Priestly role than Jesus Christ. He was born for this very purpose. He was to live a perfect life and be crucified as mankind’s Savior, resurrected, and return back to the Father’s right hand in heaven. As High Priest, Jesus does His work today in the heavenly temple. As High Priest, Jesus cannot perform His function without His temple, they are one and the same. Much like a pilot is unfunctional without his plane, so Jesus’ priestly role can only be done within His spiritual temple.

What He does in His temple tells us what He is doing on behalf of, and in humanity today both in heaven and on earth. God has not left us in the dark as far as the priestly functions of Jesus today. It is clearly revealed in the Bible for all to see. In this post I will elaborate on Jesus’ High Priestly function, and show the absolute importance and relevance of His birth, and what He was born to do for humanity, which only He could perform, and continues to do today.

Jesus and the temple are synonymous since He referred to Himself as God’s temple. He told the people of His day, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days…But the temple He had spoken of was His body. After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what He had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:19, 21-22). Jesus Christ is the personified temple of God, in whom saved humanity lives, and He lives and walks in us. (2 Cor.6:16; 1 John 2:6)

In my October blog post I had written about this topic which I titled, “You are the Temple of The Living God.” You may read this at http://bulamanriver.net/10700. I had said that when God instructed Moses to build the temple in the wilderness, He was showing humanity a copy of His heavenly temple reflected in the Person of Christ. Israel had just been freed from slavery in Egypt, depicting our own spiritual freedom from Satan’s ‘sin-prison’ today. Each time Moses met Pharaoh he declared why God wanted His people freed, “Let my people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness” (Exo.4:23; 5:1; 7:16; 8:1; 9:1).

A temple is a place of worship. I have said God does not live in physical temples but a spiritual one for He is composed of Spirit, not physical matter. He is not human to live in a physical structure. The reason Moses erected a physical temple was to show humans in a way he can understand what His true spiritual temple is like in heaven and replicated on earth. As the book of Hebrews tell us, “They (Israel) serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven” (Heb.8:5, NLT). Jesus said, “Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me” (John 14:11).

Today, under the New Covenant we live within the confines of that heavenly temple in the presence of His glorified divine/human Son as our High Priest. Jesus told the disciples of the beautiful truth of this ‘temple life’ in this manner, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and i am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one – I in them and You in Me” (John 17:20-23). What Jesus describes here is the temple life that saved humanity have been given the privilege to live.

On earth, His temple is the spiritual life of the believer, not a physical building however magnificent and ornate the structure may appear. Paul tells humanity clearly, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies” (1 Cor.6:19-20). A human being is not merely mortal, he/she is basically spiritual because man is made in God’s divine image. (Gen.1:26-27) Hence, humans qualify as a spiritual home for the divine. Note, the involvement of the Triune Being of God in the life of the believer.

A Rendering of The Tabernacle in the Wilderness God Instructed Moses to Build. The Altar and Laver are Shown in the Outer Court In Front of Inner Temple (Wiki Commons)

There were seven fixtures God instructed Moses to build which were an intrinsic part of the temple in the wilderness. These are the seven holy furnishings that formed part of the temple:

1)     Altar of Burnt Offering (Exodus 27:1)

2)     Laver (Exodus 30:18)

3)     Table of Showbread (Exodus 25:23)

4)     Lampstand (Exodus 25:31)

5)     Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1)

6)     Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10)

7)     Mercy Seat (Exodus 25:17

Each of these fixture represent the work that only Christ the High Priest continues to perform today in the heavenly temple before the Eternal God and Father on behalf of humanity for the purpose of keeping believers in divine completeness with Him until all things are restituted to God upon this earth in accordance with His purposes and timetable. In spirit, we are brought into the heavenly temple through the Holy Spirit indwelling us on earth in the spiritual life (temple) of the human body, where humanity is collectively called the Church, and the Church in turn is called the “Body of Christ” (1 Cor.12:24-27)

This is the essence of the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt.6:10). It means may the temple-life we live in the Spirit in Christ our High Priest in heaven be replicated in the spiritual temple of the human body of believers on earth. Let me now show how Jesus performs each of these functions to keep us in divine completeness with the Father, and show without any shadow of doubt why He and only He is the Savior of all humanity.

Altar of Burnt Offering – brings to our mind the Lord Jesus who was slain and offered as sacrifice for human sins. Redemption always works through the atoning blood of Christ. Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) God meets man only at the cross, where sins past, present, and future receive absolution through the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb. (John 3:16-17; 1 Cor.11:26)

Here, we see the everlasting sacrifice of Jesus as Savior done once for all time for the forgiveness of sins and atonement of the whole of humanity since Adam and into the future. This function is for our spiritual health and well-being in holy and righteous condition before the Father.

Laver – The Laver was a large bowl filled with water used for cleansing before the priest enter the Holy Place. We are still human and subject to sin in the sin-condition of rebellion in this world, not willfully but through the devil’s deception, human weakness, mistakes, and ignorance. It signifies our separation from sin and the world by our own crucifixion with Christ, established by water baptism in the washing away of the uncleanness of the spirit of the age in which we live (sin-condition), as we keep ourselves holy by confession, repentance, resistance to sin, Love of God’s will through the atoning blood of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom.6:1-14)

In this function, we are reminded of what Jesus did for us when He entered the Jordan to be baptized for us and repent of our sins by the hand of John the Baptist. Jesus had no sin to repent of, so He bore our sins by repenting for humanity, and subsequently died for us on His cross. Recall what Jesus told John when he first hesitated baptizing Him, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” In other words, they must carry out God’s will, so humans can repent by imputing what Jesus’ has done for us. He has made it possible for us to repent, not because  we can do it on our own. God ascribes His Son’s finished work upon us. (Phi.3:9; Rom.4:5; 5:19)

Then, He inaugurated the gift of the Spirit from the Father to mankind prior to Pentecost. (Matt.3:13-17) The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to face and defeat Satan in the temptations for us, and then died on the cross for us, thus, ending the cycle of death through sin which started from Adam’s fall. Jesus rebooted God’s purpose in mankind by washing us clean and giving back true life in His likeness. This is the basis for our spiritual and psychological health and welfare.

The Priestly Robes and 7 Temple Furnishings (Wiki Commons) 

Table of Showbread – Jesus said “I am the bread of life.” This typifies the continual presentation of the living Word of God, Christ. The Bible is the written Word of God. Jesus is the Personified Word of God. When we partake in the communion by eating the bread (representing His Body/flesh) and drinking the wine (representing His blood for life is in the blood) we are born again and take up the new life if Jesus living spiritually in His glorious human/divine heavenly life on earth through God’s Word (Jesus).

In this function, we are reminded and refreshed by Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity” we have adopted and been born into after daily crucifying the fallen “Adamic humanity” to the cross. (see http://bulamanriver.net/9718). The bread and wine (communion) represent Jesus’ body and blood (new humanity), the born-again believer. This is the source of our confidence in living upon this earth as we rely upon the Word of God, both the literal (Bible) and personified Christ (High Priest). (John 6:53-58)

Lampstand – The Golden Lampstand had a central shaft with which represents Christ, with six branches. The Body of Christ (believers/church) is represented by the six-side branches, three and each side. (see picture below) The believer is to be a branch of the Lampstand, a member of Christ who is the light of the world. (John 8:12) The Holy Spirit is the oil that gives light or gifts to each believer and represents the baptism with the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, the church. (Zech.4:1-6) This began at Pentecost.

In this function light represents Jesus Christ. (John 8:12) For humans, light symbolize one’s gift and defines who he/she is in Christ. Jesus confers gifts upon His followers to keep them in purposeful and focused communion with the Father throughout their sojourn on earth under the Spirit’s direction and protection. (Eph.4:7-8) This gives us our true purpose to life, and inspires confidence in all we do. As God told Zerubbabel,, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zech.4:6).

The Golden Lampstand (Temple Menorah) (Wiki Commons) 

Altar of Incense – The Altar of Incense speaks to us of the believer’s prayers and worship empowered by Jesus and the Spirit bringing the fragrance of the beloved Son before the face of the Father in Heaven. (Eph.5:1-2) Jesus and the Spirit prays for us. (see Rom.8:34 and Rom.8:26, also Isa.53:12b) We do not know how to pray perfectly, but Jesus and the Spirit does. We do not know how to Love the Father perfectly in our depraved hearts, but Jesus through the Spirit does. (Rom.5:5)

Here, we live in a time/space in our prayer life where death to self-love and self-will abides and we are alive in the Spirit through prayers of supplication, travailing in spirit, intercession, battles against evil forces, petition, praise, adoration, giving of thanks, Love, Faith, and Hope. The incense signifies Jesus taking our prayers, our worship, our gratitude, and perfecting them in Himself before the Father and transforming them into a sweet-smelling aroma before God.

Ark of the Covenant – The Ark of the Covenant held three artifacts in it and they typify the Lord Jesus Christ and His High Priestly function on behalf of believers in whom Christ new life in the Spirit’s power is being formed. These are:

Ø  The Ten Commandments Exo.16:34; Heb.9:4—God’s Love revealed in His Law and wrought in our minds through His Spirit. (Rom.5:5)

Ø  The Gold Jar of Manna Exo.16:34; Heb.9:4—daily strength from Herald the Spirit and dependability on Christ in matters great and small. The miraculous manna symbolize the miraculous life in the Spirit.

Ø  Aaron’s Rod Heb.9:4—the Rod represents Jesus’ High Priestly sovereign power of Kingship and the power to impart immortality to His people.

In this function, Jesus guides us into our emotional health and maturity through the fruits of Love, confidence and peace in God’s promises through miraculous interventions, and the realization we are part of His sovereignty as citizens of His Kingdom.

Mercy Seat— The Mercy Seat served as a covering lid for the Ark of the Covenant where God Almighty is seated. It is made of solid-gold and portrays the fullness of the Glory of God and our unity with the Father through Christ and the Holy Spirit. All that Christ has done in the six functions prior to this, is to unite us with the Father as His children, caressed in His Love forever.

Here, we have our place of rest and assurance in the life of God in His Triune Being. This relates to human life on earth in the present, and humanity’s eternal future as revealed in Revelation 21, “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be My children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Rev.21:1-8).

The Mercy Seat & Ark of the Covenant with High Priest Offering Incense Symbolizing Prayer & Praise of the Faithful (Wiki Commons)

That is a brief explanation of the seven fixtures of the temple in the wilderness God commanded Moses to build, which represent Jesus’ work as our High Priest, Savior and Mediator in the heavenly temple today. The Bible states, “This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Heb.8:5; Exo.25:9). When Moses built the temple and its artifacts and fixture he was making a copy of the heavenly sanctuary and the shadow of what is happening in heaven on a daily basis as Jesus performs the seven High Priestly functions that is entirely necessary for humanity’s salvation.

These seven divine works Jesus has already done upon earth and continues to do in the temple in heaven before the Father, and on earth in the human temple of the believer’s body and life. The earthly temple of God is not a physical structure, but the human body (church), as Paul said, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? (1 Cor.6:19; also, 1 Cor.12:27-31) The prophet Ezekiel and apostle Paul quote God stating, “My dwelling place will be with them and will walk among them; I will be their God, and they will be My people” (Ezek.37:27; 2 Cor.6:16). God’s spiritual temple is the inner sanctum of the hearts and minds of humanity that is surrendered and given to Christ, and in which He lives and walks.

So, as God’s will is being done in His heavenly temple in Christ, it is also being carried out upon earth in His earthly temple of the inner sanctum of the hearts and minds of humanity given to Christ. (Matt.6:10) What Christ has done, which He continues to do as our glorified human High Priest, is fully expounded and pictured in these seven fixtures within the temple of Himself in heaven in the Father’s presence for saved humanity. (John 2:19-22)

No human since Adam has been found worthy but Jesus, the ‘second Adam,’ to perform this God-given role of being humanity’s glorified High Priest to unite mankind to the triune God for eternity. (1 Cor.15:22, 45) Hence, the Bible emphatically states that humanity has been made complete in Him (Col.2:10) God the Father in turn imputes and attributes His Son’s completed work today as High Priest upon humanity for our salvation. (you can read about the principle of attribution at: http://bulamanriver.net/10980). These seven functions depict the surrendered life Jesus has lived to God, so we can.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior, let us stop for a few moments to reflect upon His life – from His birth in the manger in Bethlehem, to living the perfect life for us, being sacrificed for our sins, resurrected and ascended into heaven to His High Priestly office, which Paul aptly captures in his letter to the Romans, “Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone” (Rom.5:18, NLT).

Travelling from Afar to Bethlehem, The Wise Men Bear Gifts for The Baby Jesus (Wiki Commons)

May I wish all my readers a life filled with a confident peace, hope, and joy this Christmas, through Christ our Savior and eternal Mediator. Indeed, He is Good News for all of humanity!

“Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone” (Pic: Wiki Commons)

Petition: Friends, as I have closed my post in the past, I customarily give our readers the opportunity to give their lives to our Maker. I thank you for investing your precious time with me in the sharing of the good news of Jesus who has enabled us to live the Triune Life*. Jesus is alive today as our High Priest in heaven seated at His Father’s side, and ceaselessly mediating for us. I hope that in your heart of heart you will receive Him as your personal Savior, receive God’s Spirit, and be part of living this glorious humanity made children of God forever. You can privately and quietly pray the prayer below in your heart. I am asking you to pray this prayer as a human being Christ died for, regardless of your background. All are inducted into the one mankind Jesus saved, not into any religious sect or denomination – into the glorious humanity that Christ is preparing as the holy temple for God’s dwelling:

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 celestial life in Your Son through Your Holy Spirit, and open my eyes to the wondrous gifts you have conferred upon me and all humanity. May Your Love guide and protect me and my Loved ones always, and bring us all into Your beloved and divine Kingdom. I praise and thank You, Amen.”

Prayer is A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Love Dialogue Between a Person and God the Father (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 Life”* in the person of Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity.” Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Thank you for visiting.

Kiang,
(Your Servant In Christ)

* “Triune Life” means to inherit human personhood identifying us as true persons with gifts in Christ and living according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27; Rom.8:29) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself (“Adamic humanity”). It means to live in relationship with God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives and walks in you (“Immanuel humanity”). Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the 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) You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website, www.bulamanriver.com, where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living” Or, you may go to the directory banner at top and click “Mission” where you will find more information.

Mission Statement: Read the Triune Life 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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“Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other Person (Jesus) obeyed God, many will be made righteous” (Rom.5:18-19).

Greetings again Friends everywhere! On this Thanksgiving season, I would like us to pause and be grateful for something we frequently take for granted as believers and nominal believers. It is the bonafide freedom we have in Jesus. We often overlook the fact that a life of peace, joy, and confidence (grace), is founded upon the freedom as unique persons we have in Christ. The freedom to live true to the personality we were created to be. with distinct gifts. The essential message of Thanksgiving season is the celebration of our freedoms.

Thanksgiving Day falls on Thursday, November 23, 2017.

I will begin by echoing a story by Keith Krell, pastor and author from Spokane, Washington: “One of the most famous chimpanzees of all time is one by the name of Washoe. Some soldiers picked up Washoe in West Africa. In 1966 she was adopted by two doctors who raised her almost like a child. In 1970, however, she was turned over to another pair of doctors and taken to the University of Oklahoma. Here she went through rigorous training to become the first non-human to learn American Sign Language. She learned over 140 signs! It was discovered, however, that she was just mimicking all that she had been taught. After several years the staff decided that she was able to try to conceptualize. “She is going to say what is on her heart!” the staff declared. In her safe and secure cage, well taken care of, Washoe said the first three words of her own initiative: “LET ME OUT!!!” She signed the words several times.”

Statue of Liberty, New York, Icon of Freedom and Liberty (Wiki Commons)

So, even animals seek to be free. If given the ‘choice’ between a safe and secure life in captivity  verses freedom, animals ‘choose’ freedom. Some of my readers will remember the song “Born Free” and the movie by the same title. The inspiring motion picture recounts a story about freedom in the wild portraying a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilderness of Kenya. God created all life forms with their instinctive freedoms ‘hardwired’ in them. God will always create life to replicate Himself for He is free in His Tri-Personal Being.

Humans long for freedom too. The reason ought to be plain to see – man was made in God’s likeness. (Gen.1:26-27) Many view and seek freedom in various ways, but the most powerful and satisfying form of freedom God wants humans to have is where a person is living a life that is significant and self-fulfilling in every way, with a distinct gift which identifies him/her as a personality, and a destiny to be a child of the living God. God has created us for freedom, as Paul told the Galatians, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Gal.5:1). God is free, and desires nothing less for His human children. The flipside of His nature is Love. You cannot have one without the other. Freedom has no meaning without Love, and Love is incomplete without freedom. It gives a glimpse into the nature of God so that to experience true freedom is to be singularly motivated by His Love. Thus, we are given the freedom to Love – we Love for the purpose of remaining free. Hence, Love constrains us so our freedom is not used for selfish purpose through fear (sin/bondage). Paul said, “Owe nothing to anyone–except for your obligation to Love one another. If you Love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law” (Rom.13:8; also 1 Cor.13).

Yet the Bible informs us that mankind has been held in bondage, quite apart from the freedom man was created to have by his Maker. But like Washoe the chimpanzee, we probably have a sense of “security and independence,” only we miss the part that we have been held in spiritual captivity since Adam’s fall. Most are blinded to and unaware of our human incarceration. This imprisonment was entrenched in the human condition when our first parents succumbed to the temptations of Satan the devil and ate the forbidden fruit they were instructed not to touch, much less eat. (Gen.2:16-17; Gen.3) Mankind was expelled from Eden and from the presence of God into the spiritual wilderness of the great tempter, the devil. The prison is called the sin-condition. Sin is the antithesis of Love. Bondage is the opposite of freedom. God is free because He is holy (sinless) in His Love. But man has chosen the way of rebellion and sin and is now held in bondage to the devil. Paul says this, “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone (bondage).” But we are not left to our doom in the sin-condition. The Father’s Love is infinitely greater and cannot be constrained or stifled and sets out to give up His Son for us. (John 3:16-17) Paul goes on, “Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone (freedom). Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person (Jesus) obeyed God, many will be made righteous” (Rom.5:18-19, also John 3:16, emphasis added).

Liberty Head, Liberty Island, New York, and Coin (Wiki Commons)

Yes, Satan has created this sin-condition where mankind is held bondage to his wicked ways. The Bible speaks of the sin-condition in which we are held prisoners, “I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me” (Rom.7:23). Note the words, “law of sin” or what I characterize as the “sin-condition.” The Bible describes this condition as if we are held and tied in chords like prisoners, “The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them; the cords of their sins hold them fast” (Pov.5:22). Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34).

Man will attain true freedom by living according to the image in which he was created by  his Creator – Love and freedom. Humans may not realize this, but God’s eternal likeness has been hard-wired in man, only that Satan has deceived and blinded mankind with his lies (sin) as he did to Adam and Eve. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luk.17:21, KJV). Any other way of life which opposes His divine purpose is a form of bondage and a life vexed in perplexity and disquiet. From the passage of Scripture in Romans 5 above, we see an important principle at work exclusively within the Tri-Personal Being of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s a principle that can easily be passed over and overlooked. It is the principle of attribution and substitution, of transference and collaborative oneness and loyalty, of the constancy of God’s Love in creation and mankind, upon which the Tri-Personal Being of God (Trinity) has eternally subsists. It teaches us the utter relevance of the Trinitarian Being of God (Trinity) in God’s interaction with humans, and man’s relationship with fellow humans. This principle works only with persons in relationship, and it finds its source within the divine life of the three Persons of the Trinity. And man was created to live according to God’s Triune likeness. (Gen.1:26-27)

Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity (Wiki Commons)

Paul informs us about the principle’s relational response and outcome in Christ, the second Person of the Triune Godhead: “Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.” Through this eternal principle, life within the Triune Being of God is such that the act of one is always the act of three, and the act of three is the act of one, thus, making this attributive principle relational in every respect. Paul affirms this principle, saying, “For certainly God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them and having placed in us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor.5:19). Even David spoke of this principle of God’s infinite Love,”

The passage also show the principle works in reverse, as we see in Adam’s fall: “Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone.” You can say the principle functions like gravity which cannot be nullified nor disproved. If we defy gravity it will hurt us, just as sure as violating the principle of ascription has its spiritual gravitational effect. The basis and foundation for this ascribing principle is God’s infinite Love, for “God is Love” (1 John 4:8).

Note what is said of Jesus in the passage, to “…bring a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.” A right relationship with God can only be made possible by a “new life.” It is not possible to relate with God in man’s fallen life he inherited from Adam. Only through a new birth in the glorified new humanity of Jesus will the ‘new life’ of man can enter into Loving relationship with our heavenly Father and God. Let’s see how this unfolds for each of us. (John 3:3, 5-8)

This imputive principle was and continues to dominate creation including mankind, for good or evil, because man is made in God’s triune likeness, and thereby governed by this eternal principle of attribution and transference. The truth of divine freedom is presented to humans with the freedom to choose – between good and evil. Yes, but unlike the mindless physical law of gravity, we are affected by this imputive principle through the mind by way of thoughts and decisions evoked by human desires and actions. Although we intuitively adapt to physical gravity, we are not as responsive in our thoughts and decisions when it comes to this far-reaching principle. Hence we are admonished to “bring our thoughts into subjection to Christ” (2 Cor.10:5). That is how we interact with the principle of ascription. But regardless of our determination and even discrimination, the spiritual principle will follow our actions nonetheless. This substitutive principle of God is still in force today as we see it alive and at work all around us in human relationships through the choices we make. The sin-condition we inherited from Adam’s rebellion is clearly observable in the evil and destructive way of life we witness in the world around us.

But here is the reverse effect of this principle, through God’s incalculable and boundless Love He removes the attributive punishment of the sin-condition (death), and rescues us and gives us life and personhood in His Son, Jesus. So we read these immortal words from 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. 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; also John 11:25-26). The principle of attribution cannot be more unmistakable.

If there is a “law of sin” (sin-condition) under which mankind is held prisoner, then prior to its existence, there was of necessity the “law of righteousness” (holy-condition) under which man stands free as God first created him. Adam and Eve were in such holy-condition until the day they believed the devil’s lies and rebelled. Paul said, “For Christ is the end of the “law for righteousness” to everyone who believes” (Rom.10:4). Many seek freedom in various ways, some ideas purport to bring freedom but are actually incarcerating. As Peter says, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage” (2 Pet.2:19). Humans have sought freedom in political governance. Others believe in trade unionism; women seek it in women’s rights and liberation. Nations seek freedom through associations like the United Nations and through trade compacts. Some imagine the answer to everything lies in advancing the world technologically.  People have established secretive movements and societies with bizarre theories for attaining freedoms, and so on it goes. But the most significant form of freedom God wants His children to have is where a person is living a life true to his/her divine destiny as persons with unique gifts and fulfilling in every way, shape, and form. This is the place of freedom man was created by God to have as his/her ultimate destiny.

“Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person (Jesus) obeyed God, many will be made righteous” (Rom.5:18-19) Adam and Eve Expelled from Eden; Jesus Christ first Human Raised to Immortality (Pics: Wiki Commons)

How do we get there? By the very same principle which brought us under the sin-condition in the first place: through the principle of attribution and substitution through the vital instrument of faith. Let us again turn to Paul, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom.4:5). Repeating the earlier verse, “Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone” (Rom.8:19). Again Paul reiterates, “For Christ is the end of the “law for righteousness” to everyone who believes” (Rom.10:4). Do we see that? All it takes is faith (trust)  – to believe in our Father’s provision of a Savior in His Son who rescues us from bondage! Faith is more powerful than we realize, for without it God cannot reach out and give us the freedom of personhood we richly deserve as humans made in His likeness. (Heb.11:6) Adam would not have incarcerated mankind in prison if he did not trust (have faith) in the devil’s lies. Our first parents acted upon what they heard and believed, albeit by deceit. Adam’s faith (trust) in Satan’s lies which enslaved mankind in the sin-condition, now works in reverse so our faith in the Savior Jesus rescues and give us back our freedoms, the dignity of personhood, of being true persons formed in the image of the Triune God as we were created to become. Read more on saving faith at: http://bulamanriver.net/8382

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Then He pointedly ask his listeners, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:25). Faith is the silver bullet, a magical weapon, so to speak. The principle of transcription operates upon faith. Without it nothing happens. Getting back to our theme, many think of His statement about the resurrection is futuristic. Truthfully, it is dualistic: present and future. In the present sense, it speaks of another of Jesus’ classic statement of being ‘born again in the Spirit.’ (John 3:5-8; 1 Cor.6:19) Its futuristic manifestation is about our resurrection to immortality at Jesus’ second coming. To be “resurrected” in the human sense means to be raised in our spiritual lives out of the sin-condition and given gifts to identify us as persons and personalities, in God’s likeness in His Tri-Personality Being. To be given “life” in our human form means for the first time we are given a personality conformed in Jesus’ image – He is the first human to enter and exist in the presence of the Triune God. (Rom.8:29) You see, Jesus is the only human who has ever been resurrected to immortality by God and we follow Jesus’ footsteps to be conferred immortality through this principle of attribution and substitution. There is no other way to Love, freedom, immortality, and salvation.

The outcome speaks of human personhood as the Creator had planned from the start. What does personhood mean? It means we have become true “persons” with unique gifts living life that is significant and self-fulfilling in every way as God’s own people in His divine presence or “Triune Life.”* Up to this point, you and I were dead in the sin-condition and non-persons – no human had a individual existence before God apart from Jesus in His glorified human form. Only Jesus gave true life back to our dead humanity. Paul says this of Jesus’ attributive life, “When He ascended on high (heaven), He took many captives and gave gifts to His people” (Eph.4:8). The Message translation renders this in paraphrase as follows, “He climbed the high mountain, He captured the enemy and seized the booty, He handed it all out in gifts to the people.” An insightful metaphor speaking of Jesus destroying Satan’s prison (sin-condition) and led the captives (mankind) out, and gave them back their rightful heritage (Spirit/gifts/’booty’) as persons which the devil stole since Adam. At last, humanity is given back their stolen personhood, with gifts and destinies in the Spirit. Paul says, “Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift” (Eph.4:7). The first and primary gift is the gift of the Spirit.

It’s worth repeating to consider how Jesus rescued mankind and gave human beings back their identity and dignity as persons in the divine triune likeness, with unique gifts before the Almighty God. Through Adam’s rebellion we had zero existence, we were non-persons dead in our sins. (Eph.2:1) We had no life to speak about. Consider what Jesus said just in case we’re trying to equate this physical body and life with true “existence”: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing,” (John 6:63) When Jesus took our humanity and glorified it in Himself, for the very first time ever a human being was given the freedom to stand before the Father as divine/human person uniquely gifted. Paul affirmed this, saying, “He (Jesus) is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence” (Col.1:18). Jesus restored our true humanity and distinct personhood in Himself, and through the principle of attribution God ascribed Jesus glorified humanity upon us so we may attain our freedoms as personalities in God’s eternal fellowship. At last, by conferring Jesus’ new glorified humanity upon us, we have true freedom as persons before God. God gives us the gift of the Spirit to miraculously restore our unique personalities, and personify Jesus’ eternal destiny in us. (1 Cor.3:16; 6:19)

Dove, Symbol of the Holy Spirit – The Primary Gift (Wiki Commons)

Our sinful self has been nailed to the cross of Jesus and dead and gone forever. Paul repeats this ascribing principle, “For Christ’s Love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died” (2 Cor.5:14). Just as Christ was resurrected we are given new birth in our free-standing true self with unique gifts. (Gal.2:20; Rom.6:4) Paul said, “In Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority” (Col.2:10). By speaking of Jesus’ divine/human sovereignty (“head over all rule and authority”) Paul affirms that Jesus is the eternal ‘repository’ of huma gifts, saying, “In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (gifts and destinies)” (Col.2:3). That is what the golden Lampstand with seven lights in the temple stood for – Jesus is the central light who illuminates whole Lampstand. (Exo.25:31) Light symbolize gift. (You may read about Christ’s new humanity at: http://bulamanriver.net/9718 and Cross: http://bulamanriver.net/9688

If we believe, then Jesus’ destiny becomes ours by attribution. (Rom.8:29) This speaks of our personhood. We have become “persons” with true life in the presence of God. Up to this point, you and I were dead and had no individual existence before God. God is “life” and nothing dead can co-exist with Him. (John 14:6; Eph.2:1) But now at last we have true life and given to “exist” in God’s own likeness, having been brought out from the dead (resurrection) and given a personality with gifts and have a relationship with God in His Tri-Personal Being. Paul tells us to not compare ourselves when someone is successful and we are not because we are all uniquely gifted and have different pathways in life to relate with and commune with God. (Gal.6:4) We wait on the Lord. Our time will come and takes place only in the condition of righteousness and holiness which Christ has charted for us and ascribed to all who believe. Note how Jesus brings this ascribing principle in His prayer to the Father before He was crucified, “I have made You (Father) known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the Love You (Father) have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.” (John 17:26, emphasis added). What an awesome privilege! All it takes to make this happen is faith. Faith and trust in Jesus’ finished work brings this born-again personality into a person who now lives a purposeful life in God’s temple, in God’s Loving presence.

The old adage, “Give me freedom or give me death,” is the war cry from the heart of our human experience craving liberty and freedom over all forms of bondage and tyranny. The original pilgrims had come to a new world we call America today to escape persecution and oppression, risking all for freedom. It was their spirited and undying pursuit to seek freedom that the holiday of Thanksgiving is remembered today. Today, our pilgrimage is no different, whether it is on a personal level and/or community and national level. Freedom must be fought for and defended against all forms of bondage and totalitarianism. Yet, our Creator understands this cry for freedom more than we can and ever will.

Jesus has defeated the enemy and secured and continues to maintain our freedom into the future for all eternity. The Father gives us this awesome privilege to attain true freedom through His Son. He wants us to recognize that without our foundational spiritual freedom we have in Jesus any other forms of freedom we seek will be temporary much less meaningful and enduring. The Bible says that our divine destiny is complete in Christ, and gives us a promising future, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who Love Him” (1 Cor.2:9). And let us not overlook how this ascribing principle makes it all possible, “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty He could make you rich” (2 Cor.8:9). What an awesome favor, honor, and privilege Jesus has given believers to live free as persons true to his/her divine destiny and forever live in the Father’s presence and be recipients of His grace, both now on earth and for eternity in His spiritual Kingdom.

Be Truly Thankful this Thanksgiving Season (WikiCommons)

I hope we can stop to reflect upon the awesome grace we have been afforded and take the time this Thanksgiving season to give thanks to our heavenly Father for the wonderful gift of a life of true freedom we have in His Son through His Spirit.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or you may email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. Please continue to pray and help in whatever you can those affected by natural disasters. 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. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life”* in the person of Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity.” Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,
(Your Servant In Christ)

* “Triune Life” means to inherit human personhood identifying us as true persons with gifts in Christ and living according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27; Rom.8:29) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself (“Adamic humanity”). It means to live in relationship with God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives and walks in you (“Immanuel humanity”). Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the 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) You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website, www.bulamanriver.com, where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living” Or, you may go to the directory banner at top and click “Mission” where you will find more information.

Mission Statement: Read the Triune Life 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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“FOR WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD”

Greetings once more friends!

“For we are the temple of the living God,” Paul asserts in 2 Corinthians 6:16. That is a bold statement, to say the least. But what exactly does it mean?” There is a prophecy from the prophet Malachi which makes reference to the temple in a futuristic sense: “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to His Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies”. (Mal.3:1, NLT). This ‘messenger-prophecy’ goes hand in hand with the ‘Elijah prophecy’ in Malachi 4: “Look, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives. He will encourage fathers and their children to return to me, so that I will not come and strike the earth with judgment” (Mal.4:5-6, NET B.). Jesus explained that both passages of prophecy are identical and was fulfilled by John the Baptist. (Matt.11:7-15; 17:10-13) However, I will focus on this phrase, “The Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to His Temple.”

 

 “Heaven is My Throne, and The Earth is My Footstool. Could you Build Me a Temple as Good as That?” Picture of Earth from our Moon, and Spiral Galaxy (Pics: Wiki Commons)

The Messenger
We know Jesus appeared in the first physical temple in Jerusalem which Zerubabel was responsible for restoring during the Persian diaspora. This prophecy speaks of “the messenger of the covenant whom you look for so eagerly shall suddenly come to His temple.” Jesus is the Messenger of the New Covenant. However, under the New Covenant the temple is spiritual, not physical. The Scriptures states, “However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands” (Act.7:48). It’s important to keep that distinction in mind as we discuss this topic of the temple. There is the “Messenger of the covenant” and “the messenger who prepares the way for the Lord.” John the Baptist was “the messenger sent to prepare the way” for the Messiah’s coming. John fulfilled the role in the first coming of Jesus. The Bible does not reveal the identity of “the messenger” at Christ’s second coming, but we know if there is one he will come possessing Elijah-like powers.

It is important to realize though that God has not left us in the dark about what “the messenger’s” work will involve: a) “Prepare the way (temple) for the Lord’s coming” b) “Encourage fathers and their children to return to Me.” So, the phrase “The Lord you are seeking so eagerly will suddenly come to His Temple,” speaks of a people who have changed and “returned to the Lord,” are “prepared and ready,” and now eagerly seeks the Lord at His second coming. So, we now know these twin objectives are at the core of the Gospel dispensation under the New Covenant given to God’s people, for its final outcome is the manifestation of the temple that Jesus will return to with His Father in the Spirit’s power. (Rev.21:1-4)

What is a Temple?
Many today think that God dwells in physical temples like impressive Christian cathedrals, elaborate Islamic mosques, ornate Hindu temples, and ancient monolithic structures of bygone eras. The tabernacle Israel was instructed to build in the wilderness, and subsequently the magnificent temple of Solomon, were physical and temporal in nature. God is not mortal like humans to dwell in physical structures, He is a spirit Being and dwells in a spiritual temple. The physical tabernacle/temple were intended to be depictions of the true temple He desires to dwell: in God’s own spiritual people. (Act.7:47-50; 17:24-25) Yes, there is a spiritual component to man’s makeup. And yes, humans are mortal beings but he is given a heart and mind resembling God’s likeness. (Gen.1:26-27)

Does God dwell in Impressive Cathedrals like this in Varna, Bulgaria (Wiki Commons) 

He made this distinction between the physical and spiritual temples when He asks, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Could you build Me a temple as good as that? Could you build Me such a resting place? My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are Mine. I, the Lord, have spoken! I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at My word” (Isa.66:1-2, NLT). What an awesome declaration of truth about His temple. God is proclaiming He has a physical temple – the whole of creation and the universe is His temple. Elsewhere God asks, “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD” (Jer.23:24). The Scriptures says how God is adorned in His temple, “You are dressed in a robe of light.” It tells us what His temple looks like, “You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens; You lay the rafters of Your home in the rain clouds; You ride upon the wings of the wind. The winds are your messengers; flames of fire are your servants” (Psa.104:104).

We only have to look at the marvelous beauty of this earth and the awesome expanse of the heavens to witness His magnificent temple. Hence, each time our eyes gaze upon the many wonders of His creation we are actually looking into the face of God in His physical temple. And now He invites us into His heart, and we reciprocate by inviting Him into our hearts. He is not seeking another physical temple, but if that is our focus, He challenges us to do better than what He already has. He fills all of time and space as Creator. Sure enough, we stand mute to His challenge.

Here is the point not to be missed, as physical humans we are intrinsically part of His temple as earthlings. If so, what is our role in His temple, and how ought humans function and conduct themselves in their temple-life? All things in the created order are predetermined in their respective function as the Creator ordained except humans. Humans were created in God’s image with minds to choose their God-given function by motivation of Love.

‘Contrite Heart’
Let’s see where God wants us to focus our attention in the function of His temple. In Isaiah, the temple is contrasted between building a physical structure and manifesting a ‘contrite heart’ in man. Thus, God is pointing us to His true spiritual temple: the ‘contrite heart’ of man. A physical structure vs. the ‘contrite heart’ of the believer. The Psalmist penned this revealing passage, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise” (Ps.51:16-17; Isa.66:1-2).The reason ought to be obvious as it is rational and reassuring. On one hand you have a living, walking human being with a heart beating in his chest, while the other is a mindless, unconscious, immobile, physical structure. It may be ostentatious, but it is heartless. God desires to live in the temple of the human ‘contrite heart,’ and man to dwell in His Son through the Spirit’s sanctifying power. God’s temple is the inner sanctum of the heart and mind of humanity that is given to Christ, and in which He dwells.

Look, this is profoundly important to God that He chose a heavenly messenger to affirm this awesome truth: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God himself will be with them and be their God… Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Rev.21:3, 5). There is no more clearer affirmation as to what the temple of God is in His own mind.

Now that we have established that God’s physical temple is the whole of creation and we would be wasting time and resources on something He does not seek, let us throw our weight on what God truly desires. There is a primary foundation upon which the temple of God is built. It is built upon God Himself. God made a promise to Abraham and gave him assurance, saying, “By Myself I have sworn…” to show there was no one greater for Him to swear by than Himself. (Heb.6:13; Gen.22:16-18). God is the sovereign Being upon whom His temple is founded and built. If God is Spirit and fills all of time and space, then He fills both the physical temple (creation/universe) and the spiritual temple (human/’contrite heart’), hence, we differentiate between the physical and spiritual temples. When we speak of the spiritual temple it is identified by the heart – the heart of God and the ‘contrite heart’ of man.

“God IS Love” (1 John 4:8, 16) (Wiki Commons, By Böhringer Friedrich – Own work)

Love
Therefore, the temple reveals God’s identity in who He is in His heart. That is, His nature, character, and substance. If the temple reveals the essence of God’s heart, then a true knowledge of Him must form the center of man’s own heart. Because He is eternal and utterly holy in His Love, so must His dwelling place (temple) be. That is the primary foundation of the temple: Love, for “God is Love” (1 John 4:8) Hence, we read this from the language of the New Covenant, “I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (Jer.31:33; Heb.8:10). This shows a fusing of two hearts – the heart of God and the ‘contrite heart’ of man. His laws reveal His nature in His Love. Under the New Covenant God’s Love is manifested in the human heart by the Holy Spirit, “For the fruit of the Spirit is Love” (Gal.5:22-23; also 1 Cor.13) Here we see God’s identity (“My law” or Love/Spirit) embodying the heart of His people. Let us keep our bearings in check, man is not the temple, God is. Humans possess the potential to become a temple as and when God comes and dwell in the person through His Spirit. John said, “Whoever lives in Love lives in God, and God in them.” (1 John 4:16) (To read more on the topic of God’s Love go to: http://bulamanriver.net/9354 and http://bulamanriver.net/5166

Freedom
There are three aspects of divine freedom which stems from the nature of God. The primary meaning of freedom is to exist as a separate personality and function like God is in His Triunity as three free Persons in the Father, Son, and Spirit. Since Adam’s fall, we were incarcerated by the devil living the ‘solitary’ life of sin without purpose with a certain divine retribution. When we were freed by Jesus, for the first time we are given a personality likened after God’s free ‘Triune’ image. This is the awe-inspiring miracle of the birth of man’s true personhood in Christ we often overlook. Second is to be freed from the incarceration of the devil’s sin condition through Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension. And third is the process of being conferred a calling and destiny by God pertaining to the believer’s life-gift and divine destiny. Yes, when a person stands in his/her God-given gift and calling, that is the essence of divine freedom. Then Love shows us how to use our gifts in our relationship with each other. (1 Cor.13)

A person uses his/her God-given freedom to voluntarily enter the temple by receiving His Son who absolves the believer from sins and is declared holy. God will not demand or force anyone to become His temple, like the devil forcefully and deceptively imprisons man in his ‘solitary’, self-centered sin-condition. God made man a free moral agent with the liberty to choose, hence the ‘contrite heart’ helps man in choosing God’s way of life of Love and freedom. With the ‘contrite heart,’ God confers upon the believer true freedom by means of the person’s gift and divine calling. There is no freedom without a life of doing God’s will for your life. (To read more, go to my previous blog tilted, “Gifts, Abilities, Destinies” at http://bulamanriver.net/2166 )

Israel’s tabernacle/temple in the wilderness had a permanent fire on the altar which never goes out. (Lev.6:13) It was for the people to offer sacrifices for sins, whenever the people seek God’s grace and mercy. People also offered gifts of gratitude to God. The unquenchable fire was casting Christ’s sacrifice of Himself for our sins in the spiritual temple for our eternal freedom: past, present, and future. Paul confirms this saying, “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin” (1 Cor.1:30). Paul said further, “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 (sin).” (Gal.5:1, emphasis added) So, freedom is the second element of the foundation of God’s temple. Yes, God’s Love will always be present to take us to our freedoms through each of our divine destinies as we live the “Triune Life.”*

Trinitarian God
There is a third and vital aspect to God’s temple. We have seen the humble ‘contrite heart’ and how it is formed by two divine elements, Love and freedom. They describe God’s inherent nature. The third element is God’s Trinitarian nature. We saw that the temple is God Himself and He fills it completely. The doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is three consubstantial Persons or hypostases – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as One God in three divine Persons. Many have tried to explain the Trinity in various ways and the explanations always fall short. For some, they say it does not make sense mathematically – three does not add up to one. However, the Trinity is not a math issue, it has to do with the nature of Being – a matter of Love. Love is a state of Being, it is not  measurable but infinite as God is. God is not made of Love and thereby discoverable, “God is Love” (1 John 4:8, 16). God is Spirit and undiscernable. Symbiotically, the act of one Person is the act of all three, and the act of three Persons is the act of one. It is their Love for and in one another that makes them One, for “God is Love.”

Rublev’s Famous Icon of the Trinity (Wiki Commons)

The doctrine of the Trinity lays out that the three Persons are co-equal, co-eternal and co-substantial. I will quote from the Athanasian Creed: “For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensible, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible. So likewise, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty. And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty. So, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So, likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord; And yet they are not three Lords but one Lord.” (https://heidelblog.net/2013/03/the-athanasian-creed-on-the-trinity/  and http://bulamanriver.net/10401

In the final analysis, it is the testimony of Scripture which undergirds our confession of the Trinity: You may read Matthew 28:18-20; Jude1:20-21; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6; Matthew 3:16-17; John 14:16-17; Romans 14:17-18; 1 Peter 1:1-2; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Luke 3:21-22.

I will share an analogy I read earlier which can help us understand how God can be one and yet be three. The article quotes a qualifying statement from theologian Thomas Torrance that we must “reject any mythological projection by us into God of the creaturely relations and images latent in the natural and pre-theological significance of these concepts” (The Christian Doctrine of God: One Being, Three Persons, page 105). “We learned in school that white light actually contains all the colors of the rainbow. There are three primary colors, which we name red, yellow and blue. Yet, these three primary colors are contained in the one light that is white light. The primaries do not exist apart from the white light, but co-inhere in it. At the same time, light as white light would not exist apart from the three primary colors. To speak of “light” is to speak of the three primaries, and yet each of the primaries is distinct from each other.” (https://www.gci.org/Jesus/isgod) Although there is nothing in our physical world we can use to even remotely plumb the depth of God’s divine Being, I found that earthly analogy to be helpful to my limited human mind in trying to conceptualize how each Person of the Triune Godhead is distinct but not separate.

Rainbow in a Distance – distinct Colors but Not separate (Wiki Commons)

Three Pillars of the Participatory Temple-Life
So, these are the three pillars to God’s temple: the underlying Trinitarian nature of God, Love, and Freedom. One cannot do without the other, God is both Love and freedom and becomes a single expression of the temple-life reflecting who God is in His Tri-Personal Being. There is an applicatory term I would like to share which depicts the inclusive divine temple-life, it is called the participatory life. This is what life in the temple is all about. It depicts God as more than one, for to be participatory means to be in relationship. The trajectory of the participatory life arises out of God’s divine nature of three free Persons of the Godhead. Without Love and freedom (God’s divine nature), the participatory life is non-existent. Love engenders relationships of the three Persons of the Triune God, and freedom confirms the distinct role of each Person. This is the introductory steps into life in the temple-life – our interaction with every member of the family, Father, Son, and Spirit (Godhead) is founded upon Love and freedom. So, we see how all three Persons of the Triune God work as one in bringing us into His temple, and we are made to participate in the same philosophy of life in the temple. The Psalmist proclaims, “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” (Psa.77:13, KJV). And John says how we are to relate with each other in this temple-life, “And He has given us this command: Anyone who Loves God must also Love their brother and sister” (1 John 4:21)

Holy Spirit Makes a Human Temple
Now, let us read how God makes a human into His temple: “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor.3:16, NASB). Man is physical and made in God’s image, however, the spiritual side of his makeup, namely his heart, mind, and soul, gives him the potential to receive the Spirit of God, and only when such an event occurs does the believer become God’s temple. Paul told the Corinthians, “For we are the temple of the living God” (2 Cor.6:16). However, we saw earlier the temple of God cannot exist in humans without the ‘contrite heart.’ What does the ‘contrite’ heart mean? The ‘contrite heart’ reveals the presence and work of the Holy Spirit and the believer’s submissive heart to the leading of the Spirit. Man is born with a ‘rebellious heart,’ but only the Spirit can replace it with the ‘contrite heart.’ (Jer.17:9; Mar.7:22-21) He is the personification of Love and freedom in human believers. And the gift of the Spirit comes as a result of man’s faith in Jesus as the eternal Savior and Mediator. (John 3:16; John 14:26, 16; Eph.1:13)

“We are the Temple of the Living God” (Pic: Wiki Commons)

So, when believers enter and live in God’s temple through Jesus, their understanding of the temple-life essentially means to engage in the divine participatory life of the Tri-Personal God who is Love and freedom by nature. Hence, it is vital we understand the true nature of God if we are to enter His temple and commune with Him: that He is three Persons in One Godhead, and He is Love in nature and free in Person living the participatory life. (1 John 4:16)

“You shall be Holy, for I am Holy”
God is utterly holy in His Triune Love-Being. The Bible quotes God, saying, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet.1:16; also Matt.5:48; Rev. 4:8 Isa. 43:15 1 Sam. 2:2 Psa. 11:4). On the other hand, the Bible says this of humans, “The heart is deceitful above all things (desperately wicked) and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer.17:9). Jesus further elaborates on this view, saying, “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mar.7:21-23). Here, we see the contrast between God’s heart and man’s heart – He is utterly holy and we are desperately wicked.

However, recall man’s original creation was perfect in God’s likeness. (Gen.1:26-27) Hence, man originally possessed a Godly ‘trinitarian’ heart, until  the devil deceived our first parents and introduced his rebellious heart with its ‘solitary’ life and sin-condition. Jesus reminds us of this truth when he said, “The Kingdom of God is within you,” to remind us of our true heritage in Christ and the divine image. Satan can never take that away from us, but he can deceive and blind us to our true divine personhood through sin and rebellion. But the Scriptures reveal how the Jesus removes the rebellious heart to make us see our true identity through the ‘contrite heart’ in the Spirit.

So, in one move of Love our heavenly Father brought us out of the depth of our sinfulness into the pinnacle of His holy Love through His Son. (John 3:16) We are taken from a person with a ‘rebellious heart’ to one with a ‘contrite heart.’ The Bible states, “God demonstrates His own Love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8). In other words, God demonstrates His Loving heart to us. Now, that is an act of incomprehensible magnitude for any human mind to fathom. To imagine that in one movement of Love He takes us from the chain of Satan’s prison and into the Loving arms of our Father in His holy temple in heaven; from darkness to light; from death to life; from a persona non-grata to an offspring of the divine, from fear to Love, is nothing short of the greatest miracle a human being can freely receive and experience. The prophet puts it across like this, “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isa.1:18). To come from nothing and less than nothing to become the temple for the living God is truly an act of incomprehensible Love by God for sinful man. This is the essence of the participatory life in the temple.

Participatory Life (Triune Life*)
The next question is, what does the participatory life temple-life looks like? Remember, though we have become believers, we are still humans living in a world that’s subject to and dominated by Satan, and the sin condition that undergirds his world. The devil still has a “lease” over this earth because Adam handed it to him in Eden. (Gen.1:26, KJV; Gen.3) A lease has an expiry date, and we live in his world while we are called to live in an alternate other world of God’s temple. Paul exhorted the faithful, “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”” (2 Cor. 6:16-18).

We remain in the world but are not part of it. All the pain, suffering, and trials humans go through in life can be explained in one simple word: sin, hence, the command to “come out” in the sense of not participating in sin’s unholy way of life. The storms of life that sin creates can only be defeated within the walls of the temple with the Spirit’s help who sanctifies believers, not outside of it. God’s holy Love reigns in the temple where sin has no power. It is the temple of light (Jesus) not darkness. (John 8:12; John 3:19-20) So, the participatory life reflects God’s own Trinitarian life. It involves our continual sanctification so we may remain in God’s holy presence in His temple. So, when we read God promising, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool,” it speaks of an eternal reality God sees of mankind in His Son, through the work of sanctification that is being actualized in the Tri-Personal Being of God (temple) for which our participation is being enlisted. Our participation involves maintaining a ‘contrite heart’ and freely submit to the lead of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Teaching – Learning & Living well in the Participatory Life (Wiki Commons, By James Tissot )

“Whoever Wants to be My Disciple…”
The participation of the ‘contrite heart’ in the temple was laid out by Jesus when He said, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matt.16:24-26). To “carry our Cross daily” means we experience an ongoing forgiveness (Love) and freedom from the prison of sin so we will live in our true self, that is, in Jesus new glorified humanity in the temple. There are only two human forms that has ever existed and walked upon this earth: the first Adam, and the second Adam, Jesus Christ. (1 Cor.15:45) (To read about Jesus’ new humanity go to: http://bulamanriver.net/9718

“Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me”
Paul speaks eloquently of what it means to “Carry your Cross daily.” He said, “I have been crucified with Christ (Cross), and I no longer live, yet I live, but 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). We see here how the first man, the fallen “Adamic human” in his old sinful self is crucified to the cross and has died, and we see also the second new man, in Jesus  risen “Immanuel humanity” now lives in constant state of forgiveness and holiness in the Spirit.

Repentance                                                                                                                                                     However, there is a flipside to forgiveness, it is called repentance. Forgiveness springs from the gift of repentance. Without repentance of personal sins there is no forgiveness and renewal. Peter said, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Act.2:38, NLT). Yes, repentance is a gift we can request and receive, for no one is perfect nor sinless. (2 Tim.2:25) The ‘contrite heart’ and repentance goes hand in hand as we live a holy life in the temple in heaven and in this human life. Only within the walls of the temple are we given the privilege to probe deeper into and experience God’s infinite Love for us. (Luk. 24:46-47; 2 Tim.2:25; 1 John 2:1; Rom.3:22-25)

The Historical Silhouette of Calvary with Three Crosses is Symbolic which Reveals the One-ness of death of God in His Triune Being for Mankind. (By James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum, Wiki Commons)

Repentance, Forgiveness, Freedom
So, we see the temple-life of “carrying our cross” involves an ongoing spiritually ‘organic’ process of repentance, forgiveness, and freedom through a Spirit-filled and Spirit-led life (Love). (Eph.1:13; Gal.5:25; 1 Cor.13: 1-13) This sums up the state of the ‘contrite heart’ of man.  Paul sheds more light into our act of “carrying our cross” in the temple-life, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship” (Rom.12:1). The instructions God gave Israel about the physical temple-life shows it was a place of worship where sacrifices were offered for the ongoing forgiveness of the sins and transgressions of the people. So likewise, this shows the life of the spiritual temple of the human life and heart in order that believers may live in the uninterrupted expression of His Love and grace so we may be free from the sin condition with its consequential fatalistic existence. This is what ancient Israel did in the tabernacle/temple in the wilderness to portray what goes on in the true spiritual temple (human believers) today. However, the sacrifices portrayed a picture of and symbolized Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice of Himself on Calvary for human sins. (Heb.10:4-7; 9:11-14) In the spiritual temple of human believers today, we are the living sacrifice as we read the Psalms tell us, “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise” (Ps.51:16-17).

Temple High Priest
Jesus is the High Priest of the temple of God who once for all time offered Himself as atonement for our forgiveness and freedom. The Bible says this in Hebrews, “We have such a High Priest (in Jesus Christ), One who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a Minister in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle (temple) that the Lord, not man, set up. For every High Priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices” (Heb.8:1-3, my emphasis). We are the subjects of this scenario in the temple offering ourselves as “living sacrifice” upon the cross we carry before the Father in our act of “true and proper worship.” Each day as we pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” (Matt.6:12), we are “carrying our cross” and surrendering ourselves in the temple of the High Priest in heaven, replicated in the bodily temple of His people, to receive ongoing atonement, absolution, and sanctification in order that we may be joined and made one with the Father, Son, and Spirit, in divine completeness. (2 Cor.5:21; 1 John 1:9)

An Impression of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem (Wiki Commons, By Johnreve-Own work)

Altar and the ‘Contrite Heart’ 

In this manner, we see man as the living temple in whom and for whom Jesus’ sacrifice for absolution is offered as a copy of the heavenly temple. The human ‘contrite heart’ is the altar upon which the sacrifice and blood of the Lamb is laid and offered by the High Priest Jesus before God. The ‘contrite heart’ was once ruled by the spirit of rebellion but is now the domain of the Spirit of God. There were seven furnishings God instructed Moses to build for the tabernacle/temple in the wilderness. Each had profound meaning to the character of the spiritual temple of God’s people, and how they conform spiritually in a fallen world in God’s presence. I have mentioned three, namely the temple (man), the altar of sacrifice (‘contrite heart’), and role of the High Priest (Jesus). I will cover the other furnishings in a future post.

“The Power of His Resurrection”
Paul surmised the temple-life this way, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death (cross), and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Phi.3:10, my emphasis). This is the alternate life we live in Christ in the temple-life. What is our part? To have the humility to submit to the Spirit’s work of sanctification of promoting the ‘contrite heart’ to always acknowledging our wrongs and repenting before God, and we will experience the power of Jesus’ resurrected life.

The Heavenly Temple

Do you want to know what this heavenly temple environment looks like? Wouldn’t you like to take a peek and appreciate it from a more complete sense? Listen, “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 weakness, 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, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our times of need… You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God Himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the One who mediates the New Covenant between God and people” (Heb.4:14-16; 12:22-24).

Each one of us have a part in this magnificent temple, as Peter said, “And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple” (1 Pet.2:5). Paul told the Ephesians, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit” (Eph.2:19-22). Indeed, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Jesus is the chief cornerstone upon whom we are raised to become the temple of the living God. It is a place which no words can describe. And herein lies all our answers to life and its fullest expression of living joyfully which is carried through in the presence of our heavenly Father, God Almighty! As Paul affirms, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who Love Him” (1 Cor.2:9).

“If we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His” Rom.6:5   (By Car Heinrich Bloch, Wiki Commons)

Finally, Jesus said this powerful and encouraging words to His followers, “The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from My God; and I will also write on them My new Name” (Rev.3:12). Let us restate the prophecy we read at the start, “The Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to His temple.” We were born and called to be the true living temple of God that the Father is preparing for the return of His Son to this earth. Let us prepare ourselves to receive Him with joy and celebration for He will bring, peace, justice, wellbeing, and immortality to humanity.

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. Please continue to pray and help in whatever you can those affected by natural disasters. 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. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life”* in the person of Jesus’ “Immanuel humanity.” Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,
(Your Servant In Christ)

* Triune Life: means a life lived according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself (“Adamic humanity”). It means God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in you (“Immanuel humanity”). Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the 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) You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website, www.bulamanriver.com, where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living” Or, you may go to the directory banner at top and click “Mission” where you will find more information.

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

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