Monthly Archives: May 2013

RIVERBED (MAN) + “LIVING WATERS” (HOLY SPIRIT) = BULA MAN-RIVER – BY KIANG P LEE

Greetings Precious Friends,

I hope my last post about the meaning of “obedience” in the life of the Bula man-river*, has brought you peace of mind and joy in your life. In this post, I will try to explain man’s relationship with God, and how this relationship is made to exist properly in God’s Triune Love so that the miraculous life God wants you to live becomes a personal reality with those of your loved ones, your neighbor and community. My sincere desire is that it will bring you an energizing joy which only the Spirit can give.

My Book, “Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living,” was written to explain this very question. It sees this divine/human relationship through the metaphor of the river. Jesus gave many parables likening things of natural occurances in nature to spiritual realities. “He (Jesus) did not say anything to them without using a parable” (Mark 4:34). Through this parabolic imagery of the river, the Book explain man’s authentic relationship with the Triune God in the life of the Bula man-river. In my previous posts I have explained the nature of God as Trinitarian in the Father, Son (Logos), and the Holy Spirit. This is the starting block in man’s relationship with God where he relates with Him in who He is in His true nature. God is not solitary, but Triune. (Read my posts “Life Begins Where Our Concept of God Takes Root – The God Who Is Trinitarian, Pts. 1,2 & 3.” For a more expanded explanation, please read my Book)

Man is a Spiritual “Riverbed” for Holy Spirit (Wiki Commons)

The Bula man-river, as the title above explains – “Riverbed (Man) + “Living Waters” (Spirit) = Bula man-river” – is the authentic union of man with the Triune God through the Spirit. The Bula man-river is the true child of God for he is the union of man with the Triune God in Jesus Christ who took our humanity into the Godhead, and in our present human form, takes us into the divine existence in the power and activity of the Holy Spirit.

In this post, I would like to explain how a believer actually takes his or her stand in this relationship with the Triune God. By understanding this, we will know what our authentic human response entails as we live in His constant presence through the Holy Spirit. Jesus explains why it is vital we understand this so we may experience this bona fide relationship with God. He said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship (relate with) Him must worship (relate) in Spirit and in Truth” (John 4:24).

This understanding of relating with God on His “Spirit/Truth” terms is vital to our well-being, because as humans it is natural to dictate a relationship on man’s “solitary” terms. When we discover how this relationship ought to work on God’s “Trinitarian” terms, we could grow and experience Him more authentically. (2 Pet.3:18) On that basis, man’s functional relationship with God ought to encourage him to make a type of comparative analysis and evaluation of human life as it relates with our Maker. We evaluate His “Trinitarian worldview,” as opposed to man’s “solitary worldview.” First, God is divine and Triune, and sustains the universe and all life. He is a God with whom nothing is impossible. He is omniscient, all powerful, all-wise, and all-Loving in His Triune nature. He knows you better than you know yourself. He bestows gifts upon us so we can find purpose and meaning in life. He shapes our past, lives with us in the present, and orchestartes our future destiny.

Now, think about man, he is physical and from the day he is born, his days are numbered. He is “solitary” by nature, while God is “Triune.” He has no clue or adequate explanation how this world works and who sustains it. He cannot control his future, let alone know how it will work out. At any moment, in any number of ways, his life could be snuffed out, without his concurrence. In my Book, I said, “Man is perplexed by the dilemma of human existence. Having emerged from nothing without our concurrence, with consciousness of self, thoughts, and deep inner feelings, to live a life of vibrancy for self-expression, never satisfied but ever exploring, and then to die is disconcerting to say the least. Physical life is fragile, as much as it is perplexing. He fails to realize that his “solitary-driven” life is the underlying trigger for his quandary. Nonetheless, deep in our consciousness we question if there’s something larger than life itself – something bigger that can conquer death, man’s greatest enemy. Yet, in the Bible we come to see that God promises man immortality. (Rom.6:23) So, there has to be something greater than we can understand as humans, which overrides our knowledge and beliefs about ourselves.” (Bula man-river, Pg.34, emphasis added)

Now, from this comparative analysis we see our human “solitary” existence in all its obvious frail, limited, and malevolent expression. Then, we see God’s divine “Triune” existence, perfect, and completely harmonious and Loving in all His expression. He is the Source of life, wisdom and power. From this standpoint, we perceive why Jesus said we are to relate (worship) with God by seeking His spiritual reality (truth) as our priority. To believers and non-believers alike, our human reality is plain to see – it cannot sustain a life of superabundance** we seek in our hearts. The barrenness of our “solitary” human reality stares us in the face. We cannot ignore this, nor can we escape it.

Waters of River Represent Holy Spirit (Wiki Commons)

This analysis gives us the reality (truth) about man’s “solitary” existence and his dilemma. None of us asked to be born into the human race. Nevertheless, we are here not by choice but by a greater design of the Creator. This ought to humble us to ask questions about life, more than we are ordinarily hasty to affirm what we may not understand about it. Because we are made in God’s Triune image, it affirms for us a future more glorious than our feeble minds dare to believe. Without Christ’s living faith, it is impossible to live this authentic Trinitarian life of God. (Heb.11:6)

Malevolence of Man

In his impetuosity, man follows a “solitary” path that seems right to him. Even as believers, we act and live as “solitary” beings, failing to understand what it means to live the Christian life in the “Triune” existence of God. He is still caught in the quagmire of religion which dictates its legalistic demands. So instead of being “Triune” persons, and wise observers, we are still groping in the dark about things we don’t understand. We fail to comprehend our place in God’s plans for humanity, and our personal destinies in Christ. We fail to live miraculous lives.

So, we see man living life, and doing things that’s not his rightful place to do, and wonders why he fails miserably at it. Without proper evaluation, man does his own thing, and inadvertently do what rightly belongs to God. Ignorance gets the better of him. Man does not exist on a knowledge-based existence for nothing. We are to use our minds, make evaluations and comparative analysis about life, which should give us the understanding to make informed decisions. This exercise in self-evaluation is something we will do for the remainder of our human life. Quite simple, if we are perceptive, we will see that the chasm that separates us from God is the “solitary” life we espouse and refuse to give up for the “Triune” life in Christ, which our heavenly Father offers freely.

We draw a lesson of this principle from the life the ancient Israelite King Saul. He took something sacrosanct and desecrated it. He did not know, or if he knew, he failed to acknowledge his place in God’s scheme of things. (1Sam.13) Through man’s malevolence he lives like there is nothing sacrosanct anymore. He knows no better for he lacks the inquisitive mind to constantly evaluate his own humanity, and the repercussion his “solitary” thoughtless actions is brought to bear upon his life. Observe how a “believer,” for Saul was an Israelite and its king, imposes his “solitary” will upon a situation that requires a “Trinitarian” or collaborative response. It cannot work. Let’s continue to make this self-evaluations about ourselves, and see if we are indeed having an authentic relationship with God in His Triunity.

Man was Made to be Sacrosanct

In His Word, God makes a clear delineation what is sacrosanct and is under His sovereign prerogative. One of this is the temple responsibilities and how it is administered, which King Saul violated. Now, the temple is the dwelling place of God. But God does not dwell in physical temples made by human hands, but a temple that is spiritual, which He has prepared for Himself. (Acts 7:48; 17:24; 1 Pet. 2:4-5) Because of that, the temple is primarily a place for “Triune” living, where man takes his place in Christ’s glorified humanity. Our human “solitary” life cannot breathe nor live in this environment. This temple is man. Man is the spiritual temple God created in which He lives and walks. (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20) The temple is the place sacrifices are made. It continues to be made today, but not in the mode of animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant, but the New Covenant sacrifice in Christ. Listen to how this activity is done in the temple under the New Covenant: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life, and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you as the best thing you can do for Him.” (Rom.12:1 MSG)

Paul is here depicting the collaborative “Triune life” of God in man. The “Triune life” we live is an act of sacrifice because we are exchanging the natural “solitary” life of man for the divine “Triune” life of God. Jesus, who existed in Triunty with the Father and the Spirit from eternity, said, “I can do nothing on my own initiative: as I as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true” (John 5:30:31, NASB). It’s in this bodily temple environment that the “Triune life” is lived and experienced in all its miraculous wonder, and where God meets with us and we relate with Him in His Triune Being. The “solitary” life cannot exist in this environment.

The RIVERBED

How do we, in our fallen and depraved state of being, with an outlook that’s “solitary” and ends in death, live this “Triune” life which brings superabundance? Our physical earthly place in this Godly relationship is to be viewed from the position and perspective of the RIVERBED. You are the RIVERBED. The Bula man-river’s life is inherently Triune – there’s the RIVERBED (you), there’s Jesus and Herald (Spirit), both of whom interpenetrates the “living waters” which flow in the RIVERBED. The RIVERBED gives us a succinct depiction of the Triune life of God in man. When a person receives Jesus as Savior, he is immersed in the “living waters” (Spirit – John 7:38). In ancient times, as it was in Jesus’ day, people were baptized (immersed) in a river, like the Jordan River. This immersion symbolizes the death and burial of the “solitary” (old) unbelieving self. (Gal.2:20) So, rising out from the baptismal waters signifies the birth of the “Triune” (new) believing self into the Trinitarian life of God in the power of the Spirit. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:5-6).

Paul says we become this new Triune being of faith only because Christ’s miraculous resurrection is continuously being reenacted in believers today. This resurrection (incarnation) into the Triune life of God is one of many miracles which God, in His grace, gives to man. If we are resurrected, then consequentially we are also miraculously ascended with Him into the very presence of the Triune life of God. (read Eph.2:4-7) The resurrection and the ascension go hand-in-hand. Just as man is being eternally forgiven because of Christ’s unbroken sacrifice and mediation for all time (eternity), so man is being continuously resurrected and ascended through Christ’s faith in man. The forgiveness (cross), resurrection, and ascension, is one movement in the act of salvation Christ brings to man.

God’s Reality of Believing Man

Realize this: this is the reality God sees in you, the believer: “God raised us up with Christ (resurrection) and seated us with Him in heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (ascension)” (Eph. 2:6). Man’s dilemma seems to be that he does not see, let alone believe, the same reality which God sees in man in His Son. This is the most awesome reality that can enter the mind and life of man. The reality of man burying his “solitary life” in the watery grave of baptism, then rising to take up his place in the new “Triune life” in Christ in heaven. This is the awe-inspiring expression of God’s grace toward man. The real “believing-you” resides in heaven in Christ. This is a life of faith. To live this life requires the Personal living faith of Christ, not man’s faith. The provision of divine faith, as in every other aspect of life, is a Loving act of giving within the Triune life of Christ. Man’s faith is “solitary” and inadequate, Christ’s faith is Triune and takes us where no human faith can. Only the living faith of Jesus steps into our place and moves God to give us the grace to live this reality – this is the loving activity that exists within the Triune life. So, we see that even in this matter of faith, it requires the collaborative life within the Triune Godhead, to supply it. Christ’s faith is a gift of God to the believer through the Spirit. (Gal. 2:16, 20, KJV). God says to us, “Without (Christ’s) faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb.11:6, emphasis added).

If God sees the real incarnated you as present with Him through Christ in heaven, how does He see the reality of your physical life on earth? Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63). So, the physical “solitary” earthly life “counts-for-nothing.” That’s to say, whatever we can do in our “solitary” physical effort, which we may boast about, all “count for nothing,” for man’s salvation rests entirely upon the finished work of Christ, which brings to us the Triune life of God. This, Herald continues to manifest in the believer. “The blessings of the Lord, it makes rich, and our toil adds nothing to it” (Prov. 10:22, JPS emphasis added). We are saved by the Triune grace, not our “solitary” works. (Eph. 2:8-9) Therefore, in the life of the Bula man-river (you), this “count-for-nothing” “solitary” life is depicted in the imagery of the RIVERBED. The RIVERBED imagery properly fits man’s “count-for-nothing” physical life that’s now overwhelmed by the Spirit’s activity of Love.

“Hide” IN Christ – Man’s Purpose

So, what is your role and mine in this activity of the Spirit in our lives? Very simply, we are “to hide in Christ.” Nothing more, nothing less. This is what the essence of the Trinitarian life means – “hiding” in Jesus. The Bula man-river is the human being “hiding” in the form of the RIVERBED covered in the full-flowing “living waters” of Jesus through the Spirit. All he sees as he looks up and out is this covering Love of Christ in the “living waters” of the Spirit. “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3; Ps. 17:6-9). We read earlier from Romans 12, “Embracing what God has done for you as the best thing you can do for Him.” The best act the Father has done for man is to give us His Son as the stronghold to “hide” us from the enemy – and that is the best we can do for God, to continuously “hide” in Jesus. The Psalmist affirms, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (Ps. 32:7). No one comes to the river to see the RIVERBED (you); they can’t, for the RIVERBED is hidden from view by the “living waters” (Spirit) that cover it. They see and interact with Jesus who covers and “hides” you in the “living waters” of the Spirit, or they see the devil and his wickedness as your mantle – the Bulu man-river.***

In my Book I said this: “To “hide in Jesus” means we heed the warning to live and “not quench the living waters of the Spirit” (1 Thess. 5:19). Instead, we are to fill our lives like the river covers its banks. If the waters subside enough, it will expose the RIVERBED with all its unsightly attributes, and we will no longer be hidden in Christ. The flesh will gain greater influence in the Bula man-river, and Jesus’ inspiration will diminish. Hence we are told to “wake up from our slumber and be zealous…” (Rev. 2:4-5; 3:3, 18-19). The deathly Bulu man-river was “flushed out” and is gone forever. Our response is to see that we remain hidden in Christ, for our completeness is in Him, not in our actions—no matter how good they may be. Never invert the priority. As much as Jesus is filled to the top in the Bula man-river, everything else will fall into place like a miracle. Indeed, it’s a miraculous life that we live.” (“Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living,” Pg.73)

I hope the imagery of the Bula man-river helps us to see the reality God sees in us – both this “believing Spirit-life” of you in heaven, and this “count-for-nothing” physical life here on earth, as Jesus portrayed for us. (John 6:63) The Bula man-river’s physical earthly life is the RIVERBED at the bottom of the river, covered with the “living waters” of the Spirit who now shares His life with you, the believer. This imagery of the RIVERBED depicting your human life in the Spirit, and your new believing life in Christ in heaven, is the reality God wants to see in man, and what God wants man to see in himself.

The river’s course through the valleys and communities is the person’s calling to “water” those he comes in contact daily. (Prov. 11:25 KJV) The “living waters” with which we water people are the fruits of Love as we live our calling and destiny in the Spirit’s life unified in man’s life. We must allow the Spirit to live in us and orchestrate our circumstances through the faith of Jesus. The people of our valleys through which we flow will be attracted to us through the “living waters” (work of the Spirit) that will bring them life and abundance – the RIVERBED is not seen, for he or she is hidden and cloaked in the “living waters” in Christ in heaven. (Col.3:3) The RIVERBED is constantly drinking of the “living waters” (Spirit) which overflows him, and the Spirit is now the full flowing expression of Love in the believer’s life. The ocean of God’s Love in which we “hide” is what gives us the ability to swim in life.

The RIVERBED portrays for us a spiritually healthy depiction of how to live our physical life on earth filled to the full with the Spirit’s Love and goodness, making the Triune life possible. He has been given to be with us “forever.” (John 14:16) It enables man to respond authentically in his physical response to God’s calling and destiny in Christ. This is the reality of the Triune God for man. Let us make it our reality too.

Until the next time, live the Triune life of the Bula man-river, and let the Spirit flow in you and create wonders to behold and be inspired.

Kiang (Your Servant in Christ)

** Superabundance means God in all His magnanimous love and the expression of His grace toward man, which includes both his physical and spiritual well-being. Material wealth alone without a sound spiritual base is not the abundance implied.

*** Bulu man-river is the union of man with his fallen, unsaved self who lives under the deception and sway of the devil.

* The “Bula man-river” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bula man-river, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book. Thank you for your support.

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

Note: 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

BULA MAN-RIVER’S ANSWER TO “OBEDIENCE” – THE “TRINITARIAN LOVE” OF GOD – BY KIANG P LEE

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Greetings Friends Around the World,

You are precious in the sight of our God – the Father of all mankind. He wants us to understand that He made mankind in His Triune image so we can enjoy being in His presence. That is the Gospel in its simplest form. I hope you found my last 3 posts about God’s Trinitarian nature enlightening and relevant to your life and your loved ones. I hope you were able to see its significance to your promised destiny in Christ that’s undergirded in the life of the Spirit who takes us into the Triune Life of God and makes all things possible – even immortality. (Eph.1:13-14) It is this self-same life-posture, that the first century Christians were accused of “turning the world up-side-down,” or more accurately, “right-side-up.” (Acts 17:6 KJV) It opens for us the path to answer our true identity as humans in this world – that we were made to be “Triune beings” in Christ, in place of the “solitary beings” that we are in our fallen state of existence. (Gen.1:26-28; Rom.3:23; John 3:16)

In this post, I would like to discuss a subject that’s relevant to our peace of mind and joy as believers – it is the topic of “obedience.” “Obedience” and LOVE are flip sides of the same coin. Regrettably, “obedience” has come to have a life of its own with a legalistic meaning that’s associated with living the “solitary” life of man, and the burden that comes with it. In his “solitary” frame of mind, man is constantly struggling with trying to manage sin (“obey”), and it can never be done. It is lamentable that every time the word “obedience” is uttered, most times it is framed in its “solitary” legalistic demands which places unsustainable burden on people. So, we struggle with something that has become foreboding and daunting rather than a joyful and mollifying experience with God. It is my hope you will come out of the entrapment of legalistic “obedience” which is a heavy and grave burden to carry. The Bible tells us that it is for “freedom” that Christ came. (Gal.5:1) He said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt.11:29). Let’s begin.

“Obedience” has become a loaded word because it is presented to people in its religious undertone, and legalistic frame of reference. Our call to live the unified Triune life of God in Christ, is not a religion to be “obeyed,” but a relationship to be experienced founded upon LOVE. Whenever God tells man in the Bible, “If you will obey Me…” (2 Kings 3:14) He is really saying, “If you will LOVE Me…” God does not enforce “obedience” upon anyone. Where His LOVE exists, there is freedom, not “obedience“ by domination. The prophet Isaiah qualifies man’s “obedience” by saying, “If you are willing and obedient…” (Isa. 1:19, emphasis added) “Obedience” that comes with a willing heart is “obedience” given out of freedom and LOVE.

We are “Triune beings” as the result of our union in Christ, who is Himself Trinitarian with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We don’t live as “solitary beings”- that life was buried in the watery grave of baptism in the “flush-out.”* As born-again believers, we take our place as riverbeds, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, interpenetrating the “living waters” which now flows through the riverbed – or, in one word, the Bula man-river.** People come and relate with the waters of the river, not the riverbed. The riverbed (you) is your life-destiny charted by the Father for Jesus and the Spirit to flow in you as “living waters” through the valleys of your calling. We can only freely “obey” God because we freely exist in His Triune LOVE, and we learn to LOVE God first as God LOVES us, which endows us with the same LOVE to extend to our fellowmen. We LOVE, therefore, we willingly and freely “obey.” We LOVINGLY and willingly “obey” because Jesus has done it for man, not because man can of himself do it. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of man’s testimony, law, and responsibility.

In my Book, Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living, I said this: “Humans were not made a subservient species, so obedience doesn’t come naturally. Man was made to rule and have “dominion” (Gen. 1:26, 28). This dominion spirit is why man resents “obedience” because it is an act of “domination” which inhibits freedom. Be that as it may, ‘obedience,’ when given, is either legitimate or illegitimate. Legitimate obedience can exist only in an environment of love, not domination. True obedience is simply man’s unforced, spontaneous response of adoration and worship, which comes naturally in an environment of love. This is reflected in what he does (“obey”) to please the one he loves in response to the love he receives. Obedience is birthed out of respect, veneration, and worship. Domination is never in the equation when we consider legitimate obedience. Meditate upon the vision of God’s love in your life. He does not exist for Himself alone. He made us to enjoy being in His Triune presence (Ps. 67). Respect, venerate, worship, and love God, and proper loving obedience will follow.” (Pg.208)

Think of God’s Triune LOVE in its full expression as recorded in 1 Corinthians 13 and other passages (see the list of these fruits in my ‘post’ dated May 7^th 2013, titled “Life Begins Where Our Concept of God Takes Root – “Creative” Trinitarian Life, Pt.3″; or in my Book, Pg.112). These fruits are not legalistic laws we “obey,” they are all life expressions or LOVE-fruits that are expressed in relational and inter-personal context. Indeed, for these fruits of LOVE undegirded the Triune Life of the Father, Jesus, and Herald*** (Spirit) from eternity. They are pictures of the energizing LOVE of God flowing in man which the Spirit produces in the life of the Bula man-river (you). Just as the “ocean” is the supporting and enabling condition for all marine life in the seven seas, the LOVE of God is the “ocean” which creates the LOVING condition in which God loves man and enables man to LOVE God back, and his fellow humans.

No human government regulates laws against these fruits (action) of LOVE in the Spirit. These fruits reflect the basic human/spiritual rights innate in mankind which has its foundation in God’s image of LOVE. (Gen.1:26-27) So man, as he has been hereditably endowed by God, is called upon to live by these fruits of LOVE in his relationship with God first, and his fellowmen. (Matt.22:36-37) So, Paul says there is no law against them (fruits of LOVE – Gal.5:23). If LOVE can’t be legalized (made law) then “obedience” by domination is made redundant. Who has ever gone to a human court of law to answer to charges for being kind, patient, not easily angered, joy, humility, honesty, etc – you get the picture. LOVE is the power of God upon which man is sustained in a universe God nurtures in His LOVE. Everything God does is an act of LOVE, for God is LOVE. (1 John 4:8)

These LOVE fruits reflect the image of God which undergirds mankind’s basic human dignity, made in His likeness, and cuts across borders, nations, cultures, peoples, tribes and languages. They are man’s immutable connection to the Creator who is LOVE and Triune by nature. These fruits are not laws to be “obeyed” legalistically, but is the LOVE-energy of the Spirit that flows in man into the valleys of his calling and destiny. These fruits of the Spirit keeps man connected to who he is – man is the image of LOVE within the Triune Being of God. Through God’s Triune LOVE, in which believers now exist through the Spirit, every demand of the law (“obedience”) is met and satisfied in Christ. In Christ (LOVE), the true believer is above the law (saved), not under the law (condemned).

Even if we consider a situation where there may be no codified law about stealing, for example, as it was prior to the law given at Mt. Sinai, God’s unwritten law of LOVE, which is inherently expressed in the form of kindness, compassion, and honor, are really the values which undergirds our actions. They tell us to recognize and respect the property of others, and not covet what is not ours. We don’t need a law to tell us that, LOVE does that automatically. Today, the world live by codified laws, whether in secular or ecclesiastic “obedience,” because the people of the world still live as “solitary” beings (not “Triune” beings in Christ) who require a legalistic framework to exist.

We don’t “obey” God, we LOVE God. For when we LOVE God, “obedience” comes as a natural outgrowth of it. “Obedience” to the law is based upon the Old Covenant with Israel which has been replaced with the New Covenant of Grace in Christ, where God’s LOVE enflames a joyful devotion to live in the Triune Life in all our human responses with God and all mankind in Christ. Originally, God’s relationship with Abraham was not codified in law – it was based upon LOVE and faith. When you LOVE someone, you place your trust and faith in that someone. God respected Abraham’s faith, and it declared him righteous for it, for it reflected God’s own image of LOVE, faith, and hope. (Rom.4:20-22; 1 Cor.13:13) Through LOVE and faith, Abraham related with God, and willingly “obeyed” God. The law has “limited” application of LOVE, for example, the Bible gives the definition of murder and adultery as originating in the heart where hatred and sensuality has taken the place of LOVE and finally ends in “disobedience.” (1 John 3:15; Matt.5:27-28; 15:17-20)

To LOVE God

The command to LOVE God with everything we have – “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind,” is impossible to do in the “solitary life” of man. (Luke 10:27). It takes a miraculous act of the Spirit, who takes us constantly into the “Triune Life” of God which gives man the capacity to LOVE God through the One who has already done it for man – Jesus. Only a God-Being could LOVE another God-Being alike and perfectly. Only Jesus, who is Himself God, could LOVE His Father perfectly. He became man to make the LOVE command possible for man. The Spirit continuously transports the believer into the “Triune life” of God through Christ thus energizing man to LOVE God in the Spirit’s persona of LOVE.

Unified Presence of The Spirit

The Spirit, while He is unified in the ONE Triune Being of God with Jesus and the Father, simultaneously lives in the believer “forever.” Jesus prayed, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever” (John 14:16). This “forever” ‘dual’ but unified presence of the Spirit, shows that His role is to integrate man in one unbroken movement with God through Jesus, man’s Mediator. (John 16:13-15) The Spirit’s undeniable function is to eternally (i.e. “forever”) facilitate in man the Triune God-Life by bringing God to man, and taking man back to God in one continuous circulatory flow of His ONE existence in the Triune God and in man. (Psa.139:7-12)

Just like a river’s waters (Bula man-river) has a circulatory life, flowing in one movement from the mountains, through the valleys, and into the Ocean (God), then naturally begins all over again, so is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of “living waters” flows “forever” from God into man, and takes the Bula man-river (you) into the presence of the Father through the Son, and brings to man the grace to live the Triune life of LOVE in God. It is through the Spirit’s Triune life with Christ that gives us the capacity to LOVE the Father (God) with all our hearts. This is the ever-flowing miraculous activity of the Spirit in the life of man. For only by a miracle can we be transformed from a “solitary” being to a unified “Triune” being thus enabling us to willingly “obey” this LOVE command. This is the essence of the meaning of “obedience” in man. The Triune LOVE is at the center of man’s existence. Man’s love is “solitary,” God’s LOVE is Triune.

Remember this, the purpose of the Trinitarian Life we have in Christ is to experience Their LOVE firsthand as we live in Their Triune relationship with each other. This is not academic, this is the Gospel being lived out in its primordial sense, and it takes a miracle to live it, as the Spirit continuously brings us into the Triune Life of God.

Here are excerpts from my Book on the subject of “obedience” and LOVE:

“There is no “obedience” in love, only joyful devotion. When such a love becomes our reality, obeisance comes naturally and lovingly. It is a sad commentary that man has come to see obedience in a negative light. Legalism is at the root of this gross misunderstanding. We have added so much “religion and religiosity” to obedience that we think God is trying to subjugate His people as a stern judge and ruler. Then we emulate this concept in life to those with whom we associate. Obedience becomes like a transaction to be traded for “good behavior” – this is evil to its core. Obedience exists only in a condition of fear and evil. Where there is no evil but love, obedience becomes redundant.” (Pg.207-208)

“Man’s effort (obedience) counts for nothing if he does not have the wherewithal to love God. The Bible states without love we are nothing, no matter how noble or how great our contribution to “good works” (1 Cor. 13:1-3). Obedience is the keyword of the legalist. There is no obedience in love. God does not have to obey Himself, for He is love. For Him, it is effortless to live in love for He is love. Therefore, obedience is irrelevant and inapplicable. Obedience is for the disobedient. Obedience is for the fearful legalist. Life is about living in the covering ocean of God’s loving existence in and through Jesus. Obedience is living in a continual state of trying to cope with and control sin, and it can’t be done. Don’t misunderstand, man is not without sin, but at the same time the Bible declares man is righteous only in Christ. God is not imposing His justice upon us; He is imputing His grace in His Son’s atonement for our justification. That’s how He loves us, so we can love Him in return. Our faith in His atonement in Jesus keeps man right with God (Rom. 3:9-26, 8:1-4; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 2:19-22; Phil. 3:7-11). When we respond to someone in love, we do things to please the object of our affection. That’s not obedience, that’s love. Obedience is for the disobedient and the legalist.”

Loving God Perfectly in My Place

“It was a beautiful morning in Honolulu, Hawaii. I was taking a morning walk and praying when I felt an ache in my heart. I told God, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t love You more than I would have liked, and it pains me in my heart.” Herald, the name I affectionately call the Spirit, had brought me to a place in my life where I saw that no matter what I did it would never be enough to express my love for God. In an instant, as if from nowhere, He answered me in my heart and said, “Even though you couldn’t do it, Jesus is the one who can love Me perfectly in your place.” The ache in my heart disappeared. Tears welled into my eyes. I can’t explain this except to say that this is the pattern of the miraculous life we are promised in His Son. The joy that entered my heart was inexpressible.”

“Here is the question: did I feel like living my life the way I wanted, independently, apart from Him? No, if anything the experience drew me closer to Him than ever, and living my life in Him was now my consuming desire. It made me desire all the more to please Him. Never for a moment did the word obedience enter my mind. Disobedience could not enter that environment. With such inexplicable joy overwhelming me, the last thing that crossed my mind was obedience. Obedience was irrelevant, but love was all that mattered. I wanted only to please Him. The life of miracles is not a transaction to be negotiated in exchange for obedience. It is a relationship to be tasted, enjoyed, and reciprocated in love. Did I become perfect and sinless from that time onwards? No, I’m still human, but it made me see I can love God perfectly through Jesus, by faith (1 Cor. 1:29-31; Rom. 10:4; Col. 2:10). I was connected to the reality I have in Jesus, confident about His mediatory role in liberating me from all my imperfections. I wanted all the more to follow Him.”

“As I said, obedience makes you think of sin and how to manage it on a constant basis, whereas our minds rightly should be immersed in the ocean of His love. Our minds are to focus on Christ, not sin (Isa. 26:3).Through the fall of man sin entered the world and man’s spirituality became defined by the law (Rom. 5:12). However, the law became the very power of sin itself, which grips us in its tentacles (1 Cor. 15:56; Rom. 4:15). The law was a temporary measure until the Spirit came and replaced it (Gal. 3:19). Our obedience to the law will not save us, because the law, like a merry-go-round, keeps us in remembrance of our condition and keeps on condemning us. It was given to lead man to Christ, where we are taken from the “sin condition” in the law to the “saved condition” in Jesus (Rom. 3:20; John 16:9).This is what the life of the Bula man-river brings.”

“Living this triune life with and in God is as natural as He is love – it is not a forced obedience. God accepts His Son in our place, as our vicarious defense against the law which defines sin and demands our life. So when Christ died as our perfect human atonement, we died in Him (Rom. 7:4-6). When He was resurrected, we were lifted with Him. When He ascended to heaven, we relocated in Him (Eph. 2:4-6). The covenant promise God makes with man in His Son removes the heart-of-stone and replaces it with the heart-of-flesh. This is our new life in Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension (Heb. 8:6-11). The heart of fear dies and reincarnates into a heart of love (God). This is the miraculous life we have been called to live, for nothing but a miracle can make it happen.”

“Regarding the issue of “cheap grace,” if man does not respond genuinely to the offer of grace, if man thinks he can do it on his own without Jesus, or a 50/50 proposition with Jesus, then he has not truly comprehended the gospel. What he believes is something phony and has no power to liberate him. His life will not have traction, and connection with the miraculous life will not be possible. That person’s life will be no different from the way it is lived now – without communion and God’s power. It’s that simple. And the proof of it is the obvious absence of life-changing power in his life. God can’t be mocked. By “cheap” we inadvertently place a price tag on God’s grace. Grace is not cheap. Neither is it expensive – it is free! It is free because it is priceless. God’s love is mankind’s birthright and cannot be bought by man’s action no matter how good he may seem. No amount of money or valuables can buy it. It can only be received freely or not at all. In truth, any other way apart from the one presented to man by God would effectively be “cheap grace.”

“The depth and wisdom of God as witnessed in His astounding act to unite man to Himself as His own children is beyond human comprehension and shows the brilliance of His love in its most inspiring manifestation. Now the two, God and man, can walk together in a journey to the same destination (Amos 3:3). The amazing thing is that this relationship becomes an eternal, everlasting one. For through faith in Jesus God gives man the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of man’s immortality (Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 1:21-22). This is unbound grace poured upon man – the gospel made manifest in the life of the Bula man-river.” (Pg.27-30, emphasis added).

I hope, from this post, you can see the weight and substance of becoming and living as Bula man-rivers (“Triune beings”) in Christ. This is the life we have been called upon to live which produce a miraculous life that is filled with joy beyond what we can imagine.

Until the next time, live faithfully in the Triune Life we have in Christ,

Kiang (Your Servant in Christ)

* “Flush-out” – see its definition in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section above

*** Herald is the name I personally and affectionately call the Holy Spirit

** The “Bula man-river” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bula man-river, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book. Thank you for your support.

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

Note: 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

Life Begins Where Our Concept of God Takes Root – “Creative” Trinitarian Life, Pt. 3 – By Kiang P Lee

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Greetings Again Friends Around the World,

In parts 1 and 2, I presented not only scriptural proof of God’s true nature as Triune in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but also we saw why man’s very salvation is eternally tied to a life lived in the heart of the Trinitarian existence of God. Hence, I have named this series as it relates to our relationship with God in His Trinitarian reality, and how it affects our view of the world and our participation in it. The command to not worship other gods apart from the true God, is directly connected to our conception of Him – that He is “Trinitarian” and not a “solitary,” one-person God. By being Triune in nature, He essentially is relational and lives as ONE in Love, for He is Love (1 John 4:8) His Triune reality in man creates a world of difference more than we can ever realize. This is the stuff of the miraculous.

In the final installment of this 3-part series, we’ll see how God relates with man in His Trinitarian reality and extend the same to all mankind through believers who have put their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. My sincere hope is you will see God’s unmistakable appeal to man in the Gospel to participate and experience His Trinitarian reality through Jesus in the power of the Spirit. And then to live life that’s truly life with all humans, through a relationship that is realized in the Spirit that is true to His nature of Love in His Triunity. (John 4:24)

Life presents us with only two broad ways of life – man’s self-centered “solitary” way, or God’s loving, unified “Triune” way. In the book, “Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living” I presented two metaphors to represent these two ways of life: the “Bulu man-river” with deathly waters of carnal man influenced by the devil, and the “Bula man-river” with the “living waters” of the Holy Spirit where life is lived in the heart of the Triune life of God. One is 1-dimensional, while the other is 3-dimensional. One is the way of independence, while the other is the way of interdependence. It is a life of living in the Spirit who unifies man to the Father through the Son, and not in his fleshly self. Paul was inspired to write this,

“If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. 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…. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Rom.8:9-13). Here, we see how both Jesus and the Spirit interpenetrates the “living waters” flowing in the life of the Bula man-river (believer).

Purpose of Triune Life in Christ

The purpose of the “Triune life” is essentially to protect the believer from the inconsistencies and ravages of the “solitary life” – a life lived under the influence of the devil who is the instigator of all human pain and suffering in the world. God loves us so much He wants us to live a life filled with joy, not suffering. He is the Fountain of joy, a joy that will culminate in an eternity with Him. (Isa.12:2-3) When you are thinking Trinitarianly in Christ, you are aware that your walk is always in the midst of the Father, Jesus, and Herald* (Spirit). Your emotional reaction is always tampered by Their Loving relationship with each other, that you now inhere in Christ. So we’re not in the emotional juggernaut of the “solitary life” that comes with dire consequences. Every act you take in the presence of the Triune God, makes you consider their Loving Triune reality in your life, and every other human, those of the faith and they who are not in the faith. And always, it is an action taken in love, for love is the very nature of the God who is Triune.

Living the “Solitary” Life Still

If the “Triune Life” frees us from the curse and malevolence of the “solitary life,” then it’s logical to conclude that the “Triune Life” essentially embodies the ‘Creative Life’ of the Triune God, for the very Life of God is synonymous with all things good, breathtakingly wonderful, and magnificent in its splendor. (Gen.1:31; Ps.8; 40:5; Acts 10:38) The “solitary life” is synonymous with everything uncreative, corrupt and deathly in fallen man. Here is the irony that’s seen in most of Christianity: many who call themselves followers of Christ are living the “solitary life” still – they think as long as they acknowledge Christ, then they are in good-standing with God. To live the Christian life in “solitary” mode is to live apart from Christ, for He is Triune in His Godly nature.

Though a person may claim to believe in the Trinity, if he still lives the “solitary” life in himself, he still lives apart from Christ. This tells us that many “Christians” fail, or simply don’t know how to live the Triune Life in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Taking the name of Jesus automatically comes with the Triune Life of God. (Matt.28:19) In reality, taking the name of Christ demands we give up the “solitary” life in the self, in exchange for the Triune Life in Christ. Its a change that I call “flush-out” in my book. The Christian Life is lived in Christ, who lives in the “Triune Life” of God. The sign of Christianity was made clear by Paul above – it requires the presence of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Spirit is the start of the activity of the Trinitarian God in a believer made possible by Jesus. (John 16:7)

What Religion Does

Sadly, what religion has done is turn man back on himself in his “solitary life” by saying that his salvation is “his” responsibility. They say, Christ has done His part, now man has his part to do to earn it. This is the devil’s deception at its very core. Salvation is all grace and freely given to man. God has not abdicated your salvation by placing it into your own hands, nor the hands of another. Salvation is all God’s doing in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. If Christ is a partial savior, then the Gospel is not true. Jesus is not a 50/50 savior. If salvation is a free gift which comes from the free grace of God, it is impossible for man to earn it, let alone 50%. For the Gospel tells us He is the complete Savior of mankind. Paul says, “We are complete in Him” (Col.2:10; Acts 4:11-12). I explained in the book that “our part” is simply to “hide in Christ” as the “living waters” cover the riverbed (man), and let the Spirit live His life fully (overflowing) in man. (In my book I explain this insidious lie of the devil, and talk about what is “obedience.”)

What The Spirit Does

The work of the Spirit is made evident by Jesus, “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own, He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is to come. He will glorify Me for it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from Me what He will make known to you.” (John 16:13-15) It is clear the work of the Spirit is to reveal what belongs to the Father and the Son. This passage is entirely Trinitarian in its rendition and meaning. The Spirit’s role is to take man into the Triune Life to understand the will of God in his life.

Doing The Will of The Father

Jesus makes plain that it is possible to say one is Christian, but is none of His: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt.7:20-21). The verse following this says even those who perform miracles in His name He will shun: “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” (V.22-23). Many have wondered about this passage, and inquired of its meaning as it relates to the believer. The answer can only be explained in what a person believes and the way he lives – if he lives the “Triune Life” in Christ (Bula man-river), or if he is still living the “solitary life” in himself (Bulu man-river).

Notice what Jesus said, “…only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” The will of the Father is also the will of the Son, as we saw. So, from eternity, the will of God has always been “Triune.” The act of One is always the act of all Three – God is indivisibly ONE. This translates into a life where man lives a collaborative, interdependent, unified, and Trinitarian life in Christ. We can do “good works” based upon our human “solitary” mindset, and God calls it for what it truly is – “filthy rags.” (Isa.64:6) It is what the Spirit produces in man, flowing as “living waters” in the riverbed of man (Bula man-river), that results in “good” that’s of Godly substance.

This final 3-part series is by no means comprehensive, and you may be left with questions, which I hope you will find in my book. Or, alternately you may leave a question on this blog. Let us look into the “Creative Life” we are brought into by the presence of the Spirit in man, who constantly takes him into the presence of the Triune God so man can live the “Triune Life” of the Bula man-river. What follows are excerpts from the book, “Bula” man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living”:

What is “Creative Life” – Fire of the Spirit

“The beauty of the Trinitarian life in all its awe and wonder is to experience and participate in the “creative works” of God as He flows in us into the valleys He has charted for each of us. (John 17:20-23) What He has done in the universe, pales into insignificance compared to what He is creating in man. God is really recreating Himself – children, like Jesus to inherit His nature and all things. The material creation around us is subject to deterioration and decay. But God’s cosmic plan is to use it as “clay,” so to speak, and create His very own children (Rom. 8:20-24; 29-30). Whereas the universe and life upon this earth was made to exist uniformly, man was not. That is to say, God has to convince man of His love, for man was made to bear His image, and where there is love there is of necessity freedom. Where there is freedom, there is choice. God cannot apply the uniformity He placed in creation to be similarly applied to man. He has only one means with which to convince man to accept his offer of becoming His children – His love.”

“The miraculous life we live is essentially the expression of His love for us. The principle upon which God’s “creative work” is done in mankind, is the “creative love” of the Spirit. He gives us the power to summon our thoughts to Christ’s service through the captivating love of the Spirit (2 Cor. 10:5). All thoughts of fear that lead to deprivation and want are overpowered by the overwhelming love of Jesus just as the “living waters” cover the riverbed (1 John 4:8). Paul speaks of thoughts that are true and honest, thoughts that are just and pure, thoughts that are gracious and endearing, thoughts of virtue and excellence – in short our thoughts are to be about the love of God (Phil. 4:8). In Triune living, man is the extension of the Triune nature, so we are an extension of God’s love.”

“A river is an attractant for people because it is a place where they can flourish and be sustained indefinitely. As a Bula man-river, you are an attractant for people. You are the living, walking, Gospel of Christ. People naturally come to the living gospel, we don’t take it to them – we don’t force it on them. You can only flow into the valleys you have been assigned (John 3:27).”

The Creative Life Find Its Source in the Creator

“Jesus is leading the way, and we are following His “flow.” Whatever Jesus does, we do. This defines the mechanics of Trinitarian living. Jesus “lives creatively” in the power of the Spirit through us as Bula man-rivers from which we derive our inspired abilities (Matt. 16:24; John 8:12, 12:26; 1 Pet. 2:21). We don’t take the “creative fruits” of love in the Spirit and bottle them up inside us – that is “reverse flow”; it’s stagnation and lifelessness. You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind, but by taking the important second step of putting your hands to the plow.”

Fruits – Love’s Tools for Creative Living

“If the Spirit’s “living water” is always flowing, then He is reliably accessible and ever dependable. He never leaves a void in us but fills every crevice and cranny in our lives. If indeed His love “never fails us,” then what is love’s real and practical manifestation that reflects this unfailing quality? It can only be the Spirit’s fruits, and Paul documents this in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 13; Also Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 12:9-21). God’s love is the peaceful flow of the Spirit’s life in the Bula man-river: it is *the fruit of patience, *the fruit of kindness, *the fruit of contentedness, *the fruit of being modest and unboastful, *the fruit of humility, *the fruit of honor, *the fruit of unselfishness, *the fruit of calmness and dignity, *the fruit of forgiveness and compassion, *the fruit of delighting in good and shunning evil, *the fruit of tolerance, *the fruit of responsibility, *the fruit of enduring hope, *the fruit of steadfast perseverance, *the fruit of joy, *the fruit of peace, *the fruit of goodness, *the fruit of faith, *the fruit of gentleness, *the fruit of self-control, *the fruit of zeal and spiritual fervor, *the fruit of friendship, *the fruit of sharing and generosity, *the fruit of prayerfulness, *the fruit of hospitality, etc. All these and other traits of the Spirit spells one thing: they spell the actions and emotions of the Spirit in the life of man. By and through them we decipher and peek into the different tones of God’s love. They present to us the way of life of the Triune God.

“It’s not possible to speak of the Spirit’s work in the Bula man-river without the fruits that identify who He is – it’s one and the same, it’s unavoidable. Most times when people think of the fruits of the Spirit, they often view them academically through the legalistic lens of religious proponents who uses them to make “better people” of us. We live powerless lives when we do. We are not zombies, but free-will humans made in the image of God. So we say, “I have no choice in the matter, so I may as well go along with the program” – as it were self-improvement exercises. On the contrary, we fail to realize that from eternity these fruits undergirded the loving relationship of the three persons within the Triune God. Love’s energy is brought to life in the application of these fruits. In our constant presence before God, the Bula man-river share this energy and the creative relationships we have within the Triune existence of God. Now you are in their midst living the same life they live from eternity and tasting that life in the Spirit.”

Living The Power of The Triune Life

“Many believe in the Trinity but have not experienced the Trinitarian life, let alone know of its power in their lives. Paul was addressing this very issue of denying the power of the Triune life of God when he drew the attention of young evangelist Timothy, to a list of actions (fruits) that were disempowering people. He mentioned being unloving, unthankful, without self- control, brutal, unforgiving, self-lovers, despisers of good, disobedient, and so on. These and other such actions are fear-based behaviors. Paul said, “They have the form of godliness, but deny its power” (2 Tim. 3:1-5, KJV). All these behaviors stand up against the list of the Spirit’s fruits we saw earlier, which are love-based behaviors. These were professed Christians, who somehow deceptively cloak their selfish intentions and place a label of godliness on them. But they lacked authenticity for they denied the only power that defines them as one – the Spirit’s fruits, or love. The Bible is clear if one does not have the Spirit living in him, he is not an authentic Christian (Rom. 8:9, 14).”

“The Christian life is experienced through the Triune life of God – the “living waters” of the Bula man-river is the Spirit’s energy animated by these fruits. We can view these fruits in a purely academic frame of mind, but they are first and foremost the energy and spark of the Spirit in the life of the Bula man-river. We can exercise them as some self-righteous human behavior or we can give ourselves to the Spirit to let His energy inspire our actions in them. The practice of the fruit of the Spirit is not for some hollow “self-improvement” exercise for human personal gain. The fruit is the Spirit’s creative energy for developing loving relationships with our God and our fellowman. When relationships are motivated by fear they become twisted, for relationships are made for love based on the Triune existence of God Himself. The fruits of the Spirit articulates God’s love and undergirds all human relationships of the Bula man-river within the Triune existence of God. The miraculous life we are called to live springs from this loving relationship. This energy is not inert but is alive for the fruits touch on the positive emotional response of people in the relationships we engender in our respective valleys. As I said, the Spirit lies passive and inactive in every human giving man’s intellectual prowess. He becomes active as a gift of “fire” from heaven when man receives Jesus as his Savior.” (Pg.109-113)

You can read the book for a full explanation of this aspect of the Triune Life we are blessed to have in Christ. Remember this, the “solitary” life is a powerful influence in man which began with Adam, and its grip is made all the more insidious with the devil’s deception. Ambitious people have driven themselves to do great things as they are motivated by the “dominion spirit” given to man at creation (Gen. 1:26, 28; Ps. 8:6-8). However, by riding the “Bulu man-river” river of fear and deprivation (the “solitary” life), they have ignored and despised as trivial the fruits of the Spirit. Blinded by their conceit and arrogance, they have unwittingly ridden the torrential waters of ruin and despair. They regard such “creative fruits” of the Spirit as trivialities and beneath their notice. They associate these acts with weakness which, in their blindness, actually puts them at a precarious disadvantage. Without recognizing the creative energy of the Spirit’s fruits, they have inadvertently failed to utilize the very power that will bring them the abundance they seek, without all the pains and perils of the “solitary” self-centered life.

They think the only way is to compete and control and allow greed and avarice dominate their “solitary” existence. They fail to realize that the “dominion mandate” given to man precludes our domination over another person. As far as man’s relation with man, Paul said there is just only one thing we owe one another, “the debt of love” (Rom. 13:8; Gal. 6:2). There is only one Ruler over man – God, who personally directs him, not another man. (Heb. 8:10-11; Isa. 30:20-21). Becoming a truly great man or woman takes unselfish attention, first to small tasks, sacrificing selfish ambition and pride in place of those necessary things which evoke no applause and reward. In applying the fruits of the Spirit, he ascends to the level of prominence that only a Bula man-river can attain, for he lives in and by the biomeic** “creative power” of Jesus in the Spirit’s “living waters.”

Recall Jesus final words to His disciples: “Go and make tell the world about this wonderful Gospel, and baptize and bring them into the Triune Life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matt.28:19, emphasis mine). May the Triune Love of God fill your riverbed as a “Bula man-river”*** to water the valleys of your calling and eventually bring you to your foreordained destiny.

Kiang (Your Servant in Christ)

*Herald – This is the name I have personally come to affectionately call the Holy Spirit who is my closest Friend and Confidante, who always walks by my side, and flows in me like “living waters.”

**Biomeic – A Biome is a collection of different types of ecosystems that interact with one another and give birth to ONE act we call “life.” The life of Jesus, as epitomized in His personification as God’s spokesman, or the Word, with the Spirit’s inspiration, is the spiritual “biome” ecosystem in the Bula man-river. It is the ingredient of life which the Bula man-river gives to the people of his valley communities, so forming the spiritual “biome” of man (Acts 17:28).

*** The “Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bula man-river, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book. Thank you for your support.

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

Note: 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

Life Begins Where Our Concept of God Takes Root – The God Who Is Trinitarian Pt.2 – By Kiang P Lee

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Greetings Again Friends,

I hope you found Part 1 of this series about God’s Trinitarian nature both uplifting and encouraging. Whenever the name of God is mentioned, it always means “Triune.” The name of God never means “solitary.”

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

The Malachi Prophecy

There is a powerful and compelling prophecy in Malachi which speaks of an Elijah to come whose work will be to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers.” Then God warns why Elijah’s work is so gripping for mankind,“Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse” (Mal.4:6). That surely is a dire warning we must all pay attention as to what Elijah’s work truly means.

Whenever a relationship is mentioned, like father and son, or father and children, that is basically a Trinitarian statement. Jesus speaks of His relationship as the Son with God as His Father, saying, “I and My Father are ONE” (John 10:30). That’s a Trinitarian statement. Recall Jesus parting words to His disciples: “Go and tell the world about this wonderful Gospel, and unify (baptize) them into the name of the Triune God of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matt.28:19, emphasis mine).

Jesus’ final prayer with His disciples to the Father before He was crucified, was framed in God’s Trinitarian reality. He inhabits eternity in His Triune Being, and is the Source of the Love which envelopes all of creation, and is expressed to man in His 3-dimensional reality. Man exists in his 1-dimensional reality.

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

Obviously, His prayer was intended to enlighten both the disciples and His followers about His mission, and to bring to reality the will of the Father in Jesus’ purpose in the Gospel. That is, to do the work of the prophesied Immanuel – “God with us”: to join man to the Triune God. (Isa.7:14; Matt.1:23) Also notice, God’s manifested glory become man’s when he is unified to God’s Triune Life in Christ. Primarily, His glory is manifested in the miraculous life we are privileged to live in the power of the Spirit, who is given to be with us “forever.” (John 14:16) This is what brings power to the Christian life, but for most, the Christian life is without the miraculous life or glory that comes from the Triune life of God. Are Christians living “solitary” lives? Is this why they live powerless lives?

“Solitary” One-ness or “Triune” One-ness

It is entirely feasible for man to take this “unity prayer” of Jesus and apply it to his “solitary” human perspective of life. He can use this “unified stance” with a “solitary” foundation to broad-brush everything he does with his family, his community, his nation, and still miss the point of Jesus’ meaning and purpose in His Trinitarian prayer. A father and son relationship can either be lived on a fleshly “solitary” mode, or a divine “Trinitarian” mode. Think of a statement like “unity in diversity” – if it is not lived in the Triune Being of God, it is still a philosophy birthed out of man’s “solitary” thoughts in his fallen, depraved state of being, which inevitably ends in failure and death. The “solitary” life which exists outside without God’s divine goodness is of itself a curse. Jesus, in the very depth of His Triune Being with His Father, could not have prayed any other way but in who He IS in His Trinitarian Oneness with His Father.

Though He took our humanity upon Himself, it was not a prayer He prayed through the human 1-dimensional “solitary” worldview, but the 3-dimensional Trinitarian unified worldview with and in His Father and the Spirit as ONE indivisible Triune God. That is the reality Jesus wanted the disciples and His followers to have with the Father, through and in Him. You see, once Jesus has taken man beyond and into the veil and man is made to sit with Him in His “Triune” Being-ness with the Father and the Spirit, everything we see and understand about the world around us changes from a “solitary” view to a Trinitarian divine view. That’s why Jesus had to come. That’s why the Father sent Him. That’s why Paul tells us, “You are complete in Him (Jesus)” (Col.2:10, emphasis added).

So the father and children relationships in Malachi are pictures framed primarily in the Triune relationship of God, before it extends to mankind when we accept this reality in Jesus by the power of the Spirit. The work of the coming Elijah, among others, primarily refers to the unifying of man to God through Christ so man can become a “unified being” (as opposed to a “solitary being”), from a 1-dimensional being, to a 3-dimensional being, in the very heart of the Trinitarian life of God. From this Trinitarian vantage point, man can now extend a hand of relationship to his fellowman, in his relationship with his children, his neighbors, his village, his city, in the Triune way of life in Christ.

Dove, Motif for The Holy Spirit (Wiki Commons)

In my book I speak of man becoming a “Bula man-river as a metaphor of this reality – man becoming and living the “unified miracle life” in the Triune Being of God.

I’ll continue from where I left off from the book, “Bula” man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living”:

Holy Spirit

“As long as man’s life is fueled by fear, God’s love cannot take a foothold, nor could a meaningful relationship based on love flourish. What people may regard as the expression of human good is done under the cloak of fear. Don’t get me wrong, every noble act has to come directly or indirectly from God, even the ones we do under the influence of fear. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Eden existed in God’s presence with our original parents. Therefore, all good and evil are in God’s control and serve His sovereign purpose (Gen. 2:17; Isa. 45:7). Man’s fear-based interaction with his fellowman has brought untold sorrow and continues to this day. Love and fear cannot coexist in the heart, just as light cannot coexist with darkness. God puts right this disparity between the depraved human heart and His love by giving man the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. He is Himself God, and love, like the Father and Son. He is given as a gift to abide in man’s life and supply man the love with which to respond fittingly to God’s love (John 16:7-15; Rom. 5:5). God offered the Holy Spirit to man from the beginning, symbolized by the tree of life in Eden, but man succumbed to fear’s deception, mistrusted God’s word, and betrayed His love. Man has since lived under the influence of fear, and it governs all his responses to life. Sadly, this fear-response carries over into his relationship with God. The Holy Spirit is given to change the status quo of fear.”

The Love DNA

“Before the Holy Spirit can be given to man, he must be unrobed from his cloak of fear. Fear comes in all sizes and shapes, in all tints and colors. Basically, fear is the harbinger of all the evil in man. The devil, who fuels this fear in man, does not rule man, but he can use fear to hold him captive. God alone rules man because man was made after His image. God gave man dominion over the earth but nowhere extends it over another human. The Genesis account is quite clear on this. Man’s only ruler is God (Gen. 1:26). Since man has God’s DNA in him, fear is essentially anathema and foreign to man. This is the underlying reason for so much suffering in the world. Man’s response to life is dictated by fear, not the love that’s in his DNA.”

“The fact that man fundamentally hates evil in all its manifestations is proof of God’s DNA in man and his aversion to fear. This hatred of evil is built into the human conscience. Man may carry out some heinous act, but such an act, having seared the conscience, will subsequently distort the personality and deteriorate man’s judgment and sanity (1 Tim. 4:2). Along these lines, God’s sovereignty undergirds all of life so that we will never lose the Creator’s reflection in man. Nevertheless, the devil holds man captive by and through fear and rebellion. Jesus comes to rescue man through the power of the divine love of God and to give man the Holy Spirit to meet God on His terms.”

From Fear to Love

“God’s promise to man is to give him a new heart to end his suffering from living a solitary life through a newborn “unified life” in His Son (Ezek. 11:19; Heb. 8:10, 10:22). He will remove the heart of fear and give him the heart of love. In becoming a mortal human, Jesus vicariously assumed man’s sinful life in His perfect being. In doing so, He destroyed fear and replaced it with God’s love. Finally, man can reciprocate with the same love with which God loves man. Only One from the Godhead is capable of loving another God alike. Man doesn’t have that love. All of man’s responses, including what he thinks is “love,” are filtered through his fears. Only One from within the triune Godhead can become the Mediator for all of humanity’s inadequate responses and transform them from fear to love in Himself (John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:15). That is why He is called man’s High Priest and Mediator in heaven, who forever intercedes for man.”

“Now man’s fear-based response is removed by the miracle I call the “flush-out”* (Miracle 1). Man takes on a new nature with love at its center, from which he responds to life. Jesus took upon Himself our humanity in His mortal body, glorified it through His death, resurrection, and ascension, and took our humanity into the very life of the triune God in heaven in our place. There is no other way to completely respond to the love of God but through and in Jesus. Only Jesus is capable of loving the Father perfectly, and man loves alike by living vicariously in Jesus. This is the Good News. That is why Paul tells us, “We are complete in Christ,” because He stands in for us and takes our place (Col. 2:10 emphasis added). God accepts this representation of His Son on our behalf as the true, finished, and final answer to all man’s sufferings and his place in the spiritual Eden which brings the miraculous life.” (Pg.27-28)

New Life in Christ

“Living this Triune life with and in God is as natural as He is love – it is not a forced obedience. God accepts His Son in our place, as our vicarious defense against the law which defines sin and demands our life. So when Christ died as our perfect human atonement, we died in Him (Rom. 7:4-6). When He was resurrected, we were lifted with Him. When He ascended to heaven, we relocated in Him (Eph. 2:4-6). The covenant promise God makes with man in His Son removes the heart-of-stone and replaces it with the heart-of-flesh. This is our new life in Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension (Heb. 8:6-11). The heart of fear dies and reincarnates into a heart of love (God). This is the miraculous life we have been called to live, for nothing but a miracle can make it happen.” (Pg.30)

We will have the final installment of this 3-Part series in the next update. May God help you see the light of the Gospel in Christ who has eternally unified us to the Triune God in Love.

Kiang (Your Servant in Christ)

* “Flush-out” – In my book, “Bula man-river, The Miracle of Triune Living,” I explained the “flush-out” as follows: “The miracle of the “flush-out” occurs when a person’s faith transmits the cleansing agency of Jesus’ blood. Faith is the conductor of miracles as electricity is in water. The atoning blood of Jesus flushes out the deathly waters of Bulu and replaces it with the Bula “living waters” of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39, 4:10). The “flush-out” inaugurates in man the life of God in place of death. Man is now the Bula man-river of God. At this moment in time, the life of Jesus and the Spirit, the blood and “living waters,” flow in the Bula man-river – you!” (Pg.40)

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

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Life Begins Where Our Concept of God Takes Root – God Who Is Trinitarian, PT. 1 – By Kiang P Lee

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Greeting Friends Around the World,

I pray that this post will bring the joy of freedom in your heart as it did mine when I wrote it.

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

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

In my book, “Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living,” I used the metaphor of the “Bula man-river”* to explain how the Triune God comes and fully unify Himself with man and transforms him to experience the very Triune life He inhabits from eternity, in Christ. Here are excerpts from my book –

“One of the most important and overlooked aspects of Jesus’ mission was that He came to reveal to us the true nature of God. Throughout His mission, Jesus made reference to God as His Father (John 17, 1:1-5, 14-8). John attests to this Father/Son relationship, saying, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18). Jesus also mentions another personage in the unified Godhead – the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-18, 25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus came to reveal the true nature of God by revealing the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and to show that God is Triune in His nature and not solitary. God is ONE trinity. That is, He is the union of three persons in one Triune Godhead. He is not alone; He is not individualistic; He is not isolated or reclusive.”

“Something significant happened to Abraham when he expressed heartfelt faith in God’s word to him – he changed from a “solitary” father to a father of “many” nations. God changed Abraham’s name to reflect His own triune nature. The same will happen to us when we express the living faith of Abraham. Too many times man presents a picture of God sitting remotely alone on His throne, passing judgment and exercising control over our lives. Jesus corrected that image and showed God to be relational in His Trinitarian nature. This is vital to living the miraculous life. We can only mirror our relationship with a God who is by nature triune and bound in love. In other words, we will commune with a relational God, not a private God. God is not solitary as many think. By declaring the Father’s nature, Jesus made us understand His nature is love.”

“Love is relational, hence God is triune. Humans have this “solitary” perception of God because man, who lives this “solitary” life since his fall in Eden, have painted this “solitary” image on God. Throughout history man has always tried to put God in a box to suit. God tells us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9). How vital that we let the Spirit inspire and energize us in His Trinitarian nature to nullify our natural “solitary” attitude. We can do good things in a “solitary” mode and it will take us only thus far (Jer. 17:9). By connecting to the triune God through His Spirit, His love will lead us in life. He instructs us to choose His triune life, not our solitary life (Deut. 30:19).”

“Why did God reveal Himself as the God who is love by nature? He is not made of love; He is love. Love is God and God is love – there is no distinction between the two. God and love are one and the same substance. Now consider this revelation of God in relation to man’s concept of a solitary God. Is it possible for love (God) to exist in isolation, in solitude – unaccompanied, secluded, alone in self-absorbed existence? If God were one solitary person, with no one to love and share His divine Being, then His affirmation that “God is love” would be meaningless. Love cannot exist in solitary confinement. Only the opposite, fear, will thrive in such a condition. No, love exists and thrives exclusively in relationships. Love and relationship are inseparable. Therefore, love is not compatible with the image of a solitary God, but it’s completely viable with a God who is Trinitarian. “Perfect love (God who is triune) cast out fear” (1 John 4:18a).”

“There is no place for solitary existence (fear) in a life that is committed to relationships (love). The Bible speaks of a proper “fear” that can exist with the love of God. It does not make us afraid of God, but instills a deep reverence of everything He stands for. Then there is the fear that is the antithesis of love, “because fear hath torment, and he that fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18b). Torment is contrary to love and joy. The Gospels make clear to us that Jesus’ multifaceted earthly mission was to declare openly to the world that God is Father to all mankind. By declaring the Fatherhood of God, He discredits all arguments that God is solitary. A Father begets and nurtures children. Jesus declares Himself as the Son of God. So are we all. He did not declare the Fatherhood of God to please the people or His followers, or to be controversial. He declared it because this is what love does – love tells the truth, love cannot lie. By proclaiming God is His Father, He affirmed God is triune.”

“Jesus’ crucifixion to atone for mankind’s sin is the ultimate story of love from a God who knows no other way to live but in loving relationship (John 3:16-17). His sacrifice was the ultimate act of love for He was both God and man. This is the key to the miraculous life the Bula man-river* is destined to live. It begins with our belief in our concept of God, for life will be to us as Jesus said – “according to your faith, your life will be lived” (Matt. 9:29-30 emphasis added). What is our concept of God? Miracles are birthed in love, and love cannot survive in solitary existence, but in relationship. God’s loving relationship with man is what brought miracles to man by the hands of Jesus. Through His death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus transports man into the triune existence of God. God has existed in His triune relationship from eternity. Because the triune God is of one substance (Greek, homoousios – “of one substance”) the act of one is the act of all three, making it singular and unified. Man has not experienced this kind of integrated life with the triune God since Adam. But God desires to bring man into the loving fellowship of the Father, Son, and Spirit. This is the way they lived from eternity. This is where the miracle life is birthed and takes its stand, and where the Bula man-river* makes his stand.”

“God is Love” (1 John 4:8) (Wiki Commons)

Love Is Key

“The relationship God seeks with man is the same closeness He lives with the three Persons of the Trinity in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now here is man’s predicament: man is incapable of responding with the same love God has for man because he just doesn’t have the equivalent love to relate with God. It was offered to him in Eden, but he rejected it for a life of fear instead. Man has never known this divine relationship of love the triune God has inhabited from eternity. Love is the key to making it work. Even so, how does a man respond in kind when he doesn’t have the goods to begin with? In simple terms, man has to take on a complete new life, a nature consistent with God’s love. Man, in his present fallen state, is incapable of loving God the way God loves him. His “solitary” depraved nature, which is influenced and motivated by fear, stands as an insurmountable wall. Obviously, God knows this, but it is man who must see what for God is obvious.”

“God provides the way in His Son, who Himself is God and possesses the same divine love. Thus, He is qualified to mediate and represent man in making the union possible. Jesus, by taking upon Him His human body, effectually joined mankind to the divine Godhead in substance and reality. Man can now lovingly relate with God on equal terms in and through Jesus. Jesus took His human body into a glorified state to the presence of God and became the perfect response for man before God. This is the only way, and this is the plan of God for man to enter a relationship with Him. In this regard, Paul speaks of “putting on Jesus” as if being cloaked in His Being thus enabling man to enter and live this triune existence of love with the Trinitarian God (Gal. 3:27).” “That’s the message the Bula man-river* brings to us.

Solitary Living

I said earlier that fear thrives in solitary climate, while love thrives in relationships. In man’s fallen state, fear dominates his heart. Man’s every response is inspired by the fear of his depraved and corrupt heart. This fearful life continues because of his solitary existence. How did man come to find himself living this fearful, solitary life? It began in Eden when man separated himself from God his Father, who alone possesses the love man longs for. God’s presence is the missing relationship in man’s life. The reason for his isolation is his separation from God. Man was made to exist with God in order to be whole, as Adam and Eve were before they ejected themselves out of Eden.”

“There is an important element of man’s connectedness with God that never leaves man. God created man to live in communion with each other to reflect His Trinitarian existence. Without meaningful participation with others as an interactive society, we would deteriorate and cease to effectively exist as human beings. Though fear may dominate man’s existence, God’s sovereign image of communion living undergirds and keeps him connected to his Maker. So this communion life, which bears the stamp of God’s triune image, can be motivated by fear or by love. Only when it is motivated by love will a harmonious relationship exist. When relationships are motivated by fear they become twisted, for relationships are made for love based on the triune existence of God Himself .”

I hope you find this post enlightening and liberating. But that’s not all. In Part 2, I’ll go into and discuss the awesome gift of the Holy Spirit the Father gives to indwell man as man’s everlasting gift.

May God bless you as He moves in your life in the only way He knows how, the Triune Living way, to manifest your destiny in Christ.

Kiang

Remember, when you purchase my book you have hand in Jesus’s Work, for all the proceeds go towards dispensing the Gospel worldwide. Thank you for your support.

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

Triune Life – Miracle of Triune Living

"Live the Triune Life… Change the World"

Monthly Archives: May 2013

RIVERBED (MAN) + “LIVING WATERS” (HOLY SPIRIT) = BULA MAN-RIVER – BY KIANG P LEE

BULA MAN-RIVER’S ANSWER TO “OBEDIENCE” – THE “TRINITARIAN LOVE” OF GOD – BY KIANG P LEE

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Life Begins Where Our Concept of God Takes Root – “Creative” Trinitarian Life, Pt. 3 – By Kiang P Lee

Note: 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

Life Begins Where Our Concept of God Takes Root – The God Who Is Trinitarian Pt.2 – By Kiang P Lee

Note: 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

Life Begins Where Our Concept of God Takes Root – God Who Is Trinitarian, PT. 1 – By Kiang P Lee