Greetings from Dallas, Texas!

Trinitarian Mindset

The most basic and pivotal knowledge man can have is to understand God is Trinitarian. For the Christian, the mention of the name of God, must always convey His Trinitarian Being of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. From the Trinitarian worldview, the human mind opens vistas of perspectives he would not otherwise comprehend in his “solitary” human worldview. Christ came to open the consciousness of man to a realm unknown to man. Jesus can be seen and lived from a “solitary” human realm and focus. When that happens, we deny His heritage, we put Him in a box of our making, and we deny ourselves a glorious world that’s beyond our knowing, which only He, in His Trinitarian Being can take us.

God is Triune In His Being as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

The second is to translate that Triune worldview so it undergirds the believer’s life, and how it can be made to manifests itself into a practical way of life. Whenever we hear the expression that God is with a person, it means God’s “Triune Life” undergirds the person’s life, for God has eternally been a Trinity. And third, we answer the question, is it humanly possible to live this “Triune Life” of God, and the answer of course is ‘no.’ Only Jesus Christ can bring it to man, for He is Triune as much as He is indivisibly part of the Trinitarian Godhead.

The Trinitarian Life we have in Christ, is not just a doctrine or belief we keep locked up in our heads, but it’s a hands-on, concrete, down-to-earth, way of life. Many believe in the Trinity in the intellectual and theological sense, but haven’t a notion how to live it. Athanasius said this, “The revelation of Christ” (again, when the name of Jesus Christ is mentioned, we understand Him in His basic heritage as part of the Triune God), Athanasius said, “The revelation of Christ is addressed primarily to the will (God’s Love) not to the intellect; it’s appeal is to Faith (Christ’s Faith) not to theology.” That’s to say, the “Triune Life” is to be lived through Jesus’ Faith by the sowing of God’s Love in the field of human relations- it’s not just an academic matter.

Light is Seen in Human Interaction

Jesus asked, “do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt.5:15-16). Light is not something to be hidden but to give illumination. Light by its nature is not something merely to be grasped intellectually or theologically, because its character is to manifest how it affects people in how life is lived in a practical hands-on way. Man can have wonderful ideas about many things, but if they is not sown or tested in the field of human interactions and relationships, it is still “light hidden under a bowl or bushel.”

A Shared Mutual Life

Note that the light is not beaming on man alone, but on the Father ultimately. It’s quite easy to take the glory that rightfully belongs to God, and make it ours by basking in our own self-approval. Once we turn anything that glorifies God into a human “solitary” self-focus we disempower God in lives. Unfortunately, we do that all the time as humans under the influence of the devil. By saying “let your light shine, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father,” Jesus is affirming man’s union in the Triune Being of God. It’s a life that’s lived mutually in the Triune Being of God. It’s a glory God shares with man because through Christ man is brought to have communion with the Triune God.

Devils’ Sin –  to Usurp

The sin of the devil from the beginning was his attempt to usurp for himself the glory that rightfully belongs to God. God desires to share His glory with man, that’s His ultimate purpose for making man in His image. Satan continues to try to usurp God’s glory today in deceived mankind. That life leads to the “solitary life.” We live the “Triune Life” in mutual Love and sharing with the Father, Son, and Spirit. When we live the “solitary life” we live powerless lives.

“Works” Determines God’s “Triune Life”

Jesus encountered many people who did not believe He was the Messiah or the Son of God as He proclaimed Himself. By Pentecost there were only 120 out of the thousands upon thousands He taught and manifested supernatural miraculous healing acts never before witnessed in Israel. It is not uncommon to form perceptions of a person where false information is bandied about. And their perception becomes reality. Jesus knew this and told the people (I’m paraphrasing here), “If you don’t believe Me, that’s fine by Me, but believe the works, for no man can do this unless God is with Him” (John 10:38). By saying “unless God is with him,” Nicodemus validates Jesus’ “Triune Life” with the Father and the Spirit. Even though the whole Jewish religious establishment denounced Jesus and called Him a charlatan and false Messiah, Nicodemus, as much as he liked to side with his fellow rulers of the synagogue, looked to the works of Jesus, and told Jesus no one could do what he did unless God was with Him. (John 3:2) Through the works of God in Him, Jesus’ Triune Being He is corroborated.

“Born Again”

Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” It’s a new life which comes from the death of the “solitary life” to the new birth in the “Triune Life.” Jesus was living the “Triune Life.” Jesus, as our example, was showing us how a human being is suppose to live as God was showing through His Son. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit” (John 3:5-6). Paul tells us how this death takes place and new birth come about, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal.2:20). If “Christ lives in me” then the “Triune Life” is alive in me. The “Triune Life” is mutually lived so we reflect the God who lives in us. It’s the Triune Life that produces the work of God. The “solitary” human life is powerless to do the work of God.

What “Triune” Means

To be “Triune” simply means a life that’s mutually cooperative, it is interconnected, interrelated, unified, and ONE! Triune means, to use a modern idiom, “ONE for all, and all for ONE.” That’s to say, the act of any One is the act of all Three in the Godhead. It’s a shared life. That’s how God IS in His Triunity! The “Triune Life” is anchored in eternity. It’s the opposite of being “solitary,” self-sufficient, independent, private, self-willed, narcissistic – the end-result of which is disunity and discord. The “solitary life” is anchored in emptiness and extinction. A group of people can be united, like a club of some kind, but still be “solitary” because it is self-serving in its objectives. So, Triune means to be ONE with God, not with other humans. We become one with other humans by first being ONE with the Triune God. So life and relationships are linked to eternity with Love (God) at its core, instead of existing in an abyss of fear and self-love.

Jesus Brings the “Triune Life” to Man

So when Jesus joined man to God as the prophesied Immanuel (Isa.7:14; Matt.1:23), man is given the ability to live the “Triune Life” through a Personage within the Triune Godhead – the Son, Jesus Christ who took our humanity in Himself and unified man to God. Jesus glorified our humanity when He became human, and in His life, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension joined us eternally to the Triune God. Jesus did not just glorify Himself. He was the prophesied Immanuel, “God with us – God with mankind.” He glorified all of mankind in Himself. He said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to Myself” (John 12:32).

Principle of Imputation/Substitution

This is a vital Trinitarian principle. The principle of imputation, of substitution, of implied consequence. God imputes the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of His Son, for and on behalf of all mankind. Hence, John tells us “God so loved the world, (ie all mankind) He gave His Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall have everlasting life” (John 3:16). All that’s required is faith. This principle of imputation is an act of substitution for another – God’s Son is representing all mankind. You cannot just attribute His death, resurrection, and ascension, and not His life as well. He was baptized for us, therefore, God accepted his repentance for us. He defeated the devil, therefore God accepted His victory for us, (just as Adam’s failure did.) He lived a life of supreme good through His miraculous Life by healing man from all kinds of sickness and disease, deformity, broken-heartedness, and even raised the dead back to life – for us. He healed all who came to Him. Then He died, resurrected, and ascended for us, and joined us the Triune God forever in Himself.

Living In The Vicarious Life of Jesus

In Jesus, who took our humanity with Him into the Godhead, we can repent and be baptized; now, we can overcome the devil and his wiles; now, we can do good and be “my brother’s keeper,” – not because we have the wherewithal in our humanity to do it, but because Jesus has already done it and God the Father imputes His righteous life upon us. (2 Cor.5:21; Rom.3:24) This born again miraculous “Triune Life” is one we live vicariously in Him. And He comes and does it all over again in us in the power of the Holy Spirit who brings the “Triune Life” to us. Do we believe that? It’s a life of Faith, it’s not about intellect. In my Book, “Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living,” I use the metaphor of the river, calling it “Bula man-river”* to portray this miraculous life we live and have in the “Triune LIfe” of Jesus.

Adam & Abraham

This principle of substitution is a Trinitarian principle. It is the principle of imputing one’s life for another. Life is ONE and unified as He is in the Father, Son, and Spirit. Nothing is “solitary” and exists or subsists by itself. And it does not just apply to Jesus’ work, it has always been there because God’s Triune nature has always undergirded all of life. Think of Adam – one man’s disobedience was imputed upon all mankind. The effect of Adam’s disobedience was a imputing act which alienated all mankind from God. But God promised to send a second Adam in His Son, when He reprimanded the devil saying: “I will put enmity between you and the woman,” or as the Message Tr. Says, “I am declaring war between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers (referring to the Son of Man, Jesus). He’ll wound your head, you’ll wound his heel” (Gen.3:14-15; 1 Cor.15:22). God sealed the redemption of mankind by declaring His Son would come for and on behalf of mankind. In order to do that, He himself had to take on the form of man, and do battle in the wilderness with the devil, and defeat the devil once for all – for you and I.

Consider Abraham, because of his faith God blessed his family through Isaac and Jacob, and all Israel. You’ll notice that each time God stepped in and rescued Israel from their self-inflicting ways, He always fell back to Israel’s default position – what was that? The faith of one man and His promise to him – Abraham, by which Israel was made a chosen people. Long before God chose Israel, He chose Abraham. So, if the Israelites were implied recipients of Abraham’s faithfulness, there was an obvious implicit sense of duty to follow the patriarchal example, and likewise, be faithful. But history tells us otherwise. Their own self-will acts – which is attributive remember – nullified their place in the covenant. What’s our default position? It’s Jesus substitutionary “Triune Life” in place of the “solitary life” of self. It’s Jesus’ Triune heritage as part of the Triune Being of God, which is all the reason He is Savior of mankind. Eventually Israel and Judah went into captivity. But the promise to Abraham still stands – He is bringing many faithful today through a new covenant in Christ. Israel was reenacting this coming reality through their sacrificial system.

Man’s Free Will to Choose

Of course, this principle of imputation does not mean all peoples are locked-in and unable to be rescued from Adam’s ill-fated choice. We still have the freewill to investigate our traditions and norms, and if they are unsound and erroneous (as they are), we acknowledge our error and God is faithful to forgive us through His Son. Notice what God told the Israelites, ¹⁴ “But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things… He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live.¹⁸ But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.¹⁹ “Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all My decrees, he will surely live” (Ezek.18:14-19). So the Israelites understood this principle of substitution and implied consequence, asking, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ although not in a Triune sense, but the principle was applicable for God eternally existed in His Triunity. It was explained to them through Abraham’s faithfulness by the priesthood who taught the people.

Jesus’ Own “Triune Life”

On a human level Jesus, who had always existed from eternity within the Triune Being of God with the Father and the Spirit, tells us how our human response to the Trinitarian life this way, “By Myself I can do nothing;” – of course He can’t. How can He when He is indivisibly, inseparably, unified to the Father and the Spirit, as ONE Triune Being. Jesus told the people this about His teachings, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the One who sent Me. 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own. 18 Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about Him” (John 7:16-18). Further He said, “I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me” (John 5:30). He is showing us, as our example, how the “Triune Life” is lived. He said further, “The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority” – of course, it’s impossible for Jesus to speak “solitarily” in His Triune ONE-NESS with the Father and the Spirit. He goes on, “Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work. Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me?” (John 14:10). How can man live the “Triune Life” unless he is unified to Christ in a spiritual rebirth? Paul said we are seated with Christ in our spiritual resurrected state as He was when he resurrected and ascended to the Father in heaven, making possible the “Triune Life” in man. (Eph.2;6)

Jesus Raising the Dead, He Said, “I Am the Resurrection” (Wiki Commons)

So, even the words were not spoken out of a human “solitary” focus – they were measured and undergirded in the “TriuneLlife” He always had from eternity with the Father and the Spirit. He did not speak out of a self-centered, egotistical, conceited, self? He was human undoubtedly, and had all the pulls of our human nature to live the “solitary life.” Heb.4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet He did not sin.” But His words were measured, spoken out of a life that’s interconnected with the Spirit who gave Him inspiration with the blessing of the Father.

Applies to You and Me – Paul’s Support of The Triune Principle

Here’s what we fail to realize, this principle of attribution and implied consequence, continues to undergird man’s relationship with other humans today. Man was not made to exist privately and in isolation in himself. Man was made with the potential to have God’s Triune likeness so he can live in Loving communion with his fellow humans, as God does in His Triunity. Yet, sadly, man turns this relationship into something he can utilize for his own “solitary,” narcissistic, and evil interests under the influence of the devil. He let’s his self-will take over, and greed, covetousness, extortion, and corruption, takes over and dominate his life. All his actions carries this imputative consequence. Notice how Paul supports this Triune implied/attributive/substitutionary consequence upon us individually as believers, “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife (believing), and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy” (1Cor.7:14, emphasis added). Only through the “Triune Life” you have in Christ, is this made possible.

I like the way Paul states this Triune principle in the family context. It starts with your family where your “Triune Life” in Christ covers those around you, so they also are in good standing with God because of you. Though they may not be in direct union with God, you are that connection which brings grace to them. That’s what implied consequence means. That’s how the whole world is saved through Christ, though many may not know it yet.

Holy Spirit makes “Triune Life” Possible

We don’t often realize this, but the Holy Spirit is given to bring and make the “Triune Life” possible in man. This “Triune Life” cannot be lived with human effort and strength alone, though we have the potential to live it because man was made in God’s likeness. When left to ourselves, when we try to use human strength to follow God’s ways, we will always revert back to a “solitary” human focus to something that really requires the Spirit to do in us. Jesus made very plain that the Spirit is given to make the “Triune Life” possible in man: “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. (Notice) He will not speak on His own; (He does not behave or act “solitarily”) He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.  He will glorify Me because 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, emphasis added).

Dove Symbol of the Holy Spirit & God’s Love (Wiki Commons)

This is where the “Triune Life” in Christ gives birth in a believer – the Holy Spirit enters and flows like a full-flowing river which flows unabated day and night and never dries up. Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:37-39). Twenty four hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks in a year, He flows day and night never ceasing to supply the Love of God to make the “TRIUNE LIFE” possible in you and me. Where is the source of this river? From the mountain – the mountain represents the throne of God. The Spirit is given to man as a gift flowing perpetually through his life, and as He dwells in man, He is at the same time indivisibly and inseparably connected to the Triune God for He is God. So, as long as He lives in us, He brings the “Triune Life” of Jesus to us, and He takes us to the Father through the Son in heaven. That unity with the Triune Being of God which the Spirit makes possible in man, is the essence of the glorious “Triune Life” we have in Christ.

Knowing Christ Through the “Triune Life”

It’s not possible to live the Triune Life, as did Jesus when He walked a human, without the Holy Spirit’s personal presence in a believer. What did Jesus say that will make people recognize we are His disciples? He prayed the Father, 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 21 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.” Notice, in His final prayer before He was taken to be crucified, His prayer was about the “Triune Life” – that man will be ONE with the Father through Christ, through the Spirit He will send on Pentecost. Then Jesus utters a very important proviso what the Triune Life will do to you and me, He said, “May they also be in Us (the Triune God) so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” How would the world come to know the real Jesus? By each and every believer living the “Triune Life.”

Reaching Christ with a “Solitary” Focus?

We can try to reach people for Christ with a “solitary” focus, but in the end it will not amount to anything. It is impossible to know Christ except through the “Triune Life” man can have only in Christ, who is Himself Triune within the Godhead with the Father and the Spirit. This is God’s work, making known to mankind who He IS. He does it the only way He IS – living the “Triune Life,” through the Spirit who brings it to us.  Jesus prayed, “²² I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be One as We are One— ²³ I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.” What is the glory Christ received from the Father and gave the disciples? Yes, the “Triune Life” – “that they may be ONE as We are ONE.” That is the Trinitarian Life. Jesus here calls the “Triune Life,” a Life of Glory. Why, because that is where the source of glory originates – from the Triune Being of God! The “Triune Life” was unknown to man until Christ came and revealed the Father and the Holy Spirit to mankind.

Live The “Triune Life”

So, my question to us in this post is, do we believe as did Paul, that by becoming Christ’s, we are thereby obligated to live the “Triune Life?” There is no other way, for Jesus Himself is Triune. The life of Israel as a people taught us that faithfulness cannot be realized through human effort. Jesus brought the Spirit to empower us to make Abrahamic faith possible through the “Triune Life.” Before we say a word, before we act, do we stop and think, my words and my acts have implied consequence. We live the “Triune Life” in Christ so all we say and do have consequential implication, first within the “Triune Life” of God as it affects the Father, Son, and Spirit, and second with our fellow humans? (LUK.10;27) The Triune God is ONE because in their nature of LOVE they act as ONE, as we are likewise eternally joined to them through Christ. We can accept Jesus with a “solitary” focus, and we put Him in a box of our own making – but it won’t be the true Jesus because He is “Triune” with His Father and Spirit. Let our words be measured, and our acts be tampered in the Triune Love of God in Christ, in the power of the Spirit.

Do you believe in your heart that it is humanly impossible to live this “Triune Life” in Christ without the Holy Spirit? In this life and the hereafter, He is the only gift we will ever need from our Father. For from the Spirit who connects us to the Father through the Son, everything else concerning you and me as a person in His plans for us, flows into your life and mine. Make the Spirit personal to your own life, your true Friend, for He was given to be your Advocate and Helper in whatever situation in life. 

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

Blessing

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you today and give you strength for authentic Triune Living as a Bula man-river.*

Kiang                                                                                                                                                          (Your Servant in Christ)

* 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

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Greeting Friends the world over!

Two Tenets of Beliefs

Let’s look at two tenets of Christian beliefs people hold to and examine them from the Triune perspective of God’s Love and nature. As my readers have known by now, examining whatever matter of discussion from the perspective of God’s Triune nature, has always been this ministry’s mainstay and founding principle.  Why is this important? Because when we lock-in to the “Triune Life” in Jesus, the stars become aligned, so to speak – your path is in harmony with the Trinitarian energy of God’s Love which undergirds all your actions. Your perception and evaluation about life will immediately flag out any deviation to the self-defeating “solitary” perspective of life, sponsored by fear. This is what the life filled with the Spirit as the Bula man-river* does to you. Let’s start.

Many believe a person remains unsaved until he makes a decision to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Mediator. Is this a valid claim, or are all humans in a saved condition regardless of his/her decision? Others believe God has chosen to save only some people and not others, so your decision does not matter. If you are ‘unchosen,’ that’s the end of the matter.  What‘s your take on such a claim? Let’s examine both these portraits of beliefs from the Trinitarian perspective. Both these beliefs stem from Calvinist and Arminian roots.

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

Jesus Answers

Jesus answers this age-old controversy by stating God is both inclusive and exclusive. What does that mean? It means Jesus saves all mankind regardless of anyone’s opinion or decision in the matter, that is, He is inclusive. Your decision does not save you, God’s decision does that. God does not forgive people in exchange for their repentance and belief. The Scripture proclaims forgiveness is an unconditional free gift that is entirely His grace. We have free will, but your free will, vital as it is to you and God, has no power to save. Redemption comes through a Savior under God’s Loving provision. Freewill merely agrees to what has already been done. Secondly, He is exclusive by selecting people for certain design and purpose. We all have purpose and dreams. The biggest secret about life is to discover it. (Rom.12:6) Most importantly, the inclusive and exclusive expressions are functionalities of grace within the Triune Being and nature of God. He is inclusive in that the Three Persons of the Trinity are eternally ONE God. He is exclusive in that the Three Persons each have their unique function within the Triune Being of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Inclusive & Exclusive

The oft-quoted passage from John 3:16 throws light into this topic – “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” There’s a duality that’s unmistakably revealed in this passage which we can miss. It expresses God’s inclusive and exclusive Love for man. The first part is all-inclusive where God expresses His love for all mankind, “the world.”  That’s to say, no one, not a single human, is left out. “The world” means the world – nothing more, and nothing less. Then, the second part expresses His love exclusively for “whoever believes.”  In the first part, God’s inclusive Love means He Loves and rescues man in his utter depraved and sinful state of being. This He has done in and through His Son – period. There are no ‘ifs,’ and ‘buts’ that stands to qualify what God has done absolutely in His Son for man. Man doesn’t make Christ his Savior by his decision. He has already saved man regardless of his choice in the matter. Jesus said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to Myself.”  (John 12:32) “All” means all, no one is left out!

What Exclusivity is NOT!

From the foregoing we see that by the very fact of God’s Triune nature He is inclusive and will never leave anyone out whom He has made in His One, Unified, image. Only man can choose not to accept the embrace of God’s Love and leave himself out – not God in His all-embracing mercy and Love. God cannot deny Himself. We’ll do well to remember Jonah’s characteriszation of God’s disposition toward a sinful world, when he said, “I know that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” (Jonah 4:2) Jonah just wanted Nineveh and its sinful inhabitants wiped off the earth, and never to see the light of God’s grace. Doesn’t that reflect the way we portray God through our belief systems? Their decision doesn’t matter, and if they relent and make good, it won’t make any difference? That we are different – we are special? We are exclusive? They are damned, we are not? Does that depict the God Jonah represents?

Jesus Became Human to INCLUDE All

After Jesus was crucified, resurrected, and ascended to the glory He always had from eternity in God, at that point, all of mankind was saved instantaneously and for all eternity within the Being of the Triune God. From then on, Jesus becomes the center of mankind’s redemption, continuous mediation and deliverance, and the true life-source of mankind. Once and for all, Jesus takes our humanity, makes us holy in Himself by resurrecting man vicariously from death and joined us eternally to the Triune Being of God. This is what believers affirm every time they partake of the Lord’s communion. The bread and wine represent our flesh and blood, our humanity, Jesus took upon Himself when He became human, so He can join man eternally with and in the Triune Life of God forever.  

Jesus at “Last Supper” with Disciples (By Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret, 1852-1929, Wiki Commons)

I’m not sure if our mind is capable of comprehending what that means for each of us – He has bound us to the holiest place of all existence – the very Being of the holy Triune union in God forever. (Eph.2:5-6) It is certain we require the faith of Jesus to take us there, for no human faith can climb this mountain. He took man from a life of solitude on a path to oblivion, to a life of immortality and into the Loving embrace of our God and Father. Even now, in this physical life, it’s through the gift of the Spirit, by whose function we are unceasingly fused to the Father and the Son on an unending eternal union. If that is not mind-boggling and life-altering, I don’t know what is!

What Exclusivity Means

Exclusivity has a negative undertone to most people. In God’s definition, exclusivity is defined by a gift a person receives from God – the gift of the Holy Spirit. It’s not about an exclusivity in the sense of aloofness and superiority over others. That’s not what the Spirit brings to man. The Spirit brings and makes the “Triune Life” possible in man. He seals and protects us from the “solitary life” of the devil. He is the basis of the “Triune” philosophy of Love toward God and humans. Therefore, exclusivity is defined by the Trinitarian collaborative union the person is called to undergird his life in the Spirit’s Love. That exclusive “Triune Life” is not a life of aloofness, but humility to the cause of unity within the Triunity of God Himself in Christ. It is the “solitary life” that is the basis of superiority as it will always been by its nature and expression in the devil himself. Some may say I am a universalist, which I’m not, but that’s a separate subject of discussion.

Man Belongs & is Accepted & Has No Excuse

In an earlier blog I said God envelopes all of creation, especially man, whom He created in His own image, in His all-embracing Love. (Ps.139) The act of giving us His Son, seals God’s all-inclusive Love for man for eternity which can never be reversed. Man cannot escape His Love, even if he wants to. He waits for prodigal man with open arms to step into a relationship where an intimate coexistence can be fostered through faith in His Son. Man, even in his state of depravity and sinfulness has no excuse but to feel a legitimate belonging to God. Humans are fully accepted as sons and daughters of God, the true Father of all mankind. He has accepted all by not sparing but sacrificing His Son for us. God stands ready to accept any person, no matter his color or station in life, to remake anyone and give him or her the privilege of being special and exclusive in His Fatherly embrace. Jesus said He did not come to save the righteous (‘exclusive’ – they are already saved), but sinners who are already saved but have yet to step into faith. (Luk.5:32; John 3:16-17)

So it’s not about your decision, it’s definitely never about being ‘unchosen,’ as the two tenets of beliefs propose. It’s about the all-embracing Triune Being of God and how, in His Loving nature, He responds inclusively and exclusively to man according to His divine will. He chose us individually before creation, that in our most depraved state of being, His Love will lift us up, and did it by willingly sacrificing His Son for you and me.  Why, because we are all special to Him both in an all-embracing inclusive and exclusive way to Him. You are the apple of His eye. (Ps.17:8) God our Father reveals His heart in the face of what man may want to believe otherwise, saying, “He wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1Tim.2:4).

Dove, Symbol of Holy Spirit (Pic: Wiki Commons)

In my Book, I used the metaphor of the Bula man-river* to depict the person who is inclusive through Christ’s universal redemptive work, and exclusive to a calling he has been given through the Spirit’s mediation in His life. (You can read about this “life-gift” God as prepared for each of us in my Book, “Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living”)

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

Blessing

Until my next post, may the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable inclusive, and exclusive Triune Love, be with you today and give you strength for authentic Triune living as a Bula man-river.*

Kiang                                                                                                                                                          (Your Servant in Christ) 

* 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

Greetings once more Friends everywhere!

Does God care about your 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 physical diet dialogue. You can say it is a spiritual diet which profoundly affects our physical well-being. I begin with two passages of Scripture which should comfort us from the outset, and a third passage at the end of this article:-

“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)

Three Drivers

Man is essentially a dualistic being. He lives in a parallel universe of existence – he is mortal, but is driven spiritually. Mortal man is driven spiritually in his mind. The human mind, made after God’s image, is what defines true life, not his mortal body. The physical body is the temple for the mind’s spiritual bidding. The physical existence of man is driven by three areas of life – three drivers, you can say. How we preside and manage these three drivers determines how the body responds to its environment, resulting in good or bad physical well-being. The three drivers are health, happiness, and wealth. (Matt.4) Health relates to physical sustenance of the body that’s energized by food and drink. Happiness relates to the safety and security a person enjoys from uncertainties and worries. And, wealth relates to the material things in his life which gives comfort and convenience. The secret, (everyone loves a secret), is to harmonize the two universes of the physical and spiritual into one life and one expression. Sickness and disease enter when these two universes are set on divergent paths, as they relate to these three drivers of life.

                 

3 Drivers: Sustenance/Health             Happiness/Security                Wealth/Comfort      

“Triune Life”

These three areas of life are what man give his full and undivided attention. There’s nothing wrong with them essentially, for they are what drives man to fulfill his “dominion mandate” given him by his Creator in the beginning. (Gen.1:26-28) Man has always been given two ways as to how to give these three drivers attention. In the beginning, God showed man how. He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion…” (Gen.1:26)  From the outset of man’s existence on this earth, the Creator revealed to man he is to dominate the earth in a certain way – in the “Triune” fashion.  This is what I have called the “Triune likeness” mandate in my book. God said “Let US…” revealing His Triunity, which Jesus later made known is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matt.28:19; John 14:26; 1 Pet.1:2) The Hebrew word “Elohim” for God is in the plural. God is Trinitarian in His nature. (You can read about the three Genesis mandates in my Book, “Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living.”)

“Solitary Life”

Conversely, man may choose to manage these three drivers in a “solitary” manner in himself, without recourse to the “Triune mandate” he was given. When that happens, he has deviated from the very Triune energy which fittingly connects him to his Creator and his God-given dominion over this earth in these three areas. What’s the end-result of the “solitary life?” He suffers bodily in his physical well-being. Jesus said, “It is not on bread alone that man is to live; (physical universe) there is life for him in all the words which proceed from the mouth of God” (spiritual universe) (Matt. 4:4, TCNT/Knox emphasis added). The inward spiritual life influences the quality of life that exists outwardly.

God told Adam, “You shall surely die,” if he ate of the fruit of good and evil which leads to the “solitary life.” Adam became the ‘living dead’ so to speak. But worst still, man suffers spiritually, for his physical condition is a reflection of his spiritual death. He inhabits a parallel universe. Man was made an inter-connected being to have a Triune existence with his Maker. It’s in his DNA. When he lives the “solitary life” he disconnects himself from the “Triune Life” of God. He lives in conflict to the Triune energy (Love) which envelopes and energizes the whole universe, and this earth which he inhabits, and he suffers spiritually and physically. (Read my Blog titled “Can Man Live Without God? – God’s Spiritual Gravity of Love” posted 8/14/2013)

Creation of Adam by Michelangelo. Man Made After God’s own Likeness (Wiki Commons)

Man is physical, and his natural and primary motivation will always be his physical survival. So, he applies the three drivers which come naturally to him without any need for stimuli. He has to eat and drink to survive bodily (health); he seeks security for shelter (happiness); and he has materialistic desires for comfort and convenience (wealth). When he seeks them in a “solitary” mindset, he disengages himself from the very “Triune” energy of the Spirit. The Triune energy from the Spirit is what endows him to properly administer his dominion of this earth and all the resources in it. He leads man and brings him the very things he pursue in life which will support his spiritual and physical well-being.

Care!

What does the “solitary life” do to a person? He becomes self-centered, then, covetousness and greed takes over. And before long, the most potent of all causes of sickness and disease sets in – care! The “solitary life” is always dominated by undue, hurtful, care. Damaging care is the harbinger of all sickness and disease in the world today. It breeds anxiety and fear, which in turn negatively affects the body’s cells which brings on harm and disease. Yet, we are told of a life that’s free from care, “be careful about nothing.” Instead, we are told make our hearts known to God, believe and be thankful, and His peace will reign in our lives. In place of care, peace and joy. (Phil. 4:6-7, emphasis added). Through care a person’s focus on life is centered inwardly on himself, and the outward, collaborative, Triune Life which brings Love and peace is totally non-existent. Everything is seen through the lens of the ‘self’ – his family, his career, his home, his community, his country. The Triune Life is about achieving everything we desire in life with Love as the driver, not fear and care. Love, (God is Love) is the foundation upon which our physical and spiritual well-being is built.

Man The Temple

Man naturally and automatically fall back to seek these three areas of life because our human nature have these human survival inclinations. So the application of the “Triune” principles of living as it relates to these three drivers is a discipline that requires more than human effort. The devil realizes this and deceives man to apply a “solitary” focus in these areas of life. So man has to constantly exercise his mind to the Triune principles. Man’s mortal body becomes the temple of the Spirit, and in His Loving condition, the three drivers are brought under the aegis of the Triune Life.

Man’s Example

As believing Christians, we all look to Christ for examples for living. (Rom.8:29; 1 Cor.11:1) Jesus’ example for us in these three areas of life was made plain after Jesus was baptized in the Jordan. Now filled with the Spirit, He was led into the empty wilderness to face the archenemy of man, the devil. Jesus was representing all mankind in this epic duel, in Triune collaboration with the Father. Take a guess what weapons the enemy used to try to defeat Jesus and man? Yes, these very three areas of life which drives man – health, happiness, and wealth. The account is found in Matthew 4:1-11. (You can read about the significance of this duel where Jesus defeated the devil in my Book, “Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living,” Pg.148-152) Jesus defeated the devil at his game. It’s a game he played on Adam, and continues to employ on man today, as he did with Jesus. He plays to destroy man physically and spiritually. The enemy destroys man’s physical well-being by promoting and causing the vicious cycle of corroding care and its destructive aftermath to dominate a person’s life.

Man, Given the Human Mind to Communicate With His Creator (Pic: Wiki Commons)

The Testings/Temptations

1> When it came to our physical sustenance (health), Jesus brushed off the enemy’s ploy, saying, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt.4:3-4). 2> When it came to happiness, the enemy deviously tried to get Jesus to use the promises of security as a bargaining chip with God. We tempt God, when we think His grace (as expressed in His promises) as commodity to be traded. (V.5-7) 3> Today, as it was in Jesus’ day, wealth is defined mainly by money. The enemy offered Jesus all the worldly wealth if He would bow to him, but Jesus rebuked the devil saying no one can worship both God and wealth (Matt.8-10; 6:24). We prostrate before and serve God alone.The devil failed on all three counts. The devil tempts us at the point of our material ambitions. Wrapped in this momentous duel is the answer to man’s well-being physically and spiritually, and man’s freedom from the stress and care that kills daily.

Choosing Love Over Fear

Though we triumph over the enemy vicariously through Jesus’ victory in these three areas of life, the devil does not leave us alone, for he knows we are individuals with free minds. It was through free will that he deceived Adam, and it will be through our free will that he tries to do the same to us. But we need not fear, for with free will we can choose and make Jesus’ victory our own which the Spirit brings to us, as he did with the fully human Jesus in the wilderness. The Spirit comes to us as a full-flowing river whose power never subsides to conquer and vanquish the enemy at his own game. (John 7:38-39) This is God’s work in us, not ours – and yet is now ours by and in the Faith of Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal.2:20). Our “solitary life” is given up for dead for a life of faith. The faith of Jesus is what constitutes life now. And if it is Jesus who lives in us, then the life we live is most assuredly the “Triune Life” of God, for Jesus is Triune God with the Father and the Spirit.

We ought to remember that these three drivers were given to man for his good in his dominion upon this earth carried out in the Triune expression. But the devil now deviously utilizes these drivers to deceive man with a “solitary” focus, beginning with Adam. If in the Spirit, we are vigilant to live the “Triune Life” in place of the “solitary life” in the application of these three drivers, we will have come a long way to getting back to physical well-being, that’s undergirded by a spiritual wellness in Jesus.

Our Thoughts Define The Life We Live

Paul said, “The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, we have divine power to cast down imaginations [demolish evil thoughts and arguments] and every pretension [posturing thought] that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we bring captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:4-6 emphasis added). Our free will is exercised in our minds through our thoughts about how we want to live – whether the “solitary life” in the self that’s influenced by the devil, or the “Triune Life” in Christ that’s led in the power of the Spirit. The choice is for each of us to make.

The devil is the instigator of all physical sickness and diseases through spiritual means  and methods of deception by means of a “solitary” focus in man. (2 Cor.11:14) Jesus said it must be of the Spirit if we are to save the flesh. (John 6:63) We come back to this dual life I spoke of earlier – the physical life that’s driven by the spiritual life. The spiritual life is either the “solitary life” driven by fear, or the “Triune Life” driven by Love. Many speak of coming out of a life of fear, but fail to offer the fitting answer to overcoming it  through the “Triune Life” in Jesus. Jesus’ fast in the wilderness tells us that the true Gospel of Jesus demands an inverted priority where the “Triune Life” outweighs and regulates the “natural” appetite in these three areas of life. It begs the question as to the authenticity of television evangelism of promoting the ‘prosperity gospel.’ It stands in antithesis to the Gospel. The Gospel requires us to be disrobed of our “solitary life” costume and be robed in the “unnatural” (spiritual) garb of Jesus Himself. (Gal.3:27) Jesus taught us this principle when He took on His human body and was subject to every human weakness as we are and overcame in the power of the Spirit to live the “Triune Life” as a human. (Heb. 4:15).

Purpose & Dream-Life

I said in my Book that when we live the Triune Life, the Spirit will lead us to God’s purpose for us upon this earth. We will live our dream-life. I come back to what I said earlier that the two universes of physical and spiritual life in man has to proceed in harmony, and the way this is done is through our purpose, calling, and life-gift. I quote from a relevant portion of my Book: “A person can have authentic joy if he is living the dream life of a Bula man-river* purposed by God. Only God can give us the dream-life we all desire to live. He is the One who created us for it and affirms this: “Then joy will accompany them in their toil [dream-life] God has given all the days of their life…” (Eccl. 8:15). Yes, though we toil, it is the Lord who is orchestrating our purpose, and that’s why we do it with joy (Prov. 10:22). Our toil becomes something joyful because we are toiling in our field of dreams, and it reverberates positively with the identity in our very DNA. Indeed, how can we know joy without the ‘pain’ of toiling in our dreams? Before we find freedom in our dreams, we toil in freeing them from bondage. For no freedom is appreciated without bondage. Living with purpose and faith brings joy to the heart, and our toil comes easy, without damaging stress. There is a sense of purpose, and that brings calmness and peace and joy. That translates to healthy cells in your body and good health. People who hurry, worry! Those who worry live in a competitive and controlling mode always trying to get ahead of others. We live in the creative and loving mode. We are to live healthy, vibrant, and purposeful lives, not unhealthy, sickly, and aimless lives.” (“Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living,” Pg.200)

Living Life with A Purpose (Pic: Wiki Commons)

I go on to say, “We don’t have to be medical experts to agree with what the Bible states clearly and precisely. I believe the most potent cause for good health and powerful prevention of sickness and disease is to have a merry heart – the joy that sings in our hearts even when things “go wrong” or when our plans don’t work out as we “expect” (James 1:2). I’m not saying we don’t have disappointments in life. However, at some point, preferably sooner rather than later, we have to gather ourselves together and follow the best course of action for our wellbeing. The Psalmist declares the underpinning joy of the “Bula” man-river,* “You make known to me the path of life, You fill me with the joy of your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (Ps. 16:11, NKJV). The moment we forget our place of abundance as Bula man-rivers,* our minds play tricks on us and we focus our attention on fear and pessimism rather than joy and optimism. Joy leaves our hearts and anxiety takes over. Instead, what may seem like going wrong is in reality working together for our good in our Maker’s mind (Rom. 8:28-29; 2 Tim. 1:9).”

“Life That’s Truly Life”

In other words, true health, happiness, and riches – “the life that is truly life” (1 Tim.6:19), does not come because we seek them absolutely, but it is given as an outgrowth from, an implied consequence of, God’s purpose and calling for your life on this earth. So, health, happiness, and wealth are ‘incidents’ of your gift and dream-life – they are not end in themselves. How do you find this gift? It’s in the Spirit, who is the first gift from Jesus and the Father, from which we discover our dream-life. (John 16:13-15) It’s a life of joy, not care and worry. This life brings you unbound joy that’s out of this world, for now your life is lived in harmony with the Triune God. When this happens, I call this living the “Triune Life.” This is the life of the Bula man-river.*

Physical Wellness Through Diet & Exercise

The spiritual diet and exercise we covered in this post has its physical counterpart. What I have said in no way precludes physical diet and exercise necessary for bodily health. There are numerous books covering this physical aspect of wellness. As I quoted from sources in my Book, 87% of our physical well-being comes from our spiritual diet and exercise, and 13% has to do with physical diet and exercise. If 100% of our physical efforts will produce only 13% of our total bodily well-being, it begs the question, what are we doing about the remaining 87% which requires spiritual input? I said life is expressed in two universes of the spiritual and the physical. In order for a total holistic wellness to breakthrough, the two has to exist in harmony. (You may get more information from my Book, “Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living.”)

            

   Eating Healthy and Exercising Regularly (Pics: Wiki Commons)

Final Word

A word about healing. We all carry baggage, both physical and spiritual. This arises mainly because the spiritual and the physical have existed in contradiction and disharmony. Others may be genetic. The physical baggage of sickness and ailments Jesus will miraculously take away as God’s way of remaking us into His people. Jesus performed miracles and healed the people of all kinds of diseases and sicknesses, and the people saw how Jesus recreated their lives. (Acts 10:38) Jesus mission is to recreate lives, both spiritual and physical, so we can live the purpose He has for us on this earth.

So yes, more than we will ever realize, God takes interest in our physical well-being. Like a shepherd of His people, Jesus leaves the ninety nine, and seeks out the one who is left behind. His compassion and mercy is seen plainly when He came and healed all manner of diseases and sicknesses we see in the Gospels. It is said that the Gospels does not fully disclose all His miraculous healing acts in recreating people’s lives from various physical conditions. What we read in the Gospels are at best highlights. (John 21:25) “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed ALL the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” (Matt.8:16-17)

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

Blessings

Until my next post, may the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you today and give you healing and strength in your body for authentic Triune living as a Bula man-river.*

Kiang                                                                                                                                                          (Your Servant in Christ) 

* 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