Monthly Archives: October 2022

GOD’S PROMISES VS HUMAN NEEDS & AMBITIONS

Greeting again Friends! God has made abundant promises in His Word (Bible) for humans whom He created in His likeness. (Gen.1:26-27) As a noun, a promise is a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen. As a verb, a promise is to undertake or proclaim that something will happen. God’s promises are assurances for mankind which paves the way for a blessed, predictable, and less worrying but miraculous life, in His Fatherly Love for His human children.

God’s Promises Made Real in Christ

However, from the outset we must understand how they are fulfilled and made reality in our lives. Paul told the Corinthians, “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” ascends to God for His glory” (2 Cor.1:20). We must understand without question that all God’s plans for humanity is fulfilled in Christ alone. All God’s promises are made known through the holy Scriptures and received through faith. So the Scripture tell us, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Heb.11:6).

The Bible tell us what faith does, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (Heb.11:1, NLB). Even to have such faith and believing, Scripture tell us that Christ alone supplies such living faith. As Paul affirms, “Even the righteousness of God which is by the faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe” (Rom.3:22, NKJV).

Through the book of Hebrews, we read this, “Now in these final days, He (God) has spoken to us through His Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son He created the universe” (Heb.1:2, NLB). John proclaims Jesus preeminence in God’s plan, “God created everything through Him (Jesus Christ), and nothing was created except through Him“ (John 1:3, NLB). Jesus is the Father’s own revelation to mankind. He said, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9).

So, you can say that all God’s promises are funneled through Jesus. It is pointless picking up your Bible and reading about God’s promises in isolation. And it is equally inconsequential if we don’t have a clue about how to open the door to their fulfillment. And Jesus is the only Door to Gdo’s promises, He said, “I am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). To imagine God will bring His promises to pass in isolation by themselves is folly and will end in disappointment and futility.

Hence, when we believe this vital truth about Jesus preeminence and paramountcy in God’s will and plan for humanity, Paul affirms our status in Him this way, “In Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority” (Col.2:10). Being “brought to fullness” in Christ simply means that “All God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!”” in us. (2 Cor.1:20).

The first and most consequential promise of God is to bring His human children into His eternal Loving presence. To make this a reality, He made His Son the pivotal part of that plan, from beginning to end. Hence, He declared Himself this way, “I am the Alpha and the Omega” (Rev.1:8, ESV) So, He gave His only Son to redeem us from sin and rebellion to make His magnificent plan a reality. John utters the immortal verse of the Bible, “For God Loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (immortality)” (John 3:16, italics mine).

Jesus, The Alpha and Omega

There is no other reason given for Jesus’ role as Savior other than to bring humans to immortality in the Father’s Loving presence. God is immortal, and He desires to confer upon His human children an immortal inheritance. This was the same objective God uttered in the beginning when He created mankind. “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female he created them. (Gen.1:26-27). God’s likeness is eternal, thereby He gave humanity the inheritance of immortal children and live eternally in His presence. (John 3:16; 3:36; 11:25)

Immortality means everlasting life, and to possess divine unity with the Triune God, the Creator. God made many promises in His Word (Bible), but we are to recognize what is ancillary and supporting and what are primary and pillar promises like immortality and Love. (John 3:16-17; 1 John 4:16). There are God’s promise which bring material benefits, and it can be tempting to place our focus upon them and forget the primary promise which is the foundation upon which all ancillary promises find meaning. Immortality is the cornerstone of the New Covenant Promise that is ratified in Jesus’ blood. He is Mediator of the Covenant Promise. (Heb.9:14-15) The central premise of the Covenant (promise) states, “I will be their God, and they will be My people” – in other words, humans cannot become God’s eternal children without the gift of immortality. (Heb.8:10, 6-13).

We can remain His physical children and nothing more, but that endures for the life-expectancy of human life, which is around 70 years, or more, as God determines. (Psa.90:10; Deut.32:39) Human destiny is to become God’s immortal children. How do we rationally compare 70 years with eternity? It can’t be done. Peter gave our limited human mind a window into immortality when he said, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Pet.3:8). It’s intended to help with our comprehension of immortality.

If we took 70 years with ‘a thousand years for a day’ as reference and baseline (70x365x1000), that would give us 25,550,000 days/years. Can we imagine living as long as 25,550,000 million years? It’s just a prop to help us conceptualize immortality, even though eternity is infinite and uncountable. Numbers mean nothing with immortality – there is no past nor future to count, just the present. With immortality, time and keeping count has no meaning. Though God made us mortal for His purpose, He relates with us in our mortality, with the goal of human immortality as His ultimate destiny for us.

Immortality Is Humanity’s Destiny In Christ

In addition to immortality God has given humanity a destiny to be conformed to the Love-image of His Son, as Paul asserts, “For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Rom.8:29, NLB). What is Jesus’ image like. Jesus is God, being the second Person of the triune Godhead. The Bible reveals God’s nature to us, saying, “God is Love” (1 John 4:8, 16). So, we expect our change to come whereby we will be made immortal by nature and Love in character as Triune God is eternally Love. God’s kingdom is about immortality and where Love reigns supreme.

God Is Love & Love Is God

However, God created humanity to be mortal first before conferring immortality through Christ. (John 3:16; 6:40) As humans physical and material survival plays a prominent role in human life. We inherited Adam’s fallen Adamic humanity, subject to death, until Christ the second Adam came and redeemed us from sin and death, and brough the promise of immortality. (John 3:16) In fact, our temporary human life plays a huge role in our ultimate destiny, so much so that human beings have certain basic and pressing needs. We must have food, water, air, and shelter to survive. We have dreams, ambitions, and all kinds of hopes and desires. If any one of these basic needs is not met, then humans are unfulfilled and may not survive.

The graph below shows Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Chart. It reveals the five areas in psychology that Abraham Maslow proposed in 1943. And it shows the natural progression for human needs and aspirations. However, to prioritize any one of them above all else, so much so thy are venerated intensely to the degree of worship, then we mistakenly and sadly, fall into a form of idol worship. In doing so, we displace God as supreme above all else in our lives, which leads to sin and death, the ultimate roadblock to eternal life. (Exo.20:3-4) The Bible says “He (God) alone is worthy of our worship” (Matt.4:10). Jesus repeated this commandment to Satan when he tempted Jesus to worship him for Almighty God, His Father. (Matt.4:8-11)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid Chart

These needs are human and are real and impactful in many different ways which compels us to rise ambitiously to achieve them. These needs are not evil by any means just as money is not evil except when used for evil purposes. In fact, all our human needs and aspirations can be choreographed to the extent of divine inspiration so as to live a life with meaning and purpose upon this earth. Yes, when we maintain all human ancillary needs and wants within the divine framework, we will experience a life of genuine harmony and fulfilment. Most of all, and here is the key to a blessed life – Jesus shows us the way to receive these needs as foreordained individually by applying a vital promise.

As Maslow’s diagram above shows, humans can demontrate and possess a myriad of human needs in life’s journey. However, it can be a challenge to keep them in check so none is idolized and become a hostile life force and negative asset in the human ethos. Fortunately, Jesus gave us a promise that will turn every need into a positive asset. It is a promise which acts like a ‘Midas touch’ effect, so to speak. By keeping this promise, we are assured that every proper and pertinent need will find its way into our lives and supplied – I call this living the ‘miraculous live’ in God’s Loving judgement by the power of His Spirit in Christ.

This is the ‘Midas touch’ promise Jesus gave us, “But seek you first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt.6:33). The Kingdom of God acts like a personalized filter which miraculously allows only the needs which are ancillary and subordinate to God’s overall purpose for you, indualized and personalized. Our Creator Father wants nothing less than a life customized and suited for our gift and personality

For such is the life lived with purpose and eternal destiny. As Paul assured the Corinthians, “However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who Love Him—these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit” (1 Cor.2:9-10). This is God our Father’s Loving judgement at work in our behalf to bring humanity to His eternal kingdom of Love and immortality.

And we saw how the Kingdom of God is constituted – Immortality and Love! Listen, God knows our needs even before we ask. In fact, He knows our true needs which we may not realize for He knows us better than we know ourselves. Our mission in life is to discover how and who we are gifted to be, and fulfill His purpose for our lives. Gifts are divinely bestowed in humanity to glorify the greater good and the great God we serve, not us. When we serve Him truly, then we serve ourselves authentically, for we reflect Him from our creation. (Gen.1:26-27). We will find unspeakable joy we never knew possible when we keep and apply this ‘Midas touch’ promise authentically.  

The ’Midas Touch’ Promise

Petition: Dear Friends, as I have closed my post in the past, I customarily give our readers the opportunity to give their lives to our Maker. I thank you for investing your precious time with me in the sharing of the good news of Jesus who has enabled us to live the Triune Life*. Jesus is alive today as our High Priest in heaven seated at His Father’s side, and ceaselessly mediating for us. I hope that in your heart to heart, and faith to faith, you will receive Him as your personal Savior, receive God’s Spirit, and be part of living this glorious humanity made children of God forever.

You can privately and quietly pray the prayer below in your heart. I am asking you to pray this prayer as a human being Christ died for, regardless of your background. All are inducted into the one mankind Jesus saved, not into any religious sect or denomination, or any division one may espouse – but into the glorious humanity that Christ is preparing as the holy temple for God’s dwelling:

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

Prayer: A Solemn One-On-One Spiritual Dialogue Between A Person and God (Wiki Commons)

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

All God’s Promises Are There to Keep and Support You

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

Farewell for now!

Kiang P. Lee (Your Servant in Christ)

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

Adam was solitary and incomplete until God made Eve. He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone (solitary). I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen.2:18, italics mine). So, God gave Adam a family composed of a father, mother, and offspring, to reflect Himself in His plural Love-Being. (1 John 4:16) The Bible states that the Church’s or humanity’s destiny is to marry Christ, the second Person of the Triune Godhead, in the new age to come which will be an everlasting relationship. (2 Cor.11:2; Eph.5:23-27, 32; Rev.19:7) The Bible is abundantly clear about God’s nature and declaration of Himself in His relational Triune Being from the past, the present, and the future. God has never lived as a solitary Being, but a Tri-Personal Love-Being with His Son, Jesus, and His Spirit. (Mat..28:18-20)

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

Rublev’s Icon of The Trinity – One in Three, Three in One (Wiki Commons)

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

Most religions believe God as some solitary being. The true God is not solitary by any means, He is the Trinity in His Tri-Personal Being. God consist of three Persons in One divine triune Godhead. They exist in One “homoousion” meaning consisting in one substance, or “consubstantiality.” The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in One hypostatic union, One substance, like Eve was biologically part of and never physically separate, but of one substance from and in Adam. Likewise, humanity is made of one spiritual substance with the triune God through Jesus Christ who took our humanity upon Himself and joined it to the divine triune existence forever. Jesus was given the prophetic name Immanuel which means “God with us”, or God with humanity. (Matt.1:23; Isa.7:14) As the prophecy foretold and fulfilled, God assimillated Himself with mankind through Mary who bore His Son, Jesus Christ. (Matt.1:20; 18-25; 2:1-2)

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

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, you may obtain a copy of my book, “Bula” Man-River, from Amazon.com; xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online book stores. All proceeds will go towards furthering the work of Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

Bulamanriver Book Cover

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

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

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