Greetings Friends. Let me begin this post by apologizing for a slight disruption to my website due to a hacking issue which has now been resolved by our external web hosting providers. Once again please accept my apology for any inconvenience this may have caused you in any way. Our site is safe and secure to navigate twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. May you always find enlightenment, encouragement, peace, and God’s grace whenever you enter our space and visit with us.

In this issue I am presenting an excerpt from a previous issue that’s relevant for this time just to get the ball rolling, so to speak. It speaks of the subject of peace.  

In Ancient Israel, the people may bring a “peace offering” before the Lord. It was voluntary but full of ritual and meaning. The priest would go through the rigmarole of preparing the offering with the offerer. What was acted out during this sacrifice foretells what the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus would bring in God’s activity with humans. The “peace offering” was also called the “saving offering.” (Keil-Delitzsch Commentary) The animal sacrifice was cut up in portions to be shared by the three parties: God, the priesthood, and the offerer. God’s portion was the fat, considered the best portion of the animal. This was placed on top of the already burning sacrifice. The priest received a specific portion for himself and his family, and the offerer received the remainder.

The burning of the offering on the altar is considered a “sweet aroma” as God consuming a meal and is satisfied. So this sharing of meal between the three parties shows all is at peace and in restful communion. (Lev.3:1-5; 7:11-18) Peace is also signified by “thankfulness” because all parties are filled, contented, assured, and accepted. This is Jesus’ ongoing work as High Priest of making peace between man and God our Father. Recall, no Israelite could offer this or any other of the 5 sacrifices of his own choosing or method, he has no choice but to engage the priesthood (Jesus).

God, foretelling the work He will do through His Son, said, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remember your sins no more. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you” (Isa.43:25; 44:22). Paul, speaking of Jesus’ High Priestly role in heaven, said, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died–more than that, who was raised to life–is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Rom.8:1, 34).

Another aspect of the “peace offering” is that when offered as “thanksgiving” it must be consumed the same day. The rationale seems obvious, this is a ‘completed’ and shared communion meal of thanksgiving, assurance, joy and peace, with God (the Father), the Priest (Jesus), and the Offerer (with Spirit residing in the believer). As you sit with your family for meal this Christmas, reflect on the emblem of the “peace offering” and invite God to be present with you and your loved ones. God has made peace with you and your family through Jesus. This is the essence of Christmas.

May I wish you and your family peace and joy this Christmas season! 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”** as a  Bulamanriver.*  Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,  

* 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 Bulamanriver, go to my website http://bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my book.

** Triune Life: means a life lived according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life man lives in himself. It means God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in you. Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the Spirit in us. The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27) You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/8036

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

 “It is the Father Living in Me who Is Doing the Work” (John 14:10).

Christmas Greetings to all my Friends and readers!

Christmas is the time of year when our primary focus is given to the baby Jesus born to Mary in a manger in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago. The focus is rarely upon the Father who freely gave up His Son and provide atonement for human sin, and fulfill His wish to bring many more children into His Loving embrace. Yet, living the “Triune Life”* essentially means that when we consider important events, or for that matter any event, like the birth of the Messiah, it must be viewed holistically in its all-embracing implication, rather than narrowly as an event on its own.

We do this because God’s action is always Trinitarian, so the Father and Son stem from one substance, one divine mission, one Triune Godhead. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they are individual Persons, all act as one and as such it was a heart-breaking act for the Father to give up a Son He Loved and treasured dearly from eternity.

Michael Reeves in his book, “Delighting in the Trinity” says this about God, who is to humans, first and foremost a Loving Father, and being Fatherly. He does what a true model of a Father would do, to express His profound and unbound Love for His human children:

The Trinitarian Mind – the Foundation of all God’s Actions (Ruble’s Icon of the Trinity, Wiki Commons)

“The most foundational thing in God is not some abstract quality, but the fact that He is Father. Again and again, the Scriptures equate the terms God and Father: in Exodus, the Lord calls Israel, “my firstborn son” (Exo.4:22; see also Isa.1:2; Jer. 31:9; Hos.11:1; He carries His people “as a Father carries His Son” (Deut.1:31), disciplines them “as a man disciplines his son” (Deut.8:5), He calls to them, saying, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him” (Psa.103:13), and “How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation. I thought you would call Me Father and not turn away from following me” (Jer.3:19; see also Jer.3:4; Deut. 32:6; Mal.1:6).

“Isaiah thus prays, “You are our Father… you, O Lord, are our Father (Isa.63:16; see also Isa.64:8). Then Jesus repeatedly refers to God as “the Father” and directs prayer to “our Father;” He tells His disciples  He will return to “My Father and your Father, to My God and your God” (John 20:17); Paul and Peter refer to “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom.15:6; 1 Pet.1:3); Paul writes of “one God, the Father” (1 Cor.8:6), of “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor.1:3); Hebrews counsels, “God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?” (Heb.12:7).

“Since God is, before all things, a Father, and not primarily Creator or Ruler, all His ways are beautifully Fatherly… It was a profound observation, for it is only when we see that God rules His creation as a kind and Loving Father that we will be moved to delight in His providence… So what does it mean it mean that God is a Father? If I can make the jump – the Father is called the Father because He is a Father. And a Father is a Person who gives life, who begets children… For if, before all things, God was eternally a Father, then this God is an inherently outgoing, life-giving God.

“He did not give life for the first time when He decided to create; (rather) from eternity He has been life-giving. This gets unpacked for us in 1 John 4: “Dear friends, let Love one another, for Love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not Love does not know God, because God is Love” (1 John 4:7-8)… This God, he says, is Love in such a profound and potent way that you simply cannot know Him without yourself becoming Loving (Love).

“This is precisely what it means for God to be Father. For when John writes “God is Love” at the end of verse 8, he is clearly referring to the Father. His very next words, in verse 9, state: “This is how God showed His Love among us: He sent His one and only Son.” The God who is Love is the Father who sends His Son. To be the Father, then, means to Love, to give out life, to beget the Son. Before anything else, for all eternity, this God was Loving, giving life to and delighting in His Son. Thus Love is not something the Father has, merely one of His many moods. Rather, He is Love! He could not not be Love. If He did not Love, He would not be Father.” (“Delighting In The Trinity,” Pg.23-26).

“The Adoration of the Magi”  of the Baby Jesus, By Eugenio Cajes (Wiki Commons) 

I hope you appreciate that vindication about God being our heavenly Father before all else, and who knows no other way but to Love humans as His very own children. His paternal Love is beyond what we can possibly fathom. The Bible expresses His immeasurable Love this way, “No eye has seen, and ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things which God has prepared for those who Love Him” (1 Cor.2:9). As we think about the birth of the Savior this Christmas, let us be vigilant as to Jesus’ origin, He sprung from the same Life as the Father and from the depth of the Father’s Love.

The Scriptures tell us, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation of His Being, sustaining all things by His powerful word” (Heb.1:3). We are His children because He created humans in order to conform us to the image of His Son, for Jesus is the exact representation of the Father. “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn (glorified human) among many brothers and sisters (humans)” (Rom.8:29).

Animals, beasts, fowls, sea creatures and other life forms were created to procreate after their own kind, but only man was made after God’s own kind. Of course, since the Father and the Son are from the identical Trinitarian substance, Jesus Loves us equally as the Father does. And the Spirit does not Love us any less. The nature of the Triune God is Love. He is not made of Love, but He IS Love in His Triune Being. (1 John 4:8, 16)

What we see unfolding in this scenario of the birth of Jesus is the “Trinitarian persona (which) do not exist in isolation, they live in and through one another, which makes their personalities relational.” The “Triune Life” or the life of the three Persons in the Trinity, where all three Persons are intrinsically bound in one act of Love for each other and outwards to the object of their Love, in this instance, man. The Son emanates from the Father and the Spirit begets Jesus through Mary. (John 3:16; Matt.1:20; Isa.7:14)

So, Jesus can’t be understood by and in Himself since He is inherently bound with the Father and the Spirit. And this is the way we must think about God in His “threeness.” So, we understand the birth of Jesus not merely as an end in itself, a solitary act, but the activity of the Trinitarian Godhead. Then throughout His life, Jesus continues to live the “Triune Life” and make reference to God as His Father, and promising the gift of the Spirit to His followers. (John 20:17; John 14:16)

The Scriptures show that at Jesus’ crucifixion upon Calvary two other men, said to be revolutionaries, were crucified with Him, one on His right and one on His left. (Matt.27:38) The historical images shown of Jesus’ death always had this depiction of three crosses. (see sample picture below). It is an interesting observation to note that the three-cross image symbolically represent not just Jesus’ death alone, but God Himself in His Triune Being died in and with Christ that day for all mankind. For in God’s Trinitarian Being the act of one is always the act of three. Jesus was fully God as the Father and the Spirit. John, speaking under inspiration about Jesus origin, said, “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

The 3 Cross upon Calvary Represent the Sacrificial death of the Triune God in Christ (Wiki Commons)

As we celebrate the birthday of Jesus, perhaps it would be relevant to ask: since we are created in God’s likeness, do we act in the same Trinitarian fashion, always making consideration for one another in Love? Unfortunately, since Adam no one has known how to live this way of life. And it was for this very reason that the Father sent Jesus to be born so man can recapture what the divine “Triune Life” entail by looking to Jesus as our example. 

Jesus said this when He walked this earth, “By myself I can do nothing… I seek not to please Myself but Him who sent Me” (John 5:30). Again, “Rather, it is the Father living in Me who is doing the work” (John 14:10). We do not know how to live like Jesus did and He came to make it possible for man to live the “Triune Life.*”

We have been raised up in a world fashioned by Satan to live his “solitary” way of life, where he lives without recourse to anyone but himself. This, coupled with our fallen depraved nature inherited from Adam, we have not for one moment lived the “Triune Life*” as Jesus did. Yet, it was for this very reason where we are lost to His way of life of Love in the Triune God that Christ came to take us back into the Loving Father’s embrace.

It was the Father’s ardent desire to extricate us from the devil’s “solitary life” lifestyle, and bring us into His “Triune” way of life of God remaining in His Love. That is the sole objective why Jesus was born to bring us the Trinitarian Life of God. So we see when we place the birth of Jesus into the Trinitarian template we will not miss the purpose of God’s actions born out of His Love. 

Yes, we will find out soon enough that living without the “Triune Life” is like walking in the dark – literally! But will man change? That is the question of enormous magnitude pointing to the survival of the human species where everything else pales into insignificance. I would like to present an analogy that may be of help to you But, as I have always said, no analogy is perfect because it is impossible to place God in a box of our human imagination. But I hope it serves the purpose just as Jesus used many parables to explain the Kingdom of God. Imagine driving through densely populated cities like New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Tokyo, or any major city in the world. Now imagine driving through such densely crowded streets without the help of any traffic lights to control and guide every other driver travelling through the city streets to their diverse destination.

Here, I am likening traffic lights to the “Triune Life.” When you are not living the “Triune Life” it is like driving through one of these major cities and trying to negotiate your way through its busy streets without the vital medium which controls the proper and efficient flow of all different kinds of moving vehicles – the traffic lights. The thought of travelling into one of these cities without traffic lights is unthinkable. To attempt it would lead to confusion resulting in accidents, injuries, and inevitable fatalities. Yet, spiritually man has attempted from the time Christ was born to live the human life with a “solitary” mode of thinking, without giving consideration to the “Triune” way of life Jesus was born to bring us to live daily.   

We easily forget why the Father sent His Son to be born into our world, a world where man has lost his way to God’s way of Love, and is on a wayward downward spiral to oblivion. The purpose of Jesus’ birth is to reintroduce us to the “Triune Life” which Adam and Eve enjoyed before the fall in Eden. Hence, Jesus is called the ‘second Adam’ who came to repair the breach instigated by the first Adam. What is the one important attribute of a Father? His primary responsibility is to provide for His family and ensure that every member is living a life full of purpose, fulfilled, and happy. And every child want nothing less, and He has given us His Son to make that possible by living the “Triune Life” in the Spirit’s power.

I sincerely hope you will dedicate this season by thinking Trinitarian thoughts about how we ought to live and how to respond to God and our fellow humans.

May you, together with your families, have the most joyous Christmas ever. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to write to me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com

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”* as a Bulamanriver.**  Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,                                                                                                                              (Your Servant in Christ)     

* Triune Life: means a life lived according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life man lives in himself. It means God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in you. Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the Spirit in us. The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27) You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/8036                          

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

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

Note: All information is copy-write material. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information. Thank you.

Greetings again friends! It is that beautiful season of year again when we pause to commemorate and celebrate the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Son of G0d.

I would like share a poignant quote from renowned theologian Thomas  F. Torrance about Jesus Christ and His true origin and existence with His Father from eternity in the Triune Godhead. As you and I reflect on Mr. Torrance’s words, let us keep in mind the season we are approaching when we celebrate Jesus’ birth to save our world from sin and death. I hope you will be inspired and awakened by his words, as it did with me.

The Archangel Gabriel announces the will of God to Mary that she is chosen to be the Mother Of Jesus, God’s Son (Luk.1:26-38) (Pic: Bartolome Esteban Perez Murillio, Wiki Commons)

“If it was not God Himself incarnate who suffered for us on the cross in making atonement, then the sacrifice of Christ has no ultimate and final validity, and we are still in our sins. If Jesus Christ and God are not of one and the same being, then we really do not know God, for he is some hidden inscrutable deity behind the back of Jesus, of whom we can only be terrified – and then the final judgment of the world will be apart from and without respect to Jesus and his forgiving love and atoning sacrifice. Cut the bond in being between Jesus Christ and God, and the Gospel message becomes an empty mockery. But if Jesus Christ is one and the same being with God, then all that Jesus said and did on our behalf has been staggering significance for us and all creations.

“But in this case, it is essential to realize that Jesus Christ the Son of God is also man, of one and the same being as we are. If he is not really man, then the great bridge which God has thrown across the gulf between himself and us has no foundation on our side of the gulf. Jesus Christ, to be Mediator in the proper sense, must be wholly and fully man as well as God… He came to take our place, in all our human, earthly life and activity, in order that we may have his place as God’s beloved children, in all our human and earthly life and activity, sharing with Jesus in the communion of God’s own life and love as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… It is only through the Son that we have knowledge of the Spirit and knowledge of the Father.” (The Trinitarian Faith, pg. 8, by T. F. Torrance)

God announces to Joseph by an angel in a dream about the birth of the Messiah to Mary (Matt.1:20) (Pic: By Antonio Ciseri, Wiki Commons)

The prophet Isaiah was inspired to reveal the true nature and identity of the Messiah: “Immanuel” which means “God with us,” or God has taken the form of fallen man in order to redeem man from sin and eternal death, and bring to reality God’s purpose of human immortality. (Isa.7:14; John 11:25; John 3:16) Matthew, in his gospel quoted Isaiah when he recorded the events surrounding Jesus’ birth to Mary in Bethlehem  (Matt.1:23) 

The Wise Men from the East pay Homage to Baby Jesus bearing Gifts (Pic: Eugenio Caxes (1574-1634) Wiki Commons)

I wish you all my readers a truly miraculous life because of the true meaning of Christmas. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to write to me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com

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”* as a Bulamanriver.**  Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,                                                                                                              

(Your Servant in Christ)     

* Triune Life: means a life lived according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life man lives in himself. It means God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in you. Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the Spirit in us. The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27) You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036                        

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

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

Greetings once again Friends!

The essential meaning of the term “Triune Life” tells us how God lives in His Tri-Personal Being as the Father, Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit (Herald*). It means they exist in Love, and the fruits of Love we read in the Bible expounds to us the various tones of expression of their Love for each other. (Read 1 Cor.13) This Love expresses their underlying nature in who They are which unifies Them in One Triune Godhead. Love is both a noun (who God IS), and a verb (what He DOES).

“Triune Life” Founded upon Tri-Personal Being of God (Pic: Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity, Wiki Commons)

Since the fall of Adam we have all lived under Satan’s rule and have adopted his nature and his way of life which diametrically opposes God’s way of Love. Man, through deception and sin has existed in this satanic bubble (world) where his ego-centric self is the magnet in his life and everything around him. Be that as it may, the enemy knows man can never detach himself from the underlying spark deep in his being which connects him to his Creator by virtue of being made in God’s Triune image and likeness. (Gen.1:26-27) That divine ‘likeness-spark’ which ties humans to God can never be removed by the devil, and is never lost to man. All of creation itself informs man of his connection to God. The earth we stand upon and the beauty and majesty it speaks reminds us of a Loving Creator who created this beautiful blue marble in space for man’s home.

So, to keep man deceived, Satan manufacture counterfeit images of God’s likeness in order to mask and hide God’s grace from man’s view. (2 Cor.11:14; 2 Cor.4:4) So, the devil has his counterfeit love which masks the true Love of God. He promotes self-love instead of outgoing Love. God gave mankind the wealth and riches of this earth, but Satan uses them to promote greed in humans in place of generosity. God gives humans the mind to develop ideas and concepts like He does to promote Love and everything good, but the devil fills the mind of man with evil to spew out hatred, immorality, and every vice imaginable.

Yes, it is under the hand of this evil and hostile world of the devil that we were born and find ourselves at the behest of Adam’s choice to follow the devil. (Gen.3, note V.1-6) But God our Father and Creator promised to send One from within His Tri-Personal Being to enter our corrupt and sinful human existence and bring humanity back to an inspired life of beauty and wonder that is our birthright to live and experience. (Gen.3:14-15; also John 3:16) A life without evil, without hatred, where His divine Love is the only motivation to live by, because His own nature (Love) has become ours. He calls us to enter His divine existence and share His Tri-Personal Being by living with Him through Jesus in the Spirit’s (Love’s) power. (Rom.5:5) This is the “Triune Life” we are called to live in our earthly life, then eternally as spirit beings in His Kingdom.

Through Adam the devil introduced a way of life of fear, the opposite of God’s way of life of Love. The Bible says fear has torment because it signifies punishment, and punishment has to do with sin.  John tells us this, “There is no fear in Love. But perfect Love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in Love” (1 John 4:18). Fear springs out of sin, since there is no sin in Love, Love defeats fear.

So, man has not tasted this “Triune Life”* since Adam. All he has experienced in this life under Satan’s influence was the “solitary life” of fear. The “solitary life” of fear is the opposite of the “Triune Life”* of Love. The “solitary life” means a life of self-determination, of self-worship and self-empowerment where man thinks and does what seems right in his own mind under the influence of the devil. Every human born since Adam has been fashioned to accept this self-centered culture – no one was spared. We read this, “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one…For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:10-12, 23).

Adam and Eve Exiled from Eden for Following Satan (Pic: Wiki Commons)

As believers, we have been called to live a way of life in total turn-around from what we were brought up to accept and live by. Enter the “Triune Life.”* The “Triune Life”* is a way of life. It’s foundational tenet is based upon the Love of God, because it is the nature of God. Love is both a noun and a verb. We are called Love because we live by Love as God’s own children. So we read, “Just as Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and a new life for everyone” (Rom.5:18; also John 3:16) I emphasize the words “new life” Christ brought which is the “Triune Life.”*           

You will find in a previous post what the “Triune Life”* means in practical terms – find this post at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036

But for this post I will share with you the characteristics we have brought over from this fallen world in which the devil rules that have becomes intrinsically part of us, but now as Christians we have the sworn duty to reject them as we step into a new existence in the “Triune Life”* of God. How can I compare human existence without relationship with the Tri-Personal God in the Father, the Son Jesus, and Friend Herald* the Spirit? Perhaps this analogy may help, but like all such comparisons made with God, they fall short and will never measure up to His greatness and magnificence. But because we are humans, the Bible does use physical things around us we can relate with to help portray God to us, like lightning as it speaks about His power. (Job 37:3) Jesus spoke about the spiritual Kingdom of God using parables about ordinary physical things with which His hearers are familiar to explain its meaning, like the mustard seed, the sheep and goats, the good Samaritan, etc.

So, think of a favorite movie you saw that moved you deeply, whether emotionally, intellectually, and just for its superb artistic rendition for lifting the human spirit. Now imagine watching it on big screen without the musical score that accompanies it – none whatsoever? Yes, remember when we hum the musical score of our favorite movie, well none of that but just silence. At times, we don’t think of the musical score as important in the story because it plays in the background, but without it the movie is incomplete – the story is no longer the same. Yes, one can say it is the musical score which completes the story in the movie. The musical score is intended to create the appropriate emotional response which goes with various parts of the story. In the Bible we read of the shepherds who were out tending their sheep by night when a chorus of angelic voices appeared to announce the birth of the Messiah. Uplifting music is God-given and intended to inspire the human spirit.

This is no different from the life we experience when we live the “Triune Life.”* Living life without the Tri-Personal Being of God who desires to be deeply involved in our lives is like watching a favorite movie without the musical score which gives meaning, feeling, and a deep sense of belonging and engagement with life itself. Life is incomplete without God’s “Triune Life” involvement. When God has a relationship with each of us personally through His Triune Being, He is the musical score which brings all the appropriate spiritual, psychological, emotional, and our true heart’s response to all of life and life’s experiences. For what else can it be, for “God is Love,” and He will always be a symphony of Love playing in our lives responding to all of life’s circumstances and expressions.   

Let us begin and let us underscore the symphony of God’s Love in our lives for “God is Love” (1 John 4:8, 16).   

First and foremost, the “Triune Life”* is incompatible with the human physical life because God is Spirit and eternal, and we are mortal and death is our end. In other words, there is nothing physical about God’s “Triune Life”* except that God created humans in His likeness, and where He so desires, He can choose to have a relationship with humans. So, we must not make the critical mistake of trying to transpose or swap these two existences, and attempt to conceptualize and fit God into a human box for our human ideas about His deity. People have made what God has created like the sun, moon, and stars, besides other living creatures as gods and worshipped them because they don’t understand God is a Spirit Being who cannot be seen, touched, or understood unless He chooses to reveal Himself to humanity. And He has done this through His Son, Jesus. (Heb.1:1-2; Col.2:9) The Bible reveals God as a Trinitarian God – see Matt.28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-7; Jude 1:20-21.

God says this of human make-up and existence, “For dust you are, and to dust you will return” (Gen.3:19). How can dust (nothing) create a deity (something)? “Something” cannot be created by “nothing,” it is illogical. Human life is merely dust drawing temporary breath of life from a chemical makeup and existence. All physical life forms procreate because the Creator has set the circle of life in motion each after their kind from the beginning. (Gen.1-2) Only God can create and make something to have life for He Himself is Life, and has the power to impart it. Man does not have life in himself or else he could not die, but death is a part of humanity’s preordained fate. The Bible speaks of Jesus thus, “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone.” (John 1:4, NLT). By speaking of Jesus as the personification of Life, the Bible says He is the “real stuff” or true Life. He is not made from dust like we are, but He proceeds from the divine Triune Godhead. So, it is about spiritual reverse engineering of man – man must fit himself in God’s box to find true Life, the “Triune Life”* in immortality. 

Creation of Man from Dust of the Earth, with Life Imparted From Finger of God (Pic: Wiki Commons)

And here is the awesome truth: dust though we may be existing in chemical form through the breath of life, the truth is God made humans in His image so we may inherit immortality as our human potential. (Gen.1:26-27; John 3:16-17) To attain spiritual immortality is the supreme fulfilment of what the “Triune Life” means. And God our Father has given us this covenant promise, His guarantee, that “we will be His people, and God Himself will be with us and be our God” (Rev.21:3b; Heb.8:10b) He will make us His immortal children. That promise is fulfilled in the provision of mankind’s Savior in Jesus His Son, and the gift of His Holy Spirit who is the personification of His divine Love and immortality in believers. (Rom.5:5; John 3:16; Eph.1:13-14).    

With that said, what is it about our humanity which deflects and repels God and thereby reject and prevent true Life from entering human life?  “God is Love” (1 John 4:8) and therefore His Love is true Life. God reveals to us clearly what Love means so we are without excuse. It is not our narrative of human love, but the very divine Love of God. We see this revealed to us in 1 Corinthians 13.  Here is a summary of  God’s Love-fruits: *patience, *kindness, *contentedness, *the fruit of being modest and unboastful, *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, *joy, *peace, *goodness, *faith, *gentleness, *self-control, *the fruit of zeal and spiritual fervor, *The fruit of gratitude and thankfulness, *the fruit of friendship, *the fruit of sharing and generosity, *the fruit of prayerfulness, *the fruit of hospitality, etc. (1 Cor.13; also Gal.5:22-23; Rom.12:9-21) Here, we see the very essence of how to live the “Triune Life” in detail and in every circumstance of life we encounter.

These Love-fruits speaks volumes and gives us a peek into the different tones of God’s Love. They are not rules to live by as if they are legalistic requirements to follow. They tell us how God in His Tri-Personal Being in the Father, Son, and Spirit, have lived in One unified shared Love-experience from eternity as God, and desires to share His “Triune Life” with believers. They reveal the holy emotions of the Tri-Personal Being of God. These are not human emotions, they reveal the divine passion and desire of how God lives “naturally” in an intuitive and spontaneous fashion amongst Them.

And thereby, anyone living contrary to the fruits revealed above is rejecting true Life, and continues to live the temporary human life with mere chemical existence, and will return to dust and ashes. Let’s look at the fruits of Love with their opposing fruits given in parenthesis (italics) below them.

To Be or Not To Be:

“To Be…” (Triune Life/Love)  or “Not To Be”… (Solitary Life/Fear) 

*Patient                                                                                                                    (impatient/intolerant/impulsive)

Kind                                                                                                                             (cruel/uncaring/malicious)

*Modest/Unboastful                                                                                      (overbearing/excessive/arrogant)

*Humble                                                                                                                                                   (proud/self-important/pretentious)

*Honorable                                                                                                          (disrespectful/belittling/blaming)

*Unselfish                                                                                                                       (greedy/covetous/self-centered)

*Calm/Dignified                                                                                                          (anxious/nervous/crude)

*Compassionate/Forgiving                                                                                             (cold/harsh/unforgiving)

*Delight in Good/Shun Evil                                                                                                                       (turn from good/embrace evil)

*Tolerant                                                                                                                            (prejudiced/narrow-minded/intolerant)

*Responsible                                                                                                                  (weak/apathetic/repulsive)

*Hopeful                                                                                                                    (despairing/distrusting/hopeless)

*Persevering                                                                                                                       (indifferent/cowardly/lazy)

*Thankful                                                                                                              (thankless/inconsiderate/rude)

*Joyful                                                                                                                         (depressed/gloomy/stressful)

*Peaceful/Reconciliation                                                                                              (divisive/violent/obstructing/racism)

*Godly (Goodness)                                                                                                   (corrupt/dishonest/wicked)

*Faithful                                                                                                                            (doubtful/distrusting/in denial)         

*Gentle                                                                                                                          (harsh/inflexible/rough)

*Self-Controlling                                                                                                                                       (self-indulgent/indecisive/confused)

*Spiritually Fervent/Zealous                                                                           (lethargic/insincere/pessimistic)

*Generous                                                                                                                      (stingy/mean/greedy)

*Prayerful                                                                                                                                            (spiritually deficient/indiscipline)

*Hospitable                                                                                                             (unfriendly/aloof/unsociable)

*Respectful                                                                                                   (discourteous/unrefined/insolent)

Jesus said, “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit” (Matt.7:18). (Pic: Wiki Commons)

Our initial observation from this is: whatever is shown in parenthesis (italic) are fruits that is impossible for God to display in His relationship with us, because He is Love! The fruits of God’s Love and the fruits of fear of the devil shown contrastingly above are choices we make in life. These are not built-in instincts we are born with, no, they’re not legalistic decrees to follow. But they have become part of us because we live them daily by choice. We are “trained” to live by them by the prevailing condition to which we are subjected. Paul said, “Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living” (Rom.6:18). See how Paul speaks of Love and fear as a condition into which we are disciplined. “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (Rom.8:9).

It is the condition which spawns and promote the type of fruits (behavior) that specific condition allows. Jesus spoke of this conditional response in this way, “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit” (Matt.7:18). The ‘tree’ is metaphorically the condition. Paul speaks above of living in the condition created by the devil (flesh), or the condition prepared by the Holy Spirt. For Adam and Eve these two conditions were actually embodied in the two trees in Eden – the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Gen.2:9) In both conditions, it always comes down to a matter of choice. We are all created with the divine freedom to choose freely but knowledgably. In the “Triune Life” God promises to empower us with His Spirit (condition) to enable us to choose wisely and become His children. (2 Tim.1:7; Phi.2:13; Luk.11:13)

Humanity is Sealed in the Love-Condition in The Spirit’s Ocean of God’s Enabling Love Which Gives Humans Power to Use Their Gifts for God’s Kingdom above all else, and Live Righteously. He will Give All That’s Needed for Life – Matt.6:33. (Pexels)

Look at the picture of the ocean shown above. The ocean is the metaphor of the “living waters” of the Love-condition of the Holy Spirit that human believers are sealed and exist in Christ. (Rom.5:5) The various species of marine life can be compared to humanity who have received Jesus as Savior, and received the gift of the Spirit to enter this spiritual aquatic Love-world of Jesus Christ. The Spirit is the ocean of God’s Love in which all humanity (marine life) swim and draws life from its life-giving waters. (John 7:37-39) Empty out the ocean and all life will cease to exist and die. No other life-form can live in this oceanic realm, except for marine species (believers).

All other species that are not adapted to living in the ocean, like the birds of the air, the beasts of the forest, etc, cannot survive in this aquatic kingdom. In like manner, only humans who have believed and received Jesus have been given the gift of living faith which enables them to live and swim in the divine ocean of the Love-condition in the Spirit.

This depiction of the oceanic kingdom as God’s Love environment is not as far-fetched as we might think, for the Bible compares the believer to a riverbed filled with the Spirit that’s the living waters which cover the person creating the Love-condition. (John 7:37-39; Isa.55:1; John 4:14) The marine life represents the people with whom the believer will have various contacts and develop relationships in the journey of life. The winding course of the riverbed (picture below) with its living waters (Love-condition), is determine by God who confers gifts and utilizes them to water, refresh, and fill the people where the believer flows in life’s sojourn on this earth. Then all the riverbeds ends in the Ocean who is Jesus Christ. There’s the “deathly waters” depicting the “sin-condition” of the devil from which we were plucked out and placed in the “living waters” representing the “Love-condition” in the Spirit.

All Rivers are symbolically Humans, and Flow from the Mountain of God”s Presence, Its Living Waters Flow to the People That Live in the Valley to Water, Feed, and Replenish People and All They Do. (Pexels)

My hope is you will choose Life and live a life without regrets. God’s word for us is clear, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” (Deut.30:19). What a promise from a God who offers us true Life!

Petition: Friends, thank you for investing your precious time with me in the sharing of the good news of Jesus’ birth, His life, death, resurrection, and High Priesthood, with you today. I hope that in your heart of heart you will receive Jesus as your personal Savior, receive God’s Spirit, and be part of a gloriously magnificent future for humanity. You can privately and quietly pray this prayer in your heart. I am asking you to pray this prayer as a human Christ died for, not as a member of any religious sect or denomination: “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, forgive me of all my sins for I receive Your Son, Jesus, as my personal Savior. In Your incalculable grace, grant Your promised rebirth into Jesus’ new Humanity through Your Holy Spirit, and open my eyes to the wondrous gifts you have conferred upon me. May Your Love guide and protect me and my loved ones always, and bring us and all humanity into Your beloved and divine Kingdom. I praise and thank You, Amen.” Welcome to the Life of Love in God’s eternal Triune Being and Family!

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to write to me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com

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”** as a Bulamanriver.**  Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)                                                                                    

* Triune Life: means a life lived according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself. It means God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in you. Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the Spirit in us. The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27) You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036                        

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

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

Note: All information is copy-write material. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information. Thank you.

 “Always be Full of Joy in the Lord. I say it again–Rejoice!” Phil.4:4

Greetings Friends! Thanksgiving Day always bring immense joy and gratitude to families gathered for turkey dinner, especially if we have family members we have not met or seen for some time. Family fellowship and bonding is about one of the highest human joys that can be experienced. There are other human experiences which bring lasting memories of joy, like one’s marriage, the birth of a child, graduation, your first car, your best friend, a memorable vacation to an exotic location, etc.

This year Thanksgiving Day falls on Thursday, November 24, 2016.

Joy is a human emotion that only man created in God’s image can experience and appreciate. We experience joy because we are made in God’s likeness.(Gen.1:26-27) The Bible states, “But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy” (among) others. (Gal.5:22)  Joy is a shared fruit, it can only be experienced in a communal experience, that is one of the basis how we explain God is Trinitarian, and not solitary as many believe. God is three Persons unified in One Triune Godhead. When you examine every one of the fruits of Love in the Holy Spirit, you will find one common denominator – they can only be lived out through a shared communal experience. I take you 1 Corinthians 13 and other passages –

“The First Thanksgiving” by Jean Leon Jerome Ferris (Wiki Commons)  

The fruits of Love are: *patience, *kindness, *contentedness, *the fruit of being modest and unboastful, *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, *joy, *peace, *goodness, *faith, *gentleness, *self-control, *the fruit of zeal and spiritual fervor, *The fruit of gratitude and thankfulness, *the fruit of friendship, *the fruit of sharing and generosity, *the fruit of prayerfulness, *the fruit of hospitality, etc. (1 Cor.13; Gal.5:22-23; Rom.12:9-21)

All these fruits spell one common attribute, they can only be shared in a communal setting and thereby God reveals Himself in all His Trinitarian Love and glory. These Love-fruits speaks volumes and gives us a peek into the different tones of God’s Love. They are not rules to live by as a legalistic requirement. They tell us how God in His Tri-Personal Being have lived in One unified shared Love-experience from eternity as God, and desires to share His “Triune Life” with believers. They reveal the holy emotions of the Tri-Personal Being of God. These are not human emotions, they reveal the divine passion. And high on top of the list is joy and thankfulness.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we understand that thankfulness is a fruit which springs from God’s Love nature, and it can be experienced only in a mutually co-dependent setting as He is the same in His Tri-Personal Being as God. Thankfulness springs from joy, for without it we can’t experience gratitude genuinely and completely.

I referred to human joy earlier. They remind us we are intrinsically part of God’s joy-filled image, but we are not entirely like Him because we live as fallen humans. Hence, human joy is predisposed to fade away and not last. But there’s a divine joy that humans can receive which brings sustained emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. It is a joy that brings lasting happiness, inner peace, a state of grace, and all things good in life. For it is the Spirit who gives us the power of this divine joy to rejoice despite the circumstances and environment which depresses people to no end. The Spirit is the deposit of God’s Love and its fruits in humans.(Rom.5:5) Recall, man once lived in complete joy with his Maker, but the enemy took that away and severed that Loving relationship. (Gen.3) Through Adam’s fall that fullness of life in God’s presence was taken from man. But Jesus restored it by reconciling alienated man back to God. (John 3:16-17; 1 Cor.1:30, NLT) Now we have this ability to experience and share this beautiful fruit of joy which springs from God Himself through His Spirit.

Fruits of God’s Love. Be Joyful in Thanksgiving (Wiki Commons)

Peter outlines how this is made possible in humans, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Act.2:38). Genuine thankfulness can only spring from a joyful heart where the Spirit has made His home in humans. (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19)

The only thing that can steal our joy is sin, just as it did with Adam and Eve. Therefore, when we follow God’s commands for us, joy is multiplied spontaneously and we become more gratuitous in our hearts because we are genetically wired to the Triune God as part of His kind (likeness). Because we live in Satan’s world which promotes depression and misery through sin, we get affected by it because of our fallen nature environmentally and through association. God knows this. So, He made a way of escape through His Son to forgive past, present, and future transgressions. Jesus died for us on the cross not only for past sins, but also for present and future transgressions. (You can read more about this aspect of human restoration by clicking: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8718)

God lives in joy and thankfulness and shares His way of life with us through His Son. Jesus’ role as man’s High Priest in heaven today makes our spiritual wholeness possible, and shows us we are brought into divine completeness with the Father always. There is every reason to rejoice and be filled with joy when we realize the enemy has no power over us through sin, but we exist in the Spirit in righteous living: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom.14:17). 

The Trinitarian Life of God Where Eternal Joy is a Way of Life (Wiki Commons)

Probably one of the shortest verses of the Bible says simply, “Rejoice always!” because God is that way Himself. (1 Thess.5:16) Paul’s encouraging word to us is, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit (Love)” (1 Thess.5:16-19). Joy, prayer, and thanksgiving should characterize the life of the Christian. We are warned to not quench Love, for these are the fruits of “Love deposited in our hearts through the Spirit” (Rom.5:5).  

The original pilgrims had come to a new world we have come to call America today. They escaped Europe to seek freedom from religious and political persecution and repression. And whether we realize it or not, we are all on the same pilgrim’s voyage of our own seeking freedom of a different kind. There is one word which defines the freedom the original pilgrims sought and the freedom we seek today. That word is joy! To live in a world free from religious and political persecution is to live in joy. Our pilgrimage today seeks a freedom from all kinds of personal and societal bondage which has been brought to bear upon us because of sin. Like the pilgrims of old, removing ourselves from this prison will bring us joy and celebration. This is true freedom and joy.

So, let us go and be truly thankful this Thanksgiving always aware gratitude has been made possible because we have been given the privilege to live in a place of joy in the “Triune Life”* with the Father, Jesus, and the Spirit.”

May you all have a happy and joyous Thanksgiving celebration with those you love and cherish.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to write to me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com

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 this Thanksgiving and always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life”** as a Bulamanriver.**  Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang – Your Servant in Christ                                                                                      

* Triune Life: means a life lived according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life man lives in himself. It means God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in you. Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the Spirit in us. The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27) You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036                        

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

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

Note: All information is copy-write material. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information. Thank you. 

“I will put my Spirit within you, I will be their God, and they will be My people” (Eze.36:26; Heb.8:10)

Hi Friends! In this post I have lifted an excerpt from my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living,” which explains the title of my topic. I hope you like it, write me if you can.

“The purpose of the “Triune Life” we have in Christ is to harmonize the human life, with all its responses, with the divine will of God. When Christ came, He made the divine will possible in man, for He was fully God originating from the Triune Godhead, and fully man. It could not have been done before Christ’s coming. So man, by accepting Jesus as Savior becomes like Him, living a unified, two-pronged existence. One is the divine existence which Christ brings to him, and the other is his mortal, physical existence. Man’s divine being exists in heaven, made possible because Christ took our humanity into heaven, having glorified it through His life on earth, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension to heaven. Man was never able to be joined to this divine Triune Life of God until Christ came – and until man expressed faith in Christ’s work. This is the essential meaning of the name Immanuel ascribed to Jesus to reflect His role of unifying “God with us” (Matt.1:22-23; Isa.7:14).

A Sculptured Replica of Andre Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity (Wiki Commons)

“In that moment of faith, he is given a new birth, or a new life. Jesus explained this to Nicodemus by saying man must be “born again” to have this new divine life from God. Nicodemus assumed man would be given another physical birth with a self-centered “solitary” existence. One is enough to cope with, let alone another “solitary” life to further complicate man’s existence. No, he was mistaken, Jesus was talking of a new birth, a new life from and in heaven. (John 3:1-15) Up until that moment of faith in Jesus, man has always been a “solitary” being, and lives a narcissistic “solitary” life. Now with this new birth, he is no longer a “solitary” being, rather, he takes his place in the life of the Trinitarian God, and becomes a “Triune being” – in place of his “solitary” existence.

“Karl Barth, regarded as the greatest Protestant theologian of the twentieth century, writes about this aspect of God’s act in his book, “The Humanity of God.” It did not dismantle the Trinity, God did not become four by adding man in Himself, no, man became part of the Trinity through the second Person of the Triune Godhead – Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Son of Man, took our humanity and glorified it in the very Being of God. The Holy Spirit, because He is One with the Father and Jesus, inherently and automatically became part of us when Jesus glorified our humanity in Himself. Indeed, for God created man for the purpose of joining him to His Triune image and likeness. (Gen.1:26-27)

“This difference between the “unbeliever” who has not received Christ, and the “believer” who has Christ, is this new life in Christ which comes to him by a new birth in the power of the Spirit. The guarantee God gives man that his faith in His Son is real – that this new divine birth is reality – is the testimony of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will live in the life of the believer “forever.”  “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you FOREVER” (John 14:16). We see how God cannot deviate from His Trinitarian expression in saving man because that’s who He is by nature – Triune. The Father gives His Son to save man, and through the Spirit, power to live Godly lives. The Spirit’s power to work miracles is the testimony and proof that only believers have this new divine life in Christ in heaven. Paul said if we do not have the Spirit we are none of His. (Rom.8:9b) People believe they go to heaven when they die, no they don’t, man’s already in heaven through the new birth and life in Christ – now! We are waiting for His return with all who dwell with and in Him in heaven. (Mark 8:38; Jude 14-15)

“Only when we enter the Triune Being of God in Christ, will we see the full expression of His Love toward us in all its magnanimous expression. This is the place of miracles. (Eph. 3:17-21)” (End of quote)

God lives through His unified “Triune” mode of life. His Love is “Triune” because that’s the way God has existed from eternity – the Father, Son, and Spirit existing and enduring as ONE in their Triune Love. Remember this, the divine Love of God cannot exist outside of His Triune relationship. The most basic and pivotal knowledge man can have is to understand God is Trinitarian, so is His Love. It is the basis for which God spontaneously and organically connects Himself to man through His Love for His Son. This Love relationship between the Father and the Son is the spring from which the divine Love is channeled to man through the Spirit. “God’s Love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Rom.5:5; 1 John 4:8).

Jesus said, “The person who Loves Me will be Loved by My Father, and I will Love him and make Myself plain to him” (John 14:21b). Humans cannot claim a separate relationship with God outside of the Love He has with His Son. Hence, Jesus said, “I am the Gate for the sheep. Anyone refusing to walk through the Gate into a sheepfold, who sneaks over the wall, must surely be a thief! The shepherd walks right up to the gate. The Gatekeeper opens the gate to Him and the sheep recognize His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He gets them all out, He leads them and they follow because they are familiar with His voice” (John 10: 7b, 1-4). The night Jesus was taken to His death, He prayed to His Father, “Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My glory, the glory You have given Me because You Loved me before the creation of the world. That the world may know that You sent Me, and Loved them, even as You have Loved Me” (John 17:24, 23).

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to write me via my email.

Blessings:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself through His dependable Triune Love be with you always.

Kiang

* Triune Life means a believer who lives in the Triune Being of God. God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in the “Bula” man-river, and he lives in God’s presence. Man’s union with the Triune God is made possible through Jesus, Himself God who took our humanity into the Triune Godhead. For more information on the “Triune Life” click on “Mission” in the directory banner at top. Or, you can read more by going to: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036

** 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 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

“For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” 1 Pet.4:17

Very warm greetings Friends! When people hear the word “judgment” they are usually apprehensive because it portrays penalty and punishment. For many people it brings up a picture of appearing before a judge to be sentenced for being guilty for some crime or wrong committed. In religious thought there is the final judgment day when all humans will stand before God to give an account for their lives, and be rewarded for good deeds, and actions and punished for bad and evil ones. But as Christians, what picture does the Bible frame for us when we speak of judgment?

I would like to present an apt answer to the topic of judgment given by Matt Slick, President and Founder of the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry:

 “Judgment is condemnation. It is the carrying out of the legal penalty upon someone due to breaking the Law. There are several judgments: the judgment of the believer’s sins (John 5:24), the judgment of the believer’s self (1 Cor.11:31-32), the judgment of the believer’s works (2 Cor.5:10), the judgment of the nations (Matt.25:31-46), and the judgment of the wicked (Rev.20:11-15).

“There is no judgment for the Christian in respect to salvation (Rom.8:1). We were judged in Christ on the cross 2,000 years ago. However, as Christians, we will be judged according to our works (2 Cor.5:10) with, most probably, varying degrees of rewards.  But remember, the judgment of our works does not affect our salvation.” (https://carm.org/dictionary-judgment)

Judgment sits well with humans since we are all sinners. We have too much stacked up on the wrong side of the ledger when we appear before God to give account. Paul tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23). The Bible says, ”Whoever believes in Him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18). This explains there is only one sin which if man is unrepentant he will be held accountable in the judgment. It is the sin of not accepting the Savior for human sins God has provided to forever be atoned and washed clean. Jesus said, “The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in Me” (John 16:9, NLT). So, we see here the Bible’s definition of sin by which man will be judged. Yes, the only sin is to refuse to believe in the only medium God has chosen to atone for human sin – Jesus Christ.

The Price God The Father Paid to Restore Man to Himself and escape the Judgment to Condemnation – Sacrificing of His Son (Wiki Commons)

So, for the Christian “judgment” is never about wrath and punishment which is reserved only for the incorrigable and unrepentant who follow the devil and his rebellious ways.  Now, “judgment” is prinicipally used in the context of redemption. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). Jesus explained that righteousness, the opposite condition of sin, is now the believer’s legacy because Jesus has gone to the Father in heaven. (John 16:10; Heb12:22-24). As man’s heavenly High Priest He mediates for our eternal salvation or sinless state and condition. (Heb.4:14-16) In other words, the judgment (redemption) for sin is taking place now for believers so we will not enter into the judgment for condemnation.(1 Pet.4:17) I would recommend you read my post titled, “The Cross,” posted on this link:  http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8718.

However, every single human, the saved and the condemned will appear before the final judgment. But since judgment will be about condemnation for the unrepentant and incorrigible, how will believers be judged? Judgment for Christians will be about reward. Paul said this about Christians, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph.2:10, also Tit.2:14). God saved us not only to free us from sin and death, but more – He wants us to practice and live by His Love nature in all we do. That is called “works,” and where there is works there is reward.  So, believers appear before the judgment to receive reward from God for their works. Their works do not earn them salvation, no, salvation is God’s free gift to mankind through His Son, Jesus. (Eph.2:8-9) Works is about living God’s way of life; it is the way of His Love.

What does reward mean?  It means God has given every human a gift or talent by which he or she will utilize it in the service of His Love to his/her fellow humans. Jesus gave a parable of the bags of gold in which He portrayed the meaning of gifts and reward in the judgment. (Matt.25:14-30) Jesus said, “For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what they have done” (Matt.16:27). You may read my post titled, “Invest in Gold” which explains in detail about our gifts and rewards. Click this link: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=3145.

So, judgment in terms of punishment and wrath is only for the incorrigible and unrepentant. The Bible states a voice from heaven was heard saying Satan is “the accuser of the brethren before God” day in and day out. (Rev.12:10) To accuse means to find fault and blame. How does the devil do this? He does it with our sins. Yes, though our sins appear before God day and night as we confess them daily, there is One who stands at His right hand, One decreed from the beginning of time, Jesus the Lamb of God who shed His blood to stand in our place and cancel all debts, fault and blame, so we can remain blameless before our heavenly Father. So, for the Christian judgment is about being judged and rewarded in Jesus.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to write to me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com

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”* as a Bulamanriver.**  Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,                                                                                                                               (Your Servant in Christ) 

* Triune Life: means a life lived according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life man lives in himself. It means God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in you the Bulamanriver*. Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the Spirit in us. The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27) You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036

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

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

Note: All information is copy-write material. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information. Thank you.                                                                                                                                                                                                

“Anyone who does not carry his Cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.” (Luk.14:27)

Greetings Friends! As we approach the time of year when we commemorate the passion and death of Jesus Christ, let us dwell on a topic that’s relevant: the Cross! The Cross is the symbol that is central to the Christian faith. What does the Cross mean? How does it affect your life as a person who wants to follow Jesus, or, have been a Christian but struggling to find meaning in life? Let’s answer that question in this post.

“Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their Cross daily and follow Me” – Matt.16:24. (By James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum, Wiki Commons)

There are some passages of the Bible which are unique in it’s presentation for the meaning they convey they leave a lasting impression upon us. One such passage is about the Cross of Jesus taken from the Gospels. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their Cross daily and follow Me” (Matt.16:24, 25-27). There is no denying this passage presents that over-arching and comprehensive mandate to Christians and believers . The statement carries such weight and conveys a powerful effect that the whole meaning of the Bible and the Gospels can be said to be encapsulated in that one verse. Another passage like this where you could almost compress the message of the Bible is John 3:16. Luke records Jesus’ statement about the Cross in a more urgent stance, “Anyone who does not carry his Cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple” (Luk.14:27). Jesus is saying we cannot claim to be a Christian, our faith walk is of no effect if we are not “carrying our Cross daily,” or at least until we are prepared to carry Jesus’ Cross. But what does it mean really?

It is so vital that we understand the meaning of this passage, or else we may be believing, much worse living, a pseudo Christian life. Can we articulate the meaning of the Cross?  Are we truly followers of Jesus Christ? Or, are we Christians by name only? My hope is by the end of this post you can come away with a fresh understanding of what it means to “carry your cross daily,” and a whole new world it opens up with the blessed life.of a true Christian. What is the Cross?

The primary meaning of the Cross common to all believers is its portrayal of the Love of the Father who gave His only Son to enter our human existence, live a perfect life, and ultimately die as a sacrifice for our atonement to make possible the forgiveness of human sins, was resurrected and ascended to heaven and thereby open the way to human immortality as God’s gift to mankind. (John 3:16-17,15) That is the default position believers have about the Cross. 

The historical silhouette of Calvary with three Crosses is symbolic which reveals the one-ness of death of God in His Triune Being (By James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum, Wiki Commons)

So, the primary meaning of the Cross is forgiveness and freedom from the prison of sin. It was upon the Cross that Jesus was crucified and shed His blood and died for the atonement of all human sin in perpetuity. So, “carrying your Cross daily” means the carrier is in a state of ongoing forgiveness and renewal so peace with God is attained and maintained continuously. However, there is a flipside to forgiveness, it is called repentance. Forgiveness springs from the gift of repentance. Without repentance of personal sins there is no forgiveness and renewal. Yes, repentance is a gift we can request and receive it, for no one is sinless. (Luk. 24:46-47; 2 Tim.2:25; 1 John 2:1; Rom.3:22-25)

The words “must deny themselves” in this passage is synonymous with repentance for it depicts the believer taking responsibility for one’s actions. So, “carrying our Cross daily” depicts a state of ongoing repentance, forgiveness, and freedom through the Cross of Jesus. But as we shall see, the Cross is the doorway into a deeper Loving relationship with the Triune God which brings about the blessed life we would not otherwise know and apprehend.

It is interesting to note that many believers think “carrying your Cross daily” means to carry the problems, trials, and burdens of life upon their backs as Jesus did with His Cross. Is that what it means? No, the Cross means we carry the responsibility of an ongoing repentant attitude so we are in a consecrated condition of forgiveness and freedom through renewal always. So, we will examine how we become blessed recipients of being in a sacred state of being sinless through constant daily forgiveness and renewal (Cross). (1 Cor.1:30; Matt.6:12).

Think about this for a moment, before we became believers, prior to Jesus giving us the command to “carry our Cross daily,” we were laden with the trials and tribulations of life either way, so what difference does Jesus’ Cross make? The explanation above appears to be saying that Jesus is merely a cheerleader encouraging us on to bear the weight of the burdens in our trials and tribulations. Is that all Christ means to us – a cheerleader, rather than an unwavering problem-solver? Friends, Christ came to remove our burdens. As our Savior, His role is to save us! The Cross is about alleviating our burdens and bring healing and freedom.

Am I saying that once we become believers our trials and problems are supposed to magically disappear into thin air, and we are freed from all our burdens? No, not in the least! Upon conversion something changes…while we use to carry these burdens under the mindset of the unbeliever, now we do so with the mindset of the repentant believer who “carries the Cross daily.” Keep this in mind, all the trials we face, all the problems, hardships, heartaches, and pain we undergo, are all symptoms and consequences of sin that Jesus died on His cross to remove. Make no mistake, we still have the pains we suffer as the result of our daily battle with sin. (Eph.6:11)

We carry with us the wounds and side effects of sin. The magnitude of sin weighs us down and they leave battle scars in our lives – emotional problems of guilt, anxiety, depression, anger, suicidal tendencies, and whatever else we have. But, as “we carry our cross daily” we are “nailing” all sin and its aftereffect onto the cross rather than “carrying” and being permanently bogged down and hurt by them. Rather, the Cross pictures not only forgiveness but renewal through the work of the Spirit or sanctification. We “carry our cross” so we may find rest in Jesus from sin and its repercussion. 

In a world ruled by the devil we take sin so much for granted that sin has numbed our sensibilities to the good and inspirational qualities in life. Hence, the Cross is so vital which brings an alternate reality in Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Cross, through repentance and forgiveness, destroys sin and opens the door to the miraculous life in the Spirit which alleviates and remove our trials and tribulations which are consequences of sin. That is the connection between the two – it is an exchanged life of transposing light in place of darkness, good in place for evil. And it comes through the repentance and forgiveness we “carry in our Cross daily.”

As I said, it’s experiencing an alternate reality in Christ through His Cross. Hence, we read Paul’s words in this regard, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Phi.3:10). Can we see how vital is Jesus’ command to “Carry our Cross daily?” His desire is to bring us freedom and joy in a alternate life He wants us to live in Him and He in us. 

 Simon The Cyrenian Compelled to Carry the Cross With Jesus. (Wiki Commons)

The trials and problems don’t disappear for two obvious reasons: first, we are still living in Satan’s evil world that is dominated by sin, so much so that sin still has its direct and secondary effects upon us all. We are all by-products of Satan’s world that was sold to sin at the hands of Adam, until Christ the second Adam came to save us. (1Cor.15:22, 45) Second, in our former life as unbelievers, everyone of us have formed stubborn habits that’s molded by sin into our rebellious, depraved, self-centered nature and way of life. That will take time and effort with the inspiration of the Spirit to eradicate and bring about the change in line with God’s fruits of Love. But change we will – as we “carry our Cross daily” with the help of the Spirit’s power.

To the ancient Israelites, the Cross was presented to them in the picture of the Passover when they slew an unblemished lamb as the expression of their faith and desire to be delivered from bondage in Egypt. (Exo.12:21) The Israelites commemorated the Passover ritually each year to remind them of one thing – the basic craving which defines our humanity – personal freedom, and for Israel the Bible states,”But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as today” (Deut.4:20). Yes, it was liberty from Egyptian bondage that was sure to bring death. Also, Passover had its prophetic relevance to the true Messiah to come who will bring genuine freedom from bondage to the devil and eternal death. Passover reminded them of the power of God’s Love which was unleashed upon Egypt in order to free them from the bondage of suffering and death. Likewise, Paul said, “Get rid of the old yeast (sin), so that you may be a new unleavened batch–as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Cor.5:7).

Christ our Passover came so we can obtain freedom from the personal spiritual bondage of sin which brings on trials, tribulations, suffering and pain. It is a lame excuse to say that God tempts His people. No, our own rebellious nature try us, and this finds its origin from the devil, not God. The Bible says, “He (God) tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust” (Jam.1:13-14, NAS).

It is impossible to imagine a world free of all the spiritual bonds of sin and its repercussion, but that was Eden in all its glory. Adam and Eve were the only humans ever lived who knew what it was like to live under God’s perfect world. God promises to bring humanity back to that lost paradise through the second Adam, Jesus. (Luk.23:43; Rev.21:1-7)  

If the Cross brings such a liberating experience, how exactly do we make it part of us and enjoy the blessed life it brings today and forever in His eternal family. So what does “Carry your Cross daily” mean? To begin with, this is not our Cross, but the Cross of Jesus. It becomes “our” Cross when we took ownership of it by virtue of becoming believers and followers of Jesus. There is only one Cross – the Cross of Jesus. Paul speaks eloquently of what it means to “Carry your Cross daily.” He said, “I have been crucified with Christ (Cross), and I no longer live, yet I live, but not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20). There is so much packed in that one verse that to unpack its meaning is imperative to our understanding of the subject of the Cross.

There are three elements of the Cross Paul gives us: crucifixion (repentance and forgiveness), resurrection, and faith (sanctification/renewal). So, here we see two escalating steps we have been made to climb through the door of repentance and forgiveness: resurrection and faith. First, by saying “I am crucified with Christ” Paul’s meaning is that since Jesus died for all my sins, (past, present, future) then He essentially took my rebellious depraved self with Him to the Cross where I was nailed with Him and no longer live. That is the only legitimate way that we can explain how past, present, and future sin is kept in check and forgiven – because we are “carrying our Cross daily.” This is the process of the Cross (repentance and forgiveness), resurrection, and faith. This rebellious self (false self) is the root cause of sin in my life, and all the repercussion sin generates.

This is vital to the message of the Cross which Paul expounds further to the Romans, “We (the depraved sin-self) are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?… For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His (true self). For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him” (Rom.6:2, 5-8). That makes the first lesson of the Cross abundantly clear: “Our “false self” was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” through the gift of repentance.

From the passage we read in Matthew, Jesus said, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life will find it” (Matt.16:25) Here, “life” is not our physical life, but the “false self” that is housed in the body and dictates the body’s actions. We lose our “false self” on the Cross, in order to gain our “true self” in a resurrection, which brings the next element.      

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

The second element shows we have escalated to the resurrection: “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, yet I live, but not I, but Christ lives in me” (true self) (Gal.2:20). To the Romans, Paul said, “If we have been united with Him in a death like His (false self), we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His” (true self)  (Rom.6:5). Apparently, in Paul’s writing he speaks of the resurrection in a two-fold reality; one that is present bodily, commonly called, “born again.” (John 3:3, 7) Then there is a future spiritual-bodily resurrection at Christ’s second coming. (1 Cor.15, esp. V.51-54). So, in this bodily earthly existence the resurrection means to exist in the “true self” in Christ. 

Again, as we look at the passage about the Cross from Matthew, Jesus said, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matt.16:26). We ask ourselves, are we going through life with its usual trials and hardships to gain the material wealth we seek and crave through the “false self” who does not “carry his Cross daily?” If so, then we are living at the expense of sacrificing the “true self.” Then no amount of worldly possessions will ever bring us to a place of peace, joy, and the blessed life which only one who “carries his/her cross daily” can authentically generate. (Matt.6:33; Prov.10:22) Paul said, “Do not think about how to gratify the natural desires of the flesh, but instead clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom.13:14). This is the path to true abundance in God’s Love.

The third element is the aspect of faith, the faith of Jesus, to be exact: “…and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who Loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20). The aspect of resurrection goes hand in hand with the aspect of the faith of Jesus, because it is impossible to live life in this resurrected “true self” without the living faith of Jesus. We experience the bodily resurrection which Paul expresses this way, “…yet I live, but not I, but Christ lives in me” – through the faith of Jesus.

This is not our human faith that’s limited by our five senses in our finite world, but the very personal faith of Jesus who lives in us and takes us beyond the curtain into His divine infinite world in heaven. The Gospel speaks of how we enter the heavenly reality through the curtain of Jesus’ resurrected body. (Matt.27:51; Heb.9:3) Paul tells us this about faith, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph.2:8). Of course, if it is not our faith then it has to be a gift from God our Father. Just as the Cross is not ours, so also we must speak of the faith of Jesus that’s equally not our own.

Let me ask a pertinent but equally life-altering question: what gives us the conviction that we are actually living this alternate reality we have in Christ which makes all the difference in the believer’s life? It is simply faith! But not human faith because it is entirely powerless in the spiritual realm concerning the things of God. Only the living faith of Jesus, personalized the believer by the Spirit, can make possible what is humanly impossible. Paul said, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor.1:18).

We are compelled to ask one strategic question, how does this faith of Jesus enter our human life which makes the resurrected life in the “true self” possible? Answer: through the presence of the Holy Spirit! Before Jesus was crucified He told His disciples it was beneficial for them that He returned to His Father; that way, He will send the Holy Spirit or Advocate to be with them forever. (John 16:7; 14:16-18) Jesus told them clearly what  the role of the Spirit will be, “He will glorify Me, because He will take what is Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:14, ISV). By saying the Spirit will declare what belongs to Jesus, that speaks of the Spirit proclaiming and personifying the faith of Jesus in us, and more. This is the miraculous life we are privileged to live with the Triune God.

From the foregoing we are seeing how the believer is made to enter and live the “Triune Life” of God, where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are proactively involved in the salvation of the believer with a singular motivation of Love.

The Tri-Personal God – Proactively Involved in Man’s Salvation (Wiki Commons)

The Spirit is the new life who takes up residence in us replacing the sinful and depraved “false self” that was crucified with Jesus on His Cross, and inspiring and renewing the “true self” through the Cross. Paul said, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price (of the Cross). Therefore, honor God with your bodies” (1 Cor.6:19-20). When a  new Friend and Confidante becomes a roommate in my life, my first reaction is to take responsibility for the home (body) and ensure the Spirit and I can live together harmoniously. That is what “honor God with your bodies” mean as it relates to my personal responsibility. (Amos 3:3) The purpose of the Spirit is to sanctify and renew the believer in his/her “true self” in Christ. (Tit.3:5; 1 Pet.1:23) Paul said, “I myself am a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit”  (Rom.15:16).

Then Paul explains how we take responsibility for our body (home) honoring the Spirit, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship” (Rom.12:1). Did we get that, by “offering our body as living sacrifice” we are taking responsibility for the new life (“true self”) in the Spirit and enter into God’s majestic presence equipping us to offer “true and proper worship.” Since Jesus sacrificed Himself on the Cross, we see scripture equates “offering my body as a living sacrifice” with the act of “carrying my cross daily.” Whatever it takes to give ourselves so Jesus can live in us, the net result is we will have a life of overwhelming victory through His Love. Victory means all of the elements we see above brings us to one sacred end: “my true and proper worship” of God in heaven, from whom all good and perfect gift originate. (Jam.1:17)

To “carry our Cross daily,” in its simplest form, means we experience an ongoing forgiveness because we no longer live to ourselves in our “false self” which has been crucified with Jesus on His Cross, but Christ now lives in us through the “true self” by the Spirit’s enduring presence. With Herald’s* help we are led to offer our life as “living sacrifice” empowered by the living faith of Jesus  through the Spirit who unites us with Jesus in heaven. And this three-fold activity of the Tri-Personal God is what keeps us holy and sinless. Since the Cross we are carrying belongs to Jesus, and since the Spirit is indivisibly One with the Father and Son, while residing with us simultaneously, then He is always transporting us spiritually before Jesus as High Priest in heaven. Here, the Cross has been eternally laid upon the altar of sacrifice in the heavenly tabernacle in order that all humanity may receive ongoing absolution for sins and trespasses.

The Bible says this in Hebrews, “We have such a High Priest (in Jesus Christ), One who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a Minister in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up. For every High Priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices” (Heb.8:1-3, my emphasis). We are the subjects of this scenario offering ourselves as “living sacrifice” upon the Cross we carry before the Father in our act of “true and proper worship.” The Book of Hebrews speaks about Jesus and His High Priestly office before His Father in heaven.

White Dove, Symbol of the Holy Spirit, and Activator of the living Faith of Jesus in Man and the Power be “Living Sacrifices” (Wiki Commons)

Now, the High Priest and His altar (tabernacle) are synonymous. A priest without an altar or tabernacle is like a person without a profession. Much like a pilot without his plane; or a captain without a ship. One cannot do without the other, both go hand-in-hand. The role of the High Priest is to be an intermediary between God and man, offering sacrifice so peace between the two continues unbroken by sin. There is only one worthy eternal sacrifice for sin which has been laid upon the altar of sacrifice by the High Priest – the Cross of Jesus which we are privileged to carry by dying daily with Him upon it. (Gal.5:20; Rom.6:5-10; 8:36)

Therefore, each day as we pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” (Matt.6:12), we are “carrying our Cross” and surrendering ourselves in the tabernacle of the High Priest in heaven to receive ongoing atonement, absolution, and sanctification in order that we may be joined and made one with the Father in divine completeness. (2 Cor.5:21; 1 John 1:9) For this has been the Father’s desire from the start – to be one with His human children whom He created in His own image and likeness. (Gen.1:27) This was His plan and His yearning from the beginning of time which He makes plain in His covenant promise to man, “I will be their God and they will be My people” (Jer.31:33; 2 Cor.6:16; Heb.8:6-13)   

The writer of Hebrews speaks poignantly of this divine environment we are privileged to enter in heaven through Jesus, “Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in our times of need… You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God Himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the One who mediates the new covenant between God and people” (Heb.4:14-16; 12:22-24). O, what a place that no words can describe. What a wonderful company to be with and to keep. And herein lies all our answers to life and its fullest expression of living joyfully which is carried through in the presence of our heavenly Father, God Almighty!

Though man’s existence is temporary and ends in death, he has the potential for eternal life in the resurrection and to share eternity with the Father, Jesus, and the Spirit. Man’s immortality is secured in Jesus who is Himself the Personification of the resurrection. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25a). What will be the fate of sin? It took paradise from us, and alienated mankind from God, the source of true life and Love. It has brought untold suffering and pain upon mankind throughout human history, and continues to this day and will in the future. It had to take the Son of God sacrificing Himself as a sinless substitute to atone and restore man to God. Sin is the cause of death, but ironically death will be the final blow to sin. Paul said, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23).

When we will have been resurrected into bodily spiritual beings like Jesus, Paul says, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor.15:51-57; Rom.8:29). Yes, the final deathblow to sin is human immortality when God’s original purpose for creating man in His likeness will at last become reality. (Gen.1:27). The Bible says, “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phi.1:6).

If there is a Higher Power who calls man to the noblest quest of being fashioned into the very divine image of God, who will judge all mankind and confer immortality, then there is moral palpability in all we do in this earthly life. Jesus ends His discourse in Matthew saying, “For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what they have done” (Matt.16:27). In other words, all our actions in this life and the motivations which trigger them, have eternal consequences. We either live life “carrying our Cross daily” or we fail to do so. We either exist in the “false self” or the resurrected “true self” in Christ through the power of the Spirit.  

I hope you can see the good, the glory, and the honor of “carrying your cross today” and every day, so we may be in a condition of forgiveness, renewal, and unity with God our Father. And here is the greatest take away – we take ownership of the Cross and share it with the world that’s alienated by sin and become ambassadors helping reconcile people to God. (Matt.28:18-20; Rom.15:16; 2 Cor.5:20) There is no more nobler act a person can do for his/her fellow human than that. 

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to write to me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com

The Three Crosses of Easter Depicting the death of the Tri-Personal Being of God in Jesus (Pic: Wiki Commons)

Blessing:

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

Kiang,                                                                                                                          (Your Servant in Christ)                                                                               

*Herald: is the name I have come to use to personalize my Friendship with the Holy Spirit.

** Triune Life: means a life lived according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life man lives in himself. It means God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in you the Bulamanriver*. Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the Spirit in us. The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27) You can read more at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036

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

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

Note: All information is copy-write material. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information. Thank you.

“Live the Triune Life**…Change the World” – Motto

Greetings Friends! In this post I would like to share with our readers our Mission, Vision, and Value Statements so you are well aware of who we are, what is our mission, why is our mission purpose important, and how, where, and when do we carry out our mission.

The Bulamanriver Mission, Vision, and Values are shown below in abbreviated form, and follows with a detail exposition of each.

FATHERHOOD: Mission begins with the Father (John 3:16)

Mission: To Proclaim the Gift of the Father’s Love for Mankind. The Mission of the Father is to induct humans into the Love and Being of the One God who is Triune in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To attain immortality as they are immortal. Believers are inducted into the “Triune Life,”** in place of the “solitary life” fallen humans had inherited from Satan. (Matt.28:18-20; John 3:16) The essence of God’s Love encapsulates every fiber of human expression in which he finds completeness in being both now and forever.

JESUS/HEIR-OFFSPRING: Vision is Reposed in Jesus (John 14:6; 11:25)

Vision: To Disseminate the Good News of the Gift of Jesus Christ as Savior Who makes the “TriuneLife” possible for and in humans. The Vision is Jesus frees humanity from the prison of the “solitary life” of the devil into the “Triune Life”** of God. Jesus came to bring to mankind His new humanity: the “Immanuel human.” Jesus liberates us from the prison of fear and bondage of the fallen “Adamic human” of the devil, and by His death, resurrection, and ascension, glorified our humanity into the life of Love and Freedom in the “Triune Life”** as “Immanuel human” and immortal children of God. (John 14:6; John 3:16. 8:36; Rom.3:21-22, KJV; Gal.2:16, KJV; John 8:36)

HOLY SPIRIT/FRIENDSHIP: Value is founded in the Spirit’s Love (Rom.5:5)

Value: To Articulate the gift of Friendship of the Holy Spirit in humanity. The Value is the Holy Spirit articulates the “Immanuel human” in the Triune Life”** by living in man as His temple. (1 Cor.6:19; John 16:13-14) A human person is the riverbed and the Holy Spirit is the living waters which makes him/her the “Immanuel human” – the personification of Jesus in the “Triune Life.”** (John 7:37-39; 1 Cor.13; Col.2:10)

In essence, the “Triune Life” is a person in whom the Mission, Vision, and Value, of the Triune God resides and lived-out. Hence, the work of the BULAMANRIVER in the world is encapsulated in its motto: “Live the Triune Life…Change the World!”

Exposition:

Let me first explain what the name of this blog site, BULAMANRIVER, means. Essentially, it explains who we are, what we do, and how and why we do it. Bulamanriver and “Triune Life” are synonymous and used interchangeably.

Cover of Book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living”

The etymology of BULAMANRIVER comes from three words: ‘bula,’ ‘man,’ and ‘river.’  Bula is a Fijian word which means “life.” (Fiji is an independent South Pacific Island nation). Man is God’s creation in whom God breathed the “breadth of life” or the spirit of life in humans. (Gen. 2:7) River is the metaphor for God’s Love flowing in humans. (John 7: 37-39; Rom.5:5) For a human to have divine Love flowing in him/her is to have true life, the “Triune Life.”

Therefore, Bulamanriver, conveys the meaning that “a human has true life walking in God’s Love.” Of course, these three words also have biblical derivative: ‘life’ (bula) is a gift from God to humans (Gen.2:7); ‘man’ was created in God’s image and likeness (Gen.1:26-27), and ‘river’ pictures the flow of God-life (Love/Spirit) in human life. (John 7:37-39) So, the Bulamanriver can be summed up from the following passage of scripture:

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me.”  He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him” – John 7:37-39. 

The above passage expounds BULAMANRIVER scripturally as follows: man is the riverbed, who is the receptacle for the “living waters” of the Spirit of God (God-life/Love), which brings true life he shares with his fellow humans. (Rom.5:5) Therefore, BULAMANRIVER is the depiction of the Christian believer. You, are the BULAMANRIVER. You are the riverbed, God’s receptacle, in which the “living waters” of the Spirit (Love) flow giving true life to your once dead spirit which the devil gave humans through Adam’s fall. (John 3:3,5)

Having explained the meaning, and having seen that You are the BULAMANRIVER, living the “Triune Life,” let me now spell out its Mission, Vision, and Value statements.

Mission

The Mission of the Bulamanriver Trinitarian Ministry is founded upon the words Jesus commissioned His followers shortly before He was received by angels to return to His Father in heaven, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt.28:18-20)

The Trinity-Man Called to Enter and Live the “Triune Life” in Christ (Rublev’s Icon of Trinity, Wiki Commons)

The thrust of Jesus’ mission is founded upon what this passage authorizes the disciples and His followers to do: to “baptize humans into the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” It means to induct humans into the everlasting Life of the Triune God. It means to bring believers into the “Triune Life” of God. The image and Being of the Triune God is hardwired into two basic characters of His divine nature: Love and Freedom. The Bible declares, “God is Love” (1 John 4:8). And, “If the Son sets you Free, you will be Free indeed” (John 8:36). God is not a ‘solitary’ God as many assume, He is a Tri-Personal God. A “solitary” person does not know how to Love. Only those who live in community can live in Loving relationship. Because God is Tri-Personal in His Being, He is three free Persons living in unified relationship of Love. The human personality is fashioned after the three free Persons of the Tri-Personal Being of God: Father, Son, and Spirit.

Man was robbed of this “Triune Life” when Satan deceived Adam, and, introduced his own deathly “solitary life” of Fear and Bondage through sin. From then on, man was living the fallen life of the “Adamic human” of the devil in place of the “Immanuel human” in Jesus. The “Adamic human” means a person who does what is right in his own eyes, in place of the collaborative Triune Life of the “Immanuel human” (Jesus) (Prov.12:15; 30:12; 21:2; Isa.7:14).

So, the Mission is to enlighten the human mind of the Triune nature of God, and His call to be immersed in the “Triune Life” and so be fashioned and conformed in God’s image of Love and Freedom, and ultimate immortality. (Gen.1:26-27, Rom.8:29) God’s creation in the universe and upon this earth is immersed in His Love we see all around us including humans, but unlike everything created, humanity has to use his/her mind to reciprocate God’s Love; thereby, mankind has to exercise the God-given Freedom and choose to Love God through Christ.

Jesus Prays The Disciples Live the “Triune Life” at the Last Supper-John 17:20-23 (Wiki Commons)

Vision 

The Vision explains the why and how of the Mission. The Vision is to bring humans into the nature of Love and Freedom of the “Triune Life” of God by freeing humanity from the prison of Fear and Bondage of the fallen “Adamic human” Satan has imposed upon and incarcerated humanity ever since the fall of Adam. How is this done? Through faith!

Paul said, “He (God the Father) is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins” (Eph.1:7, NLT). By believing in Jesus Christ as personal Savior, humanity is immediately and directly freed from the bondage of Satan, and brought into God’s Loving union. The believer is reborn into an “Immanuel human.” In the realm of God, faith produces miracles. (Eph.1:13-14) Faith makes the reality of God happen in the spirit world. Just as faith imprisoned man because Adam and Eve believed the devil’s lies, so we are freed from the devil when we believe in God’s Word (Jesus). This is the way God the Father has pre-arranged to bring mankind back to Himself – for “it is impossible to please God without faith” (Heb.11:6). Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Jesus is the way to Love and Freedom. 

Crucifixion of Jesus as mankind’s Savior and Mediator (Eugene Delacroix Wiki Commons)

So, the Vision of our work is to continue the work of Jesus to Free mankind from Fear and Bondage to the Love and Freedom humanity can experience in the “Triune Life” of God through faith in Jesus. Jesus is the Vision.

Value

The Value explains how we share and carry out the Vision the Bulamanriver Trinitarian Ministry. Paul said, “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” (Rom.8:9b) God is a Tri-Personal God, thus, if you receive Jesus you receive the Holy Spirit as well, for both are hypostatically One God with the Father. The Holy Spirit is the core ingredient of BULAMANRIVER’s (humanity’s) Value.

Again quoting John, we see how the values of the “Triune Life” is inculcated in the believer through the Spirit’s move, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me.”  He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him” (John 7:37-39). 

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

With the Spirit as the core of the believer’s Value statement, He moves in us to accomplish God the Father’s purpose in His Son, “God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son – the “Immanuel human.” The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision of what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name. After He called them by name, He set them on a solid basis with Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun” (Rom.8:29-30). Paul explains the Value the Spirit brings in the Love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13. This is the heart and essence of the Values we have in Christ which the Spirit makes happen in the believer. (John 16:14)

So humanity’s intrinsic Value is the act of surrendering to the move of the Spirit in his life, and allow Him to conform the personhood of humans to the image of Jesus, the “Immanuel human.” (Rom.8:29) So, the Holy Spirit is the believer’s personhood/entity-Value who inspires the divine Love in humanity.

Today, the Spirit moves in believers to articulate the “Immanuel human” and make known this Gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world – the primary mission and vision of the BULAMANRIVER/TRIUNE LIFE Ministry. Humanity uses divinely conferred gifts and various forms of media to publish and make the “Triune Life” of Jesus known to the world. The “Triune Life” is the Gospel, for from it we obtain all that’s necessary to make the Gospel work come to fruition. Jesus said this in His prayer to the Father before He was crucified about the “Triune Life” they shared from eternity, which the disciples have now embraced, which will become the cornerstone in their lives to make known the Gospel known, “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 (Gospel work). I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be One as We are One (“Triune Life”)— I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete (Triune) unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me (Gospel work) and have Loved them even as You have Loved Me (from eternity)” (John 17:21-23, my emphasis throughout). The Spirit moves in man which makes this unity (“Triune Life”) possible, and demonstrates BULAMANRIVER’s value proposition in the Spirit’s Love-life.

Human Resurrection to Immortality Inaugurated by Jesus: Man’s Ultimate Hope, and Purpose & Mission of the Gospel (Wiki Commons)

And so, in all we do, and whatever we teach, in whatever forms fo media, we are commissioned to accomplish this three-fold objective of the Mission, Vision, and Value, of the BULAMANRIVER. Go, “Live the Triune Life…Change the World!”

(Web Site Address: http://bulamanriver.net)

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to write to me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com

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” as a Bulamanriver.*  Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Kiang,                                                                                                                              (Your Servant in Christ)                                                                                            

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

** Triune Life/Triune Love: means a life lived according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life a human lives in himself. It means God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in you the Bulamanriver*. Mankind’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the Spirit in us. The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27)

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

Note: All information is copy-write material. Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information. Thank you.

“The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.” (Luk.17:5)

Greetings Friends! Have you heard people say they have a weak faith? Even the disciples asked Jesus, “Increase our faith!” We can all relate to this dilemma in our lives when doubt and uncertainty assail us. What is the answer? As always, let us find our answers through the lens of God’s “Triune Life.”** It is my hope that by the end of this post you will see your faith with an enlightened mind to help you face the future with renewed confidence in God our Father and His Son, Jesus. 

Faith as Small as a Mustard Seed (Pic: Wiki Commons)

Faith is both a noun and a verb. As a noun faith speaks about religion and its statement of beliefs.  Paul said this of the Christian faith, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph.4:4-6). The Christian’s faith is founded upon our God who is a Trinity, not a solitary God. God is One Godhead (unified) in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As a verb, faith speaks of articulating our statement of beliefs in our daily lives. So faith as a verb can be utilized various ways, in this post I would like to share two fundamental meanings of faith and its application. There’s an interesting point about faith that’s worthy of note in Luke 17. Let’s read it…

“The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (verb) He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’” (Luk.17:5-10). The parable of the mustard seed appears in parallel passages in other Gospels, but Luke’s account is unique in that it interfaces the disciples’ question about faith with the account of the master and the servant. 

Faith as a Grain – Quality not Quantity:

The disciples asked for faith in the sense of quantifying faith! By saying, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,” Jesus is talking about the quality of faith, rather than the quantity of faith. We will see what I mean by “quality” a little later. In this passage from Luke, your Bible has a pause between V.5-6 and V.7-10 to indicate two unrelated topics. V.5-6 is about faith, and V.7-10 is a parable about the Master and Servant. But the Bible in its original format had no verse or chapter breaks we see in today’s version. Verses and chapters were introduced to help readers               navigate through different parts of the Bible. But it has its pros and cons, and one weakness is we are blinded by missing the context. Reading a small part is not always helpful when the author intended a book to be read through to the end. So, this passage speaks about a single topic, not two unrelated issues. It is about faith and reads from verse 5 to 10. The parable was simply Jesus way of explaining the meaning of the “mustard seed faith.” So, what has faith to do with the “master/servant” relationship?

Jesus Teaching Disciples the Mustard Seed Faith (By James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum, Wiki Commons)

Two Faiths:

Jesus explains the ‘mustard seed faith’ in the context of the “Master/Servant” faith (verb), because it is distinct from but essentially part of the believer’s “Father/Offspring” (Son/Daughter) faith. The faith we express in terms of the “Father/Offspring” relationship has to do with our adoption into God’s eternal family through Jesus. One is foundational and unmoved (“Father/Child”), while the other is functional and mobile (“Master/Servant”). By ‘functional’ I mean something that is mobile and changes with time according to God’s move in the believer’s life, yet it has eternal ramification. (Matt.25:23) In one, God is our Father, while He is Master in the other.

What we see in our lives is identical with Jesus own life where His faith is applied in two contextual realities: the foundational “Father/Son” relationship He had with His Father from eternity, and the functional “Master/Servant” relationship in His role as Savior and Redeemer. The faith we express in the “Master/Servant” relationship is no different and has to do with God’s Work, principally as it relates to the work of the Gospel. (Mat.28:18-20) God’s Work involves His labor of Love to save humanity from sin and eternal death called the ministry of reconciliation which we are given. (2 Cor.5:18) The oft quoted passage from John says, “For God so Loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:16-17). That in a nutshell, is the very heart and soul of God’s Work. So, there are two faiths working interchangeably where one is built on top of the other and mutually dependent. One is expressed in form of a noun (“Father/Son” relationship), and the other is a verb (“Master/Servant” relationship).

Finding Answers Through the Triune Lense

As we dig into this passage we do so wearing the lens of God’s “Triune Life”** so we can arrive at the right explanation of this faith, or for that matter any other topic in the Bible. Jesus brings each of us into the picture of this “Master/Servant” faith: God is Master and we are His servants. Then Jesus asks, if we had a hired house servant, would we regard him as master and treat him with all the courtesies as a servant would in a role reversal? Is it okay that the master perform the work he has paid a servant to do? Is that how this faith works? Of course not!

But what Jesus was getting at is, are we true servants, or do we sometimes regard God like a servant and we are the master? In the “Father/Offspring” relationship we know our place as children and don’t have an identity crisis here. But not so with the “Master/Servant” relationship, where the tendency to switch the roles are real. If we have initiated a role reversal in our relationship with God, whether inadvertently or ignorantly, then the faith which keeps the “Master/Servant” relationship functioning properly has been compromised and made powerless and vulnerable if not incapacitated. But if this “Master/Servant” faith is functioning correctly, even though it is small as a mustard seed, it will be powerful. 

It is vital that we understand how we apply the two faiths – intuitively, we tend to overemphasize God’s role as a caring Father who provides for His children, and much less as our Master who wants us to participate in His Work. Humans are creatures of comfort and habit with the tendency to follow the path of least resistance. So we are more inclined towards His Fatherly qualities. As a Father we tend to ask Him for our many mundane needs, but do we express the same enthusiasm for His role as Master and faithfully responding as servants in His Work of the Gospel. We assume we are entitled to a life without obstacles and setbacks as children, and we become perplexed not understanding the ground (faith) we are standing upon in such circumstances.

The modern day so-called prosperity gospel is one such instance of regarding God as servant who is the source for all our wants and desires, minimizing or entirely failing at the servanthood role. Do we see the Christian life like a vacation cruise and God’s part is to indulge us with the blessed life of plenty? We exploit passages out of context like, “Faith is the evidence of things not seen,” where the “unseen things” are cravings for the material and sensual? (Heb.11:1) We just made God a servant for our selfish appetites and ambitions, and have become masters in the process.

When that happens, what we are seeing is the human version of faith which makes this role reversal a reality. But as we keep our pair of “Triune Life”** lens firmly in place, we’ll find that it is an altogether different faith which keeps the “Master/Servant” relationship healthy between God and the Christian. But though this role reversal may convey the outward appearance of the material and sensual, its underlying stimulus is spiritual self-righteousness (“solitary life”) due to deficiency of the Holy Spirit (“Triune Life”**). (Eph.5:18)  

Servanthood Faith    

The “Master/Servant” faith starts small like a mustard seed because servanthood is something which grows from a seed to a fruitful tree for the benefit of others. In the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus taught, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Matt.13:31-32). The “Master/Servant” faith maybe minuscule, but as long as it is a genuine article, the seed has the quality and character in its nature to do great things. Yes, Jesus was the greatest Servant of all even though He was a Son. He is called the “Suffering Servant” (Isa.53). As a servant, Paul said of Jesus, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience (servanthood) from the things which He suffered” (Heb.5:8, NASB, emphasis mine).

Jesus – The “Suffering Servant” 

A servant’s life usually takes effort, at times coupled with courage, humility, and unshakable determination, compared to living the sheltered life of a son or daughter. We live the abundant life as children enveloped in God’s incomprehensible Love. In response, children take responsibility for their Father’s Love by becoming Love themselves as He is Love. John makes this point clear for God’s children, “But anyone who does not Love does not know God, for God is Love…We know how much God Loves us, and we have put our trust in His Love. God is Love, and all who live in Love live in God, and God lives in them” (1 John 4:8,16; also 1 Cor.13; Gal.5:16-26). This speaks of our faith as children in the “Father/Offspring” relationship (noun).

However, as a servant we may suffer hardships for the moment, but it is considered negligible when compared to the glorious future our Father and Master has in store  for us. (Rom.8:18) Jesus came as a “Suffering Servant,” and in His final moments at the cross, He cried to His Father, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt.27:46). Yes, as a servant we may feel seemingly forsaken at times, but we have His sure promise, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb.13:5b).

Before His death, Jesus taught His disciples the attitude of a servant by washing their feet. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead and secured our faith for all eternity. (1 Cor.15:17) As a servant Jesus fulfilled His Father’s work of redeeming mankind from sin, and endowing humanity with His Spirit to assure immortality in His eternal kingdom. (John 3:16; Tit.2:13-14; Rom.8:11)

 Jesus Teaching Disciples Meaning of Servanthood and Humility by Washing Their Feet (Pic: Wiki Commons)

The faith based upon the “Father/Child” relationship is the rock foundation upon which the “Master/Servant” relationship is built. (Matt.7:24-27) However, the major portion of our lives will be lived out in the “Master/Servant” environment – the structure above ground which rests upon its foundational (“Father/Child”) faith. The foundation is “unseen” but sure, and the structure upon it gives meaning, purpose, and destiny, is clearly “seen” in the believer’s life. The structure (“Master/Servant”) puts “meat” to our family responsibility by which we will be judged and rewarded as this passage show at a future time of judgment, “His Master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master’s happiness!'” (Matt.25:23).

So, it goes without saying how vital this faith will be for us all, minuscule it may be from the outset. Our occupations and professions comes under the umbrella of the “Master/Servant” relationship. Paul said, “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were Working for the Lord rather than for people” (Eph.6:7). Your whole life is a platform for the Work of the Lord and His Gospel. You are the living, walking, talking, Gospel of Jesus. Peter tells us how  to use our platform, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord (Master). Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet.3:15, my emphasis). So, we see how God takes our every-day reality and weave it into His plan for us to be both children and servants. A cautionary note, we ought to be careful about not turning our profession (gifts) for mere material/financial benefits solely for this mundane human life and all its reciprocal appendages. Jesus said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need (for this physical life)” (Mat..6:33, also 1 Cor.15:19).

The Cross of Jesus – Symbol of the “Suffering Servant” (Pic: Wiki Commons)

Jesus – Still Serving Man as High Priest

For the most part, while we are God’s children, the greater and best chunk of life is about being a servant. Therefore, it is imperative we have the prerequisite faith to help us live the role of a servant. The servanthood life is the extension of Jesus’ own life. Let’s keep in mind that Jesus’ role as Savior did not end at the cross, that was just the beginning. He continues to perform His role as Savior today as High Priest in heaven interceding on man’s behalf for all his faults and transgressions. So, He continues to serve mankind from heaven and through us as His servants on earth. (Heb.4:14-15; Eph.3:16-19) Servanthood begins with faith – the servanthood faith is the engine of the “Master/Servant” relationship. It is initially given in its minutest form (mustard seed) upon our conversion and grows into a fruitful tree where people come to it for nourishment. (John 15:16; Gal.5:22-23; Tit.3:14) 

High Priest in Israel in Full Ceremonial Regalia – Jesus Continues to Serve Mankind in His Role as High Priest in Heaven Today (Pic: Wiki Commons) 

Growing the “Mustard Seed Faith” in “Good Soil”

How do we deal with our “mustard seed faith” and make it grow? With our “Triune Life”** lens firmly in place, let’s see the first and most worthy thing we can do: we sow our “mustard seed faith” on good soil so it will bring forth a bountiful harvest. What is the good soil? Jesus gave another parable about the sower where the seeds fell on four different soil types (Matt.13:1-23). Jesus explains the sower is God the Father, the seed is God’s Word (Jesus), the four soil types represent people and how they respond to God’s Word. Three did not have it in them to sustain any growth so the seeds perished. But it is only the “good soil” which receives the seed faith and brought forth fruit as Matthew records, “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop–a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matt.13:8).

Now, according to this parable, your “faith seed” (Word) is actually Jesus’ own personal faith, not our weak human faith. He is the personification of God’s Word – the “mustard seed faith.” That explains why it can move a mountain, despite the fact it is small as a mustard seed. (Matt.17:20) Paul affirms how we take ownership of the only workable faith a servant can have to do his Master’s work, saying, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20, KJV). In another passage Paul reminds us, “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ to all and on all them that believe.” (Rom.3:22, AKJV) 

Mustard Seed – The Faith of Jesus

So, the “mustard seed faith” in Luke 17 is the faith of Jesus sown in you, the “good soil.” A pertinent word about perception and mindset, the “good soil” is not conveying the goodness of the human heart – that is what a person wearing the “solitary life” lens would see and like to believe. If anything, the human heart is rotten to the core through and through. (see Jer.17:9; Mar.7:20-23) But rather the “good soil” (you) is the work of the Holy Spirit. He supplies the “living waters,” and prepares the “good soil” (you) to receive the seed (Jesus’ faith) sown by the Father. (John 7: 37-39; Gal.2:20). If there is any “good” in humanity, it is the fact that God made man in His image with a divine destiny. (Gen.1:26-27). God’s plan is to bring to reality His destiny in humanity, and the “good soil,” the Spirit in you, is an intrinsic part of it. (1 Cor.3:16).    

By having the “Triune Life”** mindset (and lens), we are always asking how each individual Person of the Tri-Personal God is involved with our lives and salvation. The Father and Son cannot work on their own without the Spirit for they are of One substance and act as One. The “Master/Servant” faith (mustard seed) is always Jesus own personal faith. The “good soil” (man) is always the work of the Spirit. Therefore, only the Spirit (good soil/man) can receive Jesus’ faith (mustard seed) and give growth and true life. For there is no other way for the “Master/Servant” relationship to germinate and grow in humans except within God’s “Triune Life.”**

Planting the Mustard Seed Faith in “Good Soil” (Pic: Wiki Commons)

So, rather than quantifying faith as it relates to the disciples’ question, Luke qualifies faith by personifying it as Jesus’ own faith in you. In all of this, we see God’s “Triune Life”** in motion: The Father sows the seed of His Son’s faith in the good soil (man) which the Spirit has prepared through spiritual watering or sanctification. (1 Pet.1:2,5; 2 Thes.2:13) 

Human Faith Vs Jesus’ Faith 

Many Christians today do not know how to live “Master/Servant” relationship. If they are, they are trying to do it on their terms with their human faith, and it can never be done. And this is the crux of the problem as to why many believers say their faith is weak. It is weak because it is still our human faith and unsuited for the task of a true servant. The believer is still viewing life through the lens of his human “solitary life.” He must replace his “solitary life” lens with God’s “Triune Life”** lens. (Read more about the human faith at http://bulamanriver.net/?p=2811).

This is what Jesus meant when He commissioned His followers to make disciples, “Baptize (induct) them in (into the life of) the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matt.28:19, emphasis mine). This is foundational! Being baptized means to be “immersed” into God’s “Triune Life”** in a literal and real spiritual sense. If we do not get it right at this elementary level, then the “Master/Servant” structure being built on the foundation is flawed and will be found wanting. (Matt.7:24) We will find out soon enough our human faith is inadequate to do God’s Work. It is going to be the faith of Jesus, or nothing. It is the human faith which regards God as servant and man as master. It is man’s self-centered ego that is trying to execute what only the Holy Spirit can do in man.

Faith Turns to Gift and Calling 

Jesus’ own faith (mustard seed) is made reality in man by the gift of the Holy Spirit, who in turn makes us His dwelling (temple) so He can always keep us as “good soil” for Jesus’ living faith. (John 16:13-15; 1 Cor.3:16; 6:19) The Spirit empowers each believer to embrace his/her calling with the accompanying gift to do the Work of God. Paul clarifies the connection between grace, faith and gift, saying, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to each of us…in proportion to our faith, let us use them” (Rom. 12:6). You can read more about man’s calling (gift/faith) to do God’s Work in a post I wrote at: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=3145    

Servants – Called to Induct (Baptize) Believers Into the “Triune Life” of God (Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity, Wiki Commons)

On the eve of Jesus’ departure from the earth as He was about to be taken into heaven by an angelic host, He commissioned His followers the highest work they will do in their “Master/Servant” relationship with Jesus, His Father, and the Spirit, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt.28:18-20). Always be cognizant of God’s  sovereignty and take hope that His purpose is absolute.   

At the end of the day, Luke tells us to reflect upon God’s grace of gifting us with the faith of His Son, and respond with humility, “I have done everything I was told to do, I am an unworthy servant, and I have only done my duty” (Luk.17:10).

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to write to me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. Thank you for visiting.

Blessing:

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

Kiang,                                                                                                                                   (Your Servant in Christ)

* 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 Bulamanriver, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my book, “Bulamanriver – The Miracle of Triune Living.”

** Triune Life: means a life lived according to the image and likeness of God. (Gen.1:26-27) It means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life man lives in himself. It means God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lives and walks in you the Bulamanriver*. Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune God, who took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. To live the “Triune Life” is the miraculous expression of the Spirit in us, as opposed to the “solitary life” of human self-expression. The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27)  You can read more at:  http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036

Please feel free to read other articles that may be relevant to your spiritual nourishment at http://bulamanriver.com (click on “blog” at top right corner)

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

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