“神爱世人，甚至将他给了他唯一的儿子，谁信他的，不至灭亡，反得永生”（约翰福音3:16）

(“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” (John 3:16))

问候世界各地的朋友。复活节是一年中最重要的基督教季节它是为了纪念救主和救赎，耶稣基督的死亡和复活。

(Greetings friends around the world. Easter is the most important Christian season of the year for it commemorates the death and resurrection of the Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.)

基督在十字架上，通过德拉克洛瓦 – 沃尔特斯艺术博物馆（维基共享）

(Christ on the Cross, By Eugene Delacroix – Walters Art Museum (Wiki Commons)

上帝的约诺显示神的亲密爱人的人，“因为我要宽恕他们的不义，他们的罪，他们的罪孽，我要记住没有更多的”（Heb.8：12;约翰福音3：16-17）。当然，罪恶将永远有一个价格，耶稣付出了生命代价在十字架上。耶稣不是一个普通的人 – 他是预言以马内利，神人肉。（Isa.7：14; Matt.1：23）由于希伯来书9:14说：“基督的血，谁借着永远的灵，将自己无瑕无疵神，从死作品清除你的良心，以服务永生神。而对于这项事业他是新约的中保，既然受死的方式……他们被称为可能获得永恒的生命的承诺。“他变得一劳永逸，完美的牺牲精神没有罪能打败。

(God’s covenant promise shows God’s intimate Love for man, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb.8:12; John 3:16-17). Of course sin will always have a price, and Jesus paid the price with His life on the cross. Jesus was no ordinary human – He was the prophesied Immanuel, God in the human flesh. (Isa.7:14; Matt.1:23)  As Hebrews 9:14, says, “The blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. And for this cause He is the Mediator of the New Covenant, that by means of death…they which are called might receive the promise of eternal life.” He became once and for all, the PERFECT SACRIFICE which no sin can defeat.)

罪和圣洁不能并存。神，在他的圣洁，永远灭绝罪，因为罪不能在圣洁的神的存在存在。你见过一个强大的泛光灯照亮漆黑的舞台？当光线进入竞技场，因为黑暗与光明不能共存，就像罪恶和神的圣洁的爱不能并存的黑暗出逃。耶稣说：“我是世界的光。跟从我的，就不在黑暗里走，必要得着生命的光。“（约翰福音8:12）。耶稣通过他的牺牲的光就足以取人从黑暗，让他无罪。如果没有，那么他是一个救世主不足，冒名顶替者。但他却是全足够了，剩下的就是我们相信，悔改，接受他为救主。听先知以赛亚的，“来我们的父亲的鼓励的话给我们，让我们谈谈这些事情。你们的罪虽像朱红，他们可以像雪一样白。虽然你的罪是深红色的，也可以是白如羊毛“（Isa.1：18-19）。

(Sin and holiness cannot co-exist. God, in His holiness, will always exterminate sin, because sin cannot exist in the presence of the Holy God. Have you ever seen a powerful flood lamp light up a pitch dark arena? Darkness flees when light enters the arena, because darkness and light cannot co-exist, just as sin and and God’s holy Love cannot co-exist. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). The light of Jesus through His sacrifice is enough to take man out of darkness and keep him sinless. If not, then He is an inadequate Savior, an imposter. But He is all-sufficient, all that remains is we believe, repent, and receive Him as Savior. Listen to our Father’s encouraging words to us through the prophet Isaiah, “Come, let us talk about these things. Though your sins are as scarlet, they can be as white as snow. Though your sins are deep red, they can be white like wool” (Isa.1:18-19).)

各各他（“骷髅山”），耶稣受难的网站（维基共享）

(Golgotha (“Skull Hill”), Site of Jesus Crucifixion (Wiki Commons)

信徒可能会说，“但我还是人，我犯罪的所有时间。”这是真的。约翰告诉我们，“如果我们宣称自己是没有罪，我们欺骗自己，真理不在我们。如果我们承认我们的罪，他是信实的，并会赦免我们的罪，一切的不义洁净我们“（约翰一书1：8-9）。我们仍然罪，通过人性的弱点，我们无意中罪的大部分时间，我们都无知的罪过 – 罪孽我们还没有看到。（Psa.19：12-13）。然而，我们置身在上帝的怜悯和恩典，对他说：“我要宽恕他们的不义，他们的罪，他们的罪孽，我要记住没有更多的”（Heb.8：12）。换句话说，耶稣牺牲包罗万象的，他不仅需要我们过去的罪孽的关心，但我们的现在和未来的罪孽。保罗说，这样，“上帝使他（耶稣）谁没有罪对我们的罪，让他在我们可能成为神的义”（林后5:21）。是的，这是耶稣的这不再是黑暗​​可以侵入光。

(A believer may say, ‘but I am still human, and I sin all the time.’ That’s true. John tells us, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:8-9). We still sin, through human weakness, we sin inadvertently most of the time, we all have the sin of ignorance – sins we do not yet see. (Psa.19:12-13). Yet, we place ourselves at God’s mercy and grace, for He says, “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb.8:12). In other words, Jesus sacrifice is all-encompassing that He takes care not only of our past sins, but our present and future sins. Paul said it this way, “God made Him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Yes, it is the light of Jesus which no darkness can invade.)

瞧，这是不能否认的一颗普通的事实，神不能团结自己在与一个人爱的工会，如果他或她是一个罪孽深重的条件（生存状态）。信徒是在圣灵保存的条件。（2 Cor.1：22）太多次信徒看着他或她个人的罪，发音本人“因噎废食。”但我们的过犯，无论是通过无力，无意或无知，是不是问题 – 这是照顾通过耶稣的牺牲，当我们请求宽恕和悔改。我们的注意力必须集中在我们这些将我们团结在一起与神我们慈爱的父亲“保存条件”。（Eph.2：18）

(Look, there is one plain fact which cannot be denied, God cannot unite Himself in Loving union with a human if he or she is in a sinful condition (state of existence). The believer is in a saved condition in the Holy Spirit. (2 Cor.1:22)  Too many times a believer looks at his or her individual sins and pronounce himself or herself “unworthy.” But our trespasses, whether through weakness, unintended, or ignorance, is not the issue – that’s taken care of through Jesus sacrifice when we ask for forgiveness and repent. Our attention must be focused on our “saved condition” which unites us with God our Loving Father. (Eph.2:18) )

墓园耶稣的尸体被特＆复活（维基共享）

(Garden Tomb Where Jesus Body Was Laid & Resurrected (Wiki Commons))

这是什么意思是“保存条件？”这意味着圣灵住在信徒为他的寺庙。保罗说：“你不知道你的身体是圣灵的殿，谁是你的，你从神接受谁的？你是不是自己的;你是有代价的（耶稣）收购。因此，荣耀上帝与你的身体“（1Cor.6：19-20）。耶稣告诉门徒，他被钉十字架前，“我会问父亲，他会给你一个代言人来帮助你，并和你永远在一起 – 真理的圣灵”（约翰福音14：16-17a）。圣灵的出现改变了从被有罪的是基督义人的病情。从黑暗的光线条件。这是它派生该条件许可的活动的条件。那是什么活动？它是什么，但爱我们的父亲和他的人类的小孩之间​​的活动。什么是精神的作用？圣灵的目的是圣信徒让他/她总是能够统一通过耶稣的父亲。（Rom.15：16; 1 Cor.6：11），我们一直生活共鸣我们生活在耶稣在天上通过我们的圣灵的力量歌颂人类，所以我们可以在爱情统一与父 – 永远。我来把这称为“三位一体生活”为所有三个，父，子，灵都参与了我们的救恩。

(What do I mean by “saved condition?” It means the Holy Spirit is living in the believer as His temple. 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 (Jesus). Therefore, honor God with your bodies” (1Cor.6:19-20). Jesus told the disciples before He was crucified, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17a). The Spirit’s presence changes man’s condition from being sinful to being righteous in Christ. From the condition of darkness to light. It is the condition which spawns the activities which that condition permits. And what is that activity? It is nothing but the activity of Love between our Father and His human children. What is the role of the Spirit? The Spirit’s purpose is to sanctify the believer so he/she can be always unified to the Father through Jesus. (Rom.15:16; 1 Cor.6:11) We are always living our lives vicariously in Jesus’ glorified humanity in heaven through the power of the Spirit in us, so we can be unified in Love with the Father – always. I have come to call this the “Triune Life” for all three, Father, Son, and Spirit are involved in our salvation.)

然而，我们仍然生活在存在自己的弱点和堕落的人类状态。这确实给我们的生活中不小心放弃许可证？（罗7：18-25）。人的倾向罪是没有任何借口licentiously活着，但开导他需要的人一个永久性的调解员。耶稣在洁净他的灵（字），在美国流动的水清洗我们的心。（约翰福音7：38-39），这是一个过程，需要一辈子，但在相同的过程中，我们生活在我们真实的自我，新的人谁在保存条件（Rom.7住在耶稣的条件：24 -25）。如果耶稣是无罪的，那么我们;就这么简单。约翰告诉我们在这两个条件的差异时，他说，“圣灵所赐的生命;肉算个什么​​“（约翰福音6:63）。

(Yet, we are still living in our weak and fallen human state of existence. Does this give us the license to live in careless abandon? (Rom. 7:18-25). Man’s propensity to sin is no excuse to live licentiously, but to enlighten man of his need for a permanent Mediator. Jesus cleanses our hearts in the washing of the water of His Spirit (Word) that flows in us. (John 7:38-39) It is a process that will take a lifetime, but in the same process we live in the condition of our true self, the new man who lives in Jesus in a saved condition (Rom.7:24-25). If Jesus is sinless, then we are; it’s that simple. John tells us the difference in these two conditions when he says, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63).)

海洋，启用条件海洋生物，像精神，是神生活的人的有利条件（图片：维基共享）
(The Ocean, Enabling Condition for Marine Life, Like The Spirit Is the Enabling Condition for God-Life in Man (Pic: Wiki Commons) )

精神是人谁的作品，使他更像耶稣成圣。（约翰福音16：12-15; Rom.8：29）所有的人的罪，非法侵入，过去，现在和将来，都判决耶稣的条件为救主和中保，在天上他的大祭司的作用。我们在耶稣的生活条件使我们与神（林前1:30）的权利。

(The Spirit is the sanctifier of man who works to make him more like Jesus. (John 16:12-15; Rom.8:29)  All man’s sins and trespass, past, present, and future, are adjudicated in Jesus’ condition as Savior and Mediator, in His High Priestly role in heaven. The life condition we have in Jesus keeps us right with God (1 Cor. 1:30).)

施洗约翰说，这耶稣，“他会为你们施洗圣灵与火”（Luk.3：16）。施洗手段，就像沉浸覆盖。记住这一点，永远不会忘记：“……爱应包括许多的罪”在上帝面前，我们的生活和沉浸在他的爱，因为“上帝是爱”，而圣经告诉我们，（约翰一书4 ：8; 1 Pet.4：8）爱情是灯，罪是黑暗。是不是很神奇呢？为了统一上帝，我们必须清白，我们是因为耶稣给他的生活和死亡在髑髅地十字架！在耶稣，我们借着圣灵沉浸在他的爱。“上帝的爱已经借着圣灵，谁一直给我们浇在我们心里”（Rom.5：5）。现在就去朋友，住在那种心境下 – 在我们的天父的存在快乐生活。这就是为什么我们庆祝耶稣的生命，死亡，复活，升天，在每年的这个时候我们称之为复活节。

(John the Baptist said this about Jesus, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luk.3:16). To baptize means to immerse like a covering. Remember this, and never forget it: In the presence of God we live and are immersed in His Love, for “God is Love,” and the Bible tells us, “…Love shall cover a MULTITUDE of sins.” (1 John 4:8; 1 Pet.4:8) Love is light, sin is darkness. Isn’t that amazing? In order to be unified to God, we must be sinless, and we are because Jesus gave His life and died on the cross upon Calvary! In Jesus we are immersed in His Love 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). Go now friends, and live in that frame of mind – live joyfully in the presence of our heavenly Father. That’s why we celebrate Jesus life, death, resurrection, and ascension, at this time of year we call Easter.)

德芙，人的圣灵成圣的符号（维基共享）

(Dove, Symbol of the Holy Spirit and Sanctifier of Man (Wiki Commons))

如果你有任何问题，请不要犹豫，我写在下面的空白处，或者给我发电子邮件的bulamanriver@gmail.com。感谢您访问。

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

祝福：

直到我们在我的下一个职位再见面，也许上帝的眷顾谁不停地表达自己，他的可靠三位一体爱与你同在这个复活节季节，可能他的祝福您永远。愿灵搞活你，让你就可能在三一的生活作为Bulamanriver所有的东西。*

藏野驴，

(Blessing:)

(Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you this Easter season and may His blessings be with you always. May the Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible in Triune Living as a Bulamanriver.*)

(Kiang,)

* Bulamanriver“是描述人的联合与三一神在人类中流动，使人们有可能的爱情隐喻”三位一体的生活“ – 在人类神奇的生命之源。要阅读Bulamanriver生活的许多方面，去我的网站www.bulamanriver.com在那里你可以订购我的书的副本。

(* 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.)

见BULAMANRIVER视频在：http://youtu.be/8uA0Bq7UoYA

所有的经文是从2011年NIV版本拍摄，除非另有说明。

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(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.)

注：通过谷歌翻译翻译

(Note: Translation by https://translate.google.com/)

 “I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20)

Greetings once more friends everywhere! May the season of Easter replenish your spirit, and rejuvenate your heart to Love and serve God first in your life! As we enter the season of Easter commemorating the passion of Jesus, I would like to share two vital aspects of His life which depicts how He defeated and took care of human sin completely. We are familiar with His death on the cross I shared with you in my last post. The magnitude of Jesus’ work at the cross can never be diminished, yet, it is part of the greater story of Easter and the Christian faith. I would like to share another aspect of Jesus’ work which you may say “completes” the Easter story. 

Jesus on the Cross atop Calvary (Wiki Commons)

True Origin of Sin: The Great Tempter: First, let’s answer how sin entered the human experience – this is vital because Easter is about Jesus redeeming mankind from the human sin condition and its curse – with the ultimate curse of physically and spiritually death, “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom.6:23a). We know it began with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Our first parent was deceived and led away to disobey God’s instruction to not touch or eat the forbidden fruit. (Gen.3:3) The devil had deceived them into believing God lied to them, and eating the forbidden fruit would result in the exact opposite of what God had told them – they would not die but live and “they would be like God” (Gen.3:4-5). It was the very sin which drove him from being an archangel to become Satan. He wanted to usurp God’s authority and power and be God himself. He said, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isa.14:12-14, esp. V.14). He effectively said, “I will take over as King of the Universe” (Isa.14:14, The Message). But Satan’s idea all along was to destroy man and God’s awesome plan for humankind who was created in God’s very likeness.(Gen.1:26-27)

It is hard if not puzzling to fathom how Lucifer imagined he could have pulled off such a rebellious act against God whose sovereignty is unquestionable and incontestable. Perhaps jealousy, pride, and rage consumed him because of God’s grand purpose in man. Lucifer and a third of the angels were defeated in their rebellion and thrown out of heaven and Satan was born. God labelled him, “You who weakened the nations” (V.12b). His one purpose is to destroy man and God’s design and enterprise for man. (Gen.1:26-27). So right from the outset we see Satan is the instigator of sin who weakens people. This does not make man guiltless, Adam believed the devil’s word above God’s word. Man sinned, and he has to be atoned for.

The Bible calls Satan, “The accuser of our brothers and sisters” before God (Rev.12:10, also 7-9). He is the great tempter who instigates sin in order to force God’s hand in judging man. But there was something else the devil never saw coming – the immeasurable grace of God. Paul attests to His amazing grace, saying, “So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus” (Eph.2:7, NLB; also 1 Thess.3:5) There are no words in any language to articulate the breathtaking and incomparable grace of God for man.

So, there is always three elements to sin: a) the tempter who instigates sin, and b) the sinner whose past sins has to be atoned for, and c) the freedom to no longer live under Satan and sin. The ultimate ramification of sin and its opposite effect is succinctly stated by Paul, “Just as sin reigned through death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord… For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom.5:21; 6:23). 

The Great Tempter – Depiction of Devil Cast out of Heaven in John Milton’s Paradise Lost (Wiki Commons)

We have repetitively heard the message of Easter through the passion of Jesus at the cross. But it is not the complete story of Easter. Is man saved merely as a victim of sin, and not be rescued from the arch-deceiver and instigator of sin? Will man remain a perpetual victim of sin? And will Jesus take the weight of human sin, and the true guilty party goes off scot-free? These two questions gives insight into the missing narratives in the Easter story. We emphasize the cross of Jesus for it cleanses us from past sins, and rightly so, but what about man’s present and future sins? We often say God forgives past, present and future sins, and that’s absolutely right – even sins of ignorance. (Psa.19:12) Yet, out of the abundance of the Father’s Love, God’s idea of salvation is that His children will not suffer and languish away by the ravages of sin – knowingly or unknowingly. (Luk.12:47-48) Jesus taught us to pray daily for forgiveness. (Matt.6:12) So we are always encountering sin in its three-fold reality, past, present, and future.

It’s illogical for Jesus to save man from past sins on His cross, and not take care of the origin, the first cause, the trigger of sin, which began with Adam and mankind continues to face and seen openly in the suffering in the world today and into his future. God’s purpose of defeating sin in man is holistic and complete, so while He is merciful and forgives us of past sins, He promises victory over future sins so we will never remain victims at Satan’s hands. If we persist in sin just to be forgiven we malign the cross. Paul warns us “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left” (Heb.10:26). So the cross can be negated if sin is not defeated entirely. The point being, man cannot defeat present and future sin in his fallen state of existence, but we turn to Christ.

The guilty party must take full responsibility, for only in victory are we placing the burden of guilt on the accountable party. The Spirit, given to dwell with and in man, is called “Holy” Spirit because His purpose is to sanctify man. (1 Pet 1:2; also 1 Cor.6:19-20) So, while the cross takes care of sin, Jesus simultaneously introduces the Spirit to deliver us from the future curse of sin. (John 14:15-17) God says this about the Spirit’s work, “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good” (Rom.12:21; Rom.5;5). So we cease becoming victims by doing good, and no longer dwell on an incarcerated sinful past, but a liberated sin-free future.

So, God gives us a complete Savior in Jesus, who not only saves us from our past sins, but a future where we are not dominated by the ravages of sin and the ruin it brings. I believe the Easter message is incomplete if we appear at the foot of the cross with our past sins, and the devil remains unimpeded in tempting man to sin. It is incomplete if Jesus carries the load of humanity’s sins, and the true responsible party is not given to account. And we know God has provided for our holistic victory in His Son, and this is our confidence which John attests to, “We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them” (1 John 5:18). The two go hand-in-hand to free man from sin completely. And we’ll see there are two acts of Jesus which wraps His work from the beginning to the end of His ministry – from the River Jordan to Mount Calvary.

How, when, and where did  Jesus save man from the clutches of the deceiver, so we are saved from the ravages of future sins? It occurred at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry after He was baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist, and the Spirit descended upon Him from the Father. Here we see our Father introducing the Holy Spirit to humanity firstly through His Son. Later, after Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, the Spirit was poured upon all humanity on Pentecost as foretold by the prophet Joel. (Joel 2:28; Act.2:1-4) With Jesus, this had to be the first act of saving man He must undertake before dying on the cross. He could not have started his ministry without first defeating the arch-deceiver and instigator of sin. He could not have begun His ministry before He corrected Adam’s fall of plunging humankind into sin and held captive in Satan’s prison. The two monumental acts of Jesus wraps His holistic ministry from the beginning to the end – from the Jordan and temptations in the Judean wilderness, to the foot of the cross on Calvary. Both work hand in hand to free man from sin completely, from past, present, and future sins.

The scriptures say that immediately after He was baptized, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the Judean wilderness to prepare Him for His titanic battle with the devil himself and defeat Satan at his own game of deception, and free man from the grips of sin. He fasted for 40 days and was full of the Spirit in His preparation for this battle. Jesus is ready for battle, He is our Warrior as well as Savior.  (Exo.15:3; John 3:16; Luk.2:11)

Jesus led by the Spirit into the Wilderness to Face Satan in the Temptations (Wiki Commons)

“Four Drivers” There are four main areas in human life the devil deceives, tempts, and instigates future-sin in man. He did it with Adam, he tried it with Jesus, and he continues to deceive and hold mankind in his devious clutches today. I will call them the “4 temptation-drivers” of the devil. Paul says we ought not to be “ignorant of his (devil’s) schemes (temptations)” (2 Cor.2:11). Satan’s temptations of Jesus explains the “4 temptation-drivers” to future-sin which He once for all defeated in man’s place. (Matt.4:1-11)

The  “4 temptation-drivers” to sin are: 1/ Bread or physical sustenance – Matt.4:3-4.  2/ Security and happiness – Matt.4:5-7. 3/ Material gain – Matt.4:8-11. 4/ Worldly power and influence. These are the four areas of life people in every age and time have given 100% of their attention and pursuit, and Satan knows this well. These are God-given benefits the Creator gave man as part of the “dominion mandate” at creation. (Gen.1:26-29) But Satan has manipulated and turned them into temptations or counterfeits of God’s blessings. God offers even more which Satan has no power to confer, like immortality. Let’s now look at these four primary areas of human life the devil uses to deceive man, and see the lessons we can glean from them to help us live a fruitful future where we are never the victims of sin, but live victoriously in Jesus.

1)     Bodily Sustenance: The first temptation has to do with bodily sustenance. With Jesus, Satan used bread, with Adam he used the forbidden fruit. With you and I he will probably use something else. He tempted Jesus, saying, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (Matt.4:3; Gen. 3:1-6). Recall, Jesus had fasted for 40 days and He was famished. For most of us, we would consider it being on the verge of starvation. So, to say that bread was a punishing temptation was an understatement. But Jesus was spiritually strong, He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” Jesus was pointing the tempter to the life in the Spirit and not the self-centered life in the flesh. It was by God’s word that the physical universe and our earth came to being. Jesus saw the bigger picture than mere bread and the cries of hunger of His human body. The devil tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, “you will be like God, knowing good from evil” (Gen.3:5). He managed to convince them that God lied when He said, “you shall not eat it, you must not touch it, or you will die” (V.3). They succumbed to the temptation and sinned.

How does this translate to each of us in our time, as it relates to the “sustenance temptation?” “Bread,” which is made from grain, is known proverbially as the “staff of life.” A ‘staff’ is a support or prop synonymous with human livelihood. We turn to Jesus words, “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or stow away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt.6:25-26, 33). So “bread,” in a broad sense, is metaphor for a person’s basic occupation in which he earns a living. The society in Jesus’ day was mainly agrarian, so sowing and reaping was the main form of work and livelihood for the average citizen. Today, it’s no longer the case.

“Bread” – Staff of Life (Wiki Commons)

Is Jesus saying we are to not work and support our families – not in the least! Just because the devil used bread to tempt Jesus does not mean bread is now bad food – that’s preposterous. In fact, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). He means we’re not to turn to the devil and make our work or career into an idol in place of God’s purpose for each of us. It is God who places unique gifts in each of us which defines who we are for His and our glory. So, the devil tempts us to sin through the “sustenance temptation” when we use our gifts for wrongful aspirations. Gifts becomes idols and thereby, we sin. Gifts are for God-communicative, not self-communicative, purpose. So bread is depiction for livelihood, and the devil tried to tempt Jesus by deception to look to him for His livelihood. Jesus looked to the Father’s word for sustenance, and so through Jesus’ victory we can defeat the devil’s temptation in this necessary but vital aspect of life.

2)     Security and Happiness:  The devil tempted Jesus, he made Him stand at the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem, saying, “Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Do not put the Lord Your God to the test’” (Matt.4:5-7). God gives His children security through angelic protection. Happiness is not possible without security. Without security we live in fear, not joy. Our happiness is secured through the many promises of God, including angelic protection, not Satan’s form of security through his worldly system.

Depiction of Temptation of Jesus on The Pinnacle of The Temple, Brooklyn Museum (Wiki Commons)

What we see in this temptation is the simple truth that the devil believes God’s people are in a special category of protection through God’s angelic hosts. (John 5:18; Psa.91:11-12) But he turned a divine promise into its negative form to appeal to human pride and vanity: “if you are the Son of God…” or “you will be like God knowing everything…” as he did to Adam and Eve. Jesus answered the devil’s temptation, and said in effect, ‘this is not about me or my ego, this is about God’s Love for me, His will be done, not mine.’ It can be tempting to apply human wisdom and pride to God’s sweeping promises for His people. But humility must always be our mantra, where we say, “Your will be done, not mine;”  “by myself I can do nothing” (Luk.22:42b; John 5:30).

We cannot hijack God’s promises for human manipulation. Once people do that, before they know it, they will put their trust in themselves and worldly things to provide for their security. Things like money and wealth, their own human wisdom, their reliance upon others, and devices for self enhancement, in place of God’s promises. Whatever you place your trust in, you worship. We can drift as far from God so that His promises don’t come through for us, and we wonder why. By deceit and manipulation the devil has made this world look to him for security and happiness, and he tried to do the same to Jesus. Thankfully, for man’s sake, Jesus overcame the devil so that we too may do likewise.

3)      Material Prosperity:  In this third temptation, “the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of this world and their splendor, and said, “All this I will give you.”  Jesus saw and was offered all the splendor of the earth’s kingdoms, material wealth and possessions. But Jesus was not going to be tempted by the material wealth He Himself had created. It is tempting for people to worship the works of their own hands, yet, man’s creativity comes from one source and he forgets to give thanks where it is rightly due. God gives us the power to generate wealth, reminding us, “But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant” (Deut.8:18).

God is the source of all wealth and our abilities to produce them, “The gold is Mine, and the silver is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills, the fowls and the wild beasts are mine, the earth and its fullness and all that dwell in it” (Haggai 2:8; Psa.24:1; Psa.50:10-11). The world’s wealth does not belong to the devil to give to anyone. What belongs to the devil is the system he has created to acquire wealth based upon fear, greed, lack, and rebellion, which, if man accepts, will turn God’s loving gifts to reflect his egotistical self. This is the basis of all human sufferings – we worship the created, instead of the Creator. Jesus said, “You can’t serve both God and money” (Luk.16:13). The Bible says clearly, “The one who loves money and wealth will never be satisfied with money” (Eccl.5:10; Isa.55:2; Jer.17:11). In other words, happiness and security is never found in money and material abundance.

Define Your wealth. “Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty He could make you rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9. (Gold Bars – Wiki Commons)

When we receive material riches legitimately from the true Source of wealth, the Bible tells us, “The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and He adds no sorrow (toil) with it” (Prov.10:22; Matt.25:14-15; 1Pet.4:10, 8-9). In other words, His blessings comes with joy, not sorrow. Most of today’s stress-related sickness and disease comes from where people spend most of their lives – earning a living (bread). But God’s riches comes without toil (stress). It has been said when you enjoy what you do, you never have to work another day in your life.

Therein lies our destiny – I will share a beautiful word of wisdom from His Word. The joys of God’s blessing comes to man through a person’s gift bequeathed upon him/her at birth. (Psa.139:13-18)  God does not give us material wealth for its own sake to be consumed in our selfish ambition, for when we do, we will get caught up with the “deceitfulness of riches” (Matt.13:22). Jesus said, “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:13-21). Rather, God’s abundance spring from and is the outcome of our primary gift which God gives in order to serve Him and our fellowmen. (Matt.6:33) When man finds and lives his “true self” in Christ, life is a joy. The Bible says of us individually, “Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb… Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you. The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day…guide me on the road to eternal life” (Psa.139:13-16, 24, The Message). Remember, there’s always a choice to be made, to live your “false self” in the devil’s world; or to exist in your “true self” in Christ by the power of the Spirit.

4)     Power and Influence: When Satan tempted Jesus saying, “If You will bow down and worship me” He was offering Jesus worldly power and reign. Satan wanted Jesus to acknowledge His dependence on him, rather than God His Father. Jesus replied, ‘Away from Me, Satan! For it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him, and the angels came and attended to Him” (Matt. 4:8-11). Note, in each temptation Jesus used God’s Word as a weapon to defeat Satan, just as He had said that man must live by every Word of God. Truly, the pen is mightier than the sword. Jesus was not about to live the ‘solitary’ life of the devil in place of the “Triune Life” He had for eternity with the Father and the Spirit. To have done so Jesus would have extricated Himself from the very source of true power, of true life, and the Love He had with His Father from eternity.

Jesus said, “All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth” (Matt.28:18, KJV; also see Isa.9:6-7). Satan’s power relates to the worldly system he has created which is not true power. It exists in an unholy bubble in this world for a brief period of time as God allows until He brings restitution to His power and Kingdom through His Son. Peter said, “Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept His authority” (1 Pet.3:22, NLT). Man become heirs of God and His Christ, “Heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Rom.8:17).

“God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power, O God, belongs to You” – Psa.62:11. (Baby stars forming near rim of the cosmic cloud Perseus – Wiki Commons)

These are the four areas which people give 100% of their attention and effort in their pursuit of life. The devil gave his best shot at tempting Jesus to sin like he did with Adam and Eve and humankind, but he failed. Jesus, mankind’s Warrior and true Hero and Savior, overcame and defeated Satan in that titanic battle in the Judean wilderness. And here is the awesome truth that boggles the mind: God credited Jesus’ epic victory upon humanity, in the same way our Father credited Jesus’ cross upon mankind for remission of all sins. Thereby, the devil’s temptations has no power over man and man’s future. God credited Jesus’ victory in our place which brings the victorious life over temptations, just as Adam’s sin was imputed upon humanity which brought the defeated life under sin and the devil. Jesus victory over sin has brought freedom, true life, joy, and righteous living. John attests to this saying, ”We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them” (1 John 5:18). Paul speaks of the importance of Jesus’ work of rectifying Adam’s sin, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor.15:22). Jesus went on to live a perfect life and sacrificed Himself on the cross thus completing God’s plan of redemption for His human children.

A word of advice. One might say, ‘But isn’t this the same as the ‘obedient life’ I was taught in Sunday school, in Bible study, or even in seminary?’ There is a subtle and huge difference – like day from night difference. Here, we are living the “Triune Life” by vicariously claiming Jesus’ victory over Satan and his temptations as our very own victory, in the same way we claim the cross for our forgiveness and redemption. Here we see the cause of sin through temptations being effectively neutralized, in the same way the cross defeats all past sins.

This is Christ’s obedience, not man’s effort. Human obedience carries a different mindset – it exist on a ‘solitary’ footing where we say Jesus has died for me, now I must do my part to obey Him. God’s offer of salvation to man is not a 50-50 proposition. The Bible nowhere teaches such a thing, rather it says, “I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live (dead), but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20, emphasis added). If the Christian died with Jesus on the cross, then how can a ‘dead’ man obey God? Answer, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” – it is life in the living faith of Jesus. Paul says, “We were therefore buried with Him (Jesus) through baptism (beginning in the waters of Jordan) into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Rom.6:4; also Col.2;12). Yes, the new life is a person’s “true self” in Christ.

We will never be able to obey God perfectly and overcome Satan in a million lifetimes – it is just plain impossible. God did not save you by sacrificing His Son, then turns around and leave you to face Satan alone, no! God never turns His back on us by turning us back upon ourselves. He takes full responsibility for our salvation from start to finish. The danger with human obedience is it leads to the burden of legalism, where all kinds of rules and regulations are introduced to ‘manage’ sin, which is an unworkable and unachievable task. Jesus denounced this openly before the hypocritical Jews in His time, saying, “They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden” (Matt.23:4, also Verses 13, 23, 27, NLT) This is an issue many believers today seem to experience in confounded stalemate: the obvious inner contradiction of being forgiven and being a sinner as existing simultaneously, and the burden of guilt it brings. When we carry this guilt Satan is being successful in his work of “accusing the brethren” of sin before God because our conscience accuse us. (Rev.12:10) And the issue revolves around a wrong understanding of obedience.

Even with our best efforts, we will sin, but the Bible says this about God’s grace, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1-2). This does not give us license to live with careless abandon, but the conviction to see and turn to Jesus as the final answer to sin because He brought us victory over Satan’s temptations and the cross. (Rom.6:1-7; Rom.7:21-25; 1 Cor.1:18) Salvation is entirely (101%) God’s gift to man. The Bible says, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience” (Heb.10:19,22).

Keep this in mind, it will do us much good and be a great source of peace: Perfect obedience can only be given out of perfect Love. Only the Son can Love the Father perfectly and thereby obey Him perfectly. Likewise, only the Father can Love the Son perfectly. To imagine a human can Love and obey God perfectly is not only impossible, but to live in delusion and shows our lack of insight into the nature of God. And here is how humans can Love and obey God perfectly – we enter into their Love relationship as Jesus explained to the disciples before His crucifixion. This was Jesus’ prayer to the Father, “Jesus said, “That they may be one as We are one. I am in them and You are in Me. May…You Love them as much as You Love Me” (John 17:22-23). Do we see here that Love and obedience are inseparable? Without Love obedience is not possible, because genuine obedience is about Love. Human obedience is about legalism based upon rules and fear of punishment. When we are declared righteous in Christ we do not fear punishment, but we grow in Love. The only way for man to Love and obey God as God would have him is for Jesus to live and walk in the believer through the Spirit’s power. (Gal.2:20) We die with Christ so we may live in His resurrected life in heaven and experience the Love relationship the Father has with the Son from eternity. (John 17:24) This is a spiritual life, but it affects the human heart and mind and our actions as it relates to obedience.

When Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven, He glorified our humanity and took it into the presence of God the Father forever. In this manner, mankind is united with God in Love through Christ in the fellowship of the “Triune Life.” It is through Christ’s perfect Love for the Father that we are able to obey God. So it is not so much about  ‘obedience’ as it is about Love being perfected in man. In other words, we can ‘obey’ because we Love God perfectly in Jesus. The Spirit is the personification of God’s divine Love flowing in man, “God’s Love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Rom.5:5).

Two-Pronged Action of Jesus Defeating Sin: The Complete Easter Story  By defeating the devil who holds humans captive in sin through the “4 temptation-drivers,” Jesus forever freed mankind from the clutches of the great tempter. Paul said “I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you, and that our labors might have been in vain….for we ought not to be “ignorant of his (devil’s) scheme” (1Thess.3:5; 2 Cor.2:11). Yes, the cross can prove to be ineffectual if the tempter is allowed to freely carry out his evil work of deceiving God’s people to sin through the “4 temptation-drivers.” God’s people can be wearied, frustrated, discouraged, and ruined by sin.  

To pursue these four areas of life are not wrong of themselves, for everything, a) sustenance and health, b) happiness and security, c) material wealth, and d) power, and more are all God’s to give, and His gifts to mankind. It has always been an intrinsic part of the “dominion mandate” conferred upon man at creation. (Gen.1:26-28) The devil deviously offers man counterfeits of God’s gifts and blessings to keep man deceived, and tempting man to turn them into idols to bow and serve in place of God and His blessings. (2 Cor.11:14)

Our vision of life ought to be through God’s eternal perspective because man’s destiny is to embrace immortality in His likeness, rather than through the eyes of our passing fallen earth-bound humanity. God blesses His people in these four areas of life and much, much more. For example, the devil does not have the power to impart immortality, but Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). Jesus holds our humanity in Himself in its glorified and sinless state at the Father’s right hand. (Rom.8:29; Mar.16:19; Matt.1:23) The provision of His Son completes His plan of salvation, there is nothing beyond Jesus for man, He is IT!. (Heb.10:26) His desire is that we live in His Son in order to comprehend His Love for us: “That You Love them as much as You Love Me” (John 17:22-23; Rom.8:29). We no longer remain victims of our past sins (cross), but we stand liberated in a sin-free future in the Love of the Father and the Son. (2 Cor.5:21)

Jesus’ perfect sinless life becomes vicariously our own through the Holy Spirit’s power in us. (Act.10:38; Eph.1:13-14) When we face our personal battles with sin, we do not lie down and become victims, but see it as an opportunity to step into the life of Jesus and invoke His victory in the Spirit’s power to defeat sin. God gave us Jesus so He can be man’s complete Savior. Paul affirms this, saying, “You are complete in Him.” (Col.2:10). Freedom comes for people who are willing to fight for it, as Paul said, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Rom.8:17). Temptation is overcome with the Spirit’s move in us.

God sees the eternal perspective of man’s future, rather than the temporary human perspective which passes like wind. The Psalmist said, “Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here. But the Love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear Him” (Psa.103:15-17, NLT). In their pride, humans sometimes think they are indestructible, but the Bible says, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom” (Psa.90:12, NLT). Through Christ we are brought into the Father’s Loving presence and enjoy His sustenance, His promises (security), His abundance, and ultimately eternal reign with His Son.

 ”Away from Me, Satan! For it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him Only.’” (Carl Henrich Bloch, Wiki Commons)

Bear with me for a final word, it is of poignant significance that this two-pronged work of Jesus as man’s complete Savior was foretold in an annual ceremony ancient Israel was commanded to keep. The events of Jesus’ baptism and temptations by Satan and His death on the cross were enacted on the annual high day known to Israel as the Day of Atonement, which the Jews continue to keep today as “Yom Kippur.” (Lev.16) I will attempt to explain this unique ceremony as it parallels Jesus’ own life, for that is what Israel was mirroring as they kept the Day of Atonement.

Day of Atonement: It was a solemn day for Israel full of symbolism and ritual with profound significance. The people was required to fast and stand before their God as a nation to be absolved of their sins. A whole chapter was dedicated to the meaning of this day – it makes for interesting reading in Leviticus 16. The high priest played the chief role on this day. “Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites” (Lev.16:34). God would appear before Israel in the holy place of the temple to cleanse Israel of all their sins.

What was unique about this ceremony was there were two goats brought before the high priest as part of the annual ritual. The two goats represent the two-pronged work of Jesus which made Him the “complete Savior,” namely, defeating Satan in the temptations as our Warrior, and dying as the perfect Lamb of God on the cross as our Savior.

The goats are brought before the entrance of the tabernacle, “And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel” (Lev.16:8). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states “the word Azazel has been interpreted by some as referring to a demon of the wilderness. The term is rendered as “one who has separated himself from God,” or “he who has separated himself,” or “he who misleads others.” The word Azazel was by many Jews and also by Christian theologians, such as Origen, regarded as that of Satan himself who had fallen away from God.” The word has given rise to many different views, but the advent of Jesus’ passion and battle with Satan has given more clarity. For indeed, the Day of Atonement was picturing the work of the Messiah to the Israelites.

The goat allotted to the Lord was sacrificed and its blood brought into the holiest chamber before God’s presence in the mercy seat. (Lev.16:15-16) This goat represents Jesus and His death on the cross to redeem mankind from sin. The second goat, the high priest  “will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a fit man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land” (Lev.16:21-22). This goat pictures Jesus taking the weight of mankind’s sins upon Himself, and under John’s hand was baptized for the remission of human sins for all times, with His ensuing temptation in the wilderness. (Mak.1:4)

Jesus had no sin to repent of because he was sinless and perfect, but He was baptized for the forgiveness of all mankind’s sins, just as the sins of all Israel was confessed and    transferred upon the second goat. (Heb.4:15) Jesus told John after he hesitated baptizing Him, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt.3:15). Yes, He was the prophesied Immanuel, the second Person of the Triune Godhead, sent to rescue humanity from sin and in its place bring divine righteousness. Paul stated poignantly, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor.5:21).

After His baptism the Spirit (“fit man”) led Jesus into the wilderness, just as the second goat of Atonement was taken into the wilderness by a “fit man” (Spirit) symbolically heavily-laden with Israel’s sins. (Matt.4:1-11)  Jesus, by defeating the devil, placed all Human sins squarely upon the head of the instigator of sin, the great tempter, Satan, the Azazel. God our Father is a just God, and puts the weight of sin upon the one who is the true guilty party responsible for human sins. This is the missing narrative in the Easter story.

 The Two Goats of the Day of Atonement of Leviticus 16, Depicting Christ’s Twin Role Of the Complete Savior of Mankind  (Wiki Commons)

The human high priest in Israel represented Jesus Christ the true High Priest in heaven today. He is Savior symbolized in the first goat sacrificed for our sins, and the Warrior represented in the second goat who took our sins into the Jordan and the wilderness to face and defeat Satan. “The Lord is a Warrior; the Lord is His name.The Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation” (Exo.15:3,2). As mankind’s High Priest today, He continues to perform His role of mediating all man’s imperfect responses and transgressions. The Bible states, “Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb.2:18; 4:15-16). The Bible couldn’t be more unequivocal about Jesus’ work pictured in the second goat of Atonement.

Recall, the second goat was not killed, but the first goat was sacrificed portraying Jesus death on the cross. The work of the second goat continues to this day, representing the life of the resurrected Jesus, our Warrior Prince, who continues to live in us in the Spirit’s power, to bring us the “grace to help us in our time of need,” thus replicating His triumph over Satan in the “4-temptation drivers” and our absolution through His cross. Only a surrendered life can bring this victorious life of Jesus into the believer. (Gal.2:20; Jam.4:7,10; Rom.12:1)

The validation of Jesus’ work of Savior and Warrior seen in the first and second goats is laid out in the New Covenant when He taught followers to pray the Lord’s Prayer daily. In it, we are taught to invoke Jesus’ victorious life over sin and temptation. The prayer goes, “And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us (cross/past). And never bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (victorious living/future)” (Matt.6:12-13, ISV). Isn’t that enlightening as much as it is encouraging that the Lord’s Prayer petitions God’s mercy for forgiveness (Savior/first goat), and then invoke His victory over temptations and the devil (Warrior/second goat). The words of the prayer are a cry issuing from a deep sense of our personal human weakness against the powers of evil in Satan’s world. So much so that there is no other way but in moving prayer daily invoke the two-fold work of the Messiah as our own victory so we may live victoriously always in Christ.

God may permit temptation and trial according to His unsearchable grace and wisdom, but He promises, “And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure” (1 Cor.10:13; also Heb.12:4-12). Remember, our Warrior in Jesus never leaves our side, for God has promised, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb.13:5).

I have shared the meaning of Easter in the context of Jesus entire Ministry from start to finish, with the crucifixion as its central theme. This two-fold act of Jesus forms the core of His Messiahship as Warrior and Savior, from Jordan to Calvary, His perfect sinless life in between, His subsequent resurrection and ascension, encapsulates the perfect human life God our Father accepts on mankind’s behalf as the final, complete, and unmitigated answer to Satan and sin. This makes possible God’s plan to embrace humanity in His Love. This is the essence of His grace to mankind. This is the complete and finished work of Christ. (Col.2:10) All that remains for you and I is we accept the Father’s Loving embrace He has sacrificed so much to make possible. He wants you to live your life in unbelievable joy which only His Spirit can give. I wish you and your families a blessed Easter!

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

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the season of Easter and Passover be with you all and your families, and may God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, help you to receive Jesus as your personal Savior and live the “Triune Life” in the Spirit. May the Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible in Triune Living as a Bulamanriver.*

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 www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book.

See the BULAMANRIVER Video at: http://youtu.be/8uA0Bq7UoYA

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

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

Greetings again Friends! I hope this post find you in good health, success, and in the best of spirit.

Money is important to everyone. Without it we cannot get far in life. But if we have lots of it, we can just about do anything we wish – well, almost anything! So we spend our time trying to acquire more and more of it. Let’s talk money today.

US ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL (WIKI COMMONS)

Definition

What is money? Let’s get a brief definition as we start. The world’s economy revolves around it, without money the world as we know it would come to an abrupt halt. Money is a medium of exchange we all agree to accept for making transactions. Each country has its own money, or currency, that is used as a medium of exchange within that country. Whereas the money system was formerly based upon the gold standard or silver standard or some combination of the two, today’s money system is based on fiat money. That means money derives its value by being declared by a government to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for  all goods and services, all debts, public and private. Its value is based upon many factors like gold and natural resources, the main one being the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). This legal practice causes fiat money to acquire the value of any of the goods and services that it may be traded for within the nation that issue it. The currency of one country can be exchanged for the currency of another via a currency exchange. The current exchange rate determines how much of one currency must be used to purchase a specified amount of the other currency. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money; http://www.investopedia.com; (http://economics.about.com)

The reason we want money is because we know other people want money, so we can use money to get goods and services from them in return. Everybody works for money because it is the medium of exchange for making transactions which affects almost every facet of their lives. So in the sense of defining life, one can say that money liberates, protects, rescues, and even regarded as a ‘savior’ for it saves us from just about every imaginable situation and circumstance – well, almost all!  If we believe that money will have a value in the future, we will work towards acquiring it. So, people sell their labor (work) to acquire money now to purchase goods and services they desire both now and in the future.

Market Where Money Is Exchanged For Goods (Wiki Commons)

The Christian & Money

Here is the connection between the Christian believer and money: If money ‘saves,’ and we have seen that it does, and we believe Jesus is man’s Savior, then money and Jesus are synonymous. In other words, they exhibit the identical ‘saving’ quality. You can say they are one and the same. Well, not exactly the same, because there is only one Savior, not two. Money is a savior invented by man. Jesus is the everlasting Savior of mankind sent by God. (John 3:16) People worship money because it has this ‘saving’ quality. The Bible states, “You cannot worship God and money” (Matt.6:24). In other words, a Christian cannot have two “Saviors.”

To worship something means it has a powerful hold over you that you will do whatever it takes to acquire its value and appeal. Money’s magnetism is in its purchasing power. So, the passage presents a choice to the believer as to which power to submit oneself to: God or money? The Bible says this of Jesus, “Salvation (i.e. the power to save) is found in no one else (except Jesus), for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Act. 4:12, emphasis added). This Bible speaks of a time when people “will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean. Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver (save) them in the day of the LORD’s wrath. It will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, for it has caused them to stumble into sin” (Ezek.7:19, emphasis added). Money will have lost its power. It’s obvious from this passage that money has its limitations and cannot save us completely, most of all not spiritually. In fact, when money is worshipped, it becomes a curse instead of a blessing. It’s a curse because it pretends to be a savior. Only Jesus is the complete Savior. His name, Jesus, means Savior, and He saves both physically and spiritually.

But here is the interesting side of money we may not have seen, money can ‘genuinely’ save if it becomes the impersonation of Jesus. That means Jesus becomes the personification of money, i.e.not two distinct entities. Once that happens, then Jesus and money are one and the same, and we’re not positioning ourselves to choose one or the other. There’s only one choice – Jesus! When the Bible says, “You cannot worship God and money,” it is not saying money is evil and you should not have any of it. Remember, the source of all riches is God. He owns all the treasurers of the earth, including money. When God finished the earth’s creation He called creation it, “very good.” Eden, the home God planted for Adam and Eve, possessed wealth in gold and precious stones beyond one can imagine. (Ezek.28:13; Gen.2:10-12) God has prior claim to all riches upon the earth, He says, “The gold is mine, and the silver is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills, the fowls and the wild beasts are mine, the earth and its fullness and all that dwell in it” (Hag. 2:8; Ps. 24:1; Ps. 50:10-11). So, money is not evil, nor earthly riches.

As in everything, it always comes down to the right or wrong use of something, in this case money. Man has made the mistake of separating money from God and made it an object of worship. It’s a matter of choice, where we decide if we will turn money into a god in its own right. God does not want His people to worship lifeless objects like money which can’t save them. All inanimate things cannot and will not save us, just as an idol can’t save because it has no life in itself. Listen, “Whoever loves (worships) money never has enough (lacks); whoever loves wealth is never satisfied (or happy) with their income. This too is meaningless (worthless)” (Eccl.5:10, my emphasis). (Read Eccl.5:10-20 in Appendix 1 below)

Those who spend their lives in search of money, thinking money is the answer to everything and bring the fulfillment they seek, will instead discover emptiness to their disappointment. It is the wrong use of money which creates evil and make a false god of money. Since money of itself is not evil, and money’s value it determined by how it is used, how do we make money be a force for good? The only way is for money to be merged with God and not have an identity of its own where it can be worshipped. This is a Trinitarian principle, for nothing exists in isolation, solitarily, but everything is inter-dependent, collaborative, and united like God’s Triune nature. Jesus said, “I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells Me” (John 5:30). Jesus lives the “Triune Life” in collaborative union with His Father. It is impossible for Jesus to exist apart from His Father. This is what must happen to money, and for that matter everything else in life.

Money does not save, Jesus does, therefore only Jesus is to be worshiped for He is God, not money. I can’t let money be my master and Jesus too, “for I’ll hate one or the other, and become devoted to one and despise the other” (Matt.6:24). So, when I see money as Jesus Himself, then money becomes a divine attribute. When this happens, what is usually a curse brought about by the money god, now becomes a blessing from Jesus Himself. It is a question of personal leadership in life. (Read article “Money is A Curse” by Sheldon Drobny in Appendix 2 below)

How do we do this? How do we merge the two so that Jesus and money become a single expression and a true blessing in the believer’s life?

To worship Jesus means to take on Jesus’ Person. (Matt.6:24) I live life vicariously in Him. He said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt.11:29). Paul said, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you?” (2 Cor.13:5). Jesus speaks of the “Triune Life” we are privileged to live in Him by the Spirit’s power. I think of money as a servant of Jesus. Money becomes a blessing coming from and through Him as the offshoot of my relationship with Him, as He is with His Father. Anything that’s a blessing (the good money can do) in my life is the reflection of God’s grace in my life. James says this, “Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens” (Jam.1:17). Grace is the presence of His Spirit in my life. (Heb.10:29) The Spirit’s role is to magnify Jesus in my life by enhancing my Love relationship with Jesus, so I am being conformed into His likeness as the Son of God. (John 16:14; Rom.8:29) Herald (Holy Spirit) is the One who gives me the wisdom and empowers me to make money become an expression of Jesus Himself. God tells us, “But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore” (Deut.8:18, NASB). The Bible quotes God as saying, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the LORD of hosts” (Zech. 4:6) Yes, it is not the power of money and what money can do that counts – the Spirit (grace/Love) of God and what He can do in me and for me. (Rom.5:5) So, this merging of Jesus and money begins with God’s grace through the move of His Spirit in my life. It is what I often refer to as the “Triune Life.” That’s to mean, that all of life is interconnected, and nothing exists independently by itself.

The following passage shows clearly that God and money are one and the same: “The blessing (grace/Spirit) of the Lord brings wealth (money and what it can buy), without painful toil for it” (Pro.10:22; also see Psa.24:5). There’s a far-reaching point being made here, i.e. it identifies money in two broad categories. When money is part of, and comes from Jesus, it brings an abundant life with peace, joy, without toil and pain. It produces true life. But when money comes from the money-god then it brings the opposite effect – fear, depression, curses, pain, and ultimately death. When I merge money and it becomes the expression of Jesus’ life in me, I uncover and find genuineness in my humanity because I am able relate with Jesus on a person-to-person relationship. When I worship the money-god I am relating with an idol, and I lose my humanity because I cannot speak to nor relate with an inanimate object, for it’s an idol. Relationships happen only between persons, like what’s taking place between the three Persons of the Trinitarian God. Man, who is made in God’s image, live relational lives because God is relational in His Tri-Personal Being. Many lives have been destroyed because they can’t see this crucial truth about life, and they turn inanimate objects into idols they worship. That’s how vital it is to grasp the Trinitarian doctrine of God as the basis of our understanding of all creation and how we relate with creation. We cannot relate with the money-god. Man in his depraved nature is influenced by the devil who is the author of confusion. Only a living Person, Jesus, saves.

Money – Inanimate Lifeless Article Man Can Never Relate With (Wiki Commons)

By saying money will come to the believer “without painful toil for it (money),” or, as another translation puts it, “and hard work adds nothing to it (money),” it is saying our labor is not what “brings the bacon (money) home,” but rather it is the grace of God in our lives. His blessing, He is the first-cause, the trigger effect, directing our footsteps to His abundance. (Prov.10:22b, emphasis added) His grace is the undergirding safety net we tread upon throughout life. There’s something else this passage conveys to us: the kind of life Jesus brings does not come with all the stress of negative repercussions, heartache, and broken dreams and pain, for it has nothing to do with my toil and performance. The truth of the matter is, this is not “my” work; this is the grace of God in action in my life.

It has to do with God’s unconditional love for me. By freely giving and sacrificing His Son, the Father brought mankind into union with Him to make this abundant life possible for you and me. Does the “living waters” of His Spirit of Love flow in my life because of my effort (toil), or does it flow freely immaterial of my performance? (John 7:37-39) Grace is the free gift of God flowing from the depth of the Father’s Love. Paul asserts, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; (nothing to do with our labor/toil) it is the gift of God” (Eph.2:8). As someone wisely said, of what consequence is my performance, if I am not placed on an assured path which leads to and guarantees my success? If I’m on a path which leads to doom and failure, no amount of effort and performance will save me, no matter how grandiose my actions may appear.

Life is like riding a train. It depends upon which track I take. In life, there are only two tracks, one leads to true life and the other to false life which brings death. If I worship the money-god, then I’m riding a train-track which ends abruptly on an unfinished track, plunging me into a deep ravine to my death. I am the train engine. Everything I have worked for all my life is embodied in the cars I am hauling behind me, and it would all be for nothing. If I believe in Jesus then He puts me on His track with the Spirit leading me to my destination with a glorious future. Here’s God’s promise to me and those who take hold of His Son, “I know what I have planned for you,’ says the LORD. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope. (Jer. 29:11, NET).

 Life Is Like a Train – It Depends Which Track You Take. The Mountain in the Backdrop is Symbolic of God’s Overarching Sovereignty and Presence, Guiding Us by His All-Embracing Love (Wiki Commons)

It’s About Relationship

As intimated earlier, it is about who we choose to relate with: Jesus or money? The following passage tells us how to merge the two into a single expression of life, “They (God’s people) will receive the Lord’s blessing (money) and have a right relationship with God their Savior” (Psa.24:5). So, it’s all about relationship – my relationship with Jesus brings abundance (money as part of it). That’s how money and Jesus is made One. My Love for Jesus must be the primary focus of my relationship with everything else, including money. I can’t have relationship with inanimate things, like money, jewelry, gold, land, real estate, cars, my job, boats, hobbies, pet projects, etc. But they are filtered through my relationship with Jesus. In fact, when I have relationship with inanimate things, the Bible calls it idol worship. Idols have no life and cannot respond in any form of relationship. Only Jesus alone who is the manifestation of God’s Love is the One with whom we have relationship. When I see all the material riches, including money, I see them as the by-product of my relationship with Jesus, and it is never separate from Him. I am never in love with money and things, my first motivation is to Love Jesus, and everything else become offshoots of my relationship with Him.

It is sad, as much as it is true, but people choose to have relationship with these inanimate things (money and material stuff) which cannot save them, but brings curses instead. If people cannot communicate with these inanimate objects, then who are they relating with? That’s food for thought. People think money will supply and sustain them physically, provide for their security, and furnish the riches they dream of. But it is a fool’s paradise. They don’t realize, let alone understand this ludicrous form of relationship with money which brings curses and pain. The saying “all that glitters is not gold,” rings true. They spend their whole lives in aggressive pursuit of money, building up and bolstering these relationships with inanimate things, when God wants them to have relationships with Him, His Son, and with our fellow humans through His Love. The truth of the matter is, all these created inanimate things are simply the personification of the One who created them – Jesus. When we turn them into idols then they become the characterization of the devil. Yet Jesus is Spirit and does not need to be defined by them to prove His abundance. Jesus is super rich! In the same way, my life does not need to be defined by things. I only need to be defined by One Person with whom I can have personal relationship – Jesus. He is the Personification of all wealth. (1 Cor.3:21-23; Rom.8:17) Abundance can be defined in one word: Love!

The prophet says this, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare” (Isa.55:1-2). Yes, it speaks of a promise of being sustained physically, materially, and in every other way, without money. The answer is my relationship with Jesus. 

US DOLLAR COIN, SUSAN B ANTHONY DESIGN, MINTED 1979. NOTE PHRASE, “IN GOD WE TRUST.” TRUST GOD, NOT MONEY (WIKI COMMONS)

What Defines You?

Answer the above question as true as your heart can in your spirit: am I defined by things and money, or, am I defined by Jesus who is the Personification of creation and abundance. Listen, when you give something to your children, like a toy, don’t you think it odd if the child thank himself/herself or even the inanimate toy, for bringing him/her happiness, and ignores the source of his joy, you, the parent? Yet, we do this all the time with God when we lack faith. A wise child will realize that to keep his/her joy sustained will depend upon his/her relationship with the source of joy – the parent. Not the child herself, and certainly not the toy!

Learning to Wait

The Spirit which governs my actions defines who I am. One is He gives me power to make me “wait on the Lord.” Many don’t know how, or don’t want to, or lack the patience to, “wait on the Lord.” Again the Psalmist, “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes” (Ps.37:7). Yes, many times I look at the next person, my neighbors, those I work with, and compare myself with them and what they have in terms of money and material stuff. This is the most misguided way to live, and many have fallen into the money-god’s trap of anxiety, impulsiveness, and undue stress. There is only One with whom I am called to compare myself – Jesus and none other. (Rom.8:29)

Faith

What it comes down to is, faith. I live and act upon what I believe will bring me and my loved ones happiness. Do I have an unwavering faith in Jesus as the source of all true wealth, not false riches acquired by the money-god through selfish means? Jesus warned that everything happening in this world is working against my faith in Him and in the true riches He desires to give me. So, He instructs me to live one day at a time, for each day will bring ample doses of money-god drug called “filthy lucre” which debilitates me with narcissism and self-love. And the aim of money-god is to keep me from reaching my dreams. (Matt. 6:33-34; 1 Tim.3:3) But the truth about my life of faith is I’m not alone, the Spirit is with me to empower me in my relationship with Jesus. Jesus says to me as He did with Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor.12:9). Further, he said, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Phi.4:6-7)

Faith takes me further and brings me to the reality of my calling and God’s purpose for me. Many unbelievers view the Christian faith as a cop-out, an excuse for facing up to the reality of life. Is it, or does faith actually guide me into the reality of life? The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a Rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb.11:6). That’s another way of saying, without faith I don’t have a footing to stand in discovering my relationship with God, and thereby my life’s destiny. Listen, Jesus said, “Life is spiritual, your physical existence doesn’t contribute to that life” (John 6:63). But both lives are intertwined and codependent. What I see in the physical world is affected by what’s happening in the spirit realm. (Eph.6:12) And if a person does not have God in his/her life, then that’s a cop-out and evading the reality of life. To have a calling is a gift from God our Father, and Jesus, and it takes living faith to believe that my gift is activated from the divine source. Here is the crux of the matter: real money which truly blesses comes through my gift and calling, from the spiritual Source in Jesus, not a physical source in me.

Calling & “Life-Gift”

He blesses and gives me rest within the context of my purpose and “life-gift.” (Psa.37:7) That’s the important thing to remember about ‘Jesus and Money.’ A person’s “life-gift” defines the valleys and people he or she has been called to flow through life and where he or she will find abundance. God gives me abundance (money) through His purpose for my life. We do not work for money but for Jesus. Material wealth must be funneled through my gift and dream-life, for God’s blessing comes through each man’s gift to glorify Him. I do not seek money for money’s sake, but wealth comes through the passion for my gift and calling in Christ.

God Use Our Gifts For His Glory and to Bless Us (Wiki Commons)

When you live your God-ordained purpose (Bulamanriver), all your life’s activities are magnetizing to your gift and dream-life, like Joseph of the Bible. God gave him a dream, just He does with us, so we can live purposefully in His designs. Everything Joseph did, his dream was the magnet which attracted all the circumstances to fulfill God’s divine purpose in him. Remember this: for a blessing to be true it must be a holistic blessing comprised both of spiritual and material/physical aspects, or, ‘Jesus and Money.’ You can’t have one without the other. This is what abundance as defined in God’s Love means. It is not just spiritual without the material/physical aspects, neither is it vice-versa. Joseph’s life taught us that. When that happens, miracles become part of your life because the Spirit flows in you to accomplish the divine will. ‘Jesus and Money’ can’t travel in separate  and different direction, they are of one and the same essence and existence. So, we see why it is about relationship because the two are connected – one cannot do without the other.

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

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, prosper you and 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 www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book.

See the BULAMANRIVER Video at: http://youtu.be/8uA0Bq7UoYA

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

Note: All information is copy-write. 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

APPENDIX 1:

Riches Are Meaningless – Ecclesiastes 5:10-20

“Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.

¹¹ As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owners
except to feast their eyes on them?

¹² The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether they eat little or much,
but as for the rich, their abundance
permits them no sleep.

¹³ I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:

wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners,

¹⁴     or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when they have children
there is nothing left for them to inherit.
¹⁵ Everyone comes naked from their mother’s womb,
and as everyone comes, so they depart.
They take nothing from their toil
that they can carry in their hands.

¹⁶ This too is a grievous evil:

As everyone comes, so they depart,
and what do they gain,
since they toil for the wind?
¹⁷ All their days they eat in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.

¹⁸ This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot.¹⁹ Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. ²⁰ They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.”

APPENDIX 2:

“Money is a Curse” By Sheldon Drobny 

Posted: 05/09/2006 12:46 pm EDT Updated: 05/25/2011 11:50 am EDT (an excerpt)

A few days ago Bill Gates was quoted as saying that he wished he were not the richest man in the world. For a society like ours that admires wealth so much, this statement seemed to be strange. Yet in fact, the endless accumulation of money for its own sake is the worst thing that can happen to a person and for the society in general.

I have observed many people who have become extremely wealthy since I am a financial advisor, CPA, and venture capitalist. In most cases, those who become very wealthy lose their psychological motivation to provide the means of support to their families. People who no longer have to earn money to survive unwittingly must turn to other things in order for them to seemingly have a purpose in society. And most of these other purposes are bad. Once anyone has achieved wealth, they usually turn to achieving power and influence in society and they are usually ill prepared to do things in the best interest of humankind. Rather, they turn to family wealth accumulation to create legacies much as the Pharos did in ancient Egypt.

In the musical, Fiddler On The Roof, Tevya is told by his future son-in-law Perchek, that “money is a curse.” Tevya responds by saying that “God should smite him with this curse.” Perchek was an early 20th Century socialist who understood the exploitation of the masses by those who had money and power. Tevya then sings a song called If I Were A Rich Man. One of the great lines of that song is, “…when you’re rich they really think you know.” And that is the trouble we have with rich and powerful leaders. People really think they are wise because they have money and power. My experience is that wisdom and competence are inversely proportional to the desire for wealth accumulation

The qualities of good leadership have nothing to do with money and wealth accumulation. Occasionally wealthy people have qualities of good leadership, but that is only coincidental. There are many factors that make for a good leader. Many people have written about the subject and it is an extremely rare talent. Unfortunately, the choices of leaders are based mostly upon wealth and influence and accordingly we are stuck now with many corporate, community, and political leaders who are incompetent.

Money is essentially a “zero sum game.” Most people do not understand that. The obscene salaries of many corporate executives are not going to the rank and file workers or the shareholders. That is why the middle class in America is struggling so much. And without a strong middle class, the U.S. will be heading towards an eventual insurrection as we almost had during the Great Depression. And the current political situation has exposed the corruption and cronyism involved in wealth accumulation.

A few years ago I visited my daughter in Spain while she was an exchange student. One of our tour guides was politically savvy and asked me why the rich and powerful in America are insensitive to the needs of the masses. He explained to me that after the death of Franco in 1975, the emerging socialist movement gave the wealthy classes two possible choices. Plan A was an insurrection in which they would lose all their property. Plan B was that they pay higher taxes to create the safety net needed by the masses and more fairly redistribute the wealth. Given that choice, the wealthy in Spain chose plan B.

I am afraid that in our country, it may come to the fear of losing everything through an insurrection that will finally convince the wealthy class that it is time to make a change. But, it will take a massive grass roots effort to make that happen. Hopefully the very wealthy will recognize this before they self-destruct.

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE!” (John 14:16)!

Greetings Friends! We may have heard people say, ‘Go get a life!’ Or, ‘Stop existing and start living!’ Let’s talk life today! 

Jesus is life! This is a very bold claim. Do you have life? That may not be easy to answer. You may say, ’Yes, I am alive and walking in the land of the living.’ But is it the same as Jesus’ claim to life, “I am the way, the truth, and the LIFE!” (John 14:16) This is a fundamental statement of truth which makes the difference between just having biological life and possessing true living. It is the difference between just existing, and living a life that’s truly life.

 Cover of Life Magazine October 1909 (Wiki Commons)

For the majority, life simply means this physical, breathing, walking life, with its five senses, that mothers bore us in pregnancy and childbirth. We all have minds which giving us freedom to decide how to live this life. Then there is the ‘quality of life’ defined in terms of health, happiness, and wealth (I suppose). The pursuit of these “values” we have come to regard synonymously with life and occupies much of our lives and energy. According to medical science humans have an estimated lifespan of 80 years, at best. What happens after that, some think death is the end-all, while others believe in the afterlife.  

What is life? Science may explain human life through the DNA sequence. The DNA describes human life biologically. Jesus’ claim to life explains it spiritually. Therefore, true life encompasses both the biological and spiritual realms. When we have a worldview of life with both perspectives, we become whole persons. The Bible says the material world and all life originates from a spiritual source – God. The creation account in Genesis reveals how God made man out of the dust of the ground. Job said, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breadth of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4, also Gen. 2:7). God told man, “Dust thou art, and unto dust you shall return” (Gen.3:19). So, today we have this chemically-enabled DNA existence because God breathed life into man. Without the breadth of life from God there is no human DNA. 

But when God created man, He made him unique from all other living organisms. He made a clear distinction from all other creatures of creation, saying, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness” (Gen.1:26-27). So, the body exists for a purpose. God’s image is He is immortal in composition, and He is Love in character. And that purpose is spiritual, based upon the utterance of a spiritual Being, our Creator. To accomplish His divine purpose, God gave man something no other life-form possesses – the mind.  God gave man a mind like His. He gave man a well-defined maneuverable body physically compatible to the mind’s manipulation. The Psalmist said, “I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psa.139:14).   

The Life of Jesus by William Hole (Wiki Commons)

Man’s spiritual component comes with his mind which gives man faith and responsibility as to how to live his physical life so he may accomplish his God-given destiny. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63). This passage cautions man about inverting the priority of life. If we look at life purely from the physical realm without giving credence to the spiritual, it ceases to be true life, you are now no different from other life forms whose purpose is purely biological. Actually, the passage leads us to believe the spiritual life is the basis for the biological life. The spiritual and physical do not exist exclusively to itself. Like a marriage, both are made to compliment each other, with the spiritual as the undergird for the physical life. So true life is the blending of the spiritual and the biological in single expression for the purpose of attaining God’s spiritual end.

So why is Jesus true life? Because He is the embodiment of God’s purpose in man. Jesus is the prophesied Immanuel, the incarnation of God in human form, so He may become the One to reverse incarnate man to take on the divine form (immortality). (Isa 7:14; Matt.1:23) Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, the one who believes on Me has eternal life” (John 6:47; also John 3:15, 36; 5:24; 11:25; 17:3; 20:31; Rom.10:9). 

As a human Jesus lived the perfect life, defeated Satan in the temptations, was crucified for our redemption, He was resurrected and ascended to heaven and glorified our humanity in Himself and before the God the Father. He is man’s vicarious substitute who takes and joins man in God’s Triune Being forever. God’s purpose is to make humans immortal as He is (that’s His image), and become His children as Jesus is His Son to Love and cherish for eternity. “God is Love,” that is what He created us for, and to become – to Love and be Loved as He is Love. (1 John 4:8; Rom.8:29-30) Love is God’s image. He is not made of Love, He IS Love!

There is another more crucial reason Jesus is life. He is life because He was sent by God to save humanity from sin and death and make possible God’s purpose for mankind. Adam had put man on the path of sin and death, blocking the way for the Spirit. The Spirit is the One who gives man true life by living in man as His own temple. (1 Cor.3:16; 6:19; Rom.5:5) No human could save himself from the sin condition, nor anyone else. Only God could do that through and in His Son Jesus, and impart Love (Spirit) and immortality to man. (John 3:16-17; Rom.5:5)

Paul admonish us through Timothy that if we let the Spirit lead us keep the two realms of the spiritual and the physical in their proper place and perspective, then we can “take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Tim.6:17-19). He said, “Train yourself to be godly (spiritual) for it promises benefits in this life (physical) and in the life to come (immortality)” (1 Tim.4: 7b, 8b).

I hope you will receive Jesus, and live a life that’s truly life. 

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

Blessings:

Until we meet again in my next  post, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom.15:13). May the Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible, and may all the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself through His Triune Love be with your in you walk of faith.

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 the life of the Bulamanriver go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my book of the same title. 

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 may Google a reliable guide for Citing Electronic Information

Greetings Friends! I thought I would devote this post to explain a term I often use in my blog posts: “Triune Life.”

The most basic and pivotal knowledge man can have is to understand God is Trinitarian. For the Christian, the mention of the name of God, must always convey His Tri-Personal Being in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matt.28:18-20; 1 Pet.1:2) From the Trinitarian worldview, the human mind opens vistas of perspectives he would not otherwise comprehend in his “solitary” human worldview. This is vital because all of creation exists in an inter-connected life, meaning, nothing exists in solitary existence. In other words, creation is the reflection of the God’s own likeness in His interconnected Triune Being. Everything God creates reflects Himself in His Tri-Personal Being.

Christ came to open the consciousness of humanity to a realm unknown to man because he has been living the “solitary life” of the devil since Adam’s fall. (Gen.3:1-6) Of course, Jesus can be seen and lived from a “solitary” human realm and focus. When that happens, we deny His heritage, we put Him in a box of our human making, and we deny ourselves a glorious world that’s beyond our knowing, which only He, in His Trinitarian Being can bring to us and take us to experience.

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

The second is to translate that Triune worldview so it undergirds the believer’s life, and how it can be made to manifests itself into a practical way of life. Whenever we hear the expression that God is having a hand in a person’s life, it means God’s “Triune Life” undergirds the person’s life, for God has eternally been a Tri-Personal Being.

And third, we answer the question, is it humanly possible to live this “Triune Life” of God, and the answer of course is ‘no.’ Only Jesus Christ can bring it to man, for He is Triune as much as He is indivisibly part of the Trinitarian Godhead. In other words, only by standing in Jesus life, and He in ours, can we experience the “Triune Life.” Paul emphatically says, “In Christ you have been brought to fullness. (Col.2:10). That’s to say, you are made complete in Him.

The Trinitarian Life we have in Christ, is not just a doctrine or belief we keep locked up in our heads, but it’s a hands-on, concrete, down-to-earth, way of life. Many believe in the Trinity in the intellectual sense, but haven’t a notion how to live it. Athanasius said this, “The revelation of Christ” (again, when the name of Jesus Christ is mentioned, we understand Him in His basic heritage as part of the Triune Godhead); Athanasius continues, “The revelation of Christ is addressed primarily to the will not the intellect; it’s appeal is to faith not theology.”

“So, the “Triune Life” means a life of faith 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 through Christ and in the power of the Spirit, 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 took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead. Hence, He is called the Immanuel, or, “God with us.” 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).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write 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 the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom.15:13). May His Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible, and may all the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His Triune Love be with you through the year 2016.

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 www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book.

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 may Google a reliable guide for Citing Electronic Information. Thank you.

“Now may the Lord of Peace Himself give you Peace at All Times and in Every Way” (2Thess.3:16)

Greetings Friends the world over!

My topic for this post is peace! What is peace? It means different things to different people. Essentially, peace is the fruit of conciliation. It means that a state of separation exists between two parties and an act of appeasement is necessary to restore harmony and goodwill. Ever since mankind has walked this earth, there has been no peace. Instead, if anything, people have lived in dissent with each other. They have acted aggressively and taken what belongs to others by force of will – lands, riches, slaves, and seeking to be dominant over another, where we have the conqueror and the conquered. Yes, man have taken the extreme position to peace, which is hatred. Nations have engaged in wars with other nations for the same ulterior motives, but more for dominant nationalistic ends.

The Bible says “There is none righteous, not even one…And the path of peace they have not known.  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. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom.3:10-18). Peace is more than the absence of conflicts and wars, neither is it a truce agreed upon between two parties. A truce is not peace, it is an agreement that’s made to be broken because of man’s fallen nature.

Many are unaware why peace seems unattainable and continues to be a distant undertaking, let alone how it can be achieved. All the unpeaceful conditions we see in our world today, as it has been in human history, arises out of one fundamental reason. Yes, all the acts of man has been inspired by the wrong use of a divine gift given at creation. Regrettably man has taken this wonderful gift and turned it into a weapon of fear, conflict, and domination. 

 Animated Peace Dove with Olive Leaf (Wiki Commons)

What is this gift the Creator gave man in the beginning, which man has turned into an instrument of aggression? This is what God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen.1:26-27,KJV). The Psalmist said, “You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth” (Psa.8:6-9, KJV 2000). I emphasize the word, “dominion,” or more precisely the gift of the “dominion mandate” God conferred upon man at creation. 

In both the above passages, it is made abundantly clear “man” is not mentioned as the object of domination in the “dominion mandate.” We see land creatures, marine life, poultry and bird life, creeping life-forms, and over planet earth, but not “man.” The Creator gave man the the gift of the “dominion spirit” because he was made in God’s likeness. Its purpose was to aid man in pursuing his God-given purpose and personal dream through rulership over this earth – a planet given as an eternal inheritance to humans. (Gen. 1:26-28; Rev.21). Why was “man” left out of the “dominion mandate?” Because man was made after God’s likeness (“God is Love”). Man was not made in the likeness of beasts, birds, fish, or creepy life-forms. Of all creation, only man is given the human mind so he may exercise his God-given “dominion mandate.”

God’s prerogative is to rule over His creation for He is Creator. He is Ruler, not a Subject to be ruled. Man was made to adopt God’s nature, and likewise rule, not be ruled. Consequently, “man” was not included in the “dominion mandate.” How can a ruler be the ruled at the same time? It’s an illogical thought which presents a contradictory and impossible state of existence. So when a ruler (human) seeks to subdue another ruler (human) friction is set off, controversy ensues, and conflict is the end result. When conflict enters the door of your life, peace is undone.

Man was mandated to rule the earth and all upon it, but precludes his fellow humans. When man tries to rule another human, he is denying responsible stewardship of the divine “dominion mandate” conferred upon him. Man’s history is littered with accounts of one revolution after another, and its underlying reason is because man has misunderstood and/or misinterpreted the gift of the “dominion mandate.” Man has abused and used his “dominion spirit” as a weapon. This is the underlying reason for the absence of peace in the world and in human relations.

God, in His Triune Being as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, exist in their inclusive Love for each other. Through their diversity they are so indivisibly interlocked in their Love for each other it is impossible to live except in unified peace with and in each other. In their Love relationship it is impossible to dominate or rule over one another. 

Depiction of God’s “Creation of the Animals” then Created Man Last to Rule Them (Genesis 1:20-25, 26-27) (Wiki Commons) 

So, how do we live with, and relate to our fellow-men? We live as God does in His Triune existence – I call it the “Triune Life.” Paul answers our question, saying, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to Love one another” (Rom.13:8). Love is emphatically part of the divine mandate for man was made in God’s image, “Let us make man in our (Love) image.” Yes, we live like we owe every human the debt of Love because every man, woman, and child is made in God’s likeness of Love – for “God is Love” (1 John 4:8).

The sanctity of human life is founded upon God’s Love-image in man. Where there is Love, there is freedom, not domination of one another. (Gal.5:1) To be free to make up one’s mind is the mindset of a ruler, not a slave. To live subserviently to another is to live in bondage and discord with no peace. We do not twist our “dominion mandate” into a weapon of domination by seeking to rule other humans. We fail at living up to who we are created to be when we seek to dominate the next person. Jesus said of His heavenly Father, “You have Loved Me before the creation of the world (from eternity)” (John 17:24). The Father never ruled His Son, He Loved Him without reservation.

John tells us, “No one has ever seen God; but if we Love one another, God lives in us and His Love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:12). In other words, when humans reflect God’s Love for each other, they are looking into the very face of God. We all become the reflection of God’s Love nature, as Jesus told the disciples, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus was the reflection of God’s Love doing good and healing all who came to Him, casting out demonic spirits, feeding the hungry, teaching His followers, raising the dead to life, and finally dying as the perfect sacrifice for human sin. (Act.10:38; John 10:25; 9:4)

We live in a world that’s fashioned in the devil’s way of life, so to live this Godly life is like swimming upriver against a strong current. Hence, we read Paul’s admonition, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone”   (Rom.12:18). Jesus restated the true meaning of the Genesis “dominion mandate” after His own disciples argued about who was greater (dominant) and creating unrest among them. (Matt. 20:25-28). They were behaving like worldly people wanting to be more dominant than the other. He went on to say, “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master, and you are all brothers.” When we live in brotherly Love we care for each other’s welfare rather than seek to dominate one another. Peace is at the center of brotherly Love. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” – or brothers and sisters. (Matt.5:9). 

Shortly before His death, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and taught them in a direct and visible manner the right understanding of the “dominion mandate.” Their relationship was not to be based upon trying to dominate one another, but Loving each other. He taught them peace was about humility, not pride. “After washing their feet, He put on His robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them” (John 13:12-17).

The washing of feet was a menial task assigned for servants, not a teacher, nor a Lord or Rabbi. But Jesus, who was God in the human flesh, went on His knees and washed the feet of the disciples. He gave them an example of humility to follow, for this is the way He lives in His Triune existence with the Father and the Spirit. The “dominion spirit” is a powerful force in us, and we can be easily led astray by the enemy if we are not careful. However, Jesus showed in an equally powerful way it is our Love for each other that’s the more potent force. We can’t expect God to bless us while simultaneously violating the “dominion mandate.” Jesus told the disciples, “I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have Loved you, you should Love each other” (John 13:34).

Jesus Washes Disciples’ Feet: In Servant Leadership “The Greatest Will be Your Servant” – (Wiki Commons)

Jesus tells us that in God’s “dominion mandate” the leader is the chief servant, not the domineering ruler. He said, “The greatest among you will be your servant [helper]. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled; those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matt. 23:8-12). Yes, the essential foothold for peace in our lives is humility and submissiveness. The cause of disharmony among humans is pride and self-glorification. Above all, God wants to see people living at peace with each other, “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity (peace)!” (Psa.133:1).

Let’s be clear what the “dominion mandate” has to do with peace? Quite simply, we cannot experience peace if we fail to see the truth that the “dominion mandate” was never given to dominate our fellowmen. We cannot have peace until we believe we were made in God’s image to “Love our neighbor as ourselves” (Mar.12:31). Therefore, peace begins with each of us. 

Peace was lost in Eden when Adam and Eve followed the devil’s way of fear and domination over other humans. Peace was broken and openly seen in their sons when Cain murdered Abel, and mankind followed in the same footsteps. (Gen.4:8) But the most important peace pact that was broken was between God and man. Peace was lost when sin became the barrier between God and man. By evicting themselves from Eden through sin, our first parents chose the way of fear instead of Love, of discord and conflict instead of peace and friendship. Since then, man has never known peace on this earth. It continues to this day. (Rom.3:17)

But God’s Love is too great to leave man to his own devices under the hands of Satan. Mankind is God’s enterprise, remember, made in His likeness. He promised to send a second Adam who would come and bring peace that was man’s birthright at creation, and restore the Love relationship between God and man. (Gen.3:14-15; 1 Cor.15:45) The second Adam was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, He is called, “The Prince of Peace” (Isa.9:6). He is called the “Prince of Peace” for He came to reconcile man back to God by removing the barrier of sin, and restore the Love-relationship that is the basis of true peace. Peace is man’s birthright from Eden until the fall.

Paul makes this abundantly clear, saying, “For He Himself (Jesus) is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility (sin)…His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (Eph.2:14-19). By saying “to create in Himself one new humanity” Paul was referring to Jesus’ dialog with Nicodemus of being “born again” into a new person empowered by the Spirit. (John 3:1-17)

Only through peace with God can man be at peace with himself and those around him. Then he is restored to his first estate before the fall. When Jesus was born, the angelic message to mankind rang clear, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!… Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased'” (Luk.2:11-14). Yes, the “Prince of Peace” has brought peace on earth since Adam was evicted from Eden.

Peace Dove (Wiki Commons)

Jesus told His followers before He was taken to Calvary, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27). This world cannot give us the lasting peace the human heart longs for and desperately needs. The world does not know the way of peace – it was lost since Adam. (Rom.3:17) But God gave man back this wonderful gift of peace through His Son. Now, we can know and experience what true peace and the resulting joy it brings to our lives. 

Peace encapsulates a whole way of life that moves us to question our motives and actions whether they actually promote generosity and goodwill with our neighbors. God’s Love is responsible for that way of life. We are not to be the cause of discord among our fellow humans. The Bible says God hates the act of sowing discord among men. (Prov.16:9b)

Today, we live in a frightfully troubled world that’s badly in need of peace. But peace between peoples and nations is not achievable if peace on a personal level is non-existent? People speak of personal peace of mind; but it is actually a counterfeit peace. For every good God promises out of His abundant Love, the enemy has a counterfeit to keep man deceived. How can one have true peace eating off of the “tree of good and evil?” True peace is found only in partaking of the fruit of the “tree of life” (Holy Spirit) which only Jesus enables access. (John 14:16) He said any who believe in Him “rivers of living waters” (Spirit) will flow from within a person’s innermost being. (John 7:38-39; also Rom.5:5; Act.2:38) The prophet Isaiah said, “For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river” (Isa.66:12). A river is a metaphor for the Holy Spirit.

Political peace between nations and peoples is not some abstract notion or made possible through band-aid truces. It is the state of existence of its people. Peace begins with each one of us, then it translates into a grandeur scale. And the place to start is with “The Prince of Peace” who restores us to right relationship with our Father so His Love can be at the center of our existence. (Rom.5:5; 1 John 4:20) That is how peace will enter our personal lives, and then flows into the world.  

How Will Peace Come to Our World? Man Knows He Needs It But Does Not Know How (Wiki Commons)

As we live our daily lives, the devil does not leave us alone – he will tempt us to use the “dominion spirit” to carry out his evil schemes. But God promises He will never leave us: “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb.13:5). Satan tries to steal the peace we have in Jesus. And He does this through deception and temptations as he did with Adam in Eden and introduce fear, sin and depression and so dominate us. Trials come in all shapes and sizes. Trials will bring the fear of the unknown, or false realities (illusions) through the devil’s cunning and deceit. Our lack of understanding of our true reality can make us project our fears into the unknown, or trust in false realities. Our reality is Jesus, it is upon Him that we must fix our gaze who will keep us in His perfect peace and Love. Through the Spirit’s power, who lives and makes us His temple, God will perform miraculous interventions to keep His promised peace in our lives. (Psa.91; 1 Cor.6:15-20) To quote from Corrie ten Boom, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” 

Paul encourages us, “Do not be anxious about anything (trials), but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phi.4:6-7). What does a “peace which transcends understanding” mean? It means it is a peace that’s beyond our human mind can fathom. It means what we think we know about peace in our human understanding is not the true peace from God – it’s beyond our knowing! Anything that’s beyond us (human) speaks of the miraculous! Miracles happen when there’s an encounter between the divine and the mortal.

Peace moves into our lives when God miraculously orchestrates our circumstances for our peace. It is a peace that’s eternal which resides in the Being of God. It means true peace has to do with the understanding of our reality with Jesus in heaven, “the Prince of Peace.” He is our defense against all enemies. (2 Thess.3:3) He is the Source of all blessings we desire in life. (Psa.37:4) He will guide us throughout life to our dreams and destiny. (Psa.23) God’s promise of peace to believers is as follows, “You (God) will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!” (Isa.26:3). Peace is our human birthright.

Peace is not some theory, abstract notion, a band-aid truce, or some human endeavor we imagine will produce it. No, peace is the embodiment of a Person who calls Himself the “Prince of Peace,” and in whose Love-image we were made to live and exercise our dominion on earth. (1 John 4:8; Gen.1:26-27; Rom.8:29) As a bumper sticker aptly states, “No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace!”

Every single human is given equal and shared dominion over the earth under the Creator (Psa. 24:1). God has made the earth sufficient for peoples of different color, language, and culture to exercise dominion over the earth in responsible stewardship. If anything, we are to help our fellowmen in their dominion, rather than seeking to dominate and coveting what is divinely bestowed upon others. God gave each human the “ministry of reconciliation” to maintain peace by introducing God’s Love in our relationship with others. (2 Cor.5:18). Peace starts with us when we resolve to keep the truth of the “dominion mandate” and never seek to dominate our fellowmen in any way, shape, and form. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must Love one another” (John 13:34).    

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com. If you wish to have a copy of this post in booklet form, please email the address you want it sent. 

Until we meet again in my next post, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom.15:13). May His Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible, and may all the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His Triune Love be with you through the year 2016.  

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 www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book.

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 may Google a reliable guide for Citing Electronic Information.

“There is no fear in Love. But perfect Love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18).

Greetings friends, and a Happy New Year to you!

According to a recent study by The University of Scranton, a whopping 92% of New Year resolutions fail. One of the things that can impact your life negatively in 2016 is… fear! Fear brings many a resolution to a screeching halt. Fear comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s cunning and disguises itself, thus, justifying our excuse and reasoning for falling short. Fear lives in plain sight in our excuses. Admitting your fears is not easy, it’s difficult. We live in a fearful world because of ever present dangers which threaten us unlike any other time. Fear is not bad; common sense fear helps us sense and evade clear dangers. But inordinate and unhealthy fears can paralyze us so we cannot fulfill our dreams, or, at least fails us at taking calculated steps toward our dreams. The Bible admonishes us to fear God. That’s a healthy fear, for it has to do with Love (“God is Love”). The Bible also says fear has the power to torment or bring distress. That’s unhealthy fear. So, there’s good fear, and bad fear.

Fear messes up our lives, but the Bible gives the answers to our fears. The Scripture says plainly and unequivocally, “There is no (bad) fear in Love. But perfect Love drives out (bad) fears” (1 John 4:18). Many believers have seen this passage, even tried to live by it as best as they know how, but regrettably their fears continue to pursue them like a plague. Why? Quite simply, they have not known how to apply this passage. You have to ask and answer what is “Perfect Love.” That is the key to overcoming our fear. Wherever there’s chaos and mess, Love thrives and brings order. Once you have the answer, then fear will dissipate as quickly as it comes.

 I have always shown and explained through my blog there are only two ways of life to live: the “solitary life,” and what many of my readers have to come see me write, the “Triune Life.” The “solitary life” is the condition which produces bad fear and is its basic motivation. The “Triune Life” is the condition where Love is the driving force, and produces healthy fear. Fear (bad) and Love are opposite conditions we freely choose and elect to live by – in other words, fear is a choice. So, let’s answer what are these two broad ways of life.

“Solitary Life” – the False Self

Living the “solitary life” means a life that’s lived in oneself apart from Jesus Christ. We are all born into the self-centered “solitary life” as a consequence of Adam’s fall. Paul said, “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (Rom.8:9). Christ is the second Adam. The Bible says the Spirit is the personification of God’s Love in us, and thereby empowers the “Triune Life.” Paul asserts, “God’s Love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom.5:5b). The “solitary life” is life that’s lived under the influence of the devil, the instigator of human sin, pain, and suffering which breeds harmful fear in humans. The self-centered “solitary life” is synonymous with everything uncreative, corrupt and deathly in fallen man. Some of my readers may not have heard of these two terms.

The “good” man does, God calls “filthy rags” because they are self-righteous acts which does not breed Love but promotes unhealthy fear. (Isa.64:6) It’s the underlying motive of our hearts which counts. (1 Sam.16:7b) The “solitary life” in turn shapes the ‘false self’ who lives by fear, not Love. Many call themselves Christians but still live the “solitary life” which is a paradox, for the essence of following Jesus is living the “Triune Life.” It’s no fault of theirs if they had not been shown how to live it. They were told to “receive Christ” but were never shown how to follow Him. They may have been taught different terms which are ambiguous, and downright misleading, as we’ll see. I hope I can make this as simple to understand so you too can live the blessed life God has called us to in His perfect Love– the Love which drives out fear.

 “Perfect Love” – What Does That Mean? (Wiki Commons)

“Triune Life” – the True Self

The word Triune means consisting of three in one – as in the Trinity. It conveys the Tri-Personal Being of God in the Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit. Therefore “Triune Life” means a life that’s lived in and under the influence of the divine Love of the Trinitarian God in heaven. However, all people since Adam have not known, let alone lived the “Triune Life.” Because of Adam’s fall, mankind has been consigned to living this self-centered “solitary life” of fear and death, metaphorically speaking as eating from the “tree of good and evil.” (Gen.2:17) The Bible speaks of Jesus as the second Adam who would come and right the wrong of the first Adam. “As in Adam all die (life of fear), so in Christ all will be made alive (life of divine Love)” (1 Cor. 15:22; 1 Cor.15:45). Jesus comes and introduces the “Triune Life” to man by revealing the Father and the Spirit. He said, “I and My Father are One,” and, “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate (Spirit) to help you and be with you forever… He will glorify Me.” (John 10:30; john 14:16; 16:14). That is one of the pillar objectives of His coming to earth, besides others, to reveal God is Triune – to show God is our Father, Jesus our Brother, and Herald* (Spirit) is our ever-present Friend and Miracle-Worker.

Not Unlike the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Classic, Man Has to Change (Born Again) from the “Solitary Life” in the Self to the “Triune Life” In Christ (Pic: Wiki Commons)

Thus, the “Triune Life” is made a reality in the life of man by a spiritual rebirth through man’s Savior, Jesus. The basic tenet of living the “Triune Life” is revealed by Jesus in His words, “By Myself I can do nothing” (John 5:30). Further, He said, “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work” (John 14:10). By His statements He disenfranchises Himself from the “solitary life.” In other words, He never does things solitarily on His own; the way He thinks, feels, and acts, is done in complete collaboration with the Father and the Spirit. How can He, when Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit, are of ‘one substance’ and reality in the Triune Godhead. Even if He wants to, He cannot, so the act of One is always the act of all Three Persons in the Trinity, and the act of Three is the act of One.

Jon P. Murhpree, in his book , The Trinity and Human Personality, makes this clear,  “Each one (of the three Persons of the Trinity) transposes Himself into the others without confusing His own personality with the others. Through Love, diversity and unity are so inextricably interwoven that the Father, Son, and Spirit do not exist as Persons alongside each other as much as they exist in and through each other. Each One constantly has perfect access to the others complete thought and feelings.” (pg.29) So, when we follow Christ, we live the same “Triune Life” in the Spirit’s power.

“Perfect Love” without Fear Comes to Man By Entering the Life of the Trinity – the “Triune Life” (Rublev’s Famous Icon of the Trinity: Wiki Commons)

As I said, many were told to “receive Jesus” but were never taught the true cost of becoming His follower. Very simply, the “cost” is giving up the “solitary life,” and embracing the “Triune Life.” Jesus makes plain that it is possible to say one is Christian, but be none of His: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt.7:20-21). By saying, “only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven,” Jesus was pointing us to the “Triune Life.” God is Trinitarian and indivisibly ONE in their Triune Love for each other. Each Person in the Trinity find completeness in their Love for each other, not in their individual selves.

The Scriptures declared how Jesus would live in healthy fear, “He (Jesus) will delight in the fear of the Lord” (Isa.11:3). Yes, proper fear of God (Love) evokes and fosters divine joy where doing God’s purpose in one’s life becomes a delight. By receiving Jesus as Savior, the believer is translated into the same life of living this collaborative, interdependent, unified, joyful and Loving, “Triune Life” in Christ, where we seek “to do the will of the Father.”

It is not a relationship based upon legalism (law), but on Love for each other. For in doing this, the believer finds his ‘true self’ in Christ, not in himself. God placed gifts upon us which the Spirit enunciates in life. Thus we read Paul’s words, “We are complete in Christ” (Col.2:10). To think and live Trinitarianly is to dwell and live in each other’s Love for each other, not in one’s own solitary self-centered self. In other words, you find your ‘true self’ only by discovering fulfillment in Loving one another. This is how fear is driven away when we cease to be self-conscious and be other-conscious, like God is in His Loving Triune nature.

“Perfect Love” found Only in the “Triune Life”

The purpose of the “Triune life” is essentially to protect the believer from the inconsistencies and ravages of the “solitary life” which brings fear, suffering, heartaches, and ultimately physical and spiritual death. We’re not living in the emotional juggernaut of the moment through the ‘false self’ who generates fear (intuitively), in all its manifestation and its dire consequences. Hence the “Perfect Love” which drives out fear from our lives is found only when we are living the “Triune Life” in heaven with the Father, through Jesus’ continuous mediation, and in the power of Herald the Spirit who lives in us as His temple. 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). And His commands are not grievous, “In fact, this is Love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). How can something which dispels and removes fear from your life be burdensome? Fear has torment, Love dispels fear.

Gentle Dove, Symbol of The Holy Spirit and Power of God’s Love (Wiki Commons)

From Fear to Love

God’s covenant promise to man is to give him a new heart to end his suffering from living a “solitary life” through a newborn “unified (Triune) life” in His Son (Ezek. 11:19; Heb. 8:10, 10:22). He will remove the heart of fear and give him the heart of Love. In becoming a mortal human, Jesus incarnately assumed man’s sinful life, including his fears, in His perfect Loving Being. In doing so, He destroyed fear and replaced it with God’s Love. For, “As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). Finally, man can reciprocate with the same Love with which God Loves man. This is “perfect Love” which drives out fear.

How to Enter the “Triune Life”

Let me now state briefly how man enters the “Triune Life” of God, so you too can live it and defeat all your fears. It begins when God calls you out of your self-centered “solitary life” of fear and embrace the “Triune Life” of Love through the finished work of His Son. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father, except through Me. I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). In other words, we enter the “Triune Life” of God the Father through His Son Jesus, when we receive Him as personal Savior who cleanses all sins of the ‘false self’ who has lived the ”solitary life” of the devil. The promised Holy Spirit inaugurates the “Triune Life” by bringing the ‘true self’ fashioned in the image of Jesus, the Son of God. (John 14:16; Rom.8:29) To live the “Triune Life” is to enter into the miraculous realm of God Himself. God is Spirit, and man is mortal, when the two come into relationship of Love, miracles happen. The Psalmist said, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust… You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day… For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways… ” (Psa.91:1-2,5,11. You may read all of Psalm 91) This Psalm reveals what God does for us when we live the “Triune Life” in Christ.

We leave behind the ‘false self’ and everything to do with the “solitary life,” and embrace our ‘true self’ in the Spirit. We call this the gift of repentance and forgiveness, and the process of conversion of the new birth from the ‘false self’ to the ‘true self.’ (John 3:7) The Father’s promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit is the personification of His divine Love in us. (Rom.5:5) We become the temple of the Spirit: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you” (1 Cor. 3:16). Fear, which is part and parcel of the ‘false self,’ has once for all lost its grip and has no power over us. John said this of the devil, “the evil one cannot touch you” (1 John 5:18b).

Christianity and Religion

Here is the main issue of Christianity when it is practiced as a religion. Christianity as a religion has turn man back upon himself by saying that his salvation is “his responsibility.” They say Christ has done His part, now man must play his part to earn it, as if salvation is a 50/50 proposition. If Christ is a partial Savior, then the Gospel is not true. This is the devil’s deception at its very core because man carries on living the “solitary life,” and Jesus and the “Triune Life” is left out of the picture altogether. Jesus is not a 50/50 Savior. Salvation is all grace and freely given to man. God has not abdicated your salvation by placing it in your own hands, nor the hands of another, least of all religion, for that matter. If salvation is a free gift which comes from the free grace of God, it is impossible for man to earn it, let alone 50%.

Fear is Driven Away By Embracing the “Perfect Love” in the “Triune Life”  (Wiji Commons)

Our most difficult task is to learn to step out of the way, for the ‘false self’ is always tempted to dictate his solitary expressions in life. Instead, we must step back and see the wonder of His hands at work – perhaps, for once in our life. God says, “Stand still, and see My salvation which I will show you. I will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exo.14:13-14, emphasis mine). Salvation is all God’s doing in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. For the Gospel tells us He is our complete Savior. (Col.2:10; Acts 4:11-12). Our part is simply to “hide in Christ” like the waters cover  the riverbed (man), and let the Spirit live His life fully (overflowing) in man as “living waters” (John 7:37-39; Psa.32:7). No part of the believer (riverbed) is seen or heard, as he is completely and overwhelmingly covered and hidden in Christ in the “living waters” of the Spirit. All our fears which lead to deprivation and want are overpowered by the overwhelming Love of Jesus just as the “living waters” cover the riverbed engulfs us completely (1 John 4:8). The riverbed (man) and the “living waters” (Spirit) the metaphor for the “Triune Life.”

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

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you through the year 2016. May the Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible in Triune Living as a Bulamanriver.**

Kiang,

*Herald is the name I have come to personalize the Holy Spirit in my life. He is Friend, Helper, Intercessor, and Miracle-Worker, to each and every believer.

** 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.

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

Greetings Friends! May the Joy of the Lord be yours this Christmas!

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests” (Luk.2: 14). This is the heart of the angelic message to the mankind on the occasion of Jesus’ birth.

Angel Announces Birth of Jesus to Shepherd (Wiki Commons)

“Glory to God in the highest…” what does that mean? God is glorified when His purpose in man is being fulfilled and realized. In my last post about Christmas (12/10/2015), I gave God’s 3-fold purpose for creating man. (Got to:- http://bulamanriver.net/?p=5814) It is encapsulated in the immortal words, “And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over all the earth” (Gen.1:26). 1) God’s image is He is Spirit and eternal, so man was made for immortality; 2) God’s image is Love, so man was made to become like He Is; 3) God is Trinitarian, so man was made to live the “triune life.” (You may go back and read my last segment)

To “have dominion” is a given with God because He possesses all the knowledge and power to create and rule in both the physical and spiritual realities. Man is given to reign with Christ through God’s 3-fold likeness mandate. In other words, how God creates and rules is revealed in His 3-fold identity (image). Now, Jesus birth, signifying God’s provision of a Savior was to make this 3-fold purpose become reality in man, so we may reign with Him, and bring “Glory to God.”

“Peace on earth to those His favor rests…” means that up to the point of Jesus birth, peace between man and God was non-existent because mankind was draped and bound in the sin condition from Adam. As long as two forces are opposed to each other, there will be no rest or peace. Hence, the prophet, when foretelling Jesus’ birth, called Him the Immanuel, which means “God with us,” for God is no longer “against us,” but instead now His “favor rests” upon us since we have been made right with Him through Jesus. Jesus has made grace and peace possible between God and man.

Paul affirms this saying, “For He Himself (Jesus) is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility (sin)…His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” (Eph.2:14-19). In this one passage about Jesus, peace is mentioned 4 times. So, Jesus was born to bring peace between God and man, thus enabling God’s Love and blessing through His 3-fold purpose to flow to humans. Jesus carries the title: “Prince of Peace” (Isa.9:6).

Birth of Jesus (Wiki Commons)

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, priest, 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! 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 www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my book.

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

“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” – Luke 2:10-14

May I Greet you my Friends with a joyful and peaceful Christmas 2015!  

Christmas has lost its authentic meaning and purpose in a world that has commercialized it to no end for its own economic advantage. The same goes for the Christian world where claims about the true date of Jesus’ birth and its origin in paganism seems the main focus.  Ralph Orr, in his article about Christmas, said, “Unless we are to conclude that celebrating Christ’s arrival as God in the flesh is a bad thing, its celebration on what was once a pagan holiday is irrelevant. Christians who keep Christmas are not pagans. They do not worship nor regard pagan gods. They honor Jesus Christ as who choose to practice their faith in this spirit of devotion conflicts with many New Testament principles.” (https://www.gci.org/christmas/sin) 

He goes on to say “Israel added Hanukkah and Purim to its religious calendar – events that celebrated God’s saving acts in Jewish history and these were acceptable to God. Examples such as these have led many Christians to conclude that the church also has the freedom to add to its calendar festivals that celebrate God’s intervention in human affairs, such as the birth of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus.” 

The Birth of Jesus, The Immanuel – “God with Us” (Wiki Commons)

With Mr. Orr’s candid outline, I would like to share three reasons from Scriptures to help us celebrate Christmas as Christians. Let’s consider these vital reasons by answering the basic questions, why, what, how, who, and when, of Christmas. Jesus was born to answer this 3-fold purpose of God in creating man which humans have tried to answer for ages. Let’s start with… 

Answers for Your Christmas Questions (Poster: Wiki Commons)

The Why question about Christmas? 

The purpose of Christmas goes back in time by answering why the Creator God made humans? God uttered these famous and never-to-be-forgotten words at man’s creation, “Let Us make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness…In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” (Gen.1:26-27). So, God made humans to become like Him. It’s very simple yet deeply profound.

Let’s see the what question about Christmas? 

If Christmas is about reflecting on God’s purpose of creating man in His likeness, then what is His likeness?

First, God is Spirit and existed from eternity, without a beginning nor end. That is His basic and primary image – He is Spirit and eternal, so He made humans for immortality. The Scripture 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” (John 3:16; 1 Cor.15:50-56). So, immortality is the first of man’s 3-fold destiny.

  “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality” (1 Cor.15:52-53). (Pic: Fountain of Eternal Life, Downtown Ohio, Cleveland – Wiki Commons)

Second, Scripture also tells us, “God is Love” (1 John 4:8). Love is His nature and character. He is not made of Love – His IS Love! God IS forever “giving,” it is what Love does. Love is both His Name (noun) and occupation (verb). It is not our human narrative of love, which is mostly ulterior in its motives, but a Love so pure springing from His divine Being, with never a trace of spoof in it. God and Love are one and the same, there can never be separation of the two. Paul wrote to the Romans, “We know how dearly God Loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His Love” (Rom.5:5). So, God is at work making man into the likeness of His divine Love. John was inspired to write, “No one has ever seen God; but if we Love one another, God lives in us and His Love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:12). In other words, to Love one another is to see the face of God. But it is not human love, but God’s divine Love He imbues within us with His Spirit.

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

Third, Love, by its very nature, cannot exist in solitary existence. So, when God said “Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness…” He was revealing Himself as existing in His Tri-Personal Being as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Gen. 1:26; Matt.28:19; John 14:10, 16; 16:7) The Hebrew word God in the creation account is “Elohim.” It describes God as uniplural – a Tri-Personal Being, which other scriptures attests. So, God is Trinitarian in His Love nature. Love by its nature is relational as God is. Hence, man was created a relational being. Adam was solitary and incomplete until God made Eve. He said, “It is not good for the man to be alone (solitary). I will make a helper suitable for him” (Gen.2:18, emphasis mine). So, God gave Adam a family to raise with a father, mother, and offspring, to reflect Himself in His Triune Being.

It’s noteworthy to realize that Eve was not an individual creation, she was not created like Adam. But she was made from Adam’s rib to show she was intrinsically One and indivisibly part of Adam, not detached (solitary) from him, again, to reflect God’s image of Oneness, not separateness, in His Tri-Personal Being. Adam saw the most beautiful woman ever created and said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (Gen.2:21-23). So humans exists in the very template of God’s Triune Being.

Many religions believe God is “solitary.” Yes, God is One, not three, but He is not solitary by any means. (Deut.6:4) The three exist in One hypostatic union (of One substance). Is it possible for God who IS Love to exist in isolation, in solitude – unaccompanied, secluded, alone in self-absorbed existence? If God were one solitary person, with no one to Love and share His divine Being, then the Scriptural affirmation that “God is Love” would be meaningless. (1 John 4:8) God has always been a Triune Being from eternity. God exists in His One Tri-Personal Being through the power of their Love for each other, and includes man through His Son. Jesus instructed His disciples to induct believers into the “Triune Life”* of God, saying, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt.28:19).

God, A Tri-Personal Being in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Rublev’s famous Icon of the Trinity – Wiki Commons)

Let’s answer the how question about Christmas? 

If Christmas is about man adopting God’s likeness through immortality, by becoming Love as He is by nature, and living the “Triune Life”* as He does in His Tri-Personal Being, how does all that translate to reality in humans? From the outset, the answer ought to be obvious a human cannot make this 3-fold aspect of God’s likeness happen in his or her own power. This is God’s work, not man’s, and only He can accomplish what He sets out to do. God said, “Let Us make man…” not, ‘let man make man.’ But He will enlists our cooperation if He is to successfully carry out His purpose in each of us. Yes, great as He is, Love (God) always comes with freedom, not bondage. So, we are given the freedom to choose, just as Adam and Eve were free to choose between the two trees. By enlisting our participation in His plans, He is exercising His own mode of doing things the “Triune” (collaborative) Love-way. There can be no other way for God to relate with us but in the template of His Triune life and Love. So, freedom must come with responsibility, and it’s exercised with Love, not selfishness. So, the flip side of God’s Love is freedom.

Now, we know Adam and Eve chose to follow the path of rebellion, and so has mankind since. (Gen.3:1-6) They were banished from Eden and God’s presence, “After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen.3:24). Leaving Eden behind them also meant they had no access to the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life symbolized God’s way of life (“Triune Life”*). The “Tree of Good and Evil” represented man’s solitary way under the influence of the arch-deceiver, Satan. God is the source of all life, especially spiritual life which connects God with man. So when man alienated himself from God, he was uncoupling himself from the source of God-life itself. The only other alternative, outside of Eden, is where the enemy and death reigned.   

A Depiction of “Tree of Life” (Wiki Commons)

It is vital to understand what God said to our first parents about what would happen if they disobeyed Him, He said, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Gen.2:16-17). We know God was not speaking of physical death because Adam and Eve did not just fall and die on the spot after eating the forbidden fruit. So, God was referring to a different kind of death. It was the death of the human spirit. God had breathed into Adam his living spirit which enabled him and his wife Eve to commune and have a Loving relationship with Him. (Gen.2:7) Animals have instincts and behave in a predetermined manner, but God gave Adam the living human spirit with a mind capable of making choices. Adam and Eve lived in total Loving harmony with God, where only good, joy, and beauty was the experience of life.

But all that changed after their disobedience. What really happened? Paul answers, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom.6:23). James says, “Temptation comes from our own desires which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death” (Jam.1:14-15) So, it’s clear God was not speaking of physical death, but spiritual death of their once living human spirit. Their separation from God, the very source of life, meant only one thing, the opposite of life – death! Adam’s eviction from Eden placed man on a path of self-centered fear in place of God’s outgoing Love. It left a trail of destruction and ultimately his physical demise. But physical man was given the ability to change if he chooses, and God’s desire is for man to choose Him so He can impart His 3-fold blessing which ultimately ends in immortality. (2 Pet.3:9)

Let’s now answer the who question? 

Who will resurrect man’s dead spirit back to life so humans may commune with God and accomplish His first purpose for mankind. If man cannot relate with God because he is dead to sin in his spirit, God cannot fulfill His promise to bring man His 3-fold blessing. God and sin are opposites and incompatible. As surely as He is Love, and magnanimous in exercising His Love, God promised to send His Son, the second Adam, to correct the wrong Adam had imposed upon man. (Gen.3:14-15; 1 Cor.15:45) Man’s spirit must be made alive again to enable him to have a Loving relationship with God. But sin is in the way for it has put to death the man’s spirit. Sin must be put away first. Sin must be completely and utterly banished from man, just as it banished man from Eden and God’s presence. For sin to be removed once for all time, a Savior is needed. God promised man that He would send a Savior after man’s fall in Eden. (Gen.3:14-15; John 3:16-17)

Adam and Eve Banished from Eden (Wiki Commons)

On the day the Savior was born in Bethlehem, the angel who announced His birth to His mother, Mary, said, “You are to call Him Jesus” (Luk.1:31). The name Jesus means “Savior” or deliverer. Jesus was no mere human, according to the revelation given to and spoken by the prophet Isaiah, prophesying the birth of Jesus, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel” (Isa.7:14).The name Immanuel means “God with us.” Jesus is both God and man. His divine origin from the Triune Godhead qualifies Him to be our Savior, for no human could be found to save mankind. Peter told the people in his day, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Indeed, this is the essence of Christmas, it is the day God chose to unite Himself to mankind, keeping His promise to send a Savior in His Son, and fulfill His 3-fold purpose. God has never deviated from His purpose and promise to mankind.

The account of Jesus birth was recorded by Luke in this way, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.  So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:1-20) 

This is the most beautiful and inspiring account of God’s story about man. For in it we witness the humblest of manner God chose His Son to enter our human world through the virgin Mary, in a manger, and in the most unlikely place for a King to be born, in the little nondescript town of Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2) 

The Wise Men Bearing Gifts for Baby Jesus (Wiki Commons)

Let’s now answer the when question about Christmas? 

When does this 3-fold promise of God begin to take shape in the life of man? It starts with man exercising his faith to believe in the Savior given by God at Christmas. Faith is the primary spiritual ingredient which activates God’s miraculous activity in man. You see, to carry out His 3-fold purpose in man will take a miraculous act. How will man attain immortality except by the miracle of resurrection from God. (1 Cor. 15:52-53) So it goes with the other two gifts. God’s gifts are spiritual and faith gives you the pair of eyes to see and experience spiritual realities. We take faith for granted. With God, faith is the turning point in human life. Listen to the promise God makes us, and realize the power of faith, “WHEN YOU BELIEVED, YOU WERE MARKED IN HIM WITH A SEAL, THE PROMISED HOLY SPIRIT, who is a deposit guaranteeing our (3-fold) inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of His glory” (Eph.1:13-14, my emphasis). Because we believe in the Savior Jesus, you and I were specially and personally marked by God our Father as His own CHILDREN with His own seal of adoption in His Spirit. Hence we read, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Heb.11:6).

We have human faith, but it is limited to this physical life validated by our five senses. Divine faith can be likened to a ‘bridge’ one takes across the impassable chasm from the physical realm of man into the spiritual realm of God. Think for a moment about Adam’s sin. He believed Satan’s word over God’s word and the spiritual realm reacted to his faith – his spirit died because of sin stemming from his misplaced faith. It shows how powerful faith can be. Adam’s descendants (mankind) experienced all the human sufferings and man’s inhumanity to man as a consequence of his faith and continues to our day. As sure as the Scriptures tell us, faith is a living, dynamic thing, listen, “faith is the reality of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb.11:1). In other words, you don’t have to see it to believe its true, as long as God says it. In God’s spiritual realm, faith has the power to activate both life and death – the ordinary or the miraculous. Paul said, “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you” (Rom.8:9). That’s to say, faith is the ‘doorway’ into the spiritual realm and all things about God, and the enemy too. Only Jesus’ faith can bring man back into Eden (God’s presence), just as he was ejected when his faith was misplaced.

 Dove, Symbol of Holy Spirit and God’s Love & Comes to Man by Faith (Wiki Commons)

The Relevance of Christmas – Jesus Birth and Man’s Spirit Birth

Here’s where Jesus’ birth and God’s 3-fold purpose in man, comes together. The Scripture says an angel appeared to Joseph and said, “What is conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit” (Matt.1:18-24; V.20). What we see in Jesus’ miraculous birth through Mary was God’s way of taking our humanity and joined it permanently to His Triune Being. Thus, in a literal sense God takes on our human image through Christ’s birth on Christmas Day. But Christmas was not intended to be ‘one-way’ with just God entering the human realm. Now, man must have a similar miraculous birth and enter God’s realm and take on His 3-fold image. Jesus told Nicodemus about this spiritual birth, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). John the Baptist told his listeners, “I baptize you with water, but He (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:8, emphasis mine) 

Jesus has conformed to our human image by becoming fully man (Immanuel), now we conform to His divine likeness by becoming like Jesus. Thus, we read in Romans, “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters (into immortality). And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified” Rom.8:29-30, emphasis added). 

So, we see Jesus was born a human and entered our physical realm through God’s Spirit, and the self-same Spirit gives man a spiritual birth to enter God’s spiritual realm. In both instances, there is a birthing process. Jesus was born a human on Christmas Day, so we can have our day to be born into immortality by a resurrection. (1 Cor.15:35-58) Jesus promised the disciples, “Very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7). The promised Holy Spirit lives in man “forever” and He is man’s guarantee of immortality. (John 14:16; Eph.1:13-14) Just as Jesus has a birthday in His human birth, so must we in our spiritual birth. That is the essence of the Christmas message. 

In christology, death always means a rebirth into new life. Paul tells us the reality of the Spirit’s work today, “And God raised us up with Christ (brought the dead human spirit back to life) and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Gal.2:6). Further on Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live death), but Christ lives in me (new life)” (Gal.2:20, parenthesis mine). What we see here, at long last, the once dead human spirit of man is resurrected alive through the Holy Spirit from the death Adam had consigned it. Man can once more commune with God in the very presence of God’s heaven where He dwells, man’s Eden today. Man is put back on track in his journey to fulfill his purpose of being made into the image of our Loving Triune God. 

One final question: what was God’s purpose for creating man in His 3-fold image? I have left the best for last. Let me complete the passage of man’s creation: “And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over all the earth…” (Gen.1:26). God possesses all power so He is Creator and Ruler, that’s the epitome of His image. His 3-fold image explains how He rules and creates by His power. Today, man has limited creative abilities, which proves he is made in God’s likeness. Earth is man’s eternal home as Revelation 21 says clearly. God will remake a new universe with a new earth and new heavens, and He encourages us, “He that overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be My sons/daughters” (Rev.21:7). His desire is we become like Him and inherit the recreated “new heaven and new earth” in the new age to come. (Rev.21:1) Yes, we are destined to rule over all creation with Christ. (2 Tim.2:11-13; Rev.20:6)

“Then I saw a New Heaven and a New Earth” (Rev.21:1). (Wiki Commons- First Image Taken by Humans of the Whole Earth. Photographed by the Crew of Apollo 8)

Christmas Blessing:

As Christmas approaches, I encourage you to think about this mind-blowing enterprise God wants to accomplish in mankind. I sincerely hope He will give you the eyes through faith to see His unfathomable Love in His invitation to participate in His 3-fold purpose, and His promise of dominion over His creation. May the joy of the Lord be yours this Christmas!

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

Kiang,   

*”Triune Life”… means a believer who lives the 3-dimensional life with the Triune God, as opposed to the ‘solitary’ 1-dimensional life in himself inherited from Adam. Jesus’ mission to His followers authorizes them to “baptize believers into the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matt.28:16-20). It means to induct humans 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’ Being as many assume, He is a Tri-Personal God. He is three free Persons living in One homoousios (of same substance) union of Love. Our unique human personality is fashioned after the three free Persons of the Tri-Personal Being of God: Father, Son, and Spirit. We were created in God’s Loving and Free Triune image. So, Christ’s mission is to enlighten the human mind about 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. (Gen.1:26-27, Rom.8:29).

** Bulamanriver is the metaphor describing the Loving union of God and man, making possible the “Triune Life,” the source of the miraculous life man is privileged to live and experience. To read the many facets of the Bulamanriver, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com. You can also order a copy of my book.

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

Note: All information is copy-write. Any information obtained from this website should acknowledge by citing website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. See The Guide for Citing Electronic Information. 

 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Gal.5:1).

Greetings Friends!

I hope you all had a joyful and happy Thanksgiving 2015.  Hopefully, the Friday after Thanksgiving has not left any of us high on hangovers from surfeiting the joys of food and drink. I’m sure we all have much to be thankful for. I also hope that Friday, known to consumer America as “Black Friday,” has not left us recovering from hangovers of a different sort, that of recuperating from the consumer frenzy of countless bargains stores are offering would-be bargain hunters, and running up debt some can ill afford.

The essential meaning of Thanksgiving is the celebration of freedom from a life from bondage and persecution. It is to live free with the liberty to choose how to live one’s life without imposing our ideology upon others. The original Pilgrims had fled to the new world in 1620 to escape religious and political persecution in England and Europe. So much history has been written since the Mayflower brought those spirited freedom-seekers to the new world. Much of the events occurring in the timeline of US history remain unknown to the common American. We know the mere highlights. The original colonizers of America were still subjects and liable to the English crown across the Atlantic. But travel was far cry from today’s more rapid pace of movement, so the crown’s rule was somewhat distant, if not less effective. But without realizing, these freedom-seekers had actually stepped into space and time unlike any other before their generation, a time warp of sort. They were planting the seeds which would usher mankind into a new age never before seen in man’s history.  Of course, it was not without trials and tribulations: from a colony to an independent American nation of migrants; from the Louisiana Purchase to the Texas revolution and annexation, to the California gold rush and western expansion; from slavery and the civil war to civil rights; from an agrarian to industrial society; from the industrial world to the scientific world; with two world wars in between and the threat of an all-out nuclear conflict; from the war against terror to the environmental impact war;  the story of man marches on.   

 Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York – Symbol of Freedom (Wiki Commons)

In every age and time man is asked to make a choice between bondage and freedom. Whatever we have said and briefly covered aside, this has been the mode of life from the beginning. It goes back to Adam when he had to choose for man between bondage and freedom. He chose bondage. And ever since man’s struggle has been to attain that illusive freedom that seem to escape us. However, we somehow apprehend it in our present incarcerated circumstance, whether it is slavery, the environment, the war against terror, or some form of ideology, but we still grapple with what true freedom truly means, let alone apprehend it. It seems like man is forever in a state of bondage, and freedom is just a pipe dream. After struggling and overcoming one form of bondage, like a stump of tree that’s not fully destroyed, it sprouts again and its insidious fruits abound and rear its ugly repressive head.

The reason for this is made clear by Jesus Christ, He said, “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions” (Matt.7:17-20, NLT).  Apparently, it seems like Jesus was taking us back in time to the very beginning, where the problem between bondage and freedom started with Adam and the two trees in Eden. Remember God specifically spoke about with Adam and Eve, one was the ‘good tree,’ the   “Tree of Life,” while the other was the ‘bad tree,’ the“Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” (Gen.2:9) The two trees are symbolic and represented freedom and bondage; good and evil, life and death. We know the story, Adam was banished from Eden because he chose to eat from the ‘bad tree’ (bondage). Eden represented the presence of God and the ‘good tree’ or the Tree of Life (freedom). Even so, the “Tree of Good and Evil” existed in Eden, meaning, nothing happens outside of God’s sovereignty.

The Bible specifically said, “After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the Tree of Life” (Gen.3:24; 3:6). So the road to true freedom was cut off because of Adam’s sin, when, with Eve they ate the forbidden fruit from the ‘bad tree.’ The two trees are metaphors of the way of life God lives by, the Tree of Life which brings freedom, and the way of life opposed to God, which brings bondage.

Because the archangel Lucifer had earlier rebelled against God, he became Satan and the chief adversary to everything the God of Love stood for. (Isa.14:12-17) So man had a choice to: follow God or follow Satan – freedom or bondage? And that has been man’s lot since Adam – this constant and unending struggle of choosing between freedom he has been shut out of, and the bondage he chose to live by. Yes, this relentless fight between good and evil, God and Satan. Adam came out of Eden with a stem of the Tree of Good and Evil to plant outside of Eden, and man has been eating its fruits of bondage since. But the story does not end there…

Dachau Death Camp, Germany – Symbol of Bondage and Death (Wiki Commons)

But God, out of the greatness of His Love for man promised to send His Son, the second Adam, to right the wrong the first Adam had made by putting mankind on the path to freedom. Four thousand years later, in a town called Bethlehem, a baby is born to Mary and Joseph. They were chosen to raise Jesus. (Luk.1:29-33; Matt.1:20-21) The Scripture is plain that Jesus was no ordinary human, the Bible says, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). The prophet Micah referred to Jesus’ divine origin, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago. From the days of eternity” (Mic.5:2, NASB). He was Jesus, the Son of God, sent by God the Father to save mankind from bondage to sin and bring freedom in His Son. Paul affirms this, saying, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Gal.5:1).

How does true freedom, which has been lost to humanity since Adam, enter our lives so we can apprehend it? The tree of bondage, the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” has to be uprooted so the tree of freedom, the “Tree of Life,” may take its rightful place in man. The tree cannot be cut, for it will sprout again, but completely uprooted and destroyed. Jesus said it this way when He taught a Jewish leader by the name of Nicodemus, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:5-6). So Jesus speaks of a complete rebirth – of uprooting the old tree and planting a new tree. A new life to replace the old. That is the only way out of this dilemma which plaques man to no end. It seems like every good man does is always cancelled out by evil, so our good intentions are forever nullified, no matter what. That is life lived under the Tree of Good and Evil. Even the ‘good’ in this tree God declares as “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isa.64:6). So even the good we do does not free us.

Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” Human problems are simply the product of ignorance which emanates from dwelling under the Tree of Good and Evil and eating of its fruits. The history of human experience bears out what the Scriptures attest in mankind’s suffering and inhumanity to each other. Man does not have the barest inkling of what it means to live under the “Tree of Life,” for man has not tasted that life since Adam before the fall. Metaphorically speaking, we have to get up from sitting under the “tree of the fruit of good and evil,” and sit under and eat the fruits from the “the tree of life.” (Gen.2:8-9) The “tree of life” represents God’s Son, His Spirit, and God’s Love. (Rom.5:5; 1 Cor.13)

That’s the first step. The second is to realize that we are still living in a fallen world, and not every human has chosen to receive Jesus and the way of freedom God offers. So, freedom is something we have to constantly fight for because of opposing forces. We fight for our freedoms because the devil who deceived Eve in Eden does not let up with his work of deception. Peter says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. So, be alert and of sober mind” (1 Pet.5:8). But there’s no reason to fear. It is for this very purpose that God our Father sent His Son. God wanted Jesus to defeat Satan at his game of deception and sin, and conquer the devil for man once for all time. Jesus did this, so we can have our victory over the enemy vicariously in Him.

Jesus’ Temptation and Crucifixion Are Twin Acts of God Which Freed Mankind (Wiki Commons)

When Jesus fought the devil on man’s behalf, there were three areas of life the enemy chose to deceive Jesus. If Satan had succeeded, we would not have a Savior today. But Jesus came out victorious. (Matt.4:1-11) It is these same three areas I call “The 3-Drivers of Life” that Satan continues to deceive man and spiritually holds man in bondage. No matter where we live, sustenance (health), security (happiness), and material wealth (abundance), are the three areas of life which people give 100 percent of their time and attention. Of course these material expressions affect our spirituality because the source of it is spiritual – from the arch deceiver himself. These are the three areas in which God has promised to bless us and more, and ultimately be given immortality which the enemy cannot deliver. (John 3:16) The enemy’s ploy is to replace God’s promises with his own, which are his promises from the tree of ‘good and evil’ which deceives man into bondage and sin. Yet, the two are far cry in comparison – the devil can’t give man immortality, only God who imparts all life, both physical and spiritual, can promise that. Recall how Satan deceived Adam and Eve. They are counterfeit blessings. He wants to displace God as our true Provider and put himself in God’s place (Isa. 14:12-15). That is the difference. That is why the enemy will pose in the form of light, when in fact he comes from the depth of darkness and bondage. (2 Cor. 11:14)

Note Jesus taught us how to fight for our freedoms. Jesus was fully human and had natural proclivities like any other human. He was tempted as we are in His natural human appetites (Heb. 4:15). Each time He was tested by the enemy, He used God’s words to defend Himself, He said “It is written…” three times for each temptation. (Matt.4:4, 6, 7, 10). He did not react through His human wisdom and did what seems right in His own eyes, but committed Himself to God. His weapon was God’s Word. By referring the enemy to the Word of God, Jesus was stating the foundation of our freedoms in God’s Word. The Word of God is the literal Word, the Bible, and is also the Personified Word, Jesus Himself. Both are one and the same, one is utterance of the other, and leads us out of the path of bondage into freedom. 

Also, Jesus fasted. Jesus fasted 40 days, but many of us cannot do the same for health reasons. The beauty of what Jesus did was He fasted for us. He took our place in the battle for the soul of mankind. That battle will never be fought again, for it was fought once for all time by Jesus. That was God’s determination. (Matt.4:1) This is an impossible battle for man – can one who is held prisoner with his hands, feet, and neck, cripplingly chained do battle with his captor? But more than that,  man was incarcerated beyond his knowing (spiritual), how can he free himself from such a bondage? Such was the lot of man when Jesus appeared to save humanity. Be thankful that battle has been won! But in our freedoms there will be skirmishes so to speak, and if circumstance warrants, Jesus said His followers will fast. (Matt.6:16-18) We can miss meals (partial) or do daily fast with medical advice, but realize this, we can fast only because Jesus has already done it for us – in His footprints. Our fast can become unfruitful if it is turned into a self-righteous act just as Jesus cautions us. The reason we fast is so the devil’s strongholds which blinds us is destroyed and removed so we can see the will of God for us. O yes, Satan can turn these “3-drivers of life” into his fortress in us if we let him. We do not become indebted to “the 3-drivers,” but to God’s Love. In everything, in all our actions, nothing else must influence and motivate us but God’s Love. (Act.10:38; Eph.2:10)

These human appetites don’t leave us when we become Christians. They remain with us for as long as we are humans. They are not wrong of themselves, but we must not invert the priority. These three material aspects of life must not become gods we idolize in place of the true God. That is the devil’s objective – that we make them into idols of worship. If Jesus has taken all our cares in these three areas and more, then we have no burden but the burden of Christ’s Love (Matt. 11:29-30). Paul said, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to Love one another, for whoever Love others has fulfilled the law (free and not under the law)” (Rom.13:8). We are not to become indebted to “the 3-drivers of life” but to God’s Love. Love is the source of all true abundance and blessing – the three areas of life and more, and in due course immortality.

The third step to freedom is that we cannot defeat the devil’s wiles and deceptions, but Jesus has already conquered Satan in our place, so we can vicariously live in and through His victorious life by the power of the Spirit. Paul said, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Cor.5;21, NLT). This concept of vicariously walking Jesus’ life in us is a life of living faith. It’s the anthropomorphism of Jesus in the life in the believer, and brings, “The blessing of the Lord, it makes rich, and toil adds nothing to it” (Prov. 10:22, JPS emphasis added). This vital promise makes redundant the performance/reward incarcerated life of the devil. The blessing and good we seek for our lives and that of our families – the kind of life that doesn’t come with the baggage and bondage of negative repercussions and all the heartache, sorrow, and gloomy consequences – has nothing to do with our toil and labor or performance. Did Adam and Eve plant the garden Eden? Did the children of Israel gave themselves the Promise Land? No, It all has to do with God’s unconditional Love for man, and manifested to man in His Son. By freely giving and sacrificing His Son, the Father brought man into a union with Him to make this life of Love and abundance possible. Yes, we will “toil,” but we’ll toil in our field of dreams. (2 Thes. 3:10) Adam did it in Eden. It has been said that if you find something you enjoy doing, you will never have to “work” another day in your life. The question will always be, ‘where is this field of my dreams?’ That, only God can reveal, but first you have to be walking in freedom. The choice will always be man’s to make to find his dream-life. It starts with freedom!

The Triune God – Symbol of True Freedom & Love (Wiki Commons)

We cannot Love genuinely while in a state of spiritual bondage. We have to be freed like Israel was liberated from Egypt to freely serve God in the Promise Land. Satan will deceive us into thinking we can live “freely” while living under incarceration to sin, but the negative fruits of greed, covetousness, jealousy, pride, hatred, unhappiness, the stress of life, and all its undesirable aftermath says otherwise. It’s not authentic freedom, it’s bondage through deception. We can only Love freely on a daily basis through the Spirit who gives us this victory over the bondage of our fallen depraved nature that’s driven by these “three drivers” of life.

I sincerely hope God will give you the wisdom and heart to give your life to Jesus, receive Him as your Savior, and be overflowing  with the knowledge that truly frees us from bondage. He is the Personified Word of God, as He is the literal Word of God, the Bible.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to write 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 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 www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my book.

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

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