michaelvpardo
Well-Known Member
Sorry I didn't respond promptly, but I think that we're pretty much on the same page. The problem that I have in general with the concept of God as three distinct persons (in the hierarchy revealed in scripture) is that people who are somewhat biblically informed, though not particularly spiritual or of a profound understanding, will make the suggestion that God the Father has one agenda, and that God the Son has some other agenda in opposition to Him (with the Holy Spirit somehow connecting the two or lost in the mix). That is, when my mind was entirely carnal, and my spirit dead in trespasses and sin, I was unable to see the God of the Old Testament as being a God of grace (this may have also had something to do with my early religious training), but having been made alive by His Spirit, I can now see the grace manifested by God to the people of His covenant as well as the common grace extended to those outside whose evil works He suffered until the appointed time of their judgment. E.g.: Though God promised an inheritance in the land to Abraham and his descendants, He also made it clear that the iniquity of those people in the land was not yet complete and that their judgment would come at an appointed time. We find a similar statement with regard to the 4 kingdoms described in chapter 8 of the book of Daniel, speaking of the time of the indignation which will come with the "fullness" of the "transgressors".Retrobyter said:Shalom, Michael, and Happy Independence Day!
Indeed. Let's start with the semantics:
Thus, by definition, when I said "'inferior' to" I was meaning "subordinate to." I was NOT implying that He was of inferior quality or is of a lower standard in some way! After all, He is the very REPRESENTATIVE (MESSIAH) of God Himself! God has committed all judgment into His hands, and He will rule the world LITERALLY! And, He IS the Son of God; that is, God's own Son!
However, He IS God's own SON! He is the JUNIOR to His SENIOR! Even as He rules and puts all of His enemies under His feet (during the coming Millennium), He anticipates the day when He can turn the Kingdom over to His Father so that His Father may be "all in all."
1 Corinthians 15:20-28
The "pearly gates," the "streets of gold," the "twelve foundations," etc. all are to be found in the New Jerusalem, not in some otherworldly place called "Heaven!" It's a TANGIBLE, SOLID, REAL place called "Yerushalayim haChadashah" that will take the place of Old Jerusalem, the Land of Isra'el, the Middle East, and up to three time zones of this planet!
That is why in its vicinity there will be "no more sea!" When the city descends and lands upon the New Earth, its weight will raise the lands all around it, forcing the water to run downhill and away from the city!
Many "believers" are unable to reconcile the concept of God being love with the concept of God being Just, and express the thought with a question such as "How can a god of love cast people into hell?"
Some of these reconcile love with judgment by suggesting that God the Father is condemning man while Jesus is standing as our intercessor pleading with God on our behalf. While Jesus is indeed our intercessor, scripture tells us that He only does the will of the Father, so while interceding on our behalf He is still doing that which pleases the Father. There is no division in the will of God, even if He is expressed to us in three persons. I'm confident that you understand these things, but I've encountered more than a few professing Christians who don't have a clue and see God as behaviorally dichotomous. Consequently I'm concerned about focusing on the differences between the persons of the Godhead rather than their unity. I prefer to say "our God is One, Father, Spirit, and Son" (not ordered as an expression of hierarchy but as a mnemonic) rather than use the term trinity (in the course of casual conversation) to keep a difficult concept simple without promoting the idea that the Godhead is somehow divided in His purposes.
I urge caution in these areas because statements relating a separation in the Godhead are fodder for the cults (as they, being founded in carnal thought and unspiritual in nature, can never arrive at sound conclusions in the matters requiring spiritual discernment.)