Sosoma Jr
JF-Expert Member
- Aug 7, 2020
- 312
- 274
THE HEART OF GOD.
God is love in the most other centered and beautiful way you could imagine.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
A Swedish couple attempted to name their Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, to be pronounced, "Al-bin." Strangely enough, they said that the weird name was a work of art. The court in Swedish that makes decisions on these things said something like, "Um, okay .....NO." They ordered the couple to choose a different name for the child.
Turns out, the name carried a more specific message. The couple chose the strange name because they wanted to speak out against Sweden's naming law. This naming law gives the state the final say on weather a child's name is okay.
Everyone has a name, and everyone's name means something. (Google will tell you what yours means, if you don't already know.)
This is a especially true in the Bible. Every name carries a message, showing something about the character or story of the person. "Adam" means of the earth. The Bible says that God created him from - you guessed it - the earth. "Jacob" means deceiver, and we see this character trait played out in his life. "Israel" means one who prevails or overcomes with God. God named Jacob "Israel" once he told the truth and overcame his lying ways.
You get the point: in Scripture names carry meaning.
The first time we meet "God" in the Bible is by a very specific and strange name. It's a name that reveals the most incredible thing you could think of about the Creator:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth". (Genesis 1:1).
Okay, the word " God" probably doesn't seem super special at first. But hang in there for a just a moment. In the original language of the Old Testament (Hebrew), it's not just the general word for "God." The text isn't trying to say, "In the beginning Deity created the heavens and the earth." Rather, it's a proper name, and the name is "Elohim." But there is something odd about the name: it's a plural noun. It's written as more than one. This would be like your neighbor introducing himself to you by saying, "Hi, I'm Johns." You would most likely be confused and think he was just a very poor student of basic grammar. Or you might wonder if he thought he was more than one person. Whatever the case, you certainly would not believes he was telling the truth. Why? Because there is no sensible way that one human being can be named as more than one. And yet, this is exactly how God introduces Himself to us in the first verse of the Bible - as more than one being in some sense. The idea is made all the more certain later in Genesis 1:
"The God [Elohim] said, 'Let Us make in Our image'"(Genesis 1:26).
There is some sense in which God is made of an Us and an Our, not just an I and a Me. God was more than one person before our world was ever created. God is Elohim - the Plural One.
ONE, AND YET MORE THAN ONE.
The idea of one God involving more than one personal being may sound strange at first. But we begin to understand what it means when we look at the most important and basic truth about told in Scripture:
"God is love" (1 John 4:16).
What does that mean exactly?
We use the word love to mean a lot of things. I love my family. I love tacos. But that's not quite the same type of love.
When the Bible uses the word "love," it doesn't mean the kind of love we have for tacos. And it doesn't mean the shallow kind of love we see in the movies or magazines.
It means something very specific:
"Love is ..... not self - seeking" (1 Corinthians 13:4-5, NIV).
In its meaning. Love is self - giving and other - centered. So in order for love to exist, there must be more than one person; there must be a relationship or friendship. If you lock yourself alone in a room and stay there for the rest of your life, you will never experience love. Love is simply not something you can experience all by yourself.
It can't happen in isolation.
It makes sense, then, that since "God is love," God is more than one personal being. But at the same time, God exists as one divine unit. In other words, God is not a solitary self. God is a social unit of self - giving love that is always in motion.
The Father is God:
"But now, O Lord, You are our Father." (Isaiah 64:8).
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16).
And yet He is not all there is of God.
The Son, Jesus Christ, is God:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with a God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1).
"Led this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. (Philippians 2:5-6).
Yet He is not all there is of God.
The Holy Spirit is God:
" The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life" (Job 33:4).
"And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."' (Luke 1:35).
Yet He is not all there is of God.
This is why we call God a Trinity, or a Tri-unity. We mean that God is an eternal friendship of three separate divine persons. These three persons are of one basic nature. They are one in purpose, mind, and character.
And there is a clear genius in the Bible picture of God as three who are one.
Let's think through the logic of three persons. Before reading the next paragraph talk about the following situation: two people are close friends and then a third person enters the picture. How might a third person change the friendship?
There's an expression that goes like this: " Two's company, three's a crowd."
We know this is true because we know that we are naturally self - centered. So we feel threatened when another person enters the friendship. We become insecure. Perhaps you remember having a best friend. Then a third person came along and jumped into your friendship. Suddenly, your friend's focus wasn't all on you. You might have felt jealous or hurt. And yet, a third person is actually what's best for the relationship. If the third person is accepted, you have to have a more selfless type of love. Now you don't just get the love of love of your first friend. You also know that your first friend is friends with another. You have to accept that all the attention us not focused on you.
For this reason, three is the smallest number of love in its purest form.
Where there is only one person, love cannot exist.
Where there are two, each person is simply getting attention from the other. This friendship can still possibly be self - centered.
But the moment there are three, each person must also humbly let the third person have the attention. Each one must also be the third person to the other two.
Pure selflessness can now exist.
If God were a single being with no others exist eternally with Him, it would not make sense to say that "God is love." The Bible shows a logical picture of God as a three - way unit of love. This picture gives solid evidence that the Bible is a revealing of the only true God.
Yes, parts if this truth are beyond our understanding. After all, this is God we're talking about. We are only humans trying to understand the divine. But think of God as three personal beings who have always been one in nature and character. If we think this way, we can begin to understand God. We see that He is a being who lives for friendship. God is a family of self giving love. And if that's who God is, what's not like? When we see this beauty, we find ourselves attracted of God.
GOD BLESS YOU!!
God is love in the most other centered and beautiful way you could imagine.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
A Swedish couple attempted to name their Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, to be pronounced, "Al-bin." Strangely enough, they said that the weird name was a work of art. The court in Swedish that makes decisions on these things said something like, "Um, okay .....NO." They ordered the couple to choose a different name for the child.
Turns out, the name carried a more specific message. The couple chose the strange name because they wanted to speak out against Sweden's naming law. This naming law gives the state the final say on weather a child's name is okay.
Everyone has a name, and everyone's name means something. (Google will tell you what yours means, if you don't already know.)
This is a especially true in the Bible. Every name carries a message, showing something about the character or story of the person. "Adam" means of the earth. The Bible says that God created him from - you guessed it - the earth. "Jacob" means deceiver, and we see this character trait played out in his life. "Israel" means one who prevails or overcomes with God. God named Jacob "Israel" once he told the truth and overcame his lying ways.
You get the point: in Scripture names carry meaning.
The first time we meet "God" in the Bible is by a very specific and strange name. It's a name that reveals the most incredible thing you could think of about the Creator:
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth". (Genesis 1:1).
Okay, the word " God" probably doesn't seem super special at first. But hang in there for a just a moment. In the original language of the Old Testament (Hebrew), it's not just the general word for "God." The text isn't trying to say, "In the beginning Deity created the heavens and the earth." Rather, it's a proper name, and the name is "Elohim." But there is something odd about the name: it's a plural noun. It's written as more than one. This would be like your neighbor introducing himself to you by saying, "Hi, I'm Johns." You would most likely be confused and think he was just a very poor student of basic grammar. Or you might wonder if he thought he was more than one person. Whatever the case, you certainly would not believes he was telling the truth. Why? Because there is no sensible way that one human being can be named as more than one. And yet, this is exactly how God introduces Himself to us in the first verse of the Bible - as more than one being in some sense. The idea is made all the more certain later in Genesis 1:
"The God [Elohim] said, 'Let Us make in Our image'"(Genesis 1:26).
There is some sense in which God is made of an Us and an Our, not just an I and a Me. God was more than one person before our world was ever created. God is Elohim - the Plural One.
ONE, AND YET MORE THAN ONE.
The idea of one God involving more than one personal being may sound strange at first. But we begin to understand what it means when we look at the most important and basic truth about told in Scripture:
"God is love" (1 John 4:16).
What does that mean exactly?
We use the word love to mean a lot of things. I love my family. I love tacos. But that's not quite the same type of love.
When the Bible uses the word "love," it doesn't mean the kind of love we have for tacos. And it doesn't mean the shallow kind of love we see in the movies or magazines.
It means something very specific:
"Love is ..... not self - seeking" (1 Corinthians 13:4-5, NIV).
In its meaning. Love is self - giving and other - centered. So in order for love to exist, there must be more than one person; there must be a relationship or friendship. If you lock yourself alone in a room and stay there for the rest of your life, you will never experience love. Love is simply not something you can experience all by yourself.
It can't happen in isolation.
It makes sense, then, that since "God is love," God is more than one personal being. But at the same time, God exists as one divine unit. In other words, God is not a solitary self. God is a social unit of self - giving love that is always in motion.
The Father is God:
"But now, O Lord, You are our Father." (Isaiah 64:8).
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16).
And yet He is not all there is of God.
The Son, Jesus Christ, is God:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with a God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1).
"Led this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. (Philippians 2:5-6).
Yet He is not all there is of God.
The Holy Spirit is God:
" The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life" (Job 33:4).
"And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."' (Luke 1:35).
Yet He is not all there is of God.
This is why we call God a Trinity, or a Tri-unity. We mean that God is an eternal friendship of three separate divine persons. These three persons are of one basic nature. They are one in purpose, mind, and character.
And there is a clear genius in the Bible picture of God as three who are one.
Let's think through the logic of three persons. Before reading the next paragraph talk about the following situation: two people are close friends and then a third person enters the picture. How might a third person change the friendship?
There's an expression that goes like this: " Two's company, three's a crowd."
We know this is true because we know that we are naturally self - centered. So we feel threatened when another person enters the friendship. We become insecure. Perhaps you remember having a best friend. Then a third person came along and jumped into your friendship. Suddenly, your friend's focus wasn't all on you. You might have felt jealous or hurt. And yet, a third person is actually what's best for the relationship. If the third person is accepted, you have to have a more selfless type of love. Now you don't just get the love of love of your first friend. You also know that your first friend is friends with another. You have to accept that all the attention us not focused on you.
For this reason, three is the smallest number of love in its purest form.
Where there is only one person, love cannot exist.
Where there are two, each person is simply getting attention from the other. This friendship can still possibly be self - centered.
But the moment there are three, each person must also humbly let the third person have the attention. Each one must also be the third person to the other two.
Pure selflessness can now exist.
If God were a single being with no others exist eternally with Him, it would not make sense to say that "God is love." The Bible shows a logical picture of God as a three - way unit of love. This picture gives solid evidence that the Bible is a revealing of the only true God.
Yes, parts if this truth are beyond our understanding. After all, this is God we're talking about. We are only humans trying to understand the divine. But think of God as three personal beings who have always been one in nature and character. If we think this way, we can begin to understand God. We see that He is a being who lives for friendship. God is a family of self giving love. And if that's who God is, what's not like? When we see this beauty, we find ourselves attracted of God.
GOD BLESS YOU!!
