The great ontological question: Why did God create anything? Was it because He needed a friend? Eh, no. The Bible tells us that God is self-sufficient and self-existent. It is called aseity [Latin: "from himself"]. God does not need us or anything in or of the creation. The Persons of the Trinity have existed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit eternally and are fully content and equal. Each Person is fully God. There is one God. If He had created us because He "needed" us then we cannot say that God is self-existent, can we? It would imply God could not be happy without man. It would make Him dependant on something outside the Trinity. So why are we here?
God created the creation and man for His glory. Glorification which had also been taking place between the Persons of the Trinity for eternity past to eternity future. (John 17:5)
Revelation 4:11 “ You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
When we worship and glorify Him, it brings Him joy.
So many would say, "we are therefore insignificant and worthless". Not so says the Bible and says God. What does the Bible say about man and his importance? We are meaningful and of great worth because He values us. He gives us our value.
Isaiah 43:7 Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made".
It is not a symbiotic relationship. We need Him for our existance, meaning and purpose. All he asks in return is to glorify Him. The original ideas was that we were to glorify Him through our work.
Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Why work? Because it mirrors Him and His acts of creation.
Genesis 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
...and then mankind fell in Genesis 3 and we've been working to get back to the way it use to be ever since. How? By seeking God because He has predestined us to be drawn to Him and to be chosen since before the foundations of the world.
Ephesians 1:4-6 ...even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
To work out our own salvation and sanctify ourselves with Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
God has a plan for us all. He has had it forever. In the end it all glorifies Him. He created us, knew we would fall because He created an imperfect being capable of choosing incorrectly. Even so, He still had a plan to redeem us! Jesus Christ! To us it may intially seem like a puzzle but it is because we are so limited in ability to think like God. We can't even etch the surface. God's depth is infinite an impenetrable without Him first revealing it to us. It took God revealing it in the Bible and through His Son Jesus for us to even comprehend at a miniscule level. HE had to reveal it just so we could understand the letters that make the words, to say nothing of the sentences. Man was not even capable of discovering this on his own because he is so wretched, it HAD to be revealed to man. We need only accept it through His Son.
**Addendum**If there is ambiguity in my wordage above concerning the Trinity I have also included my belief worded here in relation to the Westminster Confession of Faith. Just so there are no misunderstandings because of semantics.
"In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost: the Father is of none, neither begotten, not proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son." (WCF II.3)
Greetings Andy Pierson
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of the Trinity,
I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus
Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you to reconsider "The Trinity"
Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
My first tact was going to be to avoid answering this so that I didn't have to watch the 2hr video. Considering you have not come outright and told me what you believe for certain and have left it to me to discern through a video I have to assume you are purposely being a ambiguous and nebulous in intent. Since I know that others will read these posts and could potentially go astray watching the attached video I must discern on my own blog and explain. The Spirit convicted me to do so.
ReplyDeleteIt quickly became apparent that this video deals with Unitarianism, Unitarian Universalism or some form of Oneness Pentecostalism (I can't discern exactly which) This theological view is promulgating a non-trinitarian theology which teaches belief in the single personality of God, in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity (God as three persons). It is essentially a modern form of Modalism and or Sabellianism.
There have been creeds adhered to since the earliest days of Christianity (Nicene) to clarify the nature of the Trinity and who Christ was. The shortcoming of modalism is that it must deny the personal relationship within the Trinity that appears so many places in Scripture. The most clear being the Baptism of Jesus and the descending of the Holy Spirit and the Father's pronouncement.
Being non-creedal, and intentionally vague, Unitarianism (and other beliefs like it) are inclusive and liberal by their nature and generally lean toward cultural mores. They are also less likely to be definitive with terminologies and lean towards postmodernist ambiguities. There is also an inherent unwillingness to make absolute truth claims which allows "wiggle room" when pigeon-holed on doctrinal issues.
As for hermeneutics and exegesis of Scripture, it will require another entire post to get all the Scripture references in and I’d rather not. If someone else wants to discuss a certain aspect of doctrine or scripture I must ask that they first tell me what their statement of faith is so I don’t have to figure it out.
It’s my job to refute and rebuke what is errant.
http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a63.htm
To attribute anything less than deity and Godhead to any of the three is to sacrifice salvation. No can do partner. I'll pray for you through :). Have a good day.