Let’s face it. The children of God, the Israelites, had a sordid past. And it all began when our progenitors traded an idyllic paradise for what was a lust for power – believing the devil’s lie that they could be godlike if they rebelled against God’s rule in the Garden.
Instead, they became something less – mortal, fearful, and cut off from having a direct connection from their Creator.
God still loved them, despite their trespass. He threw them out of the Garden so that they wouldn’t be trapped in an eternal life in a sinful state.
Yet that sinful state was propagated through each successive generation, with humankind chained by their unrepentant sinful behavior.
Through Moses, God sends His children the Law (Ten Commandments), but the people insisted on breaking them. In addition, they were intended for showing the people a need for a Savior, because they were obviously not going to achieve godliness on their own.
Finally, their wanton rebellion resulted in Israel being conquered by the Assyrians and Judah enslaved by the Babylonians. It was then that the ever-loving Jehovah sent them prophets to give them hope of a Messiah, to help them do what they could not on their own. That is, to help them walk a godly path.
We learned that there would be a battle between the Messiah and Satan until the end of time, where the Messiah would ultimately be victorious. He would speak for God, and rule over the entire earth
When He finally came to the earth physically, He would be born of a virgin as the Son of God – bringing salvation, peace, and justice to all peoples.
Yet humankind would not receive Him well, and they doubted the veracity of His claims.
Ultimately, the Messiah would bare all the sins of all peoples so that He might grant salvation to the willing.
Now, we are ready to ask, what is the gift of Jesus?
How was the Christ Child introduced?
…the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “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!” Lk. 2:10, 11. NLT
Contrast that with how the apostle Paul condemns the same people after the crucifixion – yet, he still holds out an olive branch:
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross [and you are responsible]. God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior and Deliverer, in order to grant repentance to Israel, and [to grant] forgiveness of sins. Acts 5:30, 31. AMP
There we go. It is Jesus that is our Savior – ascended to heaven and still offering salvation! Just how special is our Jesus? How vast is His gift?
In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. John 1:1 – 3. AMP
We’ve talked about this before. Jesus speaks for God, God created everything through His Son; thus, they are both outside of time – together along with the Holy Spirit, co-existing as Spirit beings.
However, Jesus is God? We must break this down, this concept of a Trinity, which I used to struggle with.
The ‘Trinity’ is a man-derived construct born out of the Council of Nicaea, which was convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 325 A.D.
My difficulty was most Trinitarians had difficulty explaining their belief.
Fortuitously, my studies led me to the Catholic monk, Thomas Aquinas and his deductive reasoning from his book Aquinas’ Shorter Summa. Let’s follow along:
He begins by describing God as the ‘First Mover’, who puts into motion all things, yet He is immovable and thus unchangeable.
“For I am the Lord, and I do not change.” Mal.3:6 NLT
If God is immoveable and unchangeable, and outside of time, He is also eternal and complete. Thus, Jehovah is pure, indivisible, and infinite. So, there is but one God.
“For the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts says this, ‘I am the First and I am the Last; and there is no God besides Me.” Is. 44:6 AMP
Jehovah must remain indivisible. Otherwise, He would be finite. But as an infinite being, so is His power. Since God puts everything in motion, He must exist as pure action, which Aquinas defines as existence.
If we look at the world around us, we can see the perfection of God’s creations, and we know that God is perfect; and if so, He cannot make mistakes. Thus, He knows all things.
All that we’ve looked at thus far, demonstrates the essence of God, which He brings to bear through His will.
What’s all this have to do with Jesus? Aquinas postulates this: ‘God is Father, God is Son, and God is Holy Spirit. And these are not three Gods but one God.’
God left us His word (Jesus), so that He could be revealed to us. Jehovah’s word is an outpouring of His essence; so, it is related to God and proceeds forth from Him as His Son. Because God cannot divide Himself, Christ was generated (begotten) by the essence of God. Thus, Jesus must be incorporated in His Father.
Jehovah is identical with His actions. Therefore, if God speaks, it is indistinguishable from who He is.
Therefore, Jesus, the living word of God, cannot be anything other than God Himself.
God is also love:
…God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.] 1 Jn. 4:8 AMP
If Jehovah is love, He must love Himself; and He expresses that love through the Holy Spirit, which is also incorporated in God.
So, God expresses Himself through the Son and loves through the Holy Spirit. And being a unified essence, He cannot have differing views from Jesus or the Holy Spirit. They are in perfect harmony.
Long-winded, I know. For me, this is how I made peace with the trinity.
Let me throw in some final Scriptures to give you food for thought:
After He had dismissed the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Mt. 14:23 AMP
“…I am going [back] to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” Jn 14:28 AMP
Who is Jesus praying to? Why is the Father greater?
Obviously, even though the Godhead is completely enmeshed, there is a distinct hierarchy.
I hope you now have a good handle on the gift of Jesus.
Stay tuned for Jesus in action!
Goodnight and God bless.