This is a continuation of a series of articles about truths within Christianity.

Read the first article here: When is it Time for True Christians to go to the Mat?

Read the second article here: Truths that cannot be Compromised: Part I

Read the third article here: Truths that cannot be Compromised: Part II

In Part I, I stated that we must start this understanding of truth with Jesus. We must understand Him rightly. I then built upon that understanding of Jesus as God by pointing to him also as creator (John 1:3). I now want to expand this concept out to a larger understanding of God in the concept we know as the trinity. Eastons 1897 Bible Dictionary defines the trinity this way:

Trinity – a word not found in Scripture, but used to express the doctrine of the unity of God as subsisting in three distinct Persons. This word is derived from the Gr. trias, first used by Theophilus (A.D. 168-183), or from the Lat. trinitas, first used by Tertullian (A.D. 220), to express this doctrine. The propositions involved in the doctrine are these: 1. That God is one, and that there is but one God (Deut. 6:4; 1 Kings 8:60; Isa. 44:6; Mark 12:29, 32; John 10:30). 2. That the Father is a distinct divine Person (hypostasis, subsistentia, persona, suppositum intellectuale), distinct from the Son and the Holy Spirit. 3. That Jesus Christ was truly God, and yet was a Person distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit. 4. That the Holy Spirit is also a distinct divine Person.

Now, for my purposes in writing this series of articles, I am not as interested in diving deep into this concept. Instead, I am going to let the above definition stand for itself while I use it along with everything else we’ve discussed to build on our understanding of God. Mainly, I want you to see God in a very different light than what most people would describe him. All other religions, and many branches of Christianity, would describe God in very far away concepts. They do not see God as a person, but as an entity or a force. In many ways, they see God in a very Star Wars mentality where God becomes this underlying current to everything we see, but He does not actually have a will. No, God can be used in whatever way we see fit and whoever uses Him the best wins! This is not a true concept of the Living God.

I believe the concept of the trinity to be hugely important, but I believe that what is attached to this concept is more important for our discussion here. The primary truths that I believe cannot be compromised are those truths that get at the heart of God and ultimately, the heart of the gospel. And so, I believe it is hugely important to understand who God is: a person. And then from there, I believe you must understand what is different about this divine person and why it matters.

The Great I AM

When Moses is at the burning bush, he asks God who he should tell the Israelites that He is (Exodus 3:13)? God answers by saying in verse 14, “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Jesus later connected Himself to this description of I AM in John 8:58. So, what does this mean? For everything else in the world and the universe, we came to be, we exist for a period of time, and then we are gone. God, however, simply is. He has always existed outside of time and continues do so, and always will. What I hope begins to register in your mind from this concept of (I AM) is a God that is self sustaining, in need of nothing, perfect, holy, worthy of praise, in community within the trinity with Christ and the Holy Spirit, and who ultimately, did not create us out of something He lacked. Our purpose is not to fill some need in God. When God told Moses “I AM” he was stating something infinitely profound without needing to justify Himself. I AM.

So, as we build on these truths with a very specific purpose of building on the gospel, I want you to see God as a person in community within the trinity, but I also want you to see Him as a person who is beyond our highest thought (Even now, I am groping for the words to describe these concepts and will ultimately fall short of the mark). Thus, when God acted and spoke this world into existence, He did not do so out of need, but He chose to do so because He had a will. He did so in His abundance and with a purpose of bringing glory to God. God is not far off, but is active in the world with an ultimate plan of bringing His children into the kingdom to experience that abundance and in doing so, bringing Glory to Himself.

In the end, I know the way I am going about these truths is a little strange, but I believe if you take the time to think on these thoughts, you will begin to see the picture. Jesus as the truth, as creator; God in three persons, in unity and community; God as the perfect, self-sustaining, self-existing I AM; and then us, most of the time prideful and dismissive of God. What do you think?

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