We who call
ourselves Christians, having a firm belief in the God of the bible, undoubtedly
hold to numerous beliefs about Him. One
that is foundational, and therefore agreed upon by all, is that He is One God, while
at the same time being three separate and distinct persons. Much criticism has been hurled our way for
this, as if all things could not be possible with the Being who is from
Everlasting to Everlasting. And so, from
time to time we like to show the unbeliever how the Three In One concept can
have validity to it. What better way to
do this than to go to work on some analogies.
Consequently we told them about the egg, made up of the yoke, the white
and the shell – yet it is one egg; we’ve told them about water in its liquid,
solid, and gaseous states; and I’m sure that many who have anchored their faith
in the Triune God have thought up other examples. But if I were to be honest, I’d have to say
that I was never very impressed with any that I’ve heard. To add, I do not think that there is an
analogy that can be contrived by the mind of man that could do our tripartite
God any real justice. But even in saying
that, I would now awkwardly have to admit that an analogy came to me some time
back. Though I also admit that it too
must miss the mark by a good stretch.
Still, one plug that I’d have to put in for it is that the similarities
between this analogy and the Triune God are more than just a couple, its
relevance rising far above that of an egg or an ice cube.
Let me begin
all of this with a question. Did you
ever envision our God as a family? A
family, you may ask? How about another
question? Are there not three Persons in
the Godhead? One God, true, nevertheless
three Persons. Besides, what else can
they be when described as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but Family? I for one cannot help but seeing the God of
heaven and earth as Eternal Family – no beginning or end. They are the Family who is God – Father, Son
and Spirit, the Eternal Living Circle.
It always was and will always be, and how It does Live! And so, haven’t
the families of men, who have been made in His image, become living analogies
of who He is? Yet here is the greatest
part of all. It is that all who are of
faith go beyond the analogy, and in actuality go to the place where they become
living members of the Family of God. How
is it that we can enter into the unthinkable, taking our places there? It is through the fantastic miracle that the
Father has bestowed upon us, when by the Spirit He placed each one born of
faith into the body of His precious Son.
Since we have become of One Body with Him, we the members of the Body,
with Christ as the Head are recognized by the Triune God as family. Inasmuch as we have entered into this
covenant with the Son, by which we have become united with Him, it then is a
partnership that cannot be annulled, eternal in the heavens.
Besides the
families of men being made up of multiple members, just like the Godhead, there
is another way in which we mirror God as a family. In the Holy Trinity there is Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. In these Persons they are
all Three separate from one another. But
it is the title, God, that unites them as One Being – still not a perfect
picture of the Trinity, since it is a mystery far too complex for
comprehension. Still, the fact of the
matter is that the family unit consists of father, mother, and offspring. As each functions in their role, they too are
viewed as individuals. Nevertheless it
is their surname that brings them together as one; three lives or more, yet
bound together by one name, intimately joined each to the other to form one
family, just like their Creator. Just
like Him? Never. But analogies will always fall short of a perfect
copy of the real. The parallels go
on. Though the Son of God is equal to
the Father and the Spirit in all of His
properties, He nevertheless willingly submits to both. In scripture we read of Him being led of the
Spirit. This would be an impossibility
if our Lord wasn’t submissive to the
Spirit. And once He told us that
He does always what He sees His Father doing.
Again, His pleasure is only to be of one mind with the Father, therefore
being perfectly submitted to Him. Not
only this, but never do we read where the Father or the Spirit submit to the
authority of the Son. This is only for
the seed of Adam to do. Though the Son
in his essence is all that the Father and the Spirit are, He of his own will
ever chooses to submit both perfectly and forever to Both. This is the joy of the Son; it is His delight
– it is even His meat.
The families
of men were made to be much like the Godhead.
And so even in family life are we made in His Image. A family begins with a man and a woman. Then, in the coming together of the two, a
child is born. The child is as human as
are the father and the mother – of the very same makeup. Nevertheless, the role of the child differs from
that of the father and the mother. It is
a role of submission. But really, all
three roles differ. The father is to be
the leader of the family, with his spouse being his companion and his helper as
they work out matters together. Yet the
child submits to both. However, this is
the ideal. But because sin indwells
every human family, the ideal can never be, at least not day in and day out.
There is
more to the analogy. In the letter to
the Colossians we read that “ … in Christ there dwells all the fullness of the
Godhead bodily.” This is another way of
saying that both the Father and the Spirit are in the Son. Near the end of the gospel of John, not long
before the crucifixion, Jesus speaks these words. … that they all may be one, as You, Father,
are in Me, and I in You. If you really
think about it, how can you keep from forming the idea that God is Family? How so?
Simply put, it is because the Persons of the Godhead cohabit. That is to say that They exist together –
even within one another. Let us take a
look once again on how a family is formed.
It begins with the man going into the woman, and there planting his seed. But remember that at one time the seed was in
the man. However, now the seed becomes
an embryo in the woman. The genes then,
from both the man and the woman, enter into the life that has now been
conceived. Does this not make for much
intimacy between the three – or for much existing together? Surely it does, just like with the Father,
the Son, and the Spirit. You may say
that some of the similarities between the Godhead and the families of men can
also be present in other species of life on earth. True. But the scripture does stress man alone
as In His Image.
In the
eleventh Psalm it reads,” If the foundations are destroyed, what can the
righteous do? If our eyes and our ears
have been attentive to all that has been unfolding before us in the times in
which we live, then we know that far too many foundations are giving way. Probably the one that saddens me most is the
ever disappearing family unit. Once we
were a strong nation, made up of strong families. But today the foundations of family life is
crumbling. The family unit, as we once
knew it, is quickly dissolving away.
What has happened to us? What has
happened is that Satan’s time upon the earth is drawing to an end – and he
senses it. Consequently, he and the
armies that he commands are determined to have one last fling – to wreak havoc
among the people of our world, like he has never done before. His targets no doubt are many. And one, that he is sure is near to the heart
of God, is the family unit. He has done
more than simply attack it, while shaking it to its core. He has humiliated it. How?
It has been by moving in the hearts and minds of our leaders to
recognize a marriage between two people of the same gender as being legal ; and
with the households that they govern being called families. And why is it that the family has become one
of Satan’s favorite targets? It is
because he knows that the God of heaven and earth has created it to be a
picture of who He is – The One God in Three Persons, the Eternal Family Unit,
Father, Son and Spirit. The enemy of our
God may be able to destroy the analogy; but he knows he can never come near to
even touching the Real Thing. Now the
good news is that if we have been born of this One Great God, then we have been
adopted into the only True Family in all of creation. In Christ
we belong to The Godhead, though it be by adoption.
Oh how close
Adam’s seed is to the Creator and Sustainer of all things. It is why the apostle Paul spoke these words
to the men of Athens. … And He has made from one blood every nation of men to
dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times
and the boundaries of their habitation, so that they should seek the Lord, in
the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from
each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of
your own poets have said, “ For it is we who are His offspring…”
J. Pecoraro
