“If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?”
John 14:7-9 NLT
If you really have intimate knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, if you believe in your heart that He is and He lives, then you will also recognize that Jesus and the Father are One.
In Boolean algebra, the mathematics of logic, the basis of all computers, 1 AND 1 is 1. 1 means True. 0 means False. True AND True equals True. True AND False equals False.
Mathematically speaking, logically equivalent True values ANDed together always results in a continuation of True. At any time if False is entered into the mix, the result is False.
Now, if you’re not a computer scientist, or a mathematician, that probably all sounds like Greek to you. I’m speaking another language. I’m speaking logic represented by numerical symbols. But, if you’re familiar with Boolean algebra, it will all make perfect sense.
Jesus is God. The Father is God. They are distinct, yet they are One. They are both always completely True.
Add one more element to the mix that’s also True. The Holy Spirit is God. 1 AND 1 AND 1 = 1.
God is Truth. Jesus is the Truth. We know God the Father exists but we can’t see Him. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Take 3 Truths and put them all together, what do you get? One Truth. God is One.
The Trinity can be a difficult concept to understand. Some compare the idea to water. Water can be solid, liquid or gas. They all act differently and have different characteristics, but they’re all the same molecule, H₂O. The only difference is the temperature.
I like to compare the concept of the Trinity to humans for easy understanding. We know that we have a spirit, soul and body. These are distinct parts of our makeup, they interact and interrelate to each other, yet they all together make up one human. Jesus has a physical body. His soul, His mind, will and emotions, are submitted to the Father. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit. God is Spirit.
God is God. There is only One True God. We can only conceive of Him as He allows us to. We pray to the Father, who is Spirit. We know Jesus is the Son of God, the fullness of God in human flesh. We are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, sent to dwell forever in our mortal bodies until we put on immortality as Jesus did at His resurrection.
Whether or not you can understand the triune nature of God and explain it, doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. Whether or not you understand basic Orthodox Christian theology and can teach it, doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. Whether or not you can recognize the voice of God, the Holy Spirit, and declare what He says doesn’t change the fact that whatever He says is true.
What am I trying to say to you? Trust God. You don’t have to be equal to God to understand that He is God. We simply recognize that He is God, we are like dumb animals in His sight, yet He loves us and chose us to live forever with Him in fellowship, and all we have to do is simply recognize the Truth and respond to the Truth.
What’s the logical response to being loved?
Say I love you and demonstrate it with my words and actions, what’s the natural reaction to being loved? It’s to accept that free gift of love and in gratitude and thanksgiving reflect that love back to the sender and to those around you. It’s hard to love if you’re not being loved. The Good News is that God’s love for you is unwavering and never failing.
God’s love is a rock being dropped from Heaven into a still, mountain lake. You are that lake. If your heart is frozen in the winter of your discontent, it’ll bounce right off, barely scratching the surface. If your heart is soft, like the cool, refreshing waters on a summer’s day, that rock will make a big splash. You’ll hear it first. Then, you’ll turn and you’ll see the ripple effects of that one impact extending to the furthest shores. Eventually, the waves will compound and break at the shore in many choruses. The heat is on.
God loves you. God loves me. When we abide in God’s love, we are One with God. One and One is One. Don’t miss this. God is pulling His Body together as One. Stand up and represent the Kingdom righteously. Love one another as I have loved you, says the Lord.
Father in Heaven, let us be One with Christ as Jesus and You are One. Let the Holy Spirit abide fully in the Body of Christ, unhindered by our carnal natures. Let the deeds of the flesh be crucified and the deeds of God be made manifest. Have Your way with us, O God. Abide in us forever by the grace of God. Amen.
And this is the way to have eternal life — to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
John 17:3 NLT
Recommended reading: John 17.
Igniter Ministries 