KindiakMath

Previously, we have established that the God of the universe is the Trinity—the one divine maximally great being in three co-eternal co-substantial persons: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. As a result, the proposition “God is Love” is a logical corollary, implying that true love exists and has existed even before the creation of any human being. Furthermore, since love is inherently relational, we can even say that God is inherently relational—in the Trinity before the creation of even the universe.

However, that concept of God is, at first glance, far removed from what we mean by God. We envision God as an all-loving supernatural being who created us with relationship in mind. Yet, this God seems rather distant, seemingly silent when we speak words to him in what we call “prayer”. Who are we in relation to this God, and how can we relate to this God, really?

Once again, these discussions can take up many, many, many blogposts that extend beyond this lifetime. But for now, we outline the core ideas.

Theorem 1. God created us as His representatives in creation. Since He is love, He created us to reflect His creative life-giving love.

Proof. The first book in the Old Testament, Genesis, says this about human beings:

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. [Genesis 1:27]

Just as God is one divine being in three co-eternal persons, God did not create human beings with just one sex—He created human beings male and female, to visibly live out the love of the multi-personhood of the (not as visible) Trinity.

Theorem 2. God has called us to live as delegated rulers of His blessed kingdom.

Proof. In Genesis, God gives to human beings the following command:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” [Genesis 1:28]

God’s kingdom is one that is full of light and life:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. [Revelation 22:1–5]

Theorem 3. We have rebelled against God, refusing to live under His delegated rule, and choosing to live as as please (i.e. that makes us the ultimate rulers, rather than God). This rebellion is called sin, and it produces death (and its associated curses like sickness and suffering).

Proof. In Genesis, the serpent tempted human beings to become their own ultimate ruler:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” [Genesis 3:1–5]

We have adopted this pattern by disbelieving that God exists, and even if we do so, choose to deem ourselves as of ultimate importance, rather than the God who created us in the first place:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. [Romans 1:20–21]

We then live as we please to our own peril:

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. [Romans 1:22–25]

In practice, here’s what our lives are full of, be it committed by others, or more realistically, by us, and are rightfully banished from God’s good kingdom:

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [Galatians 5:19–21]

Summarily, God made a good world that was even deemed very good when He created human beings:

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 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. [Genesis 1:31–2:2]

However, we betrayed God and rebelled against Him, plunging ourselves to the just consequences of separation from the life of God—death:

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. [James 1:14–15]

The death that we incur is a vicious cycle: we rebel against God, God allows us to suffer the consequences of our sin, and in our sin-addiction we rebel against Him even more, leading to inevitable death and suffering:

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. [Romans 1:26–28]

The rest of the Bible, in a sense, is God’s rescue mission to reconcile human beings from themselves back to Himself, so that they may live as they have been created—to glorify Him forever:

Everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made. [Isaiah 43:7]

To live for God’s glory is the most delightful experience that we can have in this life or even beyond:

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. [Psalm 16:11]

How does God accomplish this rescue mission? We will explore some of the Old Testament details later on, such as the Kingdom of God, the covenants, and the salvation pattern. However, the most to-the-point answer would be through the God-Man Jesus Christ.

Theorem 4. God the Father sent God the Son to take our death punishment on our behalf. In that manner, we can be set free from our sin-addiction and the death it produces, and instead life a new, freeing Spirit-life.

Proof. The author of Hebrews describes Jesus as a perfect man—one who is without sin.

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. [Hebrews 4:4–15]

The prophet Isaiah describes Jesus as follows:

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. [Isaiah 53:5]

He further calls this an intercession—a plea for God’s kindness on our behalf:

…he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. [Isaiah 53:12]

Because Jesus was condemned on our behalf for our sin, we can be set free from our sin-addiction, and experience “Spirit-addiction” that leads to life and peace and joy in God:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. [Romans 8:1–2]

The new life that God offers us through the Spirit of life (i.e. the Holy Spirit), at its core, isn’t a list of religious commandments, but as the Apostle Paul describes it, delightful:

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. [Romans 14:17]

Theorem 5. Through Jesus, we can enjoy God’s life-giving kingdom now and forevermore—a far better life than the sin-addiction death-bound existence we have trapped ourselves in.

Proof. The two commandments in the “constitution” of God’s kingdom are simply commandments that reflect and reveal the God who sent His Son in the first place:

“The most important is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” [Mark 12:29–31]

Comparing life with God and life without God is the difference between life and death:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [John 10:10]

But God now offers us the privilege to be a member of His kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy right now:

For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. [2 Peter 1:11]

And He promises that at some future appointed time, He will right all wrongs and fully bring His kingdom onto the earth:

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” [Revelation 21:5–8]

With all that said, what is life about? I hope that I’ve made a robust case that whatever life is about, it has to do with the God who made life in the first place; for apart from the life-giving God we can only exist with a lack of life—death.

—Joel Kindiak, 6 Nov 25, 1214H