Three in unison
Three in Oneness Where the Bible mentions "God" it does not mean a single being, in the sense of an "old man with a long white beard," who is called God. In the Bible, God who created us is recognized as a union of three distinct or "distinct" persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The father is not the son and the son is not the father. The Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. Although they have different personalities, they have the same motives, intentions and love, and possess the same essence and being (1Mo 1, 26; Mt 28, 19, Lk 3,21-22The three persons of God are so close and so intimately familiar with one another that if we know one person of God, we also know the others. This is why Jesus reveals that God is one, and this is what we should keep in mind when we say that there is only one God. (Mk 12,29)To think that the three persons of God are anything less than one would be to betray the oneness and intimacy of God! God is love, and that means God is a being of close relationships. (1Joh 4,16)Because of this truth about God, God is sometimes called "the Trinity" or the "triune God." Trinity and triune both mean "three in unity." When we say the word "God," we are always talking about three distinct persons in unity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Mt 3,16-17(28:19). It's similar to how we understand the terms "family" and "team." A "team" or a "family" consists of different, yet equally important, individuals. This does NOT mean that there are three gods, because God is only one God, but three different persons within the ONE essence of God. (1Kor 12,4-6; 2Kor 13, 14).
Adoption
God, the Trinity, enjoys such a perfect relationship with one another that they decided not to keep it to themselves. It is simply too good for that! The Triune God wanted to include others in his loving relationship so that others might enjoy this life in its fullness for eternity, as a free gift. The Triune God's intention to share his joyful life with others was the reason for all creation, and especially for the creation of humankind.Ps 8, Hebr 2,5-8!). This is what the New Testament means by the words "adopt" or "adoption" (Gal 4,4-7; Eph 1,3-6; Röm 8,15-17.23). The triune God intended to include all of creation in every aspect of God's life! Adoption is God's first and only reason for all creation! Simply think of God's good news as Plan A, where A stands for adoption!
incarnation
Because God, the Trinity, existed before anything we call creation, God first had to bring creation into being in order to adopt it. But the question arose: “How could creation and humanity be included in the relationship of the Triune God if the Triune God Himself did not bring creation into that relationship?” After all, if you are not God, you cannot become God in any way! Something created CANNOT become something uncreated. In some way, the Triune God would have to become and remain a creature (while simultaneously remaining God) if God wanted to permanently bring us into and keep us in His relationship with Him. This is where the incarnation of Jesus, the God-man, comes into play. God the Son became human—this means that it is not at all up to our own efforts to bring ourselves into a relationship with God. The Triune God, in His grace, included all of creation in His relationship with Jesus, the Son of God. The only way to bring creation into the relationship with the triune God was for God to humble himself in Jesus and receive creation into himself through a voluntary and willing act. This act of the triune God, to freely choose to include us in his relationship through Jesus, is called "grace" (Eph 1,2; 2,4-7; 2Pt 3,18The triune God's plan to become human for our adoption meant that Jesus would have come for us even if we had never sinned! The triune God created us to adopt us! God did not create us to free us from sin, although God has indeed saved us from sin. Jesus Christ is NOT "Plan B" or an afterthought of God. He is not merely a band-aid to cover up our sin problem. The stunning truth is that Jesus was God's first and ONLY idea to bring us into a relationship with God. Jesus is the fulfillment of "Plan A," which was set in motion before the creation of the world. (Eph 1,5-6; Offb 13,8)Jesus came to include us in the relationship with the triune God, just as God planned from the beginning, and nothing, not even our sin, could thwart this plan! We are all saved in Jesus. (1Tim 4,9-10), because God was intent on fulfilling His plan of adoption! The triune God established this plan of our adoption in Jesus before we were created, and we are ALREADY God's adopted children (Gal 4,4-7; Eph 1,3-6; Röm 8,15-17.23).
Secret and instruction
This plan of the triune God, to adopt all creation into a relationship with Himself through Jesus, was once a secret that no one knew. (Kol 1, 24-29)But after Jesus ascended into heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit of truth to reveal to us this acceptance and inclusion in God's life. (Joh 16, 5-15)Through the teaching of the Holy Spirit, who has now been poured out upon all mankind (Apg 2,17)...and through the believers who believe and welcome this truth. (Eph 1,11-14), this secret will be made known throughout the world (Kol 1,3-6)If this truth is kept secret, we cannot accept it and experience its freedom. Instead, we believe lies and experience all kinds of negative relationship problems.Röm 3, 9-20, Röm 5,12-19Only when we experience the truth about ourselves in Jesus do we begin to recognize how sinful it was not to see Jesus correctly in his union with all people throughout the world (Joh 14,20; 1Kor 5,14-16; Eph 4,6God wants every person to know who they truly are and who we are in them. (1Tim 2,1-8)This is the good news of his grace in Jesus. (Apg 20, 24).
Summary: Key takeaways about intuitive eating
Given this theology centered on the person of Jesus, it is not our job to "save" people. We want to help them see who Jesus is and who they are in Him right now—God's adopted children! Essentially, we want them to know that in Jesus they already belong to God, and this will encourage them to believe, do right, and be saved!
by Tim Brassell
