Tag: Trinity

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Becoming a People Fit for Fellowship with the Triune God

The Life We’ve Always Wanted

What if we could live in fellowship with God so deeply satisfying that every other desire, need, and hurt receded into the background?

I recently read the story of Brian “Head” Welch, the lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Korn. He had everything—fame, money, and every indulgence that success could buy. Then, in 2005, he left it all behind. Why? Because he found something better: Christ. That is what true fellowship with God can do. It gives us something richer than everything else combined.

Jesus called this “eternal life.” He said, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). According to Jesus, real life consists in communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is life lived in fellowship with God Himself.

We Need to Change to Experience It

Eternal life is a gift of grace that we do not deserve (Rom. 6:23). It is freely available to all—no matter where we have been or what we have done. God stands ready to receive us. His character does not change. But we must change if we are to enjoy His life.

What kind of people must we become in order to live this life of fellowship? Three characteristics mark those who are growing into it:

  • God awareness
  • God-rooted confidence
  • Godward affection

These qualities are not something we produce by sheer effort. The good news is that all who have received God’s gift of life are “being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). This is the Spirit’s ongoing work.

Yet we are not passive in it. Scripture calls us to lean into what God is already doing: “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Phil. 2:12–13). Paul holds together the mystery of divine and human agency in spiritual transformation with perfect balance.

Let us consider these three characteristics more closely and how we can participate in God’s transforming work that conforms us to Christ.

Continue reading “Becoming a People Fit for Fellowship with the Triune God”

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How to Live a Life of Communion with God

Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Eternal life is not merely living forever. It’s a quality of life—a life lived in fellowship with the triune God. It’s an entrance into the love shared by the Father and the Son from all eternity.

This life is a gift. Whoever believes in Jesus receives the gift of knowing God—of enjoying fellowship with the Father and the Son by the Spirit.

The challenge is that we are not naturally fit to enjoy this relationship. We are not the kind of people who easily enter into an experience of the love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But the good news is that if we have received this gift, God is already at work making us into the kind of people who can. He is shaping us to enjoy communion with Him—and with all those who share in that life (the church).

Our calling is to lean into this work. We are not passive. As Peter wrote, “Make every effort to add to your faith . . . virtue” (2 Peter 1:5). That virtue—those excellent qualities—are what make communion with God possible and enjoyable.

How do we grow in this? The heart of it is simple: “Remain in me, as I also remain in you” (John 15:4). Stay connected to Jesus. There’s more to do, but this is the center.

How does that connection work itself out in daily life? That’s what we’ll explore below.

You Need Time
All relationships take time. Aristotle once said that friendship requires eating a pound of salt together. Not all at once, of course—but slowly, over many meals. Time together builds friendship.

So it is with God. Communion with Him takes time. This is why we set apart time for fellowship with God—especially through His Word and prayer.

But how we spend that time matters. Continue reading “How to Live a Life of Communion with God”

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Why Do We Believe in the Trinity?

Here’s a series of questions and answers on this topic that I wrote many years ago for my congregation. If you have questions about why Christians believe in the Trinity, the doctrine that there is one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, here is a brief explanation in a series of questions and answers.

1. What do we mean by God? God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He made all things out of nothing by the word of His power. He preserves and governs all His creatures and all their actions.

2. What does the Bible reveal uniquely about who God is? It reveals that there are three persons in the one, infinite essence of God.

3. What do we mean by nature or essence? We mean what something is. For example, the essence or nature of a dog is that it is a dog, of a chair that it is a chair, of man that he is human.

4. What do we mean by person? Each nature has particular instances of its nature. For example, you are one instance of human nature, and I am another. However, by person we mean also that a particular individual of a nature is also intelligent and capable of personal interaction. Continue reading “Why Do We Believe in the Trinity?”

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