i have come to a realization… and i want to share
so there’s this thing called the trinity right: father, son, & holy spirit. “three in one”. i’ve heard it a million times, you’ve probably heard it a million times. but, have you ever sat down and really thought about why? why are there three? why does it really matter if ultimately they’re all the same? what significance does that bring to my life?
well i asked myself that too. and up until maybe a day ago, i couldn’t give you a real explanation apart from the typical “god is the one in heaven, jesus is his son who came to the earth, and the holy spirit lives inside us/floats around in the air…”
and if it weren’t for our weekly, mind-boggling journey markers (themed bible passages and questions put together by our squad leadership), i won’t be writing this to you sharing just how opened my eyes have become to what exactly the trinity is and how it applies to my life. that in fact, it is not solely their location which separates the three.
i’ll break it down for you, but warning, it may get confusing. let’s start with our buddy, jesus.
he was a normal human being like you and me. jesus was once a baby born into this earth and in a stable of all places; he wore diapers (probably not huggies), attempted to put his feet in his mouth, woke his parents up in the middle of the night crying, crawled everywhere, and learned to talk. he grew up like we humans do; he lost his baby teeth, got taller, maybe he broke a bone along the way, made friends, played outside, definitely went through an awkward tween stage, learned carpentry from his father, lost his childhood innocence, and became an adult. he experienced life like us, granted the slight 2000 year difference. nonetheless, he still had feelings, desires, struggles, temptations, and food cravings no doubt.
and the real shocker (and slightly off topic), jesus was not the most attractive man. i hate to shatter the ‘tall, strong, brown-hair, elegant beard, chiseled jawline, kind-eyes, clear skin, and shining white robe’ image you (and myself) have had of jesus since probably the first grade, but that’s the false image society has created him to be. if anything, he was the complete opposite. in isaiah 53 it mentions, “he [jesus] had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him”. he came to this earth as an average-looking commoner to blend among the people, not some gorgeous, high-and-mighty king, like the jews expected. so hey, cut yourself some slack.
back to the main point…
so as i took into account that jesus was fully human, i assumed he would have then sinned, right?
yes, he would have. to be human is to sin.
i know, i know, you’re sitting there right now, shaking your head. maybe doing a double take to insure that, yes indeed that is what you just read. bear with me, this is where it gets cool. since jesus was just a dude, he had every ability to sin. but, with the holy spirit in play (dots starting to connect now… three in one…) dwelling inside him from birth to his dying day, his physical form was incapable of sinning. though at times, jesus was tempted by the devil and came close to sinning, the holy spirit gave him the strength to resist.
not to mention, the all the crazy miracles jesus performed… not exactly his. jesus didn’t have superpowers; he couldn’t turn water into wine, or cure illnesses, or raise the dead to life. it was the unfathomable power given from the father to the holy spirit here on earth living inside of jesus that produced each and every miracle (boom). so in reality, the holy spirit healed the man with leprosy, fed the 5,000, raised jesus from the grave, etc.
possible plagiarism..??
further clarification: jesus = human, father = creator, and the holy spirit = the medium between the two. together they form god. yet, each their own being and each with their unique role, not one could be without the other two.
hang tight, it gets even cooler… so not only did jesus have the holy spirit here on earth, but we do to. you and me. if you believe in the father, you receive his spirit. forever. no questions asked. in john 14:12, jesus proclaims, “whoever believes in me will do the great works i have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these”. so if we’re interpreting this correctly… the holy spirit can perform the same miracles through us that jesus once did. like what? how incredible is that, to know god has bestowed upon us, humans, such a gift as his holy spirit. and if that is not enough convincing, again in acts 1:8 it says, “you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you”.
conclusion to all this: my world was straight up rocked.
