Greetings again, friends everywhere! May the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you today and give you strength for authentic living in our troubling times.

The principle of imputing, of assigning, of superimposing the life of Jesus upon believers is the very essence of the saving message of the gospel. Paul talks about this in his letters to the Galatians, the Ephesians, and the Colossians. This theme shapes and props the New Testament message all through, and reveals the Love and activity of the Trinitarian God in humanity. Paul tells the Romans, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people” (Rom.5:17-18).

Humans cannot save themselves from the spirit of rebellion and sin. Mankind can never earn the salvation God offers them. It can only be given by the Creator as a gift. The Bible is abundantly clear on this, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23).

The term salvation conveys the act of saving humans from sin, and therefore death, and conferring immortality as a gift so humanity may live in God’s Loving embrace forever as His children. The Bible tells us, “God is Love. Whoever lives in Love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16). Immortality comes to humanity through the miraculous activity of God through Jesus in the Spirit’s power. (Read about this awesome life humans are privileged to experience, at my blog post titled, “The Miraculous Life – No Ordinary Life!” at: http://bulamanriver.net/22961)

If it were possible for you and I to earn our salvation, then God would not have sent His Son to die for us in our place. (John 3:16) The Bible states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom.3;23). To “fall short” means that we are inherently deficient and inadequate at receiving let alone engaging in God’s radiant glory. Fallen humanity haven’t by any stretch of the imagination what the glory of God is. However, Paul was inspired to write, “For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many!” (Rom.5:15). Jesus is humanity’s pathway to God’s awe-inspiring glory.

This does not mean humans have nothing to contribute to their salvation. No, God planned the whole process of salvation to be a divine participatory journey we choose to undertake with and in Christ, as we will see. It is a life of surrender and Love, as much as God Loves us unconditionally and completely surrendered His Son for our salvation. John tell us this, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). To receive or reject the Son, (to believe or doubt Jesus) is an act of free will on each person’s part. It is an act of faith – that’s our part, to believe and trust and never doubt God’s Word.

So, if Adam’s disobedience and sin in Eden was and continues to be imputed upon all of humanity resulting in human death and alienation from God, then Jesus’ obedience and faithfulness is likewise attributed to the believer and reconciles humanity to God and brings salvation and true life in the Spirit. Because of Adam’s rebellion, God imputes the fallen state of existence upon earthly humans. I call this fallen human being and existence, the alienated “Adamic humanity.” Humans remain a rejected human species from Adam because they first rejected God’s Love in Eden. (Gal.2:16-17; 3:1-6)

Nevertheless, in God’s great Love for humanity, He sent His Son, Jesus to save humanity from sin, and in doing so, He imputed Jesus’ perfect and risen glorious heavenly life upon believing mankind, and to that end become humanity’s eternal Mediator. Thus, Jesus brought a new human species and life I call, the “Immanuel humanity” species. This person possesses the ‘God with us’ (Immanuel) humanity. (Matt.1:23)

Jesus said humans must be reborn into the new human species with God indwelling the person through His Spirit. (John 3:3-8) This is the essence of the ‘Immanuel humanity’ given birth out of God’s Spirit we read in John 3 above) You may read more at my Blog Post, “The New Humanity Of Jesus” at: http://bulamanriver.net/9718)

The prophet Isaiah prophesied about the coming of the new “Immanuel humanity” in the person of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ. (John 3:16) He said, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and will call Him Immanuel” (Isa.7:14). In the New Testament, Matthew affirmed this prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus Christ’s birth. (Matt.1:18-25) I mentioned that salvation is a participatory process. God is this way, living this participatory life, because He is a trinitarian Being and live participatorily and collaboratively in His triune Being. So, He chooses to extend and participate His divine triune life with humanity (Immanuel – “God with us”) by giving His only Son. (Matt.1:23; John 3:16)

The angel’s message from God to Joseph and Mary about Jesus’ birth was, “What is conceived in her (Mary) is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you will give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins” (Matt.1:20-21). Jesus is the second Adam, the new “Immanuel human” species we must now adopt to displace and replace the fallen “Adamic human” species. The ‘Immanuel human’ is born through the gift of and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (John 3:3-8; 1 Cor.3:16; 6:19; Gal.2:20)

There are only two forms of humans that has ever existed and walked upon this earth. Both originate from the Creator God – the first Adam, who fell to the devil’s temptation in Eden. (Gen.2:16-17; 3:1-6) The second Adam (Jesus Christ), who defeated Satan in the temptations in the Judean wilderness, and went on to become our Savior and High Priest. (1 Cor.15:45; Gen.2:17; 3:1-6; Matt.4:1-11).

Paul explains Jesus’ role as Savior is twofold when he said, “He (Jesus) was delivered to death for our trespasses, and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom.4:25). First, Jesus in His ‘Immanuel human form, lived a perfect life, was baptized by John for mankind, and defeated the devil in the temptation for humanity, then crucified for our atonement. That is the first of Jesus’ twofold role as Savior we read from Paul – what He was and did as the Son of God in human form: “He was delivered to death for our trespasses.”

Second, Jesus did not remain a dead Savior upon His cross. The crucifixion was not the end of God’s story of salvation. If anything, the cross merely signifies the beginning of it. For God resurrected Jesus from the dead, and He became the first human of many to be given the gift of immortality. (John 3:16; Rom.8:29; 1 Cor.15:51-57) God resurrected Him from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is the very heart of the Gospel and the Christian faith. Without the resurrection the cross stands devoid of any lasting meaning.

Then God ascends Jesus to heaven for our ongoing justification. In His now risen glorified human state He spent forty days upon earth with His disciples and others, before He ascended to His Father in heaven. (Act.1:3, 9). When Jesus ascended to heaven, He continued His role as Savior, but only now in His role as humanity’s High Priest continually mediating for us affirming Paul’s words – “and was raised to life for our justification.”

There we see the twofold face of our Savior, the first in His Immanuel human form, subject to all our frailties and through His death took all of humanity’s sins and atoned for them all. Second, then in His resurrected glorified form, as God’s High Priest in heaven endlessly mediating for His fallen human brothers and sisters – all of mankind. In one instance, Jesus took care of His twofold responsibility as mankind’s complete Savior. (Col.2:10)

We can overemphasize Jesus’ cross which takes care of our past, but know little or nothing about how He saves us in our todays and tomorrows, in His everlasting role as our glorified human High Priest. As High Priest, Jesus takes care of all our human responses today and forever. This is how all our human trespasses are taken care of past, present, and future, by Jesus twofold role as Savior and Mediator. (Rom.4:25)

I assume most readers are familiar with Jesus first role of Savior as depicted by the symbol of the cross. The immortal verse of John 3:16 bears this out, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But I want us to look at His second role of saving humanity on a continual basis as our glorified High Priest in heaven today – the “He was raised to life for our justification” role.

Jesus is the great High Priest, and we read affirmation of this wonderful truth in the book of Hebrews, “Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb.4:14-16).  

God the Father’s plan was for Jesus to take our humanity in Himself through Mary His human mother, and glorify our humanity in His now divine/human form (“Immanuel”) and be humanity’s eternal High Priest to be our Mediator forever. He came as the Immanuel (“God with us”) fully God and fully man. (Isa.7:14; Matt.1:23)

With the High Priest, there must of necessity be a temple wherein He serves. The two, the High Priest and the temple, go hand in hand and are indispensably unified into one. In Jesus’ day, He answered a question concerning the temple in Jerusalem. He told His detractors, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” His critics replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple He had spoken of was His body. After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what He had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:19-22).

Here we see Jesus referred to Himself as the very temple of God personified in Himself. So, Jesus is both the temple and its High Priest. A temple is the house of God where humans enter to meet and worship God. Hence, people enter the temple of Jesus, and as its High Priest mediates for us in facilitating true and proper worship of God. So we we see why Jesus was angered when He saw the people desecrate and defile the temple with their sacrileges activities.

We see John was given the vision of this beautiful truth in Revelation, stating, “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev.21:22). The verses before this shows the heavenly Jerusalem, the city wherein the church and the bride of Christ will dwell for eternity. (Rev.21:9-27) What a beautiful picture of humanity’s shown united with the triune God in glorious divine Love for eternity.

The temple in Jerusalem was a physical edifice that has been replicated from the time of Moses when he was first instructed by God to build a temporary temple in the wilderness soon after Israel was freed from slavery in Egypt. God told Moses, “This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain” (Heb.8:5; Exo.25:9).

The physical temple Moses built according to God’s instruction was a copy of the true spiritual temple of God in heaven with seven artifacts and furnishings which depict for us the vital roles of Jesus as the High Priest. The pattern of the temple was important because these seven artifacts and furnishing represents the seven works Jesus does within the temple of Himself to bring humanity immortality and unity with the triune God.

Once we identify these seven works of the High Priest, we will understand Jesus’ various mediatory roles on our behalf to unite humanity with the triune God in heaven in the personified temple of Jesus’ glorified body. When a person receives Jesus as personal Savior, he/she undergoes a new birth in the person’s spiritual life and becomes a “Immanuel human” (Christian). Christ comes and dwell in the believer, and the saved person likewise dwells in Christ.

Paul said this upon a person’s conversion and new birth into an “Immanuel human” (becomes a Christian), “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal.2:20; Rom.6:6). I would like to emphasize Paul’s words, “I live by the faith of the Son of God.” In a separate passage from the Book of Romans and other Bible passages, Paul said this, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom.1:17; also, Gal.3:11; Heb.10:38).

The earthly temple of God is not a physical structure, but a spiritual one for God is composed of Spirit. He is not mortal like humans. His earthly spiritual temple is the inner sanctum of the hearts and minds of humans who have received Jesus as personal Savior. And at its very core is the living faith of the people, Paul said, “But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners” (Rom.4:5, NLB) (You may read my Post about the “Living Faith of Jesus” at: http://bulamanriver.net/21946)

In the Spirit’s move and power, we are brought into the heavenly temple through the Holy Spirit indwelling us on earth in the spiritual life (temple) of the human body, where humanity is collectively called the Church, and the Church in turn is called the “Body of Christ,” and by co-indwelling with Christ made into the one temple of God in Christ. (1 Cor.12:24-27)

Paul said emphatically, “This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13). Then Paul further affirms the Spirit indwelling humanity, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Cor.6:19; also, 1 Cor.12:27-31)

The prophet Ezekiel and apostle Paul quote God stating, “My dwelling place will be with them and will walk among them; I will be their God, and they will be My people” (Ezek.37:27; 2 Cor.6:16). God’s desire has always been to live with humanity and make us His children forever. (Rev.21:3-4) To be precise, God’s spiritual temple is the very inner sanctum of the hearts and minds of saved humanity that is surrendered and given to Christ, and in which He lives and walks, and we live in Him. Intuitively, that describes who the “Immanuel human” (Christian) is.

These seven divine works Jesus has already carried out upon earth and continues to do in the temple of God in Christ in heaven before the Father. And on earth, Jesus continues to do in the human temple of the believer’s body and life – individually and collectively (Church). So, as God’s Loving will is being done in His heavenly temple in Christ, it is also being carried out upon earth in His earthly temple of the inner sanctum of the hearts and minds of saved humanity. (Matt.6:10) What Christ has done on earth as the Messiah, which He continues to do as our glorified human High Priest, is fully expounded and pictured in these seven furnishings within the temple of Himself in heaven in the Father’s presence for saved humanity. (John 2:19-22)

Recall the prayer Jesus taught the disciples to pray before God each day, the “Lords’ Prayer.” The essence of the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt.6:10). It means may the temple-life we live in the Spirit in Christ our High Priest in heaven be replicated in the spiritual temple of the human body of believers on earth, the Church.

Let us now see how Jesus performs each of these seven mediatory functions within the temple to keep us in divine completeness with the Father, bearing in mind that this is a participatory process where humans have a part to play by expressing faith in these intercessory works of Christ. (Rom.1:17; 3:22; 2 Cor.5:7) Jesus’ multiple role as humanity’s High Priest before God show without any shadow of doubt why He and only He is the Savior of mankind. Little surprise the Bible records how Jesus was angered when He saw the people defile the temple with their desecrating activities. These are the seven roles of Christ as depicted in the articles of the temple, with Scriptural reference relating to God’s instruction to Moses:

• 1 The Alter of Sacrifice Exo.27:1-8: The Alter of Sacrifice is where sacrifices are burnt by the priesthood in Ancient Israel who were appointed to carry out this work in the temple on behalf of humanity. (Exodus 27:1) This represents Jesus who was slain and offered as sacrifice for human sins. Redemption always works through the atoning blood of Christ.

Christ is the Lamb of God who who was sacrificed for the sins of all humanity. God meets saved humanity only at the foot of Jesus’ cross, where sins past, present, and future receive absolution through the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb. (Exo.12:1-12; John 3:16-17; 1 Cor.11:26)

As High Priest today, He continues to do this in heaven in the personified temple of Himself, and in the inner sanctum of the hearts and minds of saved humanity that is given to Christ. We can offer our lives as a ‘sacrifice’ only because Jesus has gone before and offered Himself for us. (Rom.12:1)

• 2 Laver – The Laver Exo.30:17-21: The Laver was a large bowl filled with water used for cleansing the priesthood before entering the Holy Place of the temple. This represent the work of the Holy Spirit who cleanses humanity before God, through the Spirit of Love and its many Love-fruits. (1 Cor.13) (You can read Blog Post, “OUR HUMAN RESPONSE IN THE “TRIUNE LIFE”*-LOVE!” at: http://bulamanriver.net/9199)

In this function, we are reminded of what Jesus did for us when He entered the waters of the Jordan to be baptized for us and repent of our sins by the hand of John the Baptist. Jesus had no sin to repent of, so He bore our sins by repenting for humanity, and subsequently died for us on His cross. Recall what Jesus told John when he first hesitated baptizing Him, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” In other words, they must carry out God’s will, so humans can repent by imputing what Jesus’ has done for us. He has made it possible for us to repent, not because we can do it on our own. God ascribes His Son’s finished work upon us. (Rom.4:5; 5:19; Phi.3:9)

Then, He inaugurated the gift of the Spirit from the Father to mankind prior to Pentecost. (Matt.3:13-17) The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to face and defeat Satan in the temptations for us, and then died on the cross for us, thus, ending the cycle of death through sin which started from Adam’s fall. Jesus rebooted God’s purpose in mankind by washing us clean and giving back true life in His likeness. This is the basis for our spiritual and psychological health and welfare.

Recall what Jesus promised the disciples before He was crucified, “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate (Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7).

In other words, the Spirit cannot come and indwell humanity as a cleansing and sanctifying agent (laver) until the Savior has done His work of atonement for humanity. (1 above). His atoning work continues to this day in heaven before the Father, and in the lives of saved humanity so the Spirit’s sanctifying activity may continue unbroken.

• 3 Table of Showbread Exo.25:23-30: This function represents Jesus as the personified Word of God. (John 1:1-2) Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.” God told Moses this is the “bread of the Presence” (Exo.25:30). This typifies the continual presence of Jesus as the living Word of God in our lives. Jesus the Personified Word, and the written Word of God, the Bible, in saved humanity. When we partake in the communion by eating the bread (representing His Body/flesh) and drinking the wine (representing His blood for life is in the blood) we are being reborn and given new life to take up in Christ, and He in us. (Matt.26:26-30; 1 Cor. 11:23).

The bread and wine (communion) represent Jesus’ body and blood (new “Immanuel humanity”), the born-again believer who now lives in Christ, and become temples as Christ is God’s temple. This is the source of our confidence in living upon this earth as we rely upon the Word of God, both the literal (Bible) and personified Christ (High Priest). (John 6:53-58) Jesus continues to feed us spiritually through the power of the Spirit who cleanses us through His Word.

• 4 The Golden Lampstand Exo.25:31-40: The Golden Lampstand represent Jesus who is the light of the world. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). It had a central shaft with which represents Christ, with six branches, each with oil which gives light in the temple. The oil in the lampstand characterize the Holy Spirit. (Matt.25:1-13) We keep our lamps alight by not quenching the Spirit of Love (oil which gives light) in our lives. (1 Thess.5:19; 1 Cor.13; Rom.5:5)

What does the light mean? For humans, light symbolize one’s gift and defines who he/she is. Jesus confers gifts upon His followers to keep them in purposeful and focused communion with Him and the Father throughout their sojourn on earth under the Spirit’s direction and protection. (Eph.4:7-8; Heb.8:3) This gives us our true purpose to life, and inspires confidence in all we do.

As God told Zerubbabel, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zech.4:6). So, light symbolize various gifts God has given to humanity which guides them through life, and keeps them connected to the divine Loving will of God through their sojourn as humans upon earth.

• 5 Altar of Incense Exo.30:1-8: Altar of Incense speaks to us about the believer’s prayers, thanksgiving offerings, and worship empowered by Jesus and the Spirit bringing the fragrance of the beloved Son before the face of the Father in Heaven. (Eph.5:1-2) Jesus and the Spirit prays for us. (see Rom.8:34 and Rom.8:26, also Isa.53:12b) We do not know how to pray perfectly, but Jesus and the Spirit does. We do not know how to Love the Father perfectly in our depraved hearts, but Jesus through the Spirit does. (Rom.5:5)

Here, we live in a time/space in our prayer life where death to self-love and self-will abides and we are alive in the Spirit through prayers of supplication, travailing in spirit, intercession, battles against evil forces, petition, praise, adoration, giving of thanks, Love, Faith, and Hope. The incense signifies Jesus taking our prayers, our worship, our gratitude, and perfecting them in the temple of Himself before the Father and transforming them into a sweet-smelling aroma before God. (2 Cor.2:15-16)

• 6 Ark of the Covenant Exo.25:10-16: The Golden Ark of the Covenant reveals the covenant promises of God to humanity which He exhibited and was embodied in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. And Jesus, as High Priest, continue to discharge these vital promises in the lives of saved humanity. The three artifacts contained in the Ark are:

• 6A The Ten Commandments Exo.16:34; Heb.9:4 —The tablets of stone which has the 10 Commandments written with God’s hands in Sinai. It means one thing – Love. God’s Love for us is revealed in the Love-fruits of the Spirit with which He Loves us intimately, and by which we personify the law through Love. (1 Cor.13:1-12) Through Jesus the Father continues to Love humanity completely. (Rom.5:5)
• 6B The Gold Jar of Manna Exo.16:34; Heb.9:4 —The Manna which God rained daily for forty years upon the Ancient Israelites during their sojourn in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, symbolizes the miraculous life they were privileged recipients. (Exo.16:35) Just as the Israelites lived the miraculous life for forty years before entering the Promise Land, so does saved humanity today as we dwell in the temple of Jesus daily and draw strength from Herald the Spirit and dependability on Christ in matters great and small in this world. The miraculous manna symbolize the miraculous life we live in the Spirit’s power.
• 6C Aaron’s Rod Heb.9:4 —Aaron’s Rod represents the supremacy and sovereignty of Jesus in the Kingdom of God. His power of Kingship and the power to impart immortality to His people. (John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47) We acknowledge Jesus’ pre-eminence as Savior, Mediatory High Priesthood, King of kings and Lord of lords, and God’s very Temple in heaven and earth, and through whom immortality will be imparted to humans in the Spirit’s power. (Rom.8:11)

• 7 The Mercy Seat Exo.25:17: The Mercy Seat served as a covering lid for the Ark of the Covenant where the Father, God Almighty, is seated. (See picture below) It is made of solid-gold and portrays the fullness of the Glory of God and our unity with the Father through Christ and the Holy Spirit. This is the eternal “throne of grace and confidence.” This is where we come to find help, this is humanity’s ultimate place of rest, assurance where we are embraced in the compassionate and Loving embrace of our caring Father for eternity. (Heb.4:14-16) He knows every one of our human frailties through His Son who took our humanity and presents us in Himself to the Father. All that Christ has done in the six functions prior to this, is to unite us with the Father as His children, caressed in His Love forever. (Rev.21:3-4)

My hope is you have caught a glimpse of the awe-inspiring mediatory and substitutionary work of Christ, God’s High Priest, which He continues today and forever. His work did not finish at the cross, but is ongoing in the temple of Himself before God in heaven and on earth in the inner sanctum of the hearts and minds of saved humanity.

(To read more about what the temple means to us personally and collectively, read my post titled, “The Role and Function of The Temple of God” at: http://bulamanriver.net/11230. Also, “For We Are the Temple of The Living God” at: http://bulamanriver.net/10700)

Petition: Friends, as I have closed my post in the past, I customarily give our readers the opportunity to give their lives to our Maker. I thank you for investing your precious time with me in the sharing of the good news of Jesus who has enabled us to live the Triune Life*. Jesus is alive today as our High Priest in heaven seated at His Father’s side, and ceaselessly mediating for us. I hope that in your heart of heart you will receive Him as your personal Savior, receive God’s Spirit, and be part of living this glorious humanity made children of God forever. You can privately and quietly pray the prayer below in your heart. I am asking you to pray this prayer as a human being Christ died for, regardless of your background. All are inducted into the one mankind Jesus saved, not into any religious sect or denomination, or divisions one may espouse – but into the glorious humanity that Christ is preparing as the holy temple for God’s dwelling:

Prayer: “Almighty God, Father of all humanity, forgive me of all my sins for I receive Your Son, Jesus, as my personal Savior. In Your incalculable grace, grant Your promised celestial life in Your Son through Your Holy Spirit, and open my eyes to the wondrous gifts you have conferred upon me and all humanity. May Your Love guide and protect me and my Loved ones always, and bring us all into Your beloved and divine Kingdom. I praise and thank You, Amen.”

Welcome to the celestial life of Love in God’s holy, eternal Family. (1 Tim.6:19) Then keep in touch with God’s Word for you by reading and studying your Bible, and visiting this blog and website and look at various subjects that may be relevant for your situation – go to: http://bulamanriver.net. You can email me with your questions at the address shown below.

Blessing: Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessings of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven your spirit and make all things concerning you possible as you live the “Triune Life” as a  Bulamanriver.*  Be strong in the Lord’s joy.

Farewell for now!

Kiang, (Your Servant in Christ)

*Triune Life: “Triune Life” speaks of the process of theosis or deification of humanity. What is theosis or deification? “It refers to apotheosis, meaning “making divine.” Theosis or deification is a transformative process whose aim is likeness to or union with God (as taught by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church).” (Wikipedia.org) The belief in the process of ‘deification’ is understood in accordance with Jesus’ teaching, when He said, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’? If He called them ‘gods,’ to whom the Word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside (cannot be broken)” (John 10:34-35; Psa.82:6). (You can read about the Triune Life at: http://bulamanriver.net/9199, and other posts)

I have written about this subject of ‘deification’ in my blogs under the theme ‘substitution’ and ‘attribution’ (see, http://bulamanriver.net/564), where I showed how Jesus came as God incarnate (Immanuel) to assume our sinful humanity in order to save mankind from sin and death for the express purpose of human deification. (Matt.1:23; Rom.3:10-12, 18, 23; John 3:16; 1 Cor.15:50-55; Rom.8:29) Further, we read the following, “As a process of transformation, theosis is brought about by the effects of catharsis (purification of mind and body) and theoria (‘illumination’ with the ‘vision’ of God). According to Eastern Christian teaching, theosis is very much the purpose of human life. It is considered achievable only through a synergy (or cooperation) between human activity and God’s uncreated energies.” (Wikipedia.org)

So, the “Triune Life” reveals the intersection of human life and activity and the uncreated divine energy flowing from the Tri-Personal Being of God of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is a way of life which explains that process of theosis whereby humans are transformed in body, mind, and spirit by the Love of God. God’s uncreated energy is His Love. So, the foundational tenet of the “Triune Life” is based upon the Love of God, for “God is Love” (1 John 4:8, 16). Thereby, it can also be called aptly, the “Triune Love.”

I had coined the term “Triune Love” and “Triune Life,” to refer to a person who lives the three-dimensional life within the Tri-Personal Godhead of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matt.28:19) This is opposed to the one-dimensional human way of life influenced by the devil. We see God’s Tri-Personal Love move in an inward, outward, and upward trajectory, in this process of theosis which I have called the ‘three ascents.’ The three ascents are three steps which dovetails into one another showing how all three Persons of the Godhead are in the relationship of Love with humanity – where God reveals the fullness of Himself to humanity, both individually and collectively. (2 Cor.13:14; 1 Pet.1:1-2) That’s to say, the act of one is the act of all three, and the act of three is the act of one, making them unified in Love. (Mar.12:29; Deut.6:4)

Every aspect of human living follows this three-step format revealing the three-dimensional aspect of how the Tri-Personal Being of God in the Father, Son, and Spirit, directly and collectively involved in the life of human believers, individually and collectively to bring humanity to salvation. These three steps move in an ascending order, so I will call them ‘ascents.’ Each ‘ascent’ dovetails into the next and finally reveals the ‘manifestation’ of the topic, which we will call the fourth step, in this case, Love!

Hence, all my articles are framed within this three-step format, or ascents. The subject of the article dovetails into each ascent and spontaneously lead to the manifestation of the divine Love and reveals how humanity is enlightened by God, and cleansed in mind, body, and spirit. The ascents reveal three doors one must enter to attain the manifestation of God’s Love relationship with humanity. The ascents are not to be misconstrued as some ‘secret knowledge’ or mystical activity. Rather, each ascent represents the relationship of Love a human enjoys with the Triune God in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, throughout a person’s life. In fact, the ascents are actually three Love relationships the believer encounters with the Tri-Personal God. This three-way relationship is what I have called by the term, “Triune Life” or “Triune Love.” These ascents represent the movement of God’s Love in an inward, outward, and upward, trajectory to bring God’s enlightenment in a person. The fourth step reveals how the article is made to manifest in the life of the person, both individually and then collectively in humanity.

Man’s union with the Triune God, or “Triune Living/Loving,” is made possible by Jesus, who Himself, is one in substance and reality with the Triune Godhead. (John 1:1-2) He took our humanity into the very Being of the Triune Godhead by cleansing it of all sin and rebellion. To live the “Triune Love (Life)” is the miraculous expression of the Spirit (Love) in humans. (Rom.5:5) The miraculous life is the promise of the New Covenant, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances, and do them” (Ezek.36:27).

The Bible states, “He (God) does great things that we cannot understand and miracles that we cannot count” (Job 5:9; 37:5). If God acts in ways that cannot be fathomed and is beyond human comprehension, then the miraculous life where humans are privileged recipients, cannot be deciphered by the human mind to its grandest manifestation. But we understand its meaning through divine revelation in that God reveals Himself as Love, and His miraculous activities are enveloped in His Love. (Jer.29:11)

The three-dimensional Triune Life/Love is opposed to living the one-dimensional solitary life of the fallen humanity inherited from Satan through Adam’s rebellion. For additional information about the Triune Life: http://bulamanriver.net/?p=8036. Also at: http://bulamanriver.net/9092.                                                     

**Bulamanriver: To read the different facets of the life of the Bulamanriver, you may obtain a copy of my book, “Bula” Man-River, from Amazon.com; xulonpress.com, barnesandnoble.com, and other online book stores. All proceeds will go towards furthering the work of Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

Mission Statement: Read the Triune Love Mission, Vision, and Value statements at: http://bulamanriver.net/8664

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.

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