Tuesday, August 23, 2016

"The Nevers" Part 2 Never Alone


"The Nevers"

Part 2

Never Alone

   
    
   "There is one God" - it could be argued that this constitutes the simplest truth proclaimed by Scripture - unless that one God exists in three Persons.

    "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Peter 1:3).
    "Unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, o God, is forever and ever" (Hebrews 1:8).
    "By His Spirit, He hath garnished the heavens" (Job 26:13).

    The truth of the Trinity reveals not only the mystery of God's being, but also the fellowship of Heart to Heart to Heart that eternally exists in Him.  Herein we see another "Never" of God.  He has never been alone.  Even before He made angels and humans, our Lord dwelt in the perfect love and fellowship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The Persons of the Godhead were and are perfectly fulfilled, having no need for any other in order to know the joy of relational union and communion.  "God is love" declared the Apostle John (I John 4:8).  He is also eternally unchanging - "I am the Lord; I change not" (Malachi 3:6).  Thus, there must have always been relationship and fellowship in the Lord, again, even before other conscious beings existed.  We may therefore conclude that God's oneness does not preclude the relational nature of His being.  He has never been alone.

    Since God created humanity in His image, and since through Christ He progressively works in born again believers to conform us to His spiritual and moral likeness, we must realize the centrality of relationship not only in our Lord, but also in ourselves.  The first two commands call us to love God and to love people (Mark 12:30-31).  Thus, we must join our Lord in never being alone, first, in the reality that He always abides with His trusting children, and then, in our devotion to people.  "I am with you always… Honor all men" (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 12:14).  The Apostle Paul declared himself to be both the servant of God and servant of all others (Romans 1:1; I Corinthians 9:19).  In the Lord Jesus, we are united with the Divine race as God's sons and daughters - "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."  In our physical birth, we are united with the human race in our privileged responsibility of viewing ourselves as being devoted to the welfare and fellowship of all - "As we have opportunity, let us therefore do good to all men" (I Corinthians 6:17; Galatians 6:10).

   Never alone: true of God, and true of ourselves.  We walk with Him forevermore, and with people. Thus, we begin this and every day with gratitude for the potential and the actuality of knowing the joy our Lord knows, the joy of relationship.  We also devote ourselves to the blessing of His heart, and the blessing of the hearts of others.  This is life, the very life of the one glorious God who forever dwells in the union and communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  And this is our life, the very life of those who by grace also know the wonder of the communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The Lord Jesus prayed for such, and then suffered, died, and rose again to draw us into the love of never alone…

"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me."
(John 17:20-21)
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God."
(I Peter 3:18).

Weekly Memory Verse
   Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
 (I Timothy 1:17)


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