«The core of the teachings of the Holy Trinity is a reality of the Triune Godhead - God lives in communion and relationship with Himself ...» (Unknown)
The Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)
«The Lord our God is the one and only living and true God; Whose subsistence is in and of Himself
- Who is infinite in being and perfection; Whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself;
- Who is a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions
- Who only has immortality
- Who dwells in the light which no man can approach, Who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, in every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute;
- Who works all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory;
- Who is most loving, gracious, merciful, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth;
- Who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin;
- Who is the Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him;
- and Who, at the same time, is most just and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin and Who will by no means clear the guilty.
God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and from Himself, is unique in being all- sufficient, both in Himself and to Himself, not standing in need of any creature which He has made, nor deriving any glory from such.
- On the contrary, it is God Who manifests His own glory in them, through them, to them and upon them. He is the only fountain of all being; from Whom, through Whom, and to Whom all things exist and move.
- He has completely sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do through them, for them, or to them whatever He pleases.
- In His sight all things are open and manifest; His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and not dependant on the creature.
- Therefore, nothing is for Him contingent or uncertain.
- He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands.
- To Him is due from angels and men whatever worship, service, or obedience, they owe as creatures to the Creator, and whatever else He is pleased to require from them.
In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and the Holy Spirit. All are one in substance, power, and eternity; each having the whole divine essence, yet this essence being undivided.
The Father was not derived from any other being; He was neither brought into being by, nor did He issue from any other being.
- The Son is eternally begotten of the Father.
- The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
- All three are infinite, without beginning, and are therefore only one God, Who is not to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties, and also their personal relations.
- This doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and our comfortable dependence on Him».
Modern interpretation of the Baptist confession of faith
«…God is both One God and Three Persons, having one Essence and Three Personalities»
God is the highest mystery of the universe, which is designed for revelation to men and through him – to the whole creation - this is the plan of God.
There are two great mysteries of God, inaccessible to very profound understanding of majority of believers. The Mystery of God's Trinity and the mystery of godliness.
The Mystery of God Trinity is: one nature manifested in three persons.
The Mystery of godliness: in one Personality there were expressed two natures - divine and human, that is, God was manifested in the flesh.
I believe that the nature of any being effects on the formation of his personality rather than personality affect the nature. None has ever changed his sinful nature of flesh by good deeds, good motivation and humanistic character.
Thus, the nature influences on personality, personality is dependent on nature.
Personality does not change the nature, although it may consciously either suppress it, or develop.
As far as I know, many agree that the nature of the Godhead is holiness. Seraphim cry before the Throne: «Holy, holy, holy is Lord of Hosts!» They proclaim the highest quality of God Himself - His nature.
In this context, a definition of holiness - it is one of the key points.
Three Personalities exist in eternal relationship with each other, the level of which defines the essence of God. This level of relationships is so strong, that it is the basis of the unique unity of God in three persons.
DEFINITION (definition is true only if his substitution in the text of the Bible of a phrase is meaningful, rather than embarrassing - to any place of Scripture - is a criteria for determining the correctness)
Holiness of God is the mystery of the relationship within the Godhead (Trinity)!
Holiness of God is the relationship of Divine level between Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Holiness of man is separation from evil for the relationship with God.
The basic principle of this perfect and most powerful relationship is the principle of sacrificial love. In other words, in the holiness of God the main thing is God's love.
Holiness, that is the nature of God, is the relationship!
Yes, this is - first and foremost, the relationship of God's love – composition of perfections.
In this context, it is useful to present some more definitions that follow it.
Sanctification is a process, as a gift of God, which is performed by Christ – the Highest Priest - over us and in us. Sanctification is separation, dedication of something or someone for the relationship of the Godhead (in NT), or a relationship with God (in the OT).
Holiness of man is co-participation in the relationship of the Divine level between Father, Son and Spirit. Holiness is what God achieved in our state, as the fruit of our spirit, that of our level of relationship with God in God, in which we abide, and which keep.
So, God, commanding to «be holy, for I am holy», tells us to remain at the level of divine relationships, stay in the communion of the Spirit, prayer, the Word, communion of saints in the Church.
Basis meaning - the relationship with God - will not change, but people in OT exist out of divinity, and are fallen in the original creation, but in NT people live in Christ, in God, outside the old universe.
Adam was created perfect and living forever, but he did not have innate holiness, as a revealed personal knowledge of God and unity with Him. This was the aim and purpose of Adam, as every human being. Adam’s nature was not holy, and was simply human nature without sin. He had a relationship with God as the Old Testament holiness, being part of creation, existing outside of God. He was to grow in holiness - relationship with God so much that God could enter into him and live in him as the Spirit, and Adam could enter in the Son of God, but it was not so ... Adam sinned and broke their relationship with God.
DEFINITION
Sin is everything that destroys the relationship between personalities: God with man and man with man.
Clothes were given to Adam and Eve by God through the shedding of innocent blood that sin could be covered before God, as for His clear sight it is inappropriate to look at evil and sin, braking communion of God and man, without which the relations of man with God would be impossible.
When Adam fell - it was a definite gap in relationship with God, causing mutual wounds of hearts and pain to both God and man.
The time passed, in the relations of God and people there have been ups and downs, but the purpose and intent of God remained in force - God wants to reveal Himself to creation, for man - as the crown of creation – to know God and unite with Him, this way revealing God to creation.
In the relations of God with man there is a goal and mean. Objective - this is the mutual knowledge and unification. Mean is communication, i.e. doing something common: the thoughts, desires, affairs, finance, nature, life...
Jn.17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
The words «know» in the entire Bible, both OT and NT, has another important meaning: to connect in a unity (as, for example, the husband knows his wife in intimate relationships).
Plan of the grace of God is to give the man as a creation, the level of unity and relationships – Holiness - which He has, in which he resides, that is unite Himself with creation, entirely reveal Himself to it, so that creation sees and knows Him as He is.
On behalf of the creation man is chosen for this purpose, the crown and the head of all creation... It is the purpose of God - the fullness, the execution of plan of the Father, when all creation will know the Creator, the One. All creation, except man, will know in the sense of «God revealed Himself», and man will know in the sense of «God revealed Himself and joint, united Himself with him». God will be all in all. This revelation of the Father is decided to commit through the Son, therefore, eternal life, that is completeness of the knowledge of divinity, is in Son. (Jn17:3, 1Jn5:20). This is a state, which will culminate the idea of God. And it will last forever.
It is necessary to know God both spiritually and mentally, we cannot speak of the physical understanding on the earth until we are in «old hut» and distant from the Lord ...
To know spiritually is to connect, unite the spirit with the Lord: first, through praise and worship in His presence, as well as godly feelings.
To know mentally is to acquire the mind of Christ and to learn about God from the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, to do acts of righteousness out of love ...
This plan of God's grace can really only be embodied in the people born from above, which are the bearers of secret godliness: God was in human flesh - in person of Christian two natures are revealed - divine and human, as Jesus Christ had.
Further, baptizing in the death and resurrection of Christ, we are separated from the old creation, inheriting the highest position and uncreated nature of God in the Son of God, entering in family relationship within the Godhead, leaving the invisible and visible primeval universe ... we are a mystery to the angels who want to understand the great mystery of Christ and the Church as His Bride. Those in Christ are new creation. They are creation united with the Creator.
Cross and death of Jesus, the blood of Jesus Christ - the Son of God, are the highest value of conscience as a system of values of born again man. It is - the new basement of his new nature and identity in Christ.
Knowledge of Father is Life of Son ... He gave it for our sake ... He forgot God on the cross for our sake ... Father forgot Son ... at this moment God forgot all our sins alongside with His Son, Who took upon Himself our sins ... Paul understood these feelings, wishing to be separated from Christ for his brothers and loved by the flesh ...
When on the cross, Jesus cried: «Eloahi! Eloahi! Lama shebaktani? », at this time the darkness of obliteration of God has filled His mind. Darkness around Him at Calvary meant absence of knowledge of God. He actually forgot the Father so that we could really get to know the Father. It was the darkness of obliteration, the Son forgot the Father and the Father forgot His Son, it was a yelling of destroyed relationship of the Father and the Son for the sins of humanity at this moment came into the essence and the nature of divinity - into his holiness. Holiness of God has been violated by sins of humanity, that is crushing temporarily unbreakable in eternity relationships between the Father and the Son - one of the links was broken, but not three!
Spiritual death chased Son of man on the cross, when the mind of Christ forgot His Father ... Obliteration of each other by personalities is death, total destruction, the destruction of the relationship ... After Jesus told the world that everything is done, the Holy Spirit returned to the Son relationship with the Father, and Jesus gave His Spirit to the Father, in conscience and victoriously He defeated death with this last shot - the physical death.
In the resurrection Son was restored in the full knowledge of God. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God consciousness, the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation of God, the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead, He returned the knowledge of God the Father to the Son, and life of Son therein ...
Son was left on the cross by the Father, but Son was not left in the tomb by Father ... Hallelujah! The attitude of individuals’ hearts in relations to each other can be broken only by sin, and not by stopping/interruption in communication ... The only thing that violates the holiness, i.e. perfect relationship of love between the Father, the Son and the Spirit, is a sin. These relationships, or the holiness of Godhead, had been breached only once: on the cross, when the Son took the sin of mankind, the Father forsook Him indeed. Unity of the Three had been violated by sin once and forever in eternity so that the redeemed be able to enter into the level of the Divine relationship of the Father, the Son and the Spirit, to share their eternal fellowship, nature, and be forever as a family of God, as His kingdom.
The death of the Son of God for our sins - it is that wound, incision in the trunk of a noble olive tree, through which we engrafted into God, entered the cherished relationship of Three Highest Persons, dwelling in relationship of absolute unity. This does not mean that the unity and holiness of God depends on our participation in it, from degree of our union with God. Christ as the Head of the Body is firmly associated with the Father and the Spirit.
On the basis of our new nature, as a continuation of the Son of God, We entered the holiness of God, inside the Everexisting, and we hope to have an eternal part in His holiness.
Through the wounds of Christ we entered into sacred relationship within Triune God. Through the wounds of Christ we were engrafted in God's vine, being on which we bear spiritual fruits. Through the wounds of Christ, we were engrafted to the noble olive tree. Christ was set on cuts as the noble olive tree trunk; He was wounded so that branches, being engrafted by faith in these scars, could be unified with God.
So, let us do not have superficial attitude to performance or our primary mission - to learn Him and unite ourselves with God, but rather let us go to Him in the fear of God and with thanksgivings, and seek His face with all constancy, knowing what price was paid for our entrance to God! Amen.
The Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)
«The Lord our God is the one and only living and true God; Whose subsistence is in and of Himself
- Who is infinite in being and perfection; Whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself;
- Who is a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions
- Who only has immortality
- Who dwells in the light which no man can approach, Who is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, in every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute;
- Who works all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory;
- Who is most loving, gracious, merciful, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth;
- Who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin;
- Who is the Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him;
- and Who, at the same time, is most just and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin and Who will by no means clear the guilty.
God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and from Himself, is unique in being all- sufficient, both in Himself and to Himself, not standing in need of any creature which He has made, nor deriving any glory from such.
- On the contrary, it is God Who manifests His own glory in them, through them, to them and upon them. He is the only fountain of all being; from Whom, through Whom, and to Whom all things exist and move.
- He has completely sovereign dominion over all creatures, to do through them, for them, or to them whatever He pleases.
- In His sight all things are open and manifest; His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and not dependant on the creature.
- Therefore, nothing is for Him contingent or uncertain.
- He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands.
- To Him is due from angels and men whatever worship, service, or obedience, they owe as creatures to the Creator, and whatever else He is pleased to require from them.
In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and the Holy Spirit. All are one in substance, power, and eternity; each having the whole divine essence, yet this essence being undivided.
The Father was not derived from any other being; He was neither brought into being by, nor did He issue from any other being.
- The Son is eternally begotten of the Father.
- The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
- All three are infinite, without beginning, and are therefore only one God, Who is not to be divided in nature and being, but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties, and also their personal relations.
- This doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and our comfortable dependence on Him».
Modern interpretation of the Baptist confession of faith
«…God is both One God and Three Persons, having one Essence and Three Personalities»
God is the highest mystery of the universe, which is designed for revelation to men and through him – to the whole creation - this is the plan of God.
There are two great mysteries of God, inaccessible to very profound understanding of majority of believers. The Mystery of God's Trinity and the mystery of godliness.
The Mystery of God Trinity is: one nature manifested in three persons.
The Mystery of godliness: in one Personality there were expressed two natures - divine and human, that is, God was manifested in the flesh.
I believe that the nature of any being effects on the formation of his personality rather than personality affect the nature. None has ever changed his sinful nature of flesh by good deeds, good motivation and humanistic character.
Thus, the nature influences on personality, personality is dependent on nature.
Personality does not change the nature, although it may consciously either suppress it, or develop.
As far as I know, many agree that the nature of the Godhead is holiness. Seraphim cry before the Throne: «Holy, holy, holy is Lord of Hosts!» They proclaim the highest quality of God Himself - His nature.
In this context, a definition of holiness - it is one of the key points.
Three Personalities exist in eternal relationship with each other, the level of which defines the essence of God. This level of relationships is so strong, that it is the basis of the unique unity of God in three persons.
DEFINITION (definition is true only if his substitution in the text of the Bible of a phrase is meaningful, rather than embarrassing - to any place of Scripture - is a criteria for determining the correctness)
Holiness of God is the mystery of the relationship within the Godhead (Trinity)!
Holiness of God is the relationship of Divine level between Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
Holiness of man is separation from evil for the relationship with God.
The basic principle of this perfect and most powerful relationship is the principle of sacrificial love. In other words, in the holiness of God the main thing is God's love.
Holiness, that is the nature of God, is the relationship!
Yes, this is - first and foremost, the relationship of God's love – composition of perfections.
In this context, it is useful to present some more definitions that follow it.
Sanctification is a process, as a gift of God, which is performed by Christ – the Highest Priest - over us and in us. Sanctification is separation, dedication of something or someone for the relationship of the Godhead (in NT), or a relationship with God (in the OT).
Holiness of man is co-participation in the relationship of the Divine level between Father, Son and Spirit. Holiness is what God achieved in our state, as the fruit of our spirit, that of our level of relationship with God in God, in which we abide, and which keep.
So, God, commanding to «be holy, for I am holy», tells us to remain at the level of divine relationships, stay in the communion of the Spirit, prayer, the Word, communion of saints in the Church.
Basis meaning - the relationship with God - will not change, but people in OT exist out of divinity, and are fallen in the original creation, but in NT people live in Christ, in God, outside the old universe.
Adam was created perfect and living forever, but he did not have innate holiness, as a revealed personal knowledge of God and unity with Him. This was the aim and purpose of Adam, as every human being. Adam’s nature was not holy, and was simply human nature without sin. He had a relationship with God as the Old Testament holiness, being part of creation, existing outside of God. He was to grow in holiness - relationship with God so much that God could enter into him and live in him as the Spirit, and Adam could enter in the Son of God, but it was not so ... Adam sinned and broke their relationship with God.
DEFINITION
Sin is everything that destroys the relationship between personalities: God with man and man with man.
Clothes were given to Adam and Eve by God through the shedding of innocent blood that sin could be covered before God, as for His clear sight it is inappropriate to look at evil and sin, braking communion of God and man, without which the relations of man with God would be impossible.
When Adam fell - it was a definite gap in relationship with God, causing mutual wounds of hearts and pain to both God and man.
The time passed, in the relations of God and people there have been ups and downs, but the purpose and intent of God remained in force - God wants to reveal Himself to creation, for man - as the crown of creation – to know God and unite with Him, this way revealing God to creation.
In the relations of God with man there is a goal and mean. Objective - this is the mutual knowledge and unification. Mean is communication, i.e. doing something common: the thoughts, desires, affairs, finance, nature, life...
Jn.17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
The words «know» in the entire Bible, both OT and NT, has another important meaning: to connect in a unity (as, for example, the husband knows his wife in intimate relationships).
Plan of the grace of God is to give the man as a creation, the level of unity and relationships – Holiness - which He has, in which he resides, that is unite Himself with creation, entirely reveal Himself to it, so that creation sees and knows Him as He is.
On behalf of the creation man is chosen for this purpose, the crown and the head of all creation... It is the purpose of God - the fullness, the execution of plan of the Father, when all creation will know the Creator, the One. All creation, except man, will know in the sense of «God revealed Himself», and man will know in the sense of «God revealed Himself and joint, united Himself with him». God will be all in all. This revelation of the Father is decided to commit through the Son, therefore, eternal life, that is completeness of the knowledge of divinity, is in Son. (Jn17:3, 1Jn5:20). This is a state, which will culminate the idea of God. And it will last forever.
It is necessary to know God both spiritually and mentally, we cannot speak of the physical understanding on the earth until we are in «old hut» and distant from the Lord ...
To know spiritually is to connect, unite the spirit with the Lord: first, through praise and worship in His presence, as well as godly feelings.
To know mentally is to acquire the mind of Christ and to learn about God from the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, to do acts of righteousness out of love ...
This plan of God's grace can really only be embodied in the people born from above, which are the bearers of secret godliness: God was in human flesh - in person of Christian two natures are revealed - divine and human, as Jesus Christ had.
Further, baptizing in the death and resurrection of Christ, we are separated from the old creation, inheriting the highest position and uncreated nature of God in the Son of God, entering in family relationship within the Godhead, leaving the invisible and visible primeval universe ... we are a mystery to the angels who want to understand the great mystery of Christ and the Church as His Bride. Those in Christ are new creation. They are creation united with the Creator.
Cross and death of Jesus, the blood of Jesus Christ - the Son of God, are the highest value of conscience as a system of values of born again man. It is - the new basement of his new nature and identity in Christ.
Knowledge of Father is Life of Son ... He gave it for our sake ... He forgot God on the cross for our sake ... Father forgot Son ... at this moment God forgot all our sins alongside with His Son, Who took upon Himself our sins ... Paul understood these feelings, wishing to be separated from Christ for his brothers and loved by the flesh ...
When on the cross, Jesus cried: «Eloahi! Eloahi! Lama shebaktani? », at this time the darkness of obliteration of God has filled His mind. Darkness around Him at Calvary meant absence of knowledge of God. He actually forgot the Father so that we could really get to know the Father. It was the darkness of obliteration, the Son forgot the Father and the Father forgot His Son, it was a yelling of destroyed relationship of the Father and the Son for the sins of humanity at this moment came into the essence and the nature of divinity - into his holiness. Holiness of God has been violated by sins of humanity, that is crushing temporarily unbreakable in eternity relationships between the Father and the Son - one of the links was broken, but not three!
Spiritual death chased Son of man on the cross, when the mind of Christ forgot His Father ... Obliteration of each other by personalities is death, total destruction, the destruction of the relationship ... After Jesus told the world that everything is done, the Holy Spirit returned to the Son relationship with the Father, and Jesus gave His Spirit to the Father, in conscience and victoriously He defeated death with this last shot - the physical death.
In the resurrection Son was restored in the full knowledge of God. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God consciousness, the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation of God, the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead, He returned the knowledge of God the Father to the Son, and life of Son therein ...
Son was left on the cross by the Father, but Son was not left in the tomb by Father ... Hallelujah! The attitude of individuals’ hearts in relations to each other can be broken only by sin, and not by stopping/interruption in communication ... The only thing that violates the holiness, i.e. perfect relationship of love between the Father, the Son and the Spirit, is a sin. These relationships, or the holiness of Godhead, had been breached only once: on the cross, when the Son took the sin of mankind, the Father forsook Him indeed. Unity of the Three had been violated by sin once and forever in eternity so that the redeemed be able to enter into the level of the Divine relationship of the Father, the Son and the Spirit, to share their eternal fellowship, nature, and be forever as a family of God, as His kingdom.
The death of the Son of God for our sins - it is that wound, incision in the trunk of a noble olive tree, through which we engrafted into God, entered the cherished relationship of Three Highest Persons, dwelling in relationship of absolute unity. This does not mean that the unity and holiness of God depends on our participation in it, from degree of our union with God. Christ as the Head of the Body is firmly associated with the Father and the Spirit.
On the basis of our new nature, as a continuation of the Son of God, We entered the holiness of God, inside the Everexisting, and we hope to have an eternal part in His holiness.
Through the wounds of Christ we entered into sacred relationship within Triune God. Through the wounds of Christ we were engrafted in God's vine, being on which we bear spiritual fruits. Through the wounds of Christ, we were engrafted to the noble olive tree. Christ was set on cuts as the noble olive tree trunk; He was wounded so that branches, being engrafted by faith in these scars, could be unified with God.
So, let us do not have superficial attitude to performance or our primary mission - to learn Him and unite ourselves with God, but rather let us go to Him in the fear of God and with thanksgivings, and seek His face with all constancy, knowing what price was paid for our entrance to God! Amen.
