The Creation of Man--a Picture of the Trinity?

The doctrine of the Trinity has been one of the most baffling doctrines of Holy Writ throughout history. It is the very inability of man to comprehend this truth that is witness to its factuality. The only way man could ever understand all of the how’s and wherefore’s of God is if the god he served were a god of his own making. God, as He truly exists, is beyond our capacity to comprehend. The surprising thing is not our inability to understand the Trinity, the truly surprising thing would be if we could. However, just because a truth is difficult to understand should not deter us from trying our best to do so. Indeed, the most precious truths are the ones that require the most effort on our part. I do not claim to have grasped all facets of the Trinity but hopefully I can offer a biblical illustration that will help us both. Therefore, open your Bibles, open your minds, and think with me for a moment.

On the sixth day of creation God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness . . . So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:26, 27). There is a sense in which man would be a picture of God Himself; man would be created “in the image of God.” Man’s creation as here recorded not only refers to the individual man but also to the collective whole, that is, mankind and both offer pictures of God.

What picture of God is present in the individual? First, man has an eternal spirit within him. “God is spirit” (John 4:24, emphasis mine), and a “spirit hath not flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39). Indeed, when Jesus witnessed Peter’s confession of His Sonship He responded, “flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). Our Father is not flesh and blood, therefore, being created in His image does not refer to our physical appearance and make-up. The affirmation that we are created in God’s image means that some part of man is not “flesh and blood.” We have an immortal spirit within us and it is this spirit which separates us from the animals. It is our spirit that gives us the ability to think and to reason, “for what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him?” (1 Corinthians 2:11, emphasis mine). The spirit of man is the knowing part of man, the reasoning part of man. Of all God’s creation we are the only ones that have this reasoning power. We are the only earthly creatures who are able to think in the abstract, to form opinions and beliefs, and the only ones to have free-will in the true sense of the word. This is a picture of God Himself.

Second, man pictures God by the exercise of his dominion. The same passage that records man’s creation also records his authority. “And God said, Let Us make man in our image, after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26, emphasis mine). Psalm 8 echoes these thoughts, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas” (vs.4-8, emphasis mine). Even James speaks of man’s dominion on the earth, “For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind” (3:7, emphasis mine). This is also a picture of God. Just as the beasts of the earth must recognize man’s sovereignty over them so also must man bow down in reverence to and recognition of God’s sovereignty over him. These characteristics of man are small pictures of larger truths about God. We are knowing reasoning beings in the same way that God is, but we are not all-knowing. We have a kind of authority over the earth but all authority rests only with God (cf. Matthew 28:18). We are miniscule pictures of grander Truth. We are shadows of the substance. Man points beyond himself to something, indeed someone, larger than himself.

However, the creation of man ('âdâm), as recorded in Genesis, includes not only the individual but also the collective whole of mankind. Notice again, “Let Us make man in our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion” (1:26, emphasis mine). The word man as used here does not refer to one man (singular) but to all of mankind, to them (plural). It is this collective definition of “man,” as distinct from the individual definition, that makes the picture of “the image of God” full and complete. As long as there is only one person, Adam, who possesses the essence of manhood, we do not have a full picture of God because God is three Persons who possess Godhood. It is in the creation of woman that the picture is completed. The creation of Eve provides what the current picture of Adam alone lacks. She is the second individual person to possess the singular essence of manhood.

Notice, “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man ('âdâm), in the likeness of God made He him. Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam ('âdâm), in the day when they were created” (Genesis 5:1,2, emphasis mine). In this passage the plurality of personhood in mankind is affirmed (notice the three-fold use of the plural pronouns) as well as their singleness and unity. This is our clearest insight into what it means for man, that is, mankind, the collective body, to be created in God’s image. God is three Persons with one name. Here we have two persons with one name, 'âdâm. So often people wonder how there can be three Persons in the Godhead and yet still be only one God. They say, “Does that not make three gods?” In response we might ask this question: does there being two persons, Adam and Eve, called by one name, âdâm, make two “mankinds?” Of course not. Adam and Eve are distinct in personhood and yet neither is lacking in any quality that constitutes manhood for they are both called âdâm (cf. Genesis 5:2). One may object, “You said that the creation of mankind is a picture of the Trinity but here you only have two persons, not three.” True, but when Adam and Eve bore Cain there existed three individuals with distinct personhood. Did they then begin to lack any quality that determines manhood? Or did they then constitute three distinct “mankinds?” We must answer, “No.” If there can be two distinct personalities which share the same unified name and essence, why can there not be three? And if there can be three then why can there not be four? And if four, then why not 7 billion? The earth today contains nearly 7 billion individuals with distinct personhood. If we can accept in 7 billion the simultaneous individuality of personhood and unity of essence in manhood, then why can we not accept the simultaneous individuality and unity of three? There is only one God just as much as there is only one man, one âdâm, one mankind, and there are three Persons in Godhood just as much as there are nearly 7 billion persons in manhood.

From the very first chapter of our Bibles God has given us a picture of His unity in plurality and yet there remain so many who fail to see it. The inspired text of the Holy Bible attributes Godhood to three distinct Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is no contradiction. This is a truth that should cause us all to bow down in reverence and awe of a mighty God. Our reaction should be no less than to prostrate ourselves before the God Who is beyond our comprehension and to exclaim to His praise and glory, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).

He Taught Only What He Knew

I am terrified of evangelism. I suppose that I always have been. I cannot recall a time in my life when teaching the Bible one on one to a non-believer has not scared me. It scares me for a lot of reasons. I am scared of rejection. I do want to not be liked by someone, and that is a problem of my own pride. I do not want to be thought by others to be a rough person with little tack, which again has its roots in my own pride. I am scared because when I talk to someone about Christ I am conscious of the fact that their soul, and mine, is at stake. Evangelism is a Heaven or Hell matter. I could possibly mislead them in the way, and that is a frightening matter indeed. But I have just realized that the only way I could mislead them is if I try and teach that which I do not know, which leads to another reason I and many others I know are scared of evangelism. We are scared that the persons with whom we are talking with ask questions to which we do not know the answers. Listen closely, this realization has helped me and I believe that it will also help you. God does not expect us to teach what we do not know, indeed, how could He? He expects us to tell others what we do know, to take what we do have and put it to His service. On one occasion a woman anointed Jesus’ head with a very costly ointment. Some of His disciples were angered by this because they thought that the ointment should have been sold and given to the poor. Jesus’ response is very enlightening. He simply said, “She hath done what she could” (Mark 14:8), and for that reason Christ says, “Wheresoever this gospel is preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her” (Mark 14:9). God expects you to do you what you can, no more, but certainly no less.

Let’s now turn to another text for a lengthened illustration. As recorded in John 9, there lived a man who was born blind. Upon seeing this blind man, Jesus made clay and anointed his eyes with the clay. Afterward, the man was commanded to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, which means “Sent” (John 9:6, 7). He did so and received his sight. The narrative does not tell exactly how much time passed between receiving his sight and being questioned by his friends and neighbors, but I get the impression that it was very soon after. What would you do if someone you knew, who had been blind from birth, received his sight instantly? I’d ask questions too! And immediately! That is what we find in John 9, and that is the very thing that we all fear as Christians. After Christ works in our lives we are terrified to be questioned about it, but notice how the formerly blind man responds. They asked him, “How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received my sight. Then they said unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not” (John 9:10-12). When he was asked a question to which he knew the answer, he answered simply and confidently, and when they asked him a question to which he did not know the answer, he admitted his ignorance. Why should we think that God expects any more from us? If someone were to ask you how you became a Christian, your job is just as easy as this man’s was. We need only respond, “I was sent by a man named Jesus to wash in the water. I obeyed His command, and now I am whole.”

Afterward, this man is brought to the Pharisees, and he responds the same way. “The Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see” (John 9:15). This man did not begin a discourse about how it was that Jesus was able to use clay to grant him sight. He stuck with the simple facts, which was all he knew. When we feel the need to explain the how of God’s working we are stepping into a place left reserved for God only. We should, like this man, stick to the facts. God is mighty to save. He has given commands in order to receive His grace. That is what I know. That is what I will obey. That is what I will teach. “But what if people aren’t satisfied with that?” one may ask. The truth is, they may not be. The Pharisees certainly weren’t. They disputed with the man and then continued to question.

“Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them” (John 9:16). The message this man brought was as simple as one can get. “Jesus put clay on my eyes. He told me to wash. I obeyed, and I received my sight.” Plain, simple, and concise. And yet it still caused division, and people still rejected the message. Why should we expect our message to yield different results on occasion?

They questioned further, dissatisfied with the man’s allegiance to Christ. The Pharisees had taken their stand and now they insisted on knowing where the man who was formerly blind would take his stand. “They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet” (John 9:17). Upon this, they decide to confer with the man’s parents, and found themselves just as dissatisfied with their answers as they had been with the man. Once again, they turn to him. “Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner” (John 9:24). The Pharisees were relentless in their efforts in trying to dissuade this man from clinging to Christ. We should expect no less. When we speak to others about Christ we should expect resistance and persistence. But just like the man, we also should persist in our faith. And just like the man, we need only stick with what we know. “He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). If you or I are asked difficult questions our required response is found right here. “Whether that be the case or not, I do not know. But one thing I do know, He made me whole, and that is enough.” Just stick with what you know.

Now matter how many times we may say a thing, and no matter how many times we explain a thing as thoroughly and clearly as we know how, people will often insist on hearing it over and over again. “Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? How opened he thine eyes?” (John 9:26). No matter how hard you are pressed by others, do not deviate from the plan. Do not try to make an educated guess in response to their questions, or try to “come up” with something (which in cases like these means that we “make up” something, and that is a foolish and dangerous tactic indeed). We are not required to try and tell any more than we already have, and how can we when we have already told all that we know? “He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? Will ye also be His disciples?” This conversation soon ends like so many of ours will. They say, in essence, “Well we know what the Bible says! And what you are saying isn’t there!” Listen to their response: “Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake to Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is” (John 9:28, 29). When the man who was blind defended his faith again, the simply cast an insult at him and ended the conversation. “They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sin, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out” (John 9:34).

Not only do I find this discourse enlightening, I find the following events fascinating as well. I can only imagine how this man must have felt. He had obviously experienced something amazing. His entire life had been changed. He was moved by the experience. He knew it to be real. He stood for his faith . . . and he was ridiculed for it. If we share any part of the human condition, I imagine that to some degree, he felt a little down-trodden. But God did not leave Him comfortless. Immediately, Jesus came to him. “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” Jesus asks (John 9:35). “He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him” (John 9:36-38). The man’s faith in Christ was not only vindicated, but it grew. Whenever you and I stick with what we know and courageously defend our faith, we should remember that we are not alone. Just as this man was visited by Jesus we also shall be visited by our God. Upon whatever rejection we might meet we fly to our God and bow down, as this man did, to worship Him! Therein we find our faith, not only established, but rewarded, and growing. Praise be to God for His comfort and grace!

Happy with Less

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:19-24). Christ here commands complete detachment from earthly things. The word “single” is used as a “particle of union” (Strong’s and Thayer). One word study says concerning this word, that it is “used of the eye as not seeing double as when it is diseased” (Wordstudy Dictionary: E-Sword Edition). The single eye then is the eye which is wholly focused upon God without any part reserved for the world. It does not see in double-vision, trying to see holiness and debauchery at the same time. “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5, emphasis mine). Indeed, “ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24, emphasis mine). Anyone who attempts to live with this kind of double-vision finds what little light he may have turned into darkness, and “how great is that darkness!” (v.23).

I used to be the biggest “pack-rat” of my entire family. Soon before I turned twelve my family and I moved from downtown Statesville, NC to a more rural area in Hiddenite, NC just across from my grandparents. Prior to the move we had a yard-sale at our house in Statesville, at which, ironically enough, we sold the yard! We had tried to sell the house before and were unsuccessful but my mother was approached about selling the house during this very yard-sale and she accepted. While I gathered my stuff together to sell I remember my mother commenting on my McDonald’s toys that I had collected from all the Happy Meals I used to eat. I still had every single toy. I never threw anything away. Even now I was only selling them reluctantly, but the idea of selling stuff to get more money to buy newer and better stuff to take up the space of my recently sold STUFF was too irresistible.

All of that began to change for me at the end of the summer of 2004. I had spent six weeks of my summer studying theatre on a college campus in Raleigh, NC and the dorm there contained only a twin bed, a small desk, and an even smaller bookshelf. All I brought to the dorm was my Bible, clothes, bed set, 2 recently purchased DVD’s, and my Crystal Stix (a geeky little juggling toy that I loved then and love even now thank you very much). To my memory I never watched a single DVD. I spent nearly all of my time out in the Quad, which is what we called the courtyard, socializing with the other students. When I returned home I was disgusted with myself. I stepped into my bedroom and my first thought was, “What is all of this stuff!?” I immediately threw away 3 trash bags of junk. My rule was this: if I found it and had forgotten that it even existed, or if I knew that I would never use it, I threw it away. Not only that, but I may be the only child in human history to ask for a smaller bed. At that time I had a queen sized bed, but I had very much come to enjoy the twin-bed that I slept on during the summer and this bed now seemed to me to be way to big. My mother granted my request. From that day onward I have been in the slow process of getting rid of my “stuff.”

Just prior to this trip to Brazil I had gone through another grand “purge” and was left with less stuff than I had ever owned before. But I was about to live with even less. I had determined that I would only take one checked bag and one carry on to Brazil. I limited myself to my Bible, 5 books (although I ended up bringing 6), my journal, enough clothes for ten days, my iPod, and my laptop. As I looked at my suitcase and backpack I thought to myself, “This is my life for the next two months. And it all fits in two bags.” It was a very frightening experience, as well as a very exciting one. But here is the best part: I have been just as happy (dare I say happier?) here, with my two-bag life, as I ever was in the States with my dresser full of clothes and closet full of junk. I actually brought two t-shirts that have yet to be worn! And for whatever reason, that is a good feeling.

One of the greatest victories that the devil ever wins takes place when he makes us believe that we need anything besides God. That is how this whole mess got started. The devil convinced Eve that she needed the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in order to be the best that she could be, in order to be truly wise. Too often we look at our stuff and think "What if?" And I have been just as guilty as anyone. We think, "What if I need this someday? I certainly can't get rid of this!" Friends, James says that all we need is food and clothing (cf. James 2:15, 16), and God has promised to provide both of those for His children (cf. Matthew 6:25-34). All of this taken together teaches us that God is what we need, not stuff. When I hold on to stuff because I think, "I may need this someday," I am depending upon myself, my things, and my own efforts to provide for me, and that way of living requires very little faith, if any at all. This does not mean that it is wrong to own things, or even a lot of things. Abraham and Job were both rich and faithful at the same time. What it does mean is that possession can be a temptation and a stumbling block (cf. 1 Timothy 6:9). It means that I do not need those things. It means that there is no room in my heart, in my spiritual "eye," for anything but light. It means that there is no room for anything but God. "Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness" (Luke 11:35). "You cannot serve God and money" (Matthew 6:24, ESV).

Joyful Sorrow

The Christian religion is, in a sense, a religion of paradoxes. One becomes great, by becoming lowly. One becomes a king by becoming a servant. One only becomes a true individual by being united with Christ. C.S. Lewis said it well when he said, “How monotonously alike all of the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints.” One of the most misunderstood paradoxes of Holy Writ is that we find our greatest joy by embracing and enduring suffering. I have often been puzzled by such passages as Hebrews 12:2, Acts 5:41, and 2 Corinthians 6:10. How can Christ view the cross upon which He was to die and have it described as the “joy that was set before him”? How can the apostles rejoice because they were “counted worthy to suffer”? And how is it that Paul can describe himself as “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing”? These seem to us to be contradictions, and yet the reality of joyful sorrow is one of the most beautiful truths to be found in the sacred text.

I think that the answer as to how any suffering can be joyful is to be found in the true source of joy, and that source is love. It is the case that we cannot be truly happy, truly filled with joy, unless we are filled with love, which is another way of saying that we are filled with God (cf. 1 John 4:8). Only the water of life so satisfies one so that he never thirsts again (cf. John 4:14). It is only when we hunger for righteousness that we will ever be filled (cf. Matthew 5:6). God alone is the fountain of living water (cf. Jeremiah 2:13). Take a moment and honestly ask yourself when you have been happiest. I have an idea that it was during a time when you were the most loving towards another person. Some may find it odd that the times of greatest happiness are not when we are receiving grand acts of love but when we are the ones performing those acts. Is it any wonder then that the greatest commands are to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves? It is at those times that we are nearest to God, and therefore, the most happy. It is love itself that brings us the truest joy. How then does suffering play a part in this joy?

It is the case that the greatest expressions of love take place during periods of the greatest suffering. Love that only expresses itself during the “good times” is a very shallow love indeed. “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:46-48). The greatest love is practiced when our love is not returned. That is why Christ says unto us, “Love your enemies, bless them which curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). This is the reason that God’s love for us is so grand, so immense, so wonderful, awesome, and unfathomable! Because it was “while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8, emphasis mine). It was while we were enemies of God that He sent His Son (Romans 5:10). Some may die for a righteous man, some may perhaps die for a good man, but what man among us would give his life for his enemy (cf. Romans 5:7)? That is true love indeed. When we observe a man and woman who live happy fruitful lives together until they are parted by death, we are touched by that kind of love. But are we not touched even more by the man who cares for and loves his wife even while, because of a debilitating mental disease, she fails to remember his name? We are moved by a couple who remain faithful to each other for 65 years. But is it not sometimes more moving to see the woman who is reconciled to her husband after he has committed adultery? Here we might borrow words from the Proverb writer to say “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy love indeed is small.”

This is why the death of Christ can be described as a joy that was set before Him. Never has God’s love been so clearly and so beautifully demonstrated as it was upon the cross. “For God SO loved the world, that He gave His Only-Begotten Son!” (John 3:16, emphasis mine). The performance of love itself brings true and lasting happiness. This is why the apostles could rejoice when suffering for the name of Christ. Their love for Him was never more concrete than it was when they suffered for His name. This is why Paul could describe himself as sorrowful and yet always rejoicing, because expressing love for God and for others is the only lasting joy. All others are transient. If it is love itself that brings joy, and it is, and if our love’s greatest expression is found amidst suffering, and it is, then it is amidst suffering that we find our greatest joy.

I will close with one very small and admittedly inadequate personal illustration. Just two days ago I had a conversation with a man about Christ and His church. We met and parted in disagreement. Civil though it was, it was an uncomfortable conversation. That kind of discomfort is not a condition that I long for. I would rather not be uncomfortable given my choice. The strange thing about the conversation is that in its midst I cracked a smile. Now, a short moment of minor discomfort and true suffering are worlds apart but love expressed during moments of discomfort is still a grander expression than one that exists with no discomfort at all. I could have freed myself from discomfort by giving up truth. I could have simply said, “Yes, I agree. You have your truth and I have mine” but that would not have been faithful to my God and it certainly would not have been a demonstration of my love for Him. Therefore, it was only when I held my ground for the glory of God, uncomfortable though it was, that I was able to smile. I should think that had I been a coward, and fled from duty, that I would have found myself in a great deal of sadness after the fact. Though I would have escaped the undesirable moment, surely I would have been overcome with guilt at having prostituted myself to the god of Comfort.

Let me say one final word concerning finding our joy in the expression of love. Finding joy in the demonstration of love is only possible when it is demonstrated for love’s sake. One who pleases himself by saying,” Ah ha! I have arrived. I am now a loving person. What a great person I am!” makes himself a prideful person, not a loving one. This kind of “love” is not love at all because true love “is not puffed up” (1 Corinthians 13:4). The man who “loves” in order to be seen by God, by other people, or far worse, by himself, as “loving” finds no true and lasting joy. This kind of thing seeks love as a means to joy and finds neither one. Larry Kreeft said, “We rob ourselves of joy by seeking to rid our lives of suffering.” If in this life we seek only joy, we miss both love and joy. But if we seek love for love’s sake alone, we gain both love and joy. It is when we are loving that we are nearest to God because it is then that we are most like Him (cf. 1 John 4:8; Matthew 5:48), and He is the only One who can truly satisfy.