THE THREE MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD

by esther phinias | 13 February 2024 08:46 am02

God has revealed Himself in three main offices (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

However, in all three of these revelations, God remains one and not three.

Now, the question is: if He is one, why does He reveal Himself in this trinity?

The simple answer is that God has revealed Himself in this way to complete mankind, not to introduce Himself. And why is mankind completed through these three revelations? Because humanity had fallen and was separated from Him due to sin.

(Sins separate us from God) as the Scriptures say in Isaiah 59:2.

In the beginning in Eden, God was very close to man; he could see Him, hear Him, and even speak with Him (Genesis 3:8). But after sin entered, that closeness with God was lost, and Adam could no longer see or hear God as he did before… Sin separated him from God (Isaiah 59:2).

Out of His love for us, God began a plan to bring us back to Him. We would see Him again, speak with Him, walk with Him, and feel Him inside us, just like in the beginning. But this restoration does not happen immediately as destruction does (destroying relationships is instant, but rebuilding takes time).

The promise is that one day God’s dwelling place will be with humanity in a way even greater than it was in Eden.

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them.

Now, the relationships that were broken, God started to restore them step by step. We are now in the final phase of this restoration. Let’s look at each of those steps one by one.

1. GOD ABOVE US (As the Father)

This is the phase where God began to speak to people through visions and dreams, but He was not seen. He spoke to only a few people, the prophets. This is when God revealed Himself as the WORD! (Meaning His WORDS were known, but He Himself was not visible to the eyes).

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2. GOD WITH US (As the Son)

This is the time when God took on flesh, so that the WORD He had been speaking through visions and dreams could now be spoken with the mouth of flesh and blood, explained, and taught so that people could see and understand Him. The body He took was called JESUS.

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Do you see? God begins to draw near to mankind again. So, Jesus is God who took on human form for the purpose of speaking those words of God that were heard through visions and dreams by the prophets.

To further confirm the divinity of Jesus, read the following verses: John 20:28, 1 John 1:1-2, Titus 2:13, Isaiah 9:6, and 1 Timothy 3:16.

But it wasn’t enough for God to appear in the flesh and speak His words with His mouth as He had done with Adam in Eden, while mankind still didn’t know how to live in the love of God… So, He added a second plan to teach mankind how to live practically, and He had to live as a human who fears God.

The goal was not for Him to achieve perfection but to teach us perfection, which is why He lived under parents to teach children how to live godly lives. He also became an adult to teach adults how to live according to God’s commandments. That’s why He prayed, fasted, and worshipped God as if there is a God above Him, etc.

Thus, His life became the way for us to know the path (John 14:6). But He wasn’t just a human; He was God in the form of a man with the purpose of teaching us the way.

Philippians 2:5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage;

7 Rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

But even if He taught those words with His mouth and was a teacher to show us the way, it still wouldn’t be enough because we still carried the curse of sin inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve.

So, He added a third plan: that He would offer His body as a sacrifice for sin after completing those two works. This is why Christ had to die on the cross—to provide forgiveness for our sins.

3. GOD IN US (As the Holy Spirit)

After restoring the relationship so that we now see God and have been freed from sin and the barrier that separated us from Him, including the curse of Adam we had been carrying, God added another final plan. Through this plan, we can now be close to God directly, hearing, seeing, and understanding Him like never before.

This plan is nothing other than Him entering into us as the HOLY SPIRIT, to help us in our weaknesses. It is like an athlete receiving a drink to enhance their strength and stimulate their muscles in order to win the game.

The Holy Spirit is God in Spirit form, entering into us and empowering our ability to understand God, to overcome sin, to fear God, to remember, and so on (John 14:26, John 16:12-13).

To confirm that the Holy Spirit is indeed the same God, read 2 Corinthians 3:17.

This is a great and unique gift, the final one that brings us closer to God than anything else.

Why Did Christ Leave?

The reason Christ left and ascended into heaven was to prepare a place for us (the New Jerusalem), a dwelling place for the saints (John 14:2, Revelation 3:12, Revelation 21:2).

He is going to prepare a place for us so that when the time comes, we can live with Him forever, in the new heavens and new earth (His dwelling place will be with us)… There, what was broken in Eden will be restored in greater glory than it was at first.

Revelation 21:3 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them.’

4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’

5 He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.

Do you see God’s plan? … And have you also seen the consequences of sin? … Sin separated us from God, and it still separates us from Him.

The only way to get closer to God is by repenting of sin, truly intending to forsake it (Proverbs 28:13). When you repent with the intention to leave sin, you invite Jesus into your life. Though you don’t see Him with your eyes now, one day you will… But the great gift He will give you, which will make you feel His presence even when you don’t see Him, is the HOLY SPIRIT (who, in reality, is Himself in the form of the Spirit).

The Holy Spirit will protect you from the world until the last day when the Lord Jesus will return and give us the CROWNS OF LIFE, and we will live with Him forever in joy, without end, without sorrow, pain, or crying, because the old order of things will have passed away.

May the Lord bless you.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Source URL: https://wingulamashahidi.org/en/2024/02/13/the-three-manifestations-of-god/