Father Son and the Holy Spirit
Father Son and the Holy Spirit
Mark 1:9-13
9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
12At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Mark as a writer packs so much in these small space and we learn from these five verse is what C. S. Lewis calls a dance.
And the greatest need of your life is to get into this dance.
Verse 10-11
10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
The symbol of Dove that is characterized as holy spirit is not an odd thing for us. We know because Matthew Luke and John also uses dove.
But when Mark was writing during the first century it was very rare and infact it is only used once in Judaism where spirit is attributed as a dove.
Targams (an Aramaic translation of Old Testament) Many Jewish people during this time, even mark spoke and read Aramaic.
In the creation story in Genesis verse 1 and 2 “spirit Hoover across the water”
The word “Hoover” literally means fluttered.
So when the rabies translated Genesis verse 1 and 2 this is what they wrote.
“The earth was without form and empty and darkness was on the face of the deep and the spirit of God fluttered above the water like a dove, and God spoke and said “let there be light”
there you have the creation where all three party the trinity is involved in the creation. The father son and the Holy Spirit.
What mark is doing here is that he is drawing us back that the trinity was involved in creation just as the salvation of the world is a project of the triunion God.
Creation and Redemption is a project of triunion God.
One God in three person.
NOT trithesism where three God was sticks close to each other
NOT Unipersonalism where one God who sometimes takes on a different forms.
Trinitariusum is one God in three persons who know one another and loves one another so he is not more fundamentally one than he is three nor is he more fundamentally more three than one.
It’s a difficult but if we grasp the concept C.S. Lewish calls it “exploding with life shaping wonderful glorious implication that can change your life.”
So if it is true that the world was created with triunion God the ultimate reality is a dance.
Look at verse 10 and 11
10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Father covers and envelopes Jesus with words of love while the spirit covers him with power.
When you see what Mark is showing us here you are looking into the heart of reality.
The very meaning of Life.
The real essence of universe
Because it is what was happening in the entire life of the trinity.
C.S. Lewis calls it a dance.
“In Christianity God is not an impersonal thing or static thing, he is not even just one person but dynamic pulsating activity a life a drama almost if you will not find me irreverent a kind of dance.”
What does he mean?
Lets look at opposite of dynamic which is static life.
Selfishness is stationary and when we become the center of life it is static life and its not dynamic life. Everything orbits around them.
So you might give to the poor as long as it makes you feel good about yourself.
You might help people, and you might even have friends but as long as there is no compromise of your own interest and what makes you happy.
That means everything orbits around you.
God head is different…
Instead of self center life, godhead are characterized by mutual self giving loving.
Bible also teaches us that they glorify each other (john 17)
The father Son and the Holy Spirit glorifies one another and they put the interest of others over their own.
Cornelius plantinga 1960 theologian puts it this way:
“The Bible says the father, son and the Holy Spirit glorifies one another and that means the persons within God exalt communion with and differs to one another. Each harbors others at the center of its being. In constant move of overture and acceptance each person envelops and circles the others. God’s interior life therefore overflows with self-giving love.”
If this God made the universe.
Can you see the implication of what that means?
Because think about it.
If God was unipersonal (one God, One Person) that means until the world began there was no love. Because love is what someone do to another.
That means a uniperosnal God:
Love is not the essence of that God.
Relationship is not the essence of that God.
But rather the essence of that God is Power and greatness.
If God was polotheism where you have many gods, you create absolute power of ranks.
So if this world was made of triunion God, relationship is the fundamental and purpose of Life.
But since our God is not exclusive only to love but to glorify one another.
What does it mean to glory someone?
I think of two words
Beauty and Duty
Beauty = an adoration, finding praise and enjoying
Duty = you are not glorifying someone if you are serving conditionally.
To glorify is to serve unconditionally.
Because God does not serve self glory rather they glorify one another. Our God does not seek self glory.
WAIT, are you telling me that God does not seek self glory?
But the bible says glorify me, serve me praise me, YES but why?
Its here in verse 12 and 13
12At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
Let me explain the implication of what the wilderness means.
Lets look at what Mark does.
Remember Mark is referring back to creation which was created by triunion God.
After the creation Adam was tempted.
In same manner after the triunion God creates a redemption plan Christ (paul calls second Adam) is also sent to be tempted.
THE DIFFERENCE
The first adam was in a garden
The second adam is in the wilderness
The first adam is amon harmony with the animals
The second adam is with the wild beat (only mark has this)
Second adam has it infitiley harder test.
The second adam it does not stop here The temptation the assault by Satan does on until the garden of ghesemedi.
The First Adam was about obey me about the tree (Why was this a test?)
Remember God created us to orbit around him and center our life around him unconditionally.
So when god said don’t eat this tree…
What is our first response?
WHY NOT? God never says why?
Because if you obey God if it benefits you then what your doing is being stationary becoming center of oneself.
Would you still obey even if you don’t know the answer?
What God was saying is don’t eat the three because you love me. Just because I said so and we have failed.
NOW
The second Adam (Jesus) think about this
God said to the first adam obey me about the tree
God said to the second adam obey me about the three and this time the three is the cross
God said to the first adam obey me about the tree and you will live AND he did not
God said to the second adam obey me about the tree and the cross and you will suffer excruciating pain and death and HE DID.
This is the ultimate glory to His father (beauty and Duty)
What was Jesus getting out of the cross from us?
OH you say, worship and love from us
BUT he already had thus from the trinity and in its ultimate form not diluted from what we give him.
So what’s the benefit? NOTHING
Which means at the cross he began to glorfy us. He circled around us.
Look at John 12:20-22
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:
He loved us unconditionally.
So why does he want us to surrender everything of this world?
So we can have His glory and His Joy.