Book Comment: Shocked by the Bible

 

In his book, Shocked by the Bible, Joe Kovacs points out numerous things which you probably did not know about the Bible. Kovacs makes no claim to be a Bible teacher. In fact, he says, ”I’m just a journalist fed up with the lack of accurate knowledge about what’s in the Bible.”

As with most books such as this, the author is not trying to tell you what to think. He specifically says that he does not expect you to agree with everything he says, He is trying to challenge you to read your Bible and to listen to what it says. Do not believe anything just because someone else told to believe it; let the Holy Spirit guide you to the truth.

Some of the subjects Kovacs mentions include:

The Wise Men did not visit Jesus on the night of his birth in the manger in Bethlehem. No one knows how many wise men there were.

Some Christian theologians believe that Jesus appeared numerous times in the Old Testament.

Sex within marriage is celebrated.

What does “we are God’s children” really mean?

Information you will need to search for this book: Kovacs, Joe, Shocked by the Bible. The Most Astonishing Facts You’ve Never Been Told ((Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2008).

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Rick and Bubba Cut Ties With World Vision

Rick and Bubba are comedians, authors, and nationally syndicated radio personalities who are openly and outspokenly Christian.  They have been ardent supporters of World Vision, an international Christian charity which fights child poverty by sponsoring needy children.  They have abruptly cut ties with World Vision after their personal friend, the organization’s president Richard Stearns, told Christianity Today that World Vision is changing their employment policies.  They previously required employees to remain faithful within marriage, abstinent outside of marriage, and only recognized heterosexual marriages.  The new personnel policy does not overtly endorse same sex marriage but includes legal same sex marriages.

Readers of this blog understand that the blog is written from an orthodox Trinitarian Christian understanding based on a very high view of scripture.  The biblical standard for marriage is one man married to one woman.  It is clear that the Bible does not in any way condone the practice of homosexuality. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

What Rick and Bubba have done is not “hate speech” or “homophobia.”  Christians should not hate (1 John 3:15) and we do not have a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7).  The historical orthodox position is admittedly absolutist.  The biblical claim is that God is the Absolute Truth and that He is the only arbiter of that truth.

Moral relativism, of which I have spoken before, is a very recent development which challenges the idea of Absolute Truth.  Advocates of moral relativism see traditional understandings of numerous issues to be repressive and oppressive.  They see Truth, if it exists at all, as being determined by the individual or by a community of agreeing individuals.

Several Christian denominations have been influenced by the philosophy of moral relativism and have adopted reinterpretations of historic doctrines in an effort to become more “relevant” to the modern world.  Some include openly homosexual members and a few have no problem with sexual relationships (heterosexual and homosexual) outside of marriage if the sexuality is in the concept of a “committed relationship.”

I personally know several homosexual Christians who are aware of my stand on this matter.  We do not hate or fear one another (“homophobia” is an insult word); we look at one another and are puzzled.  I am sure that this divide exists among readers of this blog as well.

Opponents of the traditional orthodox view on this matter must understand that our opposition to their view is not motivated by hate or fear.  They must also understand that we will not compromise.

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* Luke 14:26 refers to loving no one more than Jesus.  The verse reflects an Aramaic understanding of love and hate.

“…. I’d like to think there is a heaven.”

Billy Crystal (b. 1948) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and film director.  He has hosted the Academy Awards nine times and has appeared in numerous classic comedic films.  He recently released a memoir, "Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My keys?"

In a recent USA Today interview he mentions his love for his wife of forty-three years.  “… we laugh a lot. Janice has always made me laugh.  … I can’t bear to think of life without her.  I want to go first because I don’t want to miss her.  I’d like to think there is a heaven, and it will start from the happiest day in your life.  I’ll be 18, and Janice Goldfinger will walk by me in a bikini, and I will follow her, and it will start all over again.”

“….  I’d like to think there is a heaven.”  How sad it is that he does not know.

Film Comment: It’s Not About the Nail

Watch this short video, It’s Not About the Nail (2013), written and directed by Jason Headley.  The predominant reaction to this humorous film is that it is about relationships between men and women and that it is specifically about marriage.

In my prior film comments, I have taken the stance that films may have applications from a Christian perspective even when that was not the intent of the film’s creators.   Films deal in archetypes and metaphors which can be interpreted in multiple ways.   Films can often be seem as parables.  This is acceptable as long as one realizes that works of art may not fit perfectly into any one philosophical system.

To the Christian, this short film has very stark symbolism.  The woman complains of her headaches.  The man tries to reply, “Maybe it is the nail in your forehead.”  The woman angrily replies that “It’s not about the nail.”

Christians can very clearly see that non-Christians lack Jesus in their lives and that many of their life problems stem from that fact.  The Christian knows that Jesus is right there, right in front of the non-believer’s face.  The non-believer cannot see Jesus at all.

The non-believer will say, :I don’t believe that.  That doesn’t exist.  My problems have to be from some other cause, maybe from you. … It is not about the nail!”

But, to the Christian, everything is about The Nail.

White Shoe Polish on a Rear Windshield

If you live in the United States you have probably seen an automobile where the owner has taken a white shoe polish dispenser and written a slogan on the glass of the rear window.  Usually the message is something like “Just married,” or a phrase encouraging the local high school football team to win that week’s game.

Yesterday, I saw a car like that, with a slogan in large white block letters, “I love Jesus! XOXO ☮.”  Although I was pleased that someone was not afraid or ashamed to acknowledge Jesus, this disturbed me.

I know that the two teenaged boys in the car were probably sincere and were just expressing the vibrant enthusiasm of young new believers.  My objection was that they were doing it in a shallow way which opened them and the faith up to ridicule.  We must always be careful not to send unintended messages to unbelievers.

The XOXO is a modern cell phone texting abbreviation for “hugs and kisses.”  Yes, the Church is the Bride of Christ, but XOXO is not exactly what is meant by that.  Romance is fine, even silly romance, but the marriage of the Church and Christ the Bridegroom is not all bunny rabbits, bubbles, and flowers.

The Peace Symbol ☮ was popularized among the 1960’s counter-culture which was opposed to United States involvement in the Vietnam War.  Regardless of their feelings about the war, many Christians were highly offended by the symbol.

The Peace Symbol, the symbol for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, appears to be an inverted cross with the cross-arms broken and drooping downward ☮.  The symbol was soon adopted as a generic anti-war logo. The anti-war activists always insisted that the symbol was not intended as an insult to Christianity though many Christians were not so sure.  The 1960’s counter-culture was also associated with the concept of “free love” (interpretation: promiscuous sexuality) and advocated the unrestricted use of illegal psychotropic drugs.

The First Meal As a Married Couple

"A couple sat down to eat their first meal as newlyweds.  The wife said, "today I learned how to make meat loaf and chocolate cake."

The husband looked at his plate and said, "That's great, honey!  Which one is this?"

From the Big Book of Church Jokes, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.

Names in the Bible: Hosea

The name of the Hebrew prophet Hosea (8^th Century BC/BCE, ca. 780-725) is derived from the Hebrew word for “salvation.”  Hosea and his adulterous wife, Gomer, are seen by biblical interpreters as symbolic of Yahweh and Israel.  Just as Gomer ran away to another man, God declared that Israel was chasing after other gods.  The gods were affluence, Canaanite religions, sexual immorality, drunkenness, and magical practices.

Hosea named his daughter Lo-ruhama, meaning “not pitied.”  His son he named Lo-ammi, meaning “not my people.”  Both names expressed God’s displeasure. With Israel.

What happened next is also symbolic of God and Israel.  Hosea brought Gomer back and with love and patience, restored her to her proper place.  He remained true to her in spite of her unfaithfulness.  His love was redemptive.

Christians believe that what is taught of God and Israel speaks also to them, those grafted into the tree.  The relationship between redeemed man and God is seen as an ideal marriage.  Because of our limited ability to understand, God speaks to us in powerful symbols we can understand.

The names Joshua (Hebrew: Yehoshua) and Jesus (Hebrew: Yeshua) are derived from the same word as Hosea/Hoshea and ultimately mean “Yahweh is salvation.” 

A Wedding Hope

“I hope you realize what a generous and giving person you are marrying,” the bride’s father said to the groom.

“I do sir!” said the groom. “And I hope she inherited those fine qualities from her father.”

“From The Big Book of Church Jokes, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.”

National Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day

Chick-fil-A (pronounced “chik fill-ay” as in the word “filet”) is a fast-food restaurant chain which sells fried chicken sandwiches and waffle style French-fried potatoes.  On 16 June 2012, the devout Christian president of the company, Dan Cathy, in a radio interview ignited a firestorm of criticism for saying this when asked a question about same-sex marriage.

"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage'. I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.”

Supporters of same-sex marriage were outraged, leading Thomas Menino, the mayor of Boston, to declare that he would not allow the company to open franchises in his city.  Chicago Alderman Proco Moreno announced that he would work to block Chick-fil-A’s attempt to add any more stores in the city of Chicago.  The Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, declared that “Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values.”  The Mayor of San Francisco, Edwin M. Lee, also joined into the condemnation.

Many have called this an assault on Christians who uphold a traditional worldview and understanding of what is stated in Scripture. Ordained Southern Baptist minister and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee called for a national Chick-fil-A appreciation Day for today.  The result: massive lines of people at Chick-fil-A stores nationwide!  As the Chick-fil-A mascot spotted cows say, “EAT MOR CHIKIN!”

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

Book Comment: Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die

Pastor John Piper, in Fifty  Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die (2006), uses Biblical citations to show that “to die for our sins” is only one of the many reasons Jesus chose to die.  This is a point which Piper points out repeatedly; Jesus chose to die and God the Father was pleased.  The death of Jesus should not be blamed on a particular group of people;  Yes, the Jews killed Jesus,  and the Romans killed Jesus, but so did you and I.  Ultimately, God killed Jesus, and it was God’s idea.

The death of Jesus was planned from the instant of the Creation.  It did not surprise God or interfere with His Plan.  It was His Plan.  It should not surprise us that God  had multiple purposes with His plan.

Piper finds fifty reasons from scripture for the voluntary death of Jesus.  There are probably more.  Using the chapter titles from John  Piper’s book, here are a few which may surprise you:

To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation:  Galatians 5:11,  6:12

To Give Marriage Its Deepest Meaning: Ephesians 5:25

To Destroy the Hostility Between Races: Ephesians 2: 14-16

So That He Would be Crowned With Glory and Honor: Hebrews 2:9,  Philippians 2: 7-9, Revelation 5:12

To Show That the Worst Evil Is Meant By God for Good: Acts 4:27-28

 

As smart as we pride ourselves on being, we are very limited in our intelligence.  Look at the doctrine of the Trinity, which is clearly taught in Scripture and which we clearly struggle to understand.  God thinks on a cosmic level not bounded by space or time.  Read the series of questions He put forth in the book of Job.  “My ways are not your ways.”  Isaiah 55:8

Book Comment: How Would Jesus Vote?

How Would Jesus Vote? A Christian Perspective on the Issues (2008) by D James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe is premised on the following insight, quoted from the book: ""We will give an account for every aspect of our lives, including how we vote.  May the Lord give us wisdom to obey Him in this as well as in all areas of our lives."

Dr. Kennedy was a conservative evangelical who was often involved in political controversies and was closely associated with what is known in America as the Christian Right.  In How Would Jesus Vote?, Kennedy discusses abortion, embryonic stem cell research, suicide, euthanasia, the death penalty, just war theory, public education, economics, health-care, environmental change, immigration, racism, marriage, and judicial activism.  This is not a scripture-heavy book but is firmly based on a Christian world view.

He quotes his friend, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, who said, "Without a vibrant and vital Christianity, America is doomed, and without America, the West is doomed. ... you must replace your timidity with nerve and your diffidence with daring and determination."

Dr. Kennedy calls on us to think before we vote.  He doesn't actually say it but what he is calling for is that we think with the Mind of Christ before we vote.

A Man Died And Went To Hell

I do not know the origin of this story.
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A man died and went to Hell.  As the flames of Hell began to rise around the man, the Devil walked up and said in a menacing voice,"Hello!"  He was surprised that the man showed no fear.

"Why are you not afraid of me, the Prince of Evil?"

"Why would I be afraid of you?  I've been living with your sister for the last twenty-seven years."

Teddy Bear Valentines

There were at least fourteen Christian martyrs named Valentine.  Any or all of them would be dismayed at some of the more crass things which have developed around the holiday named St. Valentine’s Day.

An example is the television commercial posted below.  It is considered by many to be quite cute and witty.  To a Christian eye it is full of phallic symbols, sexually suggestive poses, and a not so subtle pushing of the giant teddy bear’s groin towards a woman. The spoken text is just as suggestive.  The main impression of commenters on You Tube is that it is insulting to women.

Let’s be clear.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Teddy Bears, even giant ones.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to impress your girlfriend or wife.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the current St. Valentine’s Day, a day dedicated to celebrating romance.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with marital sexuality.  It is a gift from God.

What is offensive about this commercial is its leering, manipulative attitude.  Instead of romance, it is promoting a “game” where you win by getting what you want. 

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

She Listened to the Lord

Kylie Bisutti won her dream job as a Victoria 's Secret lingerie model in 2009 in a competition with 10,000 other models.  In 2012, she quit the financially lucrative position because she had come under conviction that the lifestyle she was leading was in conflict with her Christianity .  She is still a model, but now it is not in her underwear.   She had become convinced that "My body should be only for my husband and it's just a sacred thing."

A Descendant of Peter the Apostle?

Twelver Shiahs, who comprise about eighty-five percent of all Shiah Muslims, believe that Bibi Narjis Khatun, a female descendant in her maternal line of Jesus’ disciple, Saint Peter, became the wife of the 11^th Imam Hasan al-Askari.  A son of this marriage, Muhammad al-Mahdi, became the 12th and final Imam.  (Other traditions say that Narjis was a Byzantine slave or a black African slave.  She may have been of Persian and/or Roman descent.  If descended from Peter, she was, by Jewish tradition, Jewish.)

There probably is no way to prove historically that Narjis was a descendant of Peter.  Since Peter probably had children, it is, at least, possible.

Clearly, Peter and the other disciples of Jesus were married, as would be entirely normal for Jewish men of the biblical period.  The Bible plainly says that Peter was married. (Matthew 8:14, Mark 1:29-31, Luke 4:38-39, and 1 Corinthians 9:5)  Clement of Alexandria (Stromata, III, vi, ed, Dindorf, II, 276) said that Peter had children as did Philip, and probably Paul.

Ignatius of Antioch, in The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians, chapter 4, verse 30, said  “… of Peter, and Paul, and the rest of the apostles, that were married men. “  Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, was in a position to know this because he was trained as a student by the Apostle John.

"The New York Same Sex Marriage Vote" Revisited, #4

On 28 June 2011, I posted "The New York Same-Sex Marriage Vote" and promised, "More on tax-exempt status, homosexuality, persecution, and marriage later."  Today, marriage.

"Because the Bible says so" doesn't hold much water with the rest of the world.  The world doesn't, for the most part, accept our values.  Most people in Western countries think that marriage is between a man and a woman because that is how it "just is," "that's the way it has always been."  That is, of course, not actually true.

Marriage worldwide has taken many forms: multiple husbands for a single wife; multiple wives for a single husband; one man, one woman for life; group marriage of multiple husbands and multiple wives all of whom "belong" to everyone; serial marriages to individual spouses; "open" marriages into which other persons may be temporarily inserted for sex; marriages for legal purposes in which the "spouses" might never even meet one another; marriages between children and adults; wives who may be "shared"with visitors as a form of polite hospitality; a form of prostitution called "comfort marriages" in which men marry and then divorce the wife in a single afternoon so their sexual relations will not be considered to be illegitimate; and many other variations.  

For the Christian, the words of Jesus in the Bible are authoritative.


"And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,  And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?  Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."  Matthew 19:4-6


I predict that we will eventually lose the battle over same-sex marriage.  Remember that the world does not share our values, except incidentally.  The modern argument is that there are no absolute values; nothing is always true; there may not even be such a thing as "truth.".  Your "truth" may not be my "truth."


Public opinion can be easily swayed by seemingly reasonable arguments about "fairness."
We are called to obey the truth as given to us by God, not as determined by the changing opinions of men.  We must understand that this will in no way convince the rest of the world and they may react very negatively to us.  We must decide which we value more, the opinion of other people or the opinion of God.  This makes our choice very simple and,  possibly, very difficult.


A possible option if we eventually lose the legal battle over same-sex marriage: drop our tax exemption status and continue to do what we know is right.  Hold religious wedding ceremonies which we consider to be binding and submit whatever civil paperwork is required to make our marriages "legal."


R. Albert Mohler, Jr., the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, speaks on this subject in "Evangelicals and the Gay Moral Revolution," an article appearing on page A13 in the Friday 1 July 2011 issue of The Wall Street Journal.  The chilling final sentence of the article is "We are about to find out just how much we believe the Gospel we so eagerly preach."

The New York Same-Sex Marriage Vote

The State of New York, on Friday, 24 June 2011, became the sixth of the United States to legalize same-sex marriage.  This prompted a strong response from the Roman Catholic bishop of New York, Timothy Dolan.

“We strongly uphold the Catholic Church's clear teaching that we always treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity and love. But we just as strongly affirm that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in a lifelong, loving union that is open to children, ordered for the good of those children and the spouses themselves.

“This definition cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths.

“We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization.

“Our society must regain what it appears to have lost - a true understanding of the meaning and the place of marriage, as revealed by God, grounded in nature, and respected by America's foundational principles.”  Timothy Dolan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York

I applaud Archbishop Dolan for his strong statement.  He is correct that there may be consequences for the stand.  The most obvious would be attempts to remove tax exempt status from churches which refuse to accept the legislation.  We must be willing to accept persecution for the truth without wilting.  We do not have a spirit of fear.

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More on tax-exempt status, homosexuality, persecution, and marriage later.

A Little Mother

Today at work I saw a little girl (I really can't say young woman) who was very obviously pregnant.  She was perhaps be fourteen years old ... but she looked like she was eleven, maybe twelve.  Her features were those of a pre-teenage girl.


Statistics almost always lag behind reality, but the latest numbers (2007) for births  to unmarried mothers in the United States are alarming: unmarried women accounted for 39.7 percent of all U.S. births in 2007.  Broken down by race: Black women, 72%, Hispanic women 51%, and non-Hispanic White women, 28%.


The numbers are just as troubling in other countries: Iceland, 66%; Sweden, 55%; France, 50%; United Kingdom, 44%.


The little pregnant girl I saw today faces a very bleak future: she may prove loyal to her child(ren) and spend the rest of her life as one of the working poor, or, she may dump the child(ren) with relatives and run off in pursuit of "fun."  Emily Yoffe in the Slate.com article below states that "Studies have found that children born to single mothers are vastly more likely to be poor, have behavioral and psychological problems, drop out of high school, and themselves go on to have out-of-wedlock children." 

All the statistics point out the result of devaluing traditional standards of morality.  Girls/women learn to not value and treasure their bodies and their chastity.  Instead they learn to see themselves as objects, as a commodity which they can use to get "what they want." And, strangely, some "experts" see this as liberating for women.

Christians need to use whatever influence they have to foster the traditional understanding of sexuality only within the bounds of marriage.  It is not the sexuality which is the problem, but the loss of a proper understanding of sexuality.  God gave us sex; sex is holy.  When sex is removed from its proper context, it becomes a destructive force, just another sin, like unbridled greed or unreasoning hatred or a little white lie.  One sin is as good as another.

All sin reduces to the primal sin, the worship of self instead of God.

Three articles about teenage and unwed pregnancy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/13/AR2009051301628.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29754561/ns/health-womens_health/t/unwed-birth-rate-reaches-all-time-high-us/

http://www.slate.com/id/2185944/

Christian Marriage, Part 3

(This is the conclusion of the blog posted yesterday.)

The only personal name for Himself which God Himself gives us in the Bible is "ehyeh" (in English texts it is usually rendered as YHWH) which means something like "I am who I am" or "I will be who I will be"
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל־מֹשֶׁה אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה וַיֹּאמֶר כֹּה תֹאמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶהְיֶה שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם׃
This is Exodus 3:14. The bold Hebrew text says "ehyeh asher ehyeh" which the Septuagint translated into Greek as ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν "ego eimi o on" ("I am the one who is.")  K.J. Cronin points out that the Hebrew word "ehyeh" is the first person singular of YHWH.  Cronin's discussion of Exodus 3:14 runs into many pages and is quite technical, but highly interesting.  His conclusion is that the name of god is I AM, in the traditional understanding as absolute and eternal being. 


God never changes (Malachi 3:6).  He does not want or need, he purposes to do.  He does not love, He is Love.  Active love, love which takes the initiative; He's the God who came to us.  We didn't go to Him.  This is where our Trinitarian understanding becomes important in Christian marital relationships; because God the Holy Spirit is in each one of us.


As Christians, we are to become increasingly like Jesus.  So we should do love (action) rather than love in an abstract sense (emotion).  Romantic love is not "wrong," it can be a wonderful and thrilling thing.  But, a marriage based on only romantic love can fail.  Look around you.  How many people explain their divorces with "we just don't love each other any more."?  Emotions waver and flutter, sometimes they are intense, sometimes lethargic.


Christian love is stable, active, and controlled by the mind of Christ.  Christian wives, would you rather be loved by a romantic man or by a man who is thinking the thoughts of God?  Christian husbands, would you rather be loved by a romantic woman or by a woman who is thinking the thoughts of God?

Christian Marriage, Part 2

(This is the continuation of the post begun yesterday.)


... so that we would not have to!!


"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."  2 Corinthians 5:21


This is where the Trinitarian part comes in.  We are Christians, which means "little Christs."  The name seems to have been given to us by outsiders (Acts 11:26) in Antioch (near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey) and was probably intended as an insult.  This Greek name comes from Χριστιανος, "Kristos" (annointed) plus "-ianos" (belonging to, carrying the idea of "being a slave of.") To be worthy of the name is actually an honor.

The third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who is fully God, just as Jesus and The Father are fully God, indwells every Christian.  This means that God Himself is in me.  God Himself is in you.  Our pupose, our reason for existence, is to act out His purposes, to further His Kingdom.  Each of us is Jesus to this world and we may be the only Jesus some ever see.  What a responsibility!.  I know this sounds strange to modern ears, but this is what Paul said in Philippians 1:21: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." 

We don't, and can't, live up to it, but we do better the more we get ourselves out of the way and let the Holy Spirit guide our actions.  The more we insist on control, the more we can be petty, or jealous, or unreasonable, or snippy.

By the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) we increasingly think the thoughts of Jesus; we take on the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14-16).  This doen't mean we are no longer ourselves, but that our thinking is brought in line with that of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).

(Part 3 of this post will appear tomorrow.)