The Unchanging Love of God and Necessary
Sacrifices
The Pharisees were proud of their knowledge of
the law and their works, but because of lacking in their love for God they
failed to offer hope to others. However, every person, regardless of their
flaws, have their part to play. Even the Pharisees, whom Christ said were blind
guides who would win a convert and make him twice as much a son of hell as
them, had their part to play (Matt. 23:15, 12:14, John 11:51). Without love the
knowledgeable one cannot directly inspire someone to draw closer to Christ, for
only true love can build someone up (1 Cor. 8:1-6). “Anyone who claims to know
something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God
is known by Him… for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all
things, and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through
whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Cor. 8:1-6). To make
the unchanging love of God known in this realm sacrifice proved necessary.
God’s great love is only understood by those naturally beneath Him in a world
containing the beauty of sacrificial love. In Christ, the Old Testament,
involving all the laws, prophecies, etc., is accomplished, for Christ is the
culmination of the law so there can be righteousness for everyone who believes
(Rom. 10:4, Matt. 5:17-18, 2 Cor. 1:20).
Before being arrested Christ told the
disciples the enemy was coming for Him, and the reason was clearly stated, “…so
that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father
has commanded me…” (John 14:31). Everything the enemy did, every evil
tolerated, these were necessary sacrifices leading up to the cross, where
Christ eternal love for the Father, and God’s love for humanity is made known. Like with a parent and child the one in
relationship with God will grow in their trust in Him. Only when a child is
older does one discover a deeper appreciation for the decisions and sacrifices
made by their parent. Likewise for the love of God to be known in this realm
necessary choices and sacrifices were made. When the enemy successfully keeps
people distracted from seeing the many facets of hope and love in this world,
there is a precious kind of wisdom being lost.
The one who ceases trusting in God because of
injustice in this world will fail to understand how freedom of expression and
the love of Christ are connected. Resulting from Christ crucifixion the human
mind can gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the perfect justice
and grace of God. Bear in mind the recognized limits of human imagination.[1] Consider if not for divine revelation one
could not imagine a reality before space and time where numerous manifestations
of love were shared within the Trinity.[2] Manifestations of beauty and love were once only feelings or thoughts
in the mind of God before becoming true for any created being. The faithful
accept from God, who is love, there comes every good and perfect gift,
including sacrificial love, and encouraging hope (James 1:17, 1 John 4:7-12).
There is a unique sensation of love and peace
the weeping father feels when listening to his daughters’ heartbeat in the
chest of the one who lives because the daughter died. Another unique sensation
of love and peace is shared between two siblings who forgive each other and are
united after losing their mother. There is also the unique love mixed with
pride a soldier feels for their brother in arms who dies in the battlefield
after fighting bravely and saving lives. Regarding poverty, inflictions, and
disease, there is a special kind of love and even hope to be found when
observing compassion in action. A beautiful kind of love is shared when one
chooses to make sacrifices for those less fortunate and bring hope to those in
otherwise hopeless situations. Imagine a sick and abused orphan in an
impoverished country has never known real hope or meaning in life. One day a
missionary arrives and offers the child all the needed care, starting with
fresh water and a balanced meal. When the child asks why, the missionary
replies with, “Because Jesus loves you, and He wanted me to show you how much
He cares about you.” For those who receive the love of Christ when all hope
seemed lost, the glory of the love of God, and the hope found in Christ is
undeniable. Perhaps the diverse aspects of unselfish love humans experience are
like sensations of love shared between the members of the Trinity. Before
creation there could have been individual words to describe each of these
deeply loving sensations in the mind of God. Thus, the faithful must be humbled
to know God created a reality where He chose to share His great love through
Christ with those who were once His untrusting enemies (Col. 1: 21-22, 1 Cor.
8:6, Heb. 1:2). If the Bible is false the greatest example of love is a lie,
and any sense of hope during suffering is an illusion, because if only death is
certain life is meaningless (1 Cor. 15:18-19).
In this modern culture of doubt the enemy has
influenced many into distrusting God because of the problem of suffering.
Regardless of how one feels about the issue, in this temporary world the
greatest truths in life are often recognized and appreciated because of a
knowledge of suffering. The crucifix is beautiful today and is seen as a symbol
of hope. The horror of Christ on the cross suffering and dying for the sins of
the undeserving is at the same time a beautiful truth an adopted child of God
is most grateful for. If the idea of sacrificial love were only real in the
imagination, such a thought would not truly be as great as the reality of the
person who lays down their life for others (John 15:13). God is freer than a human writer of fiction,
yet through Christ a reality was created whereby His own sacrifice the great
love of God is made known. Where a human mind can imagine a world filled with
diverse characters wrestling with moral dilemmas as read in the works of Homer,
Tolkien, or C.S. Lewis, no human author can give life to what is imagined. What
if this divine author were a sadist? Imagine this divine author writes their
self into the story choosing to walk among humanity in a relatable form, but
only for the fun of being a trickster like Loki. Indeed, the thought of God can
be most frightening, especially for those who have failed to understand the gospel.
Hence why the enemy enjoys keeping the doubtful focused on what is deemed to be
the immoral vicious character of God in the Old Testament. Still, if God
is the source of true love, the creator of all that is good and true, then to
know the author and finisher of one’s faith is most comforting.
The faithful accept, from the divine
perspective, what Christ accomplished, was achieved before creation, from days
of eternity (Rev. 1:17-18, 2:8, Col. 1:15-17, 1 Pet. 1:20, Eph. 1:4, Mic. 5:2,
Heb. 7:3, 1:11-12, 1 John 1:1-2). Christ said He came to fulfill the law, and
stated, “…till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no
means pass from the law till all is fulfilled,” (Matt. 5:17-18). What Christ
fulfilled on the cross is most significant, as this was an event affecting all
of creation from beginning till the end (Matt. 5:17-18, Rev 13:8). In being
slain from the creation of the world, Christ broke down the barrier, the
dividing wall, so the faithful were made to die to the law through the body of
Christ, as the law was nailed to the cross (Rev. 13:8, Eph. 2:14-15, Rom. 7:4,
Col. 2:14). To be logically examined, the faithful disciple understands once
for all Christ offered Himself for the sins of His people (Heb. 7:27). When
Christ entered the space and time He created, a body was prepared for Him to
make a sacrifice for His creation (Heb. 10:5-10). This was written in the book
before God revealed Himself to any human, for Christ sought to display His love
for the Father as well as their love for their created children (Heb. 10: 5-10,
Rom. 5:4-6, 1 John 3:1, Rom. 5:5, Eph. 5:25). Christ is all, and in all, thus
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to those who believe, as the
shadow of who was to come has passed, and the substance belongs to Christ (Col.
3:11, 2:17, Rom. 10:4). The profound truth found in Christ is hated by the
adversary, as the liar refused to serve a Creator who would interact and
empathize with their creation to the point of becoming like one of them.
The enemy first tempted Eve to question the
truth God declared, and ever since she ate this appetizing fruit humans have
struggled to trust in what is true. Though one may claim all truth is relative
there is such a thing as absolute truth, which the free mind sees as self-evident.
Either the claim is true, or it is not true, but to claim all truth is relative
cannot just be a little true. The scientist and mathematician know there is
absolute truth, and either something is wrong or right, otherwise their jobs
would be impossible and nonsensical. Even the artist understands there could be
no painting without the creator of the canvas which the artist needs to express
herself. The arrogant one fails to accept their mind is dependent on another,
however this truth is undeniable. Since there is a first cause to this universe
beyond space and time, all human minds must be dependent on a supernatural
cause, an eternal mind. Though starving, after Christ was tempted to turn the
stones into bread, He reminded the enemy on how one cannot live on natural food
alone but must depend on every word from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:2-4). The
enemy refused to accept the living Word of God personified and hinders others
from seeing in Christ being the Truth and the Life, His very words provide
eternal life (John 6:51, 6:63, Isa. 55:1-3).
One may question the incarnation for seeming
to be contrary to an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God. When
reflecting on how God could choose to be flesh and blood readers must
understand how God is unchanging. The Bible has a beginning and an unchanging
end, so where from a human perspective the story is not yet over, this is not
true from God’s perspective. Before Christ revealed Himself, humans practiced
many religious rituals and regulations symbolic of all Christ would accomplish.
For those made alive in Christ all the rituals were a shadow of what was to
come and were abolished on the cross, whereas eternal reality is found in being
one with Christ (Col. 2:13-17, 3:11, Gal. 3:26-28, Heb. 8:5, 10:1). Today, the
Father seeks after those who are not living in the temporary shadow of reality
and calls out to those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24,
Psalm 145:18, Phil. 3:3, 2 Cor. 3:17). There are two realities, the eternal/spiritual
and the temporary reality, thus where Christ incarnated experienced change, in
the eternal realm the Trinity remains unchanging.
In Revelation John witnessed a future event
where Christ returns, and God creates a new Heaven and Earth. John was able to
stand in this future reality while still being alive in the temporary realm,
for John was and is one with Christ. The victorious saints John saw in the
future were Christians living today, those living in John’s day, and those
saved before John received the revelation. This recalls how Paul encouraged the
Christians in Ephesus when writing on how these faithful ones were seated with
Christ in the Heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6). The “block universe” hypothesis
argues for the past, present, and future coexisting, thus from God’s
perspective outside of space and time this would make sense.[3] From a human perspective time is a journey
forward one day after another. In recognizing the superficial realm is
dependent on the eternal one, the truth is humans are moving forward in a
completed story. Christ felt what all humans feel with regards to change, but
no divine attributes of God changed because of the incarnation. After the
resurrection it is through the Holy Spirit God chooses to personally
relate with those in Christ, but all this was established before matter was
ever created (Acts 2:17, 1 Pet. 1:19-21, Eph. 1:4). Christ was slain from the
creation of the world; thus, from the perspective of the inseparable Trinity,
Christ life, death, and resurrection was seen as a completed event, and so is
His victorious return (Rev 13:8, 1 Peter 1:17-20).
This tangible realm is dependent on the
eternal realm, and when Christ walked the earth, He was still directly
connected with the others in the Trinity. Just as John was on the island of
Patmos by all appearances changing and slowly dying, John was also in the
eternal realm praising God along with the other saints seated in Heavenly
places. God was in no way limited during the incarnation or ever. Even though
Christ was tempted in every way and felt change as people do, in the realm
beyond time Christ never actually changed. One does not need blind faith to
believe Christ felt bound by time while also remaining unchangeable. Upon
observing gravitational anomalies scientists have recognized gravity can jump
between dimensions faster than the speed of light, thus gravity is not bound by
nor dependent on laws in the natural realm.[4] People need to recognize understanding the
mind of God and His ways is limited in this realm. Likewise, human perception
of what is possible beyond the natural realm is limited. However, since
gravity, a necessary force for life, is dependent on the unseen realm, likewise
the natural world is dependent on the eternal realm.[5] The faithful can only understand what God has
revealed, and in Christ all the most valued eternal qualities of God are made
known (1 Cor. 2:11). God has provided much evidence for the resurrection of
Jesus Christ and there is plenty of evidence for the existence of God. Where humans
may never find answers to all their questions in this world, because of Christ
life, death, and resurrection there is good reason for trusting in God.
Regardless of what is not known, there is hope, for the Truth is God is Love,
and this was proven in Jesus Christ.
God enters His created place bound by time
while simultaneously being outside of space and time. The reason God does this
is for the sake of being relational with the characters He created. The
relational methods of God with those made in His image (imago
Dei) are apparent in how God interacts with Noah, Abraham, Moses, the
prophets, and the biblical list goes on, while at present God relates with the
elect through the Holy Spirit. The Triune mind of God set the boundaries in
this story before ever interacting with His creation. Therefore, Christ
incarnated expressed genuine surprise at times, such as being amazed with the
faith of the centurion or expressing how He did not (when in the realm of
time), know the day or hour of His return (Matt. 8: 5-9, Mark 13:32). The One
who created this reality can enter and empty Himself in a sense without losing
any of His eternal attributes sustained in the eternal realm (Phil. 2:6-8).
There is no contradiction when the Scriptures
state Christ, though “existing in the form of God, did not consider equality
with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
servant, being made in human likeness” (Phil. 2:6-7). In being able to become
like the creation and empathize with the human condition God did not become
less powerful, on the contrary Christ proved God truly is omniscient,
omnipotent, and omnipresent. Imagine a human programmer created a simulation
filled with AI characters who were limited by boundaries, such as gravity for
example, or say stone walls set up to keep the sheep from wandering too far. If
the programmer decided to put on a VR headset and enter the game, appearing in
the same form as the AI characters, there is no possible way the characters
inside the game could truly annihilate their creator. However, even if the
created characters were to kill the programmer of the game their creator would
simply remove the headset being physically unaffected by what was endured in
the game. God’s ways are beyond human imagination. Whatever has been allowed
for humanity to discover, especially concerning the attributes of God, were
intentionally made available through Christ (Job 36:26, 37:5, Psalm 145:3,
145:5:17, 147:5, Heb. 1:12, 13:8). Indeed, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). When imagining how a human programmer could
interact with characters in their simulation one can see the Christian is not
exercising blind faith for trusting in a God who intimately relates with His
creation. The enemy has persuaded many into distrusting a God whose
understanding is beyond all created beings. Hence why the devil audaciously
tried to tempt Christ into receiving his kingdoms of splendor in this
materialistic world (Matt. 4:8-9). When the enemy tempts the faithful into
distrusting God one must remember how Christ responded with, “Away from me,
Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only” (v.
10). Regardless of God expressing emotions like righteous anger, regret, and
excitement, the faithful are not illogical for believing God is still
all-powerful, and thus worthy to be worshiped.
Thankfully, like a good father, God does
express emotions centered in love. Hence, God is not a deity imagined by H.P.
Lovecraft having no concern whatsoever for finite humans. God is never
overwhelmed, and always self-controlled. However, resulting from the
cause-and-effect relationship with humanity, in the Old Testament, (not the
New), God is seemingly repentant at times (Gen. 6:6-7, 1 Sam. 15:11). In this
reality those made in the image of God express emotions like the One who
created them; however, God does not repent in the same manner as a human. The
Hebrew word for repent is naham, which is not God changing His will, but
changing His actions based on whether humans repented for their sinful actions
or not. Thus, what sets the truth apart from all the false religions in the
world, is only in Christianity God is recognized as being a Father. Naturally,
the good Father feels sorrow over what has come of His creation, but this is
not the same as the repentance fallen humans express. Like the computer
programmer can understand how necessary it would be to destroy a program
affected by a virus, one can better imagine why God wiped out the past world
with a great flood. Hence, there is no contradiction against the omniscience of
God regardless of His feeling sorrow and having a deeply troubled heart because
of the state of humanity before the flood (Gen. 6:6-7). When engaging with
those in His created universe, the eternal attributes of God remain unchanging
even with the grieving in His heart. Thus, certainly one must not assume
because Christ is the Creator, He did not fully feel suffering as all humans
do. Readers must not assume because of Christ status this prevented Him from
fully feeling the abuse He endured and the sting of death on the cross (Heb.
2:9, Phil. 2:7, Zech. 9:9). Those presuming Christ could not fully understand
the human condition are missing the point to the Gospel message (Matt. 11:29, 20:28,
John 15:13, 1:12).
In the parable about the shepherd and His
sheep, Christ spoke on how just like His sheep know Him, this is akin to Christ
knowing the Father, and for this reason He was going to lay down His life (John
10:14-15). Earlier in this same passage Christ mentioned the thief who comes to
kill and destroy, and in contrast Christ came so people could have life to the
fullest (v. 10:10). The works of the enemy were and are allowed so in contrast
the great love of God can be known. The intellectually honest person will
confess the deeper understanding of love in this realm would not be possible if
not for the knowledge of sacrificial love. If a human wanted to play judge
against God such a person would audaciously demand justice from the One who
could have stopped all the injustice. Yet, the faithful Christian understands
in Christ God took direct responsibility for how sin affected His creation (1
Cor. 15: 22; Eph. 5:1-3, Rom. 5:8, 14:9). All humans now have a choice between
the One who died for the sins of the world or eternal separation from the One
who proved His love. Jesus Christ conquered sin and death by taking on sin and
death, and thus proved to be the one true all-powerful God. Christ also proved
God is all knowing after He felt the effects of sin and having tasted death.
God did what is impossible for humanity and proved to be the greater love all
people desperately need. Considering testimonies from former Islamic terrorists,
or how the Apostle Paul first terrorized Christians, one recognizes when Christ
faces such a person the love of God is no longer denied. In understanding why
Christ created humanity accordingly one will be better prepared to counter the
lies of the enemy.
[1] R.
W. Beardsmore, “The Limits of Human Imagination,” (The British Journal
Aesthetics, Vol. 20, Issue 2, Spring 1980), 99;
Todd Tremlin, Minds
and Gods: The Cognitive Foundations of Religion, (New York, US: Oxford
University Press, 2010), 43.
[2] From the perspective
of experts in astrophysics even the seemingly paradoxical belief in the Trinity
is logically defensible; Hugh Ross, The Fingerprint of God, (Orange CA:
Promise Publishing Co., 1989), 183. Considering how scientific discoveries
bring clearer understanding to Biblical claims, such as knowledge provided in
physics and advanced geometry helps provide a logical explanation for the
Trinity, would henceforth seem unwise to cease trusting in the Scriptures
because of what one fails to understand. The experts in the higher sciences
know that three shapes in one would be expected of an object in an
extra-dimensional realm. Advanced geometry shows how in the fourth-dimension
multiple shapes make up into one, as observed in a hypercube, or hypersphere; Dimitrias Traperas and Nikolaos Kanellopoulos, “Visualizing
the Hypersphere Using Hinton’s Method.” Technoetic arts. 16,
no. 2 (June 1, 2018), 166-167. There is evidence for there being a fourth
spatial dimension and the quantum hall effect shows a three-dimensional shadow
is cast from a four-dimensional object; Michael Lohse, Christian Schweizer,
Hannah M. Price, Oded Zilberberg, and Immanuel Bloch, "Exploring 4D
quantum Hall physics with a 2D topological charge pump," Nature 553, no.
7686 (2018): 55-62. The triune God is unique to Christianity, and this idea of
three persons equaling one being would at first seem illogical. Advanced
geometry and discoveries in physics have proven useful for the one who seeks to
provide a logical explanation for the triune mind of God. The multi-personal
Triune God of the Bible is the only known deity who qualifies as being an
extra-dimensional supreme being. All other gods mentioned in antiquity are
literally one-dimensional characters. Ancient people lacked the knowledge
humans now possess with regards to astrophysics and advanced geometry. Those
living in ancient times could not imagine what would seem to be an illogical
concept such as a deity that is three persons equaling one being. Today, the
expert in higher science must confess no other known god has the necessary
attributes required of a being to truly be from an extra-dimensional reality
beyond space and time. Out of all the gods mentioned in all the religions, the
Triune God of the Bible is the only one who qualifies because of possessing the
necessary and expected extra-dimensional features of a supreme being beyond the
perceived three-dimensional reality; Paul Halpern, The Great Beyond:
Higher Dimensions, Parallel Universes, and the Extraordinary Search for a Theory
of Everything. (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2004), 11-12; Michael
Silberstein, W.M. Stuckey, and Timothy McDevitt, Beyond the Dynamical
Universe: Unifying Block Universe Physics and Time as Experienced, (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2018. Oxford Scholarship Online, 2018), 11-14.
[3] Michael
Silberstein, W.M. Stuckey, and Timothy McDevitt, Beyond the Dynamical
Universe: Unifying Block Universe Physics and Time as Experienced, (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2018), 11-14.
[4] Paul
Halpern, The Great Beyond: Higher
Dimensions, Parallel Universes, and the Extraordinary Search for a Theory of
Everything, (Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2004), 12.
[5] Halpern, The Great Beyond, 11.
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