Clearly, according to Scripture, this universe is about Christ. Colossians says that all things were made by him, through him, and FOR him (Col 1:16). This means that the reason for this world is the glory of Christ. He is everything.
What about the Father and the Spirit? Does this world have nothing to do with God the Father or the Holy Spirit? Why is Christ especially glorified in creation?
Because "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, (Hebrews 1:3)" and "the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15)"
How is he the perfect representation of God? This is nearly (if not precisely) the most important theological question to flesh out.
First, we must understand what God is most fundamentally in order to understand what it is that Jesus is communicating.
Most fundamentally, God is love. His holiness, righteousness, compassion, faithfulness, mercy, are all most fundamentally related to love and relationship.
God was not alone when he was the only being in existence because God is a Father who loves his Son in the Spirit.
God is love (1 John 4:8, 11). One person cannot be love. God can only be love in the plurality of persons in the Trinity.
This love is a selfless love. Jesus prays to his Father, "glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, (John 17:1)"
Clearly, each person is all about the other person. At the root of true love is a legitimate concern for the other. Human beings naturally love for their own sake. But the persons of the Trinity legitimately love for the sake of the other person; they glorify each other. The community of the Trinity is a giving community.
Knowing that this is fundamentally who God is, namely, a loving community of three persons, we can recognize the significance of God saying "let US make man in OUR own image. (Genesis 1:26)" In other words, "let us make man relational."
However, instead of loving each other, we have turned inward and embraced pride and live selfishly. We have fallen short of the image of the Triune God.
Christ became a man. He shows us what God is like because he shows us how God loves; God is love. He fulfills the righteousness that we fall short of because he loves.
Everything is about Christ and Christ shows us what the Triune God is like.
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2 comments:
Indeed!
Good post, Jesse.
I found your blog by searching (via Google) for the sentence "God is a Father who loves his Son".
I am in Malaysia and recently finished writing a book for Muslims: The Father of Jesus, The Son of God, and Their Love and Delight in Each Other. The message of the Father's love for His Son, and for us as adopted sons in Him the only begotten Son, is a glorious message for all people. Muslims in particular have been deprived of this message because, sadly, we have been cowards and afraid to bring it to them with loving confidence.
Thanks Zach! I just now noticed your comment. Great to see you found the post. I tried to use the link you posted, but it did not come up. I would definitely be interested in reading your book. Can you send me another link, perhaps?
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