Question of the Week: Why Separation?

by Anne Lang Bundy

The triquetra (from a Latin word meaning “three-cornered”) is an ancient symbol for the Trinity. It comprises three interwoven arcs, distinct yet equal and inseparable, symbolizing that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct yet equal Persons and indivisibly One God.

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When we speak with words such as "return" or "reconciled," we do imply separation. Is it possible that we both hold and not hold God within ourselves? Or that He does and does not live in us? And if God dwells in us, how can we be separated from Him and be empty?
~ Maureen

There are various kinds of separation. And since one God is expressed in a Trinity of three distinct personalities—Father in Heaven, Jesus the Son, Spirit Counselor—our types of separation with each Person is different.

"Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father."
~ John 6:45-46 (NKJV)

There is an order within the Trinity. The Father holds supreme authority above creation and creatures, over humanity and angels, and above the other two Persons of God. No one of the earth may see His face. The ugliness of our sin, however small we think it, separates us completely from His absolute goodness (or holiness), and makes us His enemy—with no permission to enter His presence. Accompanied by Jesus, we have the right to enter the Father’s presence in prayer, make peace with Him, and be adopted as His child. We are then fully reconciled to Him spiritually and have the privilege of as much time in His presence as we spend in prayer. But we will not see His face before the day we go to where He is, in Heaven.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
~ John 1:14 (NKJV)

Jesus is fully God. He expresses the Father in logic as the Word of God, in creation as its Maker, and in human flesh as God become Man. When we take in Scripture, we are in the company of Jesus the Word. In perception of creation (including of ourselves), we know the Creator. But Jesus the God-Man now resides in the Paradise of Heaven. We are physically separated from Him until we meet in Paradise upon physical death, or when we meet Him in the sky at the rapture.

"It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."
~ John 16:7-8 (author)

No one is separated from the Holy Spirit. Named Paraclete, or Counselor, He is present in the voice of conscience which convicts any person of sin. The Holy Spirit may come upon a person in more strength and give the power to do what pleases the Father. The Holy Spirit comes into the person who entrusts himself or herself to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will occupy as little or as much place as is given to Him. When He fills a person, His presence cannot be missed. When He is given a small measure of trust, He occupies a small space, and may even seem absent.

Yesterday’s post on my blog is titled “Father, Son, Spirit.” Those interested in my personal experience of relationship with these three Persons are invited to read more there.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: anglicancatholic.ca

Question of the Week: How Do Christians KNOW?

by Anne Lang Bundy

“How do I know that God exists?
It would be much harder for me to prove that He doesn’t.”
~ Mary McFarland

How do Christians KNOW that God exists?
Anonymous young girl, Napa Valley, California

There are so many proofs of God’s existence that the Bible says God doesn't believe in atheists:

What can be known about God is clear to [people] because he has made it clear to them. From the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what he made. As a result, people have no excuse.
~ Romans 1:19-20 (GW)

Although the Bible supports them, the ten proofs presented here also exist independently of the Bible.

CONSCIENCE Romans 2:14-15
God gave Ten Commandments to define right behavior. But humans also know inside their own hearts when they have done wrong. The experience of guilt comes from the Creator. (See remarks on C.S. Lewis, below.)

CREATION Romans 1:18-21
Only the existence of God explains creation, whether the vast universe or the incredible amount of information stored in tiny DNA—whether life’s impossibly delicate balance or the beauty of nature explained only by a divine Artist. Scientists can neither prove nor agree on the origins of the universe and of life, but science supports everything in the Bible.

CIRCUMCISION Genesis 17:10-11
Over 4,000 years ago, Abraham began to practice circumcision—cutting off a piece of skin on male genitals—as a sign of covenant with God. This testifies of God because it is impossible that men would think of it on their own or do it to themselves for something less than faith in God.

COVENANT Deuteronomy 4:27,31; Rom 11:25-26
God promised that He would preserve His people Israel forever. They have endured slavery, captivity, diaspora, exile, occupation, pogroms, holocaust, and terrorism. They regained sovereignty in 1947 for the first time in over 2500 years. No other people has survived so much. It has been said by many people that Israel's existence is sufficient proof of God’s existence.

CHRONICLES John 20:30-31
The Bible is foremost the Word of God. It is also a legitimate historical record among numerous others. We know about the existence and words of other people based on their writings and those of firsthand witnesses. The existence of God and of Jesus and of what they said and did are more widely attested by historical chronicles and archeological finds than any other person.

CRUCIFIXION John 15:22-24
The Romans used crucifixion as the most horrific death possible. Historical records confirm the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He had opportunities to avoid being crucified, and the Bible shows that His own will was for God to spare Him from it in some manner. His submission to crucifixion testifies that He did it in obedience to God and love for mankind, not as a victim of the Jews or Romans.

CONFESSION 1 Corinthians 15:17,19
Hundreds of people confessed to seeing the divine and living Jesus after He rose from the dead. Their testimony is reinforced by their willingness to undergo persecution, torture and death. It is not reasonable to believe they would die for something they did not know to be true with certainty.

CHARACTER Matthew 5:16
While no Christian is as good as Christ Himself—and some claim to be Christians who are not—the character of Christians is often so loving that it defies explanation apart from God.

COUNSELOR John 14:26-27
Those who entrust themselves to Jesus receive His Holy Spirit (“Counselor”). They know the change He produces in their lives, and the power He gives them to be whom God asks them to be and to do what is otherwise impossible.

CONVICTION Mark 3:29; John 16:8-11
Jesus said even those who are not Christians receive conviction (internal knowledge) from the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit’s truths and proofs are so powerful, Jesus also said that those who defame the Holy Spirit will be eternally condemned.

Many people have attempted to prove that God does not exist. A prominent example is C.S. Lewis, the atheist who was converted to Christianity by the simplicity of morality being present in the human conscience but having no explanation in the absence of holy God. The classic Mere Christianity is his resulting book, with more detail and eloquence than this post. I highly recommend it to Christians and non-Christians alike.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image Source: acus.org