I Posit

[mystictraveler]

I posit an interesting idea for a hopefully diverse exchange. Here goes:

Certainly our natural human condition is that we do not truly know from where we came and we do not know to where we are going after this temporary stint in our conscious world. We are therefore, at bottom, creatures of faith-- we must "fill in" the gaps, as it were, the metaphysical gaps of very existence. In this vein, I hope you'll humor me as I propose for consideration a certain metaphysical vision, albeit theologically based, from our Judeo-Christian paradigm.

It is written in Genesis that when God created man, He said, "Let US make him in OUR image." This suggests that God, although one, might be many. This lends credibility to the idea of the Trinity-- of a triune God, having one nature, but three distinct persons. One can take this image and extend it, therefore, to mankind-- as being one "human race," with very many "persons" in our common community.

Regarding the life of the Trinity, it is also understood that God is united in Divine Love-- which is itself a person of the trinity-- the Spirit of Love, or the Holy Spirit. Could it therefore be that all of mankind, being in the image of God (in this sense of multi-persons in one nature), is likewise called to be united in the bond of a very special kind of Love? Could it be that Love transcends our personhood and calls us to an extraordinary unity; that Humanity is called to attain the perfection of one-entity-likeness, united in selflessness, personal sacrifice, and giving between its persons? Indeed this vision is quite in line with Christ's sacrifice in the Garden, where he so absolutely gave himself up to the will of the Father in Divine Love. Likewise might his incarnation marry the human race to the heights of Divine Love, enabling us to attain that very high calling. What say ye all?

 

[mystictraveler]

This same post generated a fury of responses and lively interest in TWO philosophy boards, not even Christian. Yet this point is so Christian.

What does this say of today's Christians? Sadly, I have always found "our breed" rather bovine and without depth. This only confirms it.

 

[JohannAT]

Hello again dear brother mystictraveler,

Greetings in Christ! There is an interesting dynamic that goes on in this "Deeper Fellowship" forum. It seems that there are a few very-well-established threads that get almost all the attention. New threads can, and sometimes do, get overlooked. (I should testify that in my experience all of the well-established threads are marvelous and the fellowship is very rich in each one of them!)

I have always been intrigued by Genesis 1:26 and 1:27. Where we would expect to see the pronouns "I" and "him", we see "We" and "them". In verse 27, first it is "him", then it is "them". Put these verses together with Genesis 5:2, where it says that God named both the man and the woman "Adam" and it does seem that just as God is both One and Three, so mankind is both one and many. "One Body, many members"! As you said, one can take and extend the image of the triune God to a mankind that is one "human race" with very many "persons". That is quite a deep thought about humanity, but I do believe you are onto something - that humanity is both one and many in God's sight.

I do believe that all mankind has the calling from God, and the potential, to achieve "perfection of one-entity-likeness, united in selflessness, personal sacrifice, and giving between its persons" (beautiful expressions, BTW!). I aslo believe that this high calling can only be achieved in reality within the Body of Christ, that is, within the corporate union of ones who have been reborn with the Holy Spirit of the God of love. It is in these ones that the love of God has been "shed abroad" in their hearts, so it is in these ones the onenes that is in the Triune God can be made visible and actually experienced among human beings on earth. As our dear Lord Jesus prayed to our heavenly Father, "I do not ask in behalf of these [i.e. the original disciples of Jesus Christ] alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word: that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also my be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me." (John 17:20-21). This marvelous oneness amongst the believers in Christ is due to the fact that we are "in Them", i.e. in the three of the Trinity.

The Holy Spirit is already the Spirit of Oneness in all the believers in Christ. We do not need to create a oneness amongst ourselves, we simply need to heed Paul's exhortation to "be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace". (Eph. 4:3) This preserving of the unity we have in the One Spirit occurs as we apply the Cross to our selfish, unloving, natural life and allow the Spirit of Jesus Christ to transform us, producing the marvelous spiritual fruits of selflessness, personal sacrifice, and giving between persons.

I would more than welcome the thoughts of others on this subject!

 

[mystictraveler]

Thanks, JohannAT. I appreciate your close reading and your wit. This is a fantastic vision for sure. That mankind will be elevated to the very Triune community of God-- wow! Imagine how overturned is Lucifer in his ambitions!

 

[JohannAT]

Amen, dear brother, this is a fantastic vision!

You bring up an excellent point - "Imagine how overturned is Lucifer in his ambitions!" In what Lucifer tried to accomplish in himself and for himself, he utterly failed. We, the vessels of mercy and grace, gain much more than what Lucifer ever hoped for, simply by denying self and daily living out the reality of the corporate Body that is within the Triune God!

 

[mystictraveler]

Well JoannAT, I really like your being on par with my thinking, and I'd love to offer you my Christian friendship. Feel free to e-mail me at originalqtruth@aol.com for on-on-one conversatios.

Hope to hear from you,

Roger

 

[JohannAT]

Hello again dear brother,

Thank you so much for your offer of Christian friendship! I have sent you an email at the address that you listed in your post. You should be receving my email message shortly.

Charlie