Trinity and Humanity

This post is actually about the first of the first 3 commandments given to mankind!

If you think I am referring to a portion of the Ten Commandments given to the children of Israel through Moses, you’d be wrong! There is another refreshing take on laws, I am happy to say! I want to talk about the 3 commandments given to humankind BEFORE humankind sinned.

I want to briefly discuss the commandments we have probably overlooked in the scriptures! We are actually being instructed to take these commands seriously, again, as we understand the Relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit better, and as we understand Who Jesus is and who we are in Him!!

The first three commandments come from this passage in Genesis:

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” ~ Genesis 1:26-28, NRSV

First, did you notice the language denoting distinct Persons within the Oneness of God in verse 26? Did you also notice how it said we were created in the image of this Triune God in verse 27 (distinct from God BUT in Union with God)?

Did you see the 3 commandments noted in verse 28 that match up with Who Jesus is and Who we are in Him?

Here is the first command I see:

The first command Triune God gives humankind is to RELATE & ROMANCE, or “Be Fruitful and Multiply”

This first command is NOT to “Get a job, earn money, get clothing, worry and struggle!” (the main things we tend to be worried about in our fallen flesh! – see Luke 12:13-31)!

Knowing Who Jesus is instructs us that RELATING with Him, our neighbors, and with ourselves as we really are in Him (INCLUDED in His relationship with His Father in the Spirit), is the REAL, first command to be obeyed!  We already know in a bad way the saying that “No one on their deathbed ever wished they had spent more time at work!”

All of us REALLY want to experience great relationships!

We especially want to see multiplied the abounding fellowship of the Triune God, Who IS Love!

This first command from the Triune God is also NOT, “Stay away from thinking or talking about romance and sex – that icky, bad stuff!”? J We all know better than that (whether we are married or shacked up!) This is one part of the commandment we weren’t going to disobey, no matter what!

Or were we?!……

Knowing Who Jesus is teaches us that there is A WAY of thinking and talking about romance that is NOT congruent with the Father, Son and Spirit Relationship (John 8:1-11, Eph 5:1-18)! Painful!  There is also a way that IS congruent with God’s Triune Relationship (Eph 5:18-6:1-9)? Pleasureable!

When it comes to romance, many of us believe or have experienced the negative relational saying, “Why buy the cow when I can get the milk for free?” In other words, we may “like” not being committed to others, but we sure don’t like it when they aren’t committed or faithful to us! We may “like” treating others like an object, but we sure don’t want other people treating us like objects! We want others to treat us like human beings!

Because we are all included in the exact Love, Faithfulness, Openness and Creative Imagination of the Father, Son and Spirit, in Jesus, what we all REALLY want to experience in our dating and sexual relationships is the Harmony and Trust of the Triune God!

In a very subtle way, can’t we also see that this first commandment is NOT for us to love God but for us to BE LOVED by the Triune God?!

He is clearly saying that He called us into being to share in His image and to experience His glorious creation with Him. Let’s face it – he doesn’t say “bow and scrape before Me 24/7”, but we also know that apart from Him we have no possibility of existing and enjoying anything! He created AND sustains us all!! (Acts 17:28, Heb 1:1-3!)

Well, tune in for the next written post, where I will discuss the second of the first three commandments given to mankind. In the gracious education of the Holy Spirit, we really can learn about and experience with understanding more of the restful life Jesus shares with all of humankind, RIGHT NOW, in the Spirit!

Meanwhile, remember that the Father, Son and Spirit Love and Like you Very, Very Much, and indeed, God the Trinity Loves You, Loves US, MORE than He Loves Himself!

~ Tim Brassell