Will We See the Trinity in Heaven?

I found this wonderful article today @ TimChallies.com, and I must admit I have not  thought about this topic  thoroughly.

When we get to heaven, will we see all three persons of the Trinity, or only Jesus? Will the Father and Spirit still be invisible? It’s something I’ve been wondering about for a long time, especially since I was raised in Oneness Pentecostalism (UPCI), but have now come to a more orthodox understanding of the Christian faith.

My immediate reaction to the question was a simple “No.” No, we will not see all 3 members of the Trinity in heaven (and here I am assuming not the intermediate heaven, but the new heaven and the new earth). But I wanted to give it some thought and reflection and I wanted to see who else has grappled with the question. And at the end of it all I return to that answer: No, I do not think we will see all 3 members of the Trinity in heaven. Why? Because for 2 of them there is nothing to see. Kind of. Let me explain myself. After I do so, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

The Bible makes it clear that as sinners we cannot see God’s face. God is the one who is “of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13). He is the one “who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16). Our sin keeps us from being able to come before the holy presence of God. Yet there are several parts of the Bible that hold out seeing God, beholding him, as a great future promise. Matthew 5:8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Revelation 22 promises “the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”

Scripture makes it clear that it is the work of Jesus Christ that allows us to come before the Father. It is Christ who accomplishes the work that makes us holy so we can now be accepted by God. I am certain that in heaven we will see Jesus Christ face-to-face. Christ is incarnated not just for the years of his ministry here on earth, but forever. We will see him as a man eternally. And through his completed work on the cross we can embrace the biblical promise of seeing God’s face.

But does this mean that we will be able to see all 3 members of the Trinity in physical form?

No, for the simple reason that God the Father has no body; he has no physical form. The same is true of the Holy Spirit. It is possible that the Spirit may take on physical form as he did at Jesus’ baptism and at Pentecost, but the Holy Spirit has no innate physical form. He is, after all, Spirit. And the Father is not a man, he is not an old, bearded man sitting on a throne. So certainly we will not behold him in that kind of a form.

So what does the text mean when it says that we will see God’s face? I take it to mean that we will see and behold God’s glory, whatever that entails. John sought to describe this in his vision where he wrote “At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald” (Revelation 4:2-3). Note that he did not describe a physical form—hands or head or feet, but the effect of that form—glory, radiance, brilliance. God’s glory radiates from his perfection, from his holiness, something that we will only truly be able to experience as perfect, holy beings. Our perfection, accomplished in the work of Christ, will allow us to experience God’s perfection. So as I understand it, this is what we will behold—not God the Father incarnated, but God the Father’s glory—perhaps God the Father as glory. And I think we will only really be able to understand this when we see and experience it. The reality of it, the wonder of it, is too far beyond all we have experienced here on earth.

John MacArthur says “Heaven will provide us with that privilege—an undiminished, unwearied sight of His infinite glory and beauty, bringing us infinite and eternal delight. We can begin to understand why Peter, after seeing only a faint glimpse of that glory, wanted to make a camp on the Mount of Transfiguration and stay there permanently!”
God’s glory is terrifying to the sinner but the deepest longing of the one who has been redeemed. And so we can say with the Psalmist “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” Soon enough.

Now I would love your take on this question—one that was a little bit more difficult to answer than I would have thought. Do you think we will see the 3 persons of the Trinity in heaven?

Rejoicing In The Dark?

New York, New York as you celebrate your liberation, I must warn that what you are celebrating is oppression. Freedom to exercise free will, to get married you boast of now, because you think it's safe to determine the outcomes of your own lives outside the will of God––is tragic. You are unable to evaluate whether or not you are truly liberated because you are still bound by sin.

Liberation today is a term associated with all manner of phenomena, but most commonly a confused idea of what freedom means. Why are you rejoicing? You are not free from work, scarcity, accident, tragedy and death. If freedom is to be found in anything or person, it will be found in the person of Christ. It is the Spirit working through the Word that gives real freedom. And how does this freedom come about? Through faith. What is faith? It is simply believing that what God says in his Word is true.

Instead of meeting God someday in condemnation, meet Him now while He is still forgiving. He is able to changed you to love what He loves: His salvation, His Word, and His will. I, even though a Christian, have been guilty of numerous sins, but through faith in Jesus Christ I have been made clean. Trying to get the world to celebrate the trampling of His precepts is not the solution, coming to Jesus is.

The Downgrade of Self Introspection

Psalm 34: 18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

How often do we search ourselves like the Psalmist said, 'To see if there be any wicked way in the inner heart?' We often with cursory praise tell others "Bless the Lord." But are these just mere expressions? With slight prayers we ask God to forgive us but we are, at the same time, suppressing thoughts, motives and dreams (dead or abandoned). After performing we are back pretending to be wonderful again.

Today some churches are changing the standards so that we feel we are no longer falling short: yet we don't connect our daily lives as an actual testimony,  we don't understand how merciful God has been with each one of us, the more we ought to be willing to extend mercy to others. The bar has been set so low that now the goal is too low. We are satisfied and complacent, happy to be considered a normal Christian, having no feelings of wretchedness, only high self-esteem.

But this high esteem we have of ourselves have left us naked forgetting It is the righteousness of Jesus that covers. Shouldn't we move beyond self-preservation to concern for others? Brotherly love should not be restricted to interpersonal relations (husbands, daughters, close friends), but extended to include those persons not known to us directly. In this, we learn of His power in our weakness and what it means to care for the afflictions of others. But we cannot do anything if we focus too much on ourselves, not daring to die to self, while looking where our Lord leads.

2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” Paul encourages believers to continually test their hearts. Where sin exists our response is the light of the gospel. As a Christians, we should be a beacon of light to this dark world. Therefore, let us prostrate at His feet allowing His light to expose our shame and our failings.  These failings should not occupy our minds to condemn us but to lead us to repentance. Let us not linger in sin but turn to the Lord. Let us beseech him to know His work and complete it. To God's Glory and Honour, may we live a life worthy of the calling we have received

If They Preach Another Jesus It's Not The Gospel

Galatians 1: 7-8 There be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

A "Call For Discernment" is a biblical critique of the word of faith movement by Justin Peters . This is a must view for the body of Christ.

Session 1 of 3 - Dangerous Doctrine - Justin Peters

Session 2 of 3 - Mangled Manifestations - Justin Peters

Session 3 of 3 - The Hurt of Healing - Justin Peters (Fixed)

By Faith I Believe

In Christianity Today's June issue The Search for the Historical Adam, is a cover story calling for a discussion as family regarding the Bible's account of creation.  

The Adam account in Genesis has long been subjected to scientific challenges, As you'll see in the editorial, we find the discussion about the historicity of Adam difficult and, yes, a little painful. But we are also glad to see it happening: We welcome the opportunity to once again ask with wonder, "Where do I come from? Who am I?"—perhaps chiefly because it reminds us of the answer: We have been adopted by a loving Father. Online Source

What the article tells us, in essence, that the Human Genome Project has discredited the Bible on Adam and Eve being the carnal mother and father of all human beings. The magazine’s position seems to be in the middle embracing the suggestion: the first couple that sinned did not exist and yet affirm that we have been adopted through the Second Adam. I can't help wondering why there were no rebuttals from the magazine; where it stood on God's Word? I am disturbed when a person affirms the name of Christ, on one hand, and does not believe the Bible is the Word of God. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Hebrews 11:3). We understand this only by faith. By insisting on finding a middle ground, they are actually acknowledging that not only is the first Adam a myth but also the Second. 

I have come to the conclusion, after reading the article and watching the video, that the magazine should approach the Bible with great humility of mind and common sense. By inferring that you don't know who Cain and Seth found to marry," common sense would suggests that they married either their sisters or nieces. After all Abraham was married to his half sister Sarah. This was the custom of that day. In addition, by careful study of the scriptures we see that the births of females (and some males) were not recorded unless they intersected the line in which the Messiah would come or a lesson to be learnt, e.g. Dinah Jacob's daughter. But we know that she was not the only daughter born to him.

When God spoke and inspired Moses, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)," He didn't go into details regarding the Scientifics of how things came to be. He was not interested in giving us a lesson in genomic demography  or science. God was more interested in giving us a spiritual and moral history of mankind and His plan to redeem. We can be assured when Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, "You believe in Moses but don't believe in me; go and read the scriptures for in them they testify of Me." Jesus was affirming the words that Moses had written. And in these words are the story of creation: Adam and Eve, of sin, family, murder and redemption.

Love is Superior

My daughter, Gabby, is 29 months old today. Since giving birth to her, I view God in a whole new way. I now understand more my relationship to him through her.  I am blessed to hear her voice in the morning whether complaining or smiling, one of the first sounds to greet me when I wake—and through the day and at night. As I take walks with her treading at my side, the feel of her little hands as she struggles to remove them from my grasp, never ending rambling of her lips, and bright eyes are definitely the sunshine of my life. I do not know how to express the love except to say I'm silenced, but God is strengthened in my heart. Me whom so unworthily have been blessed with much, realize my first relationship is to Him.

There are days when being a mother makes me vulnerable and I struggle to balance emotionally and spiritually: Gabby throws tantrums, squeals because she does not get what she wants, and sings at the top of her lungs when we are in a store because she is ready to leave. In some of these occurrences, I find myself more aware of the doctrines of grace: because I am simultaneously absorbing how to demonstrate love and justice. Love.....(I'm still learning), even when written about does not truly define its essence. Love comes from a store laid up in the heart that emanates from God. It means truly understanding the love He has shown me by giving Jesus as a sacrifice. In place of justice, God demonstrated the superiority of his power through love. Through this love I now have life. God offers me hope, renewal, and transformation; and no matter how I stumble and persist in my stubborn fortitude He still beckons me unto life­­­­­: never ceasing to assure me, uplift me, if I will turn to him and put my trust in Him.

Because of this, fixed before me is the constant knowledge of duty to guide my daughter's soul on the right path to God. As His Spirit guides me with clear precepts and assurances from his word; what resonates with me is to endure, to hope, and above all to love–––allowing my faith to increase in strength while striving for the finish line.