Our God- the God that Christians choose to worship- is one God. I mean, of course He is! But, he is three persons. Trust me, this is not any easy concept to wrap your minds around. For that reason, I do not encourage anyone to begin a conversation with a new believer or someone who has questions about the Christian religion (not related to the Trinity). However, this is not a secret nor something that should be hidden from the sights of all who are not mature children of God. If this is something that confuses or concerns them, it is important to address.
I am currently working at a small Chirstian school that houses mostly unbelieving students. As a Christian teacher I despise the concept that most curriculum and sadly some teachers assume that all or most of the students are saved. I am seriously unsure if I have even one saved student, though I hope based on actions that I have a few. Of course, I know that it is not my place to judge, and it is indeed my job to share the gospel with all who listen. Especially because none of them have verballed professed to have earned or hold claim to salvation. However, what the middle and high school students have been learning in for their Bible time sometimes seems like it is over their heads. Their chapel messages to start off the school year were about the role of the Trinity. While it sounds like this is not the first time that the students were taught this information, I cannot say I was not shocked that this was the contents that began the school year. Nevertheless, because I was not in a position of power, all I could do was observe.
As I was doing some of that very observing, there were some comments made by the speaker that both intrigued me and put me in shock. As a Christian, I know that I need to take everything I hear and hold it up to the metaphorical light of Scripture. Not because the speaker has not proven to be reliable, even if he has, but simply because the speaker is a fallible human being and has the ability to misinform the listeners or readers.
As the speaker was presenting, he had mentioned that the role of the person of God the Father was not one that we could personally have a relationship with. The speaker had said that God the Father is a distant God- that we cannot talk to him while we are on earth. Now, none of this is a direct quote, mind you, but it was the clearest way to communicate what I understood to be told. As a "teenage Christian" I knew that I was not new to the concept of the Trinity. I also knew that the Father is mentioned in Scripture numerable times, and never once did He remain distant from what I had been able to understand. So, I took some time to research this topic myself. With the help of some trusted advisors in my life and my own research, I concluded that God the Father is not distant from His children, but that the access is provided specifically though the power of God the Son.
The first reason that came to mind was that I knew I had the ability to communicate to God through prayer. I was not sure if I had just assumed that I was praying to God the Father or if it was easily identifiable in scripture, but when I could allow my mind to focus on the task at hand instead of managing the classroom of students while listening, I realized that my first passage that supported my claim was simply the Lord's Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13. Jesus instructs His disciples to pray like He does. He begins His prayer with "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name" (KJV). This is not for us to pray for God the Son to answer- we are talking to God the Father!
Now, it is important to point out here that what I have come to understand is that the only reason that we are able to have a personal relationship with the Father is through the Son. Hebrews talks about how we have a great High Priest (the Son) that meditates between us and the Father. We also know that the Holy Spirit communicates on our behalf (Romans 8).
Another major example of connection to the Father through the Son is when the veil in the Holy of Holies in the Jewish Temple was torn in two as Jesus died on the cross. This veil was symbolic for separating those who were not the High Priests carrying a specific role and those who were. Those who were able to walk in the Holy of Holies, on specific days and for a specific purpose, were able to honor God the Father in His presence. So, through Jesus we now have access to the Father!
While this is much information about the access that believers have to the Father through the Son, the role of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are also all important to understand. I hope to continue this series soon.
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