What is the Triunity of Creation?

Last week we addressed how we can better understand the doctrine of the Trinity by finding the Scripture verses and passages that reveals God as Three-in-One.  While the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible, there are revelations about our Triune God from Genesis to Revelation.  Another way to understand God as Triune is to see His pattern of triunity in creation.   Triunity (the quality or state of being triune or three in union) is very evident in our world and in our lives.  As Christians, we can see this triunity as a reflection of God’s being and as His “signature” as Creator.  Consider now the triunity of creation.  We invite and welcome additions to this list. 

The Triunity of Creation

• Time: past, present, and future
• Qualities: good, better, and best
• Temptations of Eve:  The tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, desirable to make one wise.
• Temptations: the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life
• Great enemies:  the World, the flesh, and the devil  
• Matter consists of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdom.
• Patriarchs:  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
• Land (in relation to God’s deliverance of Israel): out of Egypt, through the wilderness, into the Promised Land
• Instruction: The Law, the prophets, and the psalms (Luke 24:44)
• Divisions in the tabernacle and the temple: Outer Court, Holy Place, and Most Holy Place 
• Three veils in the tabernacle: the outer veil to inner court, the inner veil to the Holy Place, the innermost veil to the Holy of Holies
• Kings of the united kingdom:  Saul, David, and Solomon
• Faithful ones persecuted: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
• Intimate friends: Peter, James, and John (witnesses to the transfiguration)
• Completeness  of divine judgment: Numbered, weighed, and divided
• Creation of Man: Body, soul, and spirit (Read: What is the Spirit of Man?)
• Abilities of man: thought, word, and deed
• The fullness of man:  Spirit = Essences (I am); Soul = Consciousness (I see and I know); Body = Appearance (I am seen)  1 Thessalonians 5:23
• Three-fold growth in the good ground–produces some 30 fold growth, some 60, some 100 (Mark 4:8)
• Noah’s ark of salvation was three stories high and 300 hundred cubits long.
• Feasts of the Lord:  Feast of Passover, Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), and Feast of Tabernacles

The Triunity of God and His Revelation

• The Divine Being:  Which was, and which is, and which is to come
• The fullness of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• Witnesses: the Spirit, the water, and the blood (1 John 5:8)
• Acts of God in redemption: Loved, cleansed, and crowned
• Three-part salvation: Justification, sanctification, glorification
• Life in Christ:  Positional, practical, and spiritual
• Christ’s offices: Prophet, Priest, and King
• Gifts of grace: faith, hope, and love

For a better understanding of the Triune Godhead study the attributes of the Father, Son, and Spirit and learn about their works (Read: How Can I Understand the Trinity?). There is only one God in existence at all times (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5) and yet the three Persons of the Godhead work individually and also together in perfect unity. To better understand this read: What are the Individual Works of the Father, Son, and Spirit in Creation and Redemption?

I would like to suggest three more “three’s” that will shed a greater LIGHT on our Triune God:

1) On the third day of creation, God raised the earth up from the depths of the water into the light of day–certainly a picture of resurrected life rising from the depths of sin into the light of forgiveness — and we know Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2). The third day of creation is also a whisper of Jesus who was bodily raised up from the depths of the grave on the third day, and how he prophetically declared that his corporate body will also be raised up on the third day (Hosea 6:2).

2) Jesus told a parable about leaven being hidden in three measures of meal (this was a Hebrew fellowship meal)…the communion of believers we know as His Body, the Church, is represented in that meal of three measures.  The leaven is a reminder that sin remains in every believer and yet we are His Body–His mouth, His hands and His feet with a three-fold mission to speak of His mercy and grace, give of His compassion and care and go forth in His love and reflecting His light.

3) Peter, James, and John were the three witnesses to Jesus’ transfiguration.  Peter represented faith, James represented hope and John represented love.  These are the three gifts that we are to abide in, until the mirror is no longer dim, until we see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12), for He is the Light of the World. 

In thinking about the Light of Christ, let’s also consider the triunity of light. 

The properties of sunlight are actinic, luminiferous, and calorific.  Together they provide a perfect illustration to call to remembrance our glorious God.

1) Actinic is neither seen nor felt: God the Father (John 1:18, 1 John 4:12)
2) Luminiferous is both seen and felt: God the Son: ( Colossians 1:15  He is the image of the invisible God)
3) Calorific is never seen but felt (heat):  God the Holy Spirit. (John 14:7, Colossians 1:27)

Sunlight also contains three types of ultraviolet rays: UVA, UVB, and UVC.

Triunity in Christian Living

With so much of creation being triune in nature and pattern, Reason for Hope* Jesus encourages a triune approach to growing in faith and living as biblical followers of Christ.  It’s important that we know what we believe, live what we know, and share our faith with others.

Knowing what we believe requires reading the Bible to hear and understand God’s revealed will and ways. It’s important and necessary to know who Jesus is and what He, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit, have done since the beginning of time.  It’s also important and necessary to know who we are as Christ followers and how we should live to honor Him.  The word of God gives us all the true answers and reasoning we need to grow in our knowledge of the Lord and the understanding of life.

Living what we know is applying knowledge in everyday life.  Living according to what God has commanded and instructed in His Word is God-honoring and beneficial for a healthy and whole life.  Reflecting God’s good character, knowing we are His ambassadors to do His goodwill and that we are His hands and feet to go and do good works for our neighbor, is our gift of reasonable service to Jesus for what He has done for us.

Sharing our knowledge and faith is an active response to all Christ has done for us and given to us.  It is an outpouring of His love to others by sharing His saving grace with family, friends, and acquaintances and by reflecting His love in service to others.  We have been commissioned to go forth and tell people about Jesus, and when we know and live what we believe to be true, we bring honor and glory to His name.

A Signature

The three-fold nature of so many things is a clear “signature” or “fingerprint” of our God in His creation and in His revelation of His purpose and plan.   If you have some additional “three’s,” pleases send them to hope@reasonsforhopejesus.com.  

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