Concerning spiritual growth and awareness— I am both intrigued by and looking
forward to the information it appears we will be learning while studying through Bray’s
text. In his introduction, the author states that much of what is written in his text, will
focus on the, “personal, trinitarian subsistence,” of God (Bray, 1993, 9). This is
something that I have pondered from time to time throughout my Christian walk.
When we think about God in Heaven, what do we picture in our head? Many Bible
teachers and pastors will say— “if you want to know what God looks like (in both the
physical and personality sense), look at Jesus.” Indeed, since Jesus IS God (Jn. 1:1-3;
14)— being a member of the trinity which makes up one divine being (1 Jn. 5:7, KJV)—
it seems reasonable to surmise that when we finally see God up in Heaven, He will
look like Jesus. Yet, we run into difficulty when we are presented with passages that
seem to indicate that the Father though equal with the Son, is a separate being Who
was up in Heaven, while Christ was down on this earth. There are many example
passages I can draw from, where Jesus speaks about His Father being up in Heaven,
a notable one being Matt. 7:21, which states, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven” (NIV). And of course let’s not forget when Jesus was first
baptized— as here we get a scene where a proud Father is looking down upon His Son
from up above; “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17,
NIV). Such passages make it very hard to grasp that the God we worship is one true
divine being— made up of three distinct persons. Obviously, our intellect and limited
point of view will never fully comprehend this spectacular mystery about God,
however my hope is that our text materials, such as Bray’s, will help to at least
improve my understanding on these things. Once my understanding on these issues
is improved, I will better be able to articulate such subject matter— to both believers
who have similar questions about God— and non-believers as well. I am reminded of
Peter’s words when he said, “…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who
asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have… (1 Pet. 3:15, NIV).” Now in
regards to as our prompt puts it, “experiencing God as an outcome,” I would like to get
a better understanding on who I am directing my attention towards, whenever I think
of God, or seek Him out. Am I directing my attention towards God the Father, or am I
directing my attention towards Jesus Christ the Son? Based upon the words of Jesus,
it seems clear that when we go before the Lord in prayer, we are to address the Father
(Matt. 6:6, 9), and then pray the prayer in Jesus’s name (John 14:13-14). I would like to
get more of a clarity and understanding on these things, in order that I might certainly,
“experience God,” more fully within my Christian walk.
Bibliography
Bray, Gerald.
Contours Of Christian Theology: The Doctrine Of God.
Downers Grove,
IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
