A Series On The Trinity As Family
Janet Richards
Made In Their Image
For six days God fashions the earth, keeping His crowning creation, mankind, for last. “Let’s make this creation in Our image,” God-plural remarks, and commences to fashion us as little representations of the Trinity.
Then, They tell us to fill the earth. We’re to increase in number. We’re to create family. As church-goers, we’ve been so fascinated by the fact that we’re made in Their image as male and female, and stunned by the wonder of being given dominion over the earth, that we’ve often glossed too quickly over an important aspect of what it means to be made in their image. In Genesis 1:28, God-plural’s first recorded words to the man and woman are, “Be fruitful and multiply”. This command is given even before our directive to rule and subdue. Some of the married men and women reading this are smiling, gratified that the joy of carrying out procreation is part of our job description! But procreation is only the beginning; only the conception, of God’s full plan.
First and foremost, God-plural wanted humans to be made in family, because They wanted us to know Them as Heavenly Family. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the original Family, so humans have also been created as father, mother and children. Please hear me, I am not saying the Holy Spirit is a woman – the comparison is simply that our (uncorrupted) natures as human beings who have been set in families reveal the character and essence of the Trinity. Male and female, parents and children, imitate aspects of God’s relationship as Three-in-One.
They wanted loving, covenant relationships between man and woman, in part because of their desire to have godly offspring (Malachi 2:15). Jesus is called the Firstborn of many brothers (Rom. 8:29). He tells the pressing crowds “Those who do my Father’s will are my brothers, my sisters, my mothers,” (Matt 12:50, Mark 3:35). He makes us a part of the “household of God” (Eph. 2:19), and in the greater context of Scripture, this reference indicates we are not just in the earthly ‘household of God,’ the church, but we are also adopted right into the heavenly Family of God, the Trinity.
We belong in the ‘tribe’ of God (Rom 8:14-17). As heirs of God and co-heirs of our brother, Jesus, we have all the privileges of being at home with Them. Ever since Jesus completely restored us to our rightful place in the Trinity’s Family, we can enter Their presence with all confidence (Hebrews 4:16; John 14:2). That word confidence means we come speaking freely, matter-of-factly, boldly, knowing we have every right to say what we think, because we’re God’s child and brother, and They delight to hear us from a Father and Brother’s perspectives.
I imagine myself walking into the mansion of heaven and sitting down in the living room to prop up my feet and relax with Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit. We laugh together, discuss the Family business of the Kingdom, we encourage each other with praise, we bask together in the Family’s glory. I am comfortable with who I am as a member of this Family, because I know They have created me, chosen me for no other reason than love. They like me! They find me interesting, They love my personality, They thrill to be with me.
That the Creator of the universe wanted many people to love is made clear by the fact that Jesus said, “God so loved the (entire) world, that He gave His only Son….” (John 3:16). God wanted a whole world of human beings to dote on, to caress, to enjoy, to walk alongside in intimate relationship. The Father “…from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named…” has created us to walk in the earth and in the heavenlies, as family (Eph. 3:14,15 NKJV).
There is so much to unpack about the reality of being in The Trinity’s Family, that we will spend future installments of this weekly blog to get to know our Father, our Brother, and our nurturing Holy Spirit. We want to understand their hearts toward us and we want to know what it means to live as one of Their Family members, so that, like our Brother, Jesus, we can have great joy in fulfilling our destiny, in being loved and in being filled with hope and purpose.
Enjoy the Family gathering!
