Trinity, church and the image of God

Well, this Saturday, I'm being commissioned at Worthing Tabernacle to the work of Pastor.  I'm going to be making some pretty epic promises before the Elders lay hands on me and pray. Most appropriately, these begin with the Trinity - do I believe in One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and do I trust Him for my salvation.

I'm glad that is the first question. There is no question more important than that one.  Everything gets undone if I don't say yes to that. Theology, faith, salvation, gospel, preaching, prayer, pastoring, evangelism... Without Trinity, it all falls apart.

Jesus says in John 17:24 that before the foundation of the world that the Father was loving Him.

Think about it. Before there was *anything* to rule, before there were rules, before there were any objects of wrath, before it all, there was a loving relationship - the Father pouring out His love for His Son, eternally giving Him life.

God, fundamentally, is a giver of life. He is a lover. He looks out to Another, his desire is outside the one Person and always focused on the other Person. He wants to impart life, fellowship, goodness, and love upon His Son.

And so we read, in Genesis 1 and 2 that man is created in His image (let US make man). Male and Female He created them and the two were echad - one flesh. Multi-person oneness. The woman came from the bosom of the man, out of his side. She was of one being and substance with the man - equally human and the two become one.  The first command that the Living God gave them (note, before any command to have dominion, subdue, rule etc) was to be fruitful and multiply. Give life. Make life. Overflow with life. Be like me - multi-person, fruitful, life-giving, other-loving oneness.

Now, what is going on here is basically church. God's children are assembled and are hearing from Him. There is an outward love, one to another - a fellowship that flows out of God's own life. They are listening to His Voice (God said to them...).  Here in the first assembly of the children of the Living God, the first church if you like, you see the image of God in man. Persons loving each other.  They are one, just as the Father and the Son are One (which is what Jesus is actually praying for in John 17).

You see why Trinity is essential for pastoring? What church is, who we are, who God is, what mission is - it's all bound up in that most beautiful doctrine.

And so on Saturday I will reply to the question - I do so believe and trust.

Precious death.

We (I) tend to assume that death is a bad thing.

It hurts, we miss the people we love. It can be traumatic, violent.  Jesus snorted with indignation at the presence of death as He stood by the tomb of Lazarus. He sobbed and mourned. That's good. We need to mourn. We need to remember that death is the final enemy.

But we Christians believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and of course, He raised Lazarus. Jesus has defeated death. He swallowed it up in His own death.

I'm reminded of E.V Hill's *incredible* sermon that he preached at his wife's funeral (the last 5 minutes never fail to bring the tears). In his address, Pastor Hill mentions how beautiful his wife was and describes a beauty which is more than skin deep. She did sound like a top lass. But in his epic crescendo, it is if Hill was lifted from his own perspective of grief and loss and was stood in the very throne room of God, seeing "Baby's" death now from God's perspective.

He speaks of a moment in the hospital chapel where he was in prayer and conveys a kind of conversation between himself and the Holy Spirit.

"You think she was pretty, but ahhhh Hilll, you just wait until you see her again. Just wait till I get her out of this earthen vessel and put her in her heavenly garment. Just wait till you see her as she is. No more sickness, no more sorrow, no more pain."

Psalm 116:15 says "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints".

This is the plan. To take us in Christ through suffering and into glory. Not to patch us up, not to heal, but to resurrect. To remake. To beautify. And it's a delight to the Living God to see that moment when His beloved child is released from the curse.

It's such a comfort to think of the death of a Christian from the perspective of heaven.

"Welcome my child, I've longed for this precious day".