Quote: "If this world was made by a triune God, relationships of love are what life is really all about." (9)
"Instead of self-centeredness (of fallen man), the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are characterized in their very essence by mutually self-giving love. No person in the Trinity insists that the others revolve around him; rather each of them voluntarily circles and orbits around the others." (8)
The Beginning: Jesus' Divinity (Mark 1:1-4)
Mark asserts Jesus' divinity from the very outset of his gospel (Mark 1:1). Next, by quoting Isaiah's prophetic passage (Isa 40:3), Mark asserts that John the Baptist is the fulfillment of the "voice" calling out in the desert to prepare the way for the Messiah (Mark 1:2-4), thus rooting Jesus in the historic, ancient religion of Israel. Christianity is not a completely new thing, for Jesus the Messiah is the fulfillment of all the O.T prophesies (John 5:39; Luke 24:27,44).
The Dance: The Trinity (Mark 1:9-11)
As the Trinity was present at creation (Gen 1:1-3; John 1:1-3), the same 3 parties are present at Jesus' baptism: the Father, who is the voice; the Son, who is the Word; and the Spirit, who is the dove (Mark 1:10-11). Just as the original creation of the world was a project of the triune God, so the redemption of the world, the rescue and renewal of all things that is now beginning with the arrival and baptism of the King, is also a project of the triune God.
What is the meaning of God as the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? C. S. Lewis said, "In Christianity God is not a static thing...but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance." (Mere Christianity) Thelogian Cornelius Plantinga, noting that the Bible says the Father, the Son, and the Spirit glorify one another (John 17:4-5), notes, "The persons within God exalt each other, commune with each other, and defer to one another... Each divine person harbors the others at the center of his being. In constant movement of overture and acceptance, each person envelops and encircles the others... God's interior life [therefore] overflows with regard for others."
God is infinitely, profoundly happy because the Father, Son, and Spirit are giving glorifying love to one another, each centering on the others, adoring and serving them, pouring love and joy and adoration into the other for all eternity. And if it's true that this world has been created by this triune God, then ultimate reality is a dance.
What's wrong with the world? The opposite of this dance is a self-centered life, which is stationary, static and not dynamic. A self-centered person wants to be the center around which everything else orbits. Self-centeredness makes everything else a means to an end, by expecting all others to circle around them.
The Battle: Satan's Temptation (Mark 1:12-13)
Satan's full time job is to tempt us away from the dance, away from centering around and trusting God, and focusing on self: "What about me!" That's what he did with Adam in the Garden of Eden, and again with Jesus in the wilderness. Satan says, "This idea of self-giving love, where you make yourself totally vulnerable and you orbit around other people--that'll never work."
Practical Question: Are you in the divine dance (centering around God and others), or are you looking around for someone to orbit around you?
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