Scripture
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
~Genesis 1:3-4, LSB
Quote
God’s creation was made solely because of His goodness, not by reason of any necessity, nor of any need to use the thing for Himself.
~Augustine
No one understands the trinity. We can talk about it but we cannot fully explain how God can be three and yet be one. He is three distinct personalities: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but they are of one and the same substance, essence, or nature. When it comes to their divinity, intelligence, and power: they are indivisible. The trinity is reflected in many places within creation. Man, for instance is a triune being… Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I grew up being taught that man is body and soul. I think it was Watchman Nee, the Chinese theologian, who rediscovered the truth that man is actually body, soul and spirit. Hebrews 4:12 confirms the difference between soul and spirit. James MaHoney and others made the parallel between the a human being and the Temple: outer court {body}, court of priest {soul}, and Holy of Holies {Spirit}. In Philosophy the trinity is physics, logic and ethics or you might say natural {physics}, rational {logic} and moral {ethics}. Augustine said, “There is not one who hesitates to assert that there is some cause of being, some norm of knowing and some aim of living.” Plato was the first to recognize this trinity and he believed that God was the sole Author of all being, the giver of all intelligence and the inspiration for all good. Plato believed there is first natural endowment [genius], second there is knowledge [education] and third is production which would be our use of our natural abilities and our education.
Augustine points out: If we {mankind} we’re the cause of our own nature, then indeed we would be the father [source] of all wisdom and would need to be educated by no man. If we were the source and only object of our love, we would be totally self-sufficient and would need no one to make us happy. But we did not create ourselves, and we desperately need an education and we cannot be happy apart from doing what is good and only Christ can make us good. Augustine sums it up by saying, “God is the author of our existence, the source of all wisdom and must be the source of our consolation if we are to be happy.”
Congratulations: you have completed your first course in Philosophy 101.
Extra
You got love this weather; not too hot or cold, just right! TYJ! Chloe Bug graduates this morning at 8:30. Next Fall, LORD willing, all our grands will be on the same campus. We will have one in the 5th, two in the 10th and two in the 11th. Time flies when you get to be 37. Good day yesterday will Bro. Chris Martin and the folks at Pleasant Hill. Tyler King was our special guest last night and he hit one out of the park. The boy sings with passion. Parkview is fortunate to have a man like Tyler.
If I get a chance and it does not rain first, I will be able to plow the garden. My tomatoes are growing like crazy but something will happen: it does every year. I keep trying new methods so maybe this is going to be a better year.
Have a great Monday, if that is possible, and thanks for reading the blog.