We are going to start our observation from Revelations 5 verse 1 to 7, then we will go to Genesis.
“And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to lose its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. 4 So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to lose its seven seals.” 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.”
Genesis 1 we will read verse 1 to 3 then we will move to verse 26 to verse 28.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.”
Verse 26 to verse 28:
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
1 John 5:7, we are reading these Scriptures deliberately so that we can start pondering on them because we are going to be doing a joint meditation this morning. and we learnt the five layers of meditation yesterday, that the first point is reading. So, that’s what we are doing, lets read the Scriptures, so that we can ponder on what we have read. “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”
These three are one, they are not divided. Jesus said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. When they told Him that He was sending out demons out of people by the Spirit of Beelzebub and He said, see! If I by the Spirit of Beelzebub is doing these things, then the devil’s house is divided. And a house divided against itself cannot stand. But if I by the finger of God is doing these things, then the kingdom of God is upon you. What was Jesus trying to emphasize in that place? He is trying to make us understand that in the spiritual realm the kingdom of God represents a unified force. And that’s why 1 John chapter 5:7 let us into the unity of the trinity. It says and these three bear record, bearing record means testifying. In heaven these three agree, there is an agreement.
It says these three bear witness, these three come to agreement over every matter in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the Spirit. And these three; because if it had stopped there, we would say they are divided entities, right? But that is not true. It said; and these three are one. So, that’s the basis of God in three persons, but it is unified in the blessed trinity. So, we are looking at the beautiful expression of the trinity. The Father, the Word and the Spirit. These three personalities, who are they? These three personalities; how do they work out their agreement? How comes they are unified? How do they become one? So, we are going to look first at; the unity of the trinity, because that’s always where to start from. We are going to first express the unity of the trinity then we will start looking at their persons.
So, we are going to go back to Genesis 1 verse 26. We are familiar with Genesis 1:1-3, the Bible says in the beginning God created; so who is God that created? Who is the Spirit that is hovering over the face of the waters? What is the word that came out of God and made things happen? So, verse 26 of Genesis chapter 1. Then God said; we want to look at the unity of the trinity. “Then God said; let us” In your Bible you will see that the “Us” there is capital letter ‘U’. Let us make man in our image. This point is the second time that we are going to see that there is an interconnectivity of the trinity. It says then God said; who is God that said? Who was He speaking to? God the Father said to the Son and the Holy Spirit; ‘let us’. So, if you have ever been having issues with the trinity, this teaching I believe the Holy Spirit is using it to open our eyes to how this operation works and how it must agree in our lives.
It says let us make man in our image, in the image of the Father, in the image of the Word, and in the image of His Spirit. Don’t forget 1 John 5:7. According to our likeness, so they have an image called our image. They have a likeness a nature called our likeness. So, when man was created, man was not looking funny, man didn’t have three heads. Man didn’t have six legs, or three legs and three hands. How comes, if it’s our image and we are talking about three people, then we should have three different expressions of man. But no! it said according to our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea.
Let’s move to verse 27; So God created man. Let us see what happened between verse 26 and 27. From “our” it became “His”. Are we following this morning? So, God created man not in our image, but in His own image. Are we seeing our Bibles this morning? ‘in His own image’. So, meaning that our image is His own image, our likeness is His own likeness. Verse 27 helps us to understand how they all marry together, into one image and one identity and one likeness. So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created Him, male and female He created them. One expression!
I want us to see Hebrews chapter 1 because it’s always important we understand the fullness of the Scripture. The whole counsel of God, Scripture interpreting Scriptures. So, that we will have a balanced teaching of the word. Hebrews 1:1-3; God, who [a]at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. Please I want us to understand this, by the time we are now breaking them down, we will understand the voice of the Father, the voice of the Son, even though they are united. That’s why we are starting with the unity front so that we will understand it before we start looking at the individual persons.
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. So, we can see that the Son is also different from the Father, but we will now see how the Son is the same with the Father. It says; God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.
Now we are talking about the Son here, see verse three; 3 who being the brightness of His glory [the glory of who? The Father! The Son is the brightness of the glory of the Father.] And the express image of His person-the person of the Father. So, you now understand why they are united? They have the same image, because the Son is the express image of the person of the Father. Do we understand it? And upholding all things by the word of His power. So, the Son is the express image of the Father, and that’s why in Genesis 1:26 and 27, verse 26 started with our image, our likeness, 27 let us into how it’s a united image. His own image, His own likeness. The reason is this; when we are looking at the breakdown of their person we will understand why it is His own image and His own likeness.
So, in the unity of the trinity, they have the same image and likeness. It’s the same; The image of Christ is not different from that of God. The likeness of Christ is not different from that of God. That’s why Jesus said to His disciples, He said have you seen Me and you ask me to show you the Father. He said if I have been with you for so long why should you ask show us the Father. Because every time you see me, you see the Father. Because He is the express image. And when Jesus started talking about the Holy Spirit, He said He will take of what is mine and give it to you. He will not speak of Himself, meaning that everything He is going to represent; it is me, because He is in my image and my likeness; that’s why it is called the Spirit of Christ. I don’t want us to get it confused; let’s go back to Revelations 5, so that we will see it from the pages of the Scripture.
Revelations chapter 5, I would want us to skip the earlier verses and read verse 6. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God. Is that Spirit in small letter ‘s’ or in capital letter ‘S’? The seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. The picture that John saw here is the glorified Christ because before Jesus came, you will notice in verse 5 that it says do not weep the Lion of the tribe of Judah the root of David has prevailed; not will prevail. So, this is the picture of the glorified Christ. Who has prevailed. So when we are talking about the Spirit here, we are talking about the Holy Spirit and it says He is the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
So, at the point when Jesus became glorified, the Holy Spirit was sent out. But who was the one carrying the seven eyes and the seven horns? The Lamb! So the Spirit is in the image of Christ. Do we understand? So, lets never be confused about how the trinity works. Jesus is in the image of the Father; the Spirit is in the image of Christ. That’s why He said He will never speak of His own, when He shows up He will always speak about me. Because He is my image, He is my representative. Let’s understand it to that point. This is how they all tied together.
2 Corinthians 13:14. We are familiar with that Scripture, but we want to read it again and see what the Holy Spirit is saying to us from there. “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit.” Now see the distinction, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; the word- the Son, the love of God the Father, and the communion, the fellowship, why is it the fellowship of the Holy Spirit? Because He is the Spirit that has been sent out into all the earth. Somebody that is sent out into all the earth is somebody that is sent out to all the earth is actually sent out to fellowship with man. Who is on the earth that is so important to God? Man! God did not send His Spirit to animals, it is man. He sent Him into all the earth to fellowship with man. So, this is the beautiful expression of the trinity in unison. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
So, when we look at the trinity what do we see? We see the same image and likeness. The same image of the Father is what is represented in the Son, the same image is represented in the Spirit, because when you go to Galatians 5:22-23 and you read of the fruits of the Spirit you will see that it is the same thing that is at work in Christ. That’s why it’s called the Spirit of Christ. So, when we read the fruits of the Spirit, the fruits of the Spirit of God, the fruits of the Spirit of Christ. Love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, perseverance, long suffering, self-control; these are the fruits of the trinity. So, when you want to know the likeness of the trinity, you know the likeness of the Spirit. When you want to know the image of the trinity, you know the image of the Spirit. Because they are all one. So, they have the same image, the same identity. That’s why the Bible says we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, there is a Spirit of righteousness.
When Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life, there is the Spirit of truth and there is the Spirit of life. So, it’s the same image. God is the Father of life, the Father of Spirits, the Father of light. Jesus said I am the light. So, it’s the same image, the same identity. Anything that Jesus said He is, the Father is, He is the express image. Everything that Jesus said He is the Spirit is, because He is the Spirit of the Christ. No wonder when Jesus was to be born and Mary said how will these things be? The angel said the Spirit of the Lord will overshadow you, the Spirit of the most-high will overwhelm you, because what you will produce is of God. Do we understand it? He is full of the Spirit because He and the Spirit are one. So, they have the same unified purpose. Anytime you have an encounter with the trinity, the Father is not telling you something different from what the Son will tell you, nor the Holy Spirit will tell you something different from what the son will tell you.
They have the same purpose. So, when they come into your life, they agree concerning the same thing. So, if God says you are the head and not the tail, the Son will agree, the Spirit will agree. That’s why where we read in 1 John 5 verse 7, it said there are three that bear witness, that testify, that bear record that agrees in heaven; the Father, the Word and the Spirit. And these three are one. So, whatever the will of God is for your life is the same will of Christ for your life. It is the same will of the Holy Spirit for your life. They are unified in purpose. Another important thing we must know about them is that they focus on the same thing. Anywhere you find Christ, anywhere you mention Christ, the Holy Spirit will show up. Anywhere the Father is mentioned, anywhere the Father is glorified, the Son is also glorified there, nobody is looking for a separate glory, their glory is the same. Why? They focus on the same things.
What gives the Father joy is the same thing that gives the Son joy, it is the same thing that gives the Holy Spirit joy. So, you can’t say I want to please the Father or I want to please the Son, or I want to please the Holy Spirit; it doesn’t work like that. They focus on the same things. If God is at work in your life, if a word has gone forth concerning you, the Spirit is already at work in your life, don’t doubt it. That’s why the Bible says in Isaiah 55, I want us to see it, we read that Scripture yesterday, very powerful; then we will understand how it truly works. Because it’s about the agreement of the trinity. Isaiah 55 and we are going to read from verse 8 then we will stop at 11.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts nor My ways your way says the Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your way and My thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain comes down and the snow from heaven, and does not return there but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.
Please I don’t want us to forget this analogy of verse 10; because most of the time we are quick to go to verse 11. But the analogy God gave in verse 10, is actually to open our eyes to what He is saying in verse 11; in verse 11 it then says so shall my word be! Meaning that the analogy I gave in verse 10, that’s the similitude or the nature of my word. And what is the analogy? The way rain comes down from heaven, the way snow comes down from heaven and does not return back there, but it brings forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be, so shall the word of the Father be. That’s why in Matthew 4:4, Jesus said man will not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. meaning the Father is the one that speaks, because now we are going to look at the different personalities; every intention in heaven is by God the Father. He is the one that has the intention, He is the owner of the will, God the Father is the owner of the will, let your kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That was how Jesus taught His disciples to pray.
Meaning that He taught them to recognize that the owner of the will in heaven is the Father, that’s why when He started the prayer He said our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. “Our Father” because He is also His Father. Scripture says though He is God He counted it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation; the same way the Father is God, Jesus is God, but the Father is the Father. He is the owner of every intention in heaven. He is the owner of every will, every will proceeds from Him. That’s why when they were asking Jesus, they said Jesus when will you restore the kingdom to Israel? And He said leave those things; those are the things that God has in His own purview. The Father is the owner of those kind of will and intention. But what I know is that the Father has communicated to me that you tarry here in Jerusalem until you are endued with power.
That’s why when Jesus second coming will come, Jesus Himself does not own that will. It’s the Fathers, so He is the owner of all intentions, will, counsel, purpose and message. If there is any purpose for your life, it’s from the Father. He is the owner of all the blue prints, and that’s why the Bible says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And when we go to John 1:1, it said in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God. Who is the word that God was with? The Father and the word-the Son is also God. but don’t get it mixed up, that’s why Jesus said as I hear my Father say, I say; as I see Him do I do. He is the owner of the intension. Jesus would have loved to go to Lazarus and wake him up when he died but the Father said it’s not time. Until he was dead and buried and the Father said now you can go. Do we understand it?
The Father is the owner of the intentions, the will and the counsel. Let your kingdom come, let your will; He is the will of the Father. Let it be done on earth as it is done in heaven. And that’s why because He is the owner of the will, He is the owner of the intention. When we go to 2 Corinthians 13 verse 14, what we have there is the love of God. Love originates from Him. He is the one that sits on the throne, in Revelations that we read. God the Father is the one that sits on the throne. The Bible says the Son-Jesus our Lord and master sits at His right hand. Do we understand it? even though they have the same unified purpose, even though they focus on the same things, even they have the same image and likeness, they are still different persons. So, the Father is the Father, He is the one that said in Isaiah 55, He said so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth and Jesus was establishing the same thing in Matthew 4:4.
That man must not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So, Jesus Christ must proceed out of the mouth of God to bless you. That’s why in John 3:16 the Bible says for God so loved the world that’s the Father, every time you see love being talked about in the Scripture, that’s the Fathers love. For God so loved the word that He gave; He gave up Christ for Christ to come. Christ will never come if the Father didn’t give Him up. Because He had always been with the Father. The Father gave Him up to come. For He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. And that’s why the Bible makes us to understand in 1 John; it says this is the promise that the Father has promised us, He promised us eternal life and this life is in His Son.
That’s how the Father works. He has an intention to save mankind, to redeem mankind, once He says it, He releases that word, Christ Jesus comes on the scene. So, we are talking about the Father now, He is the beginning of all beginnings. Until He speaks nothing changes, nothing happens. We heard that message on Monday. Why God speaks. Until He speaks nothing changes, nothing happens. If you go back to Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 down, you will see how the Father was speaking things into existence. Until the Father speaks nothing happens, Jesus could not come until the Father spoke. He is the one that sits on the throne and Jesus at His right hand, and He is the one that has the extravagant love. Some people call it excess love. Some people call it reckless love. That’s the love of the Father, that’s the Father, He loves unconditionally. He loves us so much that He gave for us. So, that’s the Father, He is the owner of the will, and counsel, and wherever His word is there is power, that’s the Father.
So, we are going to look at Jesus Christ; the Son, the word. Jesus Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, we saw that in Revelations 5 that we read, He is the root of David, He is the Lamb of God; we also saw that in Revelations. In John 1:1, He is the word, the message of God, the idea of God, and He is the one that has the spiritual blessing. God confers on Him blessing. The Bible makes us to understand that for this reason the Lord the Father has highly exalted Him, so you see that the Father is the one that actually has the authority of lifting and promoting, he is the one that has the will, the intention. Because of the Lord, the Father has highly exalted Him-Jesus Christ higher than all principalities and powers and rulers and dominion and gave Him a name.
The Father gave Him a name that is above every other name, that at the mention of the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue should confess. Every time you open the Scriptures and you read the word, there is always a picture of this expression of the trinity. When the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the operation of the trinity, we will know that the image and the likeness we are made of is a beautiful harmony if you walk in it. So, Jesus is the one that has the amazing grace because God conferred on Him a name, a blessing and I am sure we are familiar with that Scripture in Revelations? It says worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive. Who gave it? The Father. And that Revelations chapter 5 we read it said and in the midst of the throne among the elders stood a lamb as though it was slain.
He is the Lamb of God. He is the Lamb of God; He is the sacrificial lamb. Why because the Father offered Him up. And it is a similitude of what God requested from Abraham when He said offer up your son Isaac the one you love. And because God could see that a man could offer up His own son, God also did not withhold His Own Son from us. That was why the Bible makes us to understand that if He did not withhold His Own Son from us, how much more will He not be able to give us freely all things.
We must understand the heart of the Father; His heart is filled with love for us. And when we know the love of the Father then we can appreciate and walk in the understanding of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why the love of the Father is not something to toy with. The Father is so powerful and strong yet so emotional, so sensitive. That’s why when you worship God, it now looks as if you have turned God to a baby. And He is just looking out for the best of you. Why because He gave up His Son, I don’t want to go into all those Scriptures but we are familiar with them. God gave up His Son in the hope that we will grope for Him, that we will search for Him, that we will long for Him, that we will pursue Him. That’s why He gave Jesus up, so that you and I will come to that point where we can worship Him without any veil in-between. That’s why He offered up Jesus. So, every time we worship the Father, acknowledge that love, God becomes emotional. Because every time we do that we are saying to Him; Father your love and your sacrifice is worth it. So, Jesus shows us the amazing grace.
Let’s talk about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the executor of the message. The message is Christ. That’s why Jesus said anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. He is the word. Man must not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. So, who is the one that executes the word? The Spirit. If you go back to Genesis 1 verse 1 down to verse 6, every time God speaks, the same Spirit that was hovering over the face of the waters was the one executing the word that goes forth from the mouth of God. And that’s why in this Isaiah 55 verse 11 God said; so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth, it shall not return. The person that does not allow Gods word return is the Holy Spirit. That’s why when the Holy Spirit is present in any life, that word that God has spoken will not fall to the ground.
So, as long as the man is void of the Holy Spirit, words spoken by God concerning the life that person will keep hanging. Because the Holy Spirit is the executor. He comes into your life to execute the message. The word of God. It says so shall my word be that goes forth from My mouth it shall not return to Me void, empty without result but it shall accomplish what I please. Is this Scripture not the same thing we read in Genesis 1? And God said let there be light and there was light. And the first day came and God saw that everything that He has created was good. So, He was pleased. So, the Holy Spirit is about the pleasure of God. That’s why He will always keep directing and guiding us and teaching us what makes the Father glad, what pleases Him.
You can’t please God without His Spirit. Who knows the heart of God save the Spirit of God, the heart of God is about the heart of the Father save the Spirit of the Father. For you to please the heart of the Father you need the Spirit of God. He is the executor of the message, purpose, counsel and the will of God. And we read in that Revelations chapter 5 that He is the Spirit of Christ, that is sent out into all the earth. So, we are actually in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. The moment Jesus was glorified the Spirit of God was sent out. And that is why fellowshipping with Him is so important. Fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit links us up with the love of God, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. In relating with the Holy Spirit, you need to have intimate friendship with Him.
The Holy Spirit thrives in precious communion and sharing together and participation. In your walk of faith, the Holy Spirit wants to journey with you. So, as you are journeying in this walk of faith, He wants to take you line upon line, precept upon precept, He wants to guild you in the way. And in Ezekiel 47, the Holy Spirit is the one with the measuring line that measures a thousand cubits and you follow. And as you follow, you start experiencing the depth of God’s love, you start experiencing the depth of God’s grace. That’s the Holy Spirit. So, He teaches us, He waits on the word of God, He is always ready to do. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit that is waiting on the word of God. once the word goes forth in your direction the Holy Spirit is already waiting to go to execute. So, these three bears record in heaven.
The system of agreement of the trinity is that they walk together. Amos 3:3, can two walk together except they agree? Because there is an agreement with the trinity, they work together and there is no issue. There is an agreement and that agreement must always come to play in our lives. When this agreement come to play in our lives we become carriers of the presence of God. What is the end of the agreement of the trinity in our lives? So that we become carriers of the presence of God. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, the communion of the Holy Spirit is so that we can become carriers of the presence of God. When they agree in your life, you become a carrier of the presence of God. Anywhere you step into, you are not stepping in your own accord, you are not stepping by yourself, you are stepping in by God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The three are agreeing as one in your life, they are the ones that command the supernatural.
I pray that the Lord will help us in Jesus' name!
