Separation in Creation Confirms Trinity
One of the most difficult doctrines in Christinianity to explain is that of the Trinity. God’s triune nature, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, is easy to accept on faith, but difficult to reason through when hard pressed. However, the nature of the Trinity is critical to the geocreationist view of the first 6 days. The Father gave the commands, the Son carried them out, and the Holy Spirit assisted the Son however was needed. The Trinity is also the explanation for Moses using the word Elohim in Genesis 1:1.
The most common method of explaining the Trinity is showing how several scriptural anomalies are nicely resolved by the doctrine. Unfortunately, this approach is easy to dismiss. “One God or three? You guys can’t have it both ways.” “You say it explains how Jesus and God are one? You’re just reading too much into things.” And so the arguments go. Well, at the risk of presenting just one more argument for dismissal, I would like to present an explanation for accepting the Trinity that doesn’t try to explain the Trinity’s existence in concrete terms, but merely prophecies the truth of its paradox. Show that the paradox was planned to exist, and the rest of the questions no longer need answering… our faith really is enough.
Starting in the New Testament, when Jesus was on the cross:
Matthew 27:46 - 51 - “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split.”
Jesus’ separation from God was one of the most important and confusing events in history. As Christians, we know that Jesus was God, God cannot touch sin, yet Jesus had to take ours on. A paradox accepted in faith. We know Jesus lived and moved among sin, yet was never a sinner. A paradox accepted in faith. We know He was blameless, and yet He took the blame. Another paradox. Yet even with our ability to accept these paradoxical facts of Jesus, perhaps the most difficult moment to explain is when Jesus was separated from God, as recorded in the scripture above. After all, Jesus Himself was God, so how could a God be separated from Himself?
Right off the bat, let me say that I have no explanation for how God’s separation from Jesus is possible, though I know it happened. Yet, He never stopped being God… a separation without separation it would seem. Somehow, the separation of the Father from the Son happened, and we are supposed to accept this paradox in faith.
As an intellectually-minded person, I am unsatisfied with this paradox (though I genuinely accept it in faith), because I cannot use it to bring another person to Jesus, and I cannot avoid looking intellectually dishonest to a skeptic. Consider that the philosophical skeptic often objects to the mere idea of a God, at least a perfect God, let alone a perfect triune God. As it turns out however, an explanation of the Trinity need not be convincing to a skeptic for it to build my faith. It need only confirm that what I accept in faith is in fact true. A prophecy would do it.
I believe I have found a prophecy of Jesus’ separation from God, showing that the paradox of the Trinity is not the result of some human misconception, but simply reflects our ability (or inability) to understand God’s Triune nature. The prophecy was found in an interesting parallel between Jesus’ life and the days of creation. Day 5, it would seem, contains an interesting parallel foretelling God’s intention to separate Himself from Jesus at the Cross.
The Seven Days of Separation
Take a few minutes to read through the creation account of Genesis 1. As you do, look for the separation that occurred on each day, particularly Day 5. Here is a summary of what you will find:
Day One: God separated the light from the darkness
Day Two: God separated the waters below from the waters above
Day Three: God separated land from sea.
Day Four: God separated the light from the darkness (or night from day)
Day Five: No explicit separation stated.
Day Six: God separated Mankind from all other living things, by placing Man to rule over them
Day Seven: God separated this day from the others, by sanctifying it as a day of rest.
Do you notice anything interesting? A separation event appears to be at the center of every day of creation, except Day 5. Yet, by emphasizing Day 5, the only day without a separation event, it appears to separate the first four days from the last two. In other words, it causes separation, yet contains no separation of its own… an interesting paradox much like Christ’s crucifixion. The question is whether this really is meant to parallel Jesus and His separation from the Father. Let us review Jesus’ life and see…
The Separations of Jesus Christ
By the end of history, Jesus will have experienced a total of seven separations in his life.
Separation #1
Jesus’ first separation occurred at His conception. Consider that there was no human sperm involved in fertilizing Mary’s egg. This set Jesus apart from the beginning.
I imagine God looking at our world, a world of sin, a world where the leaders of His Chosen People have abandoned faith for legalism, a world He knew would crucify His Son, a world of spiritual darkness. The stage is set. God sees Mary, a faithful woman within this dark world, and says to Himself, “It is time. Let there be light,” and there was light in Mary’s womb. That light was Jesus, the light of the world.
Separation #2
The second separating event for Him was His birth, a physical separation from His mother. Through Mary’s pregnancy, Jesus grew, an expanse within the waters of Mary’s womb. And on the day of Christ’s birth, God separated Mary’s waters from her waters, and Jesus was born.
Separation #3
Jesus’ third separation occurred at His baptism. Until this time, the Light of the world was living among men, a carpenter by trade, a Godly man who knew the scriptures. But, on this day, all would change. Jesus approached John, the baptizer, that He too might be baptized. Jesus was immersed in the water, and as He arose and the water rushed off his body, much like what happened on Day 3 of Creation, Jesus appeared afresh to the world, set apart to find men of God who would yield fruit, spreading seeds after their kind, and God saw that it was good, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Separation #4
After three years of ministry, Jesus had a Passover meal with His Apostles… the Last Supper. It was here that He was to separate Himself from the world, the Light from the darkness… yet again. It was also where Jesus first instituted communion. Based on His actions, the Father could well have said, “The Light of the world will be coming home, to stand by My right hand, and it will soon be night on the earth again. Jesus, in Your absence, assign the apostles to be lights upon the earth, reflecting Your light, much as the moon reflects the sun. Give them a sign of Your sacrifice-to-come for all seasons… communion. Show them the bread to remember Your body and the wine to remember Your blood. Appoint them to disciple the world, that Abraham’s spiritual descendents be like the stars in the sky, to give light to the earth,” and it was so. Later, Jesus was taken away, to be crucified.
Separation #5
While Jesus hung on the cross, He saw around Himself a world teeming “with swarms of living creatures.” He looked up and saw the birds that “fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” He had gotten to see with physical eyes how living creatures “swarm after their kind, and every winged bird after their kind,” and sinful man after their kind. Yet even while bearing that sin, knowing His death was near, Jesus blessed them saying, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He wanted so much for mankind to fill Heaven, like the birds fill the air and the monsters fill the sea, that it had finally come to this, dying for their sinfulness… and so Jesus bore that sin and on “the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, ‘Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.’” (MT 27:45 – 29) But Elijah did not. No one did. Not the Father. No one.
I find it interesting that the previous separations of Jesus’ life were tangible in some way. Everyone could see Mary pregnant, the three wise men saw the infant Jesus in the manger, a crowd watched Jesus baptized, and the Apostles were with Jesus at the Last Supper. But, just as Day 5 of creation had no observable separation, it was fitting that no one really observed this one. Even someone looking right at Jesus would not see the separation between Him and His Father. For how could there be separation between the Father and the Son when Jesus was Himself the Lord? Yet Jesus said it, and so we believe it. Separation without separation.
While on the cross, perhaps Jesus’ Father in Heaven sustained Him, yet from the 6th hour of that day until the 9th, even the Father separated Himself from His Son, the Son with whom He was well pleased. And yet notice at this moment of great sorrow, someone rushed to give Him a reed with sour wine. A little relief from the Father? How interesting. Separation without separation. A paradox. Yet the fifth day of creation tangibly illustrates that paradox, showing separation without separation.
Our conclusion is that there was separation between the Father and Son as Jesus cried out, yet God was indeed always One… and we can stop there. No need to reason through this any further, because God foresaw not only the event, but even the paradox we would see in it. I said before that many of us see a paradox here because we don’t get it… but perhaps that’s wrong. Maybe, if you see the paradox, you do get it… it’s those who cannot accept the paradox who don’t get it!
For the sake of completion, let me describe the final two separations Jesus would experience, and their parallel with Creation.
Separation #6
After hanging on a cross for nearly a day, abandoned and alone, Jesus yielded up His spirit, separating His spirit from His physical body. He would then preach in Hell to the righteous of previous generations over the course of 3 three days, and then rise again to conquer death as no other person ever could. How interesting that Jesus would have to suffer separation from the Father on earth for three hours before separating to Hell for three days, but His Father knew He was up to the task.
Referring back to Creation, Day 6 was the day God created man and separated him from all other living creatures by setting man to rule over them. It is much the same with Jesus’ death. Jesus was separated from all living creatures when He died, and it was done so that He might rule over our lives today. But think about this: the geocreationist interpretation is that Day 6 was not the day Adam was created. On this day, God created homo sapiens, and they were to rule the world for the next 200,000 years, and they would be among the animals, but separate from them, much as the church is among the world but separate. It’s fitting that this wasn’t the creation of Adam but of people, because only people can represent the church’s relationship to the world and to God… a single man cannot, for the Church is made of more than a single man. As for Jesus, Day 6 continues, as does His physical separation from us, as He waits at the Father’s right hand for the right day and hour.
Separation #7
Jesus’ last separation is yet to come, but it will be a time of rest for Him. His work on this world will be complete. He will have come back to us by then, ruled for 1,000 years, and then gone up into Heaven to rule forever with His Father, and with us. When Jesus’ work is done on earth, He will rest forever in Heaven, separate from where all other separations took place. It will be an institution that will last forever… the ultimate fulfillment of the law of the Sabbath.
December 19th, 2007 at 10:31 am
[…] One of the things I like about writing of Creation is that Genesis 1 is about more than just Creation. It tells the story of Jesus. I write about this in detail in Separation in Creation Confirms Trinity, but I want to remind you of an ineteresting parallel to Day 2, as lived out by Jesus: Separation #2 The second separating event for Him was His birth, a physical separation from His mother. Through Mary’s pregnancy, Jesus grew, an expanse within the waters of Mary’s womb. And on the day of Christ’s birth, God separated Mary’s waters from her waters, and Jesus was born. […]