Reconstructing My Understanding of God

19/7/2020

I really had to break down the posts I was writing because there was just SO MUCH that challenged my own understanding of God. Some added on to what I already knew and hence, helped me to really assimilate those truths into my life but some things (which I will explain below) were really something of a new revelation to me. Please reach out if you are confused or have more questions from this, and I would be glad to have a chat with you over a cuppa! It can be quite overwhelming haha, I totally understand.

'Abba' is not Daddy God
We are quite familiar with this term which has appeared in scripture many times such as Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6. The name 'Abba' which is Aramaic for Father doesn't really mean dad. The Jews at that time addressed God as Father in the context of Him being the Almighty Creator and didn't have a close relationship with Him. An easy explanation of why we still address God as Father is because Jesus did so.

So anyway, God the Father really isn't this human fatherly person we picture Him as. In simple terms, He is not a man. His nature is one of divine spirit, as said in John 4:24 that "God is Spirit". Pope John Paul II explains in Mulieris Dignitatem #8 that "He possesses no property typical of the body, neither feminine nor masculine. Even the Fatherhood of God is completely divine and free of the characteristic of human fatherhood."

We Have Been Breaking the First Commandment
In connection with the above, we really have been worshiping false idols in the way we have been imagining God in our minds. Who do you think of when you're praying to the Father? An old man with white beard perhaps? And who do you think of when you're invoking the name of the Spirit? Dove, wind, flame, air, etc. This really isn't who God is. We cannot limit Him to our imagination and understanding of Him. In fact, I want to add on in regards to the Holy Spirit because we often have a wrong understanding of the third person of the Trinity. The Spirit is equally a 'person' just like the Father and the Son is, just not our idea of bodily person.

We tend to rely on our five senses to know and feel God and that is fine, but we should also allow the Spirit to bring us beyond that. Our limited imagination cannot be the criteria in which we understand God because then, His revelation to us will only be limited to our human understanding. Because of sin, we have lost view of the transcendence and see only the material world. We have become blind to the glory of God (His radiant presence). "When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). Here, the truth refers to the full revelation of God.

God Does Not Live in Definitions
Just as how God is beyond our imaginations, He is also beyond any definition. Divine love cannot be explained in words or by any of our human experiences. They are merely glimpses of who God is. In order to know Him more, we have to dive deep into the funnel of God's love (imagine an overturned funnel with the narrow bit on top and the large opening at the bottom). It expands more and more overtime.

Even the list of fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit is not exhaustive. They are merely some of the characteristics of the Spirit. In fact, if we look at Galatians 5:22-23 where St. Paul listed down the fruit of the Spirit, notice he used the word 'fruit' which is singular. There is but one Spirit, one being, one nature.* All these characteristics are merely what we can see and define. There will always be more to learn and discover as we journey with God and experience it for ourselves.

*The characteristics of the Holy Spirit is the same of the Father and of the Son. The Trinity after all, is one being. You can cross reference them in Exodus 34:6 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

The Trinity is Present in the Eucharist
Wah, this took some time to finally sink in for me. I've always just seen the Eucharist as the body of Christ but I forget that Christ is not just Jesus Christ when He was man on Earth, but the resurrected Trinitarian God. In fact, in the Byzantine liturgy, they have been praying this after communion, "We have seen the true Light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith: we adore the indivisible Trinity, who has saved us".

For better understanding, I think we need to go back to Christ's Ascension and the Pentecost. When Christ ascended into heaven, the apostles did not feel abandoned, rather "they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy" (Luke 24:52). Why? They were obviously convinced that they have the constant and permanent presence of God, just in a different way. Christ entering into heaven is also not a place where He goes to, but a state of union with God.

Referring to CCC 731 and 732, the Pentecost is actually the fulfillment of the Passover through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed. Right from Holy Thursday to Easter to the Ascension to Pentecost, it is one continuous event.

At the Eucharist, we celebrate the Passover which consists of Jesus' passion, resurrection, ascension and pentecost. We truly celebrate the Trinity in mass.

Eternal Life Starts From Conception
We first have to understand what eternal life means. It is being in full union with God, not so much being with God until the end of time (because God does not exist in time). So knowing that, He who formed us in our mother's womb, was there even before we were created. God has been with us since conception.

The knowledge (and experience) of God has been made possible for us from the time we were in the womb, through the Spirit. The thing is, our entire lives is a process of sanctification where we become closer and closer to the image and likeness of God until we become Him. Christ's salvation for us isn't just forgiving our sins but to restore us into our full dignity and perfect self, and liberating us from what keeps us captive.