Can We Handle It?

As I read through the whole Bible here at Rivendell, I am seeing the Father as the most bold character we have ever known, bolder than Achilles, Alexander, Napoleon, even Zeus. Along with this, the Son and Holy Spirit seem to be revealed in distinctly different ways throughout Scripture.

The Father, as revealed in the OT, is strikingly fiery. He is the Dad that gets stuff done. He is the LORD (translated Yahweh) almighty, maker of heaven and earth. He is the Dad of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He progressively reveals himself as a highly passionate Person who cares that humanity is responsible for themselves. The Father then is the one who reveals Himself first.

The Son comes along with a bit less testosterone, though we see him imitating the Father through his interaction with the Pharisees and of course at the Second Coming. His life on earth in the Gospels, however, is a much more toned down character than his Father in the OT. He is the suffering servant instead of the shekinah glory. He is repeatedly showing mercy to the poor, children, widows, and sick instead of destroying nations and influencing kings or setting them up. The Son, Jesus, is sacrificed as a lamb. His Father set the sacrificial system up; the Son fulfilled it.

Just when you think a God couldn’t get more personal, Jesus leaves and the Holy Spirit is given. The Spirit is uncanny. Perhaps the most gentle of the Three, the Spirit cares, comforts, and guides in us all. Truth and translation are It’s goals: teaching us truth and translating our prayers, not to mention so many other attributes of It’s character. All this to say, the Spirit seems to be simultaneously the most gentle and the most personal.

So there you have it. I hope it’s not heresy. The Persons of the Trinity, from Father to Spirit, are progressively revealed to humanity in a more personal and gentle way. We could not handle the Father’s intensity (remember Moses’ veil), so He backed out and the Son stepped in. We, then could not handle the Son (remember the Cross). Now the Spirit is here, interacting on behalf of the Father and the Son. Can we handle It?