Exploring God’s Bosom

Exploring God’s Bosom.

“O the depth of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of God! What a deep wealth of wisdom and knowledge He has! How incomprehensible are His decisions, how unsearchable His judgments! How undiscoverable are His paths, how mysterious His ways, beyond finding out! Who has understood the mind of Yahweh? Who knows how the Lord thinks, or what His thoughts are? Can anyone discern the Lord’s intentions, His motivations? Who knows enough to give Him advice? Is there anyone qualified to be His counselor? Who has given Him so much that He needs to pay it back? Who could ever have a claim against Him? For everything was created by Him, everything lives through Him, and everything exists for Him; So to Him must be given the glory forever! Amen!” (Romans 11:33-36, also Isaiah 40:12-14).

WANTED: Adventurers who want to explore creation’s Final Frontier, the greatest Wonder of the World; must be extremely curious about the nature of God’s Being; motivated to know more about God than you know presently; inspired by the thrill of discovery;  need to be challenged and changed in the process of exploration; have the courage to step into a safe unknown; able to invest considerable mental energy to pursue life inside God with a mustard seed of trust in Him; be comfortable with the certainty of endless exploring; have the patience to pursue the quest one step at a time for as long as it takes; must explore with the vision of C. S. Lewis in his Narnia tales, “Further Up and Further In!”

Contemporary Frontiers. What are the most compelling frontiers in our world that we could explore… Outer space with its 100 billion galaxies, each of them having 100 billion stars? Inner space where protons and electrons and all the subatomic particles seeming to be dancing in joy? The ocean floors across the earth, 80% of which are unexplored? Or perhaps land areas such as remote mountain ranges, untraveled deserts, impenetrable jungles and rainforests, the frozen tundra of the Arctic, isolated islands in the middle of nowhere, or virgin caverns and caves that are largely hidden from humanity? These are all worthy frontiers, but there is a final frontier that tops them all… God. And whatever might be discovered about the Person of God, it’s only the tip of the eternal iceberg. 

“The secret of the whole world of humanity is the love between the Father and the Son. This is at the root of it all. Upon the love between the Son and the Father hangs the whole universe.” (George MacDonald,  Knowing the Risen Lord).

Eternal Communion. Jesus would often probe the profound intimacy between Father and Son, relishing the mystery. The Spirit of love shared between them is eternal, and their spiritual union is boundless. The personal relationship between Father and Son has always been so intimate that somehow they are inside of each other. There is nothing in the universe that is as tightly knit together as the Father and Son. Their love for each other is the energy source for all the love in the world. Without their Trinitarian love for each other, there would be no love. Human love would not exist were it not for their divine love for each other. In fact, Jesus is the whole point of creation in the first place… “Humankind exists so God could be incarnate. Creation is the setting for the incarnation, the theater in which God could dwell with us.” (Rev. Sam Wells). 

“No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27).

God’s Bosom. The Greek word for bosom in the New Testament is “kolpon,” and there are a variety of meanings:

1. John 13:23: At the Last Supper, when John reclined against Jesus while at the table, leaning against His chest in friendship and brotherly intimacy;
2. Luke 6:38: When the Lord will pour multiple blessings into our lap, in which the term bosom was referring to the fold of one’s robe forming a pocket in the mid-section over the belt, which could be used to carry food or provisions or any smaller items;
3. Luke 16:22-23: In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus referred to the “bosom of Abraham,” which was a symbol for Paradise, or Heaven, the place of delight, sitting closely by the side of Abraham at the messianic table;
4. Acts 27:39: When the bosom was another word for a natural harbor, a bay, where it’s safe to rest away from the storms over the sea.
5. John 1:18: Bosom meant something very special in this passage. “No one has ever seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has made Him known.” One could name this room in God’s heart The Trinity Room, because it is where all three Persons in the Godhead are united as One. Bosom was the innermost place of the deepest relationship possible; the place of mystery inside of God where the profound union takes place; where there is complete intimate knowledge of Each Other that is reciprocal; the spiritual “womb” deep in God’s heart of hearts from which Someone is “brought forth;” the place of deepest affection, where the intimacy is reserved for the Three who are in union; it is where the Three-in-One are truly “with” each other at the deepest level possible.  In God’s heart, which is utterly holy throughout, His bosom would be considered the “Holy of Holies.”

Heart of Hearts. Based on how a wide variety of New Testament scholars have translated John 1:18, the following is another way of looking at that passage: “No one has ever seen the invisible God at any time. It is the Father’s one and only Son who has made God known at that visible level. God chose to reveal Himself physically through His one-of-a-kind Son, who exists in the deepest, most intimate part of God. The Father and the Son share a union in God’s mysterious bosom, His heart of hearts, the innermost part of God where the Godhead partakes of Each Other. Jesus had an assignment… bring forth Father God out into the open where He can be explained and understood.”

Welcomed into the Inner Circle. “Because of Jesus Christ, we can participate in the living out of Trinitarian life inside human existence.” (Baxter Kruger, The Great Dance). One of the most profound wonders of the Christian faith is our inclusion in the fellowship of the Trinity. Because of God’s faithful covenant, because of the Father’s promise of salvation, we are now adopted into the King’s family circle, included at the King’s table. We are now inside the palace and enjoy the royal fellowship. God has welcomed us into the joy of the Trinity’s communion table. Jesus has made room for us and offered a place at His table. “The prime purpose of the incarnation is to lift us up into a life of communion, of participation in the very triune life of God.”  (James Torrance, Worship, Communion and the Triune God of Grace).

“What might it mean to live fully and freely in the life of the Trinity, knowing and loving God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as they know and love each other?”  (R. Thomas Ashbrook, Mansions of the Heart).

“The purpose of mankind is to be God’s companions forever.” (Rev. Sam Wells). Before the divine invention of time, before the foundation of the world, the triune God existed in a profoundly intimate community of three Persons. Because God is love, they created the world so they could share that intimacy with the human race. They did not hoard their eternal love for each other, but instead they included humanity in their relationship. In creation, God shared His life with humanity, providing a truly life-giving relationship with Him. The Spirit of love binding the Father and the Son has proven to be the energy source of all the love in the world. The trinitarian relationship became the engine of the universe. Without the virtues within the life of the Trinity, there would be no virtues in the world, no truth, goodness or beauty. The passionate interaction within the Godhead is the spark of communion that ignites the presence of intimacy in the world. The original source of everything right and good in the world lies within the everlasting togetherness of the Trinity. “The great dance of life shared by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the womb of creation.” (Baxter Kruger, The Great Dance).

“God is faithful to do what He says, and He has invited you into partnership with His Son, a life of communion and participation in His life. God has called you to co-share the very life of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (1 Corinthians 1:9).

The Trinitarian Kiss. There is a mystery to the depth of unity between the three-Personed God. Their love for each other is too deep to understand, yet close enough to experience through Christ. St. Bernard of Clairvaux once tried to describe the intimacy within the Trinity this way… “Surely if the Father kisses and the Son receives the kiss, it is appropriate to think of the Holy Spirit as the kiss.” We do know from John 14:10-11 and 17:21 that their communion is such that they are somehow inside each other. They are so closely knit that when you know the Son, you know the Father. And when you see the Son, you have seen the Father (John 14:7). Father and Son have enjoyed an intimate oneness, with the Spirit being their bond of love, since before the foundation of the world. And the triune God wants us to participate in the unity of their Family circle, the Son in us and the Father in the Son (John 17:23). Both the Son and the Father have always desired to share their home life with us (John 14:23). We are called to literally live within the Spirit of the Trinity, inside their relationship, being more intimate with God than with any other person (John 14:20). The Christian mystic Elizabeth of the Trinity once wrote that one of her spiritual disciplines was “burying myself, so to speak, in the depths of my soul to lose myself in the Trinity who dwells in it.” 

“We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. For truly the fellowship, the shared companionship that we have is with the Father and the Son.”  (1 John 1:3).

Participation. “The whole dance, or drama, or pattern of this three-Personal life is to be played out in each one of us.” (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity). The Trinity’s profound love for each other has resulted in their sharing that love, their including humanity in their interaction. We have been called to participate in their life-giving intimacy, in their divine fellowship. We have been offered, through Jesus, the amazing privilege of sharing in their relationship. In Christ, we can now open our eyes to see the truth of our life inside the Trinity. Christ has succeeded in uniting the holy Trinity with fallen humanity, and the result is mankind’s inclusion in the life of the triune God. Inside the circle, we can now experience the very same love that the Father shows the Son (John 17:26). We can now confirm that the Father will love us just as much as He loves the Son (John 17:23). As Baxter Kruger says, “We don’t make Jesus a part of our world. He has made us a part of His.” We now can know our true identity, living in the circle of the Trinity, our true selves hidden within the joy and love of their intimacy.

“So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will live in close fellowship with the Son and the Father; you will live deeply in them both, sharing God’s life forever, as He has promised.”  (1 John 2:24).

Taking God Personally. James Houston once wrote that “God is infinitely relational and intimately personal.” The wonderful mystery is that it is God’s nature to be relational and personal with the human race. When we are baptized into the Name of the Trinity, we are restored into God’s own bosom, received into the triune life of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Their relationship is now our relationship. Their reality is now our shared reality. We thus have a joyful place within their circle. When we are baptized in the Name of the Trinity, our eyes have been opened to our permanent destiny within their life. We thus celebrate our adoption into God’s trinitarian family.

“God has given us magnificent promises that are beyond all price, so that through the power of these tremendous promises you can experience partnership with the divine nature.”  (2 Peter 1:4).

Papa. Is it okay to be so familiar with God that we call Him Abba, Father? Should we be comfortable addressing the almighty and everlasting God the equivalent of “Dad” or “Papa“? The ancient liturgical line leading into the Lord’s Prayer is, “We are bold to say… Our Father.” Bold indeed. And yet in 2 Peter 1:4 we are told that we are partakers of the divine nature, participants in the life of God, partners with the Godhead. We are told that God is including us in His eternal nature. In light of that, we have permission to be familiar with God, calling Him a family name. The Greek word for “partners” in that verse is “koinonos,” which means to be a companion with, to have deep fellowship with. Those are love words, words that invite communion. The truth is that we are able to join the intimate community of the Trinity, God’s bosom, through Jesus and through what He has done to renew the fellowship between God and people. Because of Jesus, we are bold to say… Abba, Father.

“Now, may the grace, favor and blessing of our Master Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, and the precious fellowship and communion we share in the Holy Spirit be yours continually. Amen! (2 Corinthians 13:14)