Daily devotion for April 15th
Where Are You?
But the Lord God called to the man, Where are you?

Genesis 3:9
It is most striking to me that all religions, apart from Christianity, begin on the note of man's seeking after God. Only the Bible starts with the view of God's seeking after man. That highlights an essential difference between our Christian faith and the other major religions of the world. Furthermore, this first question here in the Old Testament is matched by the first question asked in the New Testament. Here it is God asking man, Where are you? and in the New Testament, in Matthew, the first question that appears is that of certain wise men who come asking, Where is he? (cf. Matthew 2:2).

If we take this account in the garden literally (as I believe we must), then it is clear that God habitually appeared to Adam in some visible form, for now Adam and Eve in their guilt and awareness of nakedness hide from God when they hear the sound of His footsteps in the garden. This indicates a customary action on God's part. He came in the cool of the day, not because that was more pleasant for Him but because it was more pleasant for man, and He habitually held some form of communication with man. We know from the rest of Scripture that whenever God appears visibly in some manifestation, it is always the second person of the Godhead, the Son. If that is true, then we have here what is called a theophany, a visible manifestation of God before the incarnation. Thus, the one here who asks of Adam and Eve, Where are you? is the same one of whom later men would ask, Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? (Matthew 2:2).

Notice the importance of this question, Where are you? When people are lost, this is the most important question they can ask: Where am I? Suppose the telephone rang and you answered it to hear a voice say, I'd like to come to your church this morning. I thought I knew the way, but I find myself very confused. Can you help me? What is the first question you would ask? Where are you? That is always first. Where are you?

Today we are seeking to find a way out of a very confusing situation that prevails in our world. We will never do it until we start with this question, Where are you? Where am I? Perhaps the reason many are unable to be helped today is either because they cannot or will not answer that question. Ask it of yourself now. Where are you? In the course of your life, from birth to death, moving as you hope you are moving, to develop stability of character, trustworthiness, integrity of being, all these qualities that we admire in others and want in ourselves--where are you? How far have you come? Until you can answer that, in some sense at least, there is no possibility of helping you.

Perhaps many of you will have to say, I don't know where I am. I only know that I am not where I ought to be or where I want to be. That's all I can say. If that is all you can say, that is at least an honest answer, and therefore, it is the most helpful answer you can give. In that sense, it is the only right answer.

Lord, help me to examine myself with this question, Where am I? Thank You that it is out of Your grace and love that You question me

The Favor of Him Who Dwelt in the Bush: From the Thorn of the Fall to the Glory of Union
When Moses blesses the tribe of Joseph, he says:"with the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush" (Deuteronomy 33:16, NIV).
The bush is not a fruit-bearing tree, nor is it beautiful to look at. It is a wild thorn — useless, without shade, without fruit. Indeed, Scripture often uses thorns as a symbol of the fall and the curse:
"It will produce thorns and thistles for you" (Genesis 3:18, NIV) This is the image of humanity after the fall.
Isaiah paints the condition with stark clarity:
"From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil" (Isaiah 1:6, NIV)
An open wound, Corruption left untreated, A nature beyond healing.
And Paul confirms the same testimony:
"All have turned away, they have together become worthless" (Romans 3:12, NIV)
"death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses" (Romans 5:14, NIV)
Humanity became like the bush — fragile, combustible, subject to death, No glory in itself, No usefulness in its fallen nature.
The Favor of Him Who Dwelt in the Bush: The Father's Declaration, the Son's Incarnation, and the Spirit's Work
We are not speaking here of a general theophany, but of a specific divine act within the economy of the Trinity.
The Father: The Source of Favor and Sending
Scripture does not merely say "He who dwelt," but "the favor of Him who dwelt."
"Favor" here is an act of the Father's will — the fountainhead of the economy.
As Paul says:
"But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son" (Galatians 4:4, NIV)
The sending is the work of the Father.
The divine decision to draw near to the thorn is the Father's decision.
And as he also says:
"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him" (Colossians 1:19, NIV)
It was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness of deity to dwell in the body.
The favor originates in the Father's heart.
The Son: The One Who Dwelt and Became Flesh
He who appeared in the bush is the Word — the visible declaration of the Father.
John declares:
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14, NIV)
The word "made his dwelling" (ἐσκήνωσεν) means "he pitched his tent" or "he dwelt."
As He dwelt in the bush, so He dwelt in our body.
And in his first epistle: "The life appeared" (1 John 1:2, NIV)
Eternal life did not remain distant; it entered our nature.
The bush was combustible,
yet the fire did not consume it.
The body was subject to corruption,
but by the Son's union with it, death was no longer its master.
St. Athanasius says in On the Incarnation of the Word:
"The Word, being united to the body, destroyed the corruption that was in it."
And he also says:
"Just as iron, when united with fire, becomes incandescent without being destroyed, so the body, being united with the Word, became a partaker of incorruptibility."
Healing did not come through external repair,
but through internal union.
The Holy Spirit: The Fire of Abiding Presence
But the economy does not stop at the historical incarnation.
The fire that appeared in the bush
is an image of the Holy Spirit's work.
The Spirit is the One who:
formed the Son's body in the Virgin's womb (Luke 1:35)
raised Him from the dead (Romans 8:11
and now dwells in believers.
"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?" (1 Corinthians 3:16, NIV)
It is the Holy Spirit who makes what was accomplished in the Son's body
become effective in us.
If the Son clothed Himself with our humanity,
the Spirit clothes us with the Son's life.
If the Father sent,
and the Son was united,
the Spirit gives us a share in this union.
The Father's Favor is Accomplished in the Son and Given to Us Through the Spirit
The favor of Him who dwelt in the bush is not merely a memory,
but a revelation of the mystery of our salvation.
The Father was pleased to send.
The Son was pleased to become flesh.
The Spirit was pleased to dwell.
The bush did not change in its nature,
but it was glorified by the indwelling.
"Having taken a body from our race, He offered it to death on behalf of all, so that He might abolish death in the body." — Athanasius the Apostolic
And he also says:
"Just as straw, when it comes near fire, does not remain as it was but is transformed by the nature of the fire, so the body that was united to the Word became incorruptible."
Such are we.
Our value does not come from our perfection,
but from the fact that the Father loved,
and the Son united,
and the Spirit dwells.
The summit of favor is to see our humanity
lifted up in the Son before the Father,
and enlivened in us by the power of the Spirit.
Here the reign of death is broken.
Here the open wound is bound up.
Here the thorn is transformed into a place of glorious fire.
God's Favor and the Secret of Our Worth
Here we understand "the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush."
The favor of the Trinity does not arise from the goodness of the thorn,
but from His decision to dwell in it.
Our worth is not founded on our own purity,
but on the fact that the Son of God was pleased to unite Himself with our nature.
The earthly one is called to become heavenly.
The weak one has become a place of presence.
The mortal one has become a temple of life.
The summit of favor is not to convince ourselves of our own worth,
but to see our humanity lifted up in the person of the incarnate Son.
There alone the feeling of nothingness ends.
There alone Isaiah's wound is healed.
There alone the reign of death is broken.
The bush was not glorified because it became a cedar,
but because it became a dwelling place for the fire.
Thus, humanity is not glorified by changing its human essence,
but by the union of this essence with the eternal Son
through the work of the Holy Spirit
and the love of the Father.

Why Was the Lord Jesus Anointed in the Jordan?
The Lord Jesus was anointed for our sake. He became the true Holy of Holies in whom the Father declares His good pleasure.
The Lord Jesus was anointed for our sake. He does not need the Holy Spirit; for as God and a Person (Hypostasis) He is of one essence with the Holy Spirit, but He does not establish the communion of life without declaring it a new communion.
Thus, at the waters of the Jordan, He declared His acceptance of the Holy Spirit, so that we may understand that in Him we receive the Holy Spirit.
And when He was anointed with the Holy Spirit, the Son transferred His humanity, united with His divinity, into a declared communion in the Holy Spirit, and thereby three complete divine revelations were accomplished:
First: He revealed to us that the gift of the Holy Spirit for adoption would be in Him, in His name, and for His sake as the Mediator and Head of the new humanity.
Second: He revealed to us the eternal intimate relationship between humanity and the Holy Spirit.
For the Spirit descended upon the incarnate Son so that He would not depart from humanity which believes in Jesus as Lord. Therefore, the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirits that we are children of God, and cries out in our hearts with the very cry of the only-begotten incarnate Son, amazed at the Father's love: "Abba, Father!" (Galatians 4:6)
Third: He revealed the mystery of holy baptism, through which we become children of God, and which is given in His name as Mediator, so that we may enter the communion of the Trinity in Jesus Christ.
The Lord was anointed in the Jordan with the Holy Spirit to involve the Spirit in the service of salvation, namely the salvation of humanity. Therefore, the Lord did not postpone His anointing but made it precede the offering of the Cross and the sacrifice of His love, so that the Holy Spirit might share in proclaiming the Gospel, in miracles, in casting out unclean spirits, and in declaring that "Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:11).

#Theophany #BaptismOfChrist #HolySpirit #Anointing #Salvation #Trinity #Incarnation #ChristianDoctrine

The question of Satan's release after the millennial reign of Christ is addressed in Revelation 20:7-10. According to biblical scholars, the release of Satan serves as a final test for humanity, allowing those born during the millennial kingdom to make a definitive choice between following God or rebelling against Him.

*Theological Perspectives:*

- *Demonstration of God's Justice*: God's allowance for Satan's temporary release showcases divine justice, highlighting the resolve of human hearts and the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
- *Final Choice for Humanity*: Satan's release gives humanity a final opportunity to choose between God's kingdom and rebellion, revealing the true nature of their hearts.
- *Exposure of Human Depravity*: The rebellion that follows Satan's release exposes the deep-seated sin nature inherent in humanity, justifying God's judgment on those who reject Him ¹.

*Biblical Proofs:*

- *Revelation 20:7-10*: Describes Satan's release and the final rebellion against God.
- *1 John 5:7*: Mentions the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, emphasizing the unity and divinity of God.
- *Matthew 3:16-17*: Describes the theophany at Jesus' baptism, where the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are manifested ².

*Theologians' Insights:*

- *Gerhard and Quenstedt*: Emphasize the Trinity's role in salvation and the divinity of Christ, citing passages like John 1:1 and Hebrews 1:3.
- *Hollazius*: Highlights the importance of the Holy Spirit's divinity, referencing Acts 5:3-4 and 1 John 5:7

Christ was being revealed in similitudes and forms — a theophany spread across the old testament, Melchizedek is one of such.

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