What Is The Parable Of Trinity?
By Abraham Israel
Question: Does the lost Chapter of Luke 15 reveal about Trinity? What is the Parable of Trinity?
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!
Recently as I was conversing with a Pastor, he was trying to tell me more about the meaning of the whole Parable of the lost Sheep, lost Coin and lost Son. In a flash a revelation came to me regarding the Trinity hidden in this wonderful chapter of Luke 15 full of insightful parables which I then explained to him and he found it very interesting and edifying. Glory to God!
I would like to just reveal what I received in a fraction of second what the Lord revealed regarding truth of the Trinity hidden in these parables.
In the the whole of the New Testament, God has clearly put a strong foundation to reveal how God can be one but yet three in person.
Let us delve in to the revelatory message itself, here is the chapter:
The Parable Of The Lost Sheep
"1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:1-7).
The Parable Of The Lost Silver Coin
"8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”" (Luke 15:8-10).
The Parable Of The Lost Prodigal Son
"11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ 20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. 25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ 28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ 31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”" (Luke 15:11-32).
Hallelujah!
The fact that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were all involved in the salvation, sanctification and glorification of every child of God is revealed in these Parables beautifully (Matt 28:19-30). Trinity is a concept within a word that has been coined around the first and second century after Christ and his apostles died, and there arose a lot of heresies that tried to destroy the truth that God is one in unity and purpose, and yet three in person. Thus to keep people from being misled from the above truth, they coined this word called 'Trinity'.
Trinity's unity is something that comes out of oneness of purpose and not sameness of persons. 'Tri' is three, 'nity' is 'togetherness', so the word trinity does mean that the three in togetherness forms a one God in whom there is no trace of change of one from the other.
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (Latin: Trinitas, lit. 'triad', from Latin: trinus "threefold")
[1] holds that God is one God, but three coeternal consubstantial persons
[2] or hypostases which means God who is three in one is an underlying reality or substance, as opposed to attributes or to that which lacks substance.
[3] — the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit — as "one God in three Divine Persons". The three Persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature" (homoousios).
[4] In this context, a "nature" is what one is, whereas a "person" is who one is.
In other words, because 'God is Love', he is three in person (1 John 4:16,b). What does it really mean? It means God cannot Love without the other persons involved within their relationship. A God who says, "I am Love," cannot really be one in reality, until He is able to practice what He speaks. Why just three within God-head, and not four, five or more in it? God is three in person, because only these person were the one's referred in the Bible again and again and again from Genesis to Revelation. Because there are three person who were uncreated, self-sustaining and infinitely holy, we cannot explain the source of the infinite God who has revealed himself to us mercifully. Our human capacity is very limited to understand a infinite beginning and infinite ending which is God Himself.
So we know all the three persons of the Godhead work in tandem and coherence in the salvation of mankind, we find it interesting for Jesus to highlight the work of each one through this 'Parable of the Lost' I believe.
This Chapter starts with people who are unworthy and sinners drawing near to Jesus Christ in humility to hear Him, and be saved from their sin. While the religious law-keeping unsaved sinners who thought that they were holy by their striving, were complaining about Jesus because the sinners were given a free pass to heaven by Him to make them find the riches of heaven through the forgiveness of their sins, while these Pharisees and scribes themselves were not able to still receive fully the assurance from God that their sins were forgiven once and for all. Because of their hypocrisy, these religious law-keepers were not able to grasp the truth that their law-keeping were temporarily set in place by God to lead them to Christ Himself who can only give them the true eternal life of friendship with God and peace with fellow humans (Gal 3:24-25).
Here in the above parables itself we see a great difference that Jesus revealed to the Old Testament law-keepers and the New Testament believers, which was further explained by the Writer to the Book of Hebrews who said "11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." (Heb 10:11-14). We see in the New Testament, the believers sins are forgiven by God in Christ forever and ever, but for the Old Testament law-keepers there is a reminder of sins once a year (Heb 10:3). Because in the Old Testament times, the sins were covered by God, there comes a reminder of the need for more sacrifice for more covering (Psa 32:1). But in the New Testaments our sins were not just covered, but we were cleansed now and then from the consciousness of sin through our confession of our sins to God because the blood of Christ still speaks to God being alive before the throne of God (Heb 10:2, 22-23; 1 John 1:7, 9; 2:1-2; Heb 9:14; Heb 11:4; 12:24; 9:12, 24). In other words, by the blood-purification of the heavenly tabernacle, the Accuser Satan has been replaced by the Advocate Savior Christ Jesus who now lives in heaven to intercede for us (Hebrews 7:25). Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
So all the lost parables are spoken by Jesus Christ as a response to the religious sinners and the seeking sinners alike to make them understand how God sees them all in His sight, and what good things or bad things they will experience because of their attitude towards God. In true spirituality, attitude towards God sets the altitude of blessing from God. The lesser the humility, lesser the blessing. Greater the humility, greater will be the blessing. The lower you bring yourself before God, the higher He lifts you up before Himself and men.
1) The Parable Of The Lost Sheep — Jesus Working For Salvation Of Sinful Humans
"3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:1-7).
As a human we all have some basic characteristics to be always compassionate towards someone who is lost and to go after them even when we have enough of the same type with us already. A human shepherd is always looking for the lost and hurting one, he leaves the ninety-nine in the wilderness to go after the one which is lost until he find it. When he finds it he lays it on his shoulders, and returns home rejoicing. After he returns back home, he calls his friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ In the same way, Jesus being infinitely compassionate for every lost sinner, goes after him who is lost in the darkness of this present world and when he finds them through their repentance towards God from their sins, he calls the angels of heaven to rejoice in heaven over the repentant sinner in comparison to the so called religious person and unsaved sinner who finds no need for repentance because of living in the deceived condition of darkness within their heart.
Jesus is the one who as a good shepherd of the sheep of humanity, was sent by God and came voluntarily in to this world searching for the lost souls of men who needed desperately the salvation which leads to eternal life (John 10:14; 3:16; 17:3). Humans were the lost sheep, and the repentant sinner who turns to God and is found by Jesus Christ in penitence is in the form of percentage which is hundred is to one. For every hundred sinners in the world, only one percentage of it turn to God in repentance and Jesus finds them and takes them safely home back to heaven without fail (John 14:1-4). This is the reason Jesus clearly said, "13 “Enter by the narrow gate [of faith and repentance (Acts 20:21)]; for wide is the gate [of unbelief] and broad is the way that leads to destruction [of hell fire because you need to nothing to end up there], and there are many who [are born as human] go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate [of faith and repentance] and difficult is the way which leads to life [with God in heaven], and there are few [who become the child of God and hence come to find friendship with God to] ...find it." (Matt 7:13-14, Paraphrased).
In this Parable of Trinity, we see Jesus Christ specifically going after the lost sinner leaving the self-conceited righteous who find no need for repentance. Jesus Himself in another place said, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick ones do. I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners." (Mark 2:17). We see that most of the humanity is so deceived spiritually, that they find no need for a sin curing doctor because they do not consider themselves as sinners. Jesus always used sarcasm to highlight the deception that humanity is in, it was hyperbole thrown by Jesus on humanity as a whole which considers itself as righteous.
Only those who come to realize the lost state they are in, will be found by Jesus, and Jesus and the whole of heaven and its angels will rejoice over them when they get saved believing in the simple message of the cross which is seen as foolishness by the world that is lost in the darkness of sin (1 Cor 1:18, 20-21).
Usually the wrong interpretation comes when people take everything literally without considering the context of sarcasm and hyperbole that Jesus throws to increase the importance of the message be brings. I heard a pastor interpret the ninety nine righteous as those who are saved and are safe within the Church. But the folly of such assumption comes from taking anywhere they find the word 'sheep' within the Bible as 'saved believers' by default. What they do not realize is that, Jesus spoke and conveyed his heavenly message through simple day to day situations of life in the country life, and so the context was more important than the content. Does Jesus leave the believer and go after the one sinner within the world to carry them back? Jesus promised through his Word, that he will never leave the believer nor forsake them even for a moment in all of eternity ahead, then how can the Church be left alone (Heb 13:5)? So it is completely wrong to consider the ninety nine righteous as Church believers. Do the Church believers need no repentance, have they attained such a heavenly mind already when the Scripture again and again asks them not to be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewal of the mind (Rom 12:2)?
So in this Parable of Trinity we see Jesus going after the ungodly sinner who is lost in the darkness of this present world and seeks for a Savior to save them from sin which has held their life in slavery to it. Jesus saves and loses none of those who come to Him (John 6:39-40; 10:27-30). No man can come to Jesus, except those drawn by the Father in heaven (John 6:44), and the Holy Spirit convict him of his sin (John 16:7-11). In other words, Jesus went after the lost sheep when he was alive on the earth, now that He is seated on the right hand of the Father in heaven, he has sent his ambassadors to go after them and bring them back to the heavenly home in heaven by sharing the message of the Cross which is the good news to them that are lost in sin and those who are seeking for a Savior to save them from it (Rom 8:34; John 20:21-23; Matt 28:18-20). Jesus is the redeemer who starts the life of salvation. Hallelujah!
2) The Parable Of The Lost Silver Coin — The Holy Spirit Working For The Sanctification Of Sinful Humans
"8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”" (Luke 15:8-10).
While Jesus is the object of belief through which the lost sheep are saved, the Holy Spirit is the executive who supplies salvation with Himself as the seal of of promise who is the guarantee of believer's future inheritance (Eph 1:13-14). Judas betrayed and sold the life of the invaluable sinless Son of God Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver coin (Matt 26:14-16; 27:3-10), but the Holy Spirit who knows the value of each of the believers in Christ Jesus, actually lights the Scripture and start to make it shine in the heart of each believers, until the believer starts to sweep the house by confessing his sins and again finds the transformational Presence of God changing his heart with the righteousness of Jesus Christ the King of Kings (Hab 2:23; Psa 119:105; Matt 5:14-16; 12:43-44; John 16:7-11; Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 1:30-31). Hallelujah!
It is natural for a believer with sin nature to get lost in the darkened world of sin, self and Satan, but it is always supernatural for the Holy Spirit to make the believer who repented for salvation to continue in the same repentance for the work of salvation to get perfected through holiness, from which sanctification is attained for the Glory of God (1 Thess 5:23-24).
The saved believer is compared to a silver coin because the Holy Spirit purifies the life of believer just like a silver is purified seven times to perfection (Psa 12:6). This sanctification of the soul happens through the Word of God, and as silver is refined the believers are continually refined until God could see the image of His own Son Jesus Christ in them which will only bring Glory to God (John 17:17; Rom 8:29-30).
The Holy Spirit is compared to a woman because of the continuous work of the Lord in the heart which is done by the Holy Spirit who is the executive manager of God's home (Heb 13:5; 2 Thess 2:13), which makes Him to fulfill the promise of a mother or work of a woman (Gen 2:22; 3:20), a person like that of a wise woman who builds the home of the believers body, soul and spirit to never leave nor forsake the child of God (Prov 14:1), to be a consoler and counselor and comfort and guide (John 15:26; Isa 66:13; 52:12), until they grow big to become well grown sons of God (Rom 8:14).
Thus the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a child of God and a believer is the continuing work of repentance. Thus repentance is not a one time work on a day to get saved and go to heaven, but rather it is the continuing work by the Holy Spirit in the heart of a believer to bring heaven to the heart through their obedience and make the light of heaven shine through their good works to the darkened world that is all around them for the Glory of God (2 Pet 1:19-21).
There is great joy in heaven among angels and saints alike along with the Holy Spirit for the one sinner who repents from the life of sinfulness in to the calling of a saint, which is to walk in the righteousness of God which they have already become to do the works which God has planned for them after their salvation (1 John 5:7-8; 1 Tim 1:15; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 5:21; Eph 2:10).
The Holy Spirit is the person who continues the work of salvation in the life of believers. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
3) The Parable Of The Lost Prodigal Son — The Father Working For The Restoration Of Sinful Humans
"11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ 20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. 25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ 28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ 31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”" (Luke 15:11-32).
When Jesus spoke regarding the Parable of the Prodigal Son, it was the revelation of the heart of the Father in heaven towards all the sinful humans and his yearning for them to get restored back in to the relationship that were supposed to have continued if not for the sins of all humankind. God loves the sinner but hate their sin and wants them to overcome it (Gen 4:7). God has not changed from the beginning of time, God hates sin because sin separates man from this holy God who hates it but loves humankind infinitely. God showed his love for all humans through sending His only begotten Son to die for them and save them from sin through their belief (John 3:16).
When a sinner becomes a believer through his belief in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, he becomes a child of God and a son of God (1 Cor 15:1-4; Eph 1:13-14; John 1:12; Gal 3:26-27).
In this parable, there are two types of people we see God sees as his sons by creation. One is the elder son and the other is the younger son. What makes them as his sons? The belief that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior makes a person to become a son of God (Gal 3:26-27). The elder son is the keeper of the law and claims the rights of sonship through his work, the younger one was lost in sin and finds himself unworthy to be even called the son of God, in that dire situation he chooses to repent of his sins and embrace the love of God to return to the Father by confessing his sins and claiming the sonship through experiencing the Father's unconditional love for Him.
But we see the elder son actually doing service for reward as a servant when actually he is the son. At the same time we see that, the younger son who claimed independence for himself and used all the wealth to have squandered it, realized that nothing he could do for himself could give him satisfaction in his soul except by unconditional surrender to the will of the Father who has unconditional love towards Him all the time and is praying for him to return back in repentance from his wayward lifestyle. Experiencing the love of the Father made the younger son to be fully empowered through fellowship and intimacy for great service and joyful honor that has been showered upon him.
When a believer realizes that all that he could do for God could not save him from sin except when he chooses to embrace the unconditional love of the Father in heaven and return in repentance towards Him, such a lifestyle of repentance becomes a opportunity to love God more than others who need no repentance from sin (Luke 7:36-50). To be lost in sin made the younger son to get lost from the sweet fellowship of the Father in heaven. But as he humbled himself for having missed the love and fellowship of the Father because of operating in his sin nature, and through repentance came to his right spiritual mind of Christ which guides him within (1 Cor 2:16), his honor and authority returned back to him along with the satisfaction that he gets in the fellowship with the Father which had eluded him when he was away in the lost condition from the fellowship of the Father.
But the sad thing for the elder son is that because he was trying to gain the riches of the Father through keeping the Father's law, he was not able to experience the love of the Father even though all through the time he was continuing with the Father in saved and legalistic condition. Also the elder became jealous of the younger one for having returned back from loss of fellowship to intimacy with the Father without striving like he did but accepting everything as a gift of grace. So instead of rejoicing with the Father God about the state of repentance that has brought the younger brother in to the center of the Father's honor and authority, the elder son became grumpy and grouchy against the benevolence and compassion of his Father.
The elder son not only accused the younger one of having devoured the wealth of the Father through harlotry, but also he even accused the Father in heaven of showing partiality towards the younger one, for having denied merriment towards the elder one with his friends when he does not understand that it is only possible through becoming a recipient of his grace through faith and not through any kind of works that he can ever please the Father (Eph 2:8; Gal 3:3-6, 7-9; Heb 11:6).
What does the Father in heaven want to convey clearly through this parable of the lost prodigal son? No matter what level of sinfulness people are battling in their own lives, those who try to please the Lord by their own works will become frustrated not to be rewarded with merriment and eternal reward, but rather it all will become dead works because of improper motive with which they served God the Father. But those who do not try to please God by their works, but instead believe the Father's goodness and mercies and love will find the Father God's fellowship by the restoration of the Presence of God often, but also will be honored and given eternal reward and authority for the works of repentance that will be considered by the Father as valuable because of having found them from the lost state of sin again and again which makes the heaven dwellers and saints and angels alike rejoice with the Father in heaven. Repentance is the one thing which excites the whole of heaven with great excitement and makes them rejoice because it is heaven's free gift received by the earthly recipients voluntarily, supplied in love by the three person of the Trinity, the Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit to glorify His name on earth through his chosen vessels among sinful humans who become glorified in glorifying God through it without fail!
Father God restores the sinful humans not only from sin to give them eternal life but also restores their authority and honor in their day to day life through helping them overcome sin through their repentant life of holiness and sanctification. When God showers his benevolence to his children, they choose to glorify Him back through being glorified by Him. The Father God in heaven is the ultimate object of salvation in which the very purpose of it gets fulfilled in love and fellowship towards Him for now and for eternity. Hallelujah! What a loving Father God we have!
Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!
Recently as I was conversing with a Pastor, he was trying to tell me more about the meaning of the whole Parable of the lost Sheep, lost Coin and lost Son. In a flash a revelation came to me regarding the Trinity hidden in this wonderful chapter of Luke 15 full of insightful parables which I then explained to him and he found it very interesting and edifying. Glory to God!
I would like to just reveal what I received in a fraction of second what the Lord revealed regarding truth of the Trinity hidden in these parables.
In the the whole of the New Testament, God has clearly put a strong foundation to reveal how God can be one but yet three in person.
Let us delve in to the revelatory message itself, here is the chapter:
"1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:1-7).
The Parable Of The Lost Silver Coin
"8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”" (Luke 15:8-10).
The Parable Of The Lost Prodigal Son
"11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ 20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. 25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ 28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ 31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”" (Luke 15:11-32).
Hallelujah!
The fact that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were all involved in the salvation, sanctification and glorification of every child of God is revealed in these Parables beautifully (Matt 28:19-30). Trinity is a concept within a word that has been coined around the first and second century after Christ and his apostles died, and there arose a lot of heresies that tried to destroy the truth that God is one in unity and purpose, and yet three in person. Thus to keep people from being misled from the above truth, they coined this word called 'Trinity'.
Trinity's unity is something that comes out of oneness of purpose and not sameness of persons. 'Tri' is three, 'nity' is 'togetherness', so the word trinity does mean that the three in togetherness forms a one God in whom there is no trace of change of one from the other.
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (Latin: Trinitas, lit. 'triad', from Latin: trinus "threefold")
[1] holds that God is one God, but three coeternal consubstantial persons
[2] or hypostases which means God who is three in one is an underlying reality or substance, as opposed to attributes or to that which lacks substance.
[3] — the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit — as "one God in three Divine Persons". The three Persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature" (homoousios).
[4] In this context, a "nature" is what one is, whereas a "person" is who one is.
In other words, because 'God is Love', he is three in person (1 John 4:16,b). What does it really mean? It means God cannot Love without the other persons involved within their relationship. A God who says, "I am Love," cannot really be one in reality, until He is able to practice what He speaks. Why just three within God-head, and not four, five or more in it? God is three in person, because only these person were the one's referred in the Bible again and again and again from Genesis to Revelation. Because there are three person who were uncreated, self-sustaining and infinitely holy, we cannot explain the source of the infinite God who has revealed himself to us mercifully. Our human capacity is very limited to understand a infinite beginning and infinite ending which is God Himself.
So we know all the three persons of the Godhead work in tandem and coherence in the salvation of mankind, we find it interesting for Jesus to highlight the work of each one through this 'Parable of the Lost' I believe.
This Chapter starts with people who are unworthy and sinners drawing near to Jesus Christ in humility to hear Him, and be saved from their sin. While the religious law-keeping unsaved sinners who thought that they were holy by their striving, were complaining about Jesus because the sinners were given a free pass to heaven by Him to make them find the riches of heaven through the forgiveness of their sins, while these Pharisees and scribes themselves were not able to still receive fully the assurance from God that their sins were forgiven once and for all. Because of their hypocrisy, these religious law-keepers were not able to grasp the truth that their law-keeping were temporarily set in place by God to lead them to Christ Himself who can only give them the true eternal life of friendship with God and peace with fellow humans (Gal 3:24-25).
Here in the above parables itself we see a great difference that Jesus revealed to the Old Testament law-keepers and the New Testament believers, which was further explained by the Writer to the Book of Hebrews who said "11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." (Heb 10:11-14). We see in the New Testament, the believers sins are forgiven by God in Christ forever and ever, but for the Old Testament law-keepers there is a reminder of sins once a year (Heb 10:3). Because in the Old Testament times, the sins were covered by God, there comes a reminder of the need for more sacrifice for more covering (Psa 32:1). But in the New Testaments our sins were not just covered, but we were cleansed now and then from the consciousness of sin through our confession of our sins to God because the blood of Christ still speaks to God being alive before the throne of God (Heb 10:2, 22-23; 1 John 1:7, 9; 2:1-2; Heb 9:14; Heb 11:4; 12:24; 9:12, 24). In other words, by the blood-purification of the heavenly tabernacle, the Accuser Satan has been replaced by the Advocate Savior Christ Jesus who now lives in heaven to intercede for us (Hebrews 7:25). Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!
So all the lost parables are spoken by Jesus Christ as a response to the religious sinners and the seeking sinners alike to make them understand how God sees them all in His sight, and what good things or bad things they will experience because of their attitude towards God. In true spirituality, attitude towards God sets the altitude of blessing from God. The lesser the humility, lesser the blessing. Greater the humility, greater will be the blessing. The lower you bring yourself before God, the higher He lifts you up before Himself and men.
1) The Parable Of The Lost Sheep — Jesus Working For Salvation Of Sinful Humans
"3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:1-7).
As a human we all have some basic characteristics to be always compassionate towards someone who is lost and to go after them even when we have enough of the same type with us already. A human shepherd is always looking for the lost and hurting one, he leaves the ninety-nine in the wilderness to go after the one which is lost until he find it. When he finds it he lays it on his shoulders, and returns home rejoicing. After he returns back home, he calls his friends and neighbors to say, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ In the same way, Jesus being infinitely compassionate for every lost sinner, goes after him who is lost in the darkness of this present world and when he finds them through their repentance towards God from their sins, he calls the angels of heaven to rejoice in heaven over the repentant sinner in comparison to the so called religious person and unsaved sinner who finds no need for repentance because of living in the deceived condition of darkness within their heart.
In this Parable of Trinity, we see Jesus Christ specifically going after the lost sinner leaving the self-conceited righteous who find no need for repentance. Jesus Himself in another place said, "Healthy people don't need a physician, but sick ones do. I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners." (Mark 2:17). We see that most of the humanity is so deceived spiritually, that they find no need for a sin curing doctor because they do not consider themselves as sinners. Jesus always used sarcasm to highlight the deception that humanity is in, it was hyperbole thrown by Jesus on humanity as a whole which considers itself as righteous.
Only those who come to realize the lost state they are in, will be found by Jesus, and Jesus and the whole of heaven and its angels will rejoice over them when they get saved believing in the simple message of the cross which is seen as foolishness by the world that is lost in the darkness of sin (1 Cor 1:18, 20-21).
Usually the wrong interpretation comes when people take everything literally without considering the context of sarcasm and hyperbole that Jesus throws to increase the importance of the message be brings. I heard a pastor interpret the ninety nine righteous as those who are saved and are safe within the Church. But the folly of such assumption comes from taking anywhere they find the word 'sheep' within the Bible as 'saved believers' by default. What they do not realize is that, Jesus spoke and conveyed his heavenly message through simple day to day situations of life in the country life, and so the context was more important than the content. Does Jesus leave the believer and go after the one sinner within the world to carry them back? Jesus promised through his Word, that he will never leave the believer nor forsake them even for a moment in all of eternity ahead, then how can the Church be left alone (Heb 13:5)? So it is completely wrong to consider the ninety nine righteous as Church believers. Do the Church believers need no repentance, have they attained such a heavenly mind already when the Scripture again and again asks them not to be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewal of the mind (Rom 12:2)?
So in this Parable of Trinity we see Jesus going after the ungodly sinner who is lost in the darkness of this present world and seeks for a Savior to save them from sin which has held their life in slavery to it. Jesus saves and loses none of those who come to Him (John 6:39-40; 10:27-30). No man can come to Jesus, except those drawn by the Father in heaven (John 6:44), and the Holy Spirit convict him of his sin (John 16:7-11). In other words, Jesus went after the lost sheep when he was alive on the earth, now that He is seated on the right hand of the Father in heaven, he has sent his ambassadors to go after them and bring them back to the heavenly home in heaven by sharing the message of the Cross which is the good news to them that are lost in sin and those who are seeking for a Savior to save them from it (Rom 8:34; John 20:21-23; Matt 28:18-20). Jesus is the redeemer who starts the life of salvation. Hallelujah!
2) The Parable Of The Lost Silver Coin — The Holy Spirit Working For The Sanctification Of Sinful Humans
"8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”" (Luke 15:8-10).
While Jesus is the object of belief through which the lost sheep are saved, the Holy Spirit is the executive who supplies salvation with Himself as the seal of of promise who is the guarantee of believer's future inheritance (Eph 1:13-14). Judas betrayed and sold the life of the invaluable sinless Son of God Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver coin (Matt 26:14-16; 27:3-10), but the Holy Spirit who knows the value of each of the believers in Christ Jesus, actually lights the Scripture and start to make it shine in the heart of each believers, until the believer starts to sweep the house by confessing his sins and again finds the transformational Presence of God changing his heart with the righteousness of Jesus Christ the King of Kings (Hab 2:23; Psa 119:105; Matt 5:14-16; 12:43-44; John 16:7-11; Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 1:30-31). Hallelujah!
It is natural for a believer with sin nature to get lost in the darkened world of sin, self and Satan, but it is always supernatural for the Holy Spirit to make the believer who repented for salvation to continue in the same repentance for the work of salvation to get perfected through holiness, from which sanctification is attained for the Glory of God (1 Thess 5:23-24).
The saved believer is compared to a silver coin because the Holy Spirit purifies the life of believer just like a silver is purified seven times to perfection (Psa 12:6). This sanctification of the soul happens through the Word of God, and as silver is refined the believers are continually refined until God could see the image of His own Son Jesus Christ in them which will only bring Glory to God (John 17:17; Rom 8:29-30).
The Holy Spirit is compared to a woman because of the continuous work of the Lord in the heart which is done by the Holy Spirit who is the executive manager of God's home (Heb 13:5; 2 Thess 2:13), which makes Him to fulfill the promise of a mother or work of a woman (Gen 2:22; 3:20), a person like that of a wise woman who builds the home of the believers body, soul and spirit to never leave nor forsake the child of God (Prov 14:1), to be a consoler and counselor and comfort and guide (John 15:26; Isa 66:13; 52:12), until they grow big to become well grown sons of God (Rom 8:14).
Thus the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a child of God and a believer is the continuing work of repentance. Thus repentance is not a one time work on a day to get saved and go to heaven, but rather it is the continuing work by the Holy Spirit in the heart of a believer to bring heaven to the heart through their obedience and make the light of heaven shine through their good works to the darkened world that is all around them for the Glory of God (2 Pet 1:19-21).
There is great joy in heaven among angels and saints alike along with the Holy Spirit for the one sinner who repents from the life of sinfulness in to the calling of a saint, which is to walk in the righteousness of God which they have already become to do the works which God has planned for them after their salvation (1 John 5:7-8; 1 Tim 1:15; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 5:21; Eph 2:10).
The Holy Spirit is the person who continues the work of salvation in the life of believers. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
3) The Parable Of The Lost Prodigal Son — The Father Working For The Restoration Of Sinful Humans
"11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’ 20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry. 25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ 28 “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ 31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’”" (Luke 15:11-32).
When Jesus spoke regarding the Parable of the Prodigal Son, it was the revelation of the heart of the Father in heaven towards all the sinful humans and his yearning for them to get restored back in to the relationship that were supposed to have continued if not for the sins of all humankind. God loves the sinner but hate their sin and wants them to overcome it (Gen 4:7). God has not changed from the beginning of time, God hates sin because sin separates man from this holy God who hates it but loves humankind infinitely. God showed his love for all humans through sending His only begotten Son to die for them and save them from sin through their belief (John 3:16).
When a sinner becomes a believer through his belief in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, he becomes a child of God and a son of God (1 Cor 15:1-4; Eph 1:13-14; John 1:12; Gal 3:26-27).
In this parable, there are two types of people we see God sees as his sons by creation. One is the elder son and the other is the younger son. What makes them as his sons? The belief that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior makes a person to become a son of God (Gal 3:26-27). The elder son is the keeper of the law and claims the rights of sonship through his work, the younger one was lost in sin and finds himself unworthy to be even called the son of God, in that dire situation he chooses to repent of his sins and embrace the love of God to return to the Father by confessing his sins and claiming the sonship through experiencing the Father's unconditional love for Him.
But we see the elder son actually doing service for reward as a servant when actually he is the son. At the same time we see that, the younger son who claimed independence for himself and used all the wealth to have squandered it, realized that nothing he could do for himself could give him satisfaction in his soul except by unconditional surrender to the will of the Father who has unconditional love towards Him all the time and is praying for him to return back in repentance from his wayward lifestyle. Experiencing the love of the Father made the younger son to be fully empowered through fellowship and intimacy for great service and joyful honor that has been showered upon him.
When a believer realizes that all that he could do for God could not save him from sin except when he chooses to embrace the unconditional love of the Father in heaven and return in repentance towards Him, such a lifestyle of repentance becomes a opportunity to love God more than others who need no repentance from sin (Luke 7:36-50). To be lost in sin made the younger son to get lost from the sweet fellowship of the Father in heaven. But as he humbled himself for having missed the love and fellowship of the Father because of operating in his sin nature, and through repentance came to his right spiritual mind of Christ which guides him within (1 Cor 2:16), his honor and authority returned back to him along with the satisfaction that he gets in the fellowship with the Father which had eluded him when he was away in the lost condition from the fellowship of the Father.
But the sad thing for the elder son is that because he was trying to gain the riches of the Father through keeping the Father's law, he was not able to experience the love of the Father even though all through the time he was continuing with the Father in saved and legalistic condition. Also the elder became jealous of the younger one for having returned back from loss of fellowship to intimacy with the Father without striving like he did but accepting everything as a gift of grace. So instead of rejoicing with the Father God about the state of repentance that has brought the younger brother in to the center of the Father's honor and authority, the elder son became grumpy and grouchy against the benevolence and compassion of his Father.
The elder son not only accused the younger one of having devoured the wealth of the Father through harlotry, but also he even accused the Father in heaven of showing partiality towards the younger one, for having denied merriment towards the elder one with his friends when he does not understand that it is only possible through becoming a recipient of his grace through faith and not through any kind of works that he can ever please the Father (Eph 2:8; Gal 3:3-6, 7-9; Heb 11:6).
What does the Father in heaven want to convey clearly through this parable of the lost prodigal son? No matter what level of sinfulness people are battling in their own lives, those who try to please the Lord by their own works will become frustrated not to be rewarded with merriment and eternal reward, but rather it all will become dead works because of improper motive with which they served God the Father. But those who do not try to please God by their works, but instead believe the Father's goodness and mercies and love will find the Father God's fellowship by the restoration of the Presence of God often, but also will be honored and given eternal reward and authority for the works of repentance that will be considered by the Father as valuable because of having found them from the lost state of sin again and again which makes the heaven dwellers and saints and angels alike rejoice with the Father in heaven. Repentance is the one thing which excites the whole of heaven with great excitement and makes them rejoice because it is heaven's free gift received by the earthly recipients voluntarily, supplied in love by the three person of the Trinity, the Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit to glorify His name on earth through his chosen vessels among sinful humans who become glorified in glorifying God through it without fail!
Father God restores the sinful humans not only from sin to give them eternal life but also restores their authority and honor in their day to day life through helping them overcome sin through their repentant life of holiness and sanctification. When God showers his benevolence to his children, they choose to glorify Him back through being glorified by Him. The Father God in heaven is the ultimate object of salvation in which the very purpose of it gets fulfilled in love and fellowship towards Him for now and for eternity. Hallelujah! What a loving Father God we have!
In short, the work of Trinity which had been lost when our first Father and Mother sinned and lost their honor and authority in their lives, had been again regained by Jesus Christ through which all the honor and authority returns back when we accept the work of the Trinity who rejoice with us when we are fulfilling His purpose through repentance adopted as a lifestyle for salvation from sin and victory over it.
Praise the Lord!
Much Blessings....
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