Thursday 12 May 2016

Will we be able to see all three members of the Trinity in Heaven?

Before considering if we will actually be able to see God the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit, we need to establish that they are three
Persons. Without delving too deeply into the doctrine of the Trinity,
we need to understand that the Father is not the same Person as the
Son, the Son is not the same Person as the Holy Spirit and the Holy
Spirit is not the same Person as the Father. They are not three Gods.
They are three distinct Persons, yet they are all the one God. Each
has a will, can speak, can love, etc., and these are demonstrations of
personhood. They are in absolute perfect harmony consisting of one
substance. They are coeternal, coequal and co-powerful. If any one of
the three were removed, there would be no God.

So in heaven, there are three Persons. But will we be able to actually
see them? Revelation 4:3-6 gives us a description of heaven and the
throne that is occupied by God and by the Lamb: "the one sitting there
had the appearance of jasper and carnelian… a rainbow resembling an
emerald encircled the throne. Before the throne… a sea of glass, clear
as crystal." Since God dwells in "unapproachable light" and is one
"whom no one has seen or can see" (1 Timothy 6:16), God is described
in terms of the reflected brilliance of precious stones. First
Corinthians 2:9 says, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." Because of
God's holiness, it may be that we will never be able to look upon His
face, but again, this is speculation.

Revelation 5:6 tells us that in heaven, the Lamb stands in the center
of the throne and there are descriptions of Him clothed in brilliant
white. Since the Lamb represents Christ Jesus, and we know that human
eyes have beheld Him after His resurrection and glorification, it
seems reasonable to conclude that in heaven, we will be able to look
upon our Lord and Savior.

The Holy Spirit, by the very nature of His being, is able to move at
will and take various forms. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit
descended on Him in the form of a dove (Matthew 3:13-17). At
Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was accompanied by a loud rushing noise and
was seen as tongues of fire (Acts 2:1-4). It may not be possible to
see the Holy Spirit unless He chooses to manifest Himself in some
form, but that is speculation.

Mere mortals do not have the ability to grasp the wonders of heaven—it
is entirely beyond our comprehension. Whatever heaven is like, it will
far exceed our wildest imaginings! All we know is that we will be
worshiping our great God and full of wonder that He died to save
sinners.

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