Father & Son & Spirit (song)

 One of the most basic tenets of the Christian faith is also one of the most incomprehensible to the human mind. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, The Lord is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4) So states the Shema and it's certainly true. Yet The Lord reveals Himself in three Persons- God The Father, God The Son Jesus Christ and God The Holy Spirit (some translations would refer to the Third Person of The Holy Trinity as God The Holy Ghost.) The basis for belief in God as a Trinity is best evident from Jesus Himself, in the relationship He describes within the Triune Godhead in the Gospel of John, chapters 13-18. His Great Commission to us His followers in Matthew 28:18-20 also instructs us to baptize believers in the Name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. 

    While each member of the Godhead has different roles, all three are equally God, so everything is always even stevens. A leopard can't change its spots; it's always a spotted member of the cat family. You can try to change its name but it's still a leopard. Whether you call to The Father, Son or Spirit, you're always calling to God. And God is always one- and His plan of redemption has already won through Christ's death and Resurrection. As the Sandi Patti Christmas classic song "The Gift Goes On" says, "The Father gave The Son. The Son gave The Spirit. The Spirit gives us life so we can give the gift of Love. And the gift goes on!"

"Father & Son & Spirit" (parody of "Father & Son" by Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam; parody lyrics copyright by Nathan Ludwick 12/10/2019)

(Deuteronomy 6:4, Acts 1-2, Philippians 2, Luke 12:40, Romans 11:29, John 8:12, Matthew 5:14, John 3:16-17, Galatians 4:4-7, John chapters 13-18, Romans 8, Matthew 28:18-20)

In God's time, the Saviour came 

That's a fact- Galatians 4 read

He had to come- that's our fault

Check Jesus' most famous quote

God loved world- Son came down

Whoso trusts will not perish

3:16 John- it goes- live eternally!

God's own Son's likeness of man's found

-and He lowered from God's throne seat

To become Son of Man- Son's still fully God

To take our crimes to the cross

Dying for everything we've done

And He's real deal Man of Tomorrow 'cause Lord Jesus rose up!

How come Lord Christ's going away? When He just did a "There and Back Again"?

It's to our benefit that He is going

So The Holy Ghost could bring the whole world conviction

Counselor Troi cannot hold candle (to) Holy Ghost- no way!

Christ goes- sends Holy Ghost

In God's time, The Spirit came

14 down to 18- go read!

Gospel of John- (The) Master taught

We're not just orphans of God though

Tell the world Gospel now

In time you've got while Lord tarries

Luke 12:40- Christ foretold- that He's returning

Of the times, (in) Acts 1- Christ's teaching

Those aren't things for you to know

His charge: Witness! Start here- to all world then

Our Aid resides in you and me-

His gifts then- revoked? Can't be

So share our faith and we'll glow like 5 Matthew 14 says

Little Christs- that's the goal 

Who do you say I am?

(Note: This piece is an analysis of the claims made about Jesus by the secular world, in particular as demonstrated by this T-shirt produced by John Fugelsang in the link below- in comparison to what The Bible actually says about Jesus.
https://johnfugelsangstore.com/products/tagless-t-shirt-2)

      Interesting description of Jesus and spot on in some regards but there are a number of descriptors here that are unBiblical and untrue. Jesus is not anti-wealth; He's anti-greed. He is not necessarily anti-public prayer; after all, He regularly went to synagogue where public prayer was held for those who came. Yes, He is against making a show of it- that's what Matthew 6:5 is talking about. The concepts of abortion and birth control as we know them were not around in that time but Jesus certainly spoke out for the vulnerable and children. He said for anyone who leads one of the little ones who believe in Him astray- it'd be better for them to have a millstone put around their necks and thrown into the sea. (Matthew 18:6, also in Luke 17 and Mark 9) Jesus said the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but He came that we might have life and life more abundant. (John 10:10)
Jesus also said that whatever we do to the least of these, we have done it unto Him. (See the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25- specifically verse 40.)
Jesus rebukes James and John for wanting to call down fire from Heaven to destroy those who don't believe in Jesus. He told them that the Son of Man came to save people's lives, not destroy them. The Bible makes clear a number of times that God hates the shedding of innocent blood. (See Proverbs 6 for one.) Jesus upheld all of Scripture (Matthew 5:17) and as the Second Person of The Holy Trinity, He is God and all of Scripture is His word.
And He clearly condemns Ammon for the sin of ripping open pregnant women in Amos 1:13. God is concerned about the both the death of the women and the babies.
And by the same measure, Jesus upheld Scripture's teaching on the sin of homosexuality. (Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and others) Jesus Himself addressed the issue of God's order for sexuality in Matthew 5 and Matthew 19. Jesus reminded the Pharisees that in the beginning God created human beings male and female. Then He quoted Genesis 2:24 to the Pharisees, which says that for this reason a man will leave his father and mother, be united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.
Jesus held this model up as God's standard for marriage and human sexual relations.
In regards to comments about the poor, The Bible does give us the principle that he who does not work shall not eat. This is not to condemn poor people for the situation they are in but to condemn Christians for being lazy and idle. (As 2 Thessalonians 3:10 is written to the church.) Of course, the Thessalonians were also told to help the weak and always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:14-15) There are numerous commands for Christians to help the poor.
I also don't know that non-violent is the best descriptor for Jesus, seeing as how He made a whip and drove corrupt moneychangers out of the temple! He was pretty mad then. But yes- He doesn't promote violence in general but obviously there are some things where some force is justified.
I also don't know if "anti-death penalty" is the best descriptor since Jesus upheld all of the Scriptures and the Old Testament Law is where we get the notion of the death penalty to begin with. (An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.)
"Anti-slut shaming" is an interesting one too. Jesus did make clear that adultery is a sin. (Matthew 5:28) And we should certainly be ashamed of sin. I imagine this descriptor is referring to John 8, where a woman caught in the act of adultery is brought to Jesus by the Pharisees. It is true that He tells them that whoever is without sin to cast the first stone- and they all leave until just He and the woman are left there. Of course, Jesus is the only One without sin who could rightfully stone her to death but He asks her if any of her accusers has condemned her. She says that none of them did and then Jesus says, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."
This is important to note because as John 3:17 says, Jesus didn't come to the world to condemn it but to save it! Yet He didn't tell this woman what she was doing was okay. He told her to go and leave her life of sin.
To get back to the point of Jesus being against the death penalty, I do like that one because I think that is true in some sense.
(I think a lot of these are trying to make political points but need to be considered in terms of spiritual points. Politics is not going to save humanity. Jesus came to save us from the problem that plagues us all the most- sin. Changing people's hearts for eternity is what it's about.)
Jesus came to put an end to the death penalty because that's what we all deserve for our sins. "For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
Though we all deserve eternal punishment in Hell, Christ endured that for us and paid for all sins for all time through His death and Resurrection. And because He lives, we can live also if we put our faith in Him and follow Him.
That's the most important revolution Jesus came to bring- a spiritual one. He wants all people to be saved so that we might all experience eternal joy with Him in Heaven.
That is a Biblical picture of Jesus- He is God. And God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.