The Bible calls us to be a people who participate with the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—in what They are doing and in who They are. I guess like me you wonder what that could mean.
I know participate means ‘to actively be involved in something’ or ‘to share in something’. So I can picture what it looks like to participate with God. It means I share in riches and glory of God’s grace. It means I share in what Jesus’ death and resurrection has accomplished and I share in his triumph and rewards. And if I am truly participating with the Trinity then I am going to be actively involved in what They are doing and that has got to show to other people through my action, choices, and the way I am living.
The Bible describes participation in terms of: with, in and through; with Christ, in Christ, through Christ. Such small words—in, with, through—that I almost missed them. But I looked them up in the original language of the New Testament because words in different languages have different emphasis. ‘Through’ means ‘on account of, because of, for the sake of’.
‘In’ means ‘in the realm of’. And ‘with’ means ‘identified with, joined close-together in tight identification’. Try and imagine what your life would look like you were living for the sake of Jesus, living in the realm where Jesus reigns as Lord of your life, and where you were so closely identified with Jesus that others around you couldn’t tell you apart.
I am starting to think that participation with God is going to impact my life far more than I had realised.