God, in His eternal existence, models how His people are meant to relate, and the desired nature of our existence. Have you ever stopped to contemplate God’s purpose for our relationships in the Body of Christ that are expressed in His very nature?

Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. . . .’”

“Let us make man in our image” seems to point to the plurality expressed in the triune God. The doctrine of the Trinity speaks of a God who is one in substance, existing as a plurality of persons. Early fathers of the Western church emphasized the unity of God, His oneness, while the fathers of Eastern church emphasized the interplay and purposes of the members of the Trinity.

We see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—one God—working together in a community of the Godhead. The Eastern Fathers, beginning with Athanasius, spoke of the relationship between the members of the Trinity, a wonderful, dynamic interplay in the community of the Godhead.

We are made in that image, therefore, at the very core of who we are resides an inner hunger to live according to our design, not in isolation and independence, but in community.

How does it make you feel knowing that our relationships in the Body of Christ, and as followers of Jesus, are meant to be an expression of God Himself?