Some balk at God being Trinity and say it’s impossible. But stop and think about it. If you can understand God, would he be God?
Yet, he reveals himself in nature and is at the very heart of matter itself. Science is not truth but helps us to point to truth. If what we can understand—or don’t understand—in nature can be believed, then why can’t we believe in God?
Quantum physics is what some call “weird science” because it doesn’t perform as most of the laws of nature perform. Subatomic particles do strange things, yet we still believe in them. I bring this up constantly, because it shows that we can believe God and who he is because the nature of his character is embedded in each atom of the universe.
When I was in school, we were taught that an atom was the basic building block of matter: composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Yet, we now know that even an atom is much more complex. If we could look closer at the atom’s nucleus, we would see that protons and neutrons are composed of smaller particles, called quarks.
A proton is composed of 2-up quarks and 1-down quark. A neutron is composed of 2-down quarks and 1-up quark. The issue with protons, as you may remember, is that they are positively charged. What happens when you put two positive sides of a magnet together? They repel each other. Well, that is exactly what these protons do, but they don’t fly apart. Why? There are gluons which bind the quarks together inside both protons and neutrons and even between protons and neutrons. This makes the nucleus a very stable environment. The force of attraction by the gluons overcome the repulsion force of the protons against each other. This is known as the “strong force.”
OK, you may be thinking, but where does God come into the picture? Well, science has discovered that while there are three quarks in a proton and neutron, they cannot be viewed independently. While they are independent particles, they cannot be separated. This is where the “weird science” comes into play. Normally, when two objects get farther and farther away, there is less attraction between them. Not so here. If you try to pull two quarks apart, the binding force increases the farther apart they get.
We had mentioned in a previous post that God is both pure love and pure justice. These could not exist together in one being without compromise. Yet, because God is Trinity, they can exist together. Sort of like the quarks in protons or neutrons. God’s love and God’s justice are held together by the Holy Spirit, like the properties of the gluon. The Holy Spirit allows them to exist in their pure form, but never apart.
Just as quarks cannot exist separately, neither can God the Father and God the Son. Christ stated that if you have seen me, you have seen the Father (Jn 14:9), and I and the Father are one (Jn 10:30). He wasn’t bragging. He was stating a fact and we can now observe such in the very heart of matter itself.
Also, the Holy Spirit, the gluon, binds us to God and we can never be separated from Him once he draws us to himself. We are bound with the strong force of the cosmic gluon, the Holy Spirit—we cannot be pulled apart from him. Therefore, the Holy Spirit (the third part of the Trinity) binds God the Father (first part of the Trinity) to God the Son (the second part of the Trinity) and never allows them to be experienced separately. He also binds us to God and never lets us go as well. Therefore, we have the fingerprint of God within the very heart of matter itself.
The Bible does tell us that, one day, God’s justice will reign. Colossians states that Christ holds all things together (Cl 1:16-17). Yet what he has created will one day be destroyed and recreated. Peter tells us that the earth will be destroyed with fervent heat (2Pt 3:7).
I think these two are related back to the gluons we just talked about. It is the gluons which hold all matter together. If God was to have the gluons fail, what would happen? What I didn’t mention was that inside the protons and neutrons is like a firestorm. It is not placid and quiet. There is massive energy that is being contained. Once the containment, the gluon, is removed, all matter would be destroyed in a brilliant fireball explosion.
God stated he will then create anew. He will reinstate the gluons and all matter will be stable again. To me, science and Scripture, do go hand in hand.
Our sin problem could only be taken care of by someone like our God who is uniquely qualified to take care of it for us since we cannot do it on our own. See, that is a God of love. Justice? Yes, he is that as well, but he if first and foremost a God of love. Experiencing justice is our choice. God cannot deny who he is, but he can, and has, made a way of escape. Now, it is up to us. Are you ready to take that step of faith? I truly hope you are.
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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens