When we speak to others about God, or our beliefs concerning the Godhead or what the Scriptures say about the unity and multiplicity of the divine rulership in heaven, is it with a perfect knowledge of these topics? Is it with a fully divine comprehension that we have the knowledge that we are attempting to share with others?
The Teacher of Righteousness once said, “The only way humans can describe things that are divine is with human terms, based primarily on faith and human experience. No human can adequately describe that which he or she has never experienced on the other side of the celestial veil. While in the body of flesh, a person can never have a full knowledge of divine matters, of the Godhead, the nature of angels and other such things. We are given a great deal of information about such matters through the the Three Pillars of the Faith: Scripture, Tradition and Revelation, but as reliable as these are, and as precious as they are to us, they are still often recorded in human terms. The Three Pillars are of divine origin, but meant for humankind, and thus written in a manner that is understandable for those in which it was written.”
Servants of God must rely on their faith in the truths revealed within the Three Pillars. Doing so will give us the ability to describe divine matters in a more comprehensive manner to someone who is seeking to follow the Way of our Heavenly Teacher. He has promised ages ago, and continues to do so, that he would send another teacher, a comforter, the Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are taught the deeper things of our Father and it is through the Holy Spirit that we are guided in recalling verses or passages from the Scriptures.
Mir Garendra said, “When people of various religions, including the different communities within the Religion of Light speak of the oneness of God, or the unity of the Godhead as expressed through the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, it is still with a human understanding. Humans are unable to comprehend the true nature of what the Godhead truly is.”
When others speak of the Trinity or the “tri-unity” of the Godhead, meaning the oneness of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, are we quick to judge others for their understanding, while ignoring the fact that we too are not perfect in our knowledge of the full nature of God? If so, perhaps we have not learned lessons from the past. If we are quick to condemn others because of their imperfect understanding of what God is, perhaps we have forgotten the fact that all souls are on a journey back to the Father of Lights. Have we forgotten that sometimes each person’s journey takes them through various paths, various shades of the truth, and various levels of understanding until they are perfected in the knowledge of the truth? For most, the journey continues after death, and finally culminating in the world to come; thus, it is a journey of a lifetime. With this in mind, it is important for every disciple of Messiah to put up with one another, meaning those in the faith and those outside our own tradition. Not all of us have the same understanding. We know that the revealing of truth is gradual.
Instead of condemning others for the path they walk, let’s make sure we are walking the path that our Heavenly Father has called us into, and to walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8) While we don’t wish to condone anything that has been divinely proclaimed as false, we can have compassion on those who have no truth at all, and we can be charitable to those who do believe in the Father and who have faith in the Son, even if their faith is flawed at this time. Be a comfort to your neighbor, and not a judge or part of a jury.
It is my hope that our example will serve as a shining light to others to hold firmly to the hope and promises that our Father and His Son have provided to us for a better future, when our Lord tells us that we have been faithful in our course.