The Greatness of God

We serve a great God who is worthy of our praise, worship, devotion, and obedience. He is the one true God whose character is flawless and whose interactions with mankind are always just and righteous. In our efforts to define and understand God, we tend to minimize His greatness by making Him more approachable and manageable. We domesticate Him by fashioning Him in an image that makes Him more “human” and, therefore, more tolerable and relatable. But in our attempt to transform God into our own likeness, we end up worshiping an idol of our own making.

“The god of American popular culture is an indulgent heavenly spirit who is little threat to our lifestyles and luxuries – a god consistent with a consumer culture and rampant immorality. This god might wish that human beings would behave, but he is powerless when they do not.

“A vast majority of American claims to believe in God, but most believe in an idol of their own imaginations. This deity is always there to be called upon in times of trouble, but he would never intrude upon our own personal space, judge our sins, or hinder our happiness.” – R. Albert Mohler, Foreward to Made in Our Image by Steven J. Lawson

The sad reality is that many evangelical Christians have bought into the devastatingly dangerous God-rehabilitation plan without even knowing it. Slowly and subtly, we have ended up with an emasculated and virtually impotent deity who looks very little like the God of the Bible. We have turned Shaddai, the Almighty who permeates the pages of Scripture into a “user-friendly” god who is little more than a slightly improved version of ourselves. And this downsized god exists for our glory rather than the other way around. But this is not the God that David, Moses, Abraham, and the prophets worshiped. Isaiah understood the immensity and incomparability of God.

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
    Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
    or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
    Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
    Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
    or show him the path of justice? – Isaiah 40:12-14 NLT

God sits above the circle of the earth.
    The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain
    and makes his tent from them.
He judges the great people of the world
    and brings them all to nothing.
They hardly get started, barely taking root,
    when he blows on them and they wither.
    The wind carries them off like chaff.

“To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. – Isaiah 40:22-25 NLT

God has no equal. He is incomparable and incapable of being domesticated, downsized, or diminished in any way. We can attempt to recreate Him in our own image, but it will only produce a false god who offers false hope. We don’t need a slightly improved version of us; we need the God of the Bible. Our world doesn’t need a politically correct and socially relevant God; it needs the fear-inducing, holiness-demanding, universe-creating God whom the prophets and apostles worshiped. 

The apostle Paul also grasped the greatness of God and refused to allow his fellow believers to minimize Him in any way.

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
    Who knows enough to give him advice?
And who has given him so much
    that he needs to pay it back?

For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. – Romans 11:33-36 NLT

We cannot even begin to comprehend the greatness of God, but we should try. While He remains far beyond our capacity to fully understand, He still expects us to desire and pursue an ever-increasing awareness of Himself. The apostle Paul prayed regularly that the Colossian believers would grow in their knowledge of God.

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. – Colossians 1:9-10 NLT

Paul prayed a similar prayer for the believers in Ephesus.

I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. – Ephesians 1:16-18 NLT

God is infinite and eternal, having no beginning or end. To attempt a study of God is to attempt the impossible. We will never fully know Him. We will never plumb the depths of His greatness. But that does not make it an exercise in futility. The pursuit of the knowledge of God is the calling of every child of God. The Bible is the Word of God, His revelation of Himself to mankind. Every page contained in the Scriptures provides a glimpse of His glory and goodness. He desires that we read His Word, not as some kind of self-help manual full of tips for living the good life, but as an indispensable resource for discovering Him. But the Bible isn’t just a compendium of helpful insights into God’s character; it’s a divinely inspired roadmap to redemption and restoration. Man was made for God’s glory but sin destroyed that relationship and drove a wedge between the Maker and the masterpiece of His creation. Ever since that fateful day when Adam and Eve sinned against Him, God’s plan for restoring fallen humanity to a right relationship with Himself has been in place, culminating in the arrival of His Son in human flesh. This great, majestic, holy, and transcendent God already had a plan in place to fix the problem that sin created. But God wasn’t interested in restoring man’s knowledge of Him; He wanted to restore man’s broken relationship with Him.

It’s interesting to note what Jesus prayed in the garden on the night He was betrayed. In one of His last moments on earth before His crucifixion and death, Jesus spent time alone with His heavenly Father pouring out His heart.

“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” – John 17:1-3 ESV

Jesus came that we might have eternal life. But eternal life is far more than just a promise of a life free from death. While the thought of a place where there will be “no more death or sorrow or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4) sounds very appealing, those things are not what makes eternal life well worth the wait. No, Jesus makes it quite clear. He states that “this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

The essence of eternal life is an intimate knowledge of God and His Son. Heaven will remove the blinders and barriers that prevent us from knowing God well. The presence of sin in our lives prevents us from seeing and knowing God clearly. It is like looking at a beautiful landscape through a dirty window or trying to view a beautiful sunset through a pair of glasses with foggy lenses. The glorious view is obscured and distorted by our flawed vision. The apostle Paul reminds us that the day is coming when those limitations will be removed, leaving us completely free to know God in all His glory.

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 NLT

Getting to know God better should be the overarching desire of every child of God – to know the One who made us, saved us, and has an eternity in store for us. This all-knowing, all-powerful God has planned a future for us in which we will enjoy unbroken fellowship with Him. Yes, it will be a place free from pain, sin, sorrow, and death. But the real joy of heaven will be found in our ability to know God intimately and fully.

The truly amazing thing is that God considers us His children right here, right now. Despite our ongoing struggle with sin and our persistent habit of disobeying His will, God calls us His own. He is the forever faithful, always loving, ever gracious, and consistently merciful God who never fails to keep His promises. The apostle John would have us remember that our loving heavenly Father has adopted us into His family and has great things in store for us.

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. – 1 John 3:1-13 NLT

So, why wouldn’t we want to know our great God better? The alternative is not attractive because, as Steven J. Lawson points out, it will produce a less-than-powerful God and a far-from-impactful church.

“We need a vision of God who is different from us, someone who is truly worthy to be worshiped and adored. In short, we are in need of a fresh dose of the majesty of God. Only as we return to our principle calling, that of displaying the true greatness of God, will people eagerly return to Him – and to church. Such a fresh vision of God will transform us from the inside out and empower us to fulfill His calling upon our lives. That is what is missing in this day of trendy, low-commitment, user-friendly Christianity. And until we recover the true picture of God, we will languish in spiritual impotence.” – Steven J. Lawson, Made In Our Image

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Immanence of God

The psalmist declares, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18 ESV). This simple statement is meant to bring encouragement to the suffering as they consider the amazing fact that the transcendent God of the universe chooses to draw near to them in their time of need. The One who created time and space and yet exists outside of both is fully capable of entering into the pain and suffering of His children.

Yet some deny God’s perceivability and accessibility. They view God as a distant and difficult-to-know deity who is disengaged from and disinterested in the affairs of men. This deistic view of God paints Him as an aloof and impersonal absentee owner who manages His creation from the confines of heaven and rarely interacts with mankind. In this rather pessimistic understanding of God, He offers little in the way of guidance, comfort, protection, or personal input.

The God of the deist is too big and far too great to expect Him to interface with His lowly creation. Even King Solomon seemed to believe that God was too immense to be truly immanent. When Solomon completed the construction of the grand Temple he had built to serve as God’s earthly dwelling place, he stated, “But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27 NLT). Solomon recognized that his immaculate Temple was insufficient to house the God of the universe. Yet, God was more than willing to bless the Temple with His presence.

When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord. – 1 Kings 8:10-11 NLT

Then the transcendent God delivered a very personal message to His servant Solomon.

“I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.” – 1 Kings 9:3 NLT

The doctrine of God’s immanence teaches that God’s presence is all-pervasive. It is closely related to His attribute of omnipresence, which teaches that God is not limited by time and space. He is not restricted to a human body or confined to a particular place or time. David was blown away by the amazing reality of God’s grandeur and immeasurable vastness and attempted to put his thoughts in writing.

I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me. – Psalm 139:7-10 NLT

For David, God was both near and far away. He was at the same time distant and close at hand. God could not be avoided or escaped from. There was no place on earth where His presence was missing or His power could not penetrate. To put it simply, there is no place where God is not; He is everywhere at all times.

But God’s immanence is not to be confused with Pantheism, a pagan doctrine that “teaches the belief that God is equal to the universe, its physical matter, and the forces that govern it” (“Pantheism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pantheism. Accessed 16 Aug. 2024).

“Canon W. G. Holmes of India told of seeing Hindu worshipers tapping on trees and stones and whispering ‘Are your there? Are you there?’ to the god they hoped might reside within. In complete humility the instructed Christian brings the answer to that question. God is indeed there. He is there as He is here and everywhere, not confined to tree and stone, but free in the universe, near to everything, next to everyone, and through Jesus Christ immediately accessible to every loving heart.” – A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

God’s presence permeates His creation but is not equal to it. God’s omnipresence should not be construed to mean that everything is God. That is the false and unbiblical premise of Pantheism. What makes the doctrine of God’s immanence so incredibly unique is that it maintains the integrity of His otherness while assuring us of His closeness. Moses reminded the people of Israel, “What great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him?” (Deuteronomy 4:7 NLT).

The incomparable and incomprehensible God of the universe has chosen to make Himself known and knowable.

The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,
    the Holy One, says this:
“I live in the high and holy place
    with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.
I restore the crushed spirit of the humble
    and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.” – Isaiah 57:15 NLT

He is high and lofty yet intimately involved in the affairs of men.

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18 ESV

Who can be compared with the Lord our God,
    who is enthroned on high?
He stoops to look down
    on heaven and on earth.
He lifts the poor from the dust
    and the needy from the garbage dump.
He sets them among princes,
    even the princes of his own people!
He gives the childless woman a family,
    making her a happy mother.

Praise the Lord! – Psalm 113:5-9 NLT

Why would the all-powerful, fully righteous God of the universe stoop so low as to have a relationship with sinful men? What would possess the holy transcendent God to condescend and care for those who have chosen to reject Him? The simple answer is “Love.”

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 ESV

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:6-8 NLT

The transcendent God took it upon Himself to transcend time and space by entering into the sin-darkened world as the light of life. God’s presence had always pervaded His creation but with the coming of Christ, His presence took on a personal and perfectly relatable form.

In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it. – John 1:1-1-5 NLT

God became flesh. Jesus, in His incarnation, became Immanuel, God with us (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). He was fully God and fully man. He was the God-man. In His humanity, Jesus made God visible, relatable, and easily knowable. He was the flesh-and-blood God, but no less divine and fully holy in every way. As John points out in his gospel, Jesus was the light shining in the darkness.

The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. – John 1:9-12 NLT

The immense significance of Jesus’ immanence should not escape us. As John points out, “The Word became human and made his home among us” (John 1:14 NLT). God took up residence among us. He literally “tabernacled” among us. Not only that, He poured out His unfailing love and faithfulness to undeserving humanity through the life of His Son. And John adds the mind-blowing note that, as a result, “we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” (John 1:14 NLT).

The transcendent became immanent. The invisible became visible. The incomprehensible became fully relatable and knowable. According to Paul, “in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body” (Colossians 2:9 NLT). Through Jesus, God has made Himself fully known and easily knowable. Jesus assured Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:9 NLT). Jesus boldly claimed, “If you knew me, you would also know my Father” (John 8:10 NLT). Just hours before His death, Jesus told the crowd gathered in Jerusalem, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark” (John 12:44-46 NLT).

Yet, the light wasn’t well received. The presence of God in human form wasn’t fully appreciated by those who saw Him. Jesus’ entrance into the world was met with mixed revues, as He Himself confessed.

“God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” – John 3:19-21 NLT

The light of the world was eventually extinguished, but that was not the end. Jesus was put to death but the grave could not hold Him. His life was taken from Him but His divinity could not be extinguished. Jesus burst from the tomb in a blaze of glory so bright that it paralyzed the Roman soldiers.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. – Matthew 27:2-4 NLT

The light of the world was alive and well. The light of life overcame the darkness and defeated death and the grave – once for all. Jesus was and is alive and lives forever to intercede with God on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25).

Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. – Ephesians 2:18 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Transcendence of God

Studying the attributes of God is a noble and worthy task but it must be acknowledged that man’s capacity to understand the greatness of God is limited by his inherent finiteness. The apostle Paul eloquently stated humanity’s dilemma.

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
    Who knows enough to give him advice?
And who has given him so much
    that he needs to pay it back?

For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. – Romans 11:33-36 NLT

Paul makes it clear that the human mind is incapable of fully comprehending the greatness of God. This all-powerful and incomparable Being is Invisible to the human eye and incomprehensible to the human mind and must choose to make Himself known if He is to be recognized at all. As Paul stated in the opening chapter of Romans, God displayed certain aspects of His divine nature through creation.

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. – Romans 1:20 NLT

The universe reveals His power, majesty, creativity, and sovereign control over all things. While we can’t physically see God, we can witness the work of His hands and begin to grasp the awesome nature of His power and transcendence. David was blown away by the indisputable evidence of God found in the natural world. He could see the proof of God’s existence everywhere he looked.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world. – Psalm 19:1-14 NLT

Creation declares the glory of God but it will never fully mirror the majesty of its Maker, and David seemed to understand that fact. When he became king of Israel, David voiced his growing awareness of God’s unlimited power and sovereignty over all things. God didn’t just make the universe, He ruled over it with unrivaled authority that made David’s royal power pale in comparison.

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.” – 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 NLT

To say that God is transcendent is to confess His otherness. In other words, it is an admission that God is not like us. He is not a slightly improved version of man; a human being on steroids. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, transcendent means “being beyond the limits of all possible experience and knowledge” (“Transcendent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transcendent. Accessed 15 Aug. 2024). God is beyond our comprehension. He exists outside our scope of understanding. He is not only invisible but unknowable and, yet, He has chosen to make Himself known.

God desires for us to know Him, not just cognitively but personally and intimately. The Bible is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man. It all began in the garden where God developed an ongoing relationship with the first man and woman. In that pristine and perfect environment, Adam and Eve enjoyed the presence of the transcendent God. He spoke to them and made His presence known to them. They couldn’t see Him but they knew He was there. When they eventually disobeyed His command concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they attempted to hide from Him.

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. – Genesis 3:8 NLT

Their sin resulted in their banishment from the garden and the loss of their intimacy with God. From that point forward, mankind began its unrelenting trajectory away from God. It was not that God was somehow relegated to the garden and their travels took them further from His presence. Distance didn’t determine their separation from God, it was the spiritual state of their hearts. But the further they went, the weaker their awareness of God became. In time, they forgot about Him altogether, and the Book of Genesis records the sad result of their faithlessness and forgetfulness.

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. – Genesis 6:5 NLT

Humanity had been allowed to know and experience the transcendent God of the universe but had chosen to walk away from Him. So God started over, revealing Himself to a man named Noah. Once again, the invisible, all-powerful God made Himself known and knowable. He spoke with Noah and provided him with a plan to repopulate the world and reboot the system. The flood destroyed the rest of humanity but Noah and his family were preserved by God. They were given the privilege of salvation and the responsibility to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 

This royal reboot allowed Noah and his family to experience the personal presence of the transcendent God. He sealed them in the ark and protected them during the days of the flood. He graciously preserved them and mercifully released them to begin the process of filling the world with more of their kind. But the rest of the Book of Genesis records the less-than-stellar results of their post-flood experience. It didn’t take long for Humanity 2.0 to succumb to the same internal bugs that doomed the previous model.

But all along the way, God continued to make Himself known. He revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He displayed His glory to Moses. He showed up in a light show on the peak of Mount Sinai, displaying His majestic power to the people of Israel cowering in the valley. He gave them His Law, designed to be a further revelation of His holiness and righteousness. He provided them with the Tabernacle and the sacrificial system to accentuate His set-apartness and to ensure their own holiness. The invisible, unknowable, inaccessible God continued to make Himself known. He had made them His own people, His chosen possession. He gave them a land as their inheritance. He provided them with kings. He blessed them and prospered them. But in return, they turned their back on Him

“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
    and I called my son out of Egypt.
But the more I called to him,
    the farther he moved from me,
offering sacrifices to the images of Baal
    and burning incense to idols.
I myself taught Israel how to walk,
    leading him along by the hand.
But he doesn’t know or even care
    that it was I who took care of him.
I led Israel along
    with my ropes of kindness and love.
I lifted the yoke from his neck,
    and I myself stooped to feed him.” – Hosea 11:1-4 NLT

The more the transcendent God made Himself known, the more comfortable and complacent the people of God became. They lost their awareness of His greatness. Their awe and wonder diminished over time. His blessings became rote and expected. They took His power for granted. Eventually, God chose to remove His hand of blessing and allow His people to experience the loss of His presence. They had lost their wonder and appreciation for God. Their undeserved access to and intimacy with Him lost its value. His persistent presence robbed them of their appreciation for His transcendence.

And so the Lord says,
    “These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites
    with amazing wonders.
The wisdom of the wise will pass away,
    and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.” – Isaiah 29:13-14 NLT

For centuries, the people of Israel would lose their privileged position as God’s chosen people. Their Temple would be destroyed. The sacrificial system would be eliminated. Tens of thousands of Israelites would spend their lives living in exile in foreign lands, far from their homeland and separated from their God. They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but that was not the case for the Israelites. Even after their return to the land of Israel, they failed to reestablish their wonder and awe for God. Their hearts remained far from Him. But the transcendent God was not done revealing Himself to His people.

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. – Galatians 4:4-5 NLT

God sent His Son, and this staggering event would prove to be the greatest revelation of God that man has ever experienced. The apostle John reminds us of the staggering nature of Jesus’ incarnation.

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. – John 1:18 NLT

Jesus, the Son of God, made the invisible God visible, a fact the apostle Paul makes abundantly clear.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation… – Colossians 15 NLT

The unknowable, unapproachable, invisible God of the universe wants to be known. He desires to have a relationship with fallen humanity. As Paul makes clear, no one is seeking a relationship with God. The reality of indwelling sin makes the pursuit of God impossible for all men.

“No one is righteous—
    not even one.
No one is truly wise;
    no one is seeking God.
All have turned away;
    all have become useless.
No one does good,
    not a single one.” – Romans 3:10-12 NLT

But God sought us out. He sent His Son to make Himself known and knowable. The transcendent God condescended to take on human flesh and make the fulness of the Godhead visible to fallen mankind. This fact should not only astound us but cause us to rejoice in the greatness and goodness of our gracious God.

“He is far away, in one sense, but in another He is as near as your heartbeat, for the cross has bridged the gulf. Let the blood of Jesus cleanse us from all sin. He who is God the Transcendent One says, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’” – A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Justice of God

Ever since 2020, the word justice has become a hotly debated topic in our modern culture, even among evangelical Christians. In fact, one of the most frequently quoted verses during the last four years comes from the pen of the prophet Micah.

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8 ESV

It is only appropriate that Christ-followers should care for and be concerned about justice because it is of great importance to our God, whom the prophet Isaiah describes as “a God of justice.”

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. – Isaiah 30:18 ESV

Moses, who enjoyed an intimate and up-close relationship with God, referred to Him as a “Rock” whose “work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deuteronomy 32:14 ESV). In his personal experience, Moses discovered God to be just in everything that He does. So, as His people, we should seek to follow His example and make justice a high priority in our lives. But what exactly is justice and how should we display it in everyday life? Better yet, what does God’s justice look like and is it even possible for us to emulate this divine attribute of the Almighty?

The prophet Isaiah provides some insight into these questions.   

Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. – Isaiah 1:17 ESV

“For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong…” – Isaiah 61:8 ESV

The Psalms also promote the need for justice among the people of God.

For the word of the Lord holds true,
    and we can trust everything he does.
He loves whatever is just and good;
    the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.. – Psalm 33:4-5 NLT

Turn from evil and do good,
    and you will live in the land forever.
For the Lord loves justice,
    and he will never abandon the godly. – Psalm 37:27-28 NLT

There is joy for those who deal justly with others
    and always do what is right. – Psalm 106:3 NLT

But before we take it upon ourselves to right the world’s wrongs by performing amazing feats of justice on behalf of the disadvantaged and disenfranchised, it would make sense to discover what brand of justice God has in mind. Like any other attribute associated with God, we are not free to define justice on our own terms or to implement it in ways that are solely intended to achieve our own agenda. The Psalmist provides a sobering reminder about the divine nature of justice.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
    Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants. – Psalm 89:14 NLT

As fallen creatures, we don’t get to decide what is right and wrong. Our sinful natures render us incapable of determining what is righteous and unrighteous. The prophet Isaiah gave a stinging assessment of man’s inherent inability to do the right thing.

We are constant sinners;
    how can people like us be saved?
We are all infected and impure with sin.
    When we display our righteous deeds,
    they are nothing but filthy rags. – Isaiah 64:5-6 NLT

So, it would seem that any attempt on our part to display justice and righteousness is severely hampered by our fallen state. As Isaiah makes painfully clear, even our most righteous efforts done with the best of intentions are little more than soiled garments in the eyes of God. Yet, He commands us to do justice and to love kindness.

The problem with modern-day concepts of justice is that they leave God out of the equation. But as Isaiah makes clear, any attempt by fallen men to distribute true justice will fall woefully short and be the byproduct of sinful, self-serving hearts. So, we must turn to the justice of God as our model and for the proper motivation for our behavior.

A. W. Tozer notes that “In the inspired Scriptures justice and righteousness are scarcely distinguished from each other” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy). It is impossible to dispense justice without righteousness. Notice what the prophet Amos says about these two inseparable concepts.

…let justice roll down like waters,
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. – Amos 5:24 ESV

In man’s well-intentioned effort to mete out justice, he often does so in ways that are out of step with God’s righteousness. Equity and equality are impossible to achieve if God’s righteous laws are voided or ignored. In distributing justice, God never violates His own righteous decrees. As Moses put it, “Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” (Deuteronomy 32:4 NLT).

The justice of God is “that essential and infinite attribute which makes his nature and his ways the perfect embodiment of equity, and constitutes him the model and the guardian of equity throughout the universe” (ATS Bible Dictionary, 1859). In other words, any hope we have of distributing justice on earth is dependent upon a solid understanding of God’s justice toward us.

God’s justice flows from His holiness. He is without sin and completely righteous in every way, which guarantees that all His acts of justice are always right, pure, and perfectly executed in keeping with His nature. There is never any aspect of unfairness or inequity with God. He shows no favoritism or partiality (Romans 2:11). He doesn’t mete out punishment arbitrarily or disproportionally. At no time does God act unjustly or unrighteously. He cannot be charged with inequity or accused of wielding His power and authority inappropriately. His holiness ensures that His justice is wholly righteous and right in its application.

To the faithful you show yourself faithful;
    to those with integrity you show integrity.
To the pure you show yourself pure,
    but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
You rescue the humble,
    but you humiliate the proud. – Psalm 18:25-27 NLT

For justice to be right and fair, it requires an outside criteria or standard of measurement. According to the Scriptures, God is the sole arbiter of what is just, right, and fair. He alone determines the basis for true justice. The reason injustice exists in the world is because of the presence of sin. According to 1 John 3:4, sin is lawlessness, a direct violation of God’s righteous commands. Virtually all sins are crimes against others. The list of sins contained in Galatians chapter five provides a stern reminder that our human flesh can only produce “fruit” that is self-promoting and damaging to others. 

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. – Galatians 5:19-21 NLT

While we may try to convince ourselves that our sins pose no threat to anyone else, this list suggests that most, if not all sins are committed against others. They are not just self-destructive, but they are a direct assault on the well-being of our fellow man. David didn’t simply commit sin with Bathsheba, he sinned against her. In a fit of jealousy, Cain took the life of his brother Abel. Driven by lust for his half-sister Tamar, Amnon orchestrated a plan to seduce and rape her.

But sin is much more than a crime against a fellow human being, it is a violation of God’s revealed will. David understood this stark reality, and after his illicit affair with Bathsheba, he confessed his guilt before God.

Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment. – Psalm 51:4 ESV

David had violated the commands of God, having committed adultery and murder. These transgressions required that justice be served and God did so in such a way that both atonement and forgiveness could be administered fairly and righteously. David’s sins were paid for with the life of the newborn son he shared with Bathsheba. We may find this solution untenable and difficult to understand, but God’s ways are always just, right, and fair. Sin has a cost. All violations of God’s will come with a price tag. Cain was cursed for his murder of Abel. Amnon was executed by his brother Absalom for the rape of Tamar. Absalom would ultimately die a gruesome and ignominious death at the hands of Joab.

Sin requires justice because God is holy and righteous. And since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, all deserve the same fate: Death. Yet God, in His mercy and grace, came up with a plan that would allow Him to be loving without sacrificing His justice. To pay the debt owed by humanity, God chose to send His Son as a substitutionary atonement – a sinless Lamb to die on behalf of sinful men and women. Jesus took our place so that we might be spared the just and righteous wrath of God.

“A simpler and ore familiar solution for the problem of how God can be just and still justify the unjust is found in the Christian doctrine of redemption. It is that, through the work of Christ in atonement, justice is not violated but satisfied when God spares a sinner. Redemptive theology teaches that mercy does not become effective toward a man until justice has done its work. The just penalty for sin was exacted when Christ our Substitute died for us on the cross. However unpleasant this may sound to the ear of the natural man, it has ever been sweet to the ear of faith. Millions have been morally and spiritually transformed by this message, have lived lives of great moral power, and died at last peacefully trusting in it.” – A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Wrath of God - PT 2

While we might be tempted to ignore the reality of God’s wrath, the Scriptures make it difficult to deny its existence.

For the Lord holds a cup in his hand
    that is full of foaming wine mixed with spices.
He pours out the wine in judgment,
    and all the wicked must drink it,
    draining it to the dregs. – Psalm 75:8 NLT

“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” – Matthew 10:28 NLT

“But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.” – Luke 12:5 NLT

So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. – 2 Peter 2:9 NLT

God hates sin because it is a direct assault on His sovereign will. Every sin is an act of rebellion against His righteousness and His right to rule and reign over the universe He created. These willful acts of transgressions take a myriad of forms and bring out the just and righteous anger of the Almighty.

There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
    feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
    and one who sows discord among brothers. – Proverbs 6:16-18 ESV

But according to David, God doesn’t just reserve His hatred for the sin committed; “his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence” (Psalm 11:5 ESV). This jarring thought may leave us confused and conflicted but it should not cause us to question God’s character. Despite how it may sound, it does not stand in contradiction to John’s declaration: God is love (1 John 4:8 ESV). Love is the essence of who God is; it is the foundational quality of His being. But His love and wrath are far from contradictory or antithetical; they complement one another.

In fact, Paul makes it clear that the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ were all demonstrations of God’s wrath against sin and His love for helpless humanity.

Christ died for the ungodly… – Romans 5:6 ESV

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8 ESV 

…while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son… – Romans 5:10 ESV

You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. – Colossians 1:21-22 NLT

As sinners, we deserved God’s wrath but, instead, we were the undeserving beneficiaries of His love. But that love came at a high price. His Son had to die to pay the debt we owed. His sacrifice propitiated or satisfied the just wrath of God. Our sin wasn’t ignored and our debt wasn’t left unpaid; Jesus paid it in full with the willful sacrifice of His own life. We deserved God’s wrath but, instead, He poured out His love in the form of His Son’s selfless substitutionary death on the cross.

Discussing the wrath of God can come across as if we are dealing with a flaw in the divine character. It seems out of step with His love, grace, and mercy. But the wrath of God is never displayed arbitrarily. He need never apologize for it or be embarrassed because of it, and He never unleashes His wrath undeservedly or unjustly. Unlike us, God never loses His temper. He never flies off the handle or suffers from a lack of self-control. He is always purposeful when displaying His wrath against sinful mankind. When doing so, He is displaying who He is, exhibiting His divine nature, and glorifying Himself in the process. In fact, God’s wrath is inseparably linked with His glory. When He exercises His wrath, He displays the fullness of His glory.

The book of Exodus records the encounter that Moses had with God on Mount Sinai. Moses, the deliverer God had chosen to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt, made a bold request of God. He asked the Almighty, “Please show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18 ESV). God agreed to do so but under one condition.

“I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord’…But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” – Exodus 33:19, 20 ESV

God warned Moses that viewing His face would prove deadly. Why? Because of Moses’ sinfulness. No man can behold the full, unveiled glory of God while in his sinful state. Moses wanted to see God’s glory, but to do so without God’s protection would result in Moses’ destruction. Because the wrath of God goes hand-in-hand with the glory of God.

God kept His word, but in a display of His goodness and mercy, He prevented Moses from seeing Him in all His glory.

“I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” – Exodus 33:22-23 ESV

Moses, as a fallen human being, deserved to come under the wrath of God but, instead, he experienced God’s grace and mercy. Remember what God had said to Moses immediately after making his request:

“I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” – Exodus 33:19 ESV

God, because of His righteousness and holiness, is obligated to punish sin. He cannot overlook or ignore it but He can make provision for it. In this case, that is what He did.

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” – Exodus 34:6-7 ESV

As God passed by with His hand placed protectively over His servant, He proclaimed His mercy, grace, patience, steadfast love, faithfulness, and forgiveness. In other words, He declared His divine attributes. But don’t miss this part. While God declared that He was willing to forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin, He would not clear the guilty. The Hebrew word translated as “clear” is naqah and it means to “acquit” or ”to leave unpunished.” The guilty must be held to account; they must pay for their sins. God cannot simply whitewash over them.

Just before Moses was given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the glory of God, he received the law of God – the Ten Commandments – on tablets of stone. Moses returned from the mountaintop, tablets in hand, only to find the people worshiping false gods down in the valley. In his shock and anger, Moses destroyed the tablets containing God’s law. In His wrath, God brought a plague upon the people, punishing them for their rejection of Him.

…the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made. – Exodus 32:33-35 ESV

God punished the guilty. He could not and would not allow them to get away with their sin. The entire law, as prescribed by God on Mount Sinai, was based on the premise that “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22 NLT). Some would die by the plague that God had sent and their deaths would assuage or propitiate God’s wrath. He had to punish the guilty. He could not simply clear or acquit them.

God gave Moses a second set of tablets, containing His code of conduct for the people of Israel. His laws were intended to set them apart as His chosen people. Those tablets contained all they needed to know about living as His children. He left nothing up to their imaginations. They would not be free to live on their own terms or follow the examples of the other nations around them. But Moses, knowing the hearts of his people, made yet another request of God.

“If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” – Exodus 34:9 ESV

Moses knew that, without God’s grace and mercy, the people of Israel would find themselves the fully deserving recipients of God’s wrath, once again. So, God renewed His covenant commitment with the people of Israel, but He warned them:

“…for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” – Exodus 34:14 ESV

God will not tolerate unfaithfulness. He will not put up with His chosen people turning their backs on Him by worshiping something or someone other than Him. But it is not because He is overly sensitive or wears His feelings on His sleeve. It is because He is God and worthy of all glory, honor, and praise.

In the book of Revelation, John records his vision of the throne room of God in heaven. He describes the four living creatures, standing around the throne of God:

Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
    the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” – Revelation 4:8 NLT

They are joined by the 24 elders, who lay their crowns before God’s throne and say:

“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” – Revelation 4:11

God is worthy of our praise. He deserves our worship. He created us and we exist for His glory. When we refuse to give Him the glory He deserves, we sin against Him. Sin is not so much the action we commit, as it is the heart behind the action. What we do is an outward display of the state of our hearts. Jesus said, “…from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander” (Matthew 15:19 NLT). Then He added, “These are what defile you” (Matthew 15:20 NLT). The Greek word for “defile” is koinoō and it means “to make common or unclean.”

Our actions, which stem from our hearts, end up making us unacceptable to God. They display our love for something other than Him. When we sin, we are giving evidence that our hearts do not belong to God. We love something other than Him, such as pleasure, sensuality, self, success, power, position, prominence, or happiness. Those things become idols or substitutes for God and our sin is an outward expression of our love affair with these false gods.

But God’s holiness demands justice, and His justice requires that He display His wrath “against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Romans 1:18 NLT). Yet, in His mercy and grace, God came up with a way to satisfy His wrath and display His goodness at the same time. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission or forgiveness of sin, and since all men have sinned, all men deserve to fall under the wrath of God. But Paul reminds us of the amazing grace of God as displayed through the gift of His Son.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. – Romans 3:23-26 NLT

God satisfied His own wrath by sending His own Son as the payment for mankind’s sin debt. He gave His sinless Son as the atonement for sinful men.

God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. – 2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. – Romans 4:25 NLT

But to escape the wrath of God, sinful men and women must accept the free gift of God’s sacrifice on their behalf. They must acknowledge their sin and their need for a Savior. The payment has been made, and the gift has been offered, but it must be accepted. Paul goes on to state: “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:22 NLT). A few chapters later, he adds: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NLT).

The wrath of God is real. But so are His grace and mercy. God is a just God who must punish sin. But He is also a gracious God who has provided a way that He might justify the ungodly. All for our good and His glory.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Wrath of God

When discussing God’s attributes, it is only natural to focus on the more positive aspects of His character such as His love, mercy, grace, all-sufficient power, and faithfulness. We are drawn to those marvelous attributes because of their attractiveness and the potential benefits they offer us as God’s children. But they lose all their meaning if they are not considered against the backdrop of God’s wrath.

God is not one-dimensional in nature; He is a complex being whose character is comprised of a myriad of seemingly contradictory but perfectly symbiotic attributes. His love and wrath do not stand in opposition; they complement and complete one another. His infinite love becomes meaningless and immeasurable without the knowledge that He is also capable of great anger. God speaks of Himself in terms that convey His well-balanced nature.

“Look now; I myself am he!
    There is no other god but me!
I am the one who kills and gives life;
    I am the one who wounds and heals;
    no one can be rescued from my powerful hand!
Now I raise my hand to heaven
    and declare, ‘As surely as I live,
when I sharpen my flashing sword
    and begin to carry out justice,
I will take revenge on my enemies
    and repay those who reject me.’” – Deuteronomy 32:39-41 NLT

But despite God’s very blunt self-assessment, His wrath seems to be a forbidden topic among many Christians. We’re uncomfortable hearing our loving God openly admit that He kills. Yet when reading the Old Testament, it’s virtually impossible to ignore the truth of His statement. This is the reason many Christians avoid the Old Testament like a plague. In its pages, the wrath of God is on full display, and don’t like what we see.

We treat the wrath of God as if it’s some kind of flaw in God’s character that no one wants to admit or talk about. Like a favorite uncle who struggles with a drinking problem. Everybody knows about it, but it’s just easier to treat it as if it doesn’t exist.

But it’s difficult to ignore the wrath of God. It’s an unpleasant yet unavoidable reality that shows up throughout the Scriptures. And it can’t be relegated to the pages of the Old Testament.  Many believe that the God described in the gospels is far more loving, gracious, and kind than the God who commanded Abraham to sacrifice His Son, told the Israelites to massacre entire communities, and decreed the stoning of rebellious sons . Yet, Jesus Himself said, “anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment” (John 3:36 NLT).

The apostle John linked the hope of salvation with the reality of God’s wrath.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. – John 3:36 ESV

Paul warned the believers in Rome that God’s wrath was a very real thing that must

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. – Romans 1:18 ESV

The Old Testament clearly portrays God as capable of wrath and provides numerous examples of its devastating consequences. The prophet Nahum provided a stark warning regarding the pagan people of Nineveh:

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. – Nahum 1:2 ESV

Ezekiel delivered God’s warning regarding the Philistines, the enemies of Israel:

“I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.” – Ezekiel 25:17 ESV

Isaiah prophesied of a future day when God’s wrath would come on all mankind:

Look! The Lord is coming from heaven to punish the people of the earth for their sins. – Isaiah 26:21 ESV

But the wrath of God did not dissipate with the coming of Christ. The arrival of His Son in human form did not diminish His anger against mankind’s rebellion against Him; i provided a means by which His divine and just wrath might be satisfied, once and for all. God’s love, manifested in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, must be viewed against the dark reality of His holy and fully justified wrath. Because God is holy and completely righteous, He must punish sin. He can’t ignore it or fail to deal with it justly. To do so would render Him unjust and imperfect.  

So, what are we to do with this uncomfortable aspect of God’s nature? Do we simply ignore it, rationalize it away, or reject it out of hand? A. W. Pink provides us with a powerful response to those questions.

“It is sad to find so many professing Christians who appear to regard the wrath of God as something for which they need to make an apology, or at least they wish there were no such thing. While some would not go so far as to openly admit that they consider it a blemish on the Divine character, yet they are far from regarding it with delight; they like not to think about it, and they rarely hear it mentioned without a secret resentment rising up in their hearts against it. Even with those who are more sober in their judgment, not a few seem to imagine that there is a severity about the Divine wrath which is too terrifying to form a theme for profitable contemplation. Others harbor the delusion that God’s wrath is not consistent with His goodness, and so seek to banish it from their thoughts.

“Yes, many there are who turn away from a vision of God’s wrath as though they were called to look upon some blotch in the Divine character, or some blot upon the Divine government. But what saith the Scriptures? As we turn to them we find that God has made no attempt to conceal the fact of His wrath. He is not ashamed to make it known that vengeance and fury belong unto Him.” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

At some point, we have to ask the question: What is the source of God’s anger or wrath? We inherently know that God does not have an “anger problem.” He’s not an angry individual who lacks self-control and is unable to manage His emotions. It is far too easy to view God through a lens that is heavily distorted by our own human flaws and frailties. We struggle with anger, so we assume that God’s anger manifests itself in the same way. In our minds, anger is a liability, not an asset; it is negative, not positive. But because we are talking about the holy, righteous, perfectly sinless God of the universe, we can’t attribute His anger to some flaw in His character. His anger, like every other one of His character qualities, is fully justified and wholly holy.

So, why would anger be an attribute of God? It is because of His holiness. The apostle John wrote, “God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all” (1 John 1:5 NLT). Darkness is a metaphor for evil or wickedness. It stands in stark contrast to the “light” or righteousness of God. That’s why Paul wrote, “…the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18 ESV). What truth? The truth of the existence of God as displayed in the miracle of His creation.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. – Romans 1:19-20 ESV

But Paul goes on to point out that, despite God’s revelation of Himself in creation, mankind “became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21 ESV). And “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25 ESV). As a result, God’s wrath was revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

But what is the nature of God’s wrath? Is it some kind of out-of-control, vengeance-laced tirade against those who don’t agree with Him? Is God some petty tyrant who uses His power to punish those who refuse to do what He wants? To understand God’s wrath, we have to see things from His perspective, not ours. Again, A. W. Pink provides some helpful insights into this matter.

“The wrath of God is His eternal detestation of all unrighteousness. It is the displeasure and indignation of Divine equity against evil. It is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin. It is the moving cause of that just sentence which He passes upon evil-doers. God is angry against sin because it is a rebelling against His authority, a wrong done to His inviolable sovereignty. Insurrectionists against God’s government shall be made to know that God is the Lord. They shall be made to feel how great that Majesty is which they despise, and how dreadful is that threatened wrath which they so little regarded. Not that God’s anger is a malignant and malicious retaliation, inflicting injury for the sake of it, or in return for injury received. No; while God will vindicate His dominion as Governor of the universe, He will not be vindictive.” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

To add further clarity to this topic, J. I. Packer provides a much-needed word study on the meaning behind “wrath” and “anger.”

“‘Wrath’ is an old English word defined in my dictionary as ‘deep, intense anger and indignation.’ ‘Anger’ is defined as ‘stirring of resentful displeasure and strong antagonism, by a sense of injury or insult;’ ‘indignation’ as ‘righteous anger aroused by injustice and baseness.’ Such is wrath. And wrath, the Bible tells us, is an attribute of God.” – J. I. Packer, Knowing God

A sense of injury or insult. About what? Deep, intense anger and indignation. Against what? Against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Or to put it in more simplistic terms, against sin. Sin is an affront to a holy, righteous God. Mankind was created by God and exists only because of His love, mercy, and grace. So, when men reject Him as their God or rebel against His divine sovereignty as their creator, provider, and sustainer, God is rightfully offended.

Robert L. Deffinbaugh describes divine wrath as “God’s righteous anger and punishment, provoked by sin.” It is never arbitrary or unwarranted. God’s wrath is never unjustified or undeserved. The God of the universe is the ultimate master of the domain which He created and over which He rules. And He will vindicate His sovereign rule, but He will never do so vindictively.

One of the things we overlook when discussing the wrath of God is how it demonstrates God’s hatred for sin. As human beings, we tend to tolerate sin and view it as little more than a flaw in our character. But God sees sin as rebellion. It is a rejection of His Word, His ways, and His divine will for mankind. That is why Paul describes it as ungodliness and unrighteousness. Sin is ultimately anti-God and anti-righteousness. It is the antithesis of godliness and stands in direct opposition to the very essence of God.

Paul paints a bleak picture of man’s rebellious condition, revealing that sin has serious consequences.

…since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. – Romans 1:28-32 ESV

Notice those three simple words in the middle of the preceding paragraph: Haters of God. Ultimately, sin is an expression of hate for the Almighty. And that hatred results in godless actions and attitudes, each of which is proof of man’s rejection of God. These outward displays are God-directed but also self-destructive. Sin does irreparable damage to the individual, a family, a community, the nation, and the world. And that is not something a holy God can or will tolerate.

“In order to fully appreciate God’s love and goodness we must examine them against the black backdrop of of His wrath. Only when we understand that He judges sin – all sin, even our own sin – can we appreciate His glorious grace for what it is. The darkness of God’s wrath showcases the flawless gem of His unmerited mercy toward us. But remove the dark background of His wrath, and our appreciation of the brilliance of His amazing love fades.” – Steven J. Lawson, Made In Our Image

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Patience of God

 We don’t often discuss the patience of God, yet it is an essential part of His nature and the explanation for sinful mankind’s ongoing existence. As a just and righteous God, He is obligated to punish all those who rebel against Him and, according to the apostle Paul, every single human being who has ever lived falls into that category.

For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
    no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.” – Romans 3:9-12 ESV

There are no exceptions or outliers. Everyone has sinned and is deserving of God's ultimate punishment for rebellion against Him: Death. Yet, Paul goes on to provide the good news that involves God’s enduring patience.

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. – Romans 3:23-25 ESV

God had a plan for dealing with man’s sin problem and the accompanying death sentence that it incurs. For millennia, God put up with man’s ongoing disregard for His holiness and abject rejection of His sovereignty. He would have been justified in wiping out the entire human race but, instead, He patiently endured their unrighteousness and ingratitude, so that He could send His Son at just the right time.

This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. – Romans 3:25-26 ESV

God described Himself to Moses as “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy!” (Exodus 34:6 NLT). He went to proclaim His divine capacity to show patience even in the face of unrelenting disobedience to His will.

“I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” – Exodus 34:6 NLT

David penned a psalm that declared this one-of-a-kind attribute of God.

The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
The Lord is good to everyone.
    He showers compassion on all his creation. – Psalm 145:8-9 ESV

Moses also declared the wonder of God’s persistent patience.

The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations. – Numbers 14:18 NLT

The patience of God. We all desperately depend upon it because, without it, we would be in trouble. Most of us understand the holiness of God and have no trouble recognizing that we are anything but holy. So, we count on God’s longsuffering nature to overlook our many shortcomings. We memorize verses that speak of God’s slowness to anger. We meditate on those passages that speak of His unfailing love. The older we get, the doctrines of His mercy and grace become near and dear to us.

As we saw earlier, David was particularly fond of God’s enduring patience because he had been its beneficiary on more than one occasion.

The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities. – Psalm 103:8-10 ESV

The mercy, grace, and patience of God go hand in hand, but they remain separate and distinct qualities or attributes of God. Wayne Grudem provides us with succinct definitions for each of them.

“God’s mercy means God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress.

“God’s grace means God’s goodness toward those who deserve only punishment.

“God’s patience means God’s goodness in withholding of punishment toward those who sin over a period of time.” – Wayne Gruden, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine

All three are expressions of God’s inherent goodness. We know He is good because He is merciful, gracious, and patient, and we regularly find ourselves the undeserving recipients of His mercy, grace, and patience. Yet of these three, His patience is the one we most take for granted. Notice Gruden’s definition. He specifically states that God’s patience is His withholding of well-deserved punishment from those who have sinned repeatedly and regularly. Their activity warrants God’s judgment but, instead, He responds with patience.

The apostle Paul described this as God’s forbearance.

Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. – Romans 3:24-25 ESV

The Greek word Paul used for forebearance is anochē and it can also be translated as self-restraint or tolerance. It involves a willful action on God’s part to acknowledge the sins of men while choosing to postpone His divine judgment for a later date. It does not mean that God “overlooks” or “excuses” our sins. To do so would be out of character for God; it would go against His nature. But as Paul states, God was willing to put on hold His condemnation of humanity’s sin because He knew He was sending His Son as the propitiation or means of providing a satisfactory solution for the problem.

God could have punished all mankind and been totally just in doing so. As Paul states, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23 NLT), and God, as the righteous judge of the universe, would have been right and just in pronouncing and carrying out judgment upon all humanity. But He showed patience instead. He postponed the inevitable because He was about to do the unimaginable.

God was going to send His own Son as payment for mankind’s sin debt. And that debt was formidable and well-deserved. In his letter to the believers in Rome, Paul describes humanity in unflattering terms that magnify the incredible of God’s patience toward them.

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. – Romans 1:29-32 NLT

Paul goes on to say that this sad description of mankind’s state was universal and all-inclusive.

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. – Romans 3:23 NLT

All deserved to die, but God was willing to forego the inevitable until the time came when He could send His Son into the world. And God’s timing was perfect.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. – Romans 5:66 NLT

Just one verse later, Paul adds, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT). A lot of time had passed between the “birth” of Adam and Eve and the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The first two humans were made in God’s image but Jesus, the sinless Son of God took on human flesh so He could bear the exact image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). With each passing century, God displayed His divine patience, postponing His right to mete out His wrath upon sinful humanity, so that He might one day display His love through the sacrifice of His own Son.

Paul reminds us that God “did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32 NLT). God’s patience and love are inseparable. He was willing to wait because He wanted to shower His undeserved love on His creation.

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. – John 3:16-17 NLT

A. W. Tozer describes God’s patience in this way:

“The patience of God is that excellency which causes Him to sustain great injuries without immediately avenging Himself. He has a power of patience as well as a power of justice.” – A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God

God has the power to judge. But He also possesses the power to forego judgment for a season. Because of our sin natures, we can end up using any power we possess as a weapon. The evil in our hearts causes power to go to our heads, resulting in injustice and inequity. We become the judge, jury, and executioner, meting out our brand of vigilante justice rather than choosing to show patience, mercy, and grace. Part of the problem is that we lack the strength to control our own power. Unlike God, we do not possess the self-control that would allow us to replace our need for justice with a desire to show loving patience.

In Matthew’s gospel, he records a parable by Jesus designed to illustrate the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.” – Matthew 18:23-27 NLT

The servant owed more than he could ever pay, so he begged his master for patience. To his shock and surprise, he received the complete forgiveness of his debt. But the story goes on.

 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.” – Matthew 18:28-30 NLT

The king, who possessed great power, showed remarkable patience. The servant, who had been the recipient of the king’s undeserved patience, showed his own sinful heart by having his fellow servant thrown into jail. This man had been more than willing to accept the gracious, merciful, and loving gift of the king’s patience and forgiveness. But he was unwilling to pass on the goodness of his master to his fellow servant.

We must never undervalue or overlook the patience of God. It is on display all around us. We are daily the recipients of it. A. W. Tozer reminds us to consider the wonderful reality of the patience of God.

“How wondrous is God’s patience with the world today. On every side people are sinning with a high hand. The divine law is trampled underfoot and God Himself openly despised. It is truly amazing that He does not instantly strike dead those who so brazenly defy Him. Why does He not suddenly cut off the haughty infidel and blatant blasphemer, as He did Ananias and Sapphira? Why does He not cause the earth to open its mouth and devour the persecutors of His people, so that, like Dathan and Abiram, they shall go down alive into the Pit? And what of apostate Christendom, where every possible form of sin is now tolerated and practiced under cover of the holy name of Christ? Why does not the righteous wrath of Heaven make an end of such abominations? Only one answer is possible: because God bears with ‘much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.’” – A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Grace of God

In 1910, Julia Johnston wrote the lyrics to the hymn “Grace Great Than Our Sin” that speak of the matchless grace of God. I remember singing it as a child but the significance of the words was lost on me. It was not until later in life and long into my journey of faith that I began to understand the reality of God’s great grace and its impact on my life.

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
freely bestowed on all who believe:
you that are longing to see his face,
will you this moment his grace receive?

Grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God's grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin.

– Lyrics by Julia H. Johnston and music by Daniel B. Towner

This marvelous grace is one of God's most endearing and deeply appreciated attributes.  A. W. Tozer describes grace as “the good pleasure of God that inclines Him to bestow benefits upon the undeserving” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy). Without God’s grace, His love would be unavailable to us, because He is holy and, as sinners, we are worthy of His wrath, not His compassion and beneficence.

Yet, at the heart of the gospel message is the wonderful story of God’s grace, showered upon the undeserving.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV

My grace is all you need. – 2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. – Titus 2:11 NLT

But grace is not a New Testament doctrine. From the pages of the Old Testament, we read of the eternal nature of God’s grace and mercy toward His children.

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” – Exodus 34:6-7 ESV

Tony Evans describes God’s grace as “His inexhaustible supply of goodness by which He does for us what we could never do for ourselves” (Tony Evans, Theology You Can Count On). A much older, but no less accurate definition comes from the pen of Abraham Booth: “It is the eternal and absolute free favor of God, manifested in the vouchsafement [favor] of spiritual and eternal blessings to the guilty and the unworthy” (Abraham Booth, The Reign of Grace, 1793).

Grace is a gift of God that flows from His very nature. God is gracious and makes His grace available to the undeserving because of who He is, not because of anything we have done. His grace is unmerited, unearned, and completely undeserved. No one can ever say to God: “You owe me!”

A. W. Tozer puts it this way: “Divine grace is the sovereign and saving favor of God exercised in the bestowment of blessings upon those who have no merit in them and for which no compensation is demanded from them” (A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God). The apostle Paul clearly understood the amazing nature of God’s grace.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God… – Ephesians 2:8 ESV

Just as God’s love is made available through His grace, so His love makes it possible for Him to display grace. These two marvelous attributes go hand in hand and one cannot exist without the other. It is because of love that He extends His grace. The apostle  Peter reminds us, “…we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11 NLT). The apostle Paul expands on that thought by adding that we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24 ESV). A. W. Tozer provides us with further insight into the one-sided nature of God’s grace. It flows in one direction, from our gracious God to a world of undeserving sinners.

“…it is the favor of God shown to those who not only have no positive deserts of their own, but who are thoroughly ill-deserving and hell-deserving. It is completely unmerited and unsought, and is altogether unattracted by anything in or from or by the objects upon which it is bestowed. Grace can neither be bought, earned, nor won by the creature.” – A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God

All of this seems to run counter to our human understanding of how things should work. We have been raised to believe that you don’t get something for nothing. To put it another way, there is no such thing as a free lunch. You only get what you deserve or what you have legitimately earned. And while modern society seems to have run amuck with the idea of entitlement, we all know that earning and effort go hand in hand.

But not with God. God owes us nothing. He is beholden to no one. The apostle Paul, quoting from the book of Isaiah, asks the rhetorical question: “…who has given a gift to him [God] that he might be repaid?” (Romans 11:35 ESV). Then he adds that the flow of God’s grace is one-directional. “For from him and through him and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36 ESV). 

It is important to understand that the goodness of God is only accessible to fallen mankind through the grace of God. Romans 3:23 reminds us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and Romans 6:23 provides us with the non-negotiable consequences of man’s sin: “the wages of sin is death.”

God’s justice and righteousness require that He condemn and pronounce judgment against all sin. He cannot leave sin unpunished and still remain holy and just. But in His divine wisdom, God chose to provide undeserving men and women a means by which they could be made right (justified) with Him.

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:8 ESV

God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. – Romans 4:24-25 NLT

Tony Evans writes, “…grace means giving a person something he doesn’t deserve” (Tony Evans, Theology You Can Count On). Because of sin, all men deserve death. But in His grace, God gives men the opportunity to experience forgiveness for their sins and eternal life in place of death and eternal separation from Him. This amazing grace is available only through faith in God’s Son. Centuries before it happened, Isaiah prophesied about this marvelous expression of God’s grace.

…he [Jesus] was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. – Isaiah 53:5 NLT

As another old hymn of the faith points out, Jesus’ death was an expression of God love and grace that made possible our right standing with Him.

Jesus paid it all,
All to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow – Elvina M. Hall, 1865

Without the grace of God, every man and woman who has ever lived would stand before God as “a sinner condemned, unclean.” Yet, in 1905, Charles H. Gabriel penned the words to the hymn, “My Savior’s Love,” providing us with a timeless reminder of just how amazing God’s grace really is.

I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus, the Nazarene,
and wonder how he could love me,
a sinner, condemned, unclean.

How marvelous, how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous, how wonderful
is my Savior’s love for me!

But God’s grace extends beyond the point of our salvation. It shows up in the everyday affairs of life, providing God’s children with the power to live the life He has called them to live. Each day, we must rely on His undeserved grace to experience the joy, contentment, peace, and power He has promised. At no point are we to fall back on our own strength or to live as though our spiritual growth is somehow up to us. Our salvation was based on grace and the same is true of our sanctification. We cannot grow to be more like Christ through self-effort. In fact, it requires death to self. It demands that we give up any hope of transforming our lives by our own power.  We cannot earn God’s favor. We cannot score brownie points with God. But we can rest in His amazing grace and rely upon the power of His indwelling Spirit.

The author of Hebrews would have us remember that grace is a gift from God and, if we want to enjoy it, we must always go to the source of it.

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. – Hebrews 4:16 NLT

James would add that humility is a non-negotiable prerequisite for those who desire to experience the ongoing gift of God’s grace.

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. – James 4:6 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Love of God

God is love. Most of us are familiar with that phrase but may not know its source. In his first letter, the apostle John wrote of God’s symbiotic relationship between God and love.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. – 1 John 4:7-8 NLT

According to John, God doesn't just express love, He is the essence of love. Only His love is pure, undefiled, free from sin, and unsullied by selfish or self-serving motivations. In his first letter to the believers in Corinth, Paul provides a better understanding of the kind of love God displays.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. – 1 Corinthians 14:4-8 ESV

Humanly speaking, this kind of love is impossible to produce. We may be able to manufacture a love that somewhat mimics these qualities but only God can produce a love of this quality because it flows from His very nature. John went on to describe the greatest expression of God’s matchless love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. – 1 John 4:9-10 NLT

In his gospel account, John records the words of Jesus as He spoke of the unparalleled nature of God’s love

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 NLT

The apostle Paul echoed this sentiment in his letter to the believers in Rome.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:8 NLT

To say that God is love is to express the idea that love is the core component of His character. Everything He does is loving and kind. There is never a point at which God is lacking in love or fails to display love. We may not always recognize God’s love or feel that the circumstances of our lives are an expression of His love, but at no point is God unloving. He never stops loving because it is the essence of who He is. When addressing the people of Israel, the nation He had chosen as His own, God declared His unfailing and unwavering love for them.

“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
    With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” – Jeremiah 31:3 NLT

His love for them never failed, despite their repeated rebellion and sinfulness. He punished them for their sins but He never stopped loving them because His love is everlasting. As human beings, we find it easy to fall in and out of love with people. But God does not suffer from that fickle kind of love. Frederich M. Lehman wrote about God’s unfailing love in his hymn, The Love of God.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song – Frederick M. Lehman, The Love of God, 1917

Love is not some feeling or outward expression that God conjures up in response to something or someone lovely or loveable. No, what sets God apart is His capacity to love at all times. His love never fails.

God is the very definition of love, and all His other attributes are infused and closely intertwined with His love. His power is always displayed in love. His love never lacks the strength or energy to express itself. God’s holiness is directly linked to His love. Without love, His holiness or set-apartness would make God unapproachable and unknowable. But because God is love, He has made Himself available to and accessible  by mankind.

For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse… – Romans 1:20 NLT

Luke supports Paul’s conclusion, stating that God “did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17 ESV). He goes on to describe how God, the all-powerful creator of the universe, has lovingly and graciously made Himself known to mankind.

From one man He made every nation of men, to inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.

God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. – Acts 17:26-27 BSB

God desires that men might know Him. Why? Because it is through a knowledge of God that men recognize His love for them. The love of this all-powerful, holy, and transcendent God caused Him to send His Son as payment for mankind’s sins.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 ESV

Jesus, the Son of God, was the greatest expression of God’s love, taking on human flesh and coming to earth so that He might be Immanuel – God with us.

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. – John 1:18 NLT

Jesus even made the bold claim, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:9 NLT). God’s love was manifested or made visible through the birth, death, and resurrection of His Son.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. – Ephesians 1:4 NLT

Love is invisible to the human eye, but that doesn’t mean it is unperceivable. And while God Himself cannot be seen, His love can be experienced and appreciated. It can be felt, enjoyed, relished, and returned. When we understand just how much God loves us, it creates in us a desire to love Him in return.

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. – 1 John 4:10 NLT

It is when we understand that the God of the universe loves us that we are able to express love to the rest of humanity, whom He has made.

We love each other because he loved us first. – 1 John 4:19 ESV

But our love will always pale in comparison to that of God. His love is infinite and holy, while ours is limited and marred by selfishness and self-centeredness. We tend to love, expecting love in return. Ours is a conditional kind of love, while His is unconditional, demanding nothing from us in return.

“No tongue can fully express the infinitude of God’s love, or any mind comprehend it: it “passeth knowledge” (Eph 3:19). The most extensive ideas that a finite mind can frame about divine love, are infinitely below its true nature. The heaven is not so far above the earth as the goodness of God is beyond the most raised conceptions which we are able to form of it. It is an ocean which swells higher than all the mountains of opposition in such as are the objects of it. It is a fountain from which flows all necessary good to all those who are interested in it.” – John Brine, 1743

What makes God’s love so remarkable is that He showered it on us despite us. He didn’t demand that we get our spiritual act together. He didn’t require that we stop sinning and start living righteous lives before He would love us. No, according to the apostle Paul, God loved us while we were mired in the midst of our sinfulness and rebellion against Him.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:6-8 NLT

We find it difficult to relate to that kind of love because we tend to love the lovely and loveable. We put conditions on our love. And we demand that those we love show us love in return. But, fortunately for mankind, that is not how God operates. God’s love is a purely holy love. “God’s love is not regulated by caprice, passion, or sentiment, but by principle. Just as His grace reigns not at the expense of it, but “through righteousness” (Rom 5:21), so His love never conflicts with His holiness” (A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God).

God’s love is always sacrificial and constantly beneficial. And while it may sometimes take the form of tough love, it always results in our good. As the proverb states, “the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:12 NLT). His love is never smothering or manipulative. It is not a controlling kind of love. At no time does God preface His love with the thought, “What am I going to get out of this?”

The list of love’s qualities found in 1 Corinthians 13 spells out the nature of God’s love in terms we can understand and emulate. But unlike God, we are incapable of expressing this kind of love perfectly and selflessly this side of heaven.  Yet, as we grow to understand the incredible nature of His divine love for us, we can better appreciate how undeserving we are and turn that unmerited affection into tangible expressions of love for others.

God loves you. How much? He sent His Son to die for you. And there are not enough words in the human vocabulary or days on the calendar to fully describe just how great His love truly is. Frederick M. Lehman put it so eloquently in his great old hymn, The Love of God.

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky – Frederick M. Lehman, The Love of God, 1917

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Mercy of God

Jesus once told His disciples a parable about a tax collector and a Pharisee who went into the Temple in Jerusalem to pray. According to Luke, “this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else” (Luke 18:9 NLT). As the story goes, the Pharisee cries out for all to hear: “I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income” (Luke 18:11-12 NLT).

But the other, a Jew who profited off his fellow countryman by working as a tax collector for the Romans, “stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner’” (Luke 18:13 NLT).

This humble and penitent sinner knew he was undeserving of God’s love but he begged for mercy. Jesus even pointed out the man’s sinfulness and unworthiness.

“I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God…” – Luke 18:14 NLT

The mercy of God is one of the cherished attributes of God but we often take it for granted and fail to understand its gravity and importance in our lives. The Scriptures are full of passages describing this overlooked and misunderstood character quality of our loving God.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Chris – Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV

But you, O Lord,
    are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
    and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. – Psalm 86:15 NLT

The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. – Exodus 33:19 NLT

To adequately understand this remarkable attribute of God, one must also dive into the depths of His goodness. Notice the Exodus passage above. Moses had just made a rather bold request of God: “Show me your glorious presence” (Exodus 33:18 NLT). And in response, God said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you” (Exodus 33:19 NLT). The Hebrew word translated as “goodness” is ṭûḇ (toob) and it can refer to “that which is good, or the best of anything” (Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon). God’s goodness and mercy go hand in hand. David wrote a familiar and well-loved psalm describing God as the Great Shepherd, and in that psalm, David reveled in the inseparable and indispensable nature of God’s goodness and mercy.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. – Psalm 23:6 ESV

According to Thomas Watson, “Mercy is the result and effect of God's goodness” (Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity). Without the inherent goodness of God, mercy would be unavailable to us because mercy is the expression of His goodness. But the psalmist displayed his understanding of and appreciation for the goodness of God when he wrote, “You are good and do only good” (Psalm 119:68 NLT). God’s goodness shows up in the form of mercy.

Think back on that somewhat arrogant request Moses made of God, asking to see God’s glory. While Moses had enjoyed repeated exposure to God’s Shekinah glory on Mount Sinai, he was not satisfied: he wanted to see God face to face. He had heard God’s voice and seen the emanations of His glory in the form of smoke, lightning, and thunder. But now he wanted to get an up-close and personal glimpse of God Himself. But notice what God said to Moses:

“…you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.” The Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.” – Exodus 33:20-23 NLT

God was going to allow Moses the unique privilege of seeing His glory and goodness, but to do so, God would have to be merciful. The glory of God is so great that one glimpse of His face would destroy Moses. Sinful men cannot stand in the presence of a holy God and live to talk about it. So, when God appeared before Moses that day, He allowed His servant to see His glory and goodness but only by displaying His mercy at the same time.

Moses was undeserving of the privilege of seeing God’s glory. Yes, he was the servant of God, but he was also a man stained by the presence of sin. He was ignorant of the magnitude of his request and had no idea of its gravity.  In His goodness, God showed Moses mercy. In fact, God clearly stated, “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose” (Exodus 33:19 NLT), and He explained to Moses just how He would do so.

“I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.” – Exodus 33:22 NLT

God promised to protect a sinful man from the unavoidable outcome of standing in the glorious presence of unblemished, undiminished holiness and righteousness.

The prophet Isaiah was another man who was provided the privilege of seeing God in all His glory. This faithful servant of God was given a glimpse into the throne room of God, and immediately after that experience, rather than boasting about his good fortune, Isaiah displayed an abject sense of fear.

“It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” – Isaiah 6:5 NLT

The mercy of God is not to be taken lightly. That the all-glorious God would deem to show mercy and kindness to undeserving humanity should blow us away. It should leave us stunned. Yet, far too many of us treat God’s mercy with an attitude of flippancy and over-familiarity. We have somehow convinced ourselves that we deserve God’s mercy but nothing could be farther from the truth.

“It is not the wretchedness of the creature which causes Him to show mercy, for God is not influenced by things outside of Himself as we are. If God were influenced by the abject misery of leprous sinners, He would cleanse and save all of them. But He does not. Why? Simply because it is not His pleasure and purpose so to do. Still less is it the merits of the creatures which causes Him to bestow mercies upon them, for it is a contradiction in terms to speak of meriting ‘mercy.’” – A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God

Mercy is not something we earn. It is not dispensed by God based on the merit or worthiness of the recipient. It is solely the divine prerogative of God to show mercy upon whomever He chooses to do so. Moses did not deserve to see God’s glory. No, he deserved to come under God’s judgment because he was a sinner, condemned, and unclean, just like all the other Israelites.

It reminds me of the lyrics from the old hymn: I Stand Amazed.

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene
And wonder how He could love me
A sinner, condemned, unclean

The mercy of God should leave us in a state of awe and amazement. Which brings to mind the lyrics of another, even more familiar hymn.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see

What makes God’s mercy so amazing is that He displays it despite man’s sinfulness. The apostle Paul reminds us that God displayed His love for us by sending His Son to die for us. We didn’t deserve it and had done nothing to earn it.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:8 NLT

God didn’t have to show mercy, but He did. What makes this fact so difficult to comprehend and even harder to appreciate is that He did so in the face of mankind’s rebellion against Him. The apostle Paul describes just how bad things were when God made the decision to extend mercy.

“No one is righteous—
    not even one.
No one is truly wise;
    no one is seeking God.
All have turned away;
    all have become useless.
No one does good,
    not a single one.”
“Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
    Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”
   “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“They rush to commit murder.
   Destruction and misery always follow them.
They don’t know where to find peace.”
   “They have no fear of God at all.”  – Romans 3:10-18 NLT

All men deserve to experience God’s righteous wrath, the outpouring of His just judgment for their rejection of Him. Paul goes on to say, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). But then he includes that unbelievable addendum.

“Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” – Romans 3:24 NLT

God showed mercy, which is the withholding of a just condemnation. All have sinned. All have rejected and rebelled against God. All deserve to experience the wrath of God. But “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 4:4-5 ESV).

Paul expanded on this amazing news when he wrote to his young protége, Titus.

…he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. – Titus 3:5 NLT

Our God is amazingly merciful. And His mercies are new every morning. But how easy it is for us to take His mercy for granted or to view His mercy as somehow deserved. But the Puritan writer, Thomas Watson, would have us remember:

“God's mercy is free. To set up merit is to destroy mercy. Nothing can deserve mercy, because we are polluted in our blood; nor force it. We may force God to punish us, but not to love us. I will love them freely.' Hos 14:4. Every link in the chain of salvation is wrought and interwoven with free grace. Election is free. He has chosen us in him, according to the good pleasure of his will.' Eph 1:1. Justification is free. Being justified freely by his grace.' Rom 3:34. Salvation is free. According to his mercy he saved us.' Titus 3:3. Say not then, I am unworthy; for mercy is free. If God should show mercy to such only as are worthy, he would show none at all.” – Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Goodness of God

The goodness of God is not a topic most of us are familiar with or find easy to describe. But it is an essential aspect of God’s character that we tend to give less attention to because of His more impressive-sounding attributes like omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. In our English vernacular, the word “good” sounds a bit underachieving – as in “good, better, best.” To describe something as merely “good” sounds like you’re disappointed or settling for less than the ideal. To describe a meal as being “good” isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.

But when the Scriptures describe God as being good, they are not qualifying His character or comparing Him with anyone or anything else. They are declaring the incomparable kindness, grace, mercy, and goodwill He showers on mankind.

“No one is good except God alone.” – Luke 18:19 ESV

Taste and see that the Lord is good.
    Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! – Psalm 34:8 NLT

For the Lord is good.
    His unfailing love continues forever,
    and his faithfulness continues to each generation. – Psalm 100:5 NLT

God is good and His goodness shows up in the form of unfailing love.

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever. – Psalm 23:6 LT

When David wrote this psalm, he chose to describe God as “good” and used the Hebrew word ṭôḇ (towb). Like many other Hebrew words, this one is rich in meaning. It can be used to refer to something as excellent or the best of the best. It was commonly used to refer to the moral excellence of a person or thing, and it was often used as an antonym for evil (ra'). God is totally and completely good, having no semblance of evil in His character. John described God this way: “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV).

So, the statement “God is good” also speaks of His moral excellence and His complete lack of evil. He is fully righteous, holy, and just in all His ways. As David put it, “The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness” (Psalm 145:17 NLT). To say that God is good means that He always acts in accordance with what is right, true, and good.

God’s way is perfect.
    All the Lord’s promises prove true. – Psalm 18:30 NLT

Everything about God is good.

You are good and do only good… – Psalm 119:68 NLT

All of His actions are motivated and empowered by His goodness. Unlike man, God does not have to work at being good. At no time can God be accused of doing anything “bad” and, therefore, He requires no one to demand that He “be good.” We may not like what God does, but as fallen creatures, we have no right to question His motives or methods.

“He is originally good, good of Himself, which nothing else is; for all creatures are good only by participation and communication from God. He is essentially good; not only good, but goodness itself: the creature’s good is a super-added quality, in God it is His essence. He is infinitely good; the creature’s good is but a drop, but in God there in an infinite ocean or gathering together of good. He is eternally and immutably good, for He cannot be less good than He is; as there can be no addition made to Him, so no subtraction from Him.” – Thomas Manton, Works of Thomas Manton, Vol. VII

God’s inherent goodness is essential to who He is. Consider what it would be like to worship an all-powerful deity who lacked the attribute of goodness. In ancient times, this was exactly the situation in which many pagan nations found themselves. Their kings were powerful and vengeful. They were mighty but lacking in mercy. They were great but not good. Power, devoid of goodness, results in despotism. Sadly, these same pagan people groups found themselves worshiping false gods that carried the same attributes. Any goodness their gods showed was fickle, fleeting, and the result of human effort. But that is not the case with God. A. W. Tozer reminds us that the one true God “is no respecter of persons but makes His sun to shine on the evil as well as on the good, and sends His rain on the just and on the unjust” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy).

The goodness of God goes hand in hand with His power. It is His goodness that allows us to rest in His strength, knowing that He will never use it in a way that is unjust or unrighteous. We may not always like what He does, but the knowledge of His goodness provides us with the assurance that His actions are always right and righteous. While we may not understand His ways, we can trust that His goodness permeates all that He does. There is never a moment when God’s actions are tainted by evil. His intentions and conduct are always good, all the time.

To put it simply, evil is the absence of goodness. It is whatever God is not. When we sin, we are acting in opposition to and in rebellion against the expressed will of God. We are willingly choosing to commit wickedness rather than goodness. Which is exactly what Adam and Eve did in the garden.

When God completed each phase of His creation of the universe, He stated, “It is good.” But when He had made man and woman, He “saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31 ESV). Why? Because He “created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27 ESV). They were the apex of His creative order, designed to be summa cum laude, that which is of highest distinction and worth.

This first man and woman enjoyed the goodness of God, as evidenced by the rest of His creation. They had access to the beauty of the garden. They could satisfy their hunger by eating fruit from any of the trees He had provided (except one). And they could enjoy unbroken fellowship with the one who had made them. But then, sin entered the equation. The evil one tempted them to reject God’s goodness, convincing them that his way was better than God’s. He lied, deceiving them into believing God was holding out on them. He painted God as a cosmic killjoy, withholding from them something they desired and deserved. To convince Adam and Eve to take the bait, he contradicted the very words of God.

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4-5 NLT

Don’t miss that last line. He promised them the capacity to know both “good and evil” – towb and ra’. Up to that point, they had enjoyed only the former, the goodness of God as evidenced by His “good” creation. What Satan was promising them was knowledge of the absence of God. They were about to find out what it was like to live in opposition to and separation from God. After having eaten the forbidden fruit, “the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God” (Genesis 3:8 ESV), and it was just a matter of time before “the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the couple, and at the east of the garden of Eden, he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24-25 ESV).

The goodness of God is the key to life. Sin separates man from God, eliminating access to His presence and resulting in an absence of His goodness. Just a few chapters later in the book of Genesis, we see the sad, but inevitable outcome of a life lived apart from the goodness of God.

The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. – Genesis 6:5 NLT

But we can’t blame God for the sorry state of man’s condition, and it would be wrong to assume that God’s character was somehow tarnished by humanity’s fall from grace. God’s goodness is not diminished just because man’s wickedness flourished. A. W. Pink warns us not to describe the presence of evil as a deficiency in God’s goodness.

“Nor can the benevolence of God be justly called into question because there is suffering and sorrow in the world. If man sins against the goodness of God, if he despises “the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering,” and after the hardness and impenitence of his heart treasurest up unto himself wrath against the day of wrath (Rom 2:4,5), who is to blame but himself? Would God be ‘good’ if He punished not those who ill-use His blessings, abuse His benevolence, and trample His mercies beneath their feet? It will be no reflection upon God’s goodness, but rather the brightest exemplification of it, when He shall rid the earth of those who have broken His laws, defied His authority, mocked His messengers, scorned His Son, and persecuted those for whom He died.” – A. W. Tozer, The Attributes of God

The amazing thing about God’s goodness is that He did not choose to abandon mankind altogether. His goodness, exhibited by His boundless grace and mercy, explains our continued existence. We do not deserve to be here. We have done nothing to earn His favor or to avoid His righteous anger against our sin and open rebellion against Him. Like Adam and Eve, all of us have chosen to listen to the lies of the enemy and yet, God has “overlooked people’s ignorance about these things, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him” (Acts 17:30 NLT).

The apostle Paul reminds us of God's goodness and men's wickedness.

“None is righteous, no, not one;
   no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
    no one does good,
    not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
    they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
   “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
   in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
   “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” – Romans 3:10-18 NLT

But man’s wickedness is counterbalanced by God’s goodness.

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. – Romans 3:23-26 ESV

God’s goodness included His plan to send His Son as the payment for mankind’s sin. That is why He was able to put up with man’s rebellion for so long. He knew what was coming. His good and gracious sovereign plan had always included the sacrifice of His Son so that mankind might once again experience His goodness. And the proper response to His goodness is gratefulness.

“Gratitude is the return justly required from the objects of His beneficence.” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Faithfulness of God

Reliable, steadfast, dependable, and trustworthy are just a few of the words that come to mind when we think of faithfulness. And yet, for many of us, it is difficult to think of an individual who models faithfulness – faithfully. We all have our moments of faithfulness, but they can tend to be shortlived or interspersed with displays of unexpected and even unintended actions that portray us as untrustworthy and unreliable.

Human beings are flawed creatures who must battle daily with the very real effects of sin. We want to be faithful, but too often we find ourselves lacking the inner resolve to stay true to our word, devoted to our relationships, and consistent in our character.

But then there’s God, who is forever faithful.

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. – Deuteronomy 7:9 ESV

If we are unfaithful,
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot deny who he is. – 2 Timothy 3:13 NLT

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning. – Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT

Faithfulness is not an optional outcome or outward display of His character that God chooses to manifest. It is the essence of who He is. He is faithful, and he cannot choose to be otherwise. Faithfulness is not an option for God; it exudes from every pore of His being. The psalmist understood the all-encompassing, non-negotiable nature of God’s faithfulness.

O Lord God of hosts,
    who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
    with your faithfulness all around you? – Psalm 89:8 ESV

A. W. Pink described God’s faithfulness as “one of the glorious perfections of His being. He is as it were clothed with it” (A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God). Like all His other attributes, God’s faithfulness is an inner quality that manifests itself in visible, tangible ways. Displays of His faithfulness are all around us.

For the Lord is a great God,
    and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also. – Psalm 95:3-4 ESV

Here, the psalmist emphasizes God’s power; that ability to create and control the universe. But this passage also speaks of God’s faithfulness. Should he ever stop holding the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains in His hands, the world would cease to exist. God boldly proclaims, “It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order” (Isaiah 48:13 NLT). And He faithfully maintains all that He has made. After God had brought devastation upon the earth through the flood, He promised Noah: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22 ESV).

Then what do we do with a passage like 2 Peter 3:10? In it, Peter seems to paint a different picture of God’s faithfulness, describing a future day when God will destroy the heavens and the earth with fire.

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. – 2 Peter 3:10 NLT

This raises another aspect of God’s faithfulness. He is true to His word. What always does what He says He will do. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. He never fails to follow through with His commitments. His faithfulness extends to the very words that come from His lips.

God is not a man, so he does not lie.
    He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
    Has he ever promised and not carried it through? – Numbers 23:19 NLT

According to the author of Hebrews, “God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you’’” (Hebrews 13:5 NLT). And he didn’t dream up this reassuring aspect of God’s faithfulness. Centuries earlier, Moses told the people of Israel: “The LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT). Years later, God assured Joshua, “I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you” (Joshua 1:5 NLT). And God was good for His word; He did what He said He would do.

But God’s faithfulness to keep His word also includes His warnings of judgment for sin and discipline for disobedience.

“I, the LORD, will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the mighty.” – Isaiah 48:13 NLT

“I correct and discipline everyone I love.” – Revelation 3:19 NLT

God is faithful, even when fulfilling His promises and following through with His warnings. He does not make idle threats. To do so would make Him a liar. Failure to keep His promises would make Him unreliable and unworthy of adoration and praise. Unfaithfulness would render God unholy. An unreliable, untrustworthy God would be no God at all. But our God is fully and completely faithful – all the time.

“Everything about God is great, vast, incomparable. He never forgets, never fails, never falters, never forfeits His word. To every declaration of promise or prophecy the Lord has exactly adhered, every engagement of covenant or threatening He will make good…” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

Faithfulness requires consistency and constancy. To be truly faithful demands an absence of fickleness or capriciousness. Humans have difficulty remaining faithful because they are easily distracted and find their commitments easily blown about like leaves in the wind. Lack of follow-through, unreliability, and broken promises plague fallen mortal men. Trust is in short supply because trustworthy people seem to be few and far between.

But God can always be relied upon; He is constantly consistent in every way. He is always loving, just, righteous, holy, and faithful. No one who has ever placed their trust in God has been let down or disappointed with the results but that doesn’t mean to say they always liked how things turned out. David received God’s anointing to become the next king of Israel. But God didn’t inform David that He would not be removing Saul, the current king, from the throne. This resulted in an immediate conflict between the two men, with Saul becoming jealous of David’s growing popularity. Fearing David would supplant him as king, Saul attempted to kill him, causing David to run for his life. He was forced to spend years living as a fugitive but he never stopped trusting that, one day, God’s promise would be fulfilled.

When God commanded Moses to lead the people of Israel out of captivity in Egypt and into the land of promise, he believed and obeyed. Yet, Moses never set foot in the land of Canaan.

God’s faithfulness is not intended to be a warm and fuzzy, feel-good attribute that assures us that life will be problem-free and happiness-filled. The doctrine of God’s faithfulness is meant to preserve us in those moments when all looks lost and He seems distant. There will be times when we feel it difficult to discern the presence of God. It will appear as if He has vacated the premises and abandoned us to fend for ourselves.

“There are seasons in the lives of all when it is not easy, no not even for Christians, to believe that God is faithful. Our faith is sorely tried, our eyes be dimmed with tears, and we can no longer trace the outworkings of His love. Our ears are distracted with the noises of the world, harassed by the atheistic whisperings of Satan, and we can no longer hear the sweet accents of His still small voice. Cherished plans have been thwarted, friends on whom we relied have failed us, a professed brother or sister in Christ has betrayed us. We are staggered. We sought to be faithful to God, and now a dark cloud hides Him from us. We find it difficult, yea, impossible, for carnal reason to harmonize His frowning providence with His gracious promises.” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

But the truth of God’s faithfulness should bolster us during those moments of doubt and fear. He has not left us. He has not forsaken us. His love for us has not diminished. His strength to save has not decreased. His capacity to care for and comfort us in our time of need remains unchanged. Isaiah would have us keep God’s faithfulness in mind when the darkness surrounds us and doubt begins to overwhelm us.

If you are walking in darkness,
    without a ray of light,
trust in the Lord
    and rely on your God. – Isaiah 50:10 NLT

God would remind us to never judge Him based on our circumstances. It should always be the other way around. The presence of problems is not proof of the absence of God. Our feelings of having been abandoned by God may be real, but they are never true. In those moments, we are operating at a disadvantage; we cannot see what God sees. We do not know what He knows.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

The apostle Paul reiterates the amazing nature of God’s unsurpassed wisdom so that we might find comfort even in the darkest, most difficult-to-understand moments of life.

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! – Romans 11:33 NLT

God is faithful. He is forever faithful. And while we might not understand His ways or like His means, we can trust that God will prove trustworthy and faithful in all His interactions with us.

So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you. – 1 Peter 4:19 NLT

God’s unwavering, unchanging faithfulness should bring us confidence and hope. The knowledge that He is fully and always reliable should cause us to rest in His promises and rely upon His undiminished mercy and grace for us. His plans never fail because His faithfulness never fades.

“Upon God’s faithfulness rests our whole hope of future blessedness. Only as He is faithful will His covenants stand and His promises be honoured. Only as we have complete assurance that He is faithful may we live in peace and look forward with assurance to the life to come.” – A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

All-Powerful, All the Time

In the Book of Revelation, John records a vision he was given of the heavenly throne room.

Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:

“Praise the Lord!
    For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Let us be glad and rejoice,
    and let us give honor to him.” – Revelation 19:6-7 NLT

The Greek word used to describe God in this passage is pantokratōr which is formed from two other Greek words: pas and kratos, which mean “all” and “powerful.” God is the all-powerful one, “he who holds sway over all things; the ruler of all” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon). This idea of God’s supreme and unparalleled power is found throughout the Scriptures.

Then Job replied to the Lord:

“I know that you can do anything,
    and no one can stop you. ” – Job 42:1-2 NLT

The Lord merely spoke,
    and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word,
    and all the stars were born.
He assigned the sea its boundaries
    and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.
Let the whole world fear the Lord,
    and let everyone stand in awe of him.
For when he spoke, the world began!
    It appeared at his command. – Psalm 33:6-9 NLT

“And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” – Luke 1:36-37 ESV

When we, as humans, attempt to discuss the power of God, we are at a distinct disadvantage. As finite creatures, we are well acquainted with personal limitations. We find it difficult to consider something to be all-anything. That little three-letter word “all” conveys the idea of wholeness or completeness and in our fallen world, little, if anything, is ever fully whole or complete. While we might say that a glass or bowl is all full, we know it will not remain that way permanently. Upon completing a task, we might proclaim, “All done.” But we fully know the finished task will likely need to be repeated at some point in the future.

Someone who claims to be all-in regarding a project or endeavor will have his commitment tested somewhere along the way. His assurance of whole-hearted engagement will likely waver, given enough time or the failure of his expectations being met.

We live in a world full of limitations. No one is truly all-knowing. They may know a great deal, but their knowledge is never complete. Someone may appear to have “all the money in the world,” but logic precludes the veracity of that statement. No one can literally possess all the world’s financial resources. And while someone might wield great power, no one is truly all-powerful. Even the world’s most powerful people experience limitations to their control and influence. In this competitive and highly contentious world, no one can ever gain all the power. And the same can be said of fame, money, or time.

Which brings us back to our all-powerful-all-the-time God. Theologians refer to this as God’s omnipotence. The word omnipotent comes from omni- meaning “all” and potent meaning “power.” When used of God’s power, the word “all” is meant to convey the complete and wholly undiminished nature of that power; it is without limits. It never diminishes in intensity. God does not grow tired. In fact, the psalmist states, “he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps” (Psalm 121:4 NLT).

God isn’t just more powerful, extremely powerful, or simply powerful. He is all-powerful.

“The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever His infinite wisdom may direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of His will may resolve...”  – Stephen Charnock, Discourses Upon the Existence and Attributes of God, Volumes 1-2

Notice what Charnock says. God can bring to pass whatever He pleases. God’s power is directly tied to His will. Unlike man, God’s will is limited to wishful thinking. There is never a case when God desires something, but finds Himself lacking the power to make it happen. God has never had to say, “If I only I could….” There has never been an occasion when God was forced to sit back and watch His will go unfulfilled because of a lack of strength.

A. W. Pink states, “He who cannot do what he will and perform all his pleasure cannot be God. As God hath a will to resolve what He deems good, so has He power to execute His will” (A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God).

This idea of God’s unlimited power is essential for understanding and fully appreciating His transcendent nature. God is not a slightly improved or more powerful version of man. He is not a human on steroids but is the infinite Almighty God who spoke the universe into existence.

God’s power was not acquired, developed over time, and is not running out. C. H. Spurgeon put it this way: “God’s power is like Himself, self-existent, self-sustained. The mightiest of men cannot add so much as a shadow of increased power to the Omnipotent One.” The greatest earthly examples of power we can think of are all limited. Niagara Falls, while impressive, is not self-existent or self-sustaining; it has a source, or it would not exist. One day, it will cease to exist. Simply divert the headwaters that provide the source of its power, and the falls will become nothing more than exposed rocks and a dry river bed.

But because God’s power is self-existent, it cannot be diminished or diverted in any way. His power is unmatched in its intensity and irrepressible in its intent.

All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, “What do you mean by doing these things?” – Daniel 4:35 NLT

The LORD does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth… – Psalm 135:5 NLT

It was Job who confessed to God, “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you” (Job 42:2 NLT). And Job argued with his well-meaning, but misinformed friends, “who can turn him back? Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’” (Job 9:12 ESV).

It was Lord Acton who wrote the oft-quoted line, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” But that truism does not apply to God. Because He is holy, just, and righteous in all He does, God’s power cannot be corrupted – even though it is absolute. God is divine and not human, therefore, He is nothing like us, and cannot be measured according to our standards or evaluated based on our limited and sin-influenced perspective.

God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
 – Numbers 23:19 NLT

God’s undiminished and non-constrainable power always accomplishes what He intends. God Himself stated, “My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it” (Isaiah 55:11 BSB).

While we may not fully comprehend or appreciate the extent of God’s power, we all call upon it in our times of greatest need. We love the thought of the all-powerful God putting His unlimited resources at our beck and call. But while God makes His power accessible to us, it does not exist for our good pleasure. He is not our cosmic Genie-in-a-bottle or personal valet. God’s power exists to accomplish His will, not ours. When it comes to our reaction to and relationship with God’s power, A. W. Pink would have us maintain a delicate balance.

“Well may all tremble before such a God! To treat with impudence One who can crush us more easily than we can a moth, is a suicidal policy. To openly defy Him who is clothed with omnipotence, who can rend us in pieces or cast us into Hell any moment He pleases, is the very height of insanity.

“Well may the enlightened soul adore such a God! The wondrous and infinite perfections of such a Being call for fervent worship. If men of might and renown claim the admiration of the world, how much more should the power of the Almighty fill us with wonderment and homage.” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

God’s sovereignty and power go hand in hand; they are inseparably linked and cannot exist independently. “To reign, God must have power, and to reign sovereignty, He must have all power” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy). This all-mighty King rules over all He has made with perfect, undiminished power and while He can be opposed or resisted, He cannot be prevented from accomplishing His divine will.

This aspect of God’s nature should bring us comfort and cause us to rejoice. Our holy, righteous, just, and merciful God is fully capable of accomplishing His will for our lives. He is not limited in any way and cannot be deterred from carrying out His divine plans for His creation or His creatures. As the old song goes, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” 

“Let us affirm what the Bible declares. God is presently on His throne, ruling and reigning as He pleases, absolutely sovereign in His administration over all the works of creation. In no way relieving man of his responsibility to live by faith and obey the Word, God nevertheless remains the one and only true sovereign over heaven and earth.” – Steven J. Lawson, Made In Our Image

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Holy and Wholly Like No Other

The holiness of God is a topic we are all familiar with, but few of us understand. We embrace His holiness cognitively but have difficulty understanding its ramifications for us as humans. Most of us are familiar with the passage, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2 ESV), but that divine command leaves us feeling inadequate and ill-equipped to carry it out.

But the holiness of God is one of the most important doctrines in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, His holiness is recognized and revered by the people of God.

Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy. – Revelation 15:4 ESV

“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” – Exodus 15:11 ESV

You [God] who are of purer eyes than to see evil
    and cannot look at wrong… – Habakuk 1:13 ESV

God is holy. In fact, the seraphim who surround God’s throne describe Him with the repetitive phrase, “Holy, holy, holy!” The prophet Isaiah was given a glimpse of that heavenly scene and provided us with a vivid description of what he saw.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!” – Isaiah 6:1-3 ESV

The apostle John was also allowed to peek behind the heavenly curtain and see the throne room of God. His description is very similar to that of Isaiah.

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is to come!” – Revelation 4:8 ESV

These heavenly creatures weren’t content using one “holy” to describe God. They made sure to use the word three times and to do so without ceasing, day and night. In Greek, this three-fold repetition is called a trihagion, and it was a common literary and linguistic tool used by the Hebrews to provide emphasis and force to a statement. It was like saying, “God is super holy” or “He is holier than holy.”

But what does it mean to say that God is holy? As stated earlier, we’re familiar with the word, but do we fully understand the significance of what it says about God? In some ways, the word holy has become overly familiar to us. Yet biblically, holiness is considered one of the primary and self-defining attributes of God. Tony Evans defines God’s holiness as “His intrinsic and transcendent purity; His standard of righteousness to which the whole universe must conform” (Tony Evans, Theology You Can Count On).

The Hebrew word used most often to describe God’s holy nature is qodesh, and it means “set-apartness” or “separateness.” God is unique and without equal. But it’s not just that God is one-of-a-kind; His holiness is tied to His purity. So, it’s not enough to say that God is different or distinct in nature. What makes Him different is that He is holy – thoroughly righteous, without sin, and intrinsically pure in every way. He is the Holy One. As A. W. Pink puts it, “He is so because the sum of all moral excellency is found in Him. He is absolute Purity, unsullied even by the shadow of sin” (A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God).

But there is more to God’s holiness than His moral perfection. When the seraphim shout “holy, holy, holy,” they are declaring more than His sinlessness. And they are not simply stating His separateness. There is no doubt that God stands alone, having no equal and being incapable of duplication or emulation. Men may have been created in God’s image, but that doesn’t make men gods. God remains set apart and distinctly different from all that He has made. Which means He is transcendent.

“When we speak of the transcendence of God, we are talking about that sense in which God is above and beyond us. Transcendence describes His supreme and absolute greatness. The word is used to describe God’s relationship to the world. He is higher than the world. He has absolute power over the world. The world has no power over Him. Transcendence describes God in His consuming majesty, His exalted loftiness. It points to the infinite distance that separates Him from every creature. He is an infinite cut above everything else.” – R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God

To consider and treat God as holy is to revere Him for who He is. It is to acknowledge His infinite greatness and incomparable otherness. “God’s holiness unlocks the door to understanding and making sense out of everything else about Him. This attribute infiltrates all the other attributes” (Tony Evans, Theology You Can Count On).

To treat God as holy is to recognize and revere His otherness – His set-apartness. It is to lift up and celebrate His extraordinariness. But if, in our attitudes and actions towards Him, we give the impression that He is ordinary in any way, we profane His character and defame His holy name.

When God consecrated Aaron and his sons to serve as priests before Him, He commanded them “to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean” (Leviticus 10:10 ESV). Later on, God would give a similar command to the Levitical priests: “They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean” (Ezekiel 44:23 ESV). They were to teach the people about what God meant by holiness or set-apartness. The tabernacle was to be considered holy. The sabbath was to be treated as holy. They were to be a holy nation. God had set them apart for His service. They belonged to Him. And their lives were to reflect their unique status as His chosen people.

But back to God and His holiness. Unlike the Tabernacle or the sabbath, God has not been set apart by someone else. He simply is set apart. He didn’t have to be consecrated, He always has been. God stands completely apart from the rest of the created order. Whether we are talking about angels or atoms, planets or people, there is nothing that compares with God.

That is why it is why considering God as common or ordinary is one of the greatest sins a human can commit. Even worse yet is the audacity to treat God as non-existent. The great King David described the idiocy of discounting the existence of God.

Only fools say in their hearts,
    “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
    not one of them does good!

The Lord looks down from heaven
    on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
    if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away;
    all have become corrupt.
No one does good,
    not a single one! – Psalm 14:1-3 NLT

How stupid can you be? And yet, we all have moments in our lives when we act as if God does not exist. We fail to acknowledge Him. We refuse to turn to Him. Rather than go to Him for strength, help, and hope, we ignore Him, relying on our own power, or placing our trust in someone or something else. God becomes a second or third-tier option on our list of saviors, just another common and pedestrian source of potential rescue.

During the period of the judges, God got fed up with Israel’s propensity to treat Him as ordinary rather than extraordinary. They had treated Him with disdain, acting as if He was no more set apart and holy than all the gods of the Canaanites. So, when they found themselves in trouble and called out to Him, He decided to refuse their cries for help.

“Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not rescue you anymore. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress!” – Judges 10;13-14 NLT

If they weren’t willing to treat God as extraordinary and holy, they could seek help from one of their many false gods. Yahweh was not willing to play second fiddle to some pagan deity. And He wasn’t going to allow His people to treat Him as some ordinary, run-of-the-mill God. He was God Almighty, the Holy One.

When Isaiah was given the privilege of seeing the throne room of heaven and catching a glimpse of the seraphim pronouncing the holiness of God, he was awestruck and filled with fear. He was seeing the unimaginable and incomprehensible.  He describes the impact this vision had on him.

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” – Isaiah 6:4-5 ESV

Witnessing the holiness of God was too much for him. In the presence of the all-powerful, perfectly pure God of the universe, Isaiah was immediately struck with his own sin and insignificance. He was nothing when compared to God, the Holy One. In the presence of unblemished purity, Isaiah recognized his own sinful state and his unworthiness to stand before the throne of God. But, amazingly, the Holy God did a wholly unexpected thing.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” – Isaiah 6:5-7 ESV

The holy and wholly righteous God of the universe graciously atoned for Isaiah’s sins, setting him apart for His own use. And when God asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”, Isaiah responded, “Here I am! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8 ESV). And the Holy One simply said, “Go!”

Understanding God’s holiness is essential to our own usefulness. Until we fall on our knees before Him in awe of His holiness and in recognition of our own sinfulness, we will never be awed by His amazing grace. That the set-apart One would set us apart for His use should leave us stunned and yet stammering the words of Isaiah, “Here I am! Send me.”

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Sovereign Over All

God rules the universe and all it contains with absolute power and authority. That is the essence of the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. He is not only all-knowing (omniscient) but all-powerful (omnipotent), and because God is spirit, His presence is all-pervasive (omnipresent). In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet records God’s words concerning His sovereignty.

“Only I can tell you the future
    before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
    for I do whatever I wish.” – Isaiah 46:10 NLT

The prophet Daniel provides further insight into the incomparable power and authority that marks God’s sovereign reign over all He has made.

His rule is everlasting,
    and his kingdom is eternal.
All the people of the earth
    are nothing compared to him.
He does as he pleases
    among the angels of heaven
    and among the people of the earth.
No one can stop him or say to him,
    “What do you mean by doing these things?” – Daniel 4:34-35 NLT

According to Dictionary.com, sovereignty is “the quality or state of being sovereign, or of having supreme power or authority.” A “sovereign” is “a person who has supreme power or authority.” So, when we talk about the sovereignty of God, we’re referring to His absolute rule, control, and authority over everything He has created, including the affairs of men. A. W. Pink describes it as “the exercise of His supremacy.”

“He is the Most High, Lord of heaven and earth. Subject to none, influence by none, absolutely independent; God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. None can thwart Him, none can hinder Him.” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

The word “sovereignty” is not commonly used today. When we hear it, we tend to think of kings and queens, those royal personages from ancient history who wielded great power and influence over nation-states and the citizens who comprised them. These privileged individuals, most of whom owed their position to the practice of hereditary succession, enjoyed tremendous influence and reigned over vast kingdoms. Unlike Britain’s modern-day royal family, these ancient heads of state were much more than mere figureheads. They were the supreme rulers over their domains, operating under the political doctrine known as the divine right of kings “which asserted that kings derived their authority from God and could not therefore be held accountable for their actions by any earthly authority” (Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "divine right of kings". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Jun. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/divine-right-of-kings. Accessed 2 August 2024).

Under this doctrine, kings and queens wielded absolute power and the authority to demand unwavering allegiance from their subjects. It didn’t matter whether they were a good king or a bad one. Even an evil queen fully expected the citizens of her kingdom to submit to her will and obey her decrees. To fail to do so would be considered a display of insubordination at best or, at worst, an act of outright insurrection.

As the sovereign God of the universe, God does not derive His power or authority from anyone else. He does not operate according to a political doctrine or legal principle derived by men. He does not have a divine cabinet or administrative branch from which He seeks counsel or advice. He is not subject to censure or the threat of removal or replacement. Because God is eternal, His sovereign reign has no beginning or end; it is everlasting in nature.  

One of the names for God in the Scriptures is “God Almighty” or El Shaddai in Hebrew. It most likely means “God, the All-powerful One,” and refers to His ultimate power over anything and everything. In other words, He is all-powerful. And yet, that power is not limited to His physical capacity to accomplish great feats of strength. Yes, He can perform acts of unparalleled might, but His sovereignty includes the authority by which He does so. God has the right to use His power and always does so in a just and righteous way.

The Lord is righteous in everything he does… - Psalm 145:17 NLT

As for God, His way is perfect… – Psalm 18:30 BSB

He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! – Deuteronomy 32:4 NLT

Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments. – Psalm 119:137 NLT

As the sovereign King of the universe, God is in complete control of all things. And that authority has not been granted to Him by some outside or greater force. There is nothing greater than God. In the book of Isaiah, He declares His unchallenged authority in no uncertain terms.

“I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God…” – Isaiah 45:5 ESV

As stated earlier, God answers to no one. He has no board of directors or parliament to whom He must report or from whom He must seek permission or approval.

“Divine sovereignty means that God is God in fact, as well as in name, that He is on the Throne of the universe, directing all things, working all things ‘after the counsel of His own will’ (Ephesians 1:11)” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

God does what He pleases. That phrase can either encourage or enrage us. It can create in us a sense of peace and calm as we consider the unstoppable nature of His divine will. Yet, for some, the thought of God’s will going unchallenged creates a sense of fear or infuriation as we consider what we believe to be the loss of our own rights.

“God reigns over all His creation, governing and guiding all things to their divinely appointed end. Although, from a human perspective, it may appear otherwise, He is in charge of the universe, exercising absolute control over all things. As our sovereign Lord, He does always as He pleases, only as He pleases, and all that He pleases.” – Steve, J. Lawson, Made In Our Image: What Shall We Do with a “User-Friendly” God?

For some of us, Steve Lawson’s quote paints a picture of God that we find to be disturbing rather than comforting. And it’s most likely because we want to be the master of our fate and the captain of our soul. We don’t mind God getting His way as long as it doesn’t interfere with our plans.

“The god of American popular culture is an indulgent heavenly spirit who is little threat to our lifestyles and luxuries – a god consistent with a consumer culture and rampant immorality. This god might wish that human beings would behave, but he is powerless when they do not.” – Albert Mohler, Foreward to Made In Our Image: What Shall We Do with a “User-Friendly” God?

We like the idea of God being all-powerful, but only as long as that power is at our disposal to do as we see fit. But that’s not how it works. The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, reminding them that we exist for God’s glory, not the other way around. Contrary to popular opinion, God isn’t our personal valet or servant. He created us, not the other way around.

…yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. – 1 Corinthians 8:6 ESV

We exist because God chose it to be so, and we exist for Him. All of creation was intended to bring glory to God as it evidenced “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20 ESV). Even fallen humanity brings glory to God as He exercises His sovereign will over their lives. There is nothing that happens outside His purview or without His permission. And that should bring His children a sense of peace, confidence, and security.

“Toward all this God is moving with infinite wisdom and prefect precision of action. No one can dissuade Him from His purposes; nothing turn Him aside from His plans. Since He is omniscient, there can be no unforeseen circumstances, no accidents. As He is sovereign, there can be no countermanded orders, no breakdown in authority; and as He is omnipotent, there can be no want of power to achieve His chosen ends. God is sufficient unto Himself for all these things.” – A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

The sovereignty of God is a deep subject. but its application is quite simple. We have a God who is all-powerful and in full control, no matter how things may appear. Circumstances may give the impression that all is lost, the future is bleak, and there is nothing anyone can do to mitigate the problem. But the apostle Paul would beg to differ. He boldly claimed, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 ESV). This was not a pride-filled boast or a case of wishful thinking. Paul prefaced this optimistic statement with a very honest disclosure of his own personal life journey.

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. – Philippians 4:11-12 ESV

It didn’t matter what Paul faced, he was content because he knew his God was sovereign over every aspect of his life – the good and the bad. That’s why Paul encouraged the believers in Rome to cling to the sovereignty of God, no matter what they encountered in this life.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39 ESV

The sovereignty of God is meant to encourage us. The fact that our God is holy, just, righteous, and true in all that He does is what makes His sovereign will not only acceptable but preferable.

“There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children ought more earnestly to contend than the doctrine of their Master over all creation—the kingship of God over all the works of His own hands—the throne of God and His right to sit upon that throne.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Sermons Vol. 2, 1856

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Our All-Knowing God

Growing in our knowledge of God can be difficult because it requires us to wrestle with complex and sometimes confusing issues. The God who created the entire universe ex nihilo (out of nothing) is neither simple nor simplistic. He cannot be easily explained or understood, and the complexity of His nature leaves fallen humanity perplexed and prone to create its own finite portrait of the infinite.

In our quest to gain a proper and more well-rounded understanding of God, we begin with one of His many attributes that truly sets Him apart from us: His knowledge. The Scriptures make it clear that God is lacking in nothing, including His understanding and awareness of all things.

He reveals deep and mysterious things
    and knows what lies hidden in darkness,
    though he is surrounded by light. – Daniel 2:22 NLT

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. – Hebrews 4:13 NLT

…for the Lord is a God of knowledge… – 1 Samuel 2:3 ESV

God knows everything. This attribute of God is what the theologians refer to as His omniscience, which simply means “all knowing” (omni = all; science = knowledge). To be omniscient is to have “complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding; to perceive all things” (Dictionary.com).

So, we begin our quest to know God with the mind-blowing concept that He knows everything. Unlike us, He never requires instruction because He has no gaps in His knowledge. There is nothing He does not already know – fully and completely. He has perfect and comprehensive knowledge of the past, present, and, amazingly, the future. God knows what is going to take place before it happens; something theologians refer to as His foreknowledge. But more about that later.

God’s knowledge is so great that He knows the thoughts of every single human being. King David was understandably blown away by this idea. He confessed to God, “…you have examined my heart and know everything about me” (Psalm 139:1 NLT). He knew that God knew. There was nothing about his life that was hidden from God’s all-knowing gaze. In fact, David went on to acknowledge the full extent of God’s knowledge of him.

You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. – Psalm 139:4 NLT

David is not suggesting that God has premonitions about the future. The Almighty doesn’t prognosticate or predict what David might say; He knows the exact words that will flow from David’s mouth before David has even had time to process them in his own brain. This mind-boggling confession of God’s pervasive and invasive knowledge of our thought life might leave us unsettled but, for David, it was comforting.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me! – Psalm 139:17-18 NLT

David was blown away by the idea of being so deeply and intimately known by God. He found comfort in the fact that God’s knowledge could penetrate the thoughts of men and the darkness of night. David went on to admit, “I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you” (Psalm 139:11-12 NLT).

There is nothing you can hide from God. There is nowhere you can go where His divine gaze cannot find you. According to Jesus, God’s knowledge of you is so complete that “the very hairs on your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30 NLT). He knows each and every detail about you. From the number of hairs on your head to the thoughts of your heart.

The Lord keeps you from all harm
    and watches over your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
    both now and forever. – Psalm 121:7-8 NLT

One of the amazing things to consider about God’s omniscience is that He can never be surprised or caught off guard. On no occasion has God ever had to say, “How did that happen?” He is never enlightened or informed by news He didn’t already know. Our prayers do not bring God up to speed about our needs or the desires of our hearts. He already knows. We don’t pray to inform God; we pray to hear from God. Prayer is meant to remind us of His greatness and goodness and our complete dependency upon Him for all we need. Prayer has less to do with getting the things we want from God than getting to know God and allowing Him to give us what we truly need.

David alluded to the fact that God knows in advance everything that is going to happen. This is that aspect of His omniscience known as foreknowledge. In Greek, the term for “foreknowledge” is prognōsis. It comes from the Greek word pro, which means “before” and the Greek word ginōskō, which means “know.” The idea is that God has prior knowledge about all events. He “knows before.”  It expresses the idea of knowing reality before it is manifested and events before they occur.

Because God is divine, He is not bound by time and space. Past, present, and future are all the same to Him. He exists outside of time, so He can look into and perceive the future as easily as He does the past. That is why we find so much prophetic content in the Bible. God’s foreknowledge allows Him to see and know all that will happen as if it has already taken place. He told the prophet Isaiah, “I will tell you the future before it happens” (Isaiah 42:9 NLT).

God doesn’t predict the future, He pronounces it beforehand. He isn’t forced to respond to events as they happen. No, He has already predetermined His response to any and every circumstance because He knew in advance. Again, God assured the prophet Isaiah of His unparalleled foreknowledge.

“I am the First and the Last;
    there is no other God.
Who is like me?
    Let him step forward and prove to you his power.
Let him do as I have done since ancient times
    when I established a people and explained its future.” – Isaiah 44:6-7 NLT

“For I alone am God!
    I am God, and there is none like me.
Only I can tell you the future
    before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
    for I do whatever I wish.” – Isaiah 46:9-10 NLT

But God’s foreknowledge is far more than an ability to see into the future and perceive what is going to happen. If this superpower allows God to see future events in advance, it would make sense for Him to prevent some of them from happening. If God could have seen the rise of Nazi Germany, He could have kept it from taking place. But He didn’t. So, we must conclude that God either ordained or allowed the events of WWII to come about. In His foreknowledge, God told Abraham about the future fate of his descendants.

“Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.” – Genesis 15:13 ESV

Hundreds of years later, the Israelites found themselves living as slaves in Egypt, just as God had foreseen and foretold. We may not understand God’s ways. We may not even like how things turn out. But we should find comfort in the fact that God knows all things and He knows what He is doing at all times. His foreknowledge is a true “knowing” of what will come to pass, based on His free choice. He actually decrees what will come to pass. That means that His foreknowledge is far more than an intellectual awareness of future events. It conveys the idea of His sovereign control over all things. Foreknowledge is equivalent to foreordination in that God ordains or orders all that will be.

There is an intimacy to God’s foreknowledge that should bring comfort to His children. Because, according to the New Testament, God’s foreknowledge is always directed at people, not events.

“The fact is that ‘foreknowledge’ is never used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it always has reference to persons. It is persons God is said to ‘foreknow,’ not the actions of those persons.” – A. W. Pink, Attributes of God

The apostle Paul puts it this way: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29 NLT). Peter adds: “God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy” (1 Peter 1:2 NLT).

Paul went on to remind the believers in Ephesus, “…we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance” (Ephesians 1:11 NLT). There is a deliberateness to God’s actions in these passages. He is not responding to things as they happen but is ordaining their occurrence from eternity past. His foreknowledge is tied to His foreordination. He foreknows because He has foreordained. God is not looking through His magic mirror and seeing future events before they take place. He is describing what He already knows because He has already declared it to be so.

There is much about this aspect of God’s nature that makes us uncomfortable. It raises all kinds of issues concerning the sovereignty of God and the free will of men. If misunderstood, it can leave us viewing mankind as nothing more than helpless marionettes being manipulated by the divine puppetmaster. But if we relegate the knowledge of God to some kind of passive cognition of future events, He becomes all-knowing, but not all-powerful. He has intelligence but lacks influence. But “God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be” (A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God).

As difficult as this doctrine is to understand, it is meant to reveal the power and preeminence of God. He is like no other. He is not some distant, disconnected deity, looking down from the lofty heights of heaven and watching as His creation winds down like some kind of cosmic clock. God is not a spectator, viewing events as they transpire and forced to respond in time. He is intellectually informed about every aspect of our lives because He has ordained them. And He is intimately involved in every area of our lives because He has a plan for us that was in place long before we even existed.

And this knowledge of God’s knowledge of us should leave us echoing the words of David:

You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed. – Psalm 139:16 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Most Important Thing About You

 What do you know about God? If someone asked you to describe your understanding of who God is and how He operates in the world, what would you tell them? It was A. W. Tozer who wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us" (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy). But far too often, we think far too little about God. Even when He comes to mind our thoughts about Him can be inaccurate or simply incomplete.

Tozer goes on to say, “It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy).

So, the question before us is “What is the nature of our God?” This is not the kind of question one should take lightly because the answer will reveal much about an individual’s moral well-being. Our view of God is the lens through which we view and understand the world. Once again, Tozer provides insight into this matter.

“…no people has ever risen about its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy)

Determining our view of God is a worthy exercise that will pay dividends in the future. It will force us to face our errant ideas about the Almighty and bring them into alignment with what the Scriptures have to say about Him. Interestingly, God’s Word is one of the places where humanity is encouraged to question His identity and character.

To whom then will you liken God,
    or what likeness compare with him? – Isaiah 40:18 ESV

“To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?” – Isaiah 46:5 ESV

Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? – Exodus 15:11 ESV

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? – Micah 7:18 ESV

If we’re honest, there is much about God of which we are ignorant or, perhaps, indifferent. Some of us have known Him for decades but, if put to the test, there would be little we could share that could give evidence that we knew Him intimately. So much of what we know about God is academic in nature, a compilation of disconnected bits of information that bear little resemblance to the one true God.

If I asked you if you knew the President of the United States, you would probably respond by telling me his name. If pressed, you could probably tell me the year he was elected, his political party affiliation, his wife’s name, and your personal assessment of his administration’s policies and programs. Your knowledge of him would have been gleaned from news reports, the op-ed section of the local paper, and from the opinions of others. You would have had no personal encounters with him. No one-on-one conversations would have taken place between the two of you. Any claim to truly know him would be a stretch of the imagination.

Sadly, it’s likely that the average Christian has more familiarity with the Commander-in-Chief of our nation than they do with God. Some of us spend far more time keeping up with the Kardashians than we do with the Creator God. We live in the information age, a time when access to knowledge about virtually any topic or individual is at our fingertips. And yet, we suffer from a lack of intimacy with and intelligence about God.

The goal of this series of posts is to help us get to know our God better. To do so, we will explore the attributes of God that He alone possesses. As the verses above so clearly state, our God is without equal and totally incomparable. He is not one among many; He is the solitary and sovereign God of the universe whose power, knowledge, and all-pervading presence are unparalleled and non-reproducible. God can be mimicked but never matched. He is, to put it mildly, one of a kind. Yet, how easy it is to treat Him with a familiarity that borders on contempt.

To know God. That was the divinely ordained objective when God created Adam and Eve in the garden. They were made so that they might enjoy unbroken fellowship and undiminished intimacy with Him. But sin changed all that. Because the first man and woman chose to disobey God, they were banned from His presence. They found themselves cast from the garden and operating in isolation far from the one who had made them. And with each succeeding generation, humanity moved further and further away from the garden and, at the same time, far from the presence of God.

But God still desires for men to know Him, not just cognitively but intimately and personally. As the apostle Paul points out, God has revealed Himself in the universe He created. He has placed signs of His presence and proofs of His character all around us. Yet, most of humanity has remained blind to the evidence and oblivious concerning the God to whom it points.

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:19-23 NLT

Despite the sobering nature of Paul’s words, the prophet Jeremiah points out that God still longs for mankind to know Him, and he intimates that this relationship with God is not only possible but preferable.

This is what the Lord says:
“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,
    or the powerful boast in their power,
    or the rich boast in their riches.
But those who wish to boast
    should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
    who demonstrates unfailing love
    and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Jeremiah 9:23-24 NLT

God is knowable but He is also irreplicable. There is nothing in all creation that remotely resembles Him. Even men, who are made in the image of God, are not mini versions of God. We can reflect His glory but are incapable of sharing it.  Even in His thought processes, God remains distinctly different from humanity.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT

Yet, we tend to view God as little more than a slightly more powerful version of ourselves. Because of the finite nature of our minds, we are incapable of fully grasping the “otherness” of God. Unable to comprehend His transcendence, we try to transform the incomparable God into a new and improved version of ourselves. The psalmist alludes to this common misconception when he quotes God’s assessment of man’s dumbing down of His divine image.

“…you thought that I was one like yourself.” - Psalm 50:21 ESV

The French agnostic, Voltaire is reported to have said, “God created man in His own image, and man returned the favor.” And his rather sarcastic statement supports what Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans.

…they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:21-23 NLT

Failure to know and recognize God for who He is creates a vacuum in the soul of man that must be filled. When we neglect a proper understanding of God, we end up with false views of His character. We fabricate our own version of Him, leaving us with an emasculated, impotent deity who looks nothing like the God of the Bible.

Psalm 97:9 describes God as “most high over all the earth” and as “exalted far above all gods.” He is transcendent. That simply means that He is totally distinct from all that He has made. He cannot be reproduced and there is nothing that remotely mirrors His likeness. Psalm 99:2 adds that God “is exalted over all the peoples.” Men are not mini-gods. Being made in His image does not infer that we resemble God. That is why Isaiah 40:18 asks the rhetorical question: “To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?” The answer is “No one and nothing!” God alone is God.

God needs nothing. He has no lack or insufficiencies. He requires no complement or counterpart to complete Himself. He did not create humanity because He was lonely or needed companionship. Nothing was missing in God’s character; His being is whole and holy. The apostle John reminds us, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). Timothy adds, “He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16 BSB).

Yet, God has made Himself known to men. He has displayed His divine attributes through the universe He has made. We are surrounded by the evidence of His power, glory, wisdom, creativity, grace, mercy, and love. Our very existence is proof that He exists. Even man, with his vast knowledge and scientific discoveries, has been unable to explain the universe's existence. Our most educated and well-reasoned theories are little more than shots in the dark.

In the book of Job, we have recorded the words of God as He confronts the arrogance and audacity of mere humans who question His will and His work.

“Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy?

“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’” – Job 38:2-11 NLT

Man has no business questioning God or trying to explain the existence of the universe apart from God. Everything, both the invisible and the visible, exists by the expressed will of God. He spoke and it came into being, and all that He made God reveals His glory and greatness. But that points out one of the most important aspects of God’s nature. He must reveal Himself to man to be known by man. Humanity cannot discover God on its own. Left to his own devices, no man would even attempt to find God. According to the apostle Paul, “no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:11 ESV), and his assessment echoes the words of David.

God looks down from heaven
    on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
    if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away;
    all have become corrupt. – Psalm 53:2-3 NLT

Amazingly enough, this transcendent, invisible, and unfathomable God has chosen to reveal Himself to man. And we will see more of His divine attributes on display as we continue our quest to know God better.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.