Majesty of God
“The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.” Psalm 93:1-2
“I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.” Psalm 145:5
“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” 2 Peter 1:16
The word majesty, when applied to God, is always a declaration of his greatness and an invitation to worship.
“Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments." Psalm 48:11
“For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.” O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker." Psalm 95:3,6
The Christian’s instincts of trust and worship are stimulated very powerfully by knowledge of the greatness of God.
Psalms 139
“O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
After drawing our attention to the majesty of God, J.I. Packer concludes: "Living becomes an awesome business when you realize that you spend every moment of your life in the sight and company of an omniscient, omnipresent Creator. Nor is this all. The all seeing God is also God Almighty, the resources of whose power are already revealed to me by the amazing complexity of my own physical body, which He made for me. Here, then, is the first step in apprehending the greatness of God; to realize how unlimited are his wisdom, and his presence, and his power."
Monday, November 3, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
God - All-Powerful, All-Knowing
Omnipotence of God
Infinite in power, having all power.
Alexander Whyte in his "Exposition of the Shorter Catechism" comments as follows:
"God is often spoken of as the Almighty or the Omnipotent. The word Almighty conveys three ideas: that God is omnipotent, His dominion universal, and His essence infinite.
God’s power is limited only by the workings of His will. He doth not work all things that He might work.
God doth not show Himself omnipotent by doing all that He can do, but everything that He does do He shows an Almighty power in it."
Omniscience of God
"God possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to learn. But it is more: it is to say that God has never learned and cannot learn.
God perfectly knows Himself and, being the source of and author of all things, it follows that He knows all that can be known. And this He knows instantly and with a fullness of perfection that includes every possible item of knowledge concerning everything that exists or could have existed anywhere in the universe at any time in the past or that may exist in the centuries or ages yet unborn.
God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creature hood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven and hell.
God is everywhere here, close to everything, next to everyone.
God is immanent in His creation, that there is no place in heaven or earth or hell where men may hide from His presence.
God is present, near him, next to him, and this God sees him and knows him through and through. At this point faith begins, and while it may go on to include a thousand other wonderful truths these all refer back to the truth that God is, and God is here."
The above quote was taken from A.W. Tozer's excellent book "Knowledge of the Holy."
Herbert Stevenson, in "Titles of the Triune God" made the following observations regarding the Omniscience of God and what that means to us personally.
"God knows us altogether; nothing is hid from the Lord.
“O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off." Psalms 139:1-2
While this is a sobering realization, it is also wonderously reassuring to His true children - God being such an One as He is!
“Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;" Psalms 33:18
He knows too all the inequalities and vicissitudes of life, and will vindicate righteousness and judge iniquity.
“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." 1 Peter 3:12
“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psalm 32:8
Here, such an intimacy of relationship and constancy of fellowship with God is suggested, that the mere glance of His eye is enough to indicate the way in which He would have us to."
Infinite in power, having all power.
Alexander Whyte in his "Exposition of the Shorter Catechism" comments as follows:
"God is often spoken of as the Almighty or the Omnipotent. The word Almighty conveys three ideas: that God is omnipotent, His dominion universal, and His essence infinite.
God’s power is limited only by the workings of His will. He doth not work all things that He might work.
God doth not show Himself omnipotent by doing all that He can do, but everything that He does do He shows an Almighty power in it."
Omniscience of God
"God possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to learn. But it is more: it is to say that God has never learned and cannot learn.
God perfectly knows Himself and, being the source of and author of all things, it follows that He knows all that can be known. And this He knows instantly and with a fullness of perfection that includes every possible item of knowledge concerning everything that exists or could have existed anywhere in the universe at any time in the past or that may exist in the centuries or ages yet unborn.
God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creature hood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven and hell.
God is everywhere here, close to everything, next to everyone.
God is immanent in His creation, that there is no place in heaven or earth or hell where men may hide from His presence.
God is present, near him, next to him, and this God sees him and knows him through and through. At this point faith begins, and while it may go on to include a thousand other wonderful truths these all refer back to the truth that God is, and God is here."
The above quote was taken from A.W. Tozer's excellent book "Knowledge of the Holy."
Herbert Stevenson, in "Titles of the Triune God" made the following observations regarding the Omniscience of God and what that means to us personally.
"God knows us altogether; nothing is hid from the Lord.
“O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off." Psalms 139:1-2
While this is a sobering realization, it is also wonderously reassuring to His true children - God being such an One as He is!
“Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;" Psalms 33:18
He knows too all the inequalities and vicissitudes of life, and will vindicate righteousness and judge iniquity.
“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." 1 Peter 3:12
“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psalm 32:8
Here, such an intimacy of relationship and constancy of fellowship with God is suggested, that the mere glance of His eye is enough to indicate the way in which He would have us to."
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Eternity anf Infinitude of God
Eternity of God
God is endless.
Absolute everlastingness.
His continuance is from everlasting to everlasting, and knows neither beginning nor end….
Out of this we gather that only God has true immortality or eternity.
A.W. Tozer writes in Knowledge of the Holy, that
"Time marks the beginning of created existence, and because God never began to exist it can have no application to Him. God lives in an everlasting now, He has no past and no future.
When time words occur in the Scriptures they refer to our time, not to His.
God dwells in eternity but time dwells in God.
That God appears at time’s beginning is not too difficult to comprehend, but that he appears at the beginning and end of time simultaneously is not so easy to grasp; yet it is true. For God everything that will happen has already happened. He sees the end and the beginning in one view.
Since God is eternal, He can be and continue forever to be the one safe home for His time-driven children."
God’s Infinitude
Limitless, He knows no bounds, He is measureless
Without limit or boundary.
We cannot cross a line and say,
“Wow here God is not; here is a limit which He has not passed, and cannot pass;”
“Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?
Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:23, 24
“O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell,
behold, thou art there.” Psalm 139:1, 5-8
This attribute rightly reflected on, will always awaken adoration and godly fear.
A. W. Tozer comments on the infinitude of God as follows,
"Because God’s nature is infinite, everything that flows out of it is infinite also.
God is without growth or addition or development. Nothing in God is less or more, or large or small. He is what He is in Himself. Without qualifying thought or word. He is simply God.
For God time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years. God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work.
For those out of Christ, time is a devouring beast; before the sons of the new creation time crouches and purrs and licks their hands. The foe of the old human race becomes the friend of the new.
In God there is life enough for all and time enough to enjoy it."
This awesome and amazing God has chosen to reveal Himself to us, to you and me.
We could never have come to understand or even imagine the existence of such a glorious God on our own - being spiritually blind and dead in our sins we would have been forever lost and undone - yet the Most High God stooped down and made Himself known to us.
How can we spend the time He has given us seeking after everything but Him?
After receiving even the tiniest glimpse of who He is, how can we keep from longing to know, love and experience Him more?
Our hearts cannot contain such wondrous longings. How can we not, with our whole being, cry out in worship and adoration of our Great God?
God is endless.
Absolute everlastingness.
His continuance is from everlasting to everlasting, and knows neither beginning nor end….
Out of this we gather that only God has true immortality or eternity.
A.W. Tozer writes in Knowledge of the Holy, that
"Time marks the beginning of created existence, and because God never began to exist it can have no application to Him. God lives in an everlasting now, He has no past and no future.
When time words occur in the Scriptures they refer to our time, not to His.
God dwells in eternity but time dwells in God.
That God appears at time’s beginning is not too difficult to comprehend, but that he appears at the beginning and end of time simultaneously is not so easy to grasp; yet it is true. For God everything that will happen has already happened. He sees the end and the beginning in one view.
Since God is eternal, He can be and continue forever to be the one safe home for His time-driven children."
God’s Infinitude
Limitless, He knows no bounds, He is measureless
Without limit or boundary.
We cannot cross a line and say,
“Wow here God is not; here is a limit which He has not passed, and cannot pass;”
“Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?
Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 23:23, 24
“O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell,
behold, thou art there.” Psalm 139:1, 5-8
This attribute rightly reflected on, will always awaken adoration and godly fear.
A. W. Tozer comments on the infinitude of God as follows,
"Because God’s nature is infinite, everything that flows out of it is infinite also.
God is without growth or addition or development. Nothing in God is less or more, or large or small. He is what He is in Himself. Without qualifying thought or word. He is simply God.
For God time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years. God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work.
For those out of Christ, time is a devouring beast; before the sons of the new creation time crouches and purrs and licks their hands. The foe of the old human race becomes the friend of the new.
In God there is life enough for all and time enough to enjoy it."
This awesome and amazing God has chosen to reveal Himself to us, to you and me.
We could never have come to understand or even imagine the existence of such a glorious God on our own - being spiritually blind and dead in our sins we would have been forever lost and undone - yet the Most High God stooped down and made Himself known to us.
How can we spend the time He has given us seeking after everything but Him?
After receiving even the tiniest glimpse of who He is, how can we keep from longing to know, love and experience Him more?
Our hearts cannot contain such wondrous longings. How can we not, with our whole being, cry out in worship and adoration of our Great God?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Self-Existence and Self-Sufficiency of God
Self-existence of God
God has no origin, He is an eternal Being.
“I AM THAT I AM” Exodus 3:14
God is the ever living One the fountain of all life. Stephen Charnock, in his work, “The Existence and Attributes of God” says the following:
“ God hath life in himself. (John 5:26)
He hath life by his essence.
He hath unlimited life.
He hath life in himself; all creatures have their life in him and from him.
He that hath life in himself doth necessarily exist, and could never be made to exist;
What doth necessarily exist, therefore, exists from eternity; what hath been of itself could never be produced in time, because it hath being from its essence, without influence of any efficient cause.
All life is seated in God, God is life; it is in him originally, radically, therefore eternally.
He that hath life in himself, and is from himself, cannot but be. He always was because he received his being from no other, and none can take away that being which was not given by another.
Since he hath life in himself, and that there was no cause for his existence, he can have no cause of his limitation, and can no more be determined to a time, than he can to a place.
What hath life in itself, hath life without bounds, and can never desert it, nor be deprived of it; so that he lives necessarily, and it is absolutely impossible that he should not live; whereas all other things “live, and move, and have their being in him” (Acts 27:28); and as they live by his will, so they can return to nothing at his word.”
Not only is God self-existent, but He is self-sufficient.
Self- Sufficiency of God
A. W. Tozer, writes in the "Knowledge of the Holy" the following concerning God's self-sufficiency and our responsibility as His creatures to understand who He has revealed Himself to be in Scripture:
"God is what He is in himself.
Whatever God is, and all that God is, He is in Himself. All life is in and from God. No creature has life in itself, all life is a gift from God.
God is the One who contains all, who gives all that is given, but who Himself can receive nothing that He has not first given.
God has a voluntary relation to everything He has made, but He has no necessary relation to anything outside of Himself. His interest in His creatures arises from His sovereign good pleasure, not from any need those creatures can supply nor from any completeness they can bring to Him who is complete in Himself.
To God alone nothing is necessary.
Were all human beings suddenly to become blind, still the sun would shine by day and the stars by night, for these owe nothing to the millions who benefit from their light. So, were every man on earth to become atheist, it could not affect God in anyway. He is what He is in Himself without regard to any other. To believe in Him adds nothing to His perfection; to doubt Him takes nothing away.
Almighty God, just because he is Almighty, needs no support. God is not greater for our being, nor would He be less if we did not exist. That we do exist is altogether of God’s free determination, not by our desert nor by divine necessity.
To be right we must think worthily of God. It is morally imperative that we purge from our minds all ignoble concepts of the Deity and let Him be the God in our minds that He is in His universe. The Christian religion has to do with God and man, but its focal point is God, not man. Man’s only claim to importance is that he was created in the divine image; in himself he is nothing.
That God exists for Himself and man for the glory of God is the emphatic teaching of the Bible."
If as brother Tozer says, "God exists for Himself and man for the glory of God is the emphatic teaching of the Bible." then why is this truth so little proclaimed from our pulpits today?
The gospel we hear today, in many ways, has ceased to be God-centered and has become man-centered.
Oh, that all the churchs who name Christ as Lord would recall the chief end of man, which is to glorify God (as God truly is) and enjoy Him forever.
God has no origin, He is an eternal Being.
“I AM THAT I AM” Exodus 3:14
God is the ever living One the fountain of all life. Stephen Charnock, in his work, “The Existence and Attributes of God” says the following:
“ God hath life in himself. (John 5:26)
He hath life by his essence.
He hath unlimited life.
He hath life in himself; all creatures have their life in him and from him.
He that hath life in himself doth necessarily exist, and could never be made to exist;
What doth necessarily exist, therefore, exists from eternity; what hath been of itself could never be produced in time, because it hath being from its essence, without influence of any efficient cause.
All life is seated in God, God is life; it is in him originally, radically, therefore eternally.
He that hath life in himself, and is from himself, cannot but be. He always was because he received his being from no other, and none can take away that being which was not given by another.
Since he hath life in himself, and that there was no cause for his existence, he can have no cause of his limitation, and can no more be determined to a time, than he can to a place.
What hath life in itself, hath life without bounds, and can never desert it, nor be deprived of it; so that he lives necessarily, and it is absolutely impossible that he should not live; whereas all other things “live, and move, and have their being in him” (Acts 27:28); and as they live by his will, so they can return to nothing at his word.”
Not only is God self-existent, but He is self-sufficient.
Self- Sufficiency of God
A. W. Tozer, writes in the "Knowledge of the Holy" the following concerning God's self-sufficiency and our responsibility as His creatures to understand who He has revealed Himself to be in Scripture:
"God is what He is in himself.
Whatever God is, and all that God is, He is in Himself. All life is in and from God. No creature has life in itself, all life is a gift from God.
God is the One who contains all, who gives all that is given, but who Himself can receive nothing that He has not first given.
God has a voluntary relation to everything He has made, but He has no necessary relation to anything outside of Himself. His interest in His creatures arises from His sovereign good pleasure, not from any need those creatures can supply nor from any completeness they can bring to Him who is complete in Himself.
To God alone nothing is necessary.
Were all human beings suddenly to become blind, still the sun would shine by day and the stars by night, for these owe nothing to the millions who benefit from their light. So, were every man on earth to become atheist, it could not affect God in anyway. He is what He is in Himself without regard to any other. To believe in Him adds nothing to His perfection; to doubt Him takes nothing away.
Almighty God, just because he is Almighty, needs no support. God is not greater for our being, nor would He be less if we did not exist. That we do exist is altogether of God’s free determination, not by our desert nor by divine necessity.
To be right we must think worthily of God. It is morally imperative that we purge from our minds all ignoble concepts of the Deity and let Him be the God in our minds that He is in His universe. The Christian religion has to do with God and man, but its focal point is God, not man. Man’s only claim to importance is that he was created in the divine image; in himself he is nothing.
That God exists for Himself and man for the glory of God is the emphatic teaching of the Bible."
If as brother Tozer says, "God exists for Himself and man for the glory of God is the emphatic teaching of the Bible." then why is this truth so little proclaimed from our pulpits today?
The gospel we hear today, in many ways, has ceased to be God-centered and has become man-centered.
Oh, that all the churchs who name Christ as Lord would recall the chief end of man, which is to glorify God (as God truly is) and enjoy Him forever.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Immutability Of God
When we say that God is immutable we mean that He never differs from himself.
God does not change. From all eternity past, present, and future, God is what He has always been. His character hasn't and will never change.
All that God has revealed about Himself in the Scriptures will never be modified; nothing contained in the writings of the Old and New Testaments will be rescinded.
J. I. Packer, in his book "Knowing God" listed numerous examples of how God does not change.
Let us prayerfully consider each of the following:
1. God’s life does not change. He is from all eternity.
“But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.” Jeremiah 10:10
“And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” Romans 1:23
“Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:16
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Psalm 90:2
“They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.” Psalm 102:26-27
“Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.” Isaiah 48:12
God did not need to be made, for He was always there. He exits forever, and he is always the same.
2. God’s character does not change.
Nothing can alter the character of God. He never becomes less truthful, or merciful, or just, or good than he used to be. The character of God is today, and always will be, exactly what it was in Bible times.
“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” Exodus 3:14-15
“I AM WHO I AM” - a phrase of which “Yahweh” (Jehovah “the LORD”) is in effect a shortened form. The Name is not as description of God, but simply a declaration of his self-existence and his eternal changelessness; a reminder to mankind that he has life in himself, and that what he is now, he is eternally.
“And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-7
This proclamation supplements that of Exodus 3 by telling us what in fact Yahweh is; and that of Exodus 3 supplements this by telling us that God is forever what at that moment, three thousand years ago, he told Moses that he was. God’s moral character is changeless.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17
3. God’s truth does not change.
“The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isaiah 40:6-8
“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.” Psalm 119:89, 151, 152
When we read our Bibles, therefore, we need to remember that God still stands behind all the promises, and demands, and statements of purpose, and words of warning, that are there addressed to the New Testament believers. These are not relics of a bygone age, but an eternally valid revelation of the mind of God toward his people in all generations.
“If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;” John 10:35
Nothing can annul God’s eternal truth.
4. God’s ways do not change.
He continues to act toward sinful men and women in the way that he does in the Bible story. He still blesses those on whom he sets his love in a way that humbles them, so that all the glory may be his alone. He still hates the sins of his people, and uses all kinds of inward and outward pains and grief’s to wean their hearts from compromise and disobedience. He still seeks the fellowship of his people, and sends them both sorrows and joys in order to detach their love from other things and attach it to himself. He still teaches believers to value his promised gifts by making them wait for those gifts, and compelling them to pray persistently for them, before he bestows them. So we read of God’s dealing with his people in the Scripture record, and so he deals with them still. His aims and principles of action remain consistent; he does not at any time act out of character.
5. God’s purposes do not change.
“And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.” 1 Samuel 15:29
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” Numbers 23:19
Repenting means revising one’s judgment and changing one’s plan of action. God never does this; he never needs to, for his plans are made on the basis of a complete knowledge and control which extend to all things past, present, future, so that there can be no sudden emergencies or unexpected developments to take him by surprise.
“The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.” Psalm 33:11
What God does in time, he planned from eternity. And all that he planned in eternity he carries out in time. And all that he has in his Word committed himself to do will infallibly be done.
“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:” Hebrews 6:17-18
No part of his eternal plan changes.
6. God’s Son does not change.
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:8
His touch has still its ancient power. It still remains true -
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25
He never changes, the fact is the strong consolation of all god’s people.
In this world where men forget us, change their attitude toward us as their private interests dictate, and revise their opinion of us for the slightest cause, is it not a source of wondrous strength to know that the God with whom we have to do changes not? That His attitude toward us now is the same it was in eternity past and will be in eternity to come?
What peace it brings to the Christian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. In coming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood. He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change His mind about anything, Today, this moment, He feels towards His creatures, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as He did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind.
God never changes moods or cools off in His affections or loses enthusiasm. His attitude toward sin is now the same as it was when He drove our sinful man from the eastward garden, and His attitude toward the sinner the same as when He stretched forth His hands and cried, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
God will not compromise and He need not be coaxed. He cannot be persuaded to alter His Word nor talked into answering selfish prayer. In all our efforts to find God, to please Him, to commune with Him, we should remember that all change must be on our part. “I am the Lord, I change not.”
Nothing can alter the character of God. He never becomes less truthful, or merciful, or just, or good than he used to be. The character of God is today, and always will be, exactly what it was in Bible times.
Knowing God by JI Packer p77-80
God does not change. From all eternity past, present, and future, God is what He has always been. His character hasn't and will never change.
All that God has revealed about Himself in the Scriptures will never be modified; nothing contained in the writings of the Old and New Testaments will be rescinded.
J. I. Packer, in his book "Knowing God" listed numerous examples of how God does not change.
Let us prayerfully consider each of the following:
1. God’s life does not change. He is from all eternity.
“But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.” Jeremiah 10:10
“And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” Romans 1:23
“Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:16
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” Psalm 90:2
“They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.” Psalm 102:26-27
“Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.” Isaiah 48:12
God did not need to be made, for He was always there. He exits forever, and he is always the same.
2. God’s character does not change.
Nothing can alter the character of God. He never becomes less truthful, or merciful, or just, or good than he used to be. The character of God is today, and always will be, exactly what it was in Bible times.
“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” Exodus 3:14-15
“I AM WHO I AM” - a phrase of which “Yahweh” (Jehovah “the LORD”) is in effect a shortened form. The Name is not as description of God, but simply a declaration of his self-existence and his eternal changelessness; a reminder to mankind that he has life in himself, and that what he is now, he is eternally.
“And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-7
This proclamation supplements that of Exodus 3 by telling us what in fact Yahweh is; and that of Exodus 3 supplements this by telling us that God is forever what at that moment, three thousand years ago, he told Moses that he was. God’s moral character is changeless.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17
3. God’s truth does not change.
“The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isaiah 40:6-8
“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.” Psalm 119:89, 151, 152
When we read our Bibles, therefore, we need to remember that God still stands behind all the promises, and demands, and statements of purpose, and words of warning, that are there addressed to the New Testament believers. These are not relics of a bygone age, but an eternally valid revelation of the mind of God toward his people in all generations.
“If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;” John 10:35
Nothing can annul God’s eternal truth.
4. God’s ways do not change.
He continues to act toward sinful men and women in the way that he does in the Bible story. He still blesses those on whom he sets his love in a way that humbles them, so that all the glory may be his alone. He still hates the sins of his people, and uses all kinds of inward and outward pains and grief’s to wean their hearts from compromise and disobedience. He still seeks the fellowship of his people, and sends them both sorrows and joys in order to detach their love from other things and attach it to himself. He still teaches believers to value his promised gifts by making them wait for those gifts, and compelling them to pray persistently for them, before he bestows them. So we read of God’s dealing with his people in the Scripture record, and so he deals with them still. His aims and principles of action remain consistent; he does not at any time act out of character.
5. God’s purposes do not change.
“And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.” 1 Samuel 15:29
“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” Numbers 23:19
Repenting means revising one’s judgment and changing one’s plan of action. God never does this; he never needs to, for his plans are made on the basis of a complete knowledge and control which extend to all things past, present, future, so that there can be no sudden emergencies or unexpected developments to take him by surprise.
“The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.” Psalm 33:11
What God does in time, he planned from eternity. And all that he planned in eternity he carries out in time. And all that he has in his Word committed himself to do will infallibly be done.
“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:” Hebrews 6:17-18
No part of his eternal plan changes.
6. God’s Son does not change.
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:8
His touch has still its ancient power. It still remains true -
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25
He never changes, the fact is the strong consolation of all god’s people.
In this world where men forget us, change their attitude toward us as their private interests dictate, and revise their opinion of us for the slightest cause, is it not a source of wondrous strength to know that the God with whom we have to do changes not? That His attitude toward us now is the same it was in eternity past and will be in eternity to come?
What peace it brings to the Christian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. In coming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood. He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change His mind about anything, Today, this moment, He feels towards His creatures, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as He did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind.
God never changes moods or cools off in His affections or loses enthusiasm. His attitude toward sin is now the same as it was when He drove our sinful man from the eastward garden, and His attitude toward the sinner the same as when He stretched forth His hands and cried, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
God will not compromise and He need not be coaxed. He cannot be persuaded to alter His Word nor talked into answering selfish prayer. In all our efforts to find God, to please Him, to commune with Him, we should remember that all change must be on our part. “I am the Lord, I change not.”
Nothing can alter the character of God. He never becomes less truthful, or merciful, or just, or good than he used to be. The character of God is today, and always will be, exactly what it was in Bible times.
Knowing God by JI Packer p77-80
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Attributes of God
Attributes are the revealed character of God, whatever God has in anyway revealed as being true of Himself. God wants to be known by His creatures, you and me, and has gone to great lengths to reveal Himself to us in creation, Scripture, and most of all in His Son, Jesus Christ.
In an introduction to his book, Attributes of God, A.W. Pink writes the following:
“The foundation of all true knowledge of God must be a clear mental apprehension of His perfections as revealed in Holy Scripture. An unknown God can neither be trusted, served, nor worshipped. In this booklet an effort has been made to set forth some of the principal perfections of the Divine character. If the reader is to truly profit from his perusal of the pages that follow, he needs to definitely and earnestly beseech God to bless them to him, to apply His Truth to the conscience and heart, so that his life will be transformed thereby.
Something more than a theoretical knowledge of God is needed by us. God is only truly known in the soul as we yield ourselves to Him, submit to His authority, and regulate all the details of our lives by His holy precepts and commandments. "Then shall we know, if we follow on (in the path of obedience) to know the Lord" (Hosea 6:3). "If any man will do His will, he shall know" (John 7:17). "The people that do know their God shall be strong" (Dan. 11:32).”
So what has God revealed about Himself to us in Scripture?
First, God is Spirit, invisible, without body or bodily parts, not like man or any other creature. The word “Spirit” removes God’s nature from all association with material and corporal organization.
A.W. Pink writes;
"In the beginning, God" (Gen. 1:1). There was a time, if "time" is could be called, when God, in the unity of His nature (though subsisting equally in three Divine Persons), dwelt all alone. "In the beginning, God." There was no heaven, where His glory is now particularly manifested. There was no earth to engage His attention. There were no angels to hymn His praises; no universe to be upheld by the word of His power. There was nothing, no one, but God; and that, not for a day, a year, or an age, but "from everlasting."
During a past eternity, God was alone: self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied; in need of nothing. He changes not (Mal. 3:6), therefore His essential glory can be neither augmented nor diminished.”
Second, God exists in Himself and of Himself. His being He owes to no one. His substance is indivisible. He has no parts but is single in His unitary being.
AW Tozer writes in Knowledge of the Holy;
“The doctrine of divine unity means not only that there is but one God, it means also that God is simple, uncomplex, one with himself. The harmony of His being is the result not of a perfect balance of parts but of the absence of parts. Between His attributes no contradiction can exist. He need not suspend one to exercise another, for in Him all His attributes are one.
All of God does all that God does; He does not divide Himself to perform a work, but works in total unity of being.
The divine attributes are what we know to be true of God. He does not possess them as qualities; they are how God is as He reveals Himself to His creatures. Love, for instance, is not something God has which may grow or diminish or cease to be. His love is the way God is, and when He loves He is simply being Himself. Likewise with the other attributes.”
An attribute, then, is a part of God. It is how God is. In as much as finite human beings can comprehend and reason, we may say it is what God is.
In an introduction to his book, Attributes of God, A.W. Pink writes the following:
“The foundation of all true knowledge of God must be a clear mental apprehension of His perfections as revealed in Holy Scripture. An unknown God can neither be trusted, served, nor worshipped. In this booklet an effort has been made to set forth some of the principal perfections of the Divine character. If the reader is to truly profit from his perusal of the pages that follow, he needs to definitely and earnestly beseech God to bless them to him, to apply His Truth to the conscience and heart, so that his life will be transformed thereby.
Something more than a theoretical knowledge of God is needed by us. God is only truly known in the soul as we yield ourselves to Him, submit to His authority, and regulate all the details of our lives by His holy precepts and commandments. "Then shall we know, if we follow on (in the path of obedience) to know the Lord" (Hosea 6:3). "If any man will do His will, he shall know" (John 7:17). "The people that do know their God shall be strong" (Dan. 11:32).”
So what has God revealed about Himself to us in Scripture?
First, God is Spirit, invisible, without body or bodily parts, not like man or any other creature. The word “Spirit” removes God’s nature from all association with material and corporal organization.
A.W. Pink writes;
"In the beginning, God" (Gen. 1:1). There was a time, if "time" is could be called, when God, in the unity of His nature (though subsisting equally in three Divine Persons), dwelt all alone. "In the beginning, God." There was no heaven, where His glory is now particularly manifested. There was no earth to engage His attention. There were no angels to hymn His praises; no universe to be upheld by the word of His power. There was nothing, no one, but God; and that, not for a day, a year, or an age, but "from everlasting."
During a past eternity, God was alone: self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied; in need of nothing. He changes not (Mal. 3:6), therefore His essential glory can be neither augmented nor diminished.”
Second, God exists in Himself and of Himself. His being He owes to no one. His substance is indivisible. He has no parts but is single in His unitary being.
AW Tozer writes in Knowledge of the Holy;
“The doctrine of divine unity means not only that there is but one God, it means also that God is simple, uncomplex, one with himself. The harmony of His being is the result not of a perfect balance of parts but of the absence of parts. Between His attributes no contradiction can exist. He need not suspend one to exercise another, for in Him all His attributes are one.
All of God does all that God does; He does not divide Himself to perform a work, but works in total unity of being.
The divine attributes are what we know to be true of God. He does not possess them as qualities; they are how God is as He reveals Himself to His creatures. Love, for instance, is not something God has which may grow or diminish or cease to be. His love is the way God is, and when He loves He is simply being Himself. Likewise with the other attributes.”
An attribute, then, is a part of God. It is how God is. In as much as finite human beings can comprehend and reason, we may say it is what God is.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
What is it to know God?
What were we created for?
To know God.
What should our purpose be in life?
To know God.
What does this knowledge of God mean to my life?
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3
God has purposed from eternity that we, His creatures, should find our deepest joy, happiness, and rest in the knowledge of who He is. This knowledge, understanding, of the Almighty God who created all things, knowing and being known by Him, should be the only thing we glory in.
“Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:23-24
Again, I would like to quote J.I. Packer from the book Knowing God:
"What are we talking about when we use the phrase, Knowing God?
Knowing God involves:
1. Listening to God’s Word and receiving it as the Holy Spirit interprets it, in application to oneself;
2. Noting God’s nature and character, as his word and works reveal it;
3. Accepting his invitations and doing what he commands;
4. Fourth, recognizing and rejoicing in the love that he has shown in thus approaching you and drawing you into this divine fellowship.
The Bible tells us that we know God in the manner of a son knowing his father, a wife knowing her husband, a subject knowing his king, and a sheep knowing his shepherd. All four point to a relation in which the knower “looks up” to the one known, and the latter takes responsibility for the welfare of the former. This is part of the biblical concept of knowing God, that those who know him - that is, those by whom he allows himself to be known - are loved and cared for by him.
Knowing God is a matter of personal dealing.
Knowing God is more than knowing about him; it is a matter of dealing with him as he opens up to you, and being dealt with by him as he takes knowledge of you. Knowing about him is necessary precondition of trusting him,
“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall t hey believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14
But the width of our knowledge about him is no gauge of the depth of our knowledge of him. You can have all the right notions in your head without ever trusting in your heart the realities to which they refer; and a simple Bible reader and sermon hearer who is full of the Holy Spirit will develop a deeper acquaintance with his God and Savior than a more learned scholar who is content with being theologically correct. The reason is that the former will deal with God regarding the practical application of truth to his life, whereas the latter will not.
Knowing God is a matter of personal involvement - mind, will and feeling.
To get to know another person, you have to commit yourself to his company and interests, and be ready to identify yourself with his concerns. Without this, your relationship with him can only be superficial and flavorless.
“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Psalm 34:8
We do not know another person’s real quality till we have “tasted” the experience of friendship. Friends are, so to speak, communicating flavors to each other all the time, by sharing their attitudes both toward each other and toward every thing else that is of common concern. As they thus open their hearts to each other by what they say and do, each “tastes” the quality of the other, for sorrow or for joy.
The emotional side of knowing God is often played down these days for fear of encouraging maudlin self-absorption. It is true that there is nothing more irreligious than self-absorbed religion, and that it is constantly needful to stress that God does not exist for our comfort or happiness or satisfaction, or to provide us with “religious experiences”, as if these were the most interesting and important things in life.
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4
“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.” 1 John 2:9
“But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”
1 John 2:11
“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” 1 John 3:6
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
1 John 4:20
But for all this, we must not lose sight of the fact that knowing God is an emotional relationship, as well as an intellectual and volitional one, and could not indeed be a deep relationship between persons were it not so.
Knowing God is a matter of grace.
It is a relationship in which the initiative throughout is with God - as it must be, since God is so completely above us and we have so completely forfeited all claim on his favor by our sins. We do not make friends with God; God makes friends with us, bringing us to know him by making his love known to us.
“But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?” Galatians 4:9
Their knowing God was the consequence of God’s taking knowledge of them. They know him by faith because he first singled them out by grace.
The word know, when used of God in this way, is a sovereign-grace word, pointing to God’s initiative in loving, choosing, redeeming, calling and preserving.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.” Exodus 33:17
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28
Here God’s knowledge of those who are his is associated with his whole purpose of saving mercy. It is a knowledge that implies personal affection, redeeming action, covenant faithfulness and providential watchfulness toward those whom God knows.
What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact that underlies it- the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palm of his hands. I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.
There is certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that he sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow humans do not see, and that he sees more corruption in me than that which I see myself. There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose.
He sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow humans do not see, and that he sees more corruption in me than that which I see myself. There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose.
Quotes taken from J.I. Packer, Knowing God pages 37 & 38
(I highly recommend J.I. Packer's book Knowing God - it is a great place for you to continue this study)
To know God.
What should our purpose be in life?
To know God.
What does this knowledge of God mean to my life?
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3
God has purposed from eternity that we, His creatures, should find our deepest joy, happiness, and rest in the knowledge of who He is. This knowledge, understanding, of the Almighty God who created all things, knowing and being known by Him, should be the only thing we glory in.
“Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:23-24
Again, I would like to quote J.I. Packer from the book Knowing God:
"What are we talking about when we use the phrase, Knowing God?
Knowing God involves:
1. Listening to God’s Word and receiving it as the Holy Spirit interprets it, in application to oneself;
2. Noting God’s nature and character, as his word and works reveal it;
3. Accepting his invitations and doing what he commands;
4. Fourth, recognizing and rejoicing in the love that he has shown in thus approaching you and drawing you into this divine fellowship.
The Bible tells us that we know God in the manner of a son knowing his father, a wife knowing her husband, a subject knowing his king, and a sheep knowing his shepherd. All four point to a relation in which the knower “looks up” to the one known, and the latter takes responsibility for the welfare of the former. This is part of the biblical concept of knowing God, that those who know him - that is, those by whom he allows himself to be known - are loved and cared for by him.
Knowing God is a matter of personal dealing.
Knowing God is more than knowing about him; it is a matter of dealing with him as he opens up to you, and being dealt with by him as he takes knowledge of you. Knowing about him is necessary precondition of trusting him,
“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall t hey believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14
But the width of our knowledge about him is no gauge of the depth of our knowledge of him. You can have all the right notions in your head without ever trusting in your heart the realities to which they refer; and a simple Bible reader and sermon hearer who is full of the Holy Spirit will develop a deeper acquaintance with his God and Savior than a more learned scholar who is content with being theologically correct. The reason is that the former will deal with God regarding the practical application of truth to his life, whereas the latter will not.
Knowing God is a matter of personal involvement - mind, will and feeling.
To get to know another person, you have to commit yourself to his company and interests, and be ready to identify yourself with his concerns. Without this, your relationship with him can only be superficial and flavorless.
“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Psalm 34:8
We do not know another person’s real quality till we have “tasted” the experience of friendship. Friends are, so to speak, communicating flavors to each other all the time, by sharing their attitudes both toward each other and toward every thing else that is of common concern. As they thus open their hearts to each other by what they say and do, each “tastes” the quality of the other, for sorrow or for joy.
The emotional side of knowing God is often played down these days for fear of encouraging maudlin self-absorption. It is true that there is nothing more irreligious than self-absorbed religion, and that it is constantly needful to stress that God does not exist for our comfort or happiness or satisfaction, or to provide us with “religious experiences”, as if these were the most interesting and important things in life.
“He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4
“He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.” 1 John 2:9
“But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”
1 John 2:11
“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” 1 John 3:6
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
1 John 4:20
But for all this, we must not lose sight of the fact that knowing God is an emotional relationship, as well as an intellectual and volitional one, and could not indeed be a deep relationship between persons were it not so.
Knowing God is a matter of grace.
It is a relationship in which the initiative throughout is with God - as it must be, since God is so completely above us and we have so completely forfeited all claim on his favor by our sins. We do not make friends with God; God makes friends with us, bringing us to know him by making his love known to us.
“But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?” Galatians 4:9
Their knowing God was the consequence of God’s taking knowledge of them. They know him by faith because he first singled them out by grace.
The word know, when used of God in this way, is a sovereign-grace word, pointing to God’s initiative in loving, choosing, redeeming, calling and preserving.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.” Exodus 33:17
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28
Here God’s knowledge of those who are his is associated with his whole purpose of saving mercy. It is a knowledge that implies personal affection, redeeming action, covenant faithfulness and providential watchfulness toward those whom God knows.
What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact that underlies it- the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palm of his hands. I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.
There is certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that he sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow humans do not see, and that he sees more corruption in me than that which I see myself. There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose.
He sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow humans do not see, and that he sees more corruption in me than that which I see myself. There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose.
Quotes taken from J.I. Packer, Knowing God pages 37 & 38
(I highly recommend J.I. Packer's book Knowing God - it is a great place for you to continue this study)
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