Effectual Call

I have been reading “The Divine Covenants” by A.W. Pink and have been thoroughly blessed by the glimpses of God liberally sprinkled throughout this book. One such glimpse is the call of Abraham and the covenant which God made with him. Abram, the son of an idolater, living in a pagan culture, received a call from God. God chose Abram for no other reason than it was His “good pleasure” to do so. Brother Pink discusses the call of Abram and what it reveals about the effectual calling of all God’s elect.


“God said unto Abraham: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I will show thee.” Those were the terms of the divine communication originally received by our patriarch. It was a call which demanded absolute confidence in and full obedience to the word of Jehovah. It was a call for definite separation from the world. But it was far more than a bare command issuing from the divine authority: it was an effectual call which demonstrated the efficacy of divine grace. In other words, it was a call accompanied by divine power, which wrought mightily in the object of it. This is a distinction which is generally lost sight of today: there are two kinds of divine call mentioned in Scripture, the one which falls only on the outward ear and produces no definite effect; the other which reaches the heart, and moves into a real response.


The first of these calls is found in such passages as, “Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:4), and “For many be called” (Matthew 20:16). It reaches all who come under the sound of God’s Word. It is a call which presses upon the creature the claims of God, and the call of the gospel, which reveals the requirements of the Mediator. This call is universally unheeded: it is unpalatable to fallen human nature, and is rejected by the unregenerate: “I have called, and ye refused” (Proverbs 1:24); “And they all with one consent began to make excuse” (Luke 14:18). The second of these calls is found in such passages as “Whom he called, them he also justified” (Romans 8:30); :”Called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).


The first call is general; the second, particular. The first is to all who come under the sound of the Word; the second is made only to the elect, bringing them from death unto life. The first makes manifest the enmity of the carnal mind against God; the second reveals the grace of God toward His own. It is by the effect produced that we are able to distinguish between them. “He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice” (John 10:3-4) – follow the example which he has left them (1Peter 2:21). They follow him along the path of self-denial, of obedience, of living to the glory of God. Here, then, is the grand effect wrought upon the soul when it receives the effectual call of God: the understanding is illuminated, the conscience is convicted, the hard heart is melted, the stubborn will is conquered, the affections are drawn out unto him who before was despised.


Such an effect as we have just described is supernatural: it is a miracle of divine grace. Nothing external will suffice to change the depraved heart of fallen man. He may listen to the most faithful sermons, the most solemn warnings, the most winsome invitations, and he will remain unmoved, untouched, unless the Spirit of God is pleased to first quicken him into newness of life. Those who are spiritually dead can neither hear, see, nor feel spiritually.”


Thank you, Father, that you have not left us to ourselves in our blind, deaf and spiritually dead condition. Thank you for the truth of your Word and the sureness of your promise. May the glory of your grace be displayed radiantly forever and ever. Amen.


“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:4-6

Communion with Christ

So what is this communion with Christ? How does it come about? Does the life of a believer look differently because of this grace that has been bestowed on them? John Owen has stated the following:

True believers "hold communion with the Lord Christ. And wherein and how they do it, shall now be declared.

They continually eye the Lord Jesus as the great Joseph, that hath the disposal of all the granaries of the kingdom of heaven committed unto him; as one in whom it hath pleased the Father to gather all things unto a head, Eph. i. 10, that from him all things might be dispensed unto them. All treasures, all fulness, the Spirit not by measure, are in him. And this fulness in this Joseph, in reference to their condition, they eye in these three particulars:—

(1.) In the preparation unto the dispensation mentioned, in the expiating, purging, purifying efficacy of his blood. It was a sacrifice not only of atonement, as offered, but also of purification, as poured out. This the apostle eminently sets forth, Heb. ix. 13, 14, “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” This blood of his is that which answers all typical institutions for carnal purification; and therefore hath a spiritually-purifying, cleansing, sanctifying virtue in itself, as offered and poured out. Hence it is called, “A fountain for sin and for uncleanness,” Zech. xiii. 1; that is, for their washing and taking away; — “A fountain opened;” ready prepared, virtuous, efficacious in itself, before any be put into it; because poured out, instituted, appointed to that purpose.

The saints see that in themselves they are still exceedingly defiled; and, indeed, to have a sight of the defilements of sin is a more spiritual discovery than to have only a sense of the guilt of sin. This follows every conviction, and is commensurate unto it; that, usually only such as reveal the purity and holiness of God and all his ways. Hereupon they cry with shame, within themselves, “Unclean, unclean,” — unclean in their natures, unclean in their persons, unclean in their conversations; all rolled in the blood of their defilements; their hearts by nature a very sink, and their lives a dung hill. Ezek. xvi. 4, 6, John iii. 3, 5, Rev. xxi. 27; Hab. i. 13. They know, also, that no unclean thing shall enter into the kingdom of God, or have place in the new Jerusalem; that God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. They cannot endure to look on themselves; and how shall they dare to appear in his presence? What remedies shall they now use? “Though they wash themselves with nitre, and take them much soap, yet their iniquity will continue marked,” Jer. ii. 22. Wherewith, then, shall they come before the Lord?

For the removal of this, I say, they look, in the first place, to the purifying virtue of the blood of Christ, which is able to cleanse them from all their sins, 1 John i. 7; being the spring from whence floweth all the purifying virtue, which in the issue will take away all their spots and stains, “make them holy and without blemish, and in the end present them glorious unto himself,” Eph. v. 26, 27. This they dwell upon with thoughts of faith; they roll it in their minds and spirits. Here faith obtains new life, new vigour, when a sense of vileness hath even overwhelmed it. Here is a fountain opened: draw nigh, and see its beauty, purity, and efficacy. Here is a foundation laid of that work whose accomplishment we long for. One moment’s communion with Christ by faith herein is more effectual to the purging of the soul, to the increasing of grace, than the utmost self-endeavours of a thousand ages.

(2.) They eye the blood of Christ as the blood of sprinkling. Coming to “Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant,” they come to the “blood of sprinkling,” Heb. xii. 24. The eyeing of the blood of Christ as shed will not of itself take away pollution. There is not only a “shedding of blood,” without which there is no remission, Heb. ix. 22; but there is also a “sprinkling of blood,” without which there is no actual purification. This the apostle largely describes, Heb. ix. 19, “When Moses,” saith he, “had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover he sprinkled likewise with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these,” verses 19–23. He had formerly compared the blood of Christ to the blood of sacrifices, as offered, in respect of the impetration and the purchase it made; now he doth it unto that blood as sprinkled, in respect of its application unto purification and holiness. And he tells us how this sprinkling was performed: it was by dipping hyssop in the blood of the sacrifice, and so dashing it out upon the things and persons to be purified; as the institution also was with the paschal lamb, Exod. xii. 7. Hence, David, in a sense of the pollution of sin, prays that he may be “purged with hyssop,” Ps. li. 7. For that this peculiarly respected the uncleanness and defilement of sin, is evident, because there is no mention made, in the institution of any sacrifice (after that of the lamb before mentioned), of sprinkling blood with hyssop, but only in those which respected purification of uncleanness; as in the case of leprosy, Lev. xiv. 6; and all other defilements, Numb. xix. 18: which latter, indeed, is not of blood, but of the water of separation; this also being eminently typical of the blood of Christ, which is the fountain for separation for uncleanness, Zech. xiii. 1. Now, this bunch of hyssop, wherein the blood of purification was prepared for the sprinkling of the unclean, is (unto us) the free promises of Christ. The cleansing virtue of the blood of Christ lies in the promises, as the blood of sacrifices in the hyssop, ready to pass out unto them that draw nigh thereunto. Therefore the apostle argueth from receiving of the promise unto universal holiness and purity: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,” 2 Cor. vii. 1. This, then, the saints do:— they eye the blood of Christ as it is in the promise, ready to issue out upon the soul, for the purification thereof; and thence is purging and cleansing virtue to be communicated unto them, and by the blood of Christ are they to be purged from all their sins, 1 John i. 7. Thus far, as it were, this purifying blood, thus prepared and made ready, is at some distance to the soul. Though it be shed to this purpose, that it might purge, cleanse, and sanctify, though it be taken up with the bunch of hyssop in the promises, yet the soul may not partake of it. Wherefore, —

(3.) They look upon him as, in his own Spirit, he is the only dispenser of the Spirit and of all grace of sanctification and holiness. They consider that upon his intercession it is granted to him that he shall make effectual all the fruits of his purchase, to the sanctification, the purifying and making glorious in holiness, of his whole people. They know that this is actually to be accomplished by the Spirit, according to the innumerable promises given to that purpose. He is to sprinkle that blood upon their souls; he is to create the holiness in them that they long after; he is to be himself in them a well of water springing up to everlasting life. In this state they look to Jesus: here faith fixes itself, in expectation of his giving out the Spirit for all these ends and purposes; mixing the promises with faith, and so becoming actual partaker of all this grace. This is their way, this their communion with Christ; this is the life of faith, as to grace and holiness. Blessed is the soul that is exercised therein: “He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit,” Jer. xvii. 8. Convinced persons who know not Christ, nor the fellowship of his sufferings, would spin a holiness out of their own bowels; they would work it out in their own strength. They begin it with Rom. x. 1–4 trying endeavours; and follow it with vows, duties, resolutions, engagements, sweating at it all the day long. Thus they continue for a season, — their hypocrisy, for the most part, ending in apostasy. The saints of God do, in the very entrance of their walking with him, reckon upon it that they have a threefold want:—
[1.] Of the Spirit of holiness to dwell in them.
[2.] Of a habit of holiness to be infused into them.
[3.] Of actual assistance to work all their works for them; and that if these should continue to be wanting, they can never, with all their might, power, and endeavours, perform any one act of holiness before the Lord. They know that of themselves they have no sufficiency, — that John xv. 5 without Christ they can do nothing: therefore they look to him, who is intrusted with a fulness of all these in their behalf; and thereupon by faith derive from him an increase of that whereof they stand in need.

Thus, I say, have the saints communion with Christ, as to their sanctification and holiness. From him do they receive the Spirit to dwell in them; from him the new principle of life, which is the root of all their obedience; from him have they actual assistance for every duty they are called unto. In waiting for, expectation and receiving of these blessings, on the accounts before mentioned, do they spend their lives and time with him. In vain is help looked for from other mountains; in vain do men spend their strength in following after righteousness, if this be wanting. Fix thy soul here; thou shalt not tarry until thou be ashamed. This is the way, the only way, to obtain full, effectual manifestations of the Spirit’s dwelling in us; to have our hearts purified, our consciences purged, our sins mortified, our graces increased, our souls made humble, holy, zealous, believing, — like to him; to have our lives fruitful, our deaths comfortable. Let us herein abide, eyeing Christ by faith, to attain that measure of conformity to him which is allotted unto us in this world, that when we shall see him as he is, we may be like unto him."

Christ is our all in all - may His name be praised forever. Amen.

What is the Chief End of Man?

According the Westminster Shorter Catechism: The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

The majority of professing Christians probably wouldn't answer the question in that way. Many wouldn't think "glorifying God" was all that relevant today.

What has got me pondering this subject is the following quote from John Owen. God, in His plan for the redemption of a people, was very much concerned with His glory. When the gospel is presented in any other way, it robs Him of that glory.

" The end of the dispensation of grace being to glorify the whole Trinity, the order fixed on and appointed wherein this is to be done, is, by ascending to the Father’s love through the work of the Spirit and blood of the Son.

The emanation of divine love to us begins with the Father, is carried on by the Son, and then communicated by the Spirit; the Father designing, the Son purchasing, the Spirit effectually working: which is their order. Our participation is first by the work of the Spirit, to an actual interest in the blood of the Son; whence we have acceptation with the Father.

This, then, is the order whereby we are brought to acceptation with the Father, for the glory of God through Christ:—

1st. That the Spirit may be glorified, he is given unto us, to quicken us, convert us, work faith in us, Rom. viii. 11; Eph. i. 19, 20; according to all the promises of the covenant, Isa. iv. 4, 5; Ezek. xi. 19, xxxvi. 26.

2dly. This being wrought in us, for the glory of the Son, we are actually interested, according to the tenor of the covenant, at the same instant of time, in the blood of Christ, as to the benefits which he hath procured for us thereby; yea, this very work of the Spirit itself is a fruit and part of the purchase of Christ. But we speak of our sense of this thing, whereunto the communication of the Spirit is antecedent. And, —

3dly. To the glory of the Father, we are accepted with him, justified, freed from guilt, pardoned, and have “peace with God,” Rom. v. 1. Thus, “through Christ we have access by one Spirit unto the Father,” Eph. ii. 17. And thus are both Father and Son and the Holy Spirit glorified in our justification and acceptation with God; the Father in his free love, the Son in his full purchase, and the Holy Spirit in his effectual working.

All this, in all the parts of it, is no less fully procured for us, nor less freely bestowed on us, for Christ’s sake, on his account, as part of his purchase and merits, than if all of us immediately upon his death, had been translated into heaven; only this way of our deliverance and freedom is fixed on, that the whole Trinity may be glorified thereby.

Though our reconciliation with God be fully and completely procured by the death of Christ, and all the ways and means whereby it is accomplished; yet we are brought unto an actual enjoyment thereof, by the way and in the order mentioned, for the praise of the glorious grace of God."

This glorious plan of God was accomplished "from the foundation of the world" to the praise of His glorious grace. We should bow before Him in humble gratitude, joyfully proclaiming that all glory indeed belongs to the Sovereign and Holy God. What horrid, unthankful, despicable creatures we are - arrogantly attempting to claim the smallest portion of the glory due to the Creator for ourselves. Tis true, fallen man is like his father, the Devil.

Lord, forgive us for all the times we have foolishly claimed for ourselves that which belongs only to you.

Grant us more grace, for only your grace can transform us from the image of the first Adam, into the image of you perfect Son.

Amen,

Mercy of God

When we consider the mercy of God, we must always keep in mind His other attributes. Especially that of His Sovereignty. He rules His entire creation, and to be sovereign God must be all-knowing, all-powerful, and absolutely free. God has acted at all times according to His infinite wisdom and goodness. God sovereignly displays His mercy "according to the good pleasure of His will" (Ephesians 1:5,9).

"For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." (Romans 9:15)

"Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." (Romans 9:18)

A.W. Tozer remarks concerning God's mercy:

"Mercy is an attribute of God, an infinite and inexhaustible energy within the divine nature which disposes God to be actively compassionate.

God has always dealt in mercy with mankind and will always deal in justice when His mercy is despised.

Mercy never began to be, but from eternity was; so it will never cease to be. Forever His mercy stands, a boundless, overwhelming immensity of divine pity and compassion.

As judgment is God’s confronting moral inequity, so mercy is the goodness of God confronting human suffering and guilt.

We must believe that God’s mercy is boundless, free, and through Jesus Christ our Lord, available to us now in our present situation."

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, asked them to remember the condition they were in prior to hearing the gospel - and to remember the hopelessness and misery of that condition -

"1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:1-9)

"But God, who is rich in mercy" changed all that. Now they have "exceeding abundantly above all that they ask or think" for the purpose that "Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen"

Holiness of God

"And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." Isaiah 6:3

"I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King." Isaiah 43:15

As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 47:4

"And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." Revelation 4:8

"Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest." Revelation 15:4

A.W. Tozer states the following:

"Holy is the way God is. To be Holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that Standard.

God is holy with an absolute holiness that knows no degrees, and thus He cannot impart to His creatures. But there is a relative and contingent holiness which He shares with angels and seraphim in heaven and with redeemed men on earth as their preparation for heaven. This holiness God can and does impart to His children. He shares it with them by imputation and impartation, and because He has made it available to them through the blood of the Lamb, He requires it of them."

“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16

Why is it crucial for us to see God in His holiness? Tozer concludes;

"Until we have seen ourselves as God sees us, we are not likely to be much disturbed over conditions around us as long as they do not get so far out of hand as to threaten our comfortable way of life. We have come to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing. We are not disappointed that we do not find all truth in our teachers, of faithfulness in our politicians or complete honesty in our merchants or truthfulness in our friends.

Only the Spirit of the Holy One can impart to the human spirit the knowledge of the holy. Yet as electric power flows only through a conductor, so the Spirit flows through truth, and must find some measure of truth in the mind before He can illuminate the heart. Faith wakes at the voice of truth but responds to no other sound.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Romans 10:17

Theological knowledge is the medium through which the Spirit flows into the human heart, yet there must be humble penitence in the heart before truth can produce faith. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Truth. It is possible to have some truth in the mind without having the Spirit in the heart, but it is never possible to have the Spirit apart from Truth.

We must hide our unholiness in the wounds of Christ as Moses hid himself in the cleft of the rock while the glory of God passed by.

We must take refuge from God in God.

Above all we must believe that God sees us perfect in His Son while He disciplines and chastens and purges us that we may be partakers of His holiness.

By faith and obedience, by constant meditation on the holiness of God, by loving righteousness and hating iniquity, by a growing acquaintance with the Spirit of holiness, we can acclimate ourselves to the fellowship of the saints on earth and prepare ourselves for the eternal companionship of God and the saints above."

Jealousy of God

The Scriptures tell us that God is a jealous God. but what does that mean? How can the finite creature comprehend the jealousy of an infinite God? To help us understand , brother J.I. Packer in his book Knowing God stated the folllowing:

"1. Biblical statements about God’s jealousy are anthropomorphisms. That is, they are descriptions of God in a language drawn from our life as humans. The Bible is full of anthropomorphisms - God’s arm, hands and finger, his hearing, seeing and smelling, his tenderness, anger, repentance, laughter, joy and so on. The reason why God uses these terms to speak to us about himself is that language drawn from our own personal life is the most accurate medium we have for communicating thoughts about him. He’s personal, so are we, in a way that nothing else in the physical creation is. Since we are more like God than is any other being known to us, it is more illuminating and less misleading for God to picture himself to us in human terms than any other.

We have to remember that man is not the measure of his Maker, and that when the language of human personal life is used of God, none of the limitations of human creature hood are thereby being implied - limited knowledge, or power, or foresight, or strength, or consistency, or anything of that kind. An we must remember that those elements in human qualities which show the corrupting effect of sin have no counterpart in God. Thus, for instance, his wrath is not the ignoble outburst that human anger so often is a sign of pride and weakness, but it is holiness reacting to evil in a way that is morally right and glorious. God’s jealousy is not a compound of frustration, envy and spite, as human jealousy so often is, but appears instead as a (literally) praiseworthy zeal to preserve something supremely precious.

2. There are two sorts of jealousy among humans, and only one of them is a vice. Vicious jealousy - is an infantile resentment springing from unfortified covetousness, which express itself in envy, malice, and meanness of action. It is terribly potent, for it feeds and is fed by pride, the taproot of our fallen nature. There is a mad obsessiveness about jealousy, if indulged, can tear an otherwise firm character to shreds.
But there is another sort of jealousy: zeal to protect a love relationship or to avenge it when broken. Scripture consistently views God’s jealousy as being of this latter kind: that is, as an aspect of his covenant love for his own people. The Old Testament regards God’s covenant as his marriage with Israel, carrying with it a demand for unqualified love and loyalty. The worship of idols, and all compromising relations with non-Israelite idolaters, constituted disobedience and unfaithfulness, which God saw as spiritual adultery, provoking him to jealousy and vengeance. All the Mosaic references to God’s jealousy have to do with idol worship in one form or another; they all hark back to the second commandment, the same is true throughout Scripture.

“And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.” Joshua 24:19

“And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.” 1 Kings 14:22

“For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.” Psalm 78:58

“Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?”
1 Corinthians 10:22

“And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.” Ezekiel 8:3

“38And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
42So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.” Ezekiel 16:38, 42

“And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.” Ezekiel 23:25

From these passages we see plainly what God meant by telling Moses that his name was “Jealous.” He meant that he demands from those whom he has loved and redeemed utter and absolute loyalty, and he will vindicate his claim by stern action against them if they betray his love by unfaithfulness. Calvin hit the nail on the head when he explained the sanction of the second commandment as follows:

“The Lord very frequently addresses us in the character of a husband. As He performs all the offices of a true and faithful husband, so he requires love and chastity from us; that is, that we do not prostitute our souls to Satan…. As the purer and chaster a husband is, the more grievously he is offended when he see his wife inclining to a rival; so the Lord, who has betrothed us to Himself in truth, declares that He burns with the hottest jealousy whenever, neglecting the purity of His holy marriage, we defile ourselves with abominable lusts, and especially when the worship of His deity, which ought to have been most carefully kept unimpaired, is transferred to another, or adulterated with some superstition; since in this way we not only violate our plighted troth, but defile the nuptial couch, by giving access to adulterers.”

The goal of the covenant love of God is that he should have a people on earth as long as history lasts, and after that should have all his faithful ones of every age with him in glory. Covenant love is the heart of God’s plan for the world.

For God’s ultimate objective, as the Bible declares it, is threefold - to vindicate his rule and righteousness by showing his sovereignty in judgment upon sin; to ransom and redeem his chosen people; and to be loved and praised by them for his glorious acts of love and self-vindication. God seeks what we should seek - his glory, in and through men - and it is for the securing of this end, ultimately, that he is jealous. His jealousy, in all its manifestations, is precisely “the zeal of the Lord Almighty” for fulfilling his own purpose of justice and mercy.

“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:7

“For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.” Isaiah 37:32

“Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.” Ezekiel 5:13

So God’s jealousy leads him, on the one hand, to judge and destroy the faithless among his people who fall into idolatry and sin,

“19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
20If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.” Joshua 24:19-20


“Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” Zephaniah 1:18

And indeed to judge the enemies of righteousness and mercy everywhere

“God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.” Nahum 1:2

“5Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.
6Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:
7Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.” Ezekiel 36:5-7

“Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” Zephaniah 3:8

It also leads him, on the other hand, to restore his people after national judgment has chastened and humbled them.

“14So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
15And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
16Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
17Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.” Zechariah 1:14-17

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.” Zechariah 8:2

“Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.” Joel 2:18

And what is it that motivates these actions?
Simply the fact that he is “jealous for his holy name” .

“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;” Ezekiel 39:25


His name is his nature and character as Jehovah, the LORD, ruler of history, guardian of righteousness and savior of sinners - and God means his name to be known, honored and praised.

“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” Isaiah 42:8

“For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.” Isaiah 48:11

Wrath of God

The Bible labors the point that just as God is good to those who trust him, so he is terrible to those who do not. Consider the passage from Nahum 1:2-8,

“2God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
3The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
5The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
6Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
7The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
8But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.”

The wrath of God, contrary to what many may think, is not only taught in the Old Testament. The Lord had quite a bit to say about it in the New Testament also.

Thessalonians 1:7-10
“7And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”

Romans 1:18
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;”

Romans 2:5
“But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God."

Romans 5:9
“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”

Romans 12:19
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

Romans 13:4-5
“4For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a evenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
5Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.”

1 Thessalonians 1:10
“And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

Thessalonians 2:16
“Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.”

Thessalonians 5:9
“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Revelation 6:16-17
“And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

Revelation 16:19
“And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.”

Luke 21:22-24
“22For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

J.I. Packer says the following quote in his excellent book, Knowing God:

"The unbeliever has preferred to be by himself, without God, defying God, having God against him, and he shall have his preference. Nobody stands under the wrath of God except those who have chosen to do so. The essence of God’s action in wrath is to give men what they choose, in all its implications: nothing more, and equally nothing less.

1. The meaning of God’s wrath. It is the active manifestating of his hatred of irreligion and moral evil.

“But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;" Romans 2:5

“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” Romans 5:9

“Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.” Romans 4:15

“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:” Romans 5:20

“7What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
8But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.
9For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
10And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
11For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.
12Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
13Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” Romans 7:7-13

“But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)” Romans 3:5

“Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Ephesians 2:3

2. The revelation of God’s wrath.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient
32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Romans 1:18, 28, 32

“But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;” Romans 2:5


3. The deliverance from God’s wrath.

“What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
19Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Romans 3:9-10, 19

“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” Romans 5:9

Propitiation - a sacrifice that averts wrath through expiating sin and canceling guilt."