The Attributes of God.
Part Four.
Bible
Reading: Genesis 1:1.
“In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth.”
Matthew 11.25-27 “At that time Jesus prayed this
prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these
things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them
to the childlike. Yes,
Father, it pleased you to do it this way.” “My Father has entrusted everything
to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the
Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
John 17:24-26 “Father, I want these whom you have given me to be
with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you
loved me even before the world began! “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t
know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed
you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in
them, and I will be in them.”
Because God is
self-sufficient, we can go to Him to satisfy all our needs. We never have to
worry about “drying up” his never-ending well of goodness, peace, mercy, and
grace. “Now to him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at
work within us” Ephesians 3:20.
7. God is Wise. He is full of Perfect, Unchanging
Wisdom.
“Oh,
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” Romans 11:33.
Wisdom is more
than just head knowledge and intelligence. A truly wise person is someone who
understands all the facts and makes the best decisions. A wise person uses his
heart, soul, and mind together with skill and competence. But even the wisest
man on earth would never come close to being as wise as God. God is infinitely
wise, consistently wise, perfectly wise.
Tozer says, “Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to
devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means. It
sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or
conjecture. Wisdom sees everything in focus, each in proper relation to all,
and is thus able to work toward predestined goals with flawless precision.”
Indeed, when we
see wisdom like this, we realize just how much our limited, finite wisdom
compares with the limitless, infinite wisdom of God. And how comforting and
wonderful this is for man to dwell on! The fact that God can never be wiser
means He is always doing the wisest thing in our lives.
No plan we could
make for our lives could be better than the plan He has already crafted and is
carrying out for us. We might not understand His ways today, but we can trust
that because God is infinitely wise, He truly is working all things out in the
best possible way.
8. God is Faithful, Truthful, He is
Infinitely, Unchangingly True.
“Know
therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping
His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep
His commands” Deuteronomy 7:9.
“If
we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” 2 Timothy 2:13.
As with all of
God’s attributes, they are not distinct, isolated qualities but interconnected
parts of His perfect whole being. So, His faithfulness cannot be understood
apart from His immutability, the fact that He never changes. So, when we read
that God remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself, we see these His
attributes working together. The fact that He is unchanging means He can never
not be faithful.
A.
W. Pink says: “God is true. His Word of Promise is sure. In all His relations
with His people God is faithful. He may be safely relied upon. No one ever yet
really trusted Him in vain. We find this precious truth expressed almost
everywhere in the Scriptures, for His people need to know that faithfulness is
an essential part of the Divine character. This is the basis of our confidence
in Him.”
The fact that God
is infinitely, unchangingly faithful means that He never forgets anything,
never fails to do anything He has set out to do, never changes His mind or
takes back a promise. And His faithfulness pours out from His love, so we can
trust Paul’s word that “in all things
God works for the good of those who love Him.”
Of course, we do
not always understand or see how His plan is faithful. In our limited
understanding and finite (limited, restricted) minds, God’s faithfulness might
look a lot like neglect. For how could a faithful God allow His children to
suffer, to hurt, to die?
But Christians
can take comfort in these moments by remembering these attributes of God, for
when we go through hard times, we know that God is nevertheless unchangingly
faithful, good, always with us and wise. Faithfully trusting in who God says He
is a great comfort. “For now, we see in
a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know
fully, even as I have been fully known” 1 Corinthians 13:12.
9. God is Good. He is Infinitely,
Unchangingly Kind, and full of Good Will.
“O,
taste and see that the Lord is good” Psalm 34:8.
Again,
Tozer says: on the goodness of God “disposes Him to be kind, cordial,
benevolent, and full of good will toward men. He is tender-hearted and of quick
sympathy, and His unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank,
and friendly. By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes
holy pleasure in the happiness of His people.”
Just like His
other attributes, God’s goodness exists within His immutability, and infinite
nature, so that He is unchangingly, always good. His mercy flows from His
goodness. As with God’s other perfect attributes, Christians find it easier to
affirm the goodness of God when things are going well.
But, when life
takes a nosedive, though, that is when we begin to question God’s goodness to
and for us. When the Psalmist writes “O,
taste and see that the Lord is good” Psalm 34. He is inviting
us not just to believe that God is good but to experience God’s goodness. Even
with a good God, who is sovereign over everything and has the power to do
whatever He likes, good people still suffer.
10. God is Just. He is Infinitely, Unchangeably
Right and Perfect in all He does.
“The
Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and
without injustice, Righteous and upright is He” Deuteronomy 32:4.
End of part four, part five to follow.
