February 2001

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Christian Chronicles, February 2001 - Volume 4, Issue 63

The Editor's Pen

God is God. There are times when He seems unapproachable, distant, as though He could not hear us if we shouted. But it is not His fault. When this seems to be the case, it is invariably because we have drawn ourselves away from Him, seeking the desires and gratifications of our own wills and minds.

We tend to separate ourselves from God through sin, forgetting that He can be hurt just as we can be when our loved ones treat us poorly. We act rashly, sinning, not considering that God loves us and is grieved by our actions. We tend to view God, not as a Person, but as some sort of Cosmic Bellhop (to quote John Hagee), whose most important purpose is to hear our many petitions and answer them promptly.

In this issue, we discuss the Person of God, with an eye toward understanding His Fatherhood to His children.

Mid-East Update

The elections are over. In an almost record low voter turnout, Israel has elected IDF General Ariel Sharon, unseating Labor’s Ehud Barak, whose tenancy as Prime Minister lasted a scant 22 months. Only 23% of the electorate went to the polls, perhaps reflecting a more moderate mood among voters. Barak was decidedly on the left, while Sharon seems almost far enough to the right that he is in danger of falling off.

What this means for the peace process will not be known until Sharon’s policies become clear. Barak was willing to “give away the farm,” so to speak, agreeing with U.S. President Bill Clinton’s suggestions at almost every turn. It is almost certain that Sharon will attempt to engage the Palestinians in some sort of negotiations, but it is equally clear that the Intifada will deepen as his policies will be considerably less generous than Barak’s.

With more than a third of the Palestinian population earning less than $2 (U.S.) per day, and employment suffering on account of the closing of borders, tempers are heating up on the West Bank and in Gaza. It is unclear how much difference a Palestinian state will make.

The rulers in the Middle East are raising their shields and sharpening their swords in preparation for whatever may follow the elections. Nerves are frayed on all sides as the world awaits the stance of Israel now that a hardliner is in the top office.

As Christians, we should be happy to see that Jerusalem will not be divided and given to the Gentiles, even though such a stance would seem to forestall any agreement that might culminate in both the rapture of the Church and the onset of the tribulation period, wherein the Gentiles will be punished for partitioning the land that God gave to Israel. We must pray that God’s will shall be done in Israel.

Fruit of the Vine

No event is more personal in the life of any person than the moment of his salvation. Never is God more real. As mentioned elsewhere in this issue, the unsaved often do indeed see God as a person, but as a mean and unforgiving person, one who cannot wait to toss them into the fiery lake. The task of the evangelist is to change the unsaved person’s image of God from cruel to loving, from condemning to gracious.

When a Christian goes out to witness to the lost, and he begins discussing God’s judgment, he has already lost the battle. The Holy Spirit does the convicting, while the work of the Christian is to minister the word of reconciliation (see 2 Cor 5:17-21). It is the goodness of God that leads man to repentance (Rom 2:4). The function of the witness is to turn the view of God in the hearts of the unsaved from a mean Judge to a loving Father. It is the only path to fruitfulness.

Perspectives

To the unsaved, God is a stern Judge, waiting with a certain glee to cast them into the burning flames of hell for the slightest offense. He is their worst enemy, their greatest fear. To the unsaved, the fear of the Lord is sheer terror, though it is hard to get them to admit it. They stay away from church in droves because they do not wish to hear words of their own condemnation. Try to bring religion into a discussion with an unsaved person and watch the squirming begin. Some are aggressive, some are evasive, some just fidget, but none of them likes to speak of God in much more than weak platitudes. How quickly they hurry to change the television channel when their surfing brings up a televangelist (Of course, in the vast majority of cases, it is good that they do not listen to them, but not all televangelists are money-grubbing charlatans.) The point is, the unsaved are quick to avoid any message that might speak of their condemnation, and whenever God is spoken of, that is precisely what they fear.

Ironically, God is often more “personal” to the unsaved than He is to the saved. Oh, the mature Christian has realized that God actually is a Person, and has begun developing a personal relationship with Him. But most young Christians have a hard time bringing God’s Person into focus. To the unsaved, He is a person (lowercase “p” in their minds), but He is a mean person, a person to be resented. The unsaved focus more on the glory of God than most Christians do. While they avoid theological discussions that focus on sin and punishment, they quite readily acknowledge the power and glory of God in the creation. But they avoid the sin –related issues from fear of judgment.

Conversely, Christians often focus more on the sin issues in their own lives than upon other theological concerns. In their quest to please the God who saved them, they clean up their acts to some degree, and their minds are focused on behavior more than doctrine.

The devil is shrewd. He is subtle. He has watched man for many millennia, and he knows every trick there is to keep us diverted from those things that we ought to be thinking or doing. If the devil can trick the Christian into some great sin, he knows that person will remain focused on his own depravity more than upon the goodness and grace of God, and will feel unworthy to come before God in prayer. He need not engage the unsaved in great sins, for they are already his, and will not be inclined to do the work of an evangelist like a spiritual Christian will. The devil whispers in the heart of the Christian that his sin is too big, that it won’t be forgiven, that he ought to live ashamed the rest of his days. But as Christians begin to mature, they understand the Fatherhood of God more and more, and they turn to Him as if He were their greatest friend, which, of course, He is. As we mature, God becomes more and more personal to us. He becomes less of some sort of spiritual “something,” and He becomes a Person to whom we can and must relate, regardless of our own worthiness. As this happens, God becomes a forgiving Father in our hearts and minds, and we are not afraid to turn back to Him after periods of carnality and worldliness.

The unsaved fear a God of judgment; young Christians see God as somehow “unreal,” and mature Christians know a very real Person.

The Man Upstairs Is Not There

The man upstairs does not exist. He is not there. Never was. Never will be. At least, not in the sense that the expression is commonly used. Theologically, it is a very disturbing expression. Non-Christians often refer to God in this manner, but many Christians also do so. The devil loves it. Every time a Christian uses those words, there is a sense of defeat in the heart. We know that God is not a man, and by calling him “the Man upstairs,” we’re avoiding calling Him by His name. We know it; the ones to whom we are speaking know it. It is a mark of timidity, a symptom of our insecurity about our faith.

Whenever anyone speaks of the Man upstairs, what is he doing? Theologically, he must be doing one of two things: He is either reducing God to the level of man, or raising man to the level of God.

There was a woman to whom the author ministered some years ago, a woman who was married and well-to-do. This woman paid her mother, who was poor, to clean her home. She was expecting a gathering of friends and business associates, so she called her mother in to do some special cleaning. When her guests arrived, the woman’s mother was still about the business of cleaning her daughter’s home. To her guests, the woman introduced her mother as her maid rather than as her mother. The poor woman was very gracious, but her daughter’s curious guests observed tears rolling down her wrinkled cheek. She was not crying for herself, but for the daughter whom she had raised so poorly as not to instill in her greater respect. It was a tear of shame, but not her own, but for her daughter.

That must be something of the way God feels when His children refer to Him as “the Man upstairs.” What a travesty of indignity it is to reduce such a great God as ours to such a low estate as that occupied by sinners. How offended must God be to hear His children, by reason of pride, either bring themselves up to His level, or bring Him down to their level. We ought to have such respect for God as never to be ashamed to call Him by His name.

God is a Personal God

Then Paul stood in the midst of mars’ hill, and said,
Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things
Ye are too superstitious.
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions,
I found an altar with this inscription,
To the unknown God.
Whom therefore ye ignorantly woship,
Him declare I unto you.

(Acts 17:22-23)

Many Christians know little of Bible doctrine. Most believe what their preacher tells them to believe, trusting him to lead them down the right paths. Few can take you to the Scriptures and show you why they believe what they believe. It doesn’t really take very long to learn Christian doctrines, but most folks either don’t have the time to study, or they don’t think they have the time to study. Rare is the church-goer who really knows his Bible. And yet, even among those Christians who are very scholarly, diligent in their studies, faithful in their prayers, fruitful in their personal ministries, very few of those think of God in very personal terms. For most Christians, unfortunately, God is like some sort of celestial errand boy. To most Christians, God is something rather ethereal, a mystical essence of some sort; intelligent, to be sure, but rather impersonal. A Father, but somehow not very real. Paul might well say to the churches today what he said to those pagans in Athens. We know of God, but not very many know God Himself, even among genuine, born-again believers.

Genesis 1:26 states that God made man in His own image, and after His likeness. Because of this, we can know that there are certain similarities between God and man, with every attribute of man being perfected and magnified in God. Fallen man’s virtues must only hint at the awesome virtues of God. The faculties and elements that are found in man are also found in God, to a much higher degree — to a perfect degree. It has been said (Archbishop King: Sermon on Divine Predestination and Foreknowledge) that God is so much higher than man that we cannot conceive of the nature or attributes of God. However, this is not so. While we cannot comprehend all that God is, we can understand by what we are, imperfect as we may be, what God is like as a Person. The differences between God and man are not so much in elements as in degree. We share many things with God, including will, love, truth, faithfulness, holiness, and justice. The degree of these qualities in man is immeasurably lower than they are found in God, but they are present in both God and man. Had God not specifically stated that He made man in His own image, then there might be some grounds upon which to say that we cannot know God personally. Since, however, He did specifically state that we are made in His image, there must be some correspondence in the natures or characteristics of both God and man, so that we can know Him personally.

However, it is nowhere stated that our fleshly natures are in any way godly. Rather, it is specifically stated that God is Spirit, so that it is our spiritual nature that is like God (Jn 4:24). It is interesting that, while God is said to be Spirit, and not flesh, yet there is in Him that which corresponds to the human body. He is said to have arms, (Dt 33:27), hands (Jn 10:29), eyes, (2 Chr 16:9), ears (Isa 59:1), a mouth (Isa 58:14), a face (Ex 33:11), nostrils (2 Sam 22:9), a heart (Gen 6:6), feet (ex 24:10), a belly (Job 20:15), a back (Ex 33:23) and a mind (Lev 24:12). At the same time, emotions that characterize human beings are also ascribed to God: anger (Gen 44:18), love (Dt 7:7), joy (Neh 8:10), sorrow (Mt 26:38), grief (Isa 53:3), gladness (Ps 105:43). While these are sometimes said to be mere anthropomorphisms (the humanization of God), it is God Himself who is the Author of the Bible. While He might possibly have simply been speaking to us in terms that we could understand, he is also seen in visions by prophets and holy men of Israel, and is seen in human form. Also, in the theophanies (appearances of God to man in OT times), He was seen in human form as “the angel of the Lord” (Gen 16:7 and many more). Richard Watson states, “When it is said that God is a spirit, we have no reason to conclude that a distant analogy, such a one as springs out of mere relation, is intended. The nature of God and the nature of man are not the same, but they are similar, because they bear many attributes in common, though, on the part of the Divine nature, in a degree of perfection infinitely exceeding” (Institutes, chapter four). Dr. Chalmers says, “The mind of man is a creation, and therefore indicates by its characteristics the character of Him to the fiat and the forthcoming of whose will it owes its existence, (Natural Theology, Vol. 1, Pg 306). Let one additional quote suffice on this theme:

“Of God man can speak only in a human manner; and, if our nature is truly related to that of God, how can we conceive of Him without the admixture of a single trait derived from ourselves? This is the deep significance of Jacobi’s words, ‘In creating man, God theomorphosised; therefore man necessarily anthropomorphosises.’ ‘God condescends to us in order that we may rise to Him.’ Anthropomorphism and Anthropopathism (ascribing human emotions to God) is therefore by no means the antipode (the exact opposite), but rather the imperfect approximating expression of eternal truth; and in the interpretation, also, of Holy Scripture, our part is simply to trace out, as far as possible, the truth underlying such expressions… even the anthropopathic expressions of Scripture become the means of a better knowledge of God; a sublime accommodation to human wants and weaknesses, sanctified for the eye of faith, since God’s own Son has appeared as man on Earth. Anthropomorphism belongs thus also to the necessary form of the revelations of God; and let him who takes offence at the husk see that he does not lose the kernel, to retain — a merely apathetic God.” (Dr. J.J. Van Oosterzee Christian Dogmatics, I, 255)

Finally, Dr. Chafer writes, “It is equally certain that the weakness and sin of man cannot be predicated of God, and, similarly, there are characteristics in God which could not be expressed in the terms of human life. But man’s mental and moral properties do serve to demonstrate the significant and momentous fact that the attributes which are the same in nature, if not in their degree of perfection, are resident in both God and man… God is a Person, and no less so because of the fact that He is immaterial and infinite.” (L.S. Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, 183)

One scientific principle that applies in this discussion is that things which manifest the same qualities are in fact the same. It applies, but only in principle, and not in degree. There is much in man of the Divine, though sin has greatly diminished its brilliance. When God created man in His own image, He did not even originally make him equal to Himself, but when man sinned, he fell so far below God as to make any resemblance seem almost sacrilegious. Yet, excepting sin or any tendency to sin, there is in God that which is also in man.

The love that a human father has for his offspring is deep and abiding. It can never be broken, no matter the offense, no matter the distance, no matter the time between visits. The love of God the Father for His children is greater than that. It is eternal, existing from before the foundation of the world, even long eons before the birth of any of those children. It is as the Christian begins to mature that he begins to see God as, not just a Person, but as a Person of great intimacy, as a real Father, as one not only to seek favor from, but to love in return, upon whom to depend not only for the necessities of life, but also for every breath and heartbeat, for every desire. As God the Father ceases to be just some sort of spiritual entity and becomes, not just a part of our everyday lives, but the very essence of that life, we draw nearer and nearer to Him, even as He also draws nearer and nearer to us. As He serves us continuously, so should the Christian see his own life more and more as a time of, not merely temporal service to God, but as it is in fact, a time of eternal service. For, the works that we do in this life all pertain to eternity, even as we have ceased to be temporal creatures but have in truth become eternal beings since the day we first knew and understood and accepted the reality of the Gospel.

Paul tells us that he prays, “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God…” (1 Cor 1:10). It is by an increase in the knowledge of God that we are able to become fruitful ministers, and it is as we increase in the knowledge of God that begin to view Him more as a Person than as some sort of mystical “Being.” In similar fashion, Peter also says, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” (2 Pet 1:2), so that we learn that it is through an understanding of God that our lives become tranquil. This, because as we learn of Him, we find a heavenly Father who is able to attend to our needs, provide our desires, protect us in times of danger, uphold us in times of persecution, uplift us in times of trouble, love us when the world hates us, encourage us in times of doubt, comfort us in our grief, answer our prayers, love us even when we are unlovable sinners, calm our troubled spirits, who is able to be our Rock of refuge, a Fortress of defense to save us, to hedge us in front and in back, who will forget our sins, seal them up in a bag, put them behind His back, separate them from us as far as the east is from the west, who will guide our steps, deliver us from our trials, and be that Light that dissipates all our fears. Our Father is a great God indeed, but more than that, He is also a Person with whom we poor creatures may have an intimate and loving relationship. Let us draw near to Him with true hearts, hearts of faith, knowing how dearly He loves us.

The Attributes of God - In Brief

God is infinite in His being. That is, He is everywhere. Pantheists teach that God is everything, but that is wrong. But His omnipresence is well-documented in the Bible (Ps 139:7-12 and many others). God is not “big” in the ordinary sense of the word, but He is everywhere. As finite creatures, we can only act in our immediate circumstances or environment. God, being omnipresent, is able to act anywhere and everywhere at once. There is no “here” or “there” with God. He said to Moses, “I am that I am,” (Ex 3:14), indicating both His eternal character and His omnipresence.

God is also infinite in His wisdom. He is omniscient. There is nothing that can be known that God does not know. If there were, He could not be God, for He would be vulnerable. Not only is He continuously aware of every atom in the entire universe, He also always presently knows where each of those atoms ever has been or ever will be. His knowledge is not past or future, but He is always conscious of everything at every moment. The future and the past are alike to Him, and He sees everything now. God’s knowledge is not limited to the created realm, but everything that can be known of the heavens is also within the scope of His present consideration. When we stop for a moment and consider His omniscience, God becomes very awesome indeed.

Our God is eternal. He has neither beginning nor end, but always was. God need not say, “I will be,” or, “I was.” He says instead, “I am.” Many ask, “But where did He come from?” He did not come from anywhere. He has always existed. Our feeble minds cannot wrap themselves around the fact of eternity. Trapped in time as we are, we can understand that there can be an eternal future, but we cannot quite conceive of an eternal past in which an eternal God dwelt. Our minds balk at the thought that anything that exists had no beginning, but such is the case with our God. As far back into the darkest reaches of the eternal realm as our imaginations can carry us, God was there, still personal, still God. Way, way back into the farthest past, eons upon eons before the creation, God was there, and even then He knew your name, and He knew how many hairs would be on your head as you sit reading this paper. Even then He knew their individual numbers.

God is omnipotent. There is no power anywhere that does not spring from His power. All of the universe is held together, not by the power of God, but by the mere word of His power (Heb 1:3). Split an atom and there is a tremendous explosion, a visible manifestation of the word of God’s power. No man or angel has power that has not been granted him by God.

In addition to these manifested attributes of God, there are three moral attributes that must be mentioned. God is holy. He is separate from everything else. He is not a part of anything, but is holy, or separate (which is what the word holy means).

God is just. He treats everyone the same. He shows no partiality. It is God’s justice that causes Him to judge sin. If He failed to judge even the slightest of sins, He would not be just. By His grace, he judged every sin of man in Christ at Calvary.

God is good. There is no evil in Him. No hint of treachery or malice. Even in His wrath, God is good, for He does that which good demands. He extends grace to everyone, saving grace to the faithful and “common” grace to all His creatures, whereby He causes rain to fall upon the just and the unjust alike, whereby he causes no sparrow to fall to the ground before its time. God is love. This, because He is good.

Space fails us to speak at length on these things. We have not spoken of His truth, or of the spiritual character of His being. But we see that our God is all of the above, while also being a Person. Or, more correctly, three Persons. He has a cognitive will, exercises His purposes, loves, grieves, suffers, rejoices, provides for His own. Our God is a personal God, not some mystical “something” dwelling out in the great “somewhere.” There is no other god like our God, and we would do well to have our fellowship with Him every day. How remarkable that such a God should allow that!

Petition God the Father Only

We make our petitions before the Father’s throne because the Second Person of the Trinity told us to do so. He said, “...ye shall ask Me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you.” (Jn 16:23). We ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity. All of the three Persons of the Godhead are equally God, separate from one another, distinct and complete. When Jesus was baptized, the Father’s voice was heard from heaven, while the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. Clearly, there are three Persons in one God.

It is proper to worship each of the Persons of the Godhead individually, to pray to each of them, to obey them, to honor them. But it is to the Father alone that we make our requests in prayer. This is according to the instructions given to us by our God Himself, Jesus Christ. But Jesus is not our Father. He is our Lord, our Groom, our Head, but the Father is the Father. Our relationship to God the Father is the very same as Jesus’ relationship to Him. Since we are in Jesus, if we ask anything of Him, it is as if we are speaking to ourselves. But since we are in Him, it is proper for us to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. When we pray, “Lord, do this,” or, “Lord, do that,” we are praying improperly. Jesus is Lord (Acts 2:36), and He has instructed us to ask Him nothing. But when a Christian prays in Jesus’ name, God the Father hears him just as surely as He hears Jesus Himself. Pray to the Father in Jesus’ name.

What? Me Worry?

Of what shall I be afraid? My Father is God Himself. He has hedged me in front and behind and placed His hand upon me. His angels guard my comings and goings. No trouble can come upon me except that which He allows, and He has promised to make me stand. I am covered with the feathers of God, who also has placed my feet in a wide place. Called by His name, I call upon Him openly, knowing that He will not allow His name to become a reproach among the lost. God is my shield, my Rock, my strong Fortress, and shall I live in fear of what man can do to me? He is my refuge and my strength, my hope and my joy. He establishes the work of my hands and fills me with His Spirit. He is my habitation, who also lights my paths and guides my feet. In times past He has slain the enemies of His children, whom He also sent into battle against terrifying odds, and gave them victories that no earthly general could dream to achieve. All of my sins He has forgiven and forgotten, even those I have not yet committed, and still He has made me stand. My God is stronger than all earthly gods, whose power is reflected in everything about me. It is by the mere word of His power that all the universe is held together, and all of that power dwells in me by His grace. Science ignores Him, the world does not understand Him, the wisdom of the world cannot find Him. Philosophers of every age have tried to define Him and failed, for they looked everywhere except where He may be found, in His Word.

Of whom shall I be afraid? Of men or demons? Of terrors in the night? Of sins past or perils future? The great God who made heaven and earth is in me, loves me, adopted me, made me a member of His household. He alone is my God. I am in Him, and so are you, my friends. Trust Him.

The Brightness of His Glory

My daddy can whip your daddy. How many children have said those taunting words. While such violence ought to be discouraged, every child should be proud of his father. No earthly father, however, can stand against the glory of our heavenly Father. There is nothing serene or beautiful on the earth or in the heavens that is more than a terribly muted reflection of the glory of God. Every beautiful thing in nature is His handiwork. Every beautiful face, the glory of every sunset or full moon, the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter — these are all but sad intimations of the glory of our heavenly Father, which glory we shall see in full one day.

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