Absolute #8 The Image of God part 1

Absolute #7 The Attributes of God Part 2

Special note for leaders:

I didn't put this into the video, because I didn't think of it as I was filming. But when we get down to point three and the jealousy of God, some students may well object and ask if this doesn't make God sound like an upset three year old, or maybe a jealous high school girlfriend. The answer, of course, is no. But why is the answer no? If I was this jealous it certainly would bespeak something pretty terrible about my character. The difference between you and me and the three year old and the high school girl on the one hand, and God on the other, is simple: we don't deserve the worship, praise, adoration, and commitment of others (obviously there are contexts where certain elements of these are appropriate, but we are talking at the most basic level). If we were to demand these things, we would be demanding something unjust, unfair, unkind, and not good. However, when God demands our praise, He is actually giving us a command that leads to our joy. He is telling us to worship the only one worthy of worship. He is telling us to point our worship the only place was made to be pointed. He is, in effect, telling us to live life to the full. Thus, for God to jealously demand our worship, and to display His wrath when this demand is not met, is a function of His holy love and goodness towards us, not of some self-pity or immaturity.

The Attributes of God Part 2

Absolute Curriculum

Year 1, Lesson 7

Introduction

In the last session we opened our discussion of God's attributes, looking specifically at

1) God's eternity, the fact that He always has been and always will be.¹ This is revealed in the explicit statements of Scripture, as well as His revelation of His name to Moses in Exodus 3, “I Am Who I Am.”

2) God's sovereignty, we looked at the fact that God's governance of and control over creation is all encompassing.

3) God's holiness, we looked at God's transcendence, His otherness, and His moral perfection.

Point 1: God is Love

If you ask most folks what they thinkabut God, they will tell you that God is love. Of course, they are right. At least, their words are right. But their meaning is probably wrong, because we think of love as always doing what we think is nice, or never doing anything uncomfortable for us. In essence, we think of a cosmic candy dispenser. Now, when we come to the Bible and talk about God, are we talking about the 21st Century niceness? No. What is the biblical basis for thinking that God is love?

1 John  4:7

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”²

To know God is to know love, and His love will pour through us. What does God's love look like in Scripture? While it encompasses many things, it finds its fullest expression in perhaps the most famous verse in the Bible:

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

It is in this way that God loved the world, He sent His Son into the world. Why? So that those who place their faith and trust in Him might have life.

God shows His love by giving His Son to us; our love, or lack thereof, is shown by our love of the darkness.⁴

The love of God for us in Christ is even more fully unpacked for us in Philippians chapter two, verses 1 through 8, which read,

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Christ humbled Himself and became obedient to death. In doing so, He made it possible for us to be brought to God.⁵ In bringing us to Himself, what God was accomplishing was the bringing us into the love which He has for Himself in His Triune being:

^“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world...I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” ⁶

God loves Himself. God the Father loves the Son and the Spirit, the Son loves the Spirit and the Father, the Spirit loves the Son and the Father.

What is God doing in salvation? He is inviting us into the love, a love which we were created to participate in but could not because of our sin.

Point 2- God is Merciful

Psalm 145:8-9,

“The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.”

Here we are introduced to two really important theological words: grace and mercy. God shows grace, undeserved favor, to all men; especially to those who place their trust in Him. He pours gifts graciously on all men. Matthew 5:44-45,

^“ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

No one deserves the rain. We don't deserve the sun to rise day after day and year after year. And yet He gives it to us all. To you, to me, to Hitler, to murderers, to our awesome grandma, and to our annoying little brother.

Point 3- God is jealous, and God is a God of Wrath

This is the point which really makes the others all the more amazing.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”⁷

God is a jealous God, one who visits the sins of the fathers down three and four generations. That's how zealous He is for the glory of His name, that's how seriously He takes our obedience, that's how jealous He is for our love.⁸ The nature of the worship He demands, and the reasoning behind it, are clearly seen in Hebrews 12:28-29,

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our God is a consuming fire.”⁹

We need to realize the very terrifying nature of God. Standing before God apart from Jesus Christ and His salvation is the most terrifying thought in the universe. So let us cling to the God of Scripture, who is both wrathful and kind.

¹³ I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, ¹⁴ to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. ¹⁰

1Revelation 22:13

2 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (1 John 4:7–8). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. All Scripture taken from the ESV, unless otherwise noted.

3 John 3:16

4John 3:19

51 Peter 3:18

6 John 17:24, 26

7 Exodus 20:4-6

8See special note for leaders at the top of this page.

9See also passages such as Isaiah 6 and Revelation 1 for how great men of God react when given a vision of God.

10 1 Timothy 6:13-16; see also 1 Timothy 1:17

Absolute # 6 The Attributes of God

Attributes of God, Part 1

Absolute Curriculum

Year 1, Lesson 6

Introduction

Over the next two sessions I want to wrap up our discussion of God by looking at some of His attributes, and segueing into our discussion of man. To some extent this may feel like a fire-hose dumping information on you at a pace that is impossible to keep up with. I'm okay with that. Here's why. God, by the very definition of being God, is beyond our full comprehension. If you will remember our discussion of the Scripture, we said that we cannot know God fully, but we can know Him truly. That's an important distinction. So no matter how little or much you walk away from today with, because our subject matter is the attributes of God, I think it will be of benefit.

So, what is an attribute? An attribute is simply a word that we use to describe some action or characteristic of God. Now, because God is an infinite and unlimited being, He has an infinite number of attributes. That is, there is no end to what we could say about God. But I want to restrict our looking to what the Bible has to say.

Theologians have often (though not always) grouped the attributes of God into two categories: communicable (that is, He shares these attributes with us) and incommunicable (that is, attributes that rightly describe Him alone). However, we should realize that, as one writer put it, “these categories are not hard and fast, and some of the choices as to which attributes to place within which category are debatable. The important thing to study is the attribute itself to learn not only what it reveals about God but also what implications that it has for one’s personal outlook and life.”¹ So as we break this into two sessions we aren't going to specifically follow the communicable/incommunicable distinction. I don't want us to worry too much about big words like communicable and incommunicable so much as we worry about learning who God is and what He is like. I have had to be somewhat selective in which attributes I have picked to looked at, but hopefully they will give you a taste for the immense power, beauty, and wisdom of this God whom we serve. In this session we are going to focus specifically on God's attributes to kind finish our discussion directly about the Persons and Being of God, and next week we will look at some of the attributes that we are made or told to model as His image bearers, as a way of introducing our next topic: Who is Man?

Independence

The first attribute I want to look at is the eternal independence of God. That He depends on no one to exist, because He and He alone has always been.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”²

^“13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”” ³

^“Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”” ⁴

In the beginning God. I am who I am. Before Abraham was, I am. God predates creation, His point of reference for Himself is Himself, and Jesus makes clear that as God, He is the one who has always been. In Revelation 4:8 we read the following,

“And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!””

Why does this matter? Because as the only eternal being, we see that God is not only one who existed before creation, but He is not dependent upon any part of His creation. Acts 17:24-25 says the following,

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

He is the one who gives it, He does not depend upon you or me. This is good news, for a God who needed us would be a small God indeed!

Sovereignty

The next attribute that I want to discuss it the sovereignty of God. That is the powerful, effective, controlling rule of God over all things. There is absolutely nothing that is outside the control of God. He does whatever He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants.

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” ⁵

“Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel?...Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust...All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”⁶

God does whatever He pleases, the nations are all a drop in the bucket to him. But God's control isn't just over nations, but over persons as well, and even down to the birds of the air!

“The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.”⁷

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.”⁸

All things, all thing, are under God's control. Theologian JI Packer puts it this way,

“The assertion of God’s absolute sovereignty in creation, providence, and grace is basic to biblical belief and biblical praise. The vision of God on the throne—that is, ruling—recurs (1 Kings 22:19; Isa. 6:1; Ezek. 1:26; Dan. 7:9; Rev. 4:2; cf. Pss. 11:4; 45:6; 47:8–9; Heb. 12:2; Rev. 3:21); and we are constantly told in explicit terms that the Lord (Yahweh) reigns as king, exercising dominion over great and tiny things alike (Exod. 15:18; Pss. 47; 93; 96:10; 97; 99:1–5; 146:10; Prov. 16:33; 21:1; Isa. 24:23; 52:7; Dan. 4:34–35; 5:21–28; 6:26; Matt. 10:29–31). God’s dominion is total: he wills as he chooses and carries out all that he wills, and none can stay his hand or thwart his plans.”⁹

Holiness

The final attribute I want to discuss today is the holiness of God. Before we dive into this one though I want to plug a book to you, “The Holiness of God” by RC Sproul. It has been one of the most influential books in my own life, and he covers this aspect of God's character much better than I can here. End plug.

We see the holiness of God brought forward to us time and time again in Scripture. All three members of the Trinity are described as holy. God the Father is referred to as “a holy God”¹⁰, Jesus, God the Son, is referred to by Peter as the “holy one of God”¹¹, and of course God the Spirit is known as the “Holy Spirit.”¹²

But what does this word “holy” mean? The word carries with it the idea of separation, or different-ness. When God's people are referred to as holy in Scripture, the idea is often that they are ones who have been set apart or chosen by God for a distinct purpose, and are thus different from the world.¹³ We see a similar usage throughout the Old Testament, extending even to inanimate objects, such at the vessels in the temple. To be holy was, and is, to be set apart by God for His use. In applying this to God Himself, we begin to see the idea of transcendence, that God is over everthying and not constrained by anything outside of Himself, and of the distinction from all of His creation. So you might say that God is holy because He is not human, or angelic, or a dog, or a tree, or anything else. He is God. And yet if that's all we said about holiness we would be missing something very important.

There is also a very clear message about the holiness of God in Scripture: God's holiness means not only that He is other, that He is unlike us, but also that He is pure, righteous, perfect, unstained, and untainted by sin. For example, we read in Leviticus,

You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. ⁴⁴ For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. ⁴⁵ For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁴

God holiness meant being untainted by any impure or unclean thing. And as a result of His holy character, He demands that His people live in a way that is holy as well. Of course it looks different today than it did then when God was telling them not to eat insects, but God is making a clear point. I am pure: you be pure.¹⁵

Conclusion:

So I want to wrap up today with I want to close with Paul's words to young pastor Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:17,

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

1 Ryrie, C. C. (1972). A survey of Bible doctrine. Chicago: Moody Press.

2 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Genesis 1:1). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. All Scripture taken from the ESV, unless otherwise noted.

3 Exodus 3:13-14

4 John 8:58

5 Psalm 115:3

6 Isaiah 40:13,15

7 Proverbs 16:9

8 Matthew 10:29

9 Packer, J. I. (1993). Concise theology: a guide to historic Christian beliefs. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

10 Joshua 24:19. See also, Ezekiel 39:7, Isaiah 41:14

11John 6:69. See also, Mark 1:24, Acts 3:14

12Acts 5:3. See also, Ephesians 4:30, John 20:22

13For example, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

14 Leviticus 11:43-45

15See also, 1 Peter 1:15-16