Something more than a theoretical knowledge of God is needed by us. God is only truly known in the soul as we yield ourselves to him, submit to his authority, and regulate all the details of our lives by his holy precepts and commandments.
The solitariness of God:
That God is great in wisdom, mercy and power is assumed by many to be common knowledge but in actual fact very few people have attained anything like a clear knowledge of God in those ways.
Ex. 15:11 Who is like unto thee o Lord, among the gods? Who is like Thee glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?'
'In the beginning, God' Gen. 1:1 There was a time when God existed all alone. There was no heaven, where his glory is now particularly manifested. There was no earth to engage his attention. There were no angels to hymn his praises; no universe to be upheld by the word of his power. There was norhing, no one, but God; that, not for a day, a year, or an age, but 'from everlasting.' During a past eternity, God was alone: self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied; in need of nothing.
The creating of angels, a universe, an earth, and human beings added nothing to God essentially. He changes not, therefore his essential glory can be neither augmented nor diminished.
He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will - Eph. 1:11
These kinds of thoughts and ideas are new to many people - therefore we must move slowly and appeal be to scriptures.
Romans 11:34-35 - who has been God's advisor or who has first given to him that he ought to be repaid? Who has known his mind? Similar is Job 35:7,8
'Our obedience profits God nothing' meaning that our obedience does not fill up anything in him that is lacking. He does not require our obedience in order to be who he is, divine, eternal, sovereign, love.
It is true that God is both honoured and dishonoured by men, that he is 'glorified' by creation, providence and redemption. This is indisputable. But this has to do with manifestative glory and the recognition of it by us. That is, the glory that emanates from God and is seen and recognised (and reflected by us).
Is. 40:15-18 "Behold the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance... all the nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted as less than nothing. To whom will you compare me?"
that is still an 'unknown god' (Acts 17) to the multitudes around us.
Is. 40:23 '...he brings princes to nothing; he makes the judges of the earth as vanity.'
how vastly different is the God of the scripture from the 'god' of the average pulpit!
God is solitary in his majesty, unique in his excellency, peerless in his perfections. He sustains all, but is himself independent of all. He gives to all, but is enriched by none.
Such a God cannot be found out by searching. He can be known only as he is revealed to the heart by the Holy Spirit through the word.
Analogy has been drawn between a savage finding a watch upon the sands, and from a close examination of it he infers a watch-maker. So far so good. But attempt to go further: suppose that savage sits down on the sand and endeavours to form to himself a conception of this watch-maker, his personal affections and manners; his disposition, acquirements, and moral-character - all that goes to make up a personality; could he ever think or reason out a real man - the man who made the watch, so that he could say 'I am acquanited with him'?The God of scripture can only be known by those to whom he makes himself known.
2. The Decrees of God
decree - one of the eternal purposes of God by which events are foreordained.
a formal and authoritative order, especially one having theforce of law: a presidential decree.
God's decrees are:
- eternal: 'to suppose any of them to be made in time is to suppose that some new occasion has occurred; some unforeseen event or combination of circumstances has arisen, which has induced the Most High to form a new resolution.'
- Wise: Wisdom is shown in the selection of the best possible ends and of the fittest means of accomplishing them. 'In like manner we should satisfy our minds as to God's works when doubts obtrude themselves upon us, and repel any objections that may be suggested by something that we cannot reconcile to our notions of what is good and wise. When we reach the bounds of the finite and gaze toward the mysterious realm of the infinite, let us exclaim, 'O the depth of the riches! Both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!' Rom. 11:33'
- Free: He was alone with no outside influences when he made his decree.
Absolute and unconditional: He has decreed the end from the beginning and nothing can stop his decree from coming to pass.
Side by side with the immutability and invincibility of God's decrees, Scripture plainly teaches that man is a responsible creature and answerable for his actions
3. The knowledge of God
God is omniscient. He knows everything: everything possible, everything actual; all events and all creatures, of the past, the present, and the future.
Nothing can be concealed/hidden from God.
"I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them" Ezekial. 11:5
Though to non-believers this is a terrifying idea a reality to reject, to believers God's omniscience is a wonderful thing. It gives us much comfort 'he knows my frame he remembers that we are dust.' Psalm 130:14. In times of doubt and suspicion I can appeal to this very attribute: 'Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts and see if there be any unclean way in me. Psalm 139:23,24.
When our actions betray us and we fall into sin and we fell God say 'do you love me?' we can say with Peter 'Lord you know all things, you know that I love you.'
There is encouragement to prayer here. Nothing escapes God's notice. There is no danger of the individual saint being overlooked. The infinite mind is as capable of paying the same attention to millions as if only one individual were seeking its attention.
Psalm 147:5 'Great is our Lord and or great power. His understanding is infinite.'
It is no more possible for the divine counsels to fail in their execution than it would be for the thrice holy God to lie.
The application of this should amaze us and fill us with awe. The understanding/grasping of God's infinite knowledge should fill the Christian with adoration. The whole of my life stood open to his view from the beginning. He foresaw my every fall, my every sin, my every backsliding; yet, nevertheless, fixed his heart pon me. Oh, how the realisation of this should bow me in wonder and worship before him!
4. The Foreknowledge of God
What do we mean when we talk about God's foreknowledge?
'foreknow' is not mentioned in the Old Testament. The word 'know' appears often and when it is used in connection with God it often signifies 'to regard with favour, denoting not mere cognition but an affection for the object in view.'
Eg. I know thee by name (Ex33:17), before i formed you in the womb i knew you (Jer. 1:5), you only have I known of all the families of the earth (Amos 3:2), here knew signifies either loved or appointed.
The word 'foreknowledge' is never used in scripture in reference to events or actions, instead it always has to do with 'persons'. Passages where 'foreknowledge' is mentioned:
Acts 2:23 - Jesus handed over and killed according to God's 'foreknowledge.'
Romans 8:29 - those he foreknew he also predestined... (he foreknew the persons not their actions/decisions).
Romans 11:2 - God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew
1 Peter 1:2 - elect according to the foreknowledge of God (again the emphasis is on the people being foreknown and elected not those people's decisions).
Those are the only verses where the word 'foreknowledge' appears.
'Scripture never speaks of repentance and faith as being foreseen or foreknown by God. Truly, he did know from all eternity that certain ones would repent and believe, yet this is not what Scripture refers to as the object of God's foreknowledge. The word uniformly refers to God's foreknowing persons. God foreknows what 'will be' because he has decreed what 'shall be'. It is therefore a reversing of the order of Scripture, a putting of the cart before the horse, to affirm that God elects because he foreknows people. The truth is, he 'foreknows' because he has elected.
God purposed in himself to elect a certain people. not because of anything good in them or from them, either actual or foreseen, but solely out of his own mere pleasure.
5. The Supremacy of God
In one of his letters to Erasmus Luther said 'your thoughts of God are too human.'
The 'god' of the twentieth century no more resembles the Supreme Sovereign of the Bible than does the dim flickering of a candle the glory of the midday sun.
The God of scripture is no make-believe monarch, no mere imaginary sovereign but king of kings and Lord of lords. Job 42:2 'I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.'
He is also in charge of the decisions of men. James 4: 'do not say we will go here and there etc. but only if the Lord wills it shall we do x, y, z.'
God's supremacy over the works of his hands is vividly depicted in scripture. Inanimate matter, irrational creatures, all perform their maker's bidding. At his pleasure the Red Sea divided and its waters stood up as walls and the earth opened her mouth, and guilty rebels went down alive into the pit. When he so ordered the sun stood still; and on another occasion went backward ten degrees on the dial of Ahaz. To exemplify his supremacy he made ravens carry food to Elijah, iron swim on top of the waters, lions to be tame when Daniel was cast into their den, fire to burn not when the three Hebrews were flung into it flames.
6. The Sovereignty of God
Here then is a sure resting-place for the heart. Our lives are neither the produce of blind fate nor the result of capricious chance, but every detail of them was ordained from all eternity, and is now ordered by the living and reigning God. Not a hair of our heads can be touched without his permission.
The sovereignty of God may be defined as the exercising of his supremacy.
Psalm 115:3 'Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.'
God is sovereign. His will is supreme. So far from God being under any law of 'right' he is a law unto himself, so that whatsoever he does is right. Where does divine sovereignty end and human responsibility begin?
Here is where creature responsibility begins: in the sovereign ordination of the Creator. As to his sovereignty, there is not and never will be any 'end' to it!Here is the highest and grandest display of the absolute sovereignty of God. He has 'mercy on whom he has mercy and he hardens whomever he wills.' Romans 9:18
7. The Immutability/Unchanging Nature of God
God is unchanging in:
- his essence. God has neither evolved, grown, nor improved. All that he is today he has ever been. He does not improve or deteriorate. Ex. 3:14 'I am that I am.'
- his attributes. Whatever the attributes of God were before the universe was created they are still the same today. His power is unabated his wisdom undiminished and his holiness unsullied. His love is eternal 'I have loved you with an everlasting love.' Jer 31:3.
- his counsel. God's purpose never alters. Herein we see the biggest distance between us and God.By nature we tend toward nothingness since we came from nothing. Nothing stays our annihilation but the will and sustaining power of God. No one can sustain himself a single moment. We are entirely dependant on the Creator for every breath we draw.
In God's unchanging nature is sold comfort and encouragement to prayer. Stephen Charnock (1670) says:
8. The Holiness of God
What comfort would it be to pray to a god that, like the chameleon, changed colour every moment? Who would put up a petition to an earthly prince that was so given to change as to grant a request one day and deny it another?
Revelation 15:4 'Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. And all nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.'
1John1:5 'God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.'
Holiness is the 'attribute of attributes' John Howe 1670.
Power is God's hand or arm, omniscience his eye, mercy his bowels, eternity his duration, but holiness is his beauty.
Stephen Charnock
God's holiness is manifested...
- in his works: The Lord is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works (Psalm 145:17)
- in his law: The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether (Psalm 19:8-9
- at the cross: How hateful sin must be to God for him to punish it to its utmost desertes when it was imputed to his son!
Because God is holy he hates sin.
A fallen creature could sooner create a world than produce that which would meet the approval of infinite Purity. Can darkness dwell with light?
The 'god' which the vast majority of professing Christians 'love' is looked upon very much like an indulgent old man who himself has no relish for folly, but leniently winks that 'indiscretions; of youth. But the word says 'you hate all workers of iniquity.' (Psalm 5:5
Blessed be his name. 'That which is holiness demanded his grace has provided in Christ Jesus our Lord. Every poor sinner who has fled to him for refuge stands 'accepted in the beloved.' Hallelujah.
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