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Nature of God
Part 3
We will now address
ourselves to the most difficult task of all. How does a God who
is ineffable, who is transcendent, eternal, immutable,
omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, infallible and infinite
condescend to meet the personal need of an insignificant
individual, who is one of some six billion other humans milling
around on a mere speck in the universe? What attention can He
pay to our prayers? How can He operate impersonally according to
His own law and yet hear my plea amidst all the confused milieu
of this globe. There is a note of plaintive appeal in the hymn,
"Does Jesus care when my heart is sad." There is both
humor and desperation in David's prayer for "God to get His
hands out of His pockets." Psa. 74:11. (pluck it (the hand)
out of thy bosom), it reads. The question is, Can God, be God
and true to His nature, subject to His own law, invariable and
impartial, and yet meet my personal need? How can that be?
The answer is a resounding Yes! God Can! First, because He IS
God, and therefore, infinite in every attribute ascribed to Him.
Secondly, because Jesus represented this kind of God to man, a
Father who is touched by the feelings of our infirmities.
Thirdly, because it is the nature of God to be filial. His Names
reveal His character, to heal, to help, to redeem, to restore,
to be present in time of need. The faithfulness of God
guarantees these benefits. Fourthly, I believe in the personal
attentiveness and ability of God to meet the individual need,
because of His Covenant provisions. A testament is a will. God
devised the New Testament for His heirs. They are the claimants
or beneficiaries. "Paul said, "And if children, then
heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…" Rom.
8:17. The heir does not beg for his inheritance. He merely
establishes his identity as the one to whom the property rightly
belongs. When we belong to God through Christ, we are heirs of
God and all the promises of God become our just inheritance.
None of these four reasons conflict with the nature of God. He
is the reliable Supreme Sovereign God, but He is also "My
Lord and My God."
Calvin majored in theology. He endeavored to establish the
Sovereignty of a God Who justifiably DECREED the eternal destiny
of every person either for heaven or hell. But we read in 2
Peter 3:9b that He is, "Not WILLING that ANY should perish,
but that ALL should come to repentance." Obviously God will
not DECREE something that is contrary to His WILL. All God's
decrees are in harmony with His nature. What God decreed was a
PLAN. The PLAN originated in the beginning even as "Christ
was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev.
13:8 The PLAN is universal, for all equally, absolutely fair and
impartial. Man's destiny is determined by choice, not chance.
God's PLAN is in harmony with God's law. He offers LIFE. If we
are lost, it will be because we neglected or rejected God's
decreed PLAN of reconciliation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Man's eternal destiny is not decreed by God, but by man's
acceptance or rejection of God's decreed plan. That plan is in
harmony with His nature.
But while God is personal, He is not partial. James 3:17. God
is no respecter of persons. Acts 10:34. The basis on which God
metes out personal blessings is in accordance with His nature
with "Whom there is no variableness, neither trace of
turning. God does not administer His grace by dispensing it
according to any whims of who should be saved or lost. Instead
God administers His law and provides His grace for all men
impartially to benefit there-from. Those who WILL to obey God,
automatically come under the operation and influence of the law
of redemption. Those who spurn God's mercy, and go their own way
through life, will hear the verdict to just keep on going their
own way on to eternal doom. No one will accuse God of being
unfair or unjust for we are without excuse. "Now is the
accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation." 2 Cor.
6:2b.
God created man in His own image. That image gave man the
power to choose. If we make the wrong choice there is no second
chance. May we echo the words of Joshua who confronted a
vacillating indecisive host with several alternatives. But
regardless of their choice Joshua's decision rang loud and
clear. "As for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord," Joshua 24:15. Every man must face the same decision
and face it alone with God.
Any attempt to explain the nature of God, must necessarily
fall short and leave more things unanswered than it explains.
But it is the hope of this writer, that this helps; that it
opens some windows through which we can more readily discern
God. But all the books and explanations in the world will not
discover God for you. In the final analysis we experience God
through simple personal faith in believing in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Nothing less and nothing else will substitute for
personal trust. It is a 'two way street' to God. "Draw nigh
to God and He will draw nigh to you." James 4:8. The moment
you take your first step toward God, you will discover He is on
His way to meet you. The best way to explain God is to get to
know Him. The best way to find out what the nature of God
is…is to be in harmony and at peace with God. It is within
your reach. How about your grasp?
"Now the God of Peace, that brought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the
Blood of the Everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every
good work to do His Will, working in you that which is well
pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory
for ever and ever. Amen." Hebrews 13:20, 21.
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