Who can fully understand God?

 
When God took me into His forever family, my sister told me to read John’s gospel five times, then Romans twice. This was good advice. The first Bible words I read as a believer reveal a basic truth that is believed by all who are reborn and trust Jesus:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

Knowing that Jesus is God is foundational to being a Christian. At least one cult tries to avoid this truth. They put an “a” in front of the last God, as if He is one of many, despite the many verses in the OT that say there is only one God. Not only that, the original Greek language of the NT does not have the word “a” in it!

How can there be one God yet both Father and Son, and add the Holy Spirit who is also God? This is humanly not understandable. We make analogies that try to explain it, such as ice, water, and steam are all different yet all H2O. But even that falls short.

This truth was His way of revealing Himself to the people He created and introducing me to Himself. God simply says it and I need to believe it. There is much more:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high… (Hebrews 1:1–3)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15)
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily… (Colossians 2:9)
…though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped… (Philippians 2:6)
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:3–6)

This truth is difficult for Christians, yet we are told to believe it, not to fully understand it. However, that Jesus is God is totally impossible for those who do not have faith in God or confess their sins to Him. They are blinded by the “god of this world” who is also called “the father of lies” who wants to keep people from faith in this marvelous God who sent His Son to show us what He is like, and to die for our sins that we might be with Him forever.

PRAY: Jesus, today we attend a Celebration of Life for a dear woman who loved You and walked with You for much of her life. While we miss her, our faith says she is with You now, seeing You in all Your glory and rejoicing for multiplied reasons, one of which is that she now fully understands how three can be one holy God. Because of You, we can celebrate even as we dearly miss her.

Who is this Babe in a manger?

 

Can anyone adequately describe God? Or the Son of God who is the Word made flesh? Or the Holy Spirit who impresses truth in our hearts? Charnock tries, first by what the Bible says about their roles. All three had a role in creation. The Father is the lawgiver who presented His holiness to humanity and the way to our happiness. However, the fall into sin made us impotent to obey His law or experience the joy of union with Him. Redemption became necessary that humanity could be recovered. Jesus was given the task, but because humanity was blinded by sin and had turned to our own way, enlightenment was needed to change that condition. This work is assigned to the Holy Spirit.

In brief, the Father sends, and the Son is sent because God cannot properly send himself, so the Son acts, and the Holy Spirit applies it by purifying our souls to understand, believe, and love these mysteries. It is the wisdom of God to prepare and present these truths, then impress them on those He chooses.

As to the deity of Jesus Christ, God wisely “unites finite and infinite, almightiness and weakness, immortality and mortality, immutability, with a creature subject to change; to have a nature from eternity, and yet a nature subject to the revolutions of time; a nature to make a law, and a nature to be subjected to the law; to be God blessed forever, in the bosom of his Father, and an infant exposed to calamities from the womb of his mother — terms seeming most distant from union, most incapable of conjunction, to shake hands together, to be most intimately conjoined; glory and vileness, fulness and emptiness, heaven and earth; the creature with the Creator; he that made all things, in one person with a nature that is made; Immanuel, God, and man in one; that which is most spiritual to partake of that which is carnal flesh and blood; one with the Father in his Godhead, one with us in his manhood; the Godhead to be in him in the fullest perfection, and the manhood in the greatest purity; the creature one with the Creator, and the Creator one with the creature. Thus is the incomprehensible wisdom of God declared in the ‘Word being made flesh.’ ”

As Charnock says, this union of two natures in Christ is incomprehensible: and it is a mystery we cannot fully fathom. How can the Son who is the same nature as the Father and the Holy Spirit be united to human nature, without its being said that the Father and the Holy Ghost were made flesh? The Scripture speaks only of the Word being made flesh, and that He is “the only begotten of the Father.”

As the Bible affirms, deity is not changed into flesh, nor flesh transformed into God: they are distinct and yet united, conjoined and yet unmixed. It is impossible that the majesty of God can be altered or the “meanness of humanity” be changed into deity, yet the Incarnation of Jesus Christ unites the two so that the properties of both remain firm. Two become one person in two natures containing the perfections of the Divine, and the weaknesses of the human.

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. (Colossians 2:9)
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Hebrews 2:14–15)

This Christmas season puts my focus even more on who Jesus is, this babe born in a manger. Reading the above explanations fills my heart with joy. I know that Jesus delivers from the power of sin as well as from the guilt of sin. I’ve learned how trusting Him keeps me from evil and delivers me from temptation. I do not need to rely on my own ideas or efforts for salvation because Christ is able and willing to keep me from falling and will restore me even when I do fall.

PRAY: Jesus, You have cleansed my heart and by grace continue to work through the power of Your Spirit to transform me into the person You intend me to be. I give myself to You because only You can purge me, cleanse me, and sanctify me. Your plan shows both my need and Your incredible ability to  meet that need, to change my heart and delivery me from both the penalty and the power of sin. I look forward to being with You and being delivered from even the presence of sin. You are able and willing and I am joyful.

Favoritism tested . . .

 

Partiality tests come in numerous ways. James gave this as one example:

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1–4)

Jesus, the Lord of glory was not partial. Even though He is “the Word (who) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14) and “in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9) the Pharisees knew. They “sent their disciples to him,  “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.” (Matthew 22:16)

Jesus told parables that also revealed His impartial attitude. In one, He spoke of a wedding where those invited did not show up so the father of the groom told his servants, “The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.” They went out and gathered “both bad and good.” (Matthew 22:1–14)

I tend to be partial to those who obviously love Jesus and don’t enjoy the company of those wrapped up in themselves. They remind me of how my own short-comings concerning ‘me, myself, and I’ can easily be a favorite topic, yet whatever the reason for favoritism, God keeps telling me to be impartial, to be interested in everyone and kind, no matter who they are or how they behave.

Yesterday our church hosted the funeral of a man who once attended the church we once attended. Many came from that former church, some of prominent in leadership and some who showed up only now and then. It seemed important to meet and greet all of them, plus the strangers, and including our friends and the leaders in our church who conducted the service. After several hours of visiting with everyone, fatigue hit, but also a sense of having done what God wanted — no favoritism or impartiality.

James illustrated being impartial regarding what people were wearing. That happens in church. Yesterday there were men in shorts and men in suits, women in jeans and women in dresses. One pushed a walker. Some wore masks. Some sang the hymns, others did not. I did notice that I wanted to talk longer with those who praised the Lord but that didn’t seem like being partial so much as wanting a bright and transparent spot in a sea of people who were wearing polite funeral faces.

PRAY: Lord Jesus, thank You for being impartial and granting Your people that same grace. I note that You also called sin for what it is in the lives of the Pharisees and other religious people who rejected You. We still have “respected, religious leaders” who were threatened by Your humble, meek and powerful manner, much like those of Your day. Reaching out to others with no favoritism does not mean acceptance of their sinful behavior or that of anyone else. You never patted people on the head and told them they were okay when they were not. Being like You is a challenge in that You reached out to all but still called a spade a spade. How I need You to show me how to live!

PONDER: Matthew 22:1-14 describes the kingdom of heaven and likens God to a king whose son was going to be married. How does this parable show impartiality yet also shows God’s attitude toward sin?

 

 

He could not be closer . . .

 

Those who study Scripture with a knowledge of the original languages find many rich truths. For instance, I picked the word DWELL today thinking of how God speaks in the OT of dwelling with His people. Since God is omnipresent, that seems obvious, but there is a special sense of His presence. His people know that He is near them. This shows up in the words they used. One word for dwell is generally about human habitations and generally about God being in Jerusalem and in His heavenly dwelling. It suggests His regal majesty.

The other word is also translated ‘dwell’ yet the context is about Him being near, close to them. It is more personal and used in verses like these:

May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.” (Genesis 9:27)

And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. (Exodus 25:8)

I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. (Exodus 29:45–46)

From God’s promises and our relationship with Him, Christians know that He dwells in our hearts. Jesus declared it first. After saying the Father dwells in Him, He said to the disciples that “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him” that they “know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:10; 17)

In this promise, dwell means to continue a certain state, condition, or activity. Jesus told us that His Spirit would stick around. Another NT word translated ‘dwell’ means to exist or co-exist, to be situated within, speaking of the same residing place of God the Spirit.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. (Romans 8:9)

The Bible is clear that the Spirit of God is with His people yet this does not make us the same as Jesus:

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell . . .  (Colossians 1:19)

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily . . .  (Colossians 2:9)

In Jesus, this was about His identity. He is fully God and fully man. For us, His indwelling is about God’s power to save us from sin including idolatry, and to give us His transferable attributes including love:

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2 Corinthians 6:16)

In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit . . . . so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 2:22; 3:17–19)

This wonder comes full circle. God made the promise and it is fulfilled at the end of time and for all eternity:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:3)

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. The Bible says that looking at Jesus is part of becoming like Him. I can spend a lot of time looking at my work, projects, out the window, books, etc. but the most precious and valuable thing to do is read, study, meditate about Jesus Christ, the One who dwells in my heart.