In my previous post I mentioned further discussing God’s concern for His glory. This can be a foreign and awkward topic for many Christians. It was initially for me. Even most of us who grew up in the church, Sunday and Wednesday-nighters included, are not familiar with the biblical understanding of God’s preeminent pursuit of His glorious name being known, protected and preserved. Whether this truth is misunderstood or neglected, the common result often manifests through man-centered faith, not God-glorifying faith. We may misguidedly think that God is primarily concerned about us, not Himself.
Scripture reveals that God is primarily concerned with bringing about events for His name’s sake (1 Sam 12:22; Ps 23:3, 25:11, 31:3, 79:9, 106:8, 109:21, 115:1, 143:11; Isa 48:9,11, 66:5, Jer 14:7,21; Ezek 20:9,14,22,44, 36:22; Dan 9:19; Acts 9:16, Rom 1:5, 1 Jn 2:12, Rev 2:3) and acting on behalf of His glory (Ex 14:4,17-18; Ps 79:9, 115:1; Isa 42:8, 48:11; Ezek 39:21; Zech 2:5; Jn 11:4,40, 17:5,24; Acts 12:23; Rom 9:23; 2 Cor 4:6; Phil 4:19; Col 2:27; 1 Pet 4:11; Rev 4:11). God also pointedly reveals why He created mankind in Isa 43:7. He speaks through the prophet Isaiah, “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
Perhaps you’re now convinced that God seeks His own glory above all else, but you’re wondering, “Why?” You wouldn’t likely verbalize this question, but are you pondering whether this makes God self-centered or egotistical? The answer is, only if God isn’t truly God. For any person other than God to glorify and make much of themself, this behavior reveals egotism and pride. People like this are hard to stomach for any prolonged period of time. Their behavior is a turn-off because everyone else is quite aware of these people’s shortcomings. On the other hand, God is perfect and the essence of all that is magnificent, beautiful and worthy of praise. It is deep, but the following statement is true: If God values anything other than Himself before Himself, He’s guilty of committing idolatry. Certainly God does not do this!
Niagra Falls' magnificence, uniqueness and awe-inspiring views attract admirers from all over the world. Similarly, by placing His worthiness, honor and glory on display for all to see, God attracts people to the only thing in the universe that can fully satisfy their souls, which is Himself. A deep and abiding relationship with the God of the universe is the final destination of all people’s quest for soul satisfying joy. Psalm 16:11 states this truth beautifully, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” God’s pursuit of His preeminent glory and His provision of our ultimate joy is the same end!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
How Big Is Your God?
I have a confession to make. More often than I’d like to admit, I forget just how BIG our God truly is. I’m obviously not speaking of physical size when using the descriptive word ‘big,’ especially since God exists everywhere and is not contained in measurable, observable matter. How mind boggling that mankind doesn’t actually know what ‘everywhere’ entails, considering we can’t even measure the expanse of the universe, much less the spiritual realm!
Scripture says that no one has seen God in His fullness, and no man could survive the experience. Yet, God has revealed glimpses of Himself in numerous ways and varying degrees, most clearly through the person of Jesus Christ the Son, who is the exact representation of God’s character and purpose.
The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one God that eternally exists in three Persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). He is one in essence and being (which includes character, purpose and will), yet relates through separate Persons that are equally God. Although completely equal, the Son submits to the Father’s will and the Holy Spirit submits to the will of the Father and Son. This dynamic of submission does not in any way make the Son or Holy Spirit subordinate to (lesser than) the Father.
God is entirely independent in that He experiences perfect love and completeness within the Trinitarian existence. God doesn’t need us or anything He created, as if He was lonely or bored, which some errant pseudo-theologians have contended.
Being eternal, the Triune God has no beginning and no end. He exists outside of space and time, yet he created both space and time, and reveals Himself to us through them and in them. Therefore, He always sees all things past, present and future in perfect clarity and in their entirety. Nothing is hidden from God.
All events past, present and future happen in accordance with God’s will. Nothing happens that He does not allow and ordain. God reveals His will for us through commands and precepts contained in the Bible, yet scripture also shows He has a secret will that contains the mysteries we cannot grasp.
Have you ever pondered the fact that we will never fully know anything about God? If we did, God would cease to be infinite, but rather, finite. Nevertheless, we can partially know many truths about God as revealed through his Word, as well as relationally experience God in our lives through countless ways.
God’s character includes His love, wisdom, truthfulness, goodness, mercy, grace, patience, holiness, peace, righteousness, justice, jealousy and wrath. He does not simply exude these attributes, He defines them. For example, the Bible does not only say God loves, but that God is love. His justice, jealously and wrath are not contradictory to his other attributes but in concert with them. God cannot be fully loving, good, merciful, gracious, patient, wise, ect., without being just, wrathful and jealous for our affections.
Often overlooked and/or understated is that God delights fully in Himself and all that reflects His character. He is the sole essence of all desirable qualities. God is primarily concerned with His glory (note: not ours), which Wayne Grudem defines as the created brightness that surrounds God’s revelation of Himself. Perhaps I will attempt to unpack some of this truth in the next posting!?
Try your best to fight through the headache that may have onset during your reading of all these mind-mangling truths because there are some life altering ramifications! Why should we study and contemplate what God has revealed about Himself since often we come away perplexed? All confusion should lead us to these conclusions: 1) If we could fully comprehend God, He wouldn’t truly be God. 2) We can rest assured that God is able to keep all of His promises since He alone is not limited in any way, shape or form. 3) Because of who God is, He is completely worthy of our trust and affections in the midst of any and all circumstances!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Heavenly Reflections
When was the last time you heard a sermon on heaven? How often are you prompted to ponder the glories that await you when God calls you home? If the Bible speaks often of heaven, why don’t we?
Throughout Christian church history until modern times, God’s people largely cherished the promises and glories of heaven much more so than most of us reading this blog. I contend this has to do with the relative ease of life we have. Beginning with the New Testament-era church, Christians were shunned and persecuted, eventually leading to many being martyred for their faith in Christ. For the next two hundred years of church history until AD 313 when Roman emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, Christians suffered persecution by emperors Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Maximus, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian and Diocletian. From the fourth century to the present time, untold numbers of Christians have continued to live under adverse conditions that include oppressive governments, imprisonment, hunger, famine, lack of clothing, sickness, disease, plagues and poverty as their normal way of life. It’s not hard to fathom that a lack of earthly comforts necessarily magnifies people’s anticipation of heaven. Apart from relatively brief experiences of tragedies and trials, the opposite can be said of most of us.
In countries with unprecedented historical wealth, such as ours, the influence of modern western society has greatly reduced the church’s focus on the eternal rewards awaiting God’s people. Our daily lives are inundated with material comforts of every kind. Even most of America’s poor have shelter, clean water, food, clothing, access to education and even TVs! Our eyes and ears are constantly assaulted with marketing campaigns via TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards, mailers, radio and the internet. Most marketing messages present the same basic plea, “you need _____ to make your life better.”
It may seem less compelling to contemplate the glories of heaven when so many of us are comfortably pursuing and enjoying the lesser glories of earth. When there’s no discernable statistical difference between the debt levels of professing Christians and non-Christians, there appears to be an alarming Biblical disconnect from Matthew 6:19-20 which tells us to ‘lay up’ treasures in heaven and not earth. Others of us have so mastered the Dave Ramsey Plan that we don’t seek the Lord’s wisdom or guidance concerning our wealth. Through means of debt or abundance, money can become a functional savior from pain and need, replacing our reliance on God and thankfulness to him. We lose sight of the truth that everything we have is from Him, it is all His, and should be used for His glory.
Although many of us find ourselves in this situation, there is very good news! We don’t necessarily need poor health, poverty or persecution in order to fix our eyes and hearts of heaven because the greatest reward of heaven doesn’t lie in the restoration and perfection of our bodies, the absence of sin and sickness, or the delights of mansions and magnificent God-made wonders. The great reward is what some have termed the ‘beatific vision,’ when we see our risen Lord and Savior Jesus, exalted and ruling! Even though we don’t really know what this experience will be like since the Father and Holy Spirit don’t have a physical bodies, the Bible says we will also see God (Matt 5:8, 1 Cor 13:12, 1 John 3:2, Rev 22:3-4)! Regardless of the circumstances God has given us during this earthly life, there can be no greater desire, hope or joy than this!
So, let us encourage each other with this truth as we look fix our spiritual eyes on the unfathomable joy that waits us. May our pulpits abound with heavenly utterances because the following statement is true: Preaching the glories of heaven makes straight the path that leads to its gates.
Throughout Christian church history until modern times, God’s people largely cherished the promises and glories of heaven much more so than most of us reading this blog. I contend this has to do with the relative ease of life we have. Beginning with the New Testament-era church, Christians were shunned and persecuted, eventually leading to many being martyred for their faith in Christ. For the next two hundred years of church history until AD 313 when Roman emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, Christians suffered persecution by emperors Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Maximus, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian and Diocletian. From the fourth century to the present time, untold numbers of Christians have continued to live under adverse conditions that include oppressive governments, imprisonment, hunger, famine, lack of clothing, sickness, disease, plagues and poverty as their normal way of life. It’s not hard to fathom that a lack of earthly comforts necessarily magnifies people’s anticipation of heaven. Apart from relatively brief experiences of tragedies and trials, the opposite can be said of most of us.
In countries with unprecedented historical wealth, such as ours, the influence of modern western society has greatly reduced the church’s focus on the eternal rewards awaiting God’s people. Our daily lives are inundated with material comforts of every kind. Even most of America’s poor have shelter, clean water, food, clothing, access to education and even TVs! Our eyes and ears are constantly assaulted with marketing campaigns via TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards, mailers, radio and the internet. Most marketing messages present the same basic plea, “you need _____ to make your life better.”
It may seem less compelling to contemplate the glories of heaven when so many of us are comfortably pursuing and enjoying the lesser glories of earth. When there’s no discernable statistical difference between the debt levels of professing Christians and non-Christians, there appears to be an alarming Biblical disconnect from Matthew 6:19-20 which tells us to ‘lay up’ treasures in heaven and not earth. Others of us have so mastered the Dave Ramsey Plan that we don’t seek the Lord’s wisdom or guidance concerning our wealth. Through means of debt or abundance, money can become a functional savior from pain and need, replacing our reliance on God and thankfulness to him. We lose sight of the truth that everything we have is from Him, it is all His, and should be used for His glory.
Although many of us find ourselves in this situation, there is very good news! We don’t necessarily need poor health, poverty or persecution in order to fix our eyes and hearts of heaven because the greatest reward of heaven doesn’t lie in the restoration and perfection of our bodies, the absence of sin and sickness, or the delights of mansions and magnificent God-made wonders. The great reward is what some have termed the ‘beatific vision,’ when we see our risen Lord and Savior Jesus, exalted and ruling! Even though we don’t really know what this experience will be like since the Father and Holy Spirit don’t have a physical bodies, the Bible says we will also see God (Matt 5:8, 1 Cor 13:12, 1 John 3:2, Rev 22:3-4)! Regardless of the circumstances God has given us during this earthly life, there can be no greater desire, hope or joy than this!
So, let us encourage each other with this truth as we look fix our spiritual eyes on the unfathomable joy that waits us. May our pulpits abound with heavenly utterances because the following statement is true: Preaching the glories of heaven makes straight the path that leads to its gates.
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