Part 6
Personality begins to appear in a child as they become conscious of themselves. One of the traits of a growing child is the different levels of self awareness. Most parents will say that the baby begins to take on personality very early in life. A baby will cry out of instinct however it isn't long before the baby becomes aware that it is them that is crying, and then they become aware that mom comes when they cry. Soon they have mom and dad trained quite well.
Another item of maturation is the idea of babies playing with their feet. They have no idea, for sometime, that those things belong to them. They just play with what is handy. Those two feet stick up, so why not play with them. Many children react when they realize those funny looking things are theirs.
Man is for the most part conscious of himself, but not necessarily completely conscious. We are not aware of many things in our lives. We may have personality traits that have not surfaced as yet. We may have talents in areas that we haven't explored as yet.
God is conscious of Himself in a most complete way. Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." God is that He is, and He knows that which He is.
There is nothing about God that He does not know. There is no personality trait that will emerge in the next 100 million years that He did not know was there.
1 Corinthians 2:10,11 states, "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, except the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but he Spirit of God." This text shows that man cannot know God completely. It does show, however that GOD KNOWS HIMSELF COMPLETELY.
APPLICATION OF THE DOCTRINE
1. We are dealing with a God that knows all there is to know about Himself and we can be sure He isn't going to change His mind because He just found out that He is a just God.
2. If He is totally conscious of Himself, then He is totally conscious of me. That should put me at peace about who I am. I am that which He has made me. I am just exactly what God wanted me to be this day, at this hour, at this moment.
I'm going to pick on the ladies for a moment or two and try to bring these two items together into one big application.
It is not only aimed at the women, but to the men as well for this may help them to help women that come to them for counseling in their ministry.
I have known of seven or eight women that have walked out on their husbands in recent years. These are Christian women. I have heard of others as well. Their reason for leaving is, "I need to find myself."
I find in talking to the husbands that the wife does not know who she is. She doesn't know what her identity is. This line of irrational thought is very frustrating to the husband that has just received total responsibility for caring for the family from a woman that he has known for a number of years, which suddenly doesn't know who she is.
Most of these women are unsatisfied with being who they are so they set out to find themselves. They think by going out into the world they can make themselves over into what they want to be.
I tend to think that part of this is due to the media telling them that the housewife is a foo foo that is foolish for fooling with food for fuddy
duddy hubby. The media demands that women be professional businesswomen, and a total knockout looks wise, or she is a flop.
GOD HAS EMOTION
God is capable of many emotions. We want to examine some of these in this section. We will apply this section as we go through the different aspects of God's emotion.
Pity: What is pity? Funk and Wagnall mention, "Grief or pain awakened by the misfortunes of others.... That which arouses compassion...." ("Funk And Wagnall's Standard Desk Dictionary"; New York: Funk and Wagnall Inc., 1976)
At times my wife and I see people stranded on the freeway with car trouble, and pity is immediately on the scene. This is probably due to the times when we have been in a hurry to get somewhere and we have had trouble. For example the time we were planning to visit my father in the hospital in Omaha and we lived in Denver. We found out late Friday that I had to work Saturday so that meant driving to Omaha Saturday evening and then back to Denver Sunday, then to school early Monday morning. At about two o'clock Sunday morning the fuel pump went out about 15 miles from nowhere. We completed the trip yet, this is why I hurt for troubled motorists, and is part of the reason that I stop if things look safe.
Psalm 103:13 should be of great comfort when we are hurting or in hard times. "As a father piteth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him."
As a parent we often feel pity for our children. Once one of the boys had a great need once and there was no way that I could meet that need as a parent nor could he meet it himself. I felt very badly for the situation, but you know what? God had perfect pity for that son as well as for me, for He knows perfectly how we feel and he feels with us.
Wrath: What does wrath mean? Funk and Wagnall mentions, "Extreme or violent rage or fury; vehement indignation."
I suspect that the later thought of "vehement indignation" would be most fitting where God is concerned. However the first thought of rage and fury
may well relate to the Lord Jesus when He was cleansing the temple of the trash.
Romans 1:18,
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness."
You can rest in the fact that God will most assuredly take care of any wrongs that have been done to you. Not only will God take care of it, He will take care of it completely and justly.
Compassion: What is Compassion? Funk and Wagnall tells us, "Pity for the suffering or distress of another, with the desire to help or spare."
When working in mid-Nebraska, a young woman came into the store and she was a shambles emotionally. She didn't come into the store for a purchase, but to just unload on anyone that she could find that would listen. When she left, I was off center for an hour or two, trying to figure out how I could help her. The desire to help was from the compassion I had for her troubles.
Psalm 145:8, "The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion, slow to anger, and of great mercy." Think of that one. FULL of compassion. If you need any, He has it. He, the infinite in size is full, Full, Infinitely Full of compassion.
Webster mentions that compassion means to sympathize or bear or suffer. Wow, when that hard time hits not only do we have all the pity that we need, but we have all the co-suffering that we need. God is there to bear with us when we have burdens to bear.
It has crossed my mind to wonder just how much God suffers as He works with His children. As a parent, there are times when I see one of the kids doing something that I know is going to cost them dearly, either in money or in emotion. I want to, at times, shield them from those costs, yet know as a parent that they need to go through those times for growth.
God must see us walking into some real problems and hurt knowing that His children are hurting.
Hate: Funk and Wagnall relates to us, "To regard with extreme aversion; detest." My wife will be the first to tell you that she "HATES" bugs. Bugs of any type, size, color or harmlessness. One day we were driving around in the van in Scottsbluff, Nebraska when a grasshopper blew in through the vent and she panicked. We stopped and could not find the critter.
About fifteen minutes later she noticed the thing on her leg. Remembering my concern over her outwardness of her hate which resulted in a scream, which resulted in a panic stop because I thought something was about to hit us, she calmly but emphatically stated, there he is. I panic stopped again, thinking a kid was about to dart out from behind a car. She hates bugs.
Psalm 5:5, "The foolish shall not stand in thy sight; thou hatest all workers of iniquity." I must say that I am very glad that I am saved and standing in the shadow of the Lord Jesus. God has a pure hate but it is also a complete and just hate. I am so thankful that I do not have to face that hate.
Jealousy: Funk and Wagnall has several definitions, but this one seems to fit the idea of God's jealousy best. "Vigilant in guarding: to be jealous of a privilege." Or in God's case, of His people.
Deuteronomy 5:9, The Lord told the Jews not to bow down to idols for He was a jealous God. This jealousy is elsewhere likened to that of a husband for his wife. The husband jealously cares for and keeps her from all things.
The media seems to play on the jealousy of the husband for his wife and seeks quite often to poke fun at it. This jealousy is not necessarily bad. It is the total desire for his wife to be what she should be to him, and I might add that the wife should have the same type of jealousy for her husband.
The jealousy portrayed in movies of the mistrust and doubt is very negative and should not be in a marriage.
God has sought out a people for Himself and He is jealous of any attempt to take them away from Him.
Grief: What is grief? Funk and Wagnall, "Deep sorrow or mental distress caused by loss, remorse, affliction, etc."
Judges 10:16, "And they put away the foreign gods from among them, and served the Lord; and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel." God grieved or hurt for the children of Israel. He is a God that hurts when we hurt. Indeed, He probably hurts for us when we don't have sense enough to hurt ourselves. In the case of sin we are at times suffering before we realize it and He is already grieving for us.
Rejoicing: Isaiah 62:5, mentions that the Lord rejoices over us as a bridegroom over his bride. That's rejoicing. Right You Married People? The only difference is that His rejoicing is perfect and complete whereas we often, as men, rejoice over the outward.
I have to wonder how God feels when one of His creatures comes to know Him as Lord and Savior.
Laughing: Psalm 2:4, "He who sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision." The context is that God laughs at the attempts of men to cause God trouble. I can't imagine even thinking that there is any trouble that we might give to an all powerful God.
I suspect that He may laugh at some of the antics that believers try to pull on Him as well.
Sympathy: Funk and Wagnall, "The quality of being affected by the state of another with feelings correspondent in kind." Isaiah 63:9, "In all their affliction he was afflicted," When the world is against us and we feel like the card I gave my wife once that said, "It's you and me against the world and personally I think we're gonna get creamed.", God is on our side and pushing back at the world with us. He is with us in all things as we walk with Him.
One is left to contemplate the feelings of God at the time when man led His Son to calvary, and then killed Him on the cross. One is left to contemplate the feelings of God as He viewed the martyrdom of His saints over the centuries.
What are the meanings of the previous terms when they are used of God? The definition would be the same as with man, except that there would be
no taint of sin involved in God's. These attributes would be fully functional, and resident within God from eternity past, in a complete and pure form.
GOD IS SPIRIT
It may be difficult to truly define the idea of God being spirit. Let us look at some thoughts.
Pardington mentions, "There is no evidence that spirit fills any part of space, or that the Infinite Spirit is dependant on space." (Pardington, Revelation George P. Ph.D.; "Outline Studies In Christian Doctrine"; Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1926, p 84)
Bancroft mentions that "God is not only Spirit, but He is pure Spirit. He is not only not matter, but He has no necessary connection with matter." (Taken from the book, Christian Theology by Emery H. Bancroft. Second revised edition Copyright 1976 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. p 71)
The Old Testament statements contain no direct statement, but always assumes the fact. Spirit in the Old Testament may be referring to the entire trinity.
Let us look at some references to see what we can learn.
John 4:24, "God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Does this maybe relate to the Old Testament texts that speak of rent hearts not rent clothes (Joel 2:12,13)? I'd say so — inward worship not outward. Idolatry is outward. He wants inward change, not outward change. This also relates to worship in our day. He wants worship within, not outward manifestations or antics of the body.
What did Christ mean when He said God is a Spirit? It describes His being and existence however it is not something that we can examine. We can experience the work of the Spirit, yet not the Spirit itself. He can be experienced only in the heart.
Acts 19:21 Paul desired to go to Jerusalem. He "purposed in the spirit". There seems to be a commitment to the Spirits leading in this desire to go
to Jerusalem from later information. He was experiencing something that was leading him toward Jerusalem. (Acts 21)
Matthew 10:20, "For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaketh in you." Christ was telling them that they would experience the Lord speaking through them.
Luke 1:47, "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." This was Mary the mother of the Lord speaking. She had experienced the Lord. Something within her had touched the Lord. She had been changed because of Him. The spirit is our contact with God. We can mentally and emotionally think of and experience God, but the spirit is our actual consciousness of the creator.
Romans 15:30,
"Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for Me:"
Love of the Spirit, striving in prayer, and praying together — all part of experiencing the Lord even though we do not see Him.
Romans 8:26,27 tells us that the Spirit makes intervention when we do not know how to pray. There have been times when things were coming down around me so fast that I would just sit down and tell the Lord I didn't have any idea how to pray and that I was trusting that the Spirit would intercede for me. If I can have God praying for me I think that I can trust Him to do a really good job of praying for me.
Philippians 2:1 The Spirit of God can have fellowship with the believer. We can indeed experience the Lord.
John 4:24, "God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." We may worship God.
Spirit is the name given to that which is the metaphysical center of a being whether it is God or man. Metaphysical means something that can't be perceived by the senses. Thus spirit is the name given to that which we cannot perceive by touch, sight, hearing or smell, which is the center of a being.
This is the God that we serve. He is a being that has no mass, has no visibility, has no content, thought He is everything there is in the way of worship. He is a complete being that we cannot examine. Maybe that is why salvation is by faith, why we should walk by faith, why we must have faith in Him.
Luke 24:39,
"Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and
see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."
Christ drew attention to the fact that He was a physical being in this text, while elsewhere He draws attention to the fact that He is God as well.
If no one has ever seen a spirit how do we know they exist? We can experience the effects within us. We can't see electricity, but we see the effect and can also feel the effect.
John 3:8,
"The wind bloweth where it willeth, and thou hearest the sound of it, but canst not tell from where it cometh, and where it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
Since God is spirit and spirits can't be seen then we need to deal with those times in the Scripture where men have seen God.
Exodus 24:10,11 mentions that some saw God. Isaiah 6:1-5 Isaiah saw the throne of the Lord. Luke 3:22 mentions the Spirit as a dove. Daniel 7:9 tells us that Daniel saw the Ancient of Days. Acts 7:56 Stephen saw Christ on the right hand of the throne.
God doesn't have a form that is visible. He does take on forms at times for purposes of His own. These appearances are always the Lord Jesus and not the Father. The Holy Spirit manifests himself at times but usually in some form other than man. (The dove of the baptism or the tongues of flame at Pentecost.)
1 Timothy 6:16,
"Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen."
Paul shows that the Father has not been seen. The Old Testament contains many occasions when the Lord Jesus appeared in the form of man, of fire, of smoke, etc. The Holy Spirit appears in other forms as well. Paul teaches that we cannot view God in His original form. He must cloak Himself in other forms for us to see and withstand His glory.
At the times that man has seen God it has been what we have termed Theophanies. We have also mentioned anthropormorphisms. This is when Scripture pictures God with hands, eyes, ears, arms etc.
God's appearance in other than His actual form is for two reasons. His glory would be too much for us to stand. When Moses saw God he was hidden and what Moses saw, from the terms used, may have been just what was left after the glory of God passed by. He is an infinite Being trying to reveal Himself to finite beings and the Theophanies are a good way to accomplish this.
1. God, the perfect and pure spirit, which is unhindered by the things that so easily draw our attention, is always and perfectly attuned to us and our needs. Might we ask the question, "Is God always attuned to our needs?" Might we ask the question, "Are His emotions always aimed our direction?" YES to both questions, Unless Sin Hinders It.
To answer these questions, we might consider the fact that sin hinders our fellowship with him. We must assume that His emotions, though still acting on our behalf, may not have effect, or at least full effect, if we are not walking with Him. What an encouragement to walk with Him closely.
2. When we want a perfect friend that fully understands, and one that will fully support us, why do we go looking among men to find one? We have one fully capable and perfectly qualified, IN RESIDENCE, if you will. Indeed, man cannot be the comfort that God can.
May we learn to allow God to be all that He desires to be in our life.
GOD IS UNITY
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." Psalm 1331
Unity in man is good and pleasant. In God it must be much more.
What is unity? Let us look at a couple of places where we should find unity.
In The Church: Bringing together under a common purpose. Having a common mind in a common direction. Lack of division. Show me a church like this and I will show you a church that is doing a real work for the Lord. Most churches are like congress. Everyone is out to get what they want and the body is being pulled three dozen directions. The result is the church remains in about the shape it was in ten years ago.
The churches today that are progressing are the ones that have set common goals toward a point in the future, and have a congregation that is working toward those goals.
In The Godhead: The God head always was together. There always was a common purpose. There was and always will be a common mind. There always has been a common direction. Never was there a difference of opinion. Never was there less than complete unity in all areas. Never was God anything but ONE.
Can finite human beings comprehend complete eternal unity? I doubt it.
Pardington states "There is but one God. The trinity must be held in harmony with the singleness of the divine essence or substance:" (Pardington, Revelation George P. Ph.D.; "Outline Studies In Christian Doctrine"; Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1926, p 85)
Theissen tells us, "By the unity of God we mean that there is but one God and that the divine nature is undivided and indivisible. (Thiessen, Henry C.; "Lectures In Systematic Theology"; Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1949, p 134)
Indivisible seems to be a mute statement. Even the thought of division is foreign to the concept of the unity of God. He is one and there is not room for any other thought, possibility or concept.
Man has two parts to his being, the material and the spiritual. God on the other hand is purely spirit and has a unity which man does not have at this present time, nor will he in eternity. Jesus mentions this contrast between spirit, and the flesh and bone that he had in Luke 24:39.
Why won't we ever have this unity? We are only one. God is three and we speak of His unity in relation to this. We being only one cannot have unity. Exodus 20:3-7, tells of the commands against idols. It does not stress unity in word, however if these verses were followed there would be a worship of one God — a unity. (See also Deuteronomy 4:35)
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Deuteronomy 6:4,5
Chew on that for a few years. Love with all thine heart. Love with all thy soul. Love with all thy might.
How does that relate to things like: I want to be a doctor instead of a pastor. I want to build a house instead of give to missions. I want to enjoy life rather than work in a church. I want to have a date instead of study. I want to _________ instead of ___________.
If you pour all your heart, all your soul and all your might into loving God how can you possibly have time to: Do your own thing. Build a career of your choosing. Amass a fortune. ______________.
If we are really fulfilling this verse we won't have time for the things of this world. We can't.
2 Samuel 7:22,
"Wherefore, thou art great, O Lord God; for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears."
We've heard with our ear that anything between us and the Lord is idolatry — other gods. Yet, many of us constantly put our own desires
and our own wants before God. We hear with our ears but say no with our minds and hearts.
1 Kings 8:60,
"That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God,
and that there is none else."
Psalm 86:10, "For thou art great, and doest wondrous things; thou art God alone."
He has done wondrous things. Yet, how do we react to a new situation of trouble? As if He is inactive on our behalf and we need to worry and work through this new trouble.
The Israelites saw God part the Red Sea — depart the Red Sea and yet they doubted at the edge of the promised land. They saw the victory of taking the land yet went their own way.
Think of the neatest thing that God has ever done for you. Contemplate it. He can do the same in any situation you find yourself in. Don't forget those past "wondrous things."
Isaiah 43:10, "...I am he; before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."
It would seem by, "was no God formed" is referring to idols. Before God was, there were no idols formed. Indeed, before God — man was not even formed. The thought seems to run along the line of logic. Before me — no idols. I am before ALL. Idols would be illogical. Unity should eliminate idolatry of all sorts.
Isaiah 45:5,
"I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me; I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." Zechariah 14:9, "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one."
Finally, in the eternal state the Lord will again be the only God instead of the God among all the other gods.
Being the only God creating man and finding that man creates many gods, don't you think that God deserves to be a bit frustrated with man? Yet, he is truly longsuffering and puts up with us. I suspect that He might be looking forward to eternity future when He is again given His rightful position and place and all of mankind recognizes Him for whom and What He is.
Read and consider the following texts: Mark 12:32, John 17:3, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Galatians 3:20, 1 Timothy 2:5.
A misconception in the area of unity could lead to a rejection of the trinity. The trinity is a hard doctrine to fit into the unity of God however the scriptures plainly teach both thus we must accept their compatibility.
Was there and has there always been unity in the trinity? Why would I ask such a dumb question? When Christ died on the cross, was there a separation between God the Father and God the Son? The words of the Lord would indicate it. (Father why hast thou forsaken me.) I don't intend to answer this question, but here are some thoughts that may relate.
1. Unity is not unity if it is division.
2. Were the words of Christ the words of the human that had submitted totally to God's will and now found Himself totally alone on the cross to die? This does not seem possible, for we teach that Christ was just as much man as if he had never been God and just as much God as if He had never been man. To suggest, that God left Christ the man, to hang on the cross, teaches that God and Christ were not as we teach.
3. There can be no break in unity or God is less that God. He is unity, so as such, must always be unity.
4. Forsaken probably does not mean division. I can be unified with my wife yet be on the other side of the earth. We are one according to the Bible no matter if we are together or not. God may only have moved away from Christ for the time that is in view.
5. Some suggest God turned His back on Christ because He could not view sin. The lack of logic in this should be obvious.
a. Christ is God. If God had to turn His back on sin, then Christ also would have to turn His back from the sin. How can God the Son turn his back on Himself?
b. Was sin present on Christ, or the cross? Was sin present on the Old Testament sacrifices? No, the sacrifice was to care for the sin. Christ died to care for sin. Sin is immaterial and cannot be placed — seen — or turned away from.
6. I submit that forsaken has something to do with things far removed from division or the breaking of unity.
I think that many things have been taught in years past in our fundamental circles that ought not to have been taught. The fact that God turned from sin when Christ was on the cross, needs some further study.
1. God is a unity. Thus we may bank on the fact that the Holy Spirit won't lead us contrary to what God the Father wants. Indeed, the Father hath revealed Himself through the Word. The Holy Spirit will never be contrary to the Word either.
2. This may be on the light side but you only have one quiet time to have so you can make it longer. Can you imagine having six idols to go to on a regular basis and worship? This doctrine certainly refutes the possibility of multiple God's as well.
3. The unity of God lends credibility to the purpose of God. There is "one purpose, one mind, one goal for all things." (Buswell, James Oliver; "A Systematic Theology Of The Christian Religion"; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1962, p 103)
GOD IS GREAT
This is an attempt to look at the great God that we worship. His greatness is not a thing that we can comprehend for He has not even revealed all of it to us. We are limited to seeing His greatness in the Scriptures and that directs us to observe His greatness in the creation.
Indeed, we do not really comprehend that amount of His greatness that He has revealed to us in the Scripture and nature. We do not really, even in a lifetime of study, gain all there is to know of His greatness from these sources. We are limited in scope and mentality.
It has occurred to me in this study of His attributes that there may be many other attributes that God possesses which He has not revealed to us. There may be parts of Him that we could never comprehend so He just did not even mention them. We may have a long theology class when we get there to help us understand even more about Him than He revealed to us in the Word.
Since we are finite beings and deal with only what we can comprehend, we cannot imagine what other attributes He might have. He is a great God, an infinite God thus we must probably assume that He does have other attributes as well.
Deuteronomy 10:17,
"For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and an awesome, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward."
Mighty and awesome. He is not a God to be trifled with, yet lost mankind does just that on a daily basis. They talk of their praying to Him, yet never approach Him in the area of salvation. They talk of him in their everyday conversation as if He is a personal friend, yet never make Him a personal Savior. God ought not be treated this way. Indeed, there are believers that use the Lord's name in vain that ought to be aware of their error.
1 Chronicles 29:10-13,
"Wherefore, David blessed the Lord before all the congregation; and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel, our father, forever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the Heaven and in the earth is thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in
thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name."
".....in thine hand it is to make great....." Don't be so bold as to decide that you are going to make yourself great. Leave all that in God's hands and allow Him to mold and shape you into something great — something that he can use. If you mold yourself into something great, the chances are that the Lord will not be able to use you.
Nehemiah 9:32, "Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awe-inspiring God....." Years ago in a Sunday School class the teacher assigned each person a verse, and asked us to define God in one word based on the verse. My verse was in the Psalm and ran along this same vein. My one word definition of God from the verse was "aweful". He is full of things that should bring us to our knees in awe, or else He truly will be an awful God.
Psalm 145:3, "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable." Yes, try to learn all you can of God's greatness, but don't get frustrated if you never find an end to the study, for the topic is unsearchable. Even if we had time to do all the research we wanted to do on the subject, we could not search out all there is to know of His greatness. His greatness will continue to be revealed throughout eternity. We will be constant witnesses of the things that He will do.
Jeremiah 32:17-19,
"Ah, Lord God. Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and outstretched arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee; Thou showest loving-kindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work; for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;"
Within the greatness of God we have some subdivisions. He is self-existent and eternal.
GOD IS SELF-EXISTANT
It is logical to assume that either you believe in a self-existent God or a self-existent universe.
The term "aseity" is sometimes used instead of self-existence. You many run into it in your studies. It means, to have a free, or independent existence. To have an existence apart from all other things, be it being or material.
Thomas Aquinas said of God, "the first cause, Himself uncaused." In saying this he was stating his believe that God being the cause of all that exists was not caused by anything or anyone not even Himself. The last part of the phrase is something that would bother someone that is logical in thinking. How could a being bring itself into existence? If it could bring itself into existence, then it had to have existed prior to the act. Something that does not exist cannot bring anything into existence, much less itself.
In the past many have tried to define the self existence of God. The thinking went along the line that God was the cause of Himself.
Lactantius: "God, before all things, was procreated from Himself. God, of His own power, made Himself. He is of Himself; therefore He is such as He willed Himself to be."
Jerome: "God is the origin of Himself and the cause of His own substance." (Taken from the book, Elemental Theology by Emery H. Bancroft. Copyright 1977 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. pp 72-73)
Their error was in assuming that every effect must have a cause. God did not have a beginning; these two definitions are automatically defective.
Their thought allows for God bringing Himself into existence and this would dictate the possibility of God taking Himself out of existence. Self annihilation is not an option for God for He has revealed Himself to us as eternal and has promised man and angels eternal future existence.
God does not depend on anything or anyone for his continued existence. God is independent. He is not dependent on anything for continued existence, not even Himself.
As animals, man, and all created creatures depend upon God for their existence, God depends on nothing. He exists because of all that is within Him and nothing that which is without.
Indeed, He does not depend upon Himself for continued existence. He, by His nature exists. Continued existence is automatic within His nature. To cease to exist would require a shift in His nature — a nature that is unchangeable. Can He cease to exist? A totally mute question. To cease to exist is not consistent with His nature. In fact the idea of continued existence may well be foreign to His nature. He is that He is. This eliminates even the need for continued existence. He exists as He exists.
He could wipe out all of creation, all of the angelic host, and all of mankind and there would be nothing left but Him. He would not be hindered or decreased by one smidgeon.
We not only depend upon God for our existence in the first place, but we depend upon Him for our continued existence. He preserves the creation. He on the other hand depends on nothing.
Bancroft quotes Pendleton as saying, "When He [God] interposes His oath to confirm His word He swears by Himself saying, 'As I live,' leaving His oath to rest on the immutable basis of His self-existence. In the boundless range of human and angelic thought there will never be found a deeper mystery than the self-existence of God. It defies finite comprehension. God alone knows how He exists, why He has always existed, and why He will exist forever." (Taken from the book, Elemental Theology by Emery H. Bancroft. Copyright 1977 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. p 73)
Now, I would challenge you to consider that statement. Realize fully there are things that God knows that we cannot possibly ever know, unless we can talk Him into telling us someday 30 billion years into eternity when he has taught us a little bit about Himself.
Exodus 3:14, "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. . . ." I am all that I am. There is no more or no less than what I am. In short might we somewhat tongue in cheek say, "Don't try to stick me in a pigeon hole."
John 5:26, "For as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;"
Acts 17:24-28
"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."
Bancroft quotes Harris, "God is. His name is evermore, I AM. It certainly can be no limitation of God that He is absolutely unlimited and independent, that He is uncreated and eternal, endowed from all eternity with all possible perfection as the absolute Spirit" (Taken from the book, Elemental Theology by Emery H. Bancroft. Copyright 1977 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. pp 7374)
Bancroft mentions that it is God's nature to exist. That seems to be what God said when He said, "I Am That I Am."
1. We can be assured that if God is self-existent that we are at the source of all life, and as such, if we have accepted His conditions and promises then those promises will assuredly come to pass.
2. God is the source of life and thus is the only one that has the right or ability to offer eternal life a commodity which He controls. He may offer this to whomever He so desires, and indeed He offers it to whomsoever will come. This should help us with election and predestination. It isn't mean. It isn't arbitrary. He controls all of eternity — His will is what will be.
GOD IS ETERNAL
There are three usages of the term eternal:
The eternal mountains suggesting great age from the beginning, of the mountains.
The eternal life or damnation of man. A beginning in time with eternal future existence. This would apply equally to the angelic host.
True eternal existence is found only in God Himself. He alone has the eternal attribute of existence from eternity past to eternity future.
All else can be viewed as everlasting, rather than eternal, for all else has a beginning since eternity past.
Years ago I witnessed to a young man about the fact that we can have eternal life. He replied that he agreed 100 percent, in fact he had eternal life, indeed, all of mankind had eternal life. I asked him to take a moment and explain to me just how he could state that all of mankind had eternal life. He mentioned that he believed that one of Einstein's theories states that as we travel in space time slows down and we actually can get ahead of time. He went on to explain that if we go fast enough and long enough out into space that at some point we could stop and look behind us and see ourselves coming. This was his "eternal life." We can keep going out into space and keep looking back to see ourselves coming. I trust that your concept of eternality is a bit more promising than that.
In dealing with the eternality of God we must take Schleiermacher's advice, when he suggests that we eliminate from God all limits of time, indeed, time itself. Time is a medium which the Lord created for us to operate in. (Schleiermacher was a liberal theologian.)
God has, at any moment of His existence, the total of His duration. We have our existence in a sequential order and gain it piece by piece through our experience and living in time.
The attribute of self-existence suggests and requires the eternality of God. To have always existed, would demand that He always has been.
There are past, present and future to God however due to his knowledge of past, present and future events He is actually in an ever present or "now" existence. He is the perfect NOW generation. He knows all events; he can combine some past and future events into those events going on in the present.
SOME QUOTES TO CONSIDER
Bancroft states that "The Bible asserts the fact that God is eternal; His existence had no beginning and will have no ending; He always was, always is, and always will be." (Taken from the book, Elemental Theology by Emery H. Bancroft. Copyright 1977 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. p 75)
Buswell puts it this way, "The Bible writers explicitly teach and continuously assume that the being of God is eternal, both as to the past and as to the future. God has always existed and always will exist; He never began to be. He never will cease to be." (Buswell, p 40)
Ryrie quotes Berkhof as saying, "that perfection of God whereby He is elevated above all temporal limits and all succession of moments, and possesses the whole of His existence in one indivisible present" (Reprinted by permission: Ryrie, Charles C.; "Basic Theology"; Wheaton: Victor Books, 1986, pp 36-37)
Pardington states, "Eternity means existence without beginning or end:" (Pardington, Revelation George P. Ph.D.; "OUTLINE STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE"; Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1926, p 85)
Genesis 21:33,
"And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God."
Deuteronomy 32:40, "For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live forever."
Deuteronomy 33:27, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms;"
Psalm 90:2,
"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."
Isaiah 41:4,
"Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the
beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he."
Isaiah 57:15,
"For thus saith the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy...."
Habakkuk 1:12, "Art thou not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, mine Holy One...."
Romans 1:20 mentions his eternal power and Godhead.
1 Timothy 1:17,
"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise
God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
1 Timothy 6:18,
"Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen."
Revelation 1:8,
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 4:10 tells of the 24 elders casting their crowns before the one that "liveth forever and ever,".
Revelation 10:6,
"And swore by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, and the earth and the things that
are in it, and the sea and the things which are in it, that there should be delay no longer;"
Shedd mentions that the French Bible translates Jehovah by the term "l'Eternel".
Wordsworth related man's time in this life as an intervention of noise in God's eternal silence. Parents find times when their children get on their nerves noise wise and long for a moment of silence. I wonder if God gets sick and tired of the noise His children raise?
Bancroft quotes J. M. Pendleton on p 75. Pendleton relates that God is the only true eternal being. He existed in all of eternity past, which no other being has. He also mentions that God only will sit on God's throne.
"Eternity transcends all finite bounds of time, Knows nothing of Duration, with successive years,
Before Thy vision, panoramic and sublime Past, present, future, at one glance appears,
Unnumbered cycles pass before thy review, The new is as the old, the old is as the new."
(From an unnamed poet, Taken from the book, ELEMENTAL THEOLOGY by Emery H. Bancroft. Copyright 1977 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. pp 74-75)
The doctrine has three aspects to it.
a. God's existence cannot be measured in time.
b. God's existence is above time. Men live in time.
c. God is the originator and ruler of time. Indeed, we could even say that God's existence cannot be measured.
Man is a finite being and is limited to time. We overcome this limitation at times through memory of the past and predictions for the future. Haley's comet is predictable and is a very limited sense in which we know the future.
In closing a quote from Bancroft which is from an institutionalized person that was ask to describe God's eternity.
"It is duration, without beginning or end; existence, without bounds or dimension; present, without past or future. His eternity is youth without infancy or old age; life without birth or death; today, without yesterday or tomorrow." (Taken from the book, Elemental Theology by Emery H. Bancroft. Copyright 1977 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. p 75) I am left to wonder why he was institutionalized.
The logical application is that if God is eternal then that is our guarantee of our own eternal existence from this point forward. That is why we can have a real trust in our salvation.
GOD IS UNCHANGEABLE
It seems that all things are changing. The Eastern block crumbled. The mideast became a hot spot. The price of gas bounces like a rubber ball. The television programming is changing. A recent survey showed that the once most popular Cosby show, was losing out by a majority to the Simpson's. Almost everything there is in the world changes.
Can you think of anything that is not changing, with the exception of God and things relating to him? There doesn't seem to be anything that is not changing. Thus in a world of drastic change, an unchangeable God should be very relevant to the people that we meet.
Immutability is another term that is often used for this doctrine. God is unchangeable, or immutable.
Immutable means according to Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, ".....not capable of or susceptible to change....." (By permission. From Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary copyright 1991 by Merriam-Webster Inc., publisher of the Merriam-Webster (registered) Dictionaries.)
Thus, immutability may be a little better word for use with God. The idea of not capable of change would be a stronger idea than unchangeable. In reference to God there is no capability of change.
He is not capable of change thus cannot change. Exodus 3:14, ". . .I AM THAT I AM. . . ."; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 33:11-12; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17.
Bancroft mentions, "The self-existence and eternality of God may be considered arguments for His immutability. As an infinite being, absolutely independent and eternal, God is above the possibility of change." (Taken from the book, Elemental Theology by Emery H. Bancroft. Copyright 1977 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permisssion of Zondervan Publishing House. p 75)
There is no change in God's nature, mind, character, thought or will. He never changes in greatness, goodness, intelligence, size, or quality.
Bancroft continues, "Immutability does not imply inactivity or immobility, for God is infinite in power and energy. Nor does it imply lack of feeling, for God is capable of infinite sympathy and suffering and of great indignation against iniquity. It does not imply that God is incapable of making free choices, for to God belongs the inalienable right to choose ends, and the means of attaining them. Nor does it prohibit God from progressively unfolding and carrying out His plans and purposes." (Taken from the book, Elemental Theology by Emery H. Bancroft. Copyright 1977 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. p 79)
Theissen mentions that all normal change must either be for the better or for the worse. God cannot change for the better because He is already perfect. God cannot change for the worse for two reasons. First, He is perfect, so He cannot change and become worse. Secondly, if He changed for the worse He would no longer be perfect which would be impossible for His character.
Some suggest that the Bible shows that God changes, in that we no longer have the Law and sacrifices. The same God is unchanged but he has changed how He deals with man. This is not changing Him, but how He relates to man. This is logically acceptable. Let me illustrate: The sun never changes, yet it melts snow in one spot of the earth and dries clay in another part of the earth. The sun doesn't change.
An example of this is found in 1 Samuel 15:10, 29. This text mentions that God repents in the dealings with men but never does He repent in dealings with sin.
Another text that indicates that He does change in his dealings with man is Ezekiel 24:14, "I the Lord have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God." The fact that He promises not to do things, indicates that He could if He so desired.
In the context of Ezekiel God gave His people every opportunity to turn to Him and they have not, so He pronounces this promise of judgment.
Jonah 1:1-3 and 3:10 also mention this idea of repent. The term repent actually means a change of mind, so really does not relate to the immutability question. (Bancroft Elemental Theology, p 77 discusses this further.)
1. His promises never change, once given to a people.
2. His moral character can never change thus His quest for our holiness will never change. That is in our walk and our ultimate holiness in eternity.
What is right is right no matter the time with God. With man, right and wrong shifts with the whims of the ungodly. What do you think about that last comment? Is it really accurate to relate the comment only to the ungodly? I'm not sure that it is. Christians tend to vary right and wrong quite nicely as well.
3. What He has promised in the way of salvation will never change. 1 Peter 1:3,4.
4. It is a stern warning to the lost. His judgment has been set and it will come to pass no matter how many cry peace as they did in Jerusalem. John 3:18
The lost are surely lost for God will not change in His attitude toward sin, nor His set judgment.
GOD IS OMNIPRESENT
Omnipresent means that God is present everywhere there is at any given moment. God is simultaneously everywhere at once and is present at all times.
Many years ago when I was young and foolish I went squealing around a corner and took off down the highway. That night my dad very casually said, "Where were you going in such a hurry this noon when you were heading east on Highway 30?" I had to wonder if he were omnipresent. I didn't know where he was, but was sure that I didn't think he was anywhere near when I was speeding.
God is everywhere in the universe present at the same time. The deist may hold to omnipresence however He will see God's presence as far off while He is omnipresent in his effect on the creation.
Anselm stated, "Nothing contains thee, but thou containest all things," (quoted by Shedd, William G.T.; "Dogmatic Theology"; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984, p 340)
Augustine mentions that God "is not at some particular place. For what is at some particular place is contained in space; and what is contained in some space is body. And yet because God exists and is not in space, all things are in him. Yet not so in him, as if he himself were a place in which they are." (Shedd, p 341) How would you like to be a member of his congregation and trying to take notes?
Pardington, "He is present everywhere and there is no point in the universe where He is not" (Quoting Farr, Pardington, Revelation George P. Ph.D.; "Outline Studies In Christian Doctrine"; Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1926, p 86) I'd add there is no point outside the universe where He is not.
Bancroft mentions, "He is present everywhere, and there is no point in the universe where He is not." (Taken from the book, Elemental Theology by Emery H. Bancroft. Copyright 1977 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. p 87) Sound familiar? It is the same as Pardington's quote from Farr.
Strong, "By this [omnipresence] we mean that God, in the totality of his essence, without diffusion, or expansion, multiplication or division, penetrates and fills the universe in all its parts." (Strong, Augustus H.. "Systematic Theology"; Valley Forge, PA: The Judson Press, 1907, p 279)
Do you agree with these Definitions? Let us consider the facts for a few moments.
1. Is He not larger than the universe? We don't know the limits of the universe but most assume there are limits. God, if there are limits to the universe is everywhere in the universe, and outside the universe as well.
2. Do you agree with the statement that God is everywhere there is to be? How about within the nonbeliever? We believe that a demon can't enter
into the body of a believer because the Holy Spirit dwells there. Thus we must concede that quite probably the Spirit is not within the lost person. However, indwelling may well relate to His special manifestation while His presence is everywhere — even the nonbeliever. (He can be present in hell so this would be consistent. Christ descended to Sheol after the resurrection.)
The term "ubiquitous" may be a better word than omnipresence in that it has within its definition the idea of simultaneous presence everywhere. Ubiquitous relates to a being that is present everywhere at the same time.
My definition would be, God is totally unhindered by space or time and is in all places totally and completely at all times. His holiness limits his indwelling manifestation within the unrighteous, yet they are in Him. (Acts 17:27,28)
He is everywhere present in totality. In other words his big toe isn't in India and his heel in Japan.
1 Kings 8:27,
"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee;
how much less this house that I have builded?"
The very least we can draw from this text is that the highest heaven is above the heavens of the universe. We know that the throne of God is beyond the universe.
See also, 2 Chronicles 6:18, Psalm 139:7-10, Isaiah 66:1, Jeremiah 23:23,24, Acts 17:28, Hebrews 1:11, 12.
How do we explain the phrase in Genesis 11:7 which tells us that God came down to the tower of Babel? ("Come, let Us go down," vs 5 also).
The answer is that God usually manifests Himself in some specific place. At that point in time He was in heaven. In the 40 years of wondering He was over the Ark of the Covenant. In the days of the Temple He was in the Holy of Holies. Another example is Matthew 6:9, ".....Our Father which art in heaven....."
1. If we are in Him and He is everywhere then there is no way that Satan can get us out. We are secure. This may be a doctrine that would help teach security of the believer. We are in Him so Satan can't carry us away, nor can we exit on our own power. God is much more powerful than Satan or us.
2. If we really believed that He is with us and in us then, you would think that we would clean up our acts some. Many Christian's lives do not reflect their belief in this doctrine.
3. If He is really this big then He is one to serve under, rather one to dictate to.
4. He is within us. We have a resident friend and strength.
"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." John 14:23
5. It should be a warning to the lost. Amos 9:1-4 mentions the extent of God's ability to find those that try to evade Him. vs. 2-4,
"Though they dig into hell, thence will I bring them down: And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them: And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good." (Jonah 1:1-3 also.)
I would like to quote Bancroft at this point.
The parish priest of austerity Climbed up in a high church steeple,
To be nearer God so that he might Hand His Word down to the people.
And in sermon script he daily wrote What He thought was sent from heaven And he dropt it down on the people's heads
Two times one day in seven. In his age God said, "Come down and die,"
And he cried out from the steeple,
"Where art Thou, Lord?"
And the Lord replied, "Down here among My people."
(Taken from the book, Christian Theology by Emery H. Bancroft. Second revised edition Copyright 1976 by Baptist Bible College. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. p 80)
God is great, immense, limitless, and yet He desires to dwell among His people. Remember this as you seek to minister to them.
GOD IS OMNISCIENT
The term omniscient comes from two Latin terms, "omnis" meaning "all," and "scientia" meaning "knowledge." Calvin said of the term, "that attribute whereby God knows Himself and all other things in one Eternal and most simple act."
I like the thought of "and most simple act." It isn't really a biggy with the Lord. It isn't even an activity. It just is the way He is.
HIS KNOWLEDGE IS ALL INCLUSIVE
God's knowledge is all inclusive (1 John 3:20). It includes all that is. It includes all that was. It includes all that will be. It includes all that is possible.
It includes the material world (Job 28:24). He knows the number of grains of sand on the beaches of the world as well as the pounds of dust on the books in my library.
It includes the animal world and all that are in it (Matthew 10:29). He knows of the needs of the animals, as well as their passing from life.
It includes the world of the dead (Job 26:6). He knows every soul in it and from what generation they came. None will be lost from His great accounting.
It includes the human world (Psalm 33:13-15, Matthew 10:30, Acts 15:8).
It includes the inner world of man, the minute details of life (Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:15, Psalm 139:1-4, Psalm 56:8, Job. 14:16,17, Matthew 10:30, Proverbs 5:21). From before our conception, throughout our days unto our returning to the dirt of his creation. From our thoughts to our intents, from our hair to our steps, from our rights to our wrongs, He knows all there is to know about us.
It includes the past, and the future world (Isaiah 46:9-11).
HIS KNOWLEDGE INCLUDES MORAL PURPOSE
It is always directed toward a good end. Even judgment is directed toward a good end — the culmination of God's great plan.
Man's knowledge generally is destructive. Smoking, war, fast cars, immorality, etc.
HIS KNOWLEDGE IS ETERNAL, COMPLETE AND PERFECT
He has perfect knowledge of every detail of life for every believer throughout the past ages, as well as all of those that are to come. Indeed, He knows the detail of the lives of all lost people both past and to come. He knows the tides and the details of the sea. He knows the woods and the intricacies of the forest. He knows the deserts and the vastness of their dunes. (Acts 15:18, Job. 37:16, Hebrews 4:13.
He promises to raise all of mankind to stand before Him in the future. He knows where to find each and every one of us, no matter where we die and are buried.
HIS KNOWLEDGE MUST BE UNDERSTOOD IN THREE WAYS
First, it is not like man's. Heaven Forbid. We learn by comparing one piece of knowledge with another. He has His knowledge directly without comparison. He in eternity past knew all there was. He has always known all there is.
Secondly, it is not learned as is man's. He did not have to go to kindergarten to learn the ABC's. We learn step by step, fact by fact, and principle by principle, while there is no sequence to His knowledge.
Finally, His knowledge is complete and certain, while man's is incomplete and not certain. Man learns as he ages, he learns as he makes mistakes, and he learns as he is taught. God is free from all of these limitations.
HIS KNOWLEDGE IS ALWAYS USED WISELY
His knowledge is always used toward good ends which shows His wisdom. His omni-sapience or all wisdom is usually covered in this
section. Cambron is the only author I have found that separates and gives title to God's all wisdom.
He knows past, present and future as one entire whole. He knows all at all times without sequence. He knows all and uses that knowledge in a responsible manner to bring about His ends.
PROBLEMS WITH THE DOCTRINE
1. How do we explain Deuteronomy 8:2 if God knows all there is to know? "And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no."
First of all, God communicates in a form that the people He is communicating with, can understand. Would they have understood if God had said, "I'm omniscient?" No, I don't think so.
He was not doing this to learn something He did not know. He was trying them to see what was in their heart — to show them what was in their heart.
How do we explain Genesis 18:20,21? This speaks of Sodom and Gomorrah and God mentions, "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not I will know." vs 21. The answer is the same as for the preceding text.
There is also the declaration of God, in the anthropormorphisms, as having physical features. He does not have the ears that the Psalmist mention, yet He does hear His people.
2. Isn't God too great to be interested in every detail of our lives? It is this point that adds to God's greatness. It does not detract from any of His attributes nor the doctrines that we hold concerning Him. He can see to the details of life while controlling nations. He provided food, water and raiment in the wilderness for 40 years, yet was able to lead Moses and the other leaders to what He wanted for the nation.
He knows all there is to know about our particular problems and troubles.
I once read a poem that detailed the bitter, the hard, the fights, the wounds, the struggles of life, yet it ended with the thought that we can bear all that He allows because we know that He knows what is going on in our life.
The doctrine should be a warning to the wicked. Proverbs 15:3 mentions that He sees evil as well as good. Proverbs 15:11 — Sheol and destruction are before Him. The real threat is seen in Revelation 20:15ff where John describes The Great White Throne. This throne is where the judging of all the lost of all generations will be held. All that has gone on throughout the ages will be brought before those involved, and they will be judged accordingly.
The doctrine should be a warning to the erring Christian. Proverbs 15:3 mentions that He sees evil as well as good. Hebrews 12:6,7 mentions that He chastises His children. The judgment seat of Christ will be the occasion of the believer being judged according to his works. This will be a sad time, a time of losing of rewards and a time of acknowledging our short comings to the Lord face to face.
God's omniscience should be a consolation to the believer. Matthew 6:8 — He knows our needs before we have them. He numbers the hairs of our head. How can anything miss His attention to each and every one of us?
He knows our every feeling. He is our Father. We are His children. He feels for us as a Father feels for his natural children. A friend that I used to work with had married his daughter off on a Thursday evening. She had to go to work on Sunday and my friend and his wife felt very sorry for her having to return to work so soon. On the way to work she wreaked the car and had to have emergency room treatment. She called her folks in tears and my friend said, "I felt so sorry for the little kid but couldn't do a thing." Fathers hurt when their children hurt. He was very frustrated because he didn't have enough money to help the new couple out.
The difference with our heavenly Father is that He feels in a most perfect way for His children, and He can do something about it. He can comfort us for He is the God of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3. If there is a need of
finance, He can intercede, if there is a need of emotion, He can lift us up, If there is a need of strength, He can empower us.
He knows what is best for us for He knows the future. How Bout That One? We should pray as Jesus prayed, "...not as I will, but as thou wilt." Matthew 26:39b. We should not hurry into things which are not clearly His will. Wait upon His will.
At the same time we should be satisfied with the situation and position in life that He has given us. It is perfect for us at this time in our life.
He knows all the evil that others do to us whether it is a believer or a nonbeliever. We should learn to leave those things alone and not worry, fret or seek revenge, for He will keep close accounts of all things.