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(Blue entries in the meditation are links; clicking on them will take you to the verse(s) in the New International Version; clicking on the other versions on that page will show the same verses in the selected version. Occasionally links are to another file of mine. On this page entries in brown are the words of Scripture (NIV). If you wish to pursue your own study on issues raised try this link: The Online Study Library. )
July 1999
"How great
is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world
does not know us is that it did not know him." (1 John 3:1) That is what
the Bible says.
The God of which the Bible speaks is not an idea or principle
(universal or otherwise) anymore than you are a generality or
I am a principle. What a horrible life-less thought! You have
flesh, blood and a special combination of personality traits.
Your name refers to this special combination. The God of the Bible
is, as the Bible itself puts it, the only God, the "living"
God. There is no other "I
am the LORD; that is my name! I will not
give my glory to another or my praise to idols." (Isaiah
42:8) "Acknowledge and take
to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on
the earth below. There is no other."(Deuteronomy
4:39) "For my own sake, for
my own sake, I do this [refined you] . How can I let myself be
defamed? I will not yield my glory to another." (Isaiah
48:11; see
also Ezekiel 20:9)
Dear reader: just as you have
a personality, a character, a name so does the one living God
who reveals himself, his purposes and his ways in the Bible. But
he is far more specific than you or me. There are many
human beings all of whom He created. But there is only one Creator,
one self-existent one. To use a modern phrase--Every universe,
every law, every principle is 'his baby.' He is absolutely unique--all
knowing, all powerful. But the fact that his majesty is
completely independent of everything he created, the fact that
his splendor towers above everything he created does not mean
he has no identity, no particular character, no emotions. The
truth is God acts. He is the "living" God. He is the
merciful God who was so moved by his own quality of love and compassion
that he sent his Son Jesus to die to pay for our sins. (John
3:16)
The rest of the meditation is designed to line up many of the
evidences that reveal that the Creator does have a particular
nature, a particular character--one that includes the features
of a living being. That is why the Bible calls him the only living
God.
The God who saves and speaks is not an
'it'. What in God's word tells us that the God of the bible is
not an 'it', is not an abstraction, is not an inanimate idea,
is not a generality, or 'universal' principle? What evidence or
clues exist that communicate the fact that the God of Christianity
has the distinctive attributes of 'personhood'?
He has feelings about his children. And what is more a part of
'person-hood' than feelings?
Hear Him Express His Feelings About His People during the time
that the OT records. 'Its' don't use the personal pronoun but
he does. "'They
will be mine,' says the LORD Almighty, 'in the day when I make
up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion
a man spares his son who serves him.'" (Malachi
3:17) Or, when God said, "Can a mother forget the baby at her
breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though
she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you
on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." (Isaiah 49:15-16) Oh, how the
God of Christianity speaks about his own: "I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious
stones."
(Isaiah
54:12) And, "Remember
these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I have
made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you." (Isaiah
44:21) Or, "Is
not Ephraim [another name for his people--see file "Ephraim"] my dear son, the child in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore
my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,"
declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 31:20) And
God's statement: "They
will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness
of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their
own good and the good of their children after them." (Jeremiah
32:38-39) He tells us the 'why's and wherefores' of
his actions: "I,
even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more."
(Isaiah
43:25)
Many times in the Bible the Lord's attitude toward his people
is described by other people--believers. "For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation"
(Psalms
149:4); "The LORD delights in those who fear
him, who put their hope in his unfailing love" (Psalms 147:11); "The
LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take
great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will
rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah
3:17)
Hear God Express His Feelings in the New Testament. "This is the covenant
I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares
the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on
their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people." (Hebrews
8:10--quoting God's earlier declaration in Jeremiah 31:33)
Hear God's glad tidings referring to the events at Christmas time:
"And so was
fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'Out
of Egypt I called my son.'"
(Matthew
2:15) This is a quote of the words of God had spoken
centuries before through the prophet Hosea (Hosea 11:1) "When
Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my
son."
What a warm relationship was the outworking of God's feelings
for his people!
In the gospels we hear the words of him (the Son of God) who cared
so much for us. Jesus said, "I
am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--just
as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my
life for the sheep....My sheep listen to my voice; I
know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out
of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than
all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the
Father are one."
(John
10:14-15, 27-30)
Believe it or not. This is not
an abstraction or generality talking! Jesus did not lie. Nor was
he an inanimate principle that deceived us by disguising itself
as a human being.
The God of Christianity is a personal God, not an inanimate principle
of 'goodness' (that deceives us by impersonating a person). The
God of Christianity is the Father of Jesus Christ whom he sent
into the world to show how deeply he felt about his people. (John 3:16; see
also Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10)
These feelings of God about his children always have been innate
to God. That is, they never were a response on the part of God
to any thoughts, motivations or deeds on the part of human beings
or any other of God's creatures. God's own words make this very
clear. These feelings sprang unbidden from the very soul of God,
from the soul of him "who has saved us and called
us to a holy life not because of -- anything we have done but
because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given
us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time." (2
Timothy 1:9) The apostle Paul tells us that "he [God] chose us in him before the
creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In
love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus
Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will...In him
we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the
plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the
purpose of his will."
(Ephesians
1:4,5,11) It was his attitude of favor and the resulting
act of mercy that saved us, that kept believers from having to
pay with their lives for their awful sins. (Romans
6:23)
"But we ought
always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because
from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the
sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share
in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(2 Thessalonians
2:13-14) To illustrate the power of God to do as he
wills the apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Rome cited
an occasion in Old Testament times when God did just that. What
God purposed and predicted would happen was contrary to the customs
of the times. "Yet,
before the twins
[Jacob and Esau] were born or had done anything
good or bad--in order that God's purpose in election might stand:
not by works but by him who calls--she [the
mother of the twins--Gen.25:23] was
told, "The older will serve the younger." (Romans 9:11-12) "The LORD Almighty has
sworn, 'Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have
purposed, so it will stand.'" (Isaiah 14:24; see
also Isaiah 46:10)
It was not our love that made us acceptable to our Creator--"This is love: not that
we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins."
(1 John
4:10) It was the choice of us by him and by his
deeds that we were made acceptable. (Isaiah
61:10; Ephesians 5:25-26; Titus 2:14) This choice
took place before we even existed on earth. (Ephesians 1:4-5, quoted above) In
a statement that referred to a specific individual God expressed
the truth this way: "Before
I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set
you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5; see
also Galatians 1:15)
"You did
not choose me,"
Jesus said to his disciples. On
the same night that Jesus was going to be betrayed and arrested
he said to them, "You
did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and
bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name." (John
15:16) Why are we in God's favor? It was not because
some worthiness in us attracted God's attention and response.
Oh, No. It is not because we chose him. It is because He chose
us. It was because of a quality in God. "For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy
on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have
compassion.' It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or
effort, but on God's mercy."
(Romans
9:15-16) In the gospel according to John this truth
is expressed in these words "For
just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so
the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it." (John
5:21) To save his people, to purify them was our
God's purpose from the beginning.
In these words 'you did not choose me but I chose you' we hear
an echo of the declaration of God's initiative in choosing his
people that he had made long ago. This is what God spoke to the
people (descendants of Abraham) whom he had delivered from their
bondage in Egypt: "The
LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you
were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest
of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and
kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you
out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery,
from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt."
(Deuteronomy
7:7-8)
It was his choice not to treat me according to my iniquities;
but according to his great love. "He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens
are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our
transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him." (Psalms
103:10-13) In the book of Isaiah God speaks thus: "I, even I, am he who
blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers
your sins no more." (Isaiah 43:25)
In the New Testament portion of God's word in the letter to the
believers at Ephesus they were told (through the mouth of the
apostle Paul)--"All
of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings
of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like
the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because
of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive
with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by
grace you have been saved."
(Ephesians
2:3,4-5) In the letter to Titus this truth is repeated
in these words: "But
when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved
us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of
his mercy." (Titus 3:4-5)
Principles are cold and hard. Rigid. Fixed. 'Chiseled in Granite.'
They have no will and are not full of mercy.
The result of God's feelings was the creation of a people. The
Bible describes the relationship of his people to God: We are
his possession. We belong to him. "For you are a people holy
to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out
of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people,
his treasured possession."
(Deuteronomy
7:6) It was the Son of God himself "who gave himself for
us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself
a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus
2:14) The apostle Peter in his letter addressed
to "God's
elect, strangers in the world" said this
of them: "But
you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises
of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
(1 Peter
2:9) God did what he did for his people "according to his eternal
purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Ephesians
3:11)
Would you rather be under the protection and care of a loving
Father and Son who chose you and died for you or be on your own
struggling to keep afloat amidst the treacherous shoals of this
world and then die anyway?
Who 'belongs' to an idea or abstract principle? Whose heart is
warmed by the knowledge that he or she is under the protection
or in the care of an inanimate truth? If principles are all there
is then you are on your own--you are not in anybody's care.
If principles are all there is then you have to 'pull yourself
up by your own shoelaces.' You have to have the strength of will
and ability to cling to principles. Don't expect Principles to
be sympathetic and to come after you with mercy in their hearts!
Even the law of God did not do that. How different is the
message of the gospel--that God had so much feeling for his children
that he did take action on behalf of his people. God the Father
sent his Son that believers might not "perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16) And it was
the Son of God "who
gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age,
according to the will of our God and Father." (Galatians
1:4) What a personal God, what a personal 'go-getter'
we are in the care of. What else could the apostle Paul say?--
"Praise be
to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be
holy and blameless in his sight."
(Ephesians
1:3-4) This truth shaped the apostle's outlook on
life. He said, "I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians
2:20; see
also Romans 7:4)
"For Christ
died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous,
to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made
alive by the Spirit." (1 Peter 3:18) Because
of God's feelings about, and actions on behalf of, his people
(actions such as "purchasing", "adopting",
"redeeming") his people are no longer independent agents.
We are his possession--his treasure. We should no longer
act as if we were our own. "Do
you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who
is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body." (1
Corinthians 6:19-20)
Because of God's attitude he did
something. And because of what he did we are his. We belong to
him. This is the language that the Bible uses. There is nothing
impersonal about the message of the Bible.
It was the awareness of God's ownership of his people--everyone
who believes--that shaped our savior Jesus' prayer to the Father
on our behalf. Jesus prayed for a specific people for a specific
reason. In that prayer to his Father Jesus said, "I pray for them [the
disciples]. I
am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me,
for they are yours."
(John 17:9; see
also v.20)
(To see more verses that speak of the relationship of God to his
people see the file "The
Relationship of God and His People".)
Another way the magnitude of God's favorable feeling toward his
people can be 'seen' is by observing or remembering how long or
pervasive has been the display or revealing of this feeling. This
might be described as the outworking or expression in history
of God's feelings toward his people. These feelings toward his
people did not begin after a lot of time or history had gone by,
as for example, at the time he sent his Son to earth or when his
Son was born in the manger at Christmas time. The expression in
history of God's already-existing favorable attitude began
in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis
3:15)
Listen to all the efforts, all the activities which God has put
forth to bring about his purpose for his people.
We began our consideration of God's 'personal' relationship
with his people with a review of some of God's declarations of
his feelings about them. Included here are a few rather poetic
descriptions of what God has done for his people: "In a desert land he found him, in a
barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he
guarded him as the apple of his eye." (Deuteronomy
32:10) And again, "You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove
out the nations and planted it."
(Psalms
80:8) And again, "I
will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved
one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared
it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built
a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked
for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.... What
more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for
it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?
Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will
take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down
its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow
there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it. The vineyard
of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah
are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but
saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress." (Isaiah 5:1-3, 4-7) And
again, "Later
I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old
enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and
covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered
into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you
became mine." (Ezekiel 16:8 )
The Bible also sets forth God's actions and the behavior of his
people in very matter-of-fact and 'unsymbolic' language. The history
recorded in the bible is a history of the relationship between
God and his people. In fact one of the themes or threads that
holds the Old Testament portion of God's word together is God's
repeated attempts to purify the people who bore his name and their
repeated failure to behave as God said they should. (Deuteronomy
4:13; 5:32; 6:24; 26:18; 28:9,15) On a small
scale the history recorded in the book of Judges sets forth this
pattern.
"Although
the LORD sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him,
and though they testified against them, they would not listen." (2 Chronicles 24:19) "In vain I punished your people; they
did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion. You of this generation, consider the word
of the LORD: 'Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great
darkness? Why do my people say, `We are free to roam; we will
come to you no more'"?
(Jeremiah
2:30-31)
And again, "The
LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his
messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people
and on his dwelling-place. But they mocked God's messengers, despised
his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD
was aroused against his people and there was no remedy." (2 Chronicles 36:15; see
also 2 Kings 13:23; Jeremiah 35:15; 44:4)
Jesus set forth this pattern of behavior in the history of God's
dealing with his people very clearly in a parable: "He went on to tell the
people this parable: 'A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some
farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent
a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit
of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated
shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third,
and they wounded him and threw him out. Then the owner of the
vineyard said, `What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love;
perhaps they will respect him.' But when the tenants saw him,
they talked the matter over. `This is the heir,' they said. `Let's
kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they threw him
out of the vineyard and killed him.What then will the owner of
the vineyard do to them?"
(Luke
20:9-15; see
also Luke 13:34; 19:41-44)
This same pattern of behavior in the history of God's dealing
with his people is set forth by the first Christian martyr (Stephen).
In his explanation of his behavior before the highest religious
court of the Jews he reviewed the history of the Israelite people
from the Christian perspective. His review concluded with these
words: "You
stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are
just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was
there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even
killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And
now you have betrayed and murdered him [had Christ crucified]
--you who have received the law that was put into effect through
angels but have not obeyed it." (Acts
7:51-53)
Being presented with standard to live up to is like looking at
a perpendicular cliff which must be climbed to the top which can't
even be seen. Seeing such a requirement before you is no help
and no comfort. There is no mercy in it. We know from personal
experience that we can't do it. Impersonal standards and principles
'have no patience'. But more important than our own experience
is what the Bible says by teaching and by history: Human beings
are not able to 'scale the endless cliff' or live up to God's
perfect standard. Even God's own law (of which the Ten Commandment
is an Old Testament summary) was rigid and unyielding--and to
people who could not come up to it perfectly it couldn't
be anything but the breath of condemnation. The Bible itself says
so.--- (Romans
3:20; 7:8-9; 8:3; Galatians 3:10; James 2:10) And
the history of Israel demonstrates that reality.
What sinners need is not a principle or standard to live up to
but a savior. Hear the apostle speaking of himself: "Here is a trustworthy
saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very
reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners,
Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example
for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life." (1
Timothy 1:15-16)
Of course the ultimate historical demonstration of God's affection
for his people occurred when he sent his only begotten Son into
the world on a mission to die (shed his blood) to pay the penalty
for their sins and earn for them the title to eternal life and
all other blessings.
The awareness that God was fulfilling his promise to provide a
savior, a deliverer, a redeemer, was stated at the first Christmas
by the priest-father of John the Baptist: "Praise be to the Lord, the
God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people." (Luke
1:68) What a turning point in history was occurring!
In the letter to the churches in Galatia the event is described
this way: "But
when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman,
born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive
the full rights of sons."
(Galatians
4:4-5) In the gospel according to Matthew different
words described what was coming to pass on that first Christmas.
The Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream concerning the pregnancy of
Mary (the mother of Jesus), saying, "She will give birth to a son, and you
are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people
from their sins."
(Matthew
1:21) The apostle Paul put it this way: "Here is a trustworthy
saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst." (1
Timothy 1:15)
No wonder when Jesus Christ (the Christ=the Messiah in Hebrew)
was born into this world the heavenly host announced this as the
'good news'. The shepherds in the field heard the heavenly host
shouting the words: "Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his
favour rests."
(Luke
2:14)
(NOTE: Not all translations
translate this familiar verse this way but many do--NIV, NEB,
BECK, MODERN LANGUAGE. Other translators believed that the primary
idea that the Greek words were designed to convey was that the
recipients of the peace are individuals who are pleasing
to God (NAS, WILLIAMS, LIVING, RSV, TWENTIETH CENTURY NEW TESTAMENT.)
This idea also is not a unique thought. In many other places in
God's word God makes it clear that he is pleased with his Son
and with those individuals (believers) who are clothed
with or covered by Christ's perfect righteousness. Another frequent
expression that speaks of the meaning of being clothed in Christ's
righteousness is the expression that that person's sins have been
washed away, blotted out, remembered no more, paid for by the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. (Luke 3:22; 2 Peter 1:17; Romans
4:7-8; 8:1; Philippians 3:9; Titus 2:14 )
The depth of God's feeling about his people can be seen or felt
by observing the great lengths to which God went to make them
effective in the lives of his adopted children. He was not indifferent
to their predicament--our predicament; it was his purpose not
to treat us according our iniquities, according to what our awful
sins deserved but to show mercy to us and make of us a holy and
blameless people (Ephesians
1:4; 5:25-27; Ps 103:10-12; Titus 2:14) He, as it
were, "bought us" (Acts
20:28; Revelation 5:9) Christ laid
down his life for us. Christ did not risk his life; he
deliberately laid it down. This was substitution of one life --a
truly innocent life--for the liability incurred by many sinners.
"You are
not your own,"
the Bible says. "You were bought at a price." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) An enormous price. The apostle Peter whose
letters were directed especially to believers with a Jewish background
reminded them of this truth: "It
was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you
were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from
your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb
without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:18-19) "For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) "But God demonstrates his own love for
us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans
5:8)
The cost of salvation was high--for God. To pay the penalty
for the sins of his children and bring about the purification
of his people, to glorify them and bring them into his holy presence
cost God the life or blood of his Son. "For what the law was powerless
to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin
offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man." (Romans
8:3) The Son of God "died as a ransom to set them free from
the sins committed under the first covenant / that those who are
called may receive the promised eternal inheritance." (Hebrews
9:15) "God made him who had
no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness
of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21; see
also Isaiah 53:5, 10)
"For Christ
died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous,
to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made
alive by the Spirit." (1 Peter 3:18)
Before Jesus' scheduled death on the cross he said to the religious
leaders of his day, "The
Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life
for the sheep."
(John
10:15) Could the words and actions of Jesus describe
an act more personal than that? What? Are we to believe that a
principle became 'personal' --sympathized with us, loved us and
chose to lay down its life for us! What a rejection of the living
God and his message of comfort it is to think of 'God' as a principle.
The message of Christianity wouldn't exist without the heart of
Christianity--that God, the Son of God, had come in the flesh.
Knowing that Jesus was a man of flesh and blood and not something
that just had the appearance of a human being is an essential
ingredient of the Christian message. This is stated very clearly
in the book of Hebrews: "Since the children have flesh
and blood, he too
[that is, the Christ] shared in their humanity so
that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of
death--that is, the devil--"
(Hebrews 2:14)
The Bible does not teach that
it is an unimportant matter whether or not individuals acknowledge
that Christ was God come in the flesh. Far from it. "This is how you can
recognise the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God." (1 John 4:2) And in John's 2nd letter we are told: "Many deceivers, who
do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone
out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the
antichrist." (2 John 1:7)
With what statement of truth does
the gospel according to John begin?--"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling
among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John
1:14) After Jesus' death and resurrection (but before
he ascended into heaven) he came to where his disciples had gathered
together. To convince his disciples that he was not just an apparition
he said to them: "Look
at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost
does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." (Luke
24:39)
If Jesus wasn't God come in the flesh that would make his suffering
different from that of human beings. And he could neither take
our penalty or be an example to struggling human beings who are
made of flesh and blood. But the Son of God did suffer. (Hebrews
2:10,18; 5:8; 1 Peter 2:21; 4:1) He suffered
and died for his people. This is not the way principles, ideas,
generalities, inanimate harmonies of the universe behave. Principles,
ideas, inanimate harmonies of the universe have no personal interest
or 'investment' in people. They are not tempted, don't suffer
and don't make sacrifices to purify their 'children' or bring
anyone to glory.
The importance of God's people to him can also be seen by looking
at who it was that the Creator sent to earth to redeem his people,
by looking at who it was that laid down his life to purify them,
to redeem them and to bring them into the eternal presence of
the holy God. Using an anology from international affairs we would
say he was more than a minor diplomat with limited authority to
conduct business. The Bible tells us that the Son (Jesus) whom
the Father sent to shed his blood in our place had more authority
and stature than anything in creation. The Bible says, "For by him all things
were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things
were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and
in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body,
the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the
dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God
was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, [Christ] and
through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things
on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood,
shed on the cross." (Colossians 1:16-20;
see
also Matthew 28:18; John 5:21; 1 Corinthians 15.45; Ephesians
1:10)
In another book of the New Testament the truth is set forth in
these words: "But
in these last days he
[God] has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed
heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The
Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation
of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After
he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty in heaven."
(Hebrews
1:2-3)
If a father gave his child a ten cent toy from the corner drug
store the child might have good reason not to be impressed. But
God's gifts are not like that. The magnitude of what God has accomplished
on behalf of his children reveals how great is his feeling toward
his children. God's gifts are of a magnitude that we can't even
conceive of. What he has accomplished is not paltry or of limited
signficance; the benefits he has 'lavished' on believers have
eternal, cosmic, everlasting dimensions. "The creation waits in eager expectation
for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected
to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the
one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be
liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious
freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation
has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the
present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits
of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption
as sons, the redemption of our bodies."
(Romans
8:19-23)
What a personal interest in his
people was expressed by the very Son of the Almighty God. This
is what he said about himself and those people he died for: "I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out
of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than
all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." (John
10:28-29) How extensive are the
gifts, the blessing that God chose to bestow on his children!
They reach beyond the bounds of time and space. Is there a description
of the amazing position of honor that God has bestowed upon his
children that could be more breath-taking than this statement
of God to believers: "Whether
Paul or Apollos or Cephas -[the pre-Greek name of Peter] or the
world or life or death or the present or the future --all are
yours and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." (1 Corinthians 3:22-23)
There is no event, circumstance
or power in heaven or earth that can separate us from that favor
and protection of our God if we are in God's favor now. The apostle
Paul summarized this truth in his letter to the believers at Rome.
"Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship
or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ...
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him
who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in
all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35, 37-39) Believers
have already been given the title to this eternal inheritance.
They are already heirs to "an
inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven
for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the
coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last
time." (1 Peter 1:4-5; see
also Colossians 1:5)
What affect does the power of
death have on God's promises? On earth all men are aware of the
power of death. The world speaks of the 'Grim Reaper'. But that
power does not begin to frustrate or challenge the power of the
Almighty God. The death of our bodies represents no more of an
interruption to the purposes of God than the flicking of light
switch means to us. The death of the body brings no more change
in the relationship between God and his people than a piece of
gold ceases to belong to its owner when it is melted down (changes
form). He who created us in the beginning (Psalms
139:13-16; Isaiah 43:1; 44:2, 24; Jeremiah 1:5) certainly
has the power to bestow what he wants on the people who belong
to him. God's care, God's gifts do not wear out or disintegrate
over time. God's care and God's gifts are beyond measure and are
not limited to the physical life his children have in this
world. God's care and God's gifts are eternal.
The world in which believers (and everyone else) live is the creation
of God. It was brought about by the power of God's spoken word.
(Genesis
1;1:31; Psalm 33:8-9; Matthew 8:24-27) The God that
reveals himself in the Bible is not an inanimate principle built
into an impersonal universe or that is synonymous with that universe.
The universe etc. is his creation. It is not God. This same God
has the power to destroy this creation as we know it. And it is
his purpose to do so and to create another one--the "new heavens and new
earth, the home of righteousness" which according
to the promise of the loving God genuine believers are looking
forward to as their new home. (2 Peter
3:10-13) In that new creation there will be no more
death. "He
will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death
or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things
has passed away."
(Revelation
21:4) How beyond our wildest dreams is the inheritance
that God has prepared for his children. (1
Corinthians 2:9)
For believers to think that God's promises have no meaning that
transcends death is to conceive of God not being the Creator or
Almighty. (Romans
4:19-21; Hebrews 11:19)
To think such a thought makes
God's words of promise so much hot air-deceptive hot air. It is
vital to take God at his word. The Bible says, "If only for this life we have hope in
Christ, we [who believe in him] are to be pitied more than all men." (1
Corinthians 15:19)
The apostle Paul who endured so
much persecution and hardship said, "If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for
merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not
raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'" (1
Corinthians 15:32; see also
15:14-17)
The Christian message is 100%
a life and death matter. (Matthew
10:28; Luke 9:25)
"Now we know
that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building
from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." (2
Corinthians 5:1; see
also Hebrews 11:13-16; 2 Peter 3:13) "For
none of us [believers] lives
to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we
live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.
So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." (Romans
14:7-8)
(To see more verses that speak of eternal blessings see the file
"Blessings Forever")
How enormous is the interest of the Father and the Son in his
people--'whoever believes.' Principles don't act this way. Principles
are inflexible. There is nothing small about the Almighty God
who loved his people so much that he sent his Son to die for them.
How wonderful it is to know that we believers are in the favor
and protection of an awesome, all powerful God--one whom no power
on earth or in heaven can frustrate to slow down.
We owe him who saved us. A personal response to the personal God.
We owe him who does not hold our sins against us. (Psalm
32:1-2 or Romans 4:7-8; Matthew 18:23-35) We owe him
who forgave us and gave us the gift of eternal life. Who responds
with feeling or gratitude to a cold, abstract principle? Can a
principle be offended or thanked? Can a generality be grieved?
That's what even the law of God was-- a rigid standard which if
met would 'lead' to life. But that is little comfort to sinners
who cannot meet it. (Romans
8:3; Galatians 3:10; James 2:10)
Therefore the God whose world this is willed to act on behalf
of his children. What words or concepts run throughout the Christian
message more than grace and mercy and love? Does a principle of
life 'lavish' grace upon its children? Does a law of nature
or of the universe 'lavish' grace upon its children as
God does (1
John 3:1)
and choose to show mercy? (Romans
9:15) What is prayer all about--giving thanks to
a principle and asking it to show mercy in particular ways?
"This is
how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for
us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." (1 John 3:16)
What God willed to do for his children is beautifully illustrated
in the history of the apostle Peter. On the very night that Jesus
was arrested Peter said to Jesus' face "Lord, I am ready to go with you to
prison and to death"
(Luke 22:11) Such confidence in his abilities! But the
Lord replied with a prediction that revealed the Lord's knowledge
of the power of sin and the weakness of all people. Jesus said,
"before the
rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me"
(v.12 ), And Peter did just as
the Lord said he would do. Knowing what he did the Lord still
willingly went to the death on the cross. (Romans
5:8) Our Lord laid down his life in payment for
our sins--including such horrible sins as the apostle had just
done. This is love! How beyond understanding is our Creator's
love for us--that he who is so pure or holy that he cannot tolerate
sin (Habakkuk
1:13) does not treat us according
to our iniquities (Ps 103:10-13). Instead
he chose to blot them out and remember them no more. "I,
even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more."
(Isaiah
43:25; see
also Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12) "Blessed
are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against
him." (Romans 4:7-8)
One of the ways
in which the Bible refers to the God's act of mercy by which he
'saved' his people is the removal of the rigid standard or law
(the 'cliff' in the earlier illustration above): "He forgave us all our
sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations,
that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away,
nailing it to the cross."
(Colossians
2:13-14; see
also Hebrews 9:15)
Was it a code, an abstract principle of the universe, a standard,
a rule, that sent a Son whose blood sacrifice would be adequate
to atone for or blot out your sins and those of every other believer?
(Hebrews
2:14-15; 10:10,14)
Do
ideas or generalities do that? Will an idea, a generality,
or inanimate principle go out of its way for its children? No.
It takes a loving God. Going 'out of his way' is just what the
God of Christianity did. Our Father--the Father of Jesus Christ
who lived on earth and died on the cross at a particular time
in history to accomplish a specific purpose did just that. When
other 'religions' speak of 'god' (that is, when they use that
term) they are not speaking of the same reality or reality at
all. They are not speaking of either the Creator or of his handiwork;
they are not speaking of the one and only living God who is full
of mercy and had so much concern for his children that he sent
his only begotten Son to die in their place so that they could
be blameless and dwell with him forever.
What is unique about Christianity is its 'personalness'. Christianity
is not a message of a life-less principle that has been personified,
that is, a principle which human beings have disguised with emotions
and other human features. That would be pure deception. Principles
do not have emotions or purposes. That God--he who created the
world, he who revealed his ways and standards in the Bible, he
who sent his Son to die on the cross (Isaiah
53:10; Acts 2:23)
because of his 'great love' (Ephesians
2:4-5)-- is a 'person' with a will and not an 'it'
is an essential part of the Christian message.
The message of the Bible is clear: If Christ did not come in the
flesh and pay for your sins and rise again every Christians' faith
is vain and you are still in your original state--needing to become
perfect by your own efforts--and the end thereof is death. (Romans
6:23; Galatians 3:10; James 2:10) The Bible
says, "If
there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has
been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching
is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found
to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God
that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him
if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised,
then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not
been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." (1
Corinthians 15:13-17)
There are perhaps no words more to the point than what Jesus said
to the religious leaders of his day: "I told you that you would die in your
sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be],
you will indeed die in your sins." (John
8:24; see
also Acts 13:27; 1 Corinthians 2:7-8) Do we show
love in order to measure up to a fixed and indifferent principle
of harmony in the universe? Or do we show love because that pleases
him who loved us so much that he laid down his life for us?
If the Lord had not been merciful and paid for the sins of his
people nobody could have any hope. Universal principles didn't
come in the flesh. Universal principles have no interest in the
welfare of anybody. They cannot show mercy or shed blood to atone
for sins even if they are called 'god'.
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(If you appreciate what you read here please tell your friends about this URL and sign my guest book on the homepage. Also, if, as you read any of the meditations, you feel you know of a situation that beautifully illustrates any of the points made I would be delighted to learn of it. I might incorporate it.) mailto:camppp21355@comcast.net
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