The Expository Files

 


 

 


 

The Nature of God and Our Hope

 

What is God like? Many have some rather shallow ideas and there are many false concepts floating around. The fact is that God is far beyond the scope of human comprehension to begin with. We could not possibly grasp all that He is. Some do not believe He exists at all. They sometimes ridicule the concept of God by comparing belief in Him to belief in “The Flying Spaghetti Monster.”

 

Others think of Him in the image of the figure depicting God in Michelangelo’s  painting of the creation.  Many other ideas could be listed as examples, but the best source to consider in answering the question of God’s nature is the Word of God itself.  God is described in the Bible as dwelling “in unapproachable light whom no man has seen or can see.” (1 Tim. 6:16).  While there is much about God that mortal man cannot comprehend there are also some rather easily understood concepts of Him that are revealed for us in the Bible.

 

First, Jesus taught that God is spirit and that spirits do not have flesh and bones. Spirits are not material beings (see John 4:24 and Luke 24:37). So, the idea that man is created in the image of God does not refer to man’s physical body at all but rather to his spirit, or inner person (Gen. 1:26,27 and Zech. 12:1). In this sense the Bible says we are God’s offspring -  for while God created all of earth’s creatures, only human beings bear the Divine image. This is why we are precious in His sight and He has considered us worth saving… even to the point of the death of Jesus on the cross for our sins. God is absolutely holy and just, so He will not simply excuse or ignore our sin, but He will pay for them.

 

This is what He has done in Jesus. Redemption is truly the greatest story ever told because it is true. Over the past several months, headlines of current events have had me increasingly feel as if I were on a strange planet where all reason is abandoned. It would be easy to be overcome with distress except for one thing. We serve a living God and, as His faithful children, we will win the victory. Whether the world plunges into an increasingly darker age  or not, there will be victory and glory for those that love God. Perhaps we need to be paying more attention to the Book of Revelation. The trials are real, but we must never forget that so is the crown of life we shall receive from the Father in the age to come. One day, we will be enabled to approach the “inapproachable.”


By Jon W. Quinn
The Final Page
 Expository Files 23.5;  May 2016

 

 

 

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