Posted on 05/11/2020 3:45:01 PM PDT by Hebrews 11:6
A.W. Pink's The Attributes of God remains the classic study. My poor effort here focuses on but one aspect of God's magnificence, whereas Pink came as close as any human can in rendering the whole of Him intelligible to us.
line
line
GOD’S PERSONAL NATURE
God originated inventiveness and creativity!
God is unique, and therefore everything that exists results from Him.
God the Trinity, while loving One Another and not being lonely, nevertheless envisioned and decided to create other beings who could relate to Him, that He might love them and bless them and fellowship with them eternally.
line
SPIRITUAL LIFE
God envisioned, invented and created a spiritual realm: heaven.
God envisioned, invented and created spiritual beings—angels—endowed with the ability to relate to a higher being: God.
God envisioned and invented law as the standard for judging their behavior, then enforced some angels’ banishment to another realm as penalty for their rebellion.
line
PHYSICAL UNIVERSE
God envisioned, invented and created matter, energy, space and time.
God envisioned, invented and created the universe’s constant physical laws (Jeremiah 33:25).
God envisioned, invented and created the four fundamental physical forces: gravity, electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear.
God envisioned, invented and created the physical universe, with its impossibly exquisite fine-tuning to enable advanced life on earth.
line
PHYSICAL LIFE—NON-SPIRITUAL
God envisioned, invented and created purely physical life: bacteria, then plants.
God envisioned, invented and imposed physical death as a blessing: using dead bacteria, and later dead plants and animals, to prepare earth’s abundant metals- and bio-deposits for humans’ high-technology civilization.
God envisioned, invented and created soulish animals (nefesh, Genesis 1:24) with minds, wills, and emotions: mammals, birds and higher reptiles, endowed with the ability to form families and clans and relate to higher beings (humans).
line
PHYSICAL LIFE—SPIRITUAL
God envisioned, invented and created humans with minds, wills, emotions, and spirits: like angels, endowed with the ability to relate to a higher being: God.
God envisioned, invented and enforced rudimentary law for judging their behavior, then imposed physical death as a blessing (thus creating the possibility of entering heaven).
God envisioned the goal of billions of humans joining Him eternally in heaven, requiring rapid population growth.
God envisioned, invented and created a destructive flood to start over with a new population, having seen the first group fail in reproducing rapidly by allowing murder to run rampant.
God envisioned, invented and created multiple languages to force the worldwide dispersion of rebellious humans who refused to fill the earth, finally enabling rapid growth.
line
ETERNAL LIFE
God envisioned, invented and created a Chosen People to bless the rest of humanity, by demonstrating even their complete and total inability to remain in fellowship with Him, and by serving as the vehicle for delivering God’s Answer.
God envisioned, invented and created the perfect Law to prove that no human can achieve the perfection necessary to qualify for heaven: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
God envisioned, invented and created the inerrant Bible to record humans’ failure and God’s Answer.
line
GOD’S ANSWER: REDEMPTION
God envisioned, invented and created a Way to enable a large portion of the humans to qualify for entrance into heaven despite their own manifest unfitness: He became one of them.
Jesus blessed us by dying a torturous death on our behalf and then coming alive again, to pay the penalty for the sins of each of us; thus, He invited and enabled all those who wish to join Him eternally in heaven to do so, at His expense.
God envisioned, invented and created tens of billions of unique individual humans, and then His Spirit fashions appeals to reach those humans with His gospel in ways perfectly and uniquely suited to each person.
God envisioned, invented and created a suitable habitat for all others—those who demand in the end to have nothing more to do with Him—and expresses His continuing love and care for them by limiting their discomfort as much as possible.
line
GOD’S PROGRAM
God envisioned, invented and created the Church to serve the saints on earth and to function in outreach to the lost.
God’s Spirit restrains evil and indwells all believers in order “to cheer and to guide.”
God envisioned, invented and, once evil is finally eradicated, will create (Revelation 21-22) a new heaven and earth, with different physical laws (“I am making everything new!”) and the new Jerusalem to house His saints eternally; not to mention however else His inimitable vision, inventiveness and creativity (and showmanship?) will astonish us throughout eternity.
I wrote this for my own edification and amusement at the Spirit's prompting. Perhaps you, too, will be blessed by it.
If you're unfamiliar with The Attributes of God by A. W. Pink:
Contents
Chapter 1 The Solitariness of God 2
Chapter 2 The Decrees of God 4
Chapter 3 The Knowledge of God 6
Chapter 4 The Foreknowledge of God 8
Chapter 5 The Supremacy of God 10
Chapter 6 The Sovereignty of God 12
Chapter 7 The Immutability of God 14
Chapter 8 The Holiness of God 15
Chapter 9 The Power of God 18
Chapter 10 The Faithfulness of God 20
Chapter 11 The Goodness of God 23
Chapter 12 The Patience of God 24
Chapter 13 The Grace of God 26
Chapter 14 The Mercy of God 28
Chapter 15 The Lovingkindness of God 30
Chapter 16 The Love of God 32
Chapter 17 The Love of God to Us 34
Chapter 18 The Wrath of God 36
Chapter 19 The Contemplation of God 38
Hope you enjoy.
Interesting. I downloaded the book for my Kindle. For only 99 cents, why not?
The irony is that in tackling the biggest subject there is, Pink’s book is the skinniest.
God is unique, and therefore everything that exists results from Him.
This has always been a hard one for me to accept. In my pride I want to believe I am responsible for those things that come to being from my mind and works. "I created this thing." With the subtext being, "...and I glorify myself for doing so." But it all starts with Him. No one human is creating anything without God - at the very least - creating that person in the first place.
God envisioned, invented and created a Chosen People to bless the rest of humanity, by demonstrating even their complete and total inability to remain in fellowship with Him...
So huge. The stereotype of the perpetually angry Old Testament God is such a lie. The Prophets reveal over and again the extent which this loving God warned His people Israel to turn back to Him, so as to spare themselves the consequences of disobedience.
My typical procedure in reading the Bible is just left-to-right, Genesis straight through to Revelation. I've done that more than thirty times now, so it's a thoroughly established habit. What makes that worth mentioning is my reaction to the O.T. each time through: while I'm immersed in it for months at a time (only four or so chapters daily--finishing Deuteronomy just now), it's as though I enjoy the O.T. more than the New!
Of course, the explanation is that, as a Christian who has read and believes the N.T., I'm in on the ending and know how loving (John 3:16) the Son-giving Father actually is.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.