The Maximal Greatness of God

Jeremiah 9:23-24 "Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord whoexercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord."

Introduction:

What kind of Being is God? When we think about God, we are in the words of the 11th century theologian Anslem of Canterbury conceiving of "a being than which no greater can be conceived". To speak of God means to talk about a being that is maximally great. This quality of God's "maximal greatness" categorizes God in a unique category unto His own. Today's post aims to briefly explore what is meant by saying God is "Maximally Great".

The Westminister Confession of Faith states: "There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or

passions; immutable,immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory."

The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 begins its discussion of God as the Maximally Great Being by noting: "There is one and only one living and true God." This first statement is not meant to stutter. To say God is "One" is to say there is no other Being that is the category of Maximal Being. To then say "and only one living and true God" is to state how this God is His own reality, separate from the reality of this physical universe. In giving further explanation the BFM 2000 notes: "God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures." 

God's maximal greatness as The only Maximally Great being renders Him worthy of our worship. The BFM 2000 notes: "To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience." God as the Maximally Great Being is not just a static, abstact idea - but He is Personal, Living, Active. God's essence or Being is revealed through the Triune Persons. The BFM 2000 notes: "The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being."

As one writer has noted: God is One God, revealed in Three Persons, with each Person being truly God. As the Maximally Great Being, God is self-contained in His own self-sufficiency - a self-sufficiency that entails an eternal relationship apart from and without need of a creation. God as Triune chose to create all things to express the overflow of His presence - however He did not have to create. 

Closing thoughts

The point of today's post aimed to simply reflect and mediate a little bit on the Maximal Being of God. Such reflections can never comprehend God, but by such reflections we aim can know this God through Jesus Christ. May our thoughts be directed more towards this maximally Great God. 

Having hope in God when times are tough

Psalm 34:17-18 "The righteous cry, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles.18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit."

When David wrote this Psalm under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he was in a season of great duress. The King of Israel, King Saul, whom David had served was in pursuit of David to take his life. David was in such a desperate situation that he fled to the sworn enemies of Israel - the Philistines - to seek temporary assylum. David chose to masquerade as a mad man before the King of the Philistines so as to not to draw suspisions from the Philistines, since he had killed Goliath. One can read of these tense moments for David in 1 Samuel 21. 

As David composes Psalm 34, his observations about God's nearness derive from having observed God's faithfulness in others hard-situations. It becomes quickly apparent that David was experiencing God's incredible presence in one of the most desperate moments of his own life. It is one thing to observe God at work in other people's lives, and yet quite another when you experience it for yourself.

The Hebrew text behind the English translation speaks of David's heart literally being "distressed" and "crushed". However we are given personal glimpse of God's response to David's cry for help: God "heard him" and "delivered him". 

Certainly there are those seasons we all go through where it feels like the bottom has fallen out and we're in a free-fall. Whenever we lose a loved one, or observe a loved one going through a difficult time or experience health issues, change of location or immense pressures in life - things can seem bleak. However, it is in those moments where the cramped space of our circumstance is just enough space to draw closest to God - and He to us. The darkened skies of life are ever illuminated by the backdrop of God's goodness - even when we may be barely able to see the next step. As one writer has noted: "Absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence."

How often Jesus took the time to draw near to the Heavenly Father during the course of His earthly ministry (Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12). Even on the cross, when everything was at its lowest point, Jesus sought after the Father. Jesus, the Great Shepherd, ever awaits to walk those who have trusted in Him by faith through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23; John 10:10). 

What makes the Christian's situation more remarkable than David's is that not only is the Lord with believers, He by the Holy Spirit now lives in them to see them through the tough times (John 14:16-17; Colossians 1:27). The most severest moments of life are refining times used by God to purify faith, strengthen resolve and to encourage dependance upon Him (James 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7). 

The flame of faith may flicker in the cross winds of times like David's days, however it is shielded by the bigger and greater grace of God (1 Peter 1:5). Hope cannot ever be fully snuffed out in the Christian, since the Holy Spirit ever delivers hope shed abroad in our hearts (Romans 5:1-5). 

As you think about whatever trial you may be facing today or tomorrow - remember dear Christian - the Lord's nearness to you is more than enough to give you hope and light. God will and is seeing you through. Be encouraged. 

 

ABC's of discerning God's will

Acts 16:6 "They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 7 and after they came toMysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and theSpirit of Jesus did not permit them."

Acts 18:19-21 "They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, 21 buttaking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus."

Introduction

In today's post we consider what is entailed in discerning God's will in everyday life. For ease of study, I will have each main point begin with a subsequent letter of the alphabet, hence the title of this series: "ABC's of discerning God's will". 

In the opening text we find the Apostle Paul being hindered by the Holy Spirit from entering into the region of Asia Minor (Ephesus, Mysia). Why would God prevent this great missionary from sharing the Gospel in that land at that time? We discover in Acts 16-17 that God had a mission for Paul to achieve first - namely going over to the region of Macedonia. The fruits of Paul's Macedonian mission can be seen in the letters he wrote to the churches in that region: Philippi, Thessalonica and Corinth. We then find after Paul had completed his assignment, the Lord had lifted the restraints and Paul was then permitted to freely enter into Ephesus.

How is it that Paul was able to discern the Spirit's leadings and promptings? I would suggest that God's way of leading His people entails a combination of interior promptings, circumstances, people and of course the objective, infallibe Word of God. We will list four major components in discerning God's Will. Notice the following ABC's of discerning God's Will:

Active obedience.  You and I dear friend cannot expect to detect God's leading and promptings if we are operating outside the known will of God. Paul was obeying God in his work of spreading the Gospel. Obedience to Christ's Lordship positions us in ready mode for sensing God's direction. 

Bible. It is impossible to hear God and know His will apart from the Bible. The Bible was revealed by God for the sake of "us and our children" (Deuteronomy 29:29). God's Word is the objective standard by which all the other methods of discerning God's will are evaluated.

Circumstances. How often do we take the time to "read" our circumstances. God is creative in the ways He guides His people. Circumstances are a big indicator of what God is doing in our lives. Certainly Paul had to read his circumstances and make an informed decision. He had Divine guidance from God for sure, but the circumstances acted as a secondary method of confirming that he and his companions had to go one way, rather than another.

Divine Promptings. This refers to the internal leadings of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Person of the Godhead Who indwells us and is fully God. He speaks to us from the moment of the newbirth/conversion (Romans 8:14-16). By the scriptures the Holy Spirit inside our human spirit delivers insights and illumination (1 Corinthians 2:10-13). The Holy Spirit is the One who provides warrant or justified reasons for why we believe we are saved, Jesus is Lord and the Bible is true (1 Corinthians 12:1-3; 12:12; Galatians 4:6; 1 John 2:20,27).

All four of these elements are evident in Paul's missionary journeys here in Acts. As we noted already, he was actively obeying God (Acts 16:10). Paul had a Divine word from God, which would be tantamount to our scriptures, since he did not have a completed New Testament at that point (Acts 10:10). Paul discerned from the circumstances that he could not go into Ephesus, concluding that the Spirit was not leading them there (Acts 16:6-7). Later on of course Paul was able to go into Ephesus, recognizing that God's will was involved (Acts 18:19-21). Then we find Divine promptings at work, as demonstrated in the cited texts and by the presence of the Holy Spirit through the passages. 

So as you and I live our lives for the Lord today, let's aim to do His will. Let's be actively obedient. Let's consult the Bible in our decision making. Let's be mindful of our circumstances. Then finally, let's be listening for what could be Divine promptings from the Holy Spirit. 

How magnets and iron illustrate God and man

Proverbs 19:21 "Many plans are in a man’s heart,But the counsel of the Lord will stand."

I can remember as a child playing with magnets. One of my favorite experiments had to do with taking a piece of iron and filing off some flecks of metal. These "iron filings" would then be placed on a piece of paper, with a bar magnet placed underneath. To my amazement, the filings would suddenly be arranged in parallel lines that traced out the magnetic field lines of the magnet. 

When I would try other materials (such as an eraser or wood shavings from a pencil), the magnet had no effect. There was something about the metallic properties of the atoms in that metal that, when brought in contact with a magnetic field, caused the atoms to allign with one another. The question that always came to my mind was this: which was ultimately responsible for the lines of formation on the paper made between the magnet and the iron filings? Was it something about the metal itself, or was it the magnet underneath the paper?

The answer to the question is that both needed to be present in order for the experiment to succeed. Take away the metal and replace it with wood or rubber, and the lines won't appear. Try to place iron-filings on the paper with no magnet, and you'll have clumps of filings with no discernable pattern.

So, what is the point? When we consider God's dealings in our lives, the Bible reveals that His Sovereign will permeates all things. God as Sovereign and separate from creation exercises providence (i.e foresight) over inanimate and animate things. Governments, situations and human beings themselves are under the sway of the Sovereign ruler of the universe. God's power and authority determines the course and shape of all things. We would say that His influence is likened unto the magnet in our story.

People on the otherhand are like the various filings on the sheet of paper we call history. Whenever God's influence and working is near them, will people respond? The one property people have that iron filings do not have is the ability to respond. Many factors such as trials and triumphs, relationships and rejections, personalities and choices are all factored together in how people will respond to the Lord. 

Lest the Spirit of God has worked in the hearts of people to allign their hearts, the unbeliever will be no more inclined to God than wood or rubber would be to a magnet. However, as people lessen their resistance and freely give themselves over to the influencing work of the Spirit, allignment occurs and the person willing chooses to fall in line with the magnetic field-lines of Grace that are at work all around us. 

As the Proverb up above reminds us: truly the plans of a man are many, but it is the Lord's Counsel that has the final word. Therein is no contradiction when it comes to God's purposes and our plans. Both God's Sovereignty and human responsibility are needed to make sense of what we read oftentimes in the Bible. God certainly has need of no one, and yet has chosen to include volitional agents (human beings) as the means to fulfilling His purposes. 

All we can say is that when we freely choose Him, it is due to His prevailing grace. When we choose to ignore His promptings, we have only ourselves to blame. May you and I, dear reader, yield to the Spirit's Sovereign working and fall in line with Him. 

An invitation to listen to two podcast episodes on the subject of defending the Christian faith

Acts 17:22-24 "So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you."

Introduction:

Today's blogpost features links to a couple of podcasts I recently did on the subject: ABC's of Apologetics and Evangelism. The podcasts are found over in the pod casting site which is an audio arm of this blog site. The first episode gives a general overview of a strategy for defending and sharing the Christian faith. The second episode features an argument for the existence of God from the standpoint of God being the Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth. Overtime I will be releasing more podcasts to round out the series, with the aim of providing a strategy for apologetics and evangelism that can be used by readers and listeners. To God be the glory! Here are the links (each episode is 7-8 minutes in length):

https://gcrpodcast.wordpress.com/2016/02/18/podcast-introduction-to-the-abcs-of-apologetics-evangelism/ 

https://gcrpodcast.wordpress.com/2016/02/24/podcast-abcs-of-apologetics-evangelism-the-almighty-god-maker-of-heaven-and-earth/ 

How the Person of the Son co-operates with the Father and Spirit in the conversion of sinners

Ephesians 2:13-18 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far offhave been brought near by the blood of Christ.14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thusestablishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father."

Introduction:

In yesterday's post we considered how Jesus the Son is active in the conversion of sinners. The above passage of scripture expresses not only Christ's finished work of accomplished redemption, but also His work in the application of salvation. Such efforts by Jesus the Son are to be understood not only in light of His activity as the ascended, exalted Jesus, but also in His relationships with the Father and the Spirit in the Godhead. When I use that term "Godhead", the word refers to the unified being of the One God that exists equally and co-eternally among the Three Persons. God is afterall One God, existing as Three Persons, with each Person being truly God. 

An example of How the Trinity works together

Whenever we consider the three major works of God: creation, redemption and what will be the consummation of all things, each Person of the Trinity distinctively performs their role in the unified effort of each work. For example, God is: Father, Author of Heaven and Earth; Son, Architect of Heaven and Earth; and Spirit, Animator of Heaven and earth. Certainly to say that the Father is the Author is not to exclude Him being involved in the architecture nor the animation of all things; nor in claiming the Son to be the architect are we detracting from His involvement in the authorship and animation of all things. The Holy Spirit functions equally with the Father and Son in terms of His involvment in the authorship and architecture of all things, even though the scriptures credit Him as the primary agent behind the animation of life itself. All three persons together function and relate as One - henceforth the creation was caused by One all powerful God. 

How the doctrine of the Trinity helps us to better understand Jesus' role in the conversion of sinners

As the Father, Son and Spirit have their roles in creation, much the same can be said in how the Triune God operates in salvation. The particular interest in today's post is how the Person of the Son works in the conversion of sinners as understood in relationship to the Two other Persons of the Trinity.

We first of all must recall that there is no inconsistency amidst the Trinity - since God exists equally and truly in the Three Persons of the Godhead. If we say that the Father is active in regeneration (Which we know the Father is by His effectual calling - Romans 8:29-31); and the Spirit is active in the work Himself (1 Cor 12:12-13) then the Son must be active as well. G.I. Williamson's Study Guide for the Westminster Confession of Faith, page 83, is instructive on this point. I will summarize below with a few quotes and brief explanation for clarity's sake:

Williamson notes: "We have also seen that Christ's mediatorial work concurrently involves both natures." Williamson draws his observations from Christ's current work as Prophet, Priest and King. I agree that Christ's achieved work on the cross is the objective grounds of our redemption. When Williamson makes reference to Christ's "natures", he is reminding us of how the Son is "One Person" who expresses His existence in two ways (i.e natures): as truly God and truly man. As truly God, the Son is the second Person of the Trinity, Who has and always will be in co-eternal union with the Father and Spirit, sharing in the Power and being of God; whereas as truly man, the Son is Jesus of Nazareth, crucified, risen and ascended in glorified humanity, sharing in the plights of His people. These observations provide guardrails, so that to say that Jesus is not some how involved in the regeneration of sinners would result in an unecessary division within the Godhead. 

Williamson's comments further build on Christ's ongoing work in not only sustaining the faith of His people post-conversion, but also in working in the events leading up to it. He states again: "Here we shall be content to stress the fact that Christ does effectually apply redemption to those for whom He died. And in grasping this truth we will find it helpful to remember the following truths: Christ freely and sincerely offers salvation to all who hear the Gospel, whether they be elect or not. 'For many are called but few are chosen' (Mt 20:16). Again, Williamson draws out the point we are making in today's post: how the Person of the Son works in the conversion of sinners as understood in relationship to the Two other Persons of the Trinity. 

Closing thoughts and applications

This particular discussion is important due to the union within God Himself over the application of salvation in our current day. God is not a begrudging God when it comes to salvation. The Son in particular reveals most clearly the intentions of the Father and endorses the effects worked forth by the Spirit in the hearts of unsaved people who believe on Him. One passage that comes to mind in asserting the union of the Trinity in the conversion of the lost is Acts 16:14, wherein we read of "The Lord opening Lydia's heart....". To refers one last time to G.I Williamson, he goes onto quote Matthew 11:28, 23:37 and John 6:37 in his comments on the Son's involvement with conversion. It is clear that more scriptures attribute regeneration to the Father and the Spirit than to Christ. Nevertheless, there is evidence enough in the New Testament, along with considerations of the Triune nature of God - in which the Son equally shares - to demonstrate that the Son is active in the regeneration of the lost.

How Jesus Christ works in the conversion of sinners

1 Timothy 4:10 "For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers."

When we consider the work of redemption that Jesus achieved in His substitutionary death, resurrection and ascension - such achievements are once and for all, never-to-be-repeated. The cross will ever be the anchoring point of redemption, with the resurrection demonstrating that what Jesus achieved overcame the otherwise infinite gulf between God and human beings. We could term this as referring to "redemption accomplished".

The Scriptures reveal that God is One God, existing in three Persons and with each Person in turn being fully and truly God. In the work of salvation, the Father is described as drawing sinners unto Himself whom He set his love and affection (Ephesians 1:4; John 6:44). Moreover, the Holy Spirit is the Chief Agent in the work of conversion, seeking after sinners and bringing unto them the finished work of Christ so that they can respond, believe and be saved (John 16:8-12). The Holy Spirit's efforts in applying salvation are done through the words of scripture, which are the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; James 1:18). This aspect of Biblical redemption could be classified as "redemption applied".

When it comes to the work of the Son in the conversion of sinners (i.e the application of redemption), does Jesus play an active role? Scripture is firm that His work of salvation is a once-and-for-all done work. Yet scripture also indicates that by sharing equally in the Divine nature with the Father and Spirit, Jesus the Son operates in somehow in the reception of Him in saving faith. Today's post aims to grasp what the New Testament has to say about how Jesus works in the conversion of sinners:

1). The Son works forth salvation via the sending of the Spirit in His name. John 16:7; Acts 2:38. 

2). The Son is described as directly involved in our salvation by His activity and calling by the scriptures. John 5:24-25; Acts 3:20-21; Col 3:15

3). Jesus the Son works by way of the authority of His blood. This once-for-all accomplished work has continuing ongoing results in the current moment upon all who respond to His call based upon the blood which He shed. Acts 4:12; 10:43; Ro 3:19-26; 4:25; Eph 1:7; Heb 9:14. 

4). The Son bestows salvation by virtue of His exalted position in heaven at the right hand of the Father. The authority which the Son exercises over the church and the world is what theologians call "His Sessions". Classically Bible teachers have considered Christ's current activity or "session" as occupying three offices: "prophet", "priest" and "king". In theese three capacities, the Son works in the salvation of sinners. Rom 10:12; 2 Cor 4:6; John 1:17; 2Thess 2:6; 1 Ti 2:5; 4:10; Heb 2:14-18; 5:9; 7:25; 1 Jn 2:2; 4:10. This final point demonstrates how the Son is involves in the salvation of sinners. His session is also responsible for the other three observations made in the prior remarks.

Jesus works in the conversion of sinners with the Agency of the Holy Spirit and the active will of the Father. All Three Persons are One God.  Truly how Jesus works in the conversion of sinners is an amazing thing to think about.