Post #19 The Doctrine of God - God's Attribute of Peace (also known as "Faithfulness")

 

Introduction:

        In our study of the Doctrine of God, we have endeavored to cover as many attributes as possible. In today's post we are going to explore that Divine attribute of God's "peace" or order. Theologian Wayne Grudem gives the following defintion of "God's Peace", 

"God's peace means that in God's being and in His actions He is separate from all confusion and disorder, yet He is continually active in innumerable well-ordered, fully controlled, simultaeous actions."

Grasping the Bible's teaching on God's peace or faithfulness

    The Bible certainly attests to the "orderliness" of God in His nature. What Grudem calls "God's peace" or "orderliness" sounds very similiar to what others refer to as God's "faithfulness". God is not a haphazard God. Some brief meditations on the inner-workings of the Trinity will bring out the beauty of this Divine attribute. 

    For instance, the persons of the Trinity never contradict one another. When we get to a detailed study of the doctrine of the Trinity in future posts, we will study what is known as "the doctrine of Divine operations". "Divine operations" describes how the Persons of the Trinity each perform aspects of the works of creation and redemption without contradiction to each other. 

    In creation, the Father authorizes (1 Corinthians 8:6), the Son actualizes or brings everything into being (Psalm 33:6; John 1:1-3), and the Spirit animates or brings forth life and activity. All three Persons do so as the One Creator God (Psalm 104). 

    In redemption, the Father is the architect of salvation (Ephesians 1:1-6), the Son accomplishes redemption (Ephesians 1:7-9), and the Spirit applies such in saving faith (Ephesians 1:10-14). Such division of labor is all one act, by one God, who is three Persons (Ephesians 1:11; Romans 11:36). 

    The attribute of God's peace or faithfulness underwrites the Trinity's work in creation and redemption. God's faithfulness reveals why the Trinity is always in perfect union, and why the plans of God reach their intended goal.

Biblical Scriptures that highlight God's peace or faithfulness

     The prophet Isaiah gives a most apt word-picture of this perfection of God in Isaiah 26:1-4,

"In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security. 2 “Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, the one that remains faithful. 3 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. 4 “Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock."

    In the New Testament, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:33 "for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." 

    Also, in 2 Thessalonians 3:16 he notes,

"Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all."

    This orderly, peaceful, faithful God, is extolled or praised by Moses in Deuteronomy 7:9,

"Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments."

    The Psalmist says of God's peace or faithfulness in Psalm 36:5,

"Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies."

    The peace or faithfulness of God is most applicable as noted in Jeremiah's words in Lamentation 3:22-24,

"The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”

    As one does a study of God's peace, orderliness, or what we are terming here, "faithfulness", the Scriptures are quite substantial. We've witnessed His peace in the Old Testament. The New Testament abounds with examples, with a sampling to follow below.

    In the New Testament, God's faithfulness explains why there is salvation (1 Corinthians 1:9). His peace or faithfulness protects believers when they avail themselves of Him in temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Thess 3:3). God's peace or faithfulness is a communicable attribute, conveyed by the Holy Spirit to the Christian (Galatians 5:22). We are told in 2 Timothy 2:13 that God's faithfulness outpaces us in those times we are unfaithful. 

    The Lord Jesus Christ as God incarnate is our faithful High Priest, representing the Christian (Hebrews 2:17; 3:2,6). We are told to "hold fast to Him who is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23). When the Christian suffers for Jesus' sake, they'll be preserved in their faith by Him who is faithful (1 Peter 4:19). The Christian has the promise that Jesus will forgive them when they sin (1 John 1:9). 

    We are told that the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard one's heart and mind in times of prayer (Philippians 4:19). In Revelation 1:5 and 3:14, we find Jesus attributed with this Divine attribute, called by the title "the Faithful witness". 

Why God's peace or faithfulness is enjoyed through Jesus Christ alone

      The word most often translated "peace" in the New Testament indicates the result of reconciliation accomplished by the incarnation of the Son of God. Jesus came the first-time to live, die, rise and ascend (see John 1:14-18; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Timothy 3:15-16; 1 Peter 1:18; 2:21-22; Revelation 1:8, 17-18). He, as God, became the babe in the cradle; to be the Savior on the cross; to rise victoriously from the grave; to ascend in majesty. 

      The angels addressing the shepherds in Luke 2:14 state - 

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

       There are eight songs or lyrical poems recorded in Luke's infancy narratives of Jesus' life in the first two chapters of his Gospel. Some of these songs have names derived from the 4th century Latin Vulgate translation which was used through the Middle Ages. The particular song in Luke 2:14 is called "gloria in excelsis deo" or "glory to God in the highest" or simply "gloria".     Christians from the early centuries following the Apostles recognized that the only source of peace is when we are focused on God through Jesus Christ - thus, "glory to God in the highest". 

      Whenever we think of "peace", we consider how Christ came into our world to bring about reconciliation between believing sinners and the Father (see John 16:33). Jesus came as the Mediator of peace with God (see 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:1-2). 2 Corinthians 4:5-6 reminds us - 

"For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

       Such bringing together of God and man in One Person would be the pattern for the goal of salvation - reconciliation. To reconcile sinful man and Holy God results in peace. We read in Ephesians 2:13-18 

"But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have 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, thus establishing 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."       

         Consider Romans 5:1-5, which speaks more poignantly about this peace applied to the sinner at saving faith: 

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

Closing thoughts

          Years ago there used to be bumper-stickers that read: "No Jesus, No Peace / Know Jesus, Know Peace". Since Jesus came into our world over 2,000 years ago, hope, faith, joy and peace were made available to all who trust in Him by faith. God's attribute of peace is revealed to us and available only through Jesus Christ. He is our faith. He is our joy. He is our peace. He is faithful.

Post #18 The Doctrine of God - P2 God's Attribute Of Wisdom - Applications For Our Lives

Introduction:

    In our last post we reflected upon God's attribute of wisdom here http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2023/09/post-17-doctrine-of-god-p1-reflections.html. I mainly drew these observations from a sermon I preached years ago in the conclusion of a preaching series through Paul's letter to the Romans. In today's post we continue on in our study of God's attribute of wisdom, focusing upon how it applies to our lives. 

Why Paul refers to God as "God only wise". 

   The infinite nobility and skill with which the Triune God executes His infinite life spills over into the guidance of creation. Therefore, it is more than appropriate for Paul to refer to God as "God only wise", since all other created beings derive their limited ability to exercise wisdom from God. 

     The question now before us is: "so what"? This is where we can draw applications for our lives. Below are three observations one can glean about "God only wise" in consideration of Romans 16:27 and other passages.

Gracious strength of God’s Wisdom. Romans 1:1-7; 1:16; 16:25-27. 

    Romans begins and ends with grace and wisdom.  Reflecting on God's wisdom leads to certain questions:

1. Does God know what He is doing?

2. Can I trust God, even though I don't 

    understand?

3. Is God still good, even though 

    everything seems so bad?

    Paul begins Romans 16:27 with this phrase: "To the only wise God". Such questions are answered in scripture by considering God's wisdom as a source of strength. Proverbs 3:5-6 - 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

    The prophet Daniel writes in Daniel 2:20-21 - 

“Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding.” 

    Thus we see in Daniel's prophecy how wisdom and God's strength are associated with one another (recall, whenever you have one of God's attributes, you have all of them). 

    The gracious strength of God's wisdom aids us in those seasons wherein we don't grasp what God is doing. I'm reminded of an illustration I once read about the front and back of a clock or watch. If we were to take the back off of either, we would observe its inner workings. We would see gear works turning in opposite directions. We would note coiled springs, whirring wheels and dizzying motion. Unless we were the watchmaker, we might conclude the whole thing as a mess. 

    However, once one turns the watch or clock over to the front, we see the hour, minute and second hands turning in the same direction. The wisdom of the watch maker is demonstrated in both the appropriated means of the design (the back) and the intended end (keeping time). 

    God too is only wise. His gracious strength guides the believer's path and all things. Notice secondly, not only the gracious strength of God's wisdom, but also... 

Great Mediator of God’s Wisdom. Rom. 5:1,6-8; 8:1

    In addition to what Paul writes about "To the only wise God" in Romans 16:27, we see the next phrase: "through Jesus Christ". God's wisdom, as experienced and expressed by his creatures, is a mediated wisdom. Another comfort I find about God's wisdom is that whatever God sends my way, it has went through the Son. An old saying I heard years ago states, 

"that nothing comes down to us that has not already first passed through the nail-scarred hands of the Son of God." 

    Thus, since Divine wisdom is mediated by the Second person of the Trinity, who is truly God (touching His divine nature), then truly He has my best interest in mind. Furthermore, by remaining truly man, Jesus Christ is pleased to associate with His people as the decisive revelation of God in human flesh. To find out that God's wisdom is associated with and is the Divine nature of Christ Himself, as well as shared with His people via his true human nature, we can affirm that God does care. 

    Even though Old Testament saints did not yet possess the fullness of revelation like New Testament believers have today, they associated God's wisdom with the fact that He cares. Job 2:10 

"But he said to her, 'You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?' In all this Job did not sin with his lips."

    Job didn't grasp all that was happening in his life. He knew that all of it directly or indirectly came as a result of God's wise actions. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:30 -

"But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.”

    Here we see that Christ Himself came to reveal Divine wisdom, since as God, He is wise by nature. With respect to God's wisdom mediated to the Christian in time of need, we are reminded of James 1:3-5 - 

“knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” 

    This second point of Christ mediating Divine wisdom to us means so much whenever facing the unknown. In meditating on the fact that God is only wise, and that His Divine wisdom is mediated to me through the Son, I have found the strength to cope with whatever dissapointments or crushing blows in life. 

    Again, the comforting thought strikes me, as I experience God in His wisdom, I experience all of Him, since in God there is no variation nor shifting of shadow (Jas 1:17). 

    So, we've observed the glorious strength of God's wisdom and the great mediator of such wisdom - the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's lastly consider...

Glorious Purpose of God’s wisdom.  

    As with each of God's attributes, Divine wisdom brings the believer to the point of switching from study to outright praise. Paul's doxology in the middle of Romans both summarizes the first eleven chapters of his exposition on the Gospel and prepares us for the practical sections of Romans 12-16. This doxology (i.e. a statement of praise to God), is found in Romans 11:33-36 

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” 

    Whenever I see that last word, "Amen", the truth of whatever was written beforehand is affirmed. To put it another way, good or bad, God’s purpose to glorify Himself will prevail, thus, there are no pointless details of life. Whenever I read this doxology, it corresponds perfectly to the final phrase of Romans 16:27 - "be the glory forever and ever. Amen." These verses answer the question: does God still have a plan? with a resounding, yes! Romans 8:28-31 states:

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?"

    This idea of God's wisdom corresponding to life's purposes is expressed in James 1:3-4 - 

“knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” 

    If trials didn’t come, I wouldn't acquire the sense to see where I lack. Moreover, I would not depend upon the God, who alone is wise.

Closing thoughts:

    In today's post, we considered the significance of God's wisdom in the phrase: "To the only wise God". After defining God's wisdom, we noted three observations about how His wisdom applies to our lives:

1. Gracious strength of God’s Wisdom. Romans 1:1-7; 1:16; 16:25-27 

2. Great Mediator of God’s Wisdom. Romans 5:1,6-8; 8:1


3. Glorious Purpose of God’s wisdom.    Romans 11:33-36  

Post #17 The Doctrine of God - P1 Reflections On God's Attribute Of Wisdom

 

Introduction: 

    In this current series of posts, we are exploring the existence, being, and attributes of God. 

    God's existence speaks to the fact of "that He is". His covenant name, "Yahweh", revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14, refers to His self-existence. This personal covenant name represents God's  unchanging character. Also too,  He operates independently of time while revealing Himself within it as "I AM who was, is, and am to come" (compare Revelation 1:7-8). 

    God's being tells us about "what He is" - without beginning, without ending, incomprehensible or incapable of being exhaustively comprehended. Though incomprehensibility places limits on how much we can comprehend, yet God is truly knowable because of His revelation in creation and the Scriptures. 

    The attributes, expressing God's being, tell us "how He is". God's being and attributes are one-and-the same substance, with the attributes not being parts, but rather whole expressions of the kind of God, God is. 

    As we move forward, we want to look today at God's attribute of wisdom. The Westminster Confession of Faith gives us one of the finest summaries of God's existence, being, and attributes in its article two, section 1. The following version of that article is found at the site https://westminsterstandards.org/westminster-confession-of-faith/. I'll reproduce below the attributes of God it lists with verse references, underlying our target attribute, God's wisdom,

"There is but one only, (Deut. 6:4, 1 Cor. 8:4–6) living, and true God, (1 Thess. 1:9, Jer. 10:10) who is infinite in being and perfection, (Job 11:7–9, Job 26:14) a most pure spirit, (John 4:24) invisible, (1 Tim. 1:17) without body, parts, (Deut. 4:15–16, John 4:24, Luke 24:39) or passions; (Acts 14:11,15) immutable, (James 1:17, Mal. 3:6) immense, (1 Kings 8:27, Jer. 23:23–24) eternal, (Ps. 90:2, 1 Tim. 1:17) incomprehensible, (Ps. 145:3) almighty, (Gen. 17:1, Rev. 4:8) most wise, (Rom. 16:27) most holy, (Isa. 6:3, Rev. 4:8) most free, (Ps. 115:3) most absolute; (Exod. 3:14) working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, (Eph. 1:11) for His own glory; (Prov. 16:4, Rom. 11:36) most loving, (1 John 4:8,16) gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth."

The only wise God

    Years ago I had preached a series through Paul's letter to the church at Rome. As I closed that series, I delved into God's attribute of wisdom. Paul wrote in Romans 16:27 "to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen." In that series, I was struck by how Paul began this massive exposition on the power of the Gospel by introducing it with God's grace (Romans 1:1-7) and concluding it with God's wisdom (Romans 16:27). 

    God's grace and wisdom function as bookends, holding together all of the wondrous truths of the Gospel in both its theological and practical considerations. 

    As I prepared that final message in the series, (the main source for this post), I asked God to minister to me His attribute of wisdom. I didn’t want to possess a theoretical knowledge, but to arrive at a deeper level of acquaintance with it. The difficulties of life test the metal of one’s faith. The entirety of human emotion is tasted. 

    As I reflect back on getting ready to preach on God's wisdom, at the time I experienced a challenging week. I recall vividly crossed a threshhold in my mind from seeing God’s wisdom as a reality I read about to that of a reality through which I needed to live. His wisdom was then, and still is to this day, my food and drink of the soul. Though I don’t comprehend many of the details in our current life, nonetheless "God only wise" does.  

Defining God's wisdom

    Theologian Wayne Grudem defines God's wisdom on page 231 of his "Systematic Theology", 2nd edition,

"God's wisdom means that God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those goals."

The late author A.W. Tozer comments on wisdom in general:

“Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means. It sees the end from the beginning, so there can be no need to guess or conjecture. Wisdom sees everything in focus, each in proper relation to all, and is thus able to work toward predestined goals with flawless precision.”

In a similar vein of thought, author J.I. Packer remarks about wisdom in his classic book: "Knowing God" - 

“Wisdom is the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.” 

    As aforementioned, God’s grace and wisdom function like bookends to hold together the details of the Gospel, life and eternity. Wisdom is one of the attributes or characteristics of God. Per the doctrine of Divine unity (also called by the older term, "Divine simplicity"), whenever we have one of God’s attributes, we have all of God, since He is all His attributes. 

    God's essential attribute of wisdom comforts me. His attributes are as light through a prism, transfiguring the white light of the sun into the manifold colors of the rainbow. By analogy, wisdom is that most noblest of virtues in creatures. If we consider the 11th century thinker Anselm's classic definition of God as, 

The greatest Being that can be conceived, compared to which none greater can be conceived" (i.e. the greatest conceivable being), 

then Divine wisdom is a necessary quality of God's being. 

God's wisdom and its communication to humans and angels

    

    We've talked before in prior posts of God's "communicable attributes", that is, those perfections which he shares with His creatures. Wisdom is among such communicable qualities of God. In God, wisdom isn't something that God possesses, rather, wisdom is what God is. No other rational creature (angel or human) can claim this unique point with respect to wisdom. 

    No creature "is" wisdom, however, all rational creatures "have" wisdom in varying measure. Angels are wiser than human beings, with angels and humans exhibiting varying levels of wisdom among themselves. God, on the other hand, has no variation of wisdom, since He "is" wisdom eternally, infinitely and immutably (see Malachi 3:6; James 1:17). 

Closing for now...

    In the next post, we'll continue by drawing forth implications and applications of God's attribute of wisdom to our lives. 

Post # 16 The Doctrine of God - God's Invisibility

 

Introduction:

    As we continue in our study of the doctrine of God, let's be reminded of where we have traveled in our journey through this important doctrine. 

1. First, we noted God's knowability, existence, and incomprehensibility. These three starting points all have in common God's act of Divine revelation - that is, making known what was previously unknown. God's self-disclosure of Himself in creation and the conscience is what we call "general revelation", meaning everyone born in this world has innate knowledge "about God". 

    In "special revelation", God makes known His will and identity through the Scriptures and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is special revelation that the Holy Spirit uses to generate salvation and bring about "knowledge of God". We explored these truths in posts #1-#3.

2. It was then in posts #4 to the present post that we turned our attention to God's being as understood through His attributes. 

    God's attributes are His being in action. By acting forth in His Divine essence through His perfections (attributes), God relates to all He has made. He wonderously shines forth in these attributes within Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

    God's being and attributes are of the same "stuff"or substance, with no division. God's attributes are not "bits and pieces of God", they are, by their expression, the very being of God Himself - acting, relating, and living. This union of God's being and attributes means God is not a mixed deity, comprised of parts of God here, parts of God there. Rather, He is "unmixed", He is a unity, a "simplex", to use a Latin term, or what theologians refer to as His "Divine simplicity". 

    God's unity or Divine simplicity reminds us that God's essence (being) is the same as His attributes, since each attribute is His essence in activity, expressing the fullness of that quality which He is by nature. Put plainly, Divine simplicity teaches that God's love, for example, is His essence in action as the loving God. God doesn't merely have love, He is love (by nature), as revealed in 1 John 4:16.

3. We then began to consider the two main categories assigned for the study of God's attributes. 

    The first of these are called "incommunicable attributes", meaning they are perfections which only God has and thus are not communicated or shared with His creatures. Such attributes as God's independence, unchangeableness, omnipresence, omniscience, infinity, eternality, and omnipotence are examples. 

    The second category of Divine attributes are what we call "communicable attributes". These are  those perfections which He shares with His creatures. For example, we have God's mercy, love, and goodness.  

Today's attribute - Divine invisibility. 

    As we turn our attention to God's attribute of Divine invisibility, I want to lay before the reader three ideas that we will use to navigate this important attribute of God. 

1. First, God cannot be comprehended by finite creatures in their minds (Deuteronomy 4:24; Isaiah 6:3; Luke 10:22; John 1:18; 1 Timothy 1:17). 

2. Secondly, God cannot be clearly seen by the senses, since He is spiritual by nature (John 4:24; 1 Timothy 6:16). 

3. Thirdly, God cannot be captured by finite human ideas (i.e. He is transcendent, which is why idolatry is forbidden), (Exodus 20:1-4; 33:20; Jeremiah 10:23-24; Romans 11:33-35; 1 Timothy 6:16). 

    In short, we have the ideas of incomprehensibility, unseeability, and incomparability whenever we talk of the invisibility of God. 

    To use three analogies. I cannot look directly at the sun, since its brightness exceeds my eyes' ability to process the light (incomprehensibility). 

    I also cannot look directly at the sun to see its surface, since again its brightness, its radiation, exceed my ability to observe it directly. 

    Then lastly, I cannot capture the sun's total appearance in my eyes, since I would literally be blinded. 

    Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology, 2nd edition, page 222, defines God's invisibility as, "God's invisibility means that God's total essence, all of His spiritual being, will never be able to be seen by us, yet God still shows himself partially to us in this age and more fully in the age to come."

    If we take Grudem's definition and combine it with our three main ideas associated with Divine invisibility (God as incomprehensible, God as not clearly seen by the senses, God as not captured by human ideas), we can see how God's revelation to us is required. 

Ways God manifested Himself in Scripture 

   In Scripture, we often see God revealing Himself in figurative language, what theologian call "analogical language". God is by nature invisible, and thus for us to know Him, He needs to reveal Himself in such a way for us to understand and relate. 

    I've commented on this before in other posts, but it is worth repeating. When God reveals Himself, He does so in several ways (Hebrews 1:1-2 summarizes this). 

    First, He will sometimes express Himself by way of figurative or analogical language, whether by analogy to human body parts (for instance, God having a hand or face), human emotions (for instance, God described as grieving or laughing), or human actions (the places where God is described as "changing His mind"). Such language enables us to interract with this invisible God. This "language of analogy" or figurative language makes how we talk of God no less true, since in figurative language God is emphasizing relationship. 

    Then the second way God makes Himself known is using direct statements about Himself that convey one meaning that He and us would understand in the same sense. For example, when God is revealed as "infinite in understanding" (Psalm 145), we grasp the word "infinite" as meaning God's knowledge is without limits, the same meaning as He intended. Whenever the meaning is the same between the speaker and the hearer, we call this "univocal language", that is, everyone is understanding the same thing. 

    Other methods God has used in redemptive history to make Himself known are what we call "theophanies" or "Christophanies", that is, the various appearances of the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son, throughout the Old Testament. Christophanies includes His self-revelation as the Pillar of Fire, "The Word", or in those cases where He was disguised, such as the "Rock that followed the Jews". Writer Sinclair Ferguson has noted that when the Son appeared in Christophany, it was a sort of "dress rehearsal" for what would be His permanent self revelation in the incarnation.

    This segues to one more way the invisible God makes Himself known, and perhaps the most vital, and that of course is in the revelation of the Son by incarnation in the New Testament. Unlike the other methods, incarnation is now a permanent state of the Second Person of the Trinity as truly God and truly man (John 1:14). The incarnation of the Son of God includes His earthly ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, and  return. Remember, by nature, God is incomprehensible, unseeable, and not captured by human ideas. Unless He makes Himself known to us, we otherwise would not know Him or anything for that matter.

God's Divine invisiblity reminds us that God is God and everything else is created

    Whenever I consider God's Divine invisibility, I'm reminded of the theologian Cornelius Van Til's term "Creator/creature distinction". VanTil was a brilliant 20th century theologian who developed an entire school of Christian apologetics and aided greatly in communicating the truths of God's Word to an increasing secularized Western culture. In a letter he wrote to another theologian, he noted his notion of the importance of the "Creator/creation distinction",

"Starting with the Creator-creature distinction as basic to one’s thought one need not and in fact cannot after that discuss such concepts as time and eternity by themselves. By themselves they are abstractions. True, we can speak of them by themselves as we can speak of the justice of God by itself. But when we speak of the justice of God by itself, we always insist that it is the justice of God, that it is an attribute of God. The justice of God is therefore interwoven with the other attributes of God and with the being of God. So also with eternity. It is the eternity of God. And God is man’s creator. And time is characteristic of the created world."

God's Divine invisibility grounds true worship and guards against idolatry

    If we take our three ideas mentioned earlier, we can see why consideration of God's invisibility and maintaining the "Creator/creation" enables us to avoid idolatry and ground true worship. Exodus 20:1-4 gives us an Old Testament example,

"Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."

    Even when God reveals Himself through His ultimate mode of revelation, the incarnation of the Son of God, we find Divine invisibility guarding us from idolatry and grounding true worship (John 4:24). In the New Testament, Jesus says for instance in John 5:37-39,

"And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. 38 You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me."

    Jesus alone is the Mediator between an unseeable Father and finite us. As the Son of God, He shares in the Divine invisible nature as truly God. As a consequence of His incarnation, He shares in our finite, visible nature (John 1:14; Hebrews 1:1-3). This is one reason why through all eternity, Christians will truly see God, but only as He is mediated through the Son (John 14:8; 1 Timothy 2:5; Revelation 21:23). 

    God's Divine invisibility ever places God as our Creator, and we as His creatures. He is incomprehensible, incapable of perception by our senses, and incapable of being captured totally by our intellects. We are ever in a state of dependence, rather than independence. 

    We require God to reveal Himself to us audibly through the Scriptures, by His Spirit, and visually through the incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is symbolized by the Lord's Supper and emblemized by believer's baptism. God's Divine invisibility drives the Christian to true worship of Him, while avoiding the idolatry that attempts to domesticate God to a deity of our own making. 

Post # 15 The Doctrine of God - God's Attribute of Truthfulness

Reviewing how our study of attributes so far is giving us a a clearer picture of God as He is.

   Before we get into our investigation of God's truthfulness, let's review how the last several posts on God's incommunicable attributes give us a coherent picture of the God of the Bible. 

1. What is meant by "attributes", and their categories.

    We began by first distinguishing between God's "incommunicable" and "communicable" attributes, noting that the former speaks of qualities God shares with His creatures, whereas the latter category are those that are unique to Himself. 

    As for the term "attribute" itself, we discovered that any talk of God's essence in action or relationship. We may tend to view God's attributes as adjectives that describe the noun "God", almost as if the attributes are pieces that plug into God's nature. 

    However, the Bible does not present God in this way. Instead, think of the attributes as "adverbs" (those "ly" words that describe the action of a verb). Think of them describing God in constant motion. He is a Living, Personal, Eternal, Infinite, Beginningless, and Endless reality. God is His attributes. He lives and acts forth lovingly ("love" used as an adverb to describe how God lives and how He acts) because God is love (1 John 4:8). This quality about God's being is what theologians call "Divine simplicity". The word "simplicity" derives from the Latin simplex, signifying that God is unmixed, not put together, not having parts, and that all that God is (by nature) and all that God does (His attributes) are one-and-the-same. 

    Any of God's attributes delivers to us the totality of God, as in for example God's unchangeability gives to us God in all of His unchangeability (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 1:8-10; Hebrews 13:8). 

    Theologian J.P. Boice observes the following about the idea of God's attributes in his "Abstract of Systematic Theology", page 65,

"They are not separate nor separable from his essence or nature, and yet are not that essence, but simply have the ground or cause of their existence in it, and are at the same time the peculiarities which constitute the mode and character of his being."

    It is important to remember that when contemplating God's being and attributes, we can never fully comprehend Him in His being (what is called "God's incomprehensibility"), yet we can truly know Him (due to the revelation of Himself to us in creation, 

2. Reviewing God's unchangeableness, independence, omnipresence, spirituality, eternality.

    We then proceeded to talk of God's unchangeability or "immutability", noting that the God of the Bible is unchanging in His nature and His attributes (see Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 1:8-10). We then considered God's independence, self-sufficiency, or what is called by older theologians "Divine aseity", noting that God's "Godness" is in view. God is not dependent on anything else outside Himself and that He alone is self-sufficient. Each of these attributes tell us further truth about God's very being. He as God, in the totality of His essence, is unchanging, is "a se" (Latin for "from oneself"), i.e. God is independent in-and-of-Himself. 

    It is then we noted that because God is unchanging and independent, He is omnipresent. God as God acts omnipresently. God's omnipresence means that all of God is present at every point in creation and beyond it, all the while being able to act differently or manifest different perfections that befit the situation experienced in the lives of His creatures. 

    We then spent some time discussing God's spiritual nature or spirituality, noting that because He is spiritual, and eternally so, He is able to be all the other perfections or attributes we've discussed already. As a final note of review, we looked at that wonderful perfection of God's eternality. God's Divine eternity speaks of His infinite being with respect to time, as well as how he in His Divine life experiences no succession or interruption of moments. All in all, each of these Divine perfections give us views of His total being in action and relating to His creation. 

God's Divine truthfulness, defining terms and key Biblical references.

    We now come to that perfection of God that is known as "Divine truthfulness". Theologian Sam Storms passionately notes the following about God's truthfulness,

"Let’s be clear right from the start. God isn’t whatever you want him to be. He is who he is whether you like it or not. God is not like silly putty in the hands of those who wish to twist and shape him into something more palatable to their senses. He has always been, is now, and will forever be the same. His character and revealed will do not change when culture does or when he falls out of favor with human opinion."

    Another theologian, Wayne Grudem, lists this perfection of God as a "communicable attribute", since we as creatures share in truthfulness by our need for truth and by our moral nature knowing about truth. God is truthful by nature. Jeremiah 10:10 reminds us,

"But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation."

    In the realm of human salvation, the truthfulness of God is central, as for instance 1 John 5:20 states,

"And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life" (see also John 14:6; 17:3). 

    The great nineteenth century theologian Charles Hodge notes the following about God's attribute of truthfulness in terms of its implications. He writes in Volume One of His Systematic Theology, page 437, "The true, therefore, is, 

1. That which is real as opposed to that which is fictitious or imaginary.

2. The true is that which completely comes up to its idea, or to what it purports to be. A true man is a man in whom the idea of manhood is fully realized. The true God is He in whom is found all that Godhead imports.

3. The true is that in which the reality exactly corresponds to the manifestation. God is true, because He really is what He declares himself to be.

4. The true is that which can be depended upon, which does not fail, or change, or disappoint. In this sense also God is true as He is immutable and faithful. His promise cannot fail; his word never disappoints. His word abideth forever."

How God's truthfulness grounds creation, salvation, and Scripture.

    The "truth" of God grounds all of creation. In our conception of what truth actual means, we often assign the definition of "that which corresponds to reality" or "that which makes coherent sense within itself without contradiction". One of the most fundamental concepts in all of logic is the "Law of non-contradiction", which states that something cannot be one way, then its opposite, in the same way and the same sense". 

    Hence, to speak of a "married bachelor" is a logical contradiction, and thus cannot be true, since it could never correspond to reality anywhere, and as a concept, is incoherent. Whenever you think about it, the "truthfulness about truth" gives us one way of arguing not only for God's existence, but also gives us insight into the kind of God He is by nature. To mention what I said earlier of God's attributes functioning as adverbs (those "ly" words which describe the actions of verbs), God acts truthfully due to Him being truthful.  

    When we consider Biblical salvation, God as the true God is central. In a more specific sense, God revealed through the Person of the Son is how we see God as central to salvation, since He is the God of truth. For example, Psalm 31:15 states, "Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth."  Some readers may recognize the first clause in this verse, since it is exactly what Jesus Himself said and quoted on the cross in Luke 23:46, "And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last." This is so fitting of course, since the One who uttered those words came as the incarnation of truth itself, claiming Himself to be "the truth" (John 14:6), as well as standing before Pilate in silence as "The Truth", with Pilate blindly saying "what is truth?" (John 18:38).

    If we turn our attention to the doctrine of Scripture itself, the inerrancy (The Bible's truthfulness) and infallibility (The Bible's incapability of ever being wrong) rests in Jesus' teaching on the Scriptures, fulfilled prophecy, and God's truthfulness. Passages such as Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:25; Malachi 3:6; Titus 1:2; and Hebrews 6:18 assert the unchanging truthfulness of God. James 1:17-21 puts side by side the doctrines of God's revelation of Himself, the Word of God, and salvation as rooted in His unchanging truthfulness. 

Post # 14 The Doctrine of God - P2 God's Attribute of Spirituality, And Its Applications

Introduction:

    In our last post, we spent time defining the terms "spirit" and "spirituality". Such conceptual ground clearing was deemed important due to the prevailing climate of atheistic materialism on the one hand and Eastern spirituality on the other hand. Christian people are more affected by these two worldviews than realized. By getting our bearings on what these terms mean in their linguistic history and general use in the Bible, we can now dive into God's spirituality. As I noted in the last post, theologian Wayne Grudem defined God's spirituality as,

"God's spirituality means that God exists as a being that is not made of any matter, has no parts or dimensions, is unable to be perceived by our bodily senses, and is more excellent than any other kind of existence."

    Theologian and speaker Steven J. Lawson, in his study on the attributes of God, has noted three terms that are helpful in getting our minds and hearts to track with this attribute. Lawson's terminology below meshes well with what we just observed in Grudem’s quote above.

1. Immaterial, without a physical or material nature. 

2. Infinite, without limitations in regards to any attribute, His being, and thus His character.

3. Invisible or not having ever been directly viewed or comprehended by any creature.

    As a final review note, we offered the following definition of "spirit" - that animating, immaterial, vital energy of a being that moves, causes, produces, and affects whatever it touches, influences, or acts. Readers may review the commentary on this definition in the last post here http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2023/09/post-13-doctrine-of-god-p1-gods.html

How the Living God in His spirituality is different from angels and humans.

    We can note other scriptures which remind us that God "does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by men's hands, as though He needed anything" (Acts 17:24-25). One phrase we find throughout the Bible is where God is revealed as "the Living God". This phrase contrasts God with the mute idols, which in Psalm 115:3-8 have no spirit in them, nor are even spiritual in nature, and thus cannot see, hear, talk, or do anything. 

     Some 27 times this phrase "the living God is found" to indicate the spirituality of God who, by nature, is that eternal animating, immaterial, vital energy of His own being that moves, causes, produces, and affects whatever He touches, influences, or acts.  

    As He is as an infinite spirit (John 4:24; Hebrews 12:9), God is not composed of parts like animals, angels, or humans. 

    Angels for instance, though being spirit by nature, nonetheless still have other qualities that depend on their spiritual nature to move, learn, and exercise power. The angels are created spirit beings (Job 38; Psalm 104). God on the other hand is spirit, and thus He depends on nothing that causes Him to be one way and then another or having to move from one place and then to another (Isaiah 46:9-10). 

    As the eternal spirit being, God is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient (Psalm 139:1-7). Human beings are at least two-part beings (having physical bodies, for instance Genesis 2:7 and a soul or seat of personality that is immaterial, also Genesis 2:7). Other Scriptures clarify that when viewing human beings in light of their contact with God or Scripture, there appears then a third aspect of mankind in what is called his or her human spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12). 

     Human beings as composite physical/non-physical creatures are limited to time and space. The spirit of a person is confined to their body until death (Luke 16; 2 Corinthians 5:5-6). God on the otherhand is not (remember, He is a pure, eternal spirit, with no physical body). 

    One author has noted that the spirit in a person is their center of "God-awareness". This point makes sense, for in the spirit of a person we find the imprint of God's very image, as well as the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Colossians 3).

How Scripture uses figurative language to help us connect to God's spirituality. 

    We have discussed before in this blog series of how God reveals Himself two ways in the Bible http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2023/08/post-10-doctrine-of-god-gods-attribute.html. He speaks to us in direct language or "univocal language", meaning that there is a one-to-one correspondance to something like "God is omnipotent" and our understanding that God means He is all powerful. Then there is a second sense Scripture speaks about God, namely analogical language in which God accomodates Himself in His revelation to us through human language in figures of speech. 

    This second means of God's self-disclosure or revelation to us is important to note, since often we find human body parts (anthropomorphisms) and human emotions (anthrpopathisms) often describe God. By keeping in mind that these are figures of speech, and not literal attributes of God, we can avoid the error of thinking God is physical or somehow a bigger version of ourselves. More importantly, such figures of speech aid us in relating to God as He is as the eternal, spiritual being revealed in the Bible. 

    Nineteenth century Baptist theologian J.P. Boice on page 63 of his "Abstract of Theology" summarized how God is described by these various figures of speech in the analogical language of the Bible. Interested readers may view these references and the way they reveal God in the endnote following this post. 1

How God's spirituality relates to the Person of the Holy Spirit.

    As we wrap this post, I would be remiss if I did not mention how this attribute of Divine spirituality relates to the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 9:14 reminds us, 

"how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

    In all we have explored in this post, we can say that the Divine nature of God as being spiritual, including those eternal attributes that are the actions of His spiritual, eternal essence, there is no doubt that the Holy Spirit as a member of the Trinity truly and entirely is eternally spiritual by nature as God. 

    We know that the Holy Spirit is by nature Yahweh or Jehovah God (Acts 5:4-5; 2 Corinthians 3:16-17). We know Scriptures equate the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son (Genesis 1:2; John 14:16-17; 15:26), being of the same essence or "kind" as the Son, who in turn is of the same essence or kind as the Father, with all three being One God in Trinity. 

Applying God's spirituality.

    As Steve Lawson noted in a lecture on this attribute, it is comforting to know that God is as much here as He is with loved ones in a hospital room or who are alone without nearby family. Jeremiah 23:23-24 reminds us,  “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? 24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord. 

    Second, we can note that as spiritual by nature, God in the Person of the Holy Spirit indwells the Christian, and all true believers. He is able to be truly and entirely present in my life and all Christians without diminishment. This comforts me because as a Christian, I never have to fear of being ultimately alone. 

    Lastly, the third Person of the Trinity, having that same eternal spiritual nature of God as the Father and Son, pursues after those sinners whom the Father has pledged to His Son. This means no sinner is too far off from the grace and influence of God, since His spirituality is not limited by any barrier. 

Endnote

1. J.P. Boice's listing of figure of speech used in the Bible to describe God,

1. Those which speak of him as having location: Gen. 4:16; Ex. 19:17-20; 20:21; 33:14, 15.

2. As having motion: Gen. 17:22; 18:33; Ex. 19:20; Num. 12:5; 23:4; Deut. 33:2; Judg. 5:4; 1 Sam. 4:7; Ps. 47:5; 68:7, 8; Ezek. 11:23; Micah 1:3; Hab. 3:3; Zech. 2:13.

3. As using vehicles: 2 Sam. 22:11; Ps. 18:10; 104:3; Hab. 3:8, 15; Zech. 9:14.

4. He is said to dwell on the earth: Ex. 25:8; 29:43, 44; 1 Kings 6:13; 8:12, 13; 2 Chron. 6:1, 2; Ps. 132:14; Mic. 1:2, 3; Hab. 2:20.

5. He dwells with man: Ex. 29:45; Lev. 26:11, 12; 2 Chron. 6:18; Zech. 2:10; Rev. 21:3.

6. He dwells in men: 1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 6:19.

7. He has face: Gen. 32:30; Ex. 33:11, 20; Deut. 5:4; 34:10; Rev. 20:11; eyes: 2 Chron. 16:9; Prov. 22:12; nostrils: 2 Sam. 22:9, 16; Ps. 18:15; mouth: Num. 12:8; Ps. 18:8; lips and tongue: Isa. 30:27; breath: Isa. 30:28; shoulders: Deut. 33:12; hand and arms: Ex. 33: 22, 23; Ps. 21:8; 74:11; 89:13; 118:16; Isa. 52:10; Hab. 3:4; fingers: Ps. 8:3; back: Ex. 33:23; feet: Ps. 18:9; voice: Ex. 19:19; 20:22; Lev. 1:1; Num. 7:89; 12:4; 22:9; Deut. 4:12, 36; 1 Kings 19:12, 13; Ps. 29:3-9; 68:33; Jer. 25:30, 31; Ezek. 43:6.

8. His voice is spoken of as dreaded: Ex. 20:19; Deut. 4:33; 5:24-26; Joel 2:11; 3:16; Amos 1:2; Heb. 12:19, 26.

9. He is said to exercise laughter: Ps. 2:4.

10. He appears to men: Gen. 35:9; 48:3; Ex. 3:2-6; 19:9; 1 Kings 9:2; Job 42:5, 6; Amos 9:1.

11. His appearance is described: Ex. 24:10; Deut. 31:15; Isa. 6:1; Ezek. 8:1, 2, 4; 43:2; Dan. 7:9, 10; Rev. 4:5.

12. He is in human form: Gen. 18:1; Ezek. 1:26, 27; Rev. 4:2, 3.

Post # 13 The Doctrine of God - P1 God's Attribute of Spirituality - Getting A Grasp On What We Mean By "Spirit" and "Spiritual"

Introduction:

    In this series of posts we are aiming to do a survey of the Doctrine of God, otherwise known as "Theology Proper". In today's post we will explore God's attribute of "spirituality". Theologian Wayne Grudem makes the following observation about this attribute of "spirituality",

“Thus we should not think of God as having size or dimensions, even infinite ones. We should not think of God's existence as spirit as meaning that God is infinitely large, for example, for it is not part of God but all of God that is in every point of space (see Ps. 139:7-10). Nor should we think that God's existence as spirit means that God is infinitely small, for no place in the universe can surround him or contain him (1 Kings 8:27). Thus God's being cannot be rightly thought of in terms of space, however we understand his existence as ‘spirit’”. (Systematic Theology, 2nd edition, page 221).

    Grudem then offers the following definition of God's Divine spirituality, 

"God's spirituality means that God exists as a being that is not made of any matter, has no parts or dimensions, is unable to be perceived by our bodily senses, and is more excellent than any other kind of existence."

    Theologian and speaker Steven J. Lawson, in his study on the attributes of God, has noted three terms that are helpful in getting our minds and hearts to track with this attribute. Lawson's terminology below meshes well with what we just observed in Grudem’s quote above.

1. Immaterial, without a physical or material nature. 

2. Infinite, without limitations in regards to any attribute, His being, and thus His character.

3. Invisible or not having ever been directly viewed or comprehended by any creature.

Clarifying what we mean by "spirit", and how we apply it to God's spirituality

    As we reflect on the above thoughts of God's spirituality, I think it important to probe into what we mean by "spirit", and what it entails in reference to God's spirituality, due to two trends in our wider Western world. 

    First, due to the prevailing climate of belief that physics, chemistry, and energy are all that underlies our universe (often called "materialism"or "naturalism"), some reflection on what the term "spirit" refers to requires some unpacking before exploring what Scripture says about God's attribute of "spirituality". 

    The second trend in our secular culture has increasingly become fixated on "being spiritual" in the sense of Eastern mysticism or some sort of impersonal pantheism or the push towards somehow divinizing nature. Whenever we read the Bible's revelation of God's spirituality, it causes us to think on what is meant by the term "spirit" itself.  

    I offer this definition of spirit - that animating, immaterial, vital energy of a being that moves, causes, produces, and affects whatever it touches, influences, or acts. Let me briefly unpack this definition.

1. When I say "animating", I mean that which makes alive or causes to become active. In the Latin, the term "anima" refers to the principle of life or spirit (The New Latin English Dictionary). 

2. The next term "immaterial" indicates that spirit is non-physical in nature. 

3. The third idea, "vital energy", refers to movement, force, that issues forth. The English word "vital"derives from the Latin "vis" meaning "strength, force, influence". As for our English word "energy", it derives from the Greek noun "energeia" that speaks of "work from within". I'll comment more later on the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin words we find that translate our English word "spirit".

4. The fourth term in our definition talks of "being", whether we are speaking of animals, humans, angels, or God. As I'll explain below, God as "Spirit" differs from His creatures, even though He shares the qualities of spirit we are talking about in our definition. 

5. One final observation about our definition as to how it gives us the consequences or visible affects brought forth by anything with a spirit, namely "that moves, causes, produces, and affects whatever it touches, influences, or acts."

    In thinking of our proposed definition above, we will discover some key Scripture passages where we find references to animals and humans having spirits, angels being created spirits, and God as spiritual or He by nature being an eternal spirit. As a quick comment on the term "spiritual", in the Biblical way of thinking, especially in the New Testament, the Greek underlying term translated "spiritual" ("pneumatikos, 1 Corinthians 15:46-47 for example) speaks of the source from which the life of a being originates - namely a spirit connected to a personality. "Spirituality" in the Old and New Testament is never thought of as an impersonal force or as collapsed into a state of mind as taught by practitioners of Eastern meditation. 

Hebrew, Greek, and Latin terms which translate our English word "spirit".

    The Hebrew word for “spirit” in the Old Testament (“ruach”) and the Greek word for “spirit” in the New Testament (“pneuma”) both refer to “wind, breath”. If you look at that Greek word “pneuma”, you may recognize such English words as “pneumatic” or “pneumonia”. Those English words and their Greek derivative all have to do with movement or effects caused by air or breath. In the Latin, the terms "anima" and “spiritus” are used, with the latter term used to rendering the English word “spirit”.    Much like the Hebrew “ruach” and Greek “pneuma”, the Latin terms convey this idea of "wind", "air" or "breath". 

    Jesus for instance describes the spirituality of the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, in John 3:8, 

"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

How God's spirituality is a communicable or "shared" attribute.

      In working through clarifying the meaning of the terms "spirit"and "spirituality", we can enter into discussion of how spirituality is communicated by God to His creatures. We have three classes of creatures that are described as having a “spirit”. Animals have this animating, immaterial energy given to them by God that enables them to live and move (Genesis 7:22). It is interesting to note that a living or moving thing in the Latin is “anima”, thus why we call any non-human creature an “animal”. 

     Human beings have a “spirit” as well. It is the original base of operations in man that is spiritual dead in unbelievers and becomes “reanimated” and indwelled by the Holy Spirit in salvation (1 Cor 6:19-20; Hebrews 4:12). Then there are angels that don’t merely have a spirit but are spirits in their created sense (see Psalms 104; Hebrews 1:13).

     But then when we come to God, we find out that He is a Spirit in His own unique right. We classify the spirituality of God as a “communicable attribute”, meaning He shares some qualities of that attribute with His creatures. 

     In as much as we can apply the above definition I gave to God, we of course realize He is unique from angels, humans, and animals. God is eternal, infinite, and without beginning Psalm 90:1-3; 102:25-27; 145; Romans 11:33-36). As J.P. Boice in his "Abstract of Theology", page 62 notes,

"But when we ascribe spirituality to God, we do not intend to simply assert that He possess a spiritual nature, but that His nature is exclusively spiritual. By this we mean that He has no material organization, that He has neither body nor members (parts) of the body such as we have, neither shape or form, neither passions (the trait that causes change in a being when acted upon by something outside of itself), nor limitations, but only a spiritual nature." 

More next time.