The Lord is a God of infinite worth. He is infinitely worthy of praise, honour and reverence. Ah, even if all creation were to gather together to praise Him for all eternity, none can give Him the true honour He deserves. Who alone but God can please Himself? Can man please God on his own, without grace? Can man truly honour God as He ought to be? Nay. Man’s praise in finite whereas God deserves a praise that is infinite. Hence, without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). It is only by the faith, which He has created in our hearts, that we can truly glorify Him.
It is also because of God’s infinite worth that sin is dealt with much severity. Dear Christian, have you ever wondered why a single act of sin deserves eternal suffering in hell? Ah, it is because sin of any form is committed against a God of infinite worth. If you commit sin against a person who is infinitely worthy, you will be punished infinitely with little regard to the gravity or frequency of your transgression. Big or small sin, it doesn’t matter. You offend God once and you’re doomed, lest you be forgiven at the cross! You see, Adam sinned only once but not even the innocent soil escaped the curse of the law. Whenever we sin, we offend an infinitely worthy and holy God. This is why sin is dealt with much severity. If God were just finitely worthy, then the punishment for offending Him is also finite. But because God is eternally and infinitely worthy, sin, even in the most subtle form, is punishable only by eternal torment. To make less of the punishment for sin is to make less of the offended One’s worth.
Another angle of the countless perspectives to God’s infinitude is God’s infinite character. Dear Christian, the reason why you will never get bored in heaven is because the One who is enthroned there is infinite! After two centuries in heaven, you will get tired of the streets of gold or the pearl gates. But we shall never get tired of the Lord because He is beyond the grasp of finite minds! We will run after Him, hoping to get to know Him fully but we shall never find an end to such endless conquest! Ah, to the wind with the pearl gates, streets of gold or mansions of many a gem. Run after God because He is infinite! We will never get tired of Him or get enough of Him. Dear Christian, start now! To know Him is eternal life! (John 17:3)
Emanating factors from God are also eternal. Life from Him is eternal (1 John 2:25). Redemption from Him is eternal (Hebrews 9:12). The blood covenant which He made is eternal (Hebrews 13:20). Judgment from Him is eternal (Hebrews 6:2). The Gospel He composed is eternal (Revelation 14:6). The Word that cometh from His mouth is eternal (Psalm 119:89). The righteous laws He formed are all eternal (Psalm 119:160). His established ways are eternal (Habakkuk 3:6). He is the eternal and everlasting God after all! (Genesis 21:33)
Finally, we must already know this at the back of our minds – every attribute of God is infinite! His love is eternal – this is why His elect will be loved forever! His wrath is eternal – this is why the unrepentant will be tormented forever! His patience is eternal – this is why He never runs out of it! His glory is eternal – this is why we can never contain Him! His power is eternal – this is why He remains unrivalled! And so on, dear friends, so on, infinitely!
“To Him (God) belongs eternal praise!” (Psalm 111:10)
What then is the effect of the doctrine of God’s infinitude?
1) God’s infinitude fills us with awe and adoration. Have we ever seen such great God? Can anyone be compared to Yahweh, the Lord God, who sits enthroned above heaven and earth? Oh, the regenerate man would go insane trying to comprehend this great God, let alone His workings!
2) God’s infinitude reveals to us how horrid sin really is. Ah, sin is revolting primarily because it is committed against an infinitely holy God! A Christian who knows of God’s infinitude cannot help but weep even at the slightest of his misconducts.
3) God’s infinitude brings great comfort to the repentant but fear to the unrepentant . For the elect to discover that they are eternally loved by an infinitely worthy God is the greatest comfort in this fallen world. On the other hand, for the unrepentant to discover that they are eternally damned by an infinitely holy God brings disembowelling fear. Ah, in the end times, when the Lord finally shows up, the great captains of this world will run in fear, begging the mountains and hills to fall upon them to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb (Hosea 10:8; Luke 23:30)
4) God’s infinitude promotes boasting in the Lord. Boasting in the Lord is one of the many great fruits of God’s infinitude. The Christian will say with fearless boasting in front of pagans: “Who can be compared to the Lord who is my God? Can anyone measure Him? Can anyone challenge Him? Can anyone bring Him down? Ah, my God is a God of infinite worth, undying and overwhelming. Your gods are dead, having done nothing since you’ve made them!”
5) God’s infinitude develops perseverance even in the midst of trouble. The cry of the Christian believer is this: “Even if I lose everything, even if I’m defeated by all my trials, I shall persevere in serving the Lord, my God, for He is infinitely worthy! He is beyond praise, beyond comprehension, beyond apprehension! Such is the Lord, who is my God and in whom I am bound to!”
Thursday, March 5, 2009
THE SOLITARINESS OF GOD, An Overview
The solitariness of God is defined as God’s independence from all His creations. This doctrine is often dismissed as common knowledge but there are many viewing windows to this attribute, just like His other perfections. We shall look at some of these windows as revealed in His inspired Word.
First of all, God is solitary in His existence. God was all alone in the beginning, fully blessed in Himself and in need of no one. He did not create the universe out of obligation or loneliness. Rather, He created because He chose to create and it pleased Him to reveal Himself to His creatures. We need to work out of need. We need to labour to survive. Even animals of the lowest class have to fight their way in this world to gain food. But the Lord did not work for six days out of need. It was a sovereign act on His part to create the universe, not a need to be fulfilled. One of the greatest tragedies of this age is that we ascribe human traits to the Lord as if He were like us. But does not the Scripture repeatedly declare that He is not like us at all? (Psalm 50:21) The Lord has been alone from the beginning. Every living creature in this world has a respective origin. Even inanimate objects such as the heavenly bodies are born from something. But the Lord God had no beginnings. He has been there all alone – self-existent, self-sustaining, self-blessed. No one created Him. No one obligates Him. No high law controls Him. He is solitary. The Lord is the Law Himself and the sole Determiner of the future.
Secondly, God is solitary in His motivation. God is not motivated by anything outside of Himself. He did not love Jacob because he had some special trait that Esau did not have. The Bible says that He loved Jacob even before he did anything. In fact, Jacob had done more displeasing things than Esau and yet the Lord loved him. Is this because Jacob had some form unforseen merit? Or is it because the Lord chose to love him. To this many will say that God is not fair. And to this I will respond in the words of the Apostle Paul (Romans 9:11-24):
Thirdly, God is solitary in His works. As the Creator and Sustainer of all life, He is totally independent of His creatures. He works alone. Salvation is by His grace alone. Redemption is by His mercy alone. Sanctification is by His Spirit alone. He does not need man (Acts 17:25), rather, it is us who needs Him (Acts 17:28). Ah, so if God does not need us, why does He call us into ministry? Dear Christian, He calls us into ministry because He wants us to be a part of His work. The Lord is not calling us for His benefit. Neither does He call us out of a desperate need – as if He had one. He is calling us for our benefit, that we may enjoy the privilege of serving Him and experiencing His good grace.
Fourthly, the Lord is solitary in His counsel. His Word is sufficient to direct our lives. His counsel is independent. God does not ask the opinions of His angels on how to run His universe. He does not consider the thoughts of His creatures as if He needed some counselling. As the prophet declares: “Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed Him as His counselor?” (Isaiah 40:23) The Lord God does not reign through democracy, but through monarchy. The gentiles would find this offensive. But, oh how it would even be more repulsive if the Lord was a puppet of the majority vote! This solitariness is also applied in His revealed and inspired Word. The Bible is sufficient and independent. We do not combine God’s Word with the world’s wisdom and make up our own theology. Neither do we discern or apply the Scriptures through psychology, tradition or statistical data. The Holy Scriptures stand on its own, all sufficient in equipping us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).
What then is the effect of the doctrine of God’s solitariness to the Christian?
1) God’s solitariness in His existence should deepen our veneration for Him. Ah, no one is like our Lord God! Even before the beginnings, the Lord God has already existed. He has have always been present – fully clothed in His glory even before the foundation of the world. Who can rival Him or explain such case?
2) God’s solitariness in His motivation humbles us and eliminates our pride. God’s election wounds the proud and uplifts the broken. When the Lord says “Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated”, He is boldly proclaiming that He is God and if He ever chose to love you that is not because you have some special merit that others did not have. He had loved us because He chose to. Hence, the application of His love is often called grace – the undeserved and the unmerited favour of God. Here is the divine irony and the show of God’s true wisdom – those who come before God’s presence wishing to stir Him by their good works are rejected; while those who come before His presence broken and weeping over their inability to stir the Lord to save them are saved.
3) God’s solitariness in His works grants comfort to the righteous and humbles the carnal-minded. Ah, how comforting is it to find out that the Lord does not need man? How relieving is it to find out that God’s will and purpose will stand whether we are successful in our ministries or not? On the contrary, how humbling must it be for the carnal-minded to find out that the Lord is in need of no one? Ah, carnal people want to be acknowledged. They want to be approved. They want to think that they deserve God’s love or deserve His approval because they helped the Lord. But the Lord is solitary and independent. He shares His titles and glories with no one. Hence, the carnal man is humbled.
4) Finally, God’s solitariness in His counsel establishes the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures in directing us. The Bible is not only infallible. It is also sufficient. One of the greatest plagues in modern-day Christianity is a denial of the Bible’s sufficiency. Is the Bible sufficient in equipping us to do every good work? Or are we to consult psychologists and anthropologists on how to run the Church? Is the Bible’s Gospel message sufficient in saving sinners? Or do we have to water-down the message to make it more attractive to carnal men? Are the Bible’s instructions sufficient? Or do we have to dilute it with the traditions and the wants of the people? Ah, here are the questions that all professing Christians must answer. We are not to conform our teachings to the whims of carnal men. Isn’t it folly to consult the spiritually dead regarding spiritual matters? Also, we are not to learn from psychologists and sociologists on how to govern God’s people. My dear friends, psychology and sociology were created as a protest to God. They are atheistic in both nature and origin. They may contain some “truths” but they are nothing but half-truths and worldly wisdom. We have nothing to do with them. God’s inspired Word is sufficient in directing us all the way.
First of all, God is solitary in His existence. God was all alone in the beginning, fully blessed in Himself and in need of no one. He did not create the universe out of obligation or loneliness. Rather, He created because He chose to create and it pleased Him to reveal Himself to His creatures. We need to work out of need. We need to labour to survive. Even animals of the lowest class have to fight their way in this world to gain food. But the Lord did not work for six days out of need. It was a sovereign act on His part to create the universe, not a need to be fulfilled. One of the greatest tragedies of this age is that we ascribe human traits to the Lord as if He were like us. But does not the Scripture repeatedly declare that He is not like us at all? (Psalm 50:21) The Lord has been alone from the beginning. Every living creature in this world has a respective origin. Even inanimate objects such as the heavenly bodies are born from something. But the Lord God had no beginnings. He has been there all alone – self-existent, self-sustaining, self-blessed. No one created Him. No one obligates Him. No high law controls Him. He is solitary. The Lord is the Law Himself and the sole Determiner of the future.
Secondly, God is solitary in His motivation. God is not motivated by anything outside of Himself. He did not love Jacob because he had some special trait that Esau did not have. The Bible says that He loved Jacob even before he did anything. In fact, Jacob had done more displeasing things than Esau and yet the Lord loved him. Is this because Jacob had some form unforseen merit? Or is it because the Lord chose to love him. To this many will say that God is not fair. And to this I will respond in the words of the Apostle Paul (Romans 9:11-24):
11Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' " 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
22What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
The Bible cannot be anymore clearer. The motivation of God for saving sinners is based on His effectual calling and not on some unforeseen merit of man (vs. 11-12). Besides, who are we to talk back to God? (vs. 20) Are we special enough to find favour in His holy eyes? We are sinners, rightfully condemned under divine justice and God has all the right to do what He wills (vs. 21).
14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' " 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
22What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
Thirdly, God is solitary in His works. As the Creator and Sustainer of all life, He is totally independent of His creatures. He works alone. Salvation is by His grace alone. Redemption is by His mercy alone. Sanctification is by His Spirit alone. He does not need man (Acts 17:25), rather, it is us who needs Him (Acts 17:28). Ah, so if God does not need us, why does He call us into ministry? Dear Christian, He calls us into ministry because He wants us to be a part of His work. The Lord is not calling us for His benefit. Neither does He call us out of a desperate need – as if He had one. He is calling us for our benefit, that we may enjoy the privilege of serving Him and experiencing His good grace.
Fourthly, the Lord is solitary in His counsel. His Word is sufficient to direct our lives. His counsel is independent. God does not ask the opinions of His angels on how to run His universe. He does not consider the thoughts of His creatures as if He needed some counselling. As the prophet declares: “Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed Him as His counselor?” (Isaiah 40:23) The Lord God does not reign through democracy, but through monarchy. The gentiles would find this offensive. But, oh how it would even be more repulsive if the Lord was a puppet of the majority vote! This solitariness is also applied in His revealed and inspired Word. The Bible is sufficient and independent. We do not combine God’s Word with the world’s wisdom and make up our own theology. Neither do we discern or apply the Scriptures through psychology, tradition or statistical data. The Holy Scriptures stand on its own, all sufficient in equipping us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).
What then is the effect of the doctrine of God’s solitariness to the Christian?
1) God’s solitariness in His existence should deepen our veneration for Him. Ah, no one is like our Lord God! Even before the beginnings, the Lord God has already existed. He has have always been present – fully clothed in His glory even before the foundation of the world. Who can rival Him or explain such case?
2) God’s solitariness in His motivation humbles us and eliminates our pride. God’s election wounds the proud and uplifts the broken. When the Lord says “Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated”, He is boldly proclaiming that He is God and if He ever chose to love you that is not because you have some special merit that others did not have. He had loved us because He chose to. Hence, the application of His love is often called grace – the undeserved and the unmerited favour of God. Here is the divine irony and the show of God’s true wisdom – those who come before God’s presence wishing to stir Him by their good works are rejected; while those who come before His presence broken and weeping over their inability to stir the Lord to save them are saved.
3) God’s solitariness in His works grants comfort to the righteous and humbles the carnal-minded. Ah, how comforting is it to find out that the Lord does not need man? How relieving is it to find out that God’s will and purpose will stand whether we are successful in our ministries or not? On the contrary, how humbling must it be for the carnal-minded to find out that the Lord is in need of no one? Ah, carnal people want to be acknowledged. They want to be approved. They want to think that they deserve God’s love or deserve His approval because they helped the Lord. But the Lord is solitary and independent. He shares His titles and glories with no one. Hence, the carnal man is humbled.
4) Finally, God’s solitariness in His counsel establishes the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures in directing us. The Bible is not only infallible. It is also sufficient. One of the greatest plagues in modern-day Christianity is a denial of the Bible’s sufficiency. Is the Bible sufficient in equipping us to do every good work? Or are we to consult psychologists and anthropologists on how to run the Church? Is the Bible’s Gospel message sufficient in saving sinners? Or do we have to water-down the message to make it more attractive to carnal men? Are the Bible’s instructions sufficient? Or do we have to dilute it with the traditions and the wants of the people? Ah, here are the questions that all professing Christians must answer. We are not to conform our teachings to the whims of carnal men. Isn’t it folly to consult the spiritually dead regarding spiritual matters? Also, we are not to learn from psychologists and sociologists on how to govern God’s people. My dear friends, psychology and sociology were created as a protest to God. They are atheistic in both nature and origin. They may contain some “truths” but they are nothing but half-truths and worldly wisdom. We have nothing to do with them. God’s inspired Word is sufficient in directing us all the way.
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