Additional Texts: 1 Samuel 2:6-8; 1 Chronicles 29:11-12; Psalm 102:25-27, 104:24; Proverbs 3:19, 16:4; Jeremiah 31:3; Daniel 4:34-37; Malachi 3:6; John 3:16, 15:13; Acts 15:17-18; Romans 5:8, 11:33-36, 16:27; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 2:3; James 1:5, 17; 1 John 4:7-8.
Today we continue our study of God I have entitled: Who is God and What is He like? Since the Lord Jesus told us that God would hold believers in His hand, I think it is necessary for Christians to know about the nature of God who protects and keeps them with everlasting security. We began our study by learning four of the names God chose for Himself and revealed to us in the Bible: Yahweh, Elohim, Adonai, and Ab. Next, we began discovering specific aspects of God’s nature that have been revealed to us in Scripture. For many years, in the English language, these aspects have been known as attributes. Recently, some theologians and Bible teachers have referred to them as perfections. We have already studied that God is Spirit, and that He is all-powerful, everywhere present, and He knows everything. Today, we will focus on four more of His attributes.
To me, one of the most convincing realities that God exists and is omnipresent is my intense desire to know Him and the hope He offers. When I hear or read the remarks from people who deny God’s existence and see the deep despair in the life they live, I am forever thankful that I know God exists and by faith has secured my future. I have studied the history of many well-known philosophical atheists and discovered how they viewed life, especially as they drew near the end of their lives and it is often an eye-opening study. Most of them were the most miserable, most hopeless, and most fearful people that we can ever read about.
The famous American author, Samuel Clemens, known more popularly as Mark Twain, wrote, “A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle for bread; they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little-mean advantages over each other. Age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; shames and humiliations bring down their prides and their vanities. Those they love are taken from them and the joy of life is turned to aching grief. The burden of pain, care, misery, grows heavier year by year. At length ambition is dead; pride is dead; vanity is dead; longing for release is in their place. It comes at last – the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them – and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence; where they achieved nothing; where they were a mistake and a failure and a foolishness; where they have left no sign that they have existed – a world which will lament them a day and forget them forever. Then another myriad takes their place and copies all they did and goes along the same profitless road and vanishes as they vanished – to make room for another and another and a million other myriads to follow the same arid path through the same desert and accomplish what the first myriad and all the myriads that came after it accomplished – nothing!”
It has been decades since Mr. Clemens wrote those words and yet we can still hear the despair and hopelessness they communicate. They almost sound like the words of Solomon as he introduced the book of Ecclesiastes, “Meaningless, meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). Knowing God and His purposes is what gives meaning to this life. Without Him, there is only emptiness and ultimately, despair.
Today we will discover four more of God’s attributes: His sovereignty, wisdom, love, and immutability. We begin our research about twenty-five hundred years ago, in the courts of Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of the Neo-Babylonian empire: in the fourth chapter of the book of Daniel.
GOD IS SOVEREIGN. (Daniel 4:34-37)
The King’s Outdoor Classroom. This remarkable chapter in the book of Daniel is the record of an official proclamation written by Nebuchadnezzar, who insists that the Most High God had declared signs and wonders to him. He began by acknowledging that God’s kingdom is everlasting and that His dominion is from generation to generation. The narrative begins with visions that alarmed Nebuchadnezzar to the point he called his advisers to see if they could explain them to him. None of them could, but finally Daniel came and offered the divine explanation to the king’s visions. The vision included a great tree that seem to reach to the sky. It had abundant fruit that fed birds and animals and the tree had great beauty. But then an angelic watcher commanded that the tree be cut down and its fruit scattered. The tree’s stump remained. In verse sixteen, the picture changes from a tree to a man, whose mind is changed and instead of a man’s mind, he is given the mind of an animal and he would live in the fields with the animals. During this outdoor lesson, Nebuchadnezzar would learn “That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind.”
In Daniel’s interpretation, he revealed that Nebuchadnezzar, driven by pride, would lose his mind, he would become like an animal, and be driven away from society and live in the fields. This condition would last for seven years, and during that time he would eat grass like cattle. One year later, all this happened to Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven out to the fields, he ate grass like cattle, his hair grew like eagle’s feathers and his nails became like birds’ claws. At the end of that time, reason returned to the king and he gave a clear and precise definition of God’s sovereign rule over all things. He said, “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” (Daniel 4:34-35).
God Is Supreme and Sovereign. To be sovereign means to be ultimate and supreme. God is the One with the supreme position in all things – the chief Being in the universe. It also means that God has the ultimate and supreme authority – no one has greater power and all must ultimately submit to His authority. As Sovereign, with the supreme authority and position, God could be a dictator, but He is not. He could abdicate the use of His power, but He does not. God is in complete control of all things as stated by the psalmist in Psalm 103:19, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens and His sovereignty rules over all.”
As the Sovereign God, the Lord has a plan that He is flawlessly executing as Acts 15:18 tells us: “The Lord makes these things known from long ago.” God’s perfect plan is comprehensive, as Paul stated in Ephesians 1:11, God “predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” Psalm 135:6 teaches us that “Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.” God’s plan does not involve Him in evil, according to Proverbs 16:4, “The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.” God’s sovereign plan will lead all creation to give Him praise and glory of His grace (Ephesians 1:6). The Lord is ruler over all creation, from the heights of the heavens to the depths of the sea. No wonder the Lord Jesus was able to pray that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.
God Has Sovereign Dominion Over All Things. God has sovereign dominion over all creation and His dominion resides in His nature. He alone is responsible for it: He is the sole cause of His own kingdom. His authority is unbounded; it is as infinite as His nature. None has greater authority to set laws to Him and He will never limit His supreme authority. God’s sovereign dominion is solid and fixed. All of the rebellion of men and angels cannot overturn it or even shake it. It is established well beyond the reach of such insignificant rebels. God cannot be deposed. His sovereignty is as He is; eternal and abiding forever. As to His counsel, His authority will stand and He will do all His pleasure. All true believers are safely protected in the hands of such a sovereign God. They are kept eternally through His all-powerful authority.
GOD IS ALL-WISE. (Romans 16:27)
The Only Wise God. Arguably, one of the greatest pieces of literature in human language is Paul’s epistle to the Romans. In that amazing book, Paul set forth the doctrine of justification by faith and God’s grace in Christian sanctification and the hope of future glorification. It gives insight into the Old Testament and teaches us how to live the Christian life here and now. It can captivate the mind of the consummate genius and bring tears to the humblest soul and encouragement to the simplest mind. On every page, great truths burst forth to the eyes of the reader. We should not be surprised that the very last verse of the epistle sparkles with one final gleaming jewel, “To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.”
The Scriptures, then, declare that God is wise. To the theologian, this is known as omni-sapience, or, all-wise. Wisdom is a kind of heightened knowledge, above the ordinary, a knowledge some call insight, that penetrates to deep significance and practical relevance. We can say that wisdom involves knowing how as well as knowing that. It is the knowledge of skills as well as facts. It is taking the divine truths given by the All-Wise God and employing them in practical daily living. All of God’s works in creation and providence reveals His wisdom. The Bible says, “O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions” (Psalm 104:24). Proverbs tells us, “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens” (Proverbs 3:19).
Wisdom: the Highest Goals and Best Means. God’s wisdom means that God always chooses the highest goals and the best means to achieve those goals. Wisdom goes beyond the idea of God knowing all things and specifies that all of God’s decisions about what He will do are always the wisest decisions and will always bring about the best results and they will bring about those results through the best possible means. Because of God’s wisdom, we know God works wisely in all the things that come into our lives and through all these things He advances us toward the goal of conformity to the image of the Lord Jesus. It should be our great confidence and a source of great peace to know that God causes all things to develop Christlikeness in our lives. While we cannot fully understand why things happen to us, God’s wisdom teaches us to trust Him and continue obeying Him.
God Gives Wisdom. We cannot allow ourselves to forget that, being the All-Wise God, that He graciously gives of His wisdom. James wrote, “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. But he must ask in faith without doubting” (James 1:5-6a). We must also remember that eternal salvation, granted by faith in the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ shows both the power of God and the wisdom of God. True wisdom recognizes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and chooses to receive Him and His gift of everlasting life.
GOD IS LOVE. (1 John 4:7-8)
The Reality of God’s Love. There are three expressions in the writings of the Apostle John that help us understand the nature of God. In John 4:24, God is spirit. In 1 John 1:5, God is light. In 1 John 4:8, God is love. Each of these is part of the revelation of God’s nature and must be included with the rest of God’s attributes. God defines love. God is love and God is light; therefore, God’s love is a holy love, and His holiness is expressed in love. Love is that in God which moves Him to give Himself and His gifts spontaneously, voluntarily, righteously and eternally for the good of personal beings, regardless of their merit or response. Love is not to be classed as an emotional attribute because it involves commitment of the whole person in seeking the well-being of others. Since the Bible is the only source of the knowledge of God’s love, we discover that God’s love is a sacrificial commitment to the ultimate good of another person. God’s love was the basis for His giving His Son to provide eternal salvation.
The Expression of God’s Love. The Bible gives insight into the great expression of God’s love. His love is clearly shown in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for the sake of sinners. John 3:16 clearly specifies Jesus as God’s gift for the everlasting forgiveness of sin for those who believe in Him: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” A parallel verse is found in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” About God’s love we must remember, it is voluntary, under no compulsion and does not wait for a response from its object. It is unselfish and God does not love for personal benefit. He loves for what He can give. God’s love is righteous rather than emotional. It is governed by God’s holiness and always does right.
Because of God’s love, the gift of eternal salvation is made available to anyone who chooses to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s love provided all that is necessary for any person to be saved, nothing needs to be added to the finished work of Jesus Christ. When a person believes in Jesus and is saved, the love of God is immediately poured out within the heart of the new believer through the Holy Spirit and will remain there for eternity.
GOD NEVER CHANGES. (Psalm 102:25-27)
God Is Eternally the Same. We have discovered that God is sovereign, that He is all-wise and that He is love. Finally, we find that God never changes. The Scripture declares, “Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not come to an end” (Psalm 102:25-27). God is always the same.
Jesus Christ, who is God the Son, also never changes. The writer of the book of Hebrews wrote, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Throughout the age of the church, people have called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and they have been saved. We are saved by the same Jesus who provided salvation for our parents and grandparents. Our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be saved only by calling upon His wonderful name. Because He never changes, His forgiveness never changes. In fact, all of His gifts and blessings will forever endure because God does not change. The Bible says, “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).
God’s Purposes and Promises Are Immutable. Theologians call God’s unchangeableness, immutability. This means that God is unchanging in His being, perfections, purposes, and promises. In the final book of the Old Testament, Malachi, the Bible says, “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6). The people of Israel were certainly guilty of sin and required judgment. But because of His promises to their ancestors, and because He is immutable, God did not completely destroy them.
Although God is unlimited and infinite, still we are not; we are limited and finite. Some have noted that God apparently changes in Scripture, and that seems to contradict His immutability. Yet we must remember that we are the finite looking at the infinite. God must reveal His infinite nature and unlimited attributes to us who are limited in our understanding. We can perceive only one aspect of God’s nature at a time. God never changes, but people do change and they perceive God’s attributes and actions according to their current understanding. But God never changes His purposes or His attributes or His promises.
We have discovered four more of God’s amazing attributes. He is in sovereign control of all things, His infinite and unmatched wisdom means that all things are happening according to God’s best purposes and will achieve the best results, God is love, embracing every believer in eternal love and protection and God never changes.
Let me remind you once more of God’s love. You may never have considered that God loves you and that He loves you with an immeasurable love. You may never have realized that because of His love, He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to give His life on Calvary’s cross so that you could be saved. So, let me ask you, have you received God’s gift of love expressed in Jesus Christ? Have you asked Jesus to come into your life to be your Lord and Savior? In the quietness of this moment, will you invite Him to forgive your sins and save you?
