Assignment: Fully Describe God in One Word. You Have Thirty Seconds. Begin.

It seems we have been trying to determine who God is for some time. I have a sizable collection of resources, as theology was my major both in my graduate and post-graduated studies. Among them is Chafer's eight volume Systematic Theology, Erikson's 1302 page work on Christian Theology and Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, some 1204 pages long. That barely scratches the surface. Yet, I was told that God is a simple being. Meaning He is not one who comes in parts and pieces. He is one, indivisible, unique being who has revealed Himself to me. In other words God is not a being you can dissect so you can understand and observe His parts. Yet, that has never stopped us from trying, especially for those of us who are American's steeped in Western and Greek thought. We compartmentalize everything so we may as well do the same with God.

We live in a society that labels and boxes all we encounter. From personality traits to learning styles. We systematically place people into their proper category, which allows them to excuse bad behavior and reject personal accountability. We do the same with God and those who follow Him. "Are you a Calvinist?' "Wesleyan?" "Charismatic?" "Reformed?" or one of 30,000 plus protestant denominations. And don't forget the Catholics and Orthodox folks. All with their distinct flavors of theology. All separated depending on how they parse God or dissect His attributes. We have a long way to go to see Yeshua's prayer answered, "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world and I come to You, Holy Father, keep through your name those whom You have given me, in that they may be one as we are one" (John 17:11). 

Two key areas to think about before we answer the assigned question. First, is God three or one? The area of the trinity has long been one of great study and discussion. I took classes in Theology Proper (the Father), Christology (the Son) and Pneumatology (the Spirit) so I could systematically categorize and differentiate the ministries of each part, or rather "Person" (because God doesn't have parts), of the Trinity. However, Isaiah said, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me" (Isaiah 61:1), as does Elijah and Ezekiel. Yeshua told the disciples He would give them the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). (By the way for those who want to differentiate between the Old Testament Spirit being "on you" and the New Testament being 'In you"  Ezekiel 36:27 says "In you" and Acts 1:8 says "upon you". So that argument doesn't work.) Romans 8:9 says I need the "Spirit of Christ" or I am none of His. So, do I have/need the Spirit of the Lord God, or the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Christ? Is God my savior, like David often says in the Psalms, or is it Jesus Messiah? Is God Judge or is it the Son? If you are honest the lines are very blurry when it comes to divvying up Their individual attributes and ministries. Maybe the Jews are right and the Lord God is One, more than He is triune. 

Second, Why do we have an Old Testament and a New Testament? Isn't it just one revelation from God to show us who He is and how we are to live? Why did the early church Fathers make such a clear distinction? The historic truth is so they could separate the Jewish books from the "church" books.. To separate the book of the Law from the new revelation of Grace. To separate the God of wrath and the God of Love. Forget that all of the "New" testament writers were Jewish, or wrote from a Jewish perspective. Forget that the "New" testament is about the Jewish Messiah and the we Gentiles have been grafted in (Rom 11:17) and are now brought near under the covenants and promises to be a part of the commonwealth of Israel (Eph 2:12). Forget that grace permeates the "Old" testament and that there is abundant love in the "old" and abundant wrath in the "New" (bowls of them if I remember right). There was no separation between Jewish and Gentile believers when the Messianic assemblies first began to meet at the synagogues. The "Old" and "New" Western labels do us a disservice as we are lead to believe that Matthew through Revelation is somehow better or replaces the "Old". Everyone knows that "New" is better, more relevant and important than the "Old". If you doubt this think of how much time evangelicals spend teaching the "New" testament rather than the "Old".  

Compartmentalization does us a great disservice when we try to understand God and what He has revealed to us. 

So, Your thirty seconds are up. What word did you come up with? If you are reformed maybe it is "sovereign".  Baptist, maybe "grace". Of course we have the "omni's" - omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. There are lots of attributes to choose from but none of them stand alone very well. I asked this question, or a variation of it, of several Jewish guys at the gym I go to. Now I know that this is not a scientific study and may not be the definitive answer, but it gave me something to ponder for a while. And I am not done pondering it yet. If they had an answer it was simply, "God is good". It even garnished a little discussion among those in the Locker room but the Jewish guys pretty much ended up here. God is good. Many of us say it as well. "God is good, all the time. All the time.... You know how it goes. It actually works really well. Because God is good He is kind and compassionate. Because God is good He will not let injustice go unpunished. Because God is good He is holy, set apart from all that is not good. Because He is good He delivers, He is right or righteous. As a good God He is always present, He knows what is best, He is pure and blameless. He never changes in His character. He is good so He listens to me and will even change His mind, if it is the good thing to do. 

I encourage you to take some time, maybe more than the allotted thirty seconds, and consider the depth and wealth there is in the simple reality that God is good. Perhaps, we would do well to stop trying to systematically understand the Lord and to compartmentalize His Person.  Maybe we would benefit from seeing how everything about Him is integrated into everything about Him. Maybe, just maybe we would be blessed and encouraged to spend fifteen minutes in the quiet of the morning or evening and bask in the truth that He is good.............. all the time.

Jesus, the God of Wrath and Anger

The writer to the Hebrews tells us, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31). So are you afraid? Do you tremble before the holy and just God? Just who is this God we are to fear? Let us take a look at what the Scriptures have to say. 

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2 Cor 5:10). Revelation 6:16, "and [they] said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!". David warns, "Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish in the way. When His wrath is kindled but a little" (Psalm 2:12). Matthew 13:41 - 42, "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Actually, there are seven New Testament Jesus quotes about wailing and teeth gnashing. According to John 5:27, authority to execute judgement has been given to Yeshua, Jesus, because He is the Son of Man. It seems the God of wrath, anger, and Judgment is the Lord Jesus.

Let us compare Him with the God of the Old Testament. Psalm 136:12 says we are delivered, "With a strong hand, and with an outstretch arm, For His mercy endures forever". In fact Jeremiah proclaims the Old Testament God's mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:23), great is His faithfulness. In case you missed it, Psalm 136 tells us twenty-six times that God's lovingkindness is everlasting. "God of our salvation" pops up 114 times in the Old Testament compared to 42 in the New. The God of the Old Testament shows mercy and compassion. He offers deliverance and salvation. He is a God of grace who extended that grace to Noah. He forgave David even after the sins of adultery and murder. He is slow to anger and full of compassion. We should be grateful for the tender and loving God of the Old Testament and fear the New Testament Jesus who would cast someone into outer darkness for wearing the wrong wedding cloths and might even cast out those who did great things in His name.  Very scary God, this Jesus, Son of Man.

What is my point? I get tired of the supposed contrast of the Old Testament God of wrath and judgment and the tender Jesus of the New. As Americans and those of Western/Greek thought, we divide and subdivide everything. We compartmentalize and make proclamations that fit our preconceived world view. It seems many determine that the Old Testament is barely valid and out of date. I see signs and advertisements declaring that this group gathering is a "New Testament" church. As if the Old Testament has nothing to do with faith and life today. Do they ever consider how gutted their New Testament Scriptures would be if they removed every Old Testament reference? Is it possible we really only have one revelation from God? One book that is about the One true God? You know, the One Jesus who said He was One with the Father. Pastors, teachers, theologians along with so many believers make it known that we believe that God is three in one. But the emphasis is on the "three" not the "One". Father, Son and Spirit each with His own purpose and responsibility. Check out any Bible College or seminary where you study Theology (God the Father), Christology (God the Son), and Pneumatology (God the Spirit), but not God the "One". They don't need to. After all, they have God all figured out and compartmentalized. Yet, if we are honest, the distinctions we see in Scripture are more like a chalk drawing in the rain. No clear edges and lots of blurry lines in the "one" picture. God is a God of compassion, mercy, love, deliverance and salvation. He is also the God of anger, justice, judgment, and wrath. You can find verses about all "three" involved in all aspects of these realities. Maybe you need to make your God box without all those compartments. Just One big compartment. On second thought, never mind. Even if He is only "One" He will never fit into any box you make anyway. Though, I have to admit, like most people, I occasionally try to make Him fit into my own personal "God box". How about you?