Image of God
I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 6:1-5
God is wonderfully complex and can never be fully defined by any single thought or idea. He has many natures, which are all different in function and all equally valid. For example, one of the most cherished images we have of Jesus is that of an accessible and compassionate friend and companion. Without a doubt, Jesus fulfills that role for his faithful. Yet at the same time, consider the image of Christ we get from the Book of Revelation.
"His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were bright like flames of fire. His feet were as bright as bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was as bright as the sun in all its brilliance." Rev 1:14-16.
The contrast is startling. Jesus is kind and loving, but He is also a fierce warrior. The Father is likewise loving and merciful, yet this very same God declares, "I will pour out my vengeance on all the nations that refuse to obey me." Micah 5:15. We can be certain that any descriptive term we use for God, in isolation, will fall well short of all that He is. The best we can do is to continually appreciate, accept, and seek understanding of all his many qualities, without neglecting those we may not truly understand. Jesus' human qualities and His physical and emotional suffering on the cross were very real. Jesus was not merely God in human form. He was fully man & fully God. In (Deut 6:4) it says that the Lord is One. Jesus himself said that “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30) & “Who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9 ) During the time of His crucifixion, He was horrifically tortured and completely alone. The Father could not be in the presence of the sin of the world. I think that may be why Jesus said “ My Father, if it possible, may this cup be taken from me, Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:29) Jesus knew He would be separated from His Father for a little while and in His humanity He cried out in anguish.The other side of the spectrum is to look at another aspect of God's nature which may be equally overlooked. If we sometimes overlook the fact that Jesus became a man, then perhaps we sometimes fail to remember His awesome power, His supremacy and His authority. In the book of Revelation, it speaks of Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father and He is also the one riding on the white horse.
God shares with us his communicable attribute of His Omniscience. God knows all things actual and potential, past, present, & future. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our cherished image of the peaceful and kind Jesus who calls children to Him and always turns the other cheek. It's a completely accurate incomplete description of our Lord. As an extension of that image, we may have the idea that if we were to meet Jesus face to face, we would shake His hand & give Him a hug. The passage from Isaiah is a startling reminder of what would happen if we were to actually meet our God face to face, revealed to us in all His true glory. Like Isaiah, in the presence of the almighty God, seated on His throne, we would fall on our knees and proclaim "Woe is me - my eyes have seen the King!" God is to be feared. God is to be praised. He is the creator of everything seen and unseen, and wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) His power is limitless (Omnipotence) and He is unable to do things inconsistent with His character & always acts in accordance to that which is right and just (righteous). His glory and holiness are beyond our comprehension. He is the standard of all goodness and moral excellence. God is Love and to love is a part of God’s eternal unchanging (immutable) character which is always giving of Himself to others. His grace (unmerited favor) extends to all people and is an outcome of His love for us. While it is true that human language has its limits, God chose to express himself within those limits in His word. The hope is that when you ponder Jesus Christ and all that He is, may you feel His presence dwell richly in you, be in awe of His limitless power, and glory which completely fill the heavens and the earth. As you love and surrender to Christ, may you fear Him and praise Him and may you delight in Him.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
“Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the LORD.”
Reflection questions:
What image do you have of God?
Why do some people object to the study of God?
What one thing are you in awe about with God?
Is there a difference in knowing about God and knowing God? If so, what is it?
Scripture References: Ps. 145:3 (Greatness)1 Cor. 2:10-12 (Incomprehensibility) Ps.147:5 (Understanding) Rom. 11:33 (Unfathomability)
I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 6:1-5
God is wonderfully complex and can never be fully defined by any single thought or idea. He has many natures, which are all different in function and all equally valid. For example, one of the most cherished images we have of Jesus is that of an accessible and compassionate friend and companion. Without a doubt, Jesus fulfills that role for his faithful. Yet at the same time, consider the image of Christ we get from the Book of Revelation.
"His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were bright like flames of fire. His feet were as bright as bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was as bright as the sun in all its brilliance." Rev 1:14-16.
The contrast is startling. Jesus is kind and loving, but He is also a fierce warrior. The Father is likewise loving and merciful, yet this very same God declares, "I will pour out my vengeance on all the nations that refuse to obey me." Micah 5:15. We can be certain that any descriptive term we use for God, in isolation, will fall well short of all that He is. The best we can do is to continually appreciate, accept, and seek understanding of all his many qualities, without neglecting those we may not truly understand. Jesus' human qualities and His physical and emotional suffering on the cross were very real. Jesus was not merely God in human form. He was fully man & fully God. In (Deut 6:4) it says that the Lord is One. Jesus himself said that “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30) & “Who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9 ) During the time of His crucifixion, He was horrifically tortured and completely alone. The Father could not be in the presence of the sin of the world. I think that may be why Jesus said “ My Father, if it possible, may this cup be taken from me, Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:29) Jesus knew He would be separated from His Father for a little while and in His humanity He cried out in anguish.The other side of the spectrum is to look at another aspect of God's nature which may be equally overlooked. If we sometimes overlook the fact that Jesus became a man, then perhaps we sometimes fail to remember His awesome power, His supremacy and His authority. In the book of Revelation, it speaks of Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father and He is also the one riding on the white horse.
God shares with us his communicable attribute of His Omniscience. God knows all things actual and potential, past, present, & future. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our cherished image of the peaceful and kind Jesus who calls children to Him and always turns the other cheek. It's a completely accurate incomplete description of our Lord. As an extension of that image, we may have the idea that if we were to meet Jesus face to face, we would shake His hand & give Him a hug. The passage from Isaiah is a startling reminder of what would happen if we were to actually meet our God face to face, revealed to us in all His true glory. Like Isaiah, in the presence of the almighty God, seated on His throne, we would fall on our knees and proclaim "Woe is me - my eyes have seen the King!" God is to be feared. God is to be praised. He is the creator of everything seen and unseen, and wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24) His power is limitless (Omnipotence) and He is unable to do things inconsistent with His character & always acts in accordance to that which is right and just (righteous). His glory and holiness are beyond our comprehension. He is the standard of all goodness and moral excellence. God is Love and to love is a part of God’s eternal unchanging (immutable) character which is always giving of Himself to others. His grace (unmerited favor) extends to all people and is an outcome of His love for us. While it is true that human language has its limits, God chose to express himself within those limits in His word. The hope is that when you ponder Jesus Christ and all that He is, may you feel His presence dwell richly in you, be in awe of His limitless power, and glory which completely fill the heavens and the earth. As you love and surrender to Christ, may you fear Him and praise Him and may you delight in Him.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
“Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the LORD.”
Reflection questions:
What image do you have of God?
Why do some people object to the study of God?
What one thing are you in awe about with God?
Is there a difference in knowing about God and knowing God? If so, what is it?
Scripture References: Ps. 145:3 (Greatness)1 Cor. 2:10-12 (Incomprehensibility) Ps.147:5 (Understanding) Rom. 11:33 (Unfathomability)
