THE QUALITIES OF GOD (PART 4)

Can I pray for you in any way

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see

1 Timothy 6:15b-16c

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God

Have you ever seen God?

If so, you are the only person ever and if you truly did see Him, you wouldn’t be alive to tell about it. We know this from the very words of God Himself as He speaks to Moses in the 33rd chapter of the Book of Exodus

“...you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.” v.20

And so since the dawn of creation, no one has seen God and no one will during this physical human life on earth but as we covered in yesterday’s message, there will be a day when all Christians will enter the kingdom of God and see their Lord face to face

Until that time comes, we wait but it’s important to note that although we can’t see God, it doesn’t mean He is somehow absent from us. Nothing could be further from the truth.

For although “no one has seen or can see God”, the fourth of His qualities that we find in 1 Timothy 6, not one single person can say that God hasn’t made Himself known to Him

Or in other words, no one can say that God doesn’t exist and this is the reason no one can see Him. Look at these words from the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans:

Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20

God has, is, and will always show Himself through His “invisible qualities” which include “His eternal power and divine nature”. He has made it a point to be “clearly seen” by all people in creation, past and present, so they “are without excuse”. All know He exist whether they want to confess it or not because He has made Himself known to all.

One of my favorite Old Testament passages is at the end of the Book of Job. You will remember that Job, in the midst of his tragedies, challenges the fairness and justice of God as if he had the right to do so. And so we find God enter into the picture with the following response:

“Who is this that obscures My plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.”

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”

“Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?”

“Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment. The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.”

“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness? Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.”

“What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!”

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert, to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass? Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?”

“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth? Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?”

“Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding? Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?”

“Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?”

“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended. Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.”

“Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes? I gave it the wasteland as its home, the salt flats as its habitat. It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout. It ranges the hills for its pasture and searches for any green thing.”

“Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night? Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will it till the valleys behind you? Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it? Can you trust it to haul in your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?”

“The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork. She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand, unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense. Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.”

“Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane? Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting? It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray. It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’ It catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.”

“Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south? Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high? It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold. From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar. Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.” Job 38:2-41, 39:1-30

And with that, the Lord does the challenging, asking Job:

“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? Let him who accuses God answer Him!” 40:2

To which Job replies:

“I am unworthy—how can I reply to You? I put my hand over my mouth.” 40:4

Why do I share this passage with you?

Because, like Job, we all need to be reminded of all the ways God has and is revealing Himself to His people. I would encourage you to read on in Job because God continues to make His point in the remaining verses of chapter 40 and all of chapter 41.

In the end translation as we close this series, while God is unseen, He is never unknown or dormant. That’s the bottom line.

Creation as we know it reveals His work and working.

Answered prayers reveal His work and working.

And every time we read His Word, He reveals Himself more and more so that when we receive our salvation promise and abide with God forever, we will see Him for the first time but already know a lot about Him because He made it so.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.