3. Nature and Attributes of God (Cont. . .)
B. The Communicable Attributes (Part 3)
On the final post of the attributes of God, I would like to say that I have learned a lot, and I hope you have as well. Worship apart from the knowledge of the Worshiped, is very dangerous. The goal of systematic theology is not to increase our knowledge for temporal, worldly reasons, but to understand our Maker, Creator, and Sustainer greater, as He is. This greater knowledge then leads to greater doxology which then truly springs up out of the fullness of the heart and spirit, not from outside disciplinary sources. Let’s take advantage of this gift of knowledge given to us by great men like Wayne Grudem, Charles Hodge, John Calvin, St. Augustine, Martin Luther, etc.
1. Justice (Righteousness)
The attribute of God’s righteousness ties directly in with His justice. These two words are different in the English, but they are the same in the Hebrew and Greek. Therefore, I will use them interchangeably in this study. The definition for God’s righteousness is: that God always acts in accordance with what is right and is himself the final standard of what is right. How do we know this? Deut 32:4 says that He is “just and right.” Abraham knew God’s character when He said that God would do “right” (Gen 18:25). Ps 19:8 says that “the precepts of the Lord are right.” Since God IS right, just, He cannot be unjust, giving people what they do not deserve. So, when He redeemed His elect, forgiving their sins, He had to have a substitute to take the penalty. If God is so perfect and powerful, why did He have to have atonement anyway, why couldn’t He just forgive? The answer is in His attribute of Justice. Since sin is wrong and deserves punishment, He can give nothing in return for the sin but what it deserves. Jesus therefore took that just punishment for our sins so we do not have to. Ever thought about redemption that way? God would have declared Himself unrighteous if He did not punish sin. It pleased God to punish Jesus because through that Jesus’ death, His justice was fulfilled, upholding His perfection (Rom 3:25-26).
Another question that comes up with this attribute is that of the origin of right. How do we know God is doing right? Who determines right and wrong? The answer is in keeping with the attributes we have already discussed. God IS the final standard of right. He IS right. Anything that accords with His nature is right, anything else is WRONG. What if in your daily life you had a direct line to God’s nature which exposed all the right and wrong decisions in your life? If we study God’s nature and learn Him to the greatest extent possible, we will be able to make those “grey decisions” much more black and white. The practical portion of this section would be that if you need help discerning right and wrong, seeing the black and white in your life, you need to know God greater. The more familiar you are with someone, the more like-minded you become. Familiarize yourself with God!
2. Will of God
The Will of God has been butchered brutally by people everywhere in every denomination. This attribute is a major attribute of God because it implies His sovereign freedom, connection with humanity, and His moral obligation. When someone says, “What is the will of God for my life,” I love to read and listen to the responses from well meaning people who know nothing of the true will of God expressed to us in His character through the Scriptures. The “will of God” for a person’s life is just one application of His sovereign control over the universe. His will is much deeper than just a pre-determined game-plan for your life. This is the Will of God:
The word will is used as (1.) in a narrow sense, i.e. Directly pertaining to his actions free from outside restrictions or influences (self-determination). (2.) His power (omnipotence). (3.) His love and all His moral perfections. People from all ages limited this will to simply self-determination. Even some theologians simply discuss His decrees or purposes.
-Freedom of the Divine Will
The first facet of the Divine Will is its absolute self-determination. God is free in the highest sense of the word. An agent is said to be free when (1.) He is at liberty to act or not to act, according to his good pleasure. This is liberty in acting. (2.) He is free in his volitions, when they are determined by his own sense of right, wrong, or desirable. Freedom is so much more than just spontaneity. An example of spontaneity is found in the affections. Loving, hating, delighting, abhorring, do not depend upon the will but upon spontaneous reactions to the stimulus. They are not free. God is free in the actions of creating or preserving because these do not come from the necessity of nature. He was free to create or not create, to sustain or not sustain. Neither option would conflict with His nature or promises.
-Decretive and Preceptive Will of God
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| Revealed (Preceptive) will of God |
There are two facets to the will of God. His decretive will and His preceptive will. The decretive will of God concerns His purposes and relates to the actions of nature as He has decreed them to be, i.e. Whatever happens in the universe happens because He has declared it to be so. This will is unmovable and sure, no matter your actions or reactions to it. This will is also known as the secret will of God, for we cannot know it. The preceptive will of God deals with the laws He prescribes men to follow, in accordance with His nature. Men break this will constantly, for God “wills” that all men be saved, but all men are not saved. This will is also known as God’s revealed will. God desires that all men come to know Him in a covenant relationship in this revealed will. If one did not know that there are two separate categories of God’s will, one would ascribe the implications of His will of desire to His will of decree, making the scriptures inconsistent in its teaching of grace, faith, election and hell. Were God to decree that all men be saved, there would be no hell, or God would be a liar. These two facets of God’s will are very important to us as Christians as well, because through the will of desire, or the revealed will, we can know the “WILL OF GOD” for our lives.
-Moral Obligation
The question on this subject is whether things are right or wrong, simply because God commands or forbids them? Or, does He command or forbid them, because they are right or wrong for some other reason than his will? The common doctrine of Christians on this subject is, that the will of God is the ultimate ground of moral obligation to all rational creatures. No higher reason can be assigned why anything is right than that God commands it. This means, (1.) That the divine will is the only rule for deciding what is right and what is wrong. (2.) That his will is that which binds us, or that to which we are bound to be conformed.
3. Sovereignty
God’s absolute sovereignty is not a property of the divine nature, but a prerogative arising out of the perfections of the Supreme Being. (Ps 115:8; Dan 4:35; 1 Chron 29:11; Ps 24:1; Ezekiel 18:4; Is. 45:9; Matt 20:15; Eph 1:11; Rom 11:36). From these verses, it is plain, (1.) That the sovereignty of God is universal. It extends over all the creatures from the highest to the lowest. (2.) That it is absolute. There is not limit to be placed over His authority. (3.) It is immutable. It cannot be ignored or rejected. It binds all creatures the same way gravity applies to all things on earth.
This sovereignty is exercised in establishing the laws, physical and moral, under which all creatures are governed, the determining of the separation of powers in the created beings, the appointing of each person his position and lot, and in His distribution of his favors. God is no less sovereign when He does what He wills with His own. He gives to some riches, to others health, to some the light of the gospel is sent, others are left in darkness. Why? Because it seemeth good in His sight. (Matt 11:26). The Sovereignty of God is not limited by anything out of Himself, but it is controlled in its manifestations by His infinite perfections. All power in heaven and earth is God’s. The man that submits to God, allowing himself to be governed by God is supremely blessed. This sovereignty of God is the ground of peace and confidence to all his people. Nothing controls the sequence of events in this world but GOD.
That concludes our study of God's attributes, the next study will be on the Divinity of Christ.
Blogging for His glory, Adam Setser
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