BEHOLD YOUR GOD
Chapter 6 Approaching The Study Of God Character is revealed by the way in which
one acts, for the very simple reason that we do what we do because of what we are. Allowance must be made for
the work of deception which sinful human beings practise, for some are very
adept at making themselves appear to be what they are not. Nevertheless, the
time comes when the masquerade is rent and the real person is seen for what
he is.
With God there is no deception for He is the truth. Therefore, what He
does when rightly understood, is a true and accurate revelation of what He
is.
The doings of God may be divided into two general parts. Firstly,
there was the revelation of God by what He did during the eternity of the
past when there was no sin problem, and secondly, there is the revelation of
His character by what He did in response to the appearance of sin.
In the natural way of things, it follows that the greater of these two
revelations must be the one forthcoming during the great rebellion, for it is
under the pressure of great testing and difficulty that the otherwise hidden
depths of one’s nature and capabilities are revealed. Therefore, the fullest
and clearest revelation of God’s character is afforded us because of the
entrance of sin. This being so, there
are some who have wickedly charged God with deliberately introducing sin so
that He would be provided with the theatre in which to display such depths of
Himself as would otherwise be impossible.
The enemy of God and man is the originator of these charges which the
true child of God will treat with the utter disdain they deserve. Albeit,
there are still the two situations in which the behavior of God is the
revelation of His character. The conditions prevailing in these two eras are
as different as they can be, but God remains unchanged through it all. Sin’s
appearance, problem, and pressure made far-reaching changes in angels, men,
and nature, but it made absolutely no change in God. He is “the same
yesterday, and to day, and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8. While this Scripture directly relates to Jesus Christ, it
is equally true of the Father for what can be said of the One, is equally
true of the Other.
God is unchanged and unchangeable. He declares, “I am the Lord, I
change not.” Malachi 3:6. He is “. . . “the Father
of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow or turning.” James 1:17. He is “the uncorruptible
God.” Romans 1:23.
These evidences confirm that God did not follow a certain line of
behavior before the entrance of sin and then, when sin appeared, engage in
activities utterly unknown before the uprising of evil. Rather, the Page 49 emergency of sin
brought forth from God only more of the same things He had always done.
Because there was no occasion to punish, none have any difficulty in
seeing that, before the fall, God never did such a thing. Subsequent to that
sad day, however, an entirely different set of conditions demanded of God as
the responsible Ruler of all, a satisfactory and permanent solution. Because
most men understand only the use of force as such a solution, they cannot see
God doing other than bearing down with terrible punishments on the guilty.
This is the only way they know, resulting in their quickly interpreting all
the reported actions of God in the Old Testament as being of this character.
To such, the declaration that God did absolutely nothing after the fall that
He did not do before, with all the implications thereof, will certainly be a
startling statement, hard to accept.
But it has to be true nonetheless. Otherwise we are compelled to
accept the thought that sin did make changes in God, forcing Him, after its
appearance, to do things He had never done before. This cannot be and yet God
remains as the unchangeable, incorruptible God.
Some may counter that this argument breaks down when it is considered
that God did do something different in giving His Son as a sacrifice for the
lost.
But, when Christ’s role in the eternity of the past is rightly
understood, it will be seen that God had given His only-begotten Son to the
created world for their blessing long before sin ever entered the universe.
The incarnation of Christ into the human family was not something new for
Him. It was a wonderful extension of the role He had eternally occupied and
of the work which He had everlastingly done. From the eternity of the past,
Christ has ever been God’s gift to His creatures even unto the death, for
their salvation. Of this, more will be revealed as the study progresses.
As surely as this is true, then so surely has God done nothing new in
the period when sin emerged to establish its pernicious corruption.
Therefore, by studying what God did in the unmarred ages, we will study those
revelations of His character which find confirmation in the greater display
of those same things in the vastly more difficult era which has followed.
The study of what God did in the sunny days of universal innocence and
harmony is the investigation of the constitution of the kingdom which He
formed in such wondrous perfection. How God organized that government, how He
related Himself to His subjects, what He provided for them and how He ruled
them is a very clear and wonderful revelation of His character. He is a
perfect God, has been and will be eternally so, and therefore the government
which He formed is likewise as perfect. It is the only perfect rulership ever
to exist. It is the pattern for all governments to copy and they can have
perfect government only as they form theirs after the divine similitude.
Before we begin the study of that government, a necessary note of
warning must be given. This is necessary because of the universal human Page 50 tendency to form
concepts of God’s government after the measure of human leadership. We are
very familiar with the latter, from personal acquaintanceship. It is all that
we really know, and so we tend to think of God and His kingdom as being the
same.
But the Word of God warns of this danger and directs us to approach
this study from a different standpoint. God states very clearly, “For My
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the
Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher
than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8, 9.
In His efforts to reveal to men the principles of God’s kingdom,
Christ was forever faced with the problem that there was nothing in this
earth with which to compare it. Everything with which man was familiar served
to give a wrong, instead of correct, concept of it. So Christ said:
“Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or
with what comparison shall we compare it?” Mark 4:30.
“The government of the kingdom of Christ is like no earthly
government. It is a representation of the characters of those who compose the
kingdom. ‘Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God?’ Christ asked, ‘or
with what comparison shall we liken it?’ He
could find nothing on earth that would serve as a perfect comparison. His
court is one where holy love presides, and whose offices and appointments are
graced by the exercise of charity. He charges His servants to bring pity and
loving-kindness, His own attributes, into all their office work, and to find
their happiness and satisfaction in reflecting the love and tender compassion
of the divine nature on all with whom they associate.” The Review and Herald, March 19, 1908. “ ‘Whereunto,’ asked Christ, ‘shall we liken the kingdom
of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?’ He could not employ the kingdoms of the
world as a similitude. In society He found nothing with which to compare
it. Earthly kingdoms rule by the ascendancy of physical power; but from
Christ’s kingdom every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion, is
banished. This kingdom is to uplift and ennoble humanity. God’s church is the
court of holy life, filled with varied gifts, and endowed with the Holy
There was always the danger that the apostles might lose sight of the
principles of the kingdom of righteousness. Jesus sought to teach them the
great differences between that kingdom and the kingdom of men, as it is
written:
“Lest the disciples should lose sight of the principles of the gospel,
Christ related to them a parable illustrating the manner in which God deals
with His servants, and the spirit in which He desires them to labor for Him. “
‘The kingdom of heaven,’ He said, ‘is like unto a man that is an householder,
which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his Page 51 vineyard.’ It was the
custom for men seeking employment to wait in the market places, and thither
the employers went to find servants. The man in the parable is represented as
going out at different hours to engage workmen. Those who are hired at the
earliest hours agree to work for a stated sum; those hired later leave their
wages to the discretion of the householder.
“So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his
steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the
least unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh
hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed
that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a
penny.’
“The householder’s dealing with the workers in his vineyard represents
God’s dealing with the human family. It is contrary to the customs that
prevail among men. In worldly business, compensation is given according to
the work accomplished. The laborer expects to be paid only that which he
earns. But in the parable, Christ was illustrating the principles of His
kingdom—a kingdom not of this world. He is not controlled by any human
standard. The Lord says, ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways My ways. . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My
ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’ Isaiah 55:8,
9.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 396,
397.
Thus, in His Word, the Lord has warned us not to think of the kingdom
of God in terms of earthly kingdoms. It is impossible to learn of the
heavenly from the earthly. It cannot be done. Anyone who attempts to do so
either consciously or unconsciously, will certainly
be led into incorrect understandings on the nature of God’s kingdom.
Few, if any, consciously set out to learn of God’s government in this
way. The student does not even question this approach because, throughout the
lifetime, no other than earthly kingdoms have been known. He comes to the
study of the heavenly with definite ideas already established in his mind of
what a kingdom has to be. The Scriptures are read in the light of these
understandings and the result is a view of God, which is opposite from
reality.
Christ’s disciples took a long time to overcome this problem. From
their earliest days they had heard their elders talk of the Messianic
kingdom. No question was ever raised as to the constitution of that kingdom.
It was taken for granted that it would be just like the kingdoms round about
them, and as the Old Testament was read, every verse describing that kingdom
was misread in the light of those misconceptions.
When the disciples joined the company of Christ, this misunderstanding
of the true nature of the kingdom and therefore of God’s character, proved to
be the greatest hindrance to their drawing into full intimacy with Christ in
His divine mission. It caused Christ many unnecessary burdens, Page 52 added sorrow and terrible heartache. Despite His continued
effort on their behalf, they were not delivered from this false position
until after the resurrection.
No lesson from the past should be learned with greater care than the
one from the experience of these men. We are to fear greatly lest we, too,
come to the study of God’s kingdom with the same preconceived ideas and
notions in our minds. If we do, then we will certainly emerge with an
erroneous view. This in turn will make it impossible to endure the trial
which is before us, for of that last successful people it is written, “In
order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God
as revealed in His Word; they can honor Him only as they have a right
conception of His character, government, and purposes and act in accordance
with them.” The Great Controversy,
593.
Therefore, the very beginning of the study of the constitution of
God’s government is conversion to the realization that the kingdom of God is
different. It is unique. There is nothing in this world that can be likened
to it. Once this conviction is gained so that the tendency to refer to
earthly conditions as a guideline to understanding the heavenly has been
destroyed, we can approach the study with minds fresh and clean to receive
the correct understanding of God’s character as revealed in the constitution
of His kingdom.
Earthly kingdoms do have a reference value in the sense that they tell
us what the kingdom of God is not. In other words, wherever we find ourselves
seeing the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men to be the same in any
respect, we can know that we have strayed from a true knowledge of God’s
realm.
So with minds fresh and clear, let the approach to the study of God
and His wonderful works begin. Let us not be among that class who “fail of a
satisfactory understanding of the great problem of evil, from the fact that
tradition and misinterpretation have obscured the teaching of the Bible concerning the character of God, the
nature of His government, and the principles of His dealing with sin.” The Great Controversy, 492. |