From you people's discussion 2 weeks ago on the character of God as regards Esau and Jacob
I'm going to pick out this statement then explain it (I think everyone should understand better from what we've been discussing since)
" I think most Christians are always trying hard to paint the perfect picture of God being a loving father"
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48 NIV
My first response will be these words of Christ. Like I said before, to understand the character of God, the person we look at is Christ. And this is because Christ is God Himself revealed to mankind as man.
When we read scripture, we have to look carefully.
Who said this?
Under what circumstances?. To whom was it said?
Why was it said?
Was it God speaking through the person?
It guides us better in know what is written to us and what is written for us.
What is the meaning of the word Perfect? It simply means to be without flaw.
God is completely, 100% flawless. And this is total truth.
No one is "painting" God as perfect. Even if God has to be painted perfect, it won't be an imperfect man that will be given the job to do
Even the old testament that we find difficult to understand when it comes to the character of God records this about Him:
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Deuteronomy 32:4 NIV
God does no wrong! Not one single wrong. If you read anywhere that God did something and it sounds wrong, read again. If that is what the writer truly intended then God be true and the writer be a liar
We will not hold the words of any man true over the true revelation of God of Himself by Himself to man
God is the standard of perfection, we should never doubt it.
If God who is the word perfect itself is declared imperfect, this would mean He has been judged by a higher standard that found Him not worthy.
Is there any standard higher than Jehovah?
Jehovah is the standard itself!
Now, is it that we are just taking the word that God is perfect? Are we examining it in any way?
Well, it's not just a thing of they said God is perfect so we just have to agree He is perfect even when we don't understand certain things. Nah. His perfection can be proved and seen.
Like I said earlier, we see it in His words. God is true to His words. Also His character, He is perfect in this. Constant also. So if I say that God lied yesterday but is true today then I will have to be the liar
God's character is perfect, never waivers. The Bible wasn't doing wordplay when it says God is the same yesterday, today and forever
His character also produces certain actions and I think this is where many people get it wrong. They can't reconcile the actions to God.
For most people I know, it is God being Just and the resulting actions from this character that causes confusion.
In February, by God's Grace, we will be discussing God being Just, the wrath of God and its complete satisfaction in Christ
Now, if we were to ever doubt that God is perfect or He changes (Old testament and new testament) then we will have to doubt our salvation to cos this means God is not true to His word and person
This whole eternal life we claim we are carrying up and down, it would be a charade too since we can't say where God is perfect, imperfect or saying the truth
Every time you come across something you don't understand, remember God is perfect. So read it again from the lens of who God is as revealed in Christ. There is this phrase in Yoruba, I actually had to stop saying it
O mu kan wo kan pa, o wo kan wo kan ye
It means God who kills one as He wishes and makes another to live just as He wishes. I used to say it a lot before while praying and one day the spirit stopped me.
Like how can you think such of me?
How can a just God be killing as He likes for pleasure?
Is that God?
I looked for the origin of this supposed praise of God and I found out it was from Job 🤦🏿♀
Jesus did not call Him this: the one who kills anyone as He likes (When it is not game we are playing)
Jesus did not also portray Him like this. Everywhere Christ went, He gave life. He healed, He brought the dead back.
It is also not true of what Christ said about Himself (Christ is God)
I have come to give LIFE and in abundance
So who are we going to listen to about God? Job or Jesus?
QUESTION: Ok pls in this context is Job truly wrong or he said it in a particular context
ANSWER: Job was wrong. Remember when we read Job, we went through it slowly for this reason. God did not kill Job's family. God did not take everything from Job. For Job to have said God kills as He wishes would mean He was accusing God of murder. Asides the fact that God cannot murder, His nature cannot. We read it clearly and saw where all of that came from. God's awareness of a particular situation doesn't mean He penetrated the deed Himself. God is actually aware of everything, both good and evil. God Did NOT murder Job's family [ANSWER ENDS]
QUESTION: Given that he is aware of both good and evil pls does it mean he permits the enemy to do us bad or the enemy just does it independently without God's concern
ANSWER: Now, God is good. He created all things and made man in His image. He also gave man dominion over everything created. Man fell and sin came into the world. This is where the problem begins. Every evil that happens to us, it's not because God permits, it is because man Chose
The moment man Chose to eat from that tree, man permitted sin into the world.
Sin is nature not deed now. And that nature is that of Satan
It is this sin that brings all manner of evil (Note that sin here doesn't mean lying or stealing but the nature itself. The state of being fallen). It is sin that Brought death and every calamity you can think of. God did not make man to live and die, or fall sick. The plan was way different but man Chose something contrary to God's plan. So the permission for sin and its allowance into our lives and certain situations was given by man himself
If I tell you don't eat an apple, if you eat the apple you will die. And you decide to eat the apple, then you get to see what this death truly entails, is it not the person that ate the apple that will take the blame? While I might be sovereign and know all the effects eating that apple might cost you, it is still you who ate the apple and brought the resulting effects. My knowledge of it doesn't make me culpable
So this is established, that man at the fall gave permission for sin to enter by eating that which was forbidden. Does this mean anything can just happen to us or the devil will do as he wishes with us?
This is where Christ comes in.
You see, we've been given dominion over EVERYTHING and sadly a lot of us believers do not walk in it. We do not even know it
We are not here trying to fight the devil or sin. No, someone already fought and this victory handed over to us to operate from
So to a large extent, we have control over the permission the first man handed to the devil by eating the forbidden
The first man also brought eternal death (this is the wage of the sinful nature). But God still found a way to slip in something for us, His original plan
That when we die and sleep, we will wake from this and be restored completely to the first order
He practically created a loophole to the grave and it's link to eternal death
He gave Himself as an antidote
How does God do all these things to save man and still be responsible for what He saves man from?
[ANSWER ENDS]
God is Good and He can only do Good
It's an aberration for God to do evil.
This is not consistent with who He is
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