Blogogetics

Introduction

God’s nature and character have been the central topic for many theologians throughout the centuries. This is not to assume that anyone is able to completely understand and know God for His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). However, it is to say that there is no greater joy than to desire to know God.

This section is only a cursory glance at the attributes of God, as this whole study will be examined for weeks to come. May the Lord grant you His wisdom as you worship Him in the study of His Word.

His Nature and Character

Incommunicable Attributes – Those attributes that God does not have in common or “communicate” to human beings.

1. Independence – God does not need anything from human beings to make up who He is. God is completely independent from His creatures. (cf. Acts 17:24-25; Job 41:11; Psalm 50:10-12). God never “needs” human beings to satisfy loneliness. Indeed, God’s glory was always full and wondrous even before the creation of the world: “5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began” (John 17:5). This correlates to the community nature of the Trinity, which assumes that there is full independence from creation, in light of the dependence between Father, Son, and Spirit.

2. Unchangeableness/Immutability – J.I. Packer writes:
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Introduction

If there is one subject that has caused division amongst Evangelicals today, it is the authority of Scripture. Although the word “Evangelical” usually meant that this particular person believed in the inerrancy of Scripture, this can no longer be assumed. But the “Bible debate” is not just a product of this century. In fact the authority and inspiration of Scripture has been challenged since the Enlightenment period. No longer was God’s Word seen without error or “inerrant.”

Today, inerrancy usually is associated with fundamentalism1, or close-mindedness, or even anti-intellectualism. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Inerrancy believes that our only standard of truth is the Word of God. In presupposing that God is perfect, the result of that perfection is the Word He gives. This definition has often led to much confusion and therefore, many misinterpretations of what evangelicals define as inerrancy.

The ultimate question is, “If the Bible says it, can I believe it, and can I base my life around it?” There is nothing more central to the Christian faith than the infallibility of Scripture. Millard Erickson writes:
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Introduction

Of all of God’s creation, none comes close in grandeur and splendor to the creation of humanity. Human beings alone were created with an image and a task, i.e., the image of God and the task to rule over God’s creation. One scholar makes the distinction between God as suzerain-king, and humanity as vassal-king. Yet, despite this wondrous blessing, humanity turned away from God’s provisions, and rebelled against this King, in an attempt to usurp the kingly rule of God. God was not overthrown; instead, it would be humanity that is ejected from the Garden of Paradise. The study of the image of God, sin, and depravity is necessary in understanding humanity’s place in God’s redemptive plan. That God would continue to show mercy and grace to a people who would continually rebel against Him (cf. Rom. 3; 5:10), is indeed amazing grace. So to understand the work of Christ, one must comprehend the fallen work of humanity to capture the full power and glory of the cross. May you worship Him as you learn of our fallenness and God’s incredible grace!

The Image of God

The term image of God is from Genesis 1:26-27:

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Humanity’s distinctiveness is marked by the very fact that human beings are the only creatures which are labeled as beings created “in the image of God.” But what exactly does it mean to be created in the image of God? Anthony Hoekema writes: “But we should note at the outset that the concept of man as the image or likeness of God tells us that man as he was created was to mirror God and to represent God.” This too is a quandary, as what it exactly means to “represent” God or “mirror” God, remains ambiguous. The Hebrew word for image is tselem which primarily means “something similar.” “Likeness” or demut in Hebrew conveys a similar meaning. But how is the human image, “similar” or in the “likeness” of God?
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