This week, we read through Chapter 2: God the Righteous Creator. (Sorry I'm so late in posting this today! This has been our busiest week down South so far, and rightly so since the university starts its semester next week!!)
I think that Gibert's introduction to this chapter is skillfully written. It's somewhat comical, and yet there is so much underlying truth to his exaggeration (of what typical people believe about god) that it is down-right scary! Listen to how he sums up this person's view of "god":
For the most part, he's a kind, affable, slightly dazed and needy but very loving grandfather who has wishes but no demands, can be safely ignored if you don't have time for him, and is very, very, very understanding of the fact that human beings make mistakes -- much more understanding, in fact, than the rest of us are. (p. 38-39)Specifically, I think it's scary because even if you (or I) would never actually describe God in such ways with our words, what are our everyday actions revealing that we actually believe about Him??
In the remaining part of the chapter (the actual meat, not the appetizer) he breaks down two important details that we must get correct if we are to understand who God is.
God the Creator
The first detail that Gilbert unpacks is that God is the creator of the universe. I absolutely love the facts we know about how creation happened. Do you know what my favorite one is? The fact that God spoke everything that was created into existence out of nothing. Meaning that there was nothing (besides God) and He literally spoke, and everything became precisely what He intended it to be (Hebrews 11:3). How amazing is that?!?!?!!!
And as Creator, God ultimately has Creator-rights over all that He has made, including us. Gilbert does a great job describing the implications of these Creator-rights in light of the gospel:
The gospel is God's response to the bad news of sin, and sin is a person's rejection of God's Creator-rights over him. Thus the fundamental truth of human existence, the well from which all else flows, is that God created us, and therefore God owns us. (p. 42)Now it's not as if God owns us in order to be a merciless tyrant over us, no not at all. Remember that God is perfectly good and loving, and the laws He gave for us to obey are for our ultimate good.
God the Holy & Righteous One
I love the Scripture that Gilbert uses in this section to describe the Lord:
The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin, yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished. (Exodus 34:6-7, NIV)What a great picture of God's character! Isn't it incredible that God can be abounding in love while not letting the guilty go unpunished? Completely loving while completely just and righteous.
It is the holy and righteous nature of the Creator God that requires justice for all who rebel and reject His authority over their lives. And that will be a good lead in to our discussion next week, "man the sinner", so stay tuned in, & I'll try not to be late again! :-)
I appreciate how succinct Gilbert is in this chapter. Certainly there is so much more to God's character, but in thinking through the gospel, focusing in on God as the righteous Creator helps me stay on target and not get overwhelmed.
For those of you reading along, do you appreciate the simplicity that "God the righteous Creator" gives when you think about the gospel? Do you typically include any other details about God when you share the gospel?
The
heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
(Psalm 19:1-6)
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