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Doctrine of God 0002 - Lesson 3
Attached Audio:
- THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD (Continued)
- His Greatness (Continued)
- Omniscience
- Definition: God is all-knowing. God has complete and eternal knowledge of all things.
- The character of God’s knowledge
- He is “a God of knowledge” (1 Samuel 2:3Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
See All...) - His knowledge is infinite (Psalm 147:4He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
See All...; Hebrews 4:13Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
See All...; 1 John 3:20For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
See All...) - His knowledge of the present is related to His omnipresence (Proverbs 15:3The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
See All...; Jeremiah 23:23-25 [23] Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? [24] Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. [25] I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
See All...). - The scope of God’s knowledge
- Knowledge of all creation (Psalm 104:24O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
See All...; Psalm 147:4He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
See All...; Isaiah 40:12-13 [12] Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? [13] Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?
See All...; Matthew 10:30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
See All...) - Knowledge of the hearts of men (1 Samuel 16:7But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
See All...; Psalm 94:11The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
See All...; Psalm 139:1-4 [1] O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. [2] Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. [3] Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. [4] For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
See All...; Proverbs 15:11Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?
See All...; Proverbs 24:12If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
See All...; Jeremiah 17:9-10 [9] The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? [10] I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
See All...; Luke 16:15And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
See All...; Romans 8:27And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
See All...) - Knowledge of the future (Deuteronomy 31:20-21 [20] For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.
[21] And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.
See All...; Isaiah 46:9-10 [9] Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, [10] Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
See All...; Acts 15:18Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
See All...) - Knowledge of the possible
- Saul’s potential kingdom (1 Samuel 13:13-14 [13] And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
[14] But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
See All...) despite prophecy to the contrary (Genesis 49:10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
See All...) - What Keilah would have done (1 Samuel 23:10-12 [10] Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.
[11] Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down.
[12] Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up.
See All...) - What blessings Israel could have enjoyed (Isaiah 48:18-19 [18] O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
[19] Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
See All...) - What deliverance destroyed cities would have had if they had had the miracles given to other cities in another time (Matthew 11:20-24 [20] Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
[21] Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
[22] But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.
[23] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
[24] But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
See All...) - The picture of God’s knowledge
- God as light
- God identified as light (1 John 1:5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
See All...); no darkness at all - God connected with light (Psalm 27:1The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
See All...; 1 Timothy 6:16Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
See All...; James 1:17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
See All...) - Jesus Christ as light (John 1:4-5 [4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
[5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
See All..., 9; John 8:12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
See All...; John 12:46I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
See All...) - Light in the New Jerusalem (Isaiah 60:19-20 [19] The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
[20] Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
See All...; Revelation 21:23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
See All...) - The significance of God as light
- In His light we see the true light (Psalm 36:9For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
See All...) - Through His light we see His righteousness (Micah 7:9I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
See All...) - His light shows our works to be good or evil (John 3:20-21 [20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
[21] But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
See All...) - His light will reveal the hidden things of darkness (1 Corinthians 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
See All...) - Light is that which makes manifest (Ephesians 5:13But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
See All...) - The application of God as light
- God has full knowledge of all things
- God is the only sure revealer of truth
- The relationship between God’s foreknowledge and God’s foreordination.
- Definitions
- Foreknowledge: God’s perfect knowledge of the future
- Foreordination: God’s ordering of future events so that they are absolutely determined by His will
- Three views:
- Calvinism: God foreknows all future events because He has foreordained all future events. In this view, the two concepts cannot be separated. God’s foreknowledge is the same as His foreordination. This doctrine denies the reality of man’s free will and makes salvation nothing more than a matter of God’s arbitrary choice.
- Arminianism: God foreknows all future events but has not foreordained all future events. This view is accepted by many who are Arminian in other areas of theology. This view accepts that there are many things foreordained by God, but rejects that all things are predetermined by the will of God.
- Socinianism: God has not foreordained all future events because He does not know all future events. Much about the future is open and unknown. This doctrine has been recently renewed and is called the open view of God. It teaches that the future is open to many possibilities—even in the mind of God. This doctrine limits the greatness of God and is an attack on His person as the absolute God.
- The answer to open theology/Socinianism
- The Bible clearly teaches the complete foreknowledge of God [see above]
- The very integrity of God is based on His perfect foreknowledge (Deuteronomy 18:18-22 [18] I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
[19] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
[20] But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
[21] And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
[22] When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
See All...; Isaiah 41:21-23 [21] Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. [22] Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. [23] Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.
See All...) - The answer to Calvinism
- Foreknowledge is not the same as foreordination or predestination (Romans 8:29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
See All...; 1 Peter 1:2Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
See All...) - Foreknowledge is not of itself causative. That is, to know a future action is not the same as causing that future action to happen. Therefore, foreknowledge is not to be confused with the predetermined will of God. God does have a predetermined will, but it does not determine every action of created beings.
- Omnipotence
- Definition: God is all-powerful.
- He is able to do anything He wills.
- Since His will is part of His nature, He is able to do anything that is consistent with His own nature.
- The things God cannot do because of His nature
- God cannot look on iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
See All...) - God cannot lie (Titus 1:2In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
See All...) - God cannot be tempted to sin (James 1:13Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
See All...) - God cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
See All...) - God cannot do things that are absurd or self-contradictory
- Examples would include making a square circle, making 2 + 2 = 6, or making a rock God Himself cannot move.
- These ridiculous challenges are sometimes made by skeptics against the person of God.
- However, these are not limitations of power but rather mental tricks.
- The character of God’s power
- As seen in the name Almighty
- Means to have all might and power
- Used only of God in the Bible
- Found 57 times in the Bible
- As seen in the direct statements of scripture (1 Chronicles 29:11Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
See All...; 2 Chronicles 20:6And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
See All...; Psalm 62:11God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.
See All...; Isaiah 40:26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
See All...; Daniel 4:35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
See All...; Romans 1:20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
See All...; Romans 13:1Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
See All...) - As seen in His ability to do whatever pleases Him (Job 23:13But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
See All...; Psalm 115:3But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
See All...; Psalm 135:6Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
See All...) - As seen in the fact that God can do all things (Genesis 18:14Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
See All...; Job 42:2I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
See All...; Jeremiah 42:17So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.
See All..., 27; Matthew 19:26But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
See All...; Luke 1:37For with God nothing shall be impossible.
See All...) - As seen in the heavenly praise: “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Revelation 19:6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
See All...) - The scope of God’s power
- In creation (Jeremiah 10:12He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
See All...; Jeremiah 32:17Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
See All...) - In preservation (Psalm 79:11Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
See All...; Hebrews 1:3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
See All...) - In providence (Exodus 9:16And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
See All...; 1 Chronicles 29:12Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
See All...; Job 36:22Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him?
See All...) - In ruling (Psalm 66:7He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
See All...) - In battle (Exodus 15:6Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
See All...; Psalm 66:3Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
See All...) - In deliverance (Exodus 32:11And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
See All...; Deuteronomy 9:29Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.
See All...) - In redemption (Psalm 106:8Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
See All...; Nehemiah 1:10Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.
See All...; Romans 1:16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
See All...; 1 Corinthians 1:18For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
See All...) - In eternal security (1 Peter 1:5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
See All...) - In resurrection (Psalm 49:15But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
See All...; Hosea 13:14I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
See All...; John 10:18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
See All...; 1 Corinthians 6:14And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
See All...) - In judgment (Nahum 1:3The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
See All...) - The exercise of God’s power
- According to His will
- God does His work according to His will (Ephesians 1:4-11 [4] According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
[5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
[6] To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
[7] In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
[8] Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
[9] Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
[10] That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
[11] In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
See All...) - The Bible student must discern between two kinds of the will of God in the scriptures:
- The predetermined will of God
- This is the will of God that has been determined by Him absolutely and will not change.
- This predetermined will is seen in prophecy (John 14:3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
See All...) and in those cases where God has absolutely determined something to be a certain way. - The predetermined will of God is something that cannot be resisted (Romans 9:17-23 [17] For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
[18] Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
[19] Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
[20] Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
[21] Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
[22] What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
[23] And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
See All...) - The preferred will of God
- This is the will of God in that He desires it as an action of created beings but will not force on them.
- This preferred will is seen in our acceptance of God’s salvation (1 Timothy 2:4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
See All...; 2 Peter 3:9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
See All...). - This preferred will is seen in the action of peoples and nations (Mathew 23:37
See All...). - Through His word
- The power of the word
- The power in the word of a king (Ecclesiastes 8:4Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
See All...) - The power of His voice (Psalm 29:4The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
See All...) - The power of His word (Luke 4:32And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.
See All..., 36) - The power of His written word (Hebrews 4:12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
See All...) - The working of God’s word
- In creation (Genesis 1:1-3 [1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
[2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
[3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
See All...; Psalm 33:6By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
See All..., 9; Hebrews 11:3Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
See All...) - In preservation (Hebrews 1:3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:
See All...) - In the working of miracles (Matthew 8:8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
See All...) - The practical value of God’s power
- He is able to guide us (2 Samuel 22:33God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.
See All...) - We can know something of His power (Psalm 63:1-2 [1] O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
[2] To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
See All...: Ephesians 1:18-19 [18] The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, [19] And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
See All...; Philippians 3:10The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high.
See All...) - He will strengthen us with His power (Psalm 68:35O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.
See All...; Isaiah 40:29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
See All...; Zechariah 4:6Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
See All...; Ephesians 6:10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
See All...; 2 Timothy 1:7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
See All...) - By His power we fulfill His will (Matthew 28:18-20 [18] And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
[19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
[20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
See All...; Ephesians 3:7Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
See All..., 20; Colossians 1:10-11 [10] That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; [11] Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
See All...) - By His power He will establish us (Romans 16:25Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
See All...) - Immutability
- Definition: God is always the same. He is unchanging and unchangeable.
- The scriptural proof of God’s immutability
- He does not change (Malachi 3:6For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
See All...) - He is the same forever (Psalm 102:26-27 [26] They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
[27] But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
See All...) - He has no variableness or shadow of turning (James 1:17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
See All...) - He does not repent (Numbers 23:19God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
See All...; 1 Samuel 15:29And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
See All...) - The immutable God produces immutable promises (Hebrews 6:16-18 [16] For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
[17] Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
[18] That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
See All...) - The immutability of His counsel
- The immutability of His oath
- Jesus Christ is the same forever (Hebrews 13:8Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
See All...) - The problem of repentance
- The times of God’s repentance
- He repents (Genesis 6:6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
See All...; 1 Samuel 15:11It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
See All...; Amos 7:3The LORD repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.
See All..., 6; Joel 2:13And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
See All...; Jonah 3:9-10 [9] Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? [10] And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
See All...; Jonah 4:2And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
See All...) - He changes His purpose (Exodus 32:10-14 [10] Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
[11] And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
[12] Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
[13] Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
[14] And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
See All...; Jonah 3:10And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
See All...) - He turns from the fierceness of His anger (Deuteronomy 13:17And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;
See All...; 2 Chronicles 12:12And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well.
See All...; 2 Chronicles 30:8Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you.
See All...; Jeremiah 18:8-10 [8] If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. [9] And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; [10] If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
See All...; Jeremiah 26:3If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
See All...) - The tension found in 1 Samuel 15
- God repents that He had set up Saul to be king (1 Samuel 15:11It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
See All...) - God is not a man that He should repent (1 Samuel 15:29And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
See All...) - God repents that He made Saul king (1 Samuel 15:35And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
See All...) - This is not a mistranslation. The same Hebrew word is used for repent in each case. Unfortunately, many modern translations change the wording in order to remove the apparent contradiction. The seeming contradiction was clearly put there on purpose in order to help define the word.
- The meaning of the two kinds of repentance as they refer to the Lord
- As to His character or being, God never repents. He never changes who He is and He never has to apologize for what He says. He does not change as man changes.
- As to His response to man, God does repent. However, it is not God that has changed, but man. If a wicked man changes and turns to righteousness, then God will repent of the evil He would have done to him. However, this is not repentance in the human sense. God is still the same. He still rewards righteousness and judges wickedness. He is simply responding to changes made by the people involved.
Proverbs 28:15
As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.