God in all His Magnificence (last updated: 2nd December 2024)
God and us
Eight of the main defining characteristics of God that do not always readily spring to mind as they perhaps should:
Omnipotent:
having unlimited power.
Omniscient:
knowing everything
Omnipresent:
widely or constantly encountered
Transcendent:
beyond or above the range of normal or physical human experience
Immanent:
the state or condition of being inherent or existing within something, for example the presence of a divine power pervading the universe
Immutable:
never changes
Eternal:
He has always existed and always will
These attributes certainly set God apart from mere humanity. I doubt if anyone exhibits any of these traits to any extent.
The fact that we might occasionally exhibit pale versions of the characteristics is evidence that God made us in His own image
as the Bible makes clear (Genesis 1:27) - we are like Him to a limited extent, and there is variation from person to person.
IMMUTABLE and ETERNAL are perhaps the most important attributes because without them the others would be of a fleeting nature only:
Quoting from Paul in Romans 8:38-39. It is because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever that neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, not even powers, height, depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This brings us to the eighth and perhaps most treasured attribute:
God is love:
The covenant of love as quoted in Deuteronomy 7:9,
'Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations
of those who love Him and keep His commands.'
Interestingly, if we are to take literally the time period of a thousand generations it is calculated to be between
16,000 and 30,000 years. Another interpretation is that it is intended to mean 'for all time'.
Claiming that God is renowned for possessing only 7 distinquishing characteristicvs could be seen as a gross understatement
as the following link reveals:
God does not change. Who he is never changes. His attributes are the same from before the beginning of time into eternity.
His character never changes - he never gets "better" or "worse." His plans do not change. His promises do not change.
The extent to which the 7 most common attributes are exhibited by us may be summed up as follows:
Omnipotence:
We have limited power.
Omniscience:
We know only what we have been taught, or have gleaned from our experiences in life
Omnipresence:
Our presence is limited to our physical location in time and space throughout our entire life
Transcendency:
We are subject to normal or physical human experience only
Immanence:
We clearly have a presence while we are alive but we are not God and seem to only inhabit our own
bodily frame. Some near death experience reports may seem to contradict this
Immutability:
We are not renowned for being Constant and reliable!
Love:
We all need love. It is perhaps the one attribute that we share most strongly with God. Without it
humanity could not thrive and probably would not even survive. Wars would be even more prevalent.
Psychologists do not attempt to describe human personality using these terms because all apart from the last one reveal little
about us, instead the following down to earth model comprising 5 characteristics is widely used:
Conscientiousness - impulsive, disorganized vs. disciplined, careful
Agreeableness - suspicious, uncooperative vs. trusting, helpful
Neuroticism - calm, confident vs. anxious, pessimistic
Openness to Experience - prefers routine, practical vs. imaginative, spontaneous
Extraversion - reserved, thoughtful vs. sociable, fun-loving
So what is the relevance of all this to the origin of life debate?
Whether we look at how we fare in regard to the 7 Godly traits, which hardly apply at all to the animal
kingdom, or the psychologists 5 human personality characteristics, again hardly applying to the animal kingdom, it becomes
clear that we are a special creation. In essence, God is supreme with wisdom far surpassing anything man can hope to achieve, leaving
man supreme to a degree only in his relationship with the animal kingdom.
This is of course directly in line with the hierarchy described in the Bible:
God, Jesus plus The Holy Spirit at the Head,
Angels next,
Human beings next,
Finally, plants and animals of every kind that we are to care for.
We decline to give Satan a place. His power is only as much as we care to give him.
However we should always be aware that Satan is not subject to death as we are.
Our fate after the fall is made clear in Genesis 3:19,
'By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.'
An amazingly uncompromising statement. Our fate is sealed and there is no way we can circumvent it. Our time, unlike Satan's
and the angels, is limited! Need proof:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under Heaven,
a time to be born, and a time to die;
etc; etc.
God leaves no room for doubt in His dealings with us! There is no other way that would work!
The Glory of God's Creation
1. Creation sings the Father's song.
He calls the sun to wake the dawn
And run the course of day
'Til evening falls in crimson rays.
His fingerprints in flakes of snow,
His breath upon this spinning globe;
He charts the eagle's flight;
Commands the newborn baby's cry.
Refrain:
Hallelujah!
Let all creation stand and sing, "Hallelujah!"
Fill the earth with songs of worship, tell the wonders of creation's King.
2. Creation gazed upon His face;
The ageless One in time's embrace
Unveiled the Father's plan
Of reconciling God to man.
A second Adam walked the earth,
Whose blameless life would break the curse,
Whose death would set us free
To live with Him eternally.
3. Creation longs for His return,
When Christ shall reign upon the earth;
The bitter wars that rage
Are birth pains of a coming age.
When He renews the land and sky,
All heav'n will sing and earth reply
With one resplendent theme:
The glory of our God and King!
Creation sings the Father's song
