Theology – Page 4 – The Words Of David C. Frampton

The Importance of the Resurrection (Part One)

Romans 10:9-10

True Christianity is focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. It proclaims the person of Christ, because salvation comes through knowing Christ and so being united to him by faith. The great call of the gospel is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. True Christianity proclaims Christ’s saving acts that were performed in space/time history. On a literal twenty-four day in the first century, Jesus actually died outside the real city of Jerusalem in Palestine. And three days later he actually rose from the dead. It also proclaims Christ’s word and the word about Christ in the Holy Scriptures. The Lord tells us the meaning of what he did.

Without interpretation, historical events can be meaningless or even misleading. For example, imagine viewing pictures of two groups of men. Both groups appear to be very happy and pleased. Obviously something exciting has occurred as they congratulate a man in the center of the group. You can sense their pride of accomplishment, and perhaps you even might want to smile as you view their happiness. Surely something good has been accomplished for mankind! Then someone interprets both events. The man in the center of the first group is Alexander Graham Bell, but the man in the center of the second group is Adolph Hitler. The interpretation radically alters one’s view of the second group!

It is a fact of history that the tomb of Jesus is empty. Even the most violently determined opponents of Christ and Christianity in the first century could not dispute that fact. But what is the significance or importance of Christ’s resurrection? Let us think about this together. We must start here: The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the basis for justification—for being declared right with God.

Christ’s resurrection is the fulfillment of Christ’s crucifixion.

When Christ died, he died to pay the just penalty for the sins of his people. We deserved God’s wrath and the wages of sin, which are death. In Christ’s death on the cross, we see our death put to death. As John Owen said, it is “the death of death in the death of Christ.”
But the goal of the death of death is life for his people, and that life is eternal life. So in the risen Lord Jesus Christ we have the free gift of righteousness. That is why we read, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified” (cf. Romans 4:25). “Express mention is made only of Christ’s resurrection; which must not be so taken, as though his death was of no moment, but because Christ, by rising again, completed the whole work of our salvation: for though redemption and satisfaction were affected by his death, through which we are reconciled to God; yet the victory over sin, death, and Satan was attained by his resurrection; and hence also came righteousness, newness of life, and the hope of a blessed immortality” (Calvin).

We should think of Christ’s resurrection as the greatest triumph of human history. This day should fill our hearts with inexpressible and glorious joy!

The resurrection of Christ is God’s public declaration.

In Christ’s resurrection, God publicly acknowledges that Christ is all that he claimed to be. Consider John 5:20-29 and all Christ’s “I am” statements.
In Christ’s resurrection God publicly accepts all that Christ came to perform. Did he die to satisfy wrath? The resurrection proclaims that God is satisfied. Did he die to be the sacrifice for our guilt? The resurrection proclaims that God has taken away our guilt. Did he die to remove God’s alienation from us? The resurrection proclaims that God is reconciled to us. Did he die to set us free from the law, sin and Satan? The resurrection proclaims that God has set us free!

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof that something of immense significance has happened. It is like the great day when a large debt is paid and you hold the title to the property free and clear. But in this case it is much better, because in Christ you have eternal life and glory! So then, let us rejoice greatly, knowing that God has accepted every believer in his Risen Son.

Grace and peace, David

The Attributes of God (Part Five)

Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you (Jeremiah 32:17 ESV).

God is unlimited in regard to power; that is, he can do anything that is in conformity with his nature and that he in his holy wisdom chooses to do and in the way he chooses to do it. The theological word for this truth is omnipotence. Neither the grace of his love nor the wrath of his justice can be hindered. He has the all-ability necessary to carry out his plans. The creation itself is testimony to his infinite power (Romans 1:20). The Scriptures many times assert the all-powerfulness of God. Numerous times he is called “Almighty” (Genesis 17:1) or the “All-powerful One” (Revelation 1:8). (See, for example, Zechariah 8 where this idea is used of God 17 times!) Nothing in creation can stop God from doing what he wants to do (Genesis 18:14; Job 42:2; Psalm 115:3; Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Daniel 4:35; Matthew 19:26; Mark 14:36; Luke 1:37; Ephesians 1:19-20; 3:20). Human agency has no bearing upon God’s power (Exodus 15:6-12; 1 Samuel 14:6; Proverbs 21:1).

God reveals his omnipotence in various ways:

Creation – Genesis 1:1, 3; etc.; Exodus 20:11; Psalm 24:1-2; Psalm 33:6-9; Jeremiah 10:12; John 1:3; Acts 17:24; Revelation 14:7
Preservation – Psalm 66:9; 104:10-15; Matthew 5:45; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3
Protection – 2 Chronicles 14:11-12; Isaiah 14:24-27; 46:4
Miracles – Exodus 3:20; 7:3-5; Matthew 8:3; Luke 8:24; John 11:43-44
Judgment – Ezekiel 22:13-16; Revelation 20:11-15

“As holiness is the beauty, so power is the life of all his attributes in their exercise; and as holiness, so power is an adjunct belonging to all, a term that may be given to all. God hath a powerful wisdom to attain his ends without interruption; he hath a powerful mercy to remove our misery; a powerful justice to lay all misery upon offenders; he hath a powerful truth to perform his promises; an infinite power to bestow rewards and inflict penalties. It is to this purpose power is first put in the two things which the Psalmist had heard (Psalm 62:11-12)” (Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God, Vol. 2, pp. 15-16).

“Get an interest in God, and then this glorious power is engaged for you. He gives it under his hand, that he will put forth the whole power of his Godhead for the good of his people… It is a comfort in several cases” (Watson, A Body of Divinity, p. 81).

He can give us power against our remaining sin (Galatians 5:16)
He has power to keep us from temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13)
He is sufficient to support us in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)
He can provide for our needs (Matthew 6:30)
He is able to protect us from our enemies (Romans 8:31)
He will raise us to eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:57)

This attribute of God fuels the faith and hope of his people. We can trust the Holy One, who is able to do much more than we ask or imagine. We can confidently expect eternal glory, because he can get us to be with him forever.

Grace and peace, David

The Attributes of God (Part Four)

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast (Psalm 139:7-10 NIV).

God is unlimited in regard to space, and, like time, he created it. In other words, God is omnipresent. He is bigger than space and encompasses it, and yet quite able to act to act within space. Since God is spirit, he is fully present in every place, though he does not manifest himself in all places in the same way. Though difficult to grasp, God clearly tells us this about his being (1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 139:7-10; Isaiah 40:12; Jeremiah 23:24; Acts 17:27-28; Ephesians 1:23). Listen to what some Christian teachers have said about this awesome truth as they attempted to explain it. “He is everywhere, i.e. his nature hath no bounds; he is not tied to any place, as the creature is, who, when he is present in one place, is absent from another. As no place can be without God, so no place can compass and contain him.” [Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God, Vol. 1, p. 369]

“Space must have its limitations because its existence is commensurate only with the universe. Where there is no creation, there can be no space nor time. But creation cannot be infinite, but must have its bounds, impossible as it may be for us to imagine the non-existence of space. In our mode of existence, space and time are so necessary that we cannot even deny their existence without using words which involve that existence. Thus if we say, ‘Where there is no universe, there is no space,’ the very words ‘where’ and ‘there’ involve the notion of space… When, therefore, we speak of God’s immensity, we mean more than his filling all space, just as when we speak of his eternity, we mean more than his existing throughout all time” (Boyce, Abstract of Systematic Theology, p. 71). The Lord helps us to understand his immensity in regard to space in Isaiah 40:12, 15-17. God measures the heavens, which are incalculably large to us, by his hand. Whole nations of people are only “like a drop in a bucket”.

“God may be conceived of as present in any place, or with any creature, in several modes, first, as to his essence; second, as to his knowledge; third, as manifesting that presence to any intelligent creature; fourth, as exercising his power in any way in or upon the creature. As to essence and knowledge, his presence is the same everywhere and always. As to his self-manifestation and the exercise of his power, his presence differs endlessly in different cases in degree and mode. Thus God is present to the church as he is not to the world. Thus he is present in hell in the manifestation and execution of righteous wrath, while he is present in heaven in the manifestation and communication of gracious love and glory” (A.A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology, p. 108).

The doctrine of God’s omnipresence either produces fear or comfort or a mixture of both to all who think about it. To those who know not God, the very idea of the God of justice and power being present at all times and situations is terrifying. They are always in God’s presence; they cannot run away. But to those who know the Lord, this teaching gives great encouragement and hope. God, Father and Friend, is always near, though everyone else forsakes us. We can never be in a situation where the Lord is not close by to protect, to help, to comfort, and to cheer. Certainly, the reality that the Lord God is everywhere present, wherever we may go or we cannot presently go, should cause us to worship. “Lord, you are with our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. Cause them to remember your glory. Refresh them with your love.”

Grace and peace, David

The Attributes of God (Part Three)

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27a NIV).

God is infinite.

However, people are finite; we are very limited beings. A man might have many cars, but he can only drive one at a time. A woman might have many clothes, but she can only wear one outfit at a time. You might have a couple dream vacation destinations and the means to get to them, but you can only be one place at a time. And we could go on and on! To be infinite means to be without limits. When we use this term in reference to being, we say that God has no limits in regard to time (he is eternal), space (he is everywhere present), and power (he is all-powerful). To think of a Being without limits is beyond our comprehension, because as creatures we are limited in each of these ways. Therefore, we must be careful not to allow our limited concepts to restructure God’s revelation. We must accept by faith what he says, though we lack the ability to extend out to his unlimited nature.

Let us begin with the concept of God’s eternality. Our minds are bound to the concept of time. Everything about us is bound to the endless procession of seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc. But God has no personal relation to time, because he created everything (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16-17). He stands outside of time, but he can and does act inside of it. God uses the word eternal to convey this idea about his being to us (Genesis 21:33; Deuteronomy 33:27; Romans 16:26; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16). To help us grasp what he is like, he uses phrases like “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2) and “who inhabits eternity” (Isaiah 57:15 NKJV). We can also think of God’s “eternal power” (Romans 1:20). God lives forever (Deuteronomy 32:40), and reigns forever (Psalm 9:7; 146:10). His “years never end” (Psalm 102:27), so he is the “eternal King” (Jeremiah 10:10). Consider also Psalm 90:4. A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night (NIV).

“When we have enlarged our captions to the utmost, they still utterly fail to comprehend the vast subject. We stretch out thoughts backward and forward; but no beginning or end of God’s existence appears. To relieve our overstretched imagination, and to stop the unavailing effort to comprehend what is incomprehensible, we bring in the negative idea—no beginning, no end. Duration without beginning and without end, becomes the expression of God’s eternity… We dwell in time, a habitation with its various apartments; and we pass from one to another in order; but God’s habitation is undivided eternity. Our lifetime has its parts, childhood, boyhood, manhood, and old age; but God’s life is as indivisible as his essence” (Dagg, Manual of Theology, pp. 64-65).

God is unlike creation, which is subject to time and decay (Hebrews 1:10-12). Humans are bound by time and our life passes quickly (Psalm 39:4-5; James 4:14). His “years” and vitality never become less or diminish in any way.

The consideration of God’s eternal nature means has numerous practical benefits. First, God warns us not to judge him or to become overly curious (Job 38:4). Second, if we know the Lord, we can always count on him to “be there” for us (Psalm 48:14; 90:2), unlike family and friends that pass away. Third, we have a firm foundation for constant trust (Isaiah 26:4). By grace, we have the confident expectation of life with the Lord forever.

Grace and peace, David

The Attributes of God (Part Two)

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14 NIV).

God is self-existent. God “has life in himself” (John 5:26). This means that he is absolutely independent of all other being. There is nothing that he depends upon for existence. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else (Acts 17:25). God often is called “the living God”, which brings out this characteristic (Deuteronomy 5:26; Joshua 3:10; 1 Samuel 17:26; Psalm 42:2; Isaiah 37:4; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 16:16; Acts 14:15; 2 Corinthians 3:3; 6:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Hebrews 3:12; 10:31).

“The ground of God’s being is not in others, for there is nothing more ultimate than himself. God is uncaused, the one who always is (Exod. 3:14). To ask who caused God is to ask as self-contradictory question in term’s of Jesus’ view of God. Another term conveying the concept of God’s self-existence is ‘aseity’. It comes from the Latin a, meaning from, and se, meaning oneself. God is underived, necessary, nondependent existence” (Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, p.453). “God’s self-existence means that he is not answerable to us or to anybody, and we don’t like that. We want God to give an account of himself, to defend his actions. Although he sometimes explains things to us, he doesn’t have to and often he does not. God doesn’t have to explain himself to anybody” (Boice, The Sovereign God, p. 128).

Since God is self-existent, he is also self-sufficient. God does not need anything in or from creation. Instead, God chose to create and to preserve and to direct what he created for the praise of his glory (Romans 11:36). This means that God does not need worshipers, helpers or defenders. God is self-reliant. In contrast with God, humans are created and dependent. We must rely on God for everything (Acts 17:25,28).

This, like everything other attribute God, should cause us to humble ourselves in his presence, as Job did when he realized God’s majesty (Job 42:1-6). We serve the very independent God. He needs nothing from his creation. “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them” (Romans 11:35 NIV)? Admittedly, this is difficult to comprehend, because even those who boast of their self-reliance and freedom are dependent on others. The supposedly great rulers of the earth must rely on others for protection, food, and assistance. For example, the President does not pilot Air Force One; he does not go anywhere without Secret Service agents around him. A rich woman might have money, but she can’t eat unless someone supplies her food in one way or another. Who makes their own clothes? Even if they do, they’re not making all the components necessary to make clothes. We are pitifully dependent. The next time you lose power, and I’m not wishing this on anyone, you will discover your dependence on electricity. I cannot write these blogs unless I have electricity, the internet, and some form of computer. We are shockingly dependent. We ought to humble ourselves before the living God.

So then, let us praise God for his surpassing greatness. God doesn’t need us, yet he calls us to draw near to him, to experience his love, compassion, joy, and peace, which flow from the overflowing fountain of his self-existence and self-sufficiency. Let us praise the living God!

Grace and peace, David

The Attributes of God (Part One)

He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37 CSB).

The life of the believer is to be about knowing God. I have written on other occasions that true knowledge of God involves a knowledge of facts, a knowledge of skills, and a knowledge of God’s triune person. We definitely need the knowledge of skill, about how God tells us to interact with him. Such skills are usually called “spiritual disciplines”. But to my mind anyway, to join “discipline” with a personal relationship sounds strange and very impersonal. We don’t refer to the husband-wife relationship as “marital disciplines”, do we? “Hi honey, I want to do some ‘marital disciplines’ with you!” Even the illustration is laughable at best. We know a person by interacting with him or her, by sharing life with those we love.

The true knowledge of any person requires accurate facts about him or her. My wife is not married to a tall, handsome, athletic, wealthy, charming guy; she is married to me, and any distortions of the facts about me would disrupt our relationship. It would set her up for countless disappointments. This is one reason why we need accurate truth about God.

What do we mean by the phrase “the attributes of God”? The attributes of God are those characteristics or qualities that mark or define God’s mode of existence or constitute his character. Before we consider God’s attributes, we need to keep certain preliminary points in mind:

Since God actually exists, he has attributes and we can discuss them (Romans 1:20).
When we consider God’s attributes, we are not talking about some made up ideas, because God has revealed himself so that he (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) might be known (Romans 1:19-20; cf. Acts 17:27).
What God has revealed himself must be accepted on faith (Hebrews 11:6). Limited creatures cannot possibly search out and comprehend God in all his majesty. But we can know the truth that he has revealed about himself.

What is God? The Lord God tells us that he is the Creator of all things and that he is living, triune, unlimited, personal spirit. From these words, we at once understand that his being is on a higher level than ours. God’s revelation of his attributes helps us to know more of his being. (The names of God also help us understand God better, but the study of God’s name is a different subject.) As Christians have studied what God makes known about himself in the Scriptures, various attempts have been made to classify God’s attributes to guide our understanding. Most attempts have divided them into two categories, such as metaphysical and moral or incommunicable and communicable. But it is difficult to sort all into just two types. We will choose another approach to find out what he tells us about himself as a living, triune, personal spirit.

Metaphysically – God is self-existent, infinite (eternal, omnipotent and omnipresent), invisible, immutable and incomparable
Ethically – God is holy, righteous (just), faithful and good
Intellectually – God is omniscient and wise
Emotionally – God is loving, gracious, merciful, patient and jealous
Relationally – God is transcendent, immanent and sovereign

As we study God’s attributes, we will seek to understand (truly though not exhaustively) the ideas about God that each attribute conveys. Next, we will contrast God’s being with ours, and finally briefly think about the significance of each attribute to our worship and way of life. Clearly in a short study like this, we will only be able to touch the surface of God’s revelation of himself. But hopefully this will whet our spiritual appetites to search the Scriptures more deeply.

As we study God’s revelation of his attributes, we must not forget reverence. We cannot put God under the microscope, view what we see, and then coldly catalog our observations. If we do not worship, we have not seen him and have become proud in our minds. Nor may we criticize God. We cannot call him to account or dare to “remake God” according to our opinions. The human mind is limited and twisted by sin. We only think clearly when we think in conformity with the Scriptures!

Grace and peace, David