Re: ASSIGNMENT 5

Omnipotent

Although salvation is given only to those who have faith (Rom. 1:16-17), everyone sees the awesome power of God at work. We all see it because we all perceive God’s incredible universe (Rom. 1:20). The universe in which we live was made with such unified order that the conditions for life are perfect – so perfect, in fact, that the existence of life “defies explanation by conventional physical laws.” (Gerald Schroeder, Ph.D.). No one knows how God made and sustains the universe (See Job ch. 38-39) because his power is incomprehensible to our finite, created minds. Yet, we have access to that power in Christ (Rom. 8:37-38).

Astonishingly, many have seen God’s mighty works and concluded, “Some things are too great, even for God.” They have answered God, “Yes, your hand is ‘shortened.’” (Num. 11:23). We can become so amazed and overwhelmed by finite circumstances that we neglect this principle: the source is more powerful than the things emanating from it (Tozer). God warned us: “beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted…” So we must remember that all things are subject to God’s power and sovereignty (see Heb. 2:8, Rom. 8:38-39).

Transcendent

A relationship with God is unlike any other because Jesus is unlike anyone else we will ever meet. He did refer to his followers as his “friends,” (Joh. 15:14), and he was known as a friend of sinners. (Luk. 7:34). However, when one sinner realized who Jesus was, her reaction was inappropriate for someone who was encountering only a friend (even her best friend). It was appropriate only for someone who was in the presence of God, and it was not unlike the reactions of the prophets and heavenly creatures (Isa. 6:3-4, Dan 10:8-9, Rev. 4:8). She bowed down before him, and she kissed and anointed his feet. (Luk. 7:36-38).

The woman mentioned in the Gospel of Luke realized something important – that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9). We belong to him and he transcends all things (Eph. 1:17-22). This is why he can authoritatively say things like “your sins are forgiven,” (Luk. 5:23) “do what I command,” (Joh 15:14) and “sin no more” (Joh. 5:14, 8:11), despite calling us “friends.”

Omnipresent

God is not some mischievous spirit who wants to play hide-and-seek with us without ever letting us find him. Nor is he the benevolent watch-maker of deism who left the universe to sustain itself. Like the newborn’s instinct to search for its mother’s milk, man’s desire to find God was placed inside of him for a reason (Ecc. 3:11, Act. 17:26-27) – God is not beyond man's grasp. Rather, he can be found as he is much closer than we might have guessed (Act. 17:27). He is not only “the Most High,” but he is also “the Most Nigh.” God is closer to us than the air we breathe; he's nearer to the fish than the sea (See Act. 17:28). God is continually present and personally involved in every aspect of life and the universe (See Job ch. 38-39).

Furthermore, God's involvement is not limited to upholding us physically. Both physical and spiritual life depend on the sustaining power of “the word,” which is near us (Rom. 10:8, Joh. 1:1-5). Although God’s righteousness is far from us in one sense, (Isa. 64:6 – man’s righteousness is like filthy rags), it is not far away at all in another sense. Romans 10:6-9 tell us that God’s righteousness is very accessible through faith in Christ. We can have it by believing in “the word.”