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The Complementary Attributes of God - Part 1
Episode 99 – The Complementary Attributes of God Part 1
Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.
Script:
As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God.”
2 Samuel, Chapter 22, verses 31 and 32, New International Version
********
VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. Today on Anchored by Truth we’re beginning a brand new series that we’re calling “The Complementary Attributes of God.” With me in the studio is RD Fierro, author and founder of Crystal Sea Books who is going to help us start thinking a little more deeply about the amazing God who we serve. RD, would you like to say hello to everyone and then tell us why you decided to call this series “The Complementary Attributes of God?”
RD: Greetings to all the listeners. We are honored that you would take some time out of your busy day to be with us today. We are truly grateful that you would spend some time with us. We want you to know that we regard the fact that you listen to our broadcast or podcast as a sacred trust so we really do try to make sure that everything we bring you first and foremost exalts our God. Toward that end we wanted to take a few episodes of Anchored by Truth and just focus on God. You might think of this series as a bit of an extended meditation on God’s excellence and magnificence. One of the ways to do that is by thinking more deeply about God’s attributes. We’ve called this series “The Complementary Attributes of God” because we specifically want to discuss the fact that all of God’s attributes show different aspects of God’s character but in such a way as to show how astoundingly, amazingly perfect God is.
VK: So, we need to do a bit of a vocabulary lesson. Two words that are pronounced the same but are spelled differently are called heterographs. So the words “complimentary” that is spelled C-O-M-P-L-I-M-E-N-T-A-R-Y and “complementary” which is spelled the same except that it’s “P-L-E” rather than “P-L-I” are heterographs. Their pronunciation is the same but they mean different things. Complimentary with an “I” means to give something away for free as in getting a complimentary meal in a restaurant. Or it can mean to express admiration or praise for someone. If you say “you have beautiful eyes” you’re giving someone a compliment. But the word complementary, with an “E,” means to combine two or more things together in such a way as to emphasize the qualities of each of those things. A lot of people like sweet and sour sauce on egg rolls or fried chicken bites. They wouldn’t want just a sweet sauce nor would they want just a sour sauce. But when the ingredients are combined to make a sweet and sour sauce, many people find the combination very appealing. That’s an example of complementary that we’re talking about here. the title of this series is “The Complementary Attributes of God” - complementary with an “E” because all of God’s attributes work together in perfect harmony. They complement one other. God’s attributes work together in perfect harmony because God is perfect. Unlike human beings where sometimes the attributes we possess can create conflicts within us, God’s attributes always mesh and harmonize perfectly.
RD: Exactly. It is possible to discuss God’s attributes individually but when we do so sometimes we run the risk of making it seem like God’s attributes might be in conflict with one another – like God’s perfect justice might conflict with His mercy. But this is never the case. God’s justice and mercy are both distinctive attributes He possesses but neither one every conflicts or contradicts the other. As you said, and as we heard in our opening scripture, all of God’s ways are perfect.
VK: Well, before we get too much deeper into our discussion of how God’s attributes work in perfect complement to each other let’s listen to a meditation from Crystal Sea’s book, Purposeful Prayers, on one of the most important of God’s attributes: the fact that God is infinite.
-- Meditation on an Infinite God
RD: Well, that meditation was a good introduction to the first two attributes of God that we want to discuss.
VK: Which are?
RD: That God is both infinite and as we’ve alluded to earlier, perfect. But it is important to understand that while God is infinite that does not mean that when God expresses His attributes that it is appropriate to say that that attribute in isolation or by itself is “infinite.”
VK: I think we’re going to need an example of what you’re thinking about.
RD: Let’s take for instance God’s mercy. God is a merciful God and praise the Lord that He is. Otherwise, when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden there would have been no hope for their redemption or for the redemption of any of their descendants, namely us. But while God is infinite there will come a time when He will put a limit on the mercy He extends to those who have rebelled against Him. There will come a time when the activities of this created order will have achieved God’s intended purpose and He will then begin to wrap up this phase of creation in preparation for the next phase. At that time anyone who did not accept God’s gracious offer of salvation through Jesus will then face God’s perfect judgment. In a certain sense, God’s offer of mercy, having been rejected by some, will have expired for those who rejected it. In other words, while God will remain a merciful God the expression of that mercy will have ended for those who rebelled against Him. In that sense, God’s mercy is not infinite. It does have limits as prescribed by God’s perfect justice.
VK: That’s why you sometimes say, jokingly, that if you ever hear a booming voice coming out of heaven that asks whether you want “justice or mercy” you should always ask for mercy. But I see what you’re saying. God, in His essence, is infinite. But as that infinite God superintends His creation He will put limits on how His attributes affect different portions of that creation. So, while God is infinite the expression of His attributes in the created order is not. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. But God put limits on how far He elected to stretch out those heavens. He didn’t have to put limits on them because He has the power to stretch out the heavens as much as He wanted to. He does possess infinite power. But He stretched out the heavens only as much as He wanted to in order to achieve His ordained plans.
RD: Exactly. So before we get into our detailed discussion about how certain of God’s attributes complement, rather than conflict, with one another we need to be sure understand one thing very clearly. God’s attributes never, ever come into conflict with one another. Even attributes that we, as humans, might see as not being in harmony are, in fact, always in harmony within the Godhead. Someone once said that all heresy arises from a misunderstanding of the nature of God. As humans we have a tendency to focus on certain things to the exclusion of others. For instance, 1 John 4:8 says that “God is love.” And indeed He is. But God’s love does not contravene His holiness or His justice. God’s holiness, love, and justice are complementary with one another. A lot of mischief arises because people reason that a loving God would permit people to do anything they want because that’s how some people believe earthly parents should express love for their children. But this is a wrong-headed notion.
VK: Yes. A good earthly parent would never permit their child to do anything that comes into the child’s head. Good earthly parents know that all children need boundaries and restrictions – age appropriate ones for sure – but boundaries nevertheless. A good human parent expresses their love by setting appropriate boundaries for their kids to keep them out of danger. So, it makes sense that God would do the same.
RD: Right. So, that’s exactly what God has done. He has set limits on permissible behavior for His children. Many of those limits are set forth in the 10 commandments which are often considered quaint or antiquated especially the limits on sexual behaviors. God has clearly designated some sexual behaviors as sinful. But today people often will take the position that a “loving” God would never disapprove of any behavior by which one person might choose to affection. But this idea is decidedly unbiblical. Part of the reason they have this misunderstanding is that they don’t know or understand that God is trying to protect His children from harmful behaviors but part arises from a failure to recognize that God’s love is never divorced from His holiness.
VK: So, the point you’re making is that we have to be careful not to elevate one of God’s attributes in such a way that it swamps all of the others. And as human beings we do have a tendency to do that. Because of our fallen nature we can be tempted to try to find reasons to justify our sinful tendencies and one of the ways people do that with God is to try to isolate or fixate on one of God’s attributes such that we ignore the entire body of scripture’s teaching. So where do you want to start with showing that God’s attributes always complement one another?
RD: Let’s complete the discussion that we have started about the interaction of God’s justice and mercy.
VK: Ok. Simply put, justice is obviously the attribute of God’s character which means that God has prescribed standards for equity, fairness, and righteousness and He actively oversees the behavior of people in accordance with those standards. The fact that God is a just God means that, at some point, He is going to set everything right. He may not reward every good deed or punish every wrong or evil action on this side of heaven. But if he doesn’t address them on this side of eternity He will address them when we are called to stand before Him after the second coming of Jesus. Frankly, properly understood, God’s perfectly just character should be one of the thoughts that drives us to the foot of the cross.
RD: Exactly. As you have just said, God is a God of perfect justice. So, at some point God is going to have to punish all sin because all sin is a form of rebellion against God’s ordinances. And a just God cannot just overlook rebellion nor pretend that it doesn’t exist.
VK: And that’s why it’s so important to remember that God is not just a God of justice. He is also a God of mercy. So how do God’s justice and mercy complement one another?
RD: God’s justice means that He must punish wrongdoing. Even human beings recognize that it is not acceptable for evil doers to be permitted to run around doing evil things without consequences – and we’re imperfect. So if we, as imperfect beings, recognize the need for right to be rewarded and evil to be punished how much more clearly does a perfect God understand that. As we mentioned earlier, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden they permitted evil, rebellion, to enter the human race. Their act of rebellion affected not just themselves, but also all of their descendants. This includes everyone who has ever lived. But because God is also a merciful God, God began a plan of redemption immediately after Adam and Eve fell.
VK: And the plan of redemption is an expression of God’s mercy. Mercy is compassion, kindness, or forbearance that is shown to an offender. Or said slightly differently if there was never an offense in the first place there would never be any need for mercy. I think I see why you’ve said that God’s justice and mercy complement each other. Adam and Eve’s rebellion was an offense against God. So, once they committed that offense because God is just He had to do something about that offense. If God were only just, and not merciful, God would have had to punish Adam and Eve which would have been dreadful for them – and us. But because God is merciful in addition to being just God began to ameliorate the consequences of their rebellion.
RD: Yes. It’s important to understand that Adam and Eve’s rebellion had real and immediate consequences for them and us. I sometimes say human beings have the prerogative to not obey God but we don’t have the prerogative to disobey God without consequences. Part of the consequences of their rebellion was that Adam and Eve were expelled from their formerly perfect habitat, the Garden of Eden.
VK: And as a consequence of being expelled from the garden Adam and Eve were now going to have to work much harder in order to sustain themselves. In Genesis, chapter 3, verses 17 through 19 God told Adam: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.” Eve was also going to experience difficulty during child bearing. So, Adam and Eve immediately began to experience some of the consequences of their rebellion. But because of God’s mercy God did put a limit on those consequences.
RD: Yes. God began to exercise His mercy at the same time He pronounced Adam and Eve’s initial punishment. Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden but God promised Eve that one of her descendants would come to defeat Satan, the serpent who had deceived her. We now know that the descendant who did that was Jesus. As we have noted God is an infinite God. So, when Adam, a finite being, rebelled against an infinite God Adam’s sin merited infinite consequences. Well, there’s no way for a finite being to pay an infinite debt. So, because of His mercy God began a plan of redemption whereby God made His own arrangements for the debt to be repaid.
VK: Let’s remind everyone that this condition where a finite being incurred an infinite debt is the whole reason for Jesus, for the incarnation. In order to satisfy an infinite debt it takes an infinite being to make the payment. Jesus was born of an earthly mother but it was the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinitarian Godhead, who created the baby within her womb. So, Jesus had an earthly mother but a heavenly father. This is the doctrine of the dual nature of Christ.
RD: Correct. Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. This is a mysterious doctrine and I doubt any human being understands it comprehensively. Probably the best we can do in stating the doctrine is to use the formula that was adopted at the Council of Chalcedon which states that Jesus has two natures which are neither mixed nor confused, but also which are not separated or divided. The formula goes on to say that each nature retains its own attributes. This means that when Jesus died on the cross the divine nature of Jesus, which was infinite, could fully satisfy the infinite nature of the debt that man owed. I know that some of this can be hard to understand and it takes some thought and meditation to grasp it. But I can’t overstate the importance of Christians coming to an awareness of this doctrine. This is one of the things that makes Christianity unique among all the religions of the world.
VK: I fully agree that doctrine of the incarnation is a real mind bender the first time you hear it – and maybe the millionth time you hear it. It’s so out of character with all of our other experiences. All people, except for Jesus, are single people with one nature. That’s pretty easy to grasp. But when you start talking about a single person with a dual nature – well, in the old days we might have said “that just doesn’t compute.”
RD: It is a tricky proposition. One minister I heard one time said to think of it this way. God is a Trinitarian God which means God has one nature or essence, one “what,” but that essence is expressed eternally in three persons or subsistences, three “whos.” Jesus is a single person, a single “who” but has two natures. As I said, this is a proposition that requires some thought, prayer, and meditation but it really is a key to understanding how God’s justice and mercy complement each other.
VK: And that part, at least, is a little easier to understand. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God, God’s justice meant they incurred an infinite debt, a debt they couldn’t possibly pay. Man is finite. A finite creature can’t pay an infinite debt. And no other creature, even the angels, possesses the ability to pay an infinite debt. The only party that could pay the debt was God Himself because God does possess an infinite nature. And because of His mercy that’s exactly what God sovereignly elected to do. Within the Trinitarian Godhead it was decided that the second person of the trinity would take on a human nature and pay the debt. When you think through all this, it becomes apparent why it’s a good idea to understand the complementary, with an “E,” nature of God’s attributes. In a very real way, the complementary nature of God’s justice and mercy make salvation possible for those of us who place our trust in Jesus.
RD: Exactly. If God were only a God of justice God would have expelled Adam and Eve from Eden and they and all their descendants would have been lost forever. But God’s mercy complements His justice. And of course since God is omniscient, He knows everything. God knew how to prepare a plan to save a people for Himself. He began implementation of that plan at the same time He pronounced the initial consequences for Adam and Eve’s rebellion. The events that are contained in chapter 3 of Genesis are a very clear presentation of how God’s attributes are perfectly integrated.
VK: So, what we’ve seen in this first episode of The Complementary Attributes of God is that all of God’s attributes arise from a God who is both infinite and perfect in His nature. Then, as that infinite and perfect God begins to act within His creation we see the manifestation of His attributes. But it is not really true to say that, as you hear sometimes, that God’s attributes are infinite in their expression is it? And the reason you’re careful about making this distinction is to help people from forming the wrong conclusions. I mean if someone says that God is infinitely merciful they might get the idea that an infinitely merciful God would never consign anyone to hell.
RD: Yes. Back to the observation that we made earlier that it has been said that all heresies begin with a misunderstanding of the nature of God. We’re well aware that there are a great many differing concepts about God that exist around the world and even in this country. But it is important to emphasize that varying concepts about God don’t affect God, as He is, at all. God is who He is. He even said that Moses when Moses asked who he should say was sending him to free the Israelites from Pharaoh. God said, “tell them I am sent you. I am that I am.” God doesn’t change so how we think about Him doesn’t affect His character or nature in the slightest. That’s good news and bad news. Because God doesn’t change we count on His promises to us just as much as the first people He gave them to thousands of years ago. But also, because God doesn’t change, when He prescribed the transcendent moral principles in the 10 commandments almost 4,000 years ago those haven’t changed either.
VK: And it’s important that we understand God as He is. He is not only a God of promise but also a God of peril. He’s a God of mercy and deliverance to those who trust in His son, but He is a God of justice to those who don’t. That’s the rugged truth that we have to accept and proclaim. And that is, of course, why we wanted to launch this series on The Complementary Attributes of God. We have to be faithful to what the Bible tells us about God. And that’s also why we labor so hard on Anchored by Truth to help people build a solid foundation about the fact that the Bible is demonstrably the word of God. If the Bible weren’t the word of God it might be a sort of interesting book of history and philosophy but you could safely ignore the parts about commandments, judgment, eternity, and hell. But if the Bible is the word of God, and we certainly believe that it is, then anyone who ignores those aspects of the Bible are in the same kind of danger Adam and Eve put themselves in when they ignored God’s commandment about the tree in Eden.
RD: Yes. As we continue to work our way through more of God’s attributes we’re going to continue to see this same dynamic at work. It is absolutely true to say that God loves people. God is a God of love. But God’s love is not divorced from his holiness or justice so to properly understand God’s attribute of being loving we must keep God’s entire character in mind. The deeper our understanding of God’s character the better able we are to worship Him, as the Bible says, “in spirit and in truth.”
VK: Well, in our next episode of Anchored by Truth we’re going to explore some more of God’s attributes and see not only how they complement each other, but also how they enable us to truly see what a great God we worship. This sounds like a great time to go to the Lord in prayer. Today let’s listen to a prayer for those who have yet to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Let’s remember always to pray regularly for our nation and communities. We have all endured some trying times recently but the Bible tells us that “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.” The Bible assures that God hears and responds to the sincere prayers of His faithful children.
---- PRAYER FOR THE SPIRITUALLY LOST (JERRY)
VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.”
If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!”
(Bible Quote from the New International Version)
2 Samuel, Chapter 22, verses 31 and 32, New International Version
A Meditation on the Infinite God
God is infinite. In saying this we are describing God by saying what He is not—i.e., God is not finite. In other words, God is not limited in His being; neither time nor space hems Him in or restricts His activity. It is tempting to say that God has no limits, but speaking strictly this is incorrect. God is limited by the attributes of His own character. Thus, God, who is infinitely good, can never do anything evil or unrighteous. God’s infinitude is one of the reasons He is the only object worthy of our worship, adoration, or prayer.
People and angels-- indeed, anything created--are all finite entities. Limits beset our lives. There are limits to our wisdom, strength, money, compassion, love, and every other facet of our experiences and abilities. As finite beings that live in a world of boundaries and restrictions, we are tempted to prioritize our prayer requests. We’re afraid we might try God’s patience, exceed our quota, or give up a “big” thing because we also prayed for a “small” thing. A teenager may not pray about a test because she is praying about his or her parent’s cancer. A man may not pray about what kind of car to buy because he is much more concerned about business or job pressures.
But we must remember that God could hear every request and act upon each one, according to His sovereign pleasure, without diminishing His strength or capacity while doing so. God is not constrained, and indeed cannot be constrained, by anyone or anything other than His own perfect character.
God can raise a nation up, or put one down, just as easily as He can keep a baby bird from falling out of a nest. God can move a galaxy just as easily as He sends a flickering breeze to wave the petal of a daisy. The universe is so vast to us that we cannot see more than a tiny fraction of it. Yet God not only created and maintains the entire cosmos, He could make a million more universes without feeling any strain.
God has given us an open invitation to come boldly before His throne of grace to draw from that storehouse. Nothing can thwart a purpose of God. In drawing near to God through prayer, we align ourselves to the only One who can truly meet our needs and fill our hearts. God’s infinitude assures us that He is never absent or asleep when we approach Him. As finite beings, we will never fully grasp the infinite God, but we can rely surely on the knowledge that as we diligently seek Him He will more fully and completely reveal Himself to us.
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By R.D.Fierro
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Episode 99 – The Complementary Attributes of God Part 1
Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.
Script:
As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God.”
2 Samuel, Chapter 22, verses 31 and 32, New International Version
********
VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K. Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. Today on Anchored by Truth we’re beginning a brand new series that we’re calling “The Complementary Attributes of God.” With me in the studio is RD Fierro, author and founder of Crystal Sea Books who is going to help us start thinking a little more deeply about the amazing God who we serve. RD, would you like to say hello to everyone and then tell us why you decided to call this series “The Complementary Attributes of God?”
RD: Greetings to all the listeners. We are honored that you would take some time out of your busy day to be with us today. We are truly grateful that you would spend some time with us. We want you to know that we regard the fact that you listen to our broadcast or podcast as a sacred trust so we really do try to make sure that everything we bring you first and foremost exalts our God. Toward that end we wanted to take a few episodes of Anchored by Truth and just focus on God. You might think of this series as a bit of an extended meditation on God’s excellence and magnificence. One of the ways to do that is by thinking more deeply about God’s attributes. We’ve called this series “The Complementary Attributes of God” because we specifically want to discuss the fact that all of God’s attributes show different aspects of God’s character but in such a way as to show how astoundingly, amazingly perfect God is.
VK: So, we need to do a bit of a vocabulary lesson. Two words that are pronounced the same but are spelled differently are called heterographs. So the words “complimentary” that is spelled C-O-M-P-L-I-M-E-N-T-A-R-Y and “complementary” which is spelled the same except that it’s “P-L-E” rather than “P-L-I” are heterographs. Their pronunciation is the same but they mean different things. Complimentary with an “I” means to give something away for free as in getting a complimentary meal in a restaurant. Or it can mean to express admiration or praise for someone. If you say “you have beautiful eyes” you’re giving someone a compliment. But the word complementary, with an “E,” means to combine two or more things together in such a way as to emphasize the qualities of each of those things. A lot of people like sweet and sour sauce on egg rolls or fried chicken bites. They wouldn’t want just a sweet sauce nor would they want just a sour sauce. But when the ingredients are combined to make a sweet and sour sauce, many people find the combination very appealing. That’s an example of complementary that we’re talking about here. the title of this series is “The Complementary Attributes of God” - complementary with an “E” because all of God’s attributes work together in perfect harmony. They complement one other. God’s attributes work together in perfect harmony because God is perfect. Unlike human beings where sometimes the attributes we possess can create conflicts within us, God’s attributes always mesh and harmonize perfectly.
RD: Exactly. It is possible to discuss God’s attributes individually but when we do so sometimes we run the risk of making it seem like God’s attributes might be in conflict with one another – like God’s perfect justice might conflict with His mercy. But this is never the case. God’s justice and mercy are both distinctive attributes He possesses but neither one every conflicts or contradicts the other. As you said, and as we heard in our opening scripture, all of God’s ways are perfect.
VK: Well, before we get too much deeper into our discussion of how God’s attributes work in perfect complement to each other let’s listen to a meditation from Crystal Sea’s book, Purposeful Prayers, on one of the most important of God’s attributes: the fact that God is infinite.
-- Meditation on an Infinite God
RD: Well, that meditation was a good introduction to the first two attributes of God that we want to discuss.
VK: Which are?
RD: That God is both infinite and as we’ve alluded to earlier, perfect. But it is important to understand that while God is infinite that does not mean that when God expresses His attributes that it is appropriate to say that that attribute in isolation or by itself is “infinite.”
VK: I think we’re going to need an example of what you’re thinking about.
RD: Let’s take for instance God’s mercy. God is a merciful God and praise the Lord that He is. Otherwise, when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden there would have been no hope for their redemption or for the redemption of any of their descendants, namely us. But while God is infinite there will come a time when He will put a limit on the mercy He extends to those who have rebelled against Him. There will come a time when the activities of this created order will have achieved God’s intended purpose and He will then begin to wrap up this phase of creation in preparation for the next phase. At that time anyone who did not accept God’s gracious offer of salvation through Jesus will then face God’s perfect judgment. In a certain sense, God’s offer of mercy, having been rejected by some, will have expired for those who rejected it. In other words, while God will remain a merciful God the expression of that mercy will have ended for those who rebelled against Him. In that sense, God’s mercy is not infinite. It does have limits as prescribed by God’s perfect justice.
VK: That’s why you sometimes say, jokingly, that if you ever hear a booming voice coming out of heaven that asks whether you want “justice or mercy” you should always ask for mercy. But I see what you’re saying. God, in His essence, is infinite. But as that infinite God superintends His creation He will put limits on how His attributes affect different portions of that creation. So, while God is infinite the expression of His attributes in the created order is not. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. But God put limits on how far He elected to stretch out those heavens. He didn’t have to put limits on them because He has the power to stretch out the heavens as much as He wanted to. He does possess infinite power. But He stretched out the heavens only as much as He wanted to in order to achieve His ordained plans.
RD: Exactly. So before we get into our detailed discussion about how certain of God’s attributes complement, rather than conflict, with one another we need to be sure understand one thing very clearly. God’s attributes never, ever come into conflict with one another. Even attributes that we, as humans, might see as not being in harmony are, in fact, always in harmony within the Godhead. Someone once said that all heresy arises from a misunderstanding of the nature of God. As humans we have a tendency to focus on certain things to the exclusion of others. For instance, 1 John 4:8 says that “God is love.” And indeed He is. But God’s love does not contravene His holiness or His justice. God’s holiness, love, and justice are complementary with one another. A lot of mischief arises because people reason that a loving God would permit people to do anything they want because that’s how some people believe earthly parents should express love for their children. But this is a wrong-headed notion.
VK: Yes. A good earthly parent would never permit their child to do anything that comes into the child’s head. Good earthly parents know that all children need boundaries and restrictions – age appropriate ones for sure – but boundaries nevertheless. A good human parent expresses their love by setting appropriate boundaries for their kids to keep them out of danger. So, it makes sense that God would do the same.
RD: Right. So, that’s exactly what God has done. He has set limits on permissible behavior for His children. Many of those limits are set forth in the 10 commandments which are often considered quaint or antiquated especially the limits on sexual behaviors. God has clearly designated some sexual behaviors as sinful. But today people often will take the position that a “loving” God would never disapprove of any behavior by which one person might choose to affection. But this idea is decidedly unbiblical. Part of the reason they have this misunderstanding is that they don’t know or understand that God is trying to protect His children from harmful behaviors but part arises from a failure to recognize that God’s love is never divorced from His holiness.
VK: So, the point you’re making is that we have to be careful not to elevate one of God’s attributes in such a way that it swamps all of the others. And as human beings we do have a tendency to do that. Because of our fallen nature we can be tempted to try to find reasons to justify our sinful tendencies and one of the ways people do that with God is to try to isolate or fixate on one of God’s attributes such that we ignore the entire body of scripture’s teaching. So where do you want to start with showing that God’s attributes always complement one another?
RD: Let’s complete the discussion that we have started about the interaction of God’s justice and mercy.
VK: Ok. Simply put, justice is obviously the attribute of God’s character which means that God has prescribed standards for equity, fairness, and righteousness and He actively oversees the behavior of people in accordance with those standards. The fact that God is a just God means that, at some point, He is going to set everything right. He may not reward every good deed or punish every wrong or evil action on this side of heaven. But if he doesn’t address them on this side of eternity He will address them when we are called to stand before Him after the second coming of Jesus. Frankly, properly understood, God’s perfectly just character should be one of the thoughts that drives us to the foot of the cross.
RD: Exactly. As you have just said, God is a God of perfect justice. So, at some point God is going to have to punish all sin because all sin is a form of rebellion against God’s ordinances. And a just God cannot just overlook rebellion nor pretend that it doesn’t exist.
VK: And that’s why it’s so important to remember that God is not just a God of justice. He is also a God of mercy. So how do God’s justice and mercy complement one another?
RD: God’s justice means that He must punish wrongdoing. Even human beings recognize that it is not acceptable for evil doers to be permitted to run around doing evil things without consequences – and we’re imperfect. So if we, as imperfect beings, recognize the need for right to be rewarded and evil to be punished how much more clearly does a perfect God understand that. As we mentioned earlier, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden they permitted evil, rebellion, to enter the human race. Their act of rebellion affected not just themselves, but also all of their descendants. This includes everyone who has ever lived. But because God is also a merciful God, God began a plan of redemption immediately after Adam and Eve fell.
VK: And the plan of redemption is an expression of God’s mercy. Mercy is compassion, kindness, or forbearance that is shown to an offender. Or said slightly differently if there was never an offense in the first place there would never be any need for mercy. I think I see why you’ve said that God’s justice and mercy complement each other. Adam and Eve’s rebellion was an offense against God. So, once they committed that offense because God is just He had to do something about that offense. If God were only just, and not merciful, God would have had to punish Adam and Eve which would have been dreadful for them – and us. But because God is merciful in addition to being just God began to ameliorate the consequences of their rebellion.
RD: Yes. It’s important to understand that Adam and Eve’s rebellion had real and immediate consequences for them and us. I sometimes say human beings have the prerogative to not obey God but we don’t have the prerogative to disobey God without consequences. Part of the consequences of their rebellion was that Adam and Eve were expelled from their formerly perfect habitat, the Garden of Eden.
VK: And as a consequence of being expelled from the garden Adam and Eve were now going to have to work much harder in order to sustain themselves. In Genesis, chapter 3, verses 17 through 19 God told Adam: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.” Eve was also going to experience difficulty during child bearing. So, Adam and Eve immediately began to experience some of the consequences of their rebellion. But because of God’s mercy God did put a limit on those consequences.
RD: Yes. God began to exercise His mercy at the same time He pronounced Adam and Eve’s initial punishment. Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden but God promised Eve that one of her descendants would come to defeat Satan, the serpent who had deceived her. We now know that the descendant who did that was Jesus. As we have noted God is an infinite God. So, when Adam, a finite being, rebelled against an infinite God Adam’s sin merited infinite consequences. Well, there’s no way for a finite being to pay an infinite debt. So, because of His mercy God began a plan of redemption whereby God made His own arrangements for the debt to be repaid.
VK: Let’s remind everyone that this condition where a finite being incurred an infinite debt is the whole reason for Jesus, for the incarnation. In order to satisfy an infinite debt it takes an infinite being to make the payment. Jesus was born of an earthly mother but it was the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinitarian Godhead, who created the baby within her womb. So, Jesus had an earthly mother but a heavenly father. This is the doctrine of the dual nature of Christ.
RD: Correct. Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. This is a mysterious doctrine and I doubt any human being understands it comprehensively. Probably the best we can do in stating the doctrine is to use the formula that was adopted at the Council of Chalcedon which states that Jesus has two natures which are neither mixed nor confused, but also which are not separated or divided. The formula goes on to say that each nature retains its own attributes. This means that when Jesus died on the cross the divine nature of Jesus, which was infinite, could fully satisfy the infinite nature of the debt that man owed. I know that some of this can be hard to understand and it takes some thought and meditation to grasp it. But I can’t overstate the importance of Christians coming to an awareness of this doctrine. This is one of the things that makes Christianity unique among all the religions of the world.
VK: I fully agree that doctrine of the incarnation is a real mind bender the first time you hear it – and maybe the millionth time you hear it. It’s so out of character with all of our other experiences. All people, except for Jesus, are single people with one nature. That’s pretty easy to grasp. But when you start talking about a single person with a dual nature – well, in the old days we might have said “that just doesn’t compute.”
RD: It is a tricky proposition. One minister I heard one time said to think of it this way. God is a Trinitarian God which means God has one nature or essence, one “what,” but that essence is expressed eternally in three persons or subsistences, three “whos.” Jesus is a single person, a single “who” but has two natures. As I said, this is a proposition that requires some thought, prayer, and meditation but it really is a key to understanding how God’s justice and mercy complement each other.
VK: And that part, at least, is a little easier to understand. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God, God’s justice meant they incurred an infinite debt, a debt they couldn’t possibly pay. Man is finite. A finite creature can’t pay an infinite debt. And no other creature, even the angels, possesses the ability to pay an infinite debt. The only party that could pay the debt was God Himself because God does possess an infinite nature. And because of His mercy that’s exactly what God sovereignly elected to do. Within the Trinitarian Godhead it was decided that the second person of the trinity would take on a human nature and pay the debt. When you think through all this, it becomes apparent why it’s a good idea to understand the complementary, with an “E,” nature of God’s attributes. In a very real way, the complementary nature of God’s justice and mercy make salvation possible for those of us who place our trust in Jesus.
RD: Exactly. If God were only a God of justice God would have expelled Adam and Eve from Eden and they and all their descendants would have been lost forever. But God’s mercy complements His justice. And of course since God is omniscient, He knows everything. God knew how to prepare a plan to save a people for Himself. He began implementation of that plan at the same time He pronounced the initial consequences for Adam and Eve’s rebellion. The events that are contained in chapter 3 of Genesis are a very clear presentation of how God’s attributes are perfectly integrated.
VK: So, what we’ve seen in this first episode of The Complementary Attributes of God is that all of God’s attributes arise from a God who is both infinite and perfect in His nature. Then, as that infinite and perfect God begins to act within His creation we see the manifestation of His attributes. But it is not really true to say that, as you hear sometimes, that God’s attributes are infinite in their expression is it? And the reason you’re careful about making this distinction is to help people from forming the wrong conclusions. I mean if someone says that God is infinitely merciful they might get the idea that an infinitely merciful God would never consign anyone to hell.
RD: Yes. Back to the observation that we made earlier that it has been said that all heresies begin with a misunderstanding of the nature of God. We’re well aware that there are a great many differing concepts about God that exist around the world and even in this country. But it is important to emphasize that varying concepts about God don’t affect God, as He is, at all. God is who He is. He even said that Moses when Moses asked who he should say was sending him to free the Israelites from Pharaoh. God said, “tell them I am sent you. I am that I am.” God doesn’t change so how we think about Him doesn’t affect His character or nature in the slightest. That’s good news and bad news. Because God doesn’t change we count on His promises to us just as much as the first people He gave them to thousands of years ago. But also, because God doesn’t change, when He prescribed the transcendent moral principles in the 10 commandments almost 4,000 years ago those haven’t changed either.
VK: And it’s important that we understand God as He is. He is not only a God of promise but also a God of peril. He’s a God of mercy and deliverance to those who trust in His son, but He is a God of justice to those who don’t. That’s the rugged truth that we have to accept and proclaim. And that is, of course, why we wanted to launch this series on The Complementary Attributes of God. We have to be faithful to what the Bible tells us about God. And that’s also why we labor so hard on Anchored by Truth to help people build a solid foundation about the fact that the Bible is demonstrably the word of God. If the Bible weren’t the word of God it might be a sort of interesting book of history and philosophy but you could safely ignore the parts about commandments, judgment, eternity, and hell. But if the Bible is the word of God, and we certainly believe that it is, then anyone who ignores those aspects of the Bible are in the same kind of danger Adam and Eve put themselves in when they ignored God’s commandment about the tree in Eden.
RD: Yes. As we continue to work our way through more of God’s attributes we’re going to continue to see this same dynamic at work. It is absolutely true to say that God loves people. God is a God of love. But God’s love is not divorced from his holiness or justice so to properly understand God’s attribute of being loving we must keep God’s entire character in mind. The deeper our understanding of God’s character the better able we are to worship Him, as the Bible says, “in spirit and in truth.”
VK: Well, in our next episode of Anchored by Truth we’re going to explore some more of God’s attributes and see not only how they complement each other, but also how they enable us to truly see what a great God we worship. This sounds like a great time to go to the Lord in prayer. Today let’s listen to a prayer for those who have yet to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Let’s remember always to pray regularly for our nation and communities. We have all endured some trying times recently but the Bible tells us that “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.” The Bible assures that God hears and responds to the sincere prayers of His faithful children.
---- PRAYER FOR THE SPIRITUALLY LOST (JERRY)
VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.”
If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!”
(Bible Quote from the New International Version)
2 Samuel, Chapter 22, verses 31 and 32, New International Version
A Meditation on the Infinite God
God is infinite. In saying this we are describing God by saying what He is not—i.e., God is not finite. In other words, God is not limited in His being; neither time nor space hems Him in or restricts His activity. It is tempting to say that God has no limits, but speaking strictly this is incorrect. God is limited by the attributes of His own character. Thus, God, who is infinitely good, can never do anything evil or unrighteous. God’s infinitude is one of the reasons He is the only object worthy of our worship, adoration, or prayer.
People and angels-- indeed, anything created--are all finite entities. Limits beset our lives. There are limits to our wisdom, strength, money, compassion, love, and every other facet of our experiences and abilities. As finite beings that live in a world of boundaries and restrictions, we are tempted to prioritize our prayer requests. We’re afraid we might try God’s patience, exceed our quota, or give up a “big” thing because we also prayed for a “small” thing. A teenager may not pray about a test because she is praying about his or her parent’s cancer. A man may not pray about what kind of car to buy because he is much more concerned about business or job pressures.
But we must remember that God could hear every request and act upon each one, according to His sovereign pleasure, without diminishing His strength or capacity while doing so. God is not constrained, and indeed cannot be constrained, by anyone or anything other than His own perfect character.
God can raise a nation up, or put one down, just as easily as He can keep a baby bird from falling out of a nest. God can move a galaxy just as easily as He sends a flickering breeze to wave the petal of a daisy. The universe is so vast to us that we cannot see more than a tiny fraction of it. Yet God not only created and maintains the entire cosmos, He could make a million more universes without feeling any strain.
God has given us an open invitation to come boldly before His throne of grace to draw from that storehouse. Nothing can thwart a purpose of God. In drawing near to God through prayer, we align ourselves to the only One who can truly meet our needs and fill our hearts. God’s infinitude assures us that He is never absent or asleep when we approach Him. As finite beings, we will never fully grasp the infinite God, but we can rely surely on the knowledge that as we diligently seek Him He will more fully and completely reveal Himself to us.