Where is the difficulty? Basically, reading classics has brought us into a world that is quite novel to us-this is the Near East world thousands of years ago: backward, barbaric, agriculture-oriented, and non-mechanized. The story of the Bible is staged in such a place. In this world, we meet Abraham, Moses, David and others to see how God treats them. We heard that the prophet lamented idolatry and warned of the sin of judgment. We saw Galilee perform miracles, argue with Jews, die for sinners, rise from the dead and ascend to heaven. We read letters written by Christian teachers, aiming at strange heresies that no longer exist today. Everything is extremely entertaining, but it seems to be thousands of miles apart. Everything belongs to that world, not to this world. We feel as if we are outside the biblical world and look inward. We are just spectators. I thought to myself, "Yes, God created all those things from the beginning, which was very wonderful for the people concerned at that time, but how can these things move us today?" We don't live in the same world. How can the records of God's words and deeds in the biblical era and his dealings with Abraham, Moses, David and others help us living in the space age? "We can't see how the two worlds are connected, so we feel that what we read in the Bible is useless again and again. Many times, these stories themselves are wonderful and brilliant, and the feeling of being rejected makes us quite discouraged.
Many people who read the Bible feel this way, but not everyone knows how to deal with it. It seems that some Christians just hold the attitude of "just beyond their power". Although they sincerely believe in the biblical records, they dare not seek for themselves or hope to have close and direct contact with God like biblical characters. This attitude (which is too common today) is actually an admission that we have no solution to this problem.
What we say to the Bible is so divorced from God's experience, how can we overcome it? There is a lot to say, but the key must be here: this sense of separation is actually an illusion, and its root is: looking for a bridge between us and various biblical characters in the wrong place. In time, space and culture, they and their historical era are really far away from us. But the bridge between them and us is not at this level. This bridge is God himself. Because the god they face is also the god we face. Let's be clear: it's the same god, because God doesn't even change the smallest features. Obviously, to get rid of the feeling that there is an unconnected gap between us and the biblical era, the truth of thinking must be the invariance of God.
Two.
God will not change. This concept is described as follows:
1, God's destiny remains unchanged.
It is "eternal" (Psalm 932) and "eternal king" (yeah. 10: 10), "incorruptible" (Luo. 1: 23) and "the only immortal" (1 Timothy. 6: 16). "Before the mountains were born, you didn't create the earth and the world. From eternity to eternity, you are God "(Psalm 92). The poet said, "Heaven and earth will be destroyed, but you will live forever. Heaven and earth will grow old with outsiders. You will change them like clothes, and they will change. Only you will never change, and your years are endless "(Psalm 1: 0226, etc. God said, "I am the first and the last." (Isaiah 48: 12) The creation has a beginning and an end, but the creator has not. The child asked, "Who created God?" The answer is simple: God doesn't need to be created, because he always exists. He will always exist and never change. He will not grow old, and his life will not decline or fade. He will not gain new authority, nor will he lose what he has. He will not mature or develop. He won't get stronger, weaker or smarter every day. A.W.Pink said: "It can't be better, because it is completely; Since it is complete, he will not go bad. " The first and most basic difference between the creator and the creature is that the latter will change, and their nature allows it to change, while God remains the same and will never stop what he does. As the poem says:
We thrive like leaves.
Withered and gone-you won't change.
This is the power of God's own "infinite life" (see. 7 16).
2. The status of God remains unchanged.
Stress, shock or lobotomy can change a person's character, but nothing can change God's position. In the course of life, interests, tastes, opinions and temper will change greatly. People who are kind and gentle will become violent and eccentric; Good people will become cynical. But the creator will not have a similar change. He will never become more treacherous, compassionate, just and kind than before. From today until forever, God's position will be exactly the same as that of the biblical era.
By the way, two "names" revealed by God in Exodus are very instructive. Of course, the "name" revealed by God is not just a trademark; As far as the relationship with people is concerned, it reveals what God is. In the third chapter of Exodus, God announces to Moses that its name is "I am me forever"? (iamthiam) (section14) —— "Lord" in section15 (Yahweh, meaning "Lord"? It's actually short for the name. This "name" is not a description of God, but a declaration of his own existence and eternity; It reminds mankind that God has life itself? What he is now and what he will be in eternity. Chapter 34 of Exodus also records how God listed all the characteristics of his throne when he "declared the name of the Lord" to Moses. "Jehovah is a compassionate and gracious God. He is slow to get angry, rich in love and honesty. He reserves love for thousands of people, forgives sins, transgressions and sins, and never sins." This declaration supplements the third chapter of Exodus and explains what the Lord is. The announcement in the third chapter of Exodus supplements this point, indicating that God told Moses what he was three thousand years ago and what he is today forever. The moral status of God remains unchanged. Therefore, when talking about God's goodness and holiness, tolerance for people and hatred for sin, Jacob said that God "has not changed, and there is no turning shadow" (Ya 1: 17).
3. The truth of God remains unchanged.
Sometimes people are duplicitous, just because they don't know what they are thinking; In addition, when their views change, they often find that they can't do what they said before. Sometimes we have to take back what we said, because these words can no longer express what we think; Sometimes you have to "break your word" because the hard facts don't match it. People's words are not trustworthy; The word of god is not. God's words stand firm, never waver, and always express his thoughts and ideas effectively. Nothing will make him take back his words; His own thoughts will not change, so he will correct his words. Isaiah said, "All flesh is like grass ... the grass will wither ... but the word of our God will stand forever. Similarly, the poet said, "Lord, your words will always be in the sky ... all your commands are true ... and you will always be firm." The last sentence of (poem 1 1989, 15 1, 152) is translated into the word "truth", and the original text means stability. Therefore, when we read the Bible, we should remember that all God's promises, demands, statements of will and warnings to New Testament believers will be faithfully observed. These are not ancient relics, but the revelation of God to the will of his people from generation to generation, which will be effective forever until the end of the world. As the Lord himself said to us, "The Bible cannot be invalid." (Jn. 10: 35) Nothing can abolish the eternal truth of God.
God's behavior remains unchanged.
How he treats sinners in biblical stories, it continues to treat them equally. He still uses different methods for sinners, making some people listen to the gospel while others don't. Moved some people to listen to repentance, but still made some people disbelieve, thus showing concern for his freedom and sovereignty; He used this to teach the saints that he would not pity someone, and that they found life entirely by his grace, not by their own efforts. He still blesses the people he loves and makes them humble, so all the glory can only belong to him. He still hates the sins of his people and saves their hearts from compromise and rebellion with different internal and external pains and sorrows. He still wants to see his people, give them sorrow and joy, and make their love separate from other things and connect with him. He still told believers to wait for the rewards he promised, so as to teach them to cherish these rewards and force them to pray for them forever before giving them. The Bible records how God treated his people, and he still does so today. The purpose and principle of his work are still the same; He has never tried anything unusual. We know that people's methods are fickle and pitiful-but God doesn't know.
5. God's purpose remains unchanged.
Samuel said, "The mighty one of Israel will not lie and will not regret it, because he is not a man and will not regret it." (1 Sam. 15: 29) Balaam also said with one voice: "God is not a man, so he will never lie or regret it. Didn't he keep his word? Don't you want to realize his speech? " (Min 23 19) Regret refers to reviewing one's own judgment and changing one's action plan. God never does this; He never needs to do this, because his plan is based on a complete understanding and control of everything in the past, present and future, so that there will be no sudden emergencies or unexpected developments that will surprise him. A.W.Pink added: "People change their thoughts and plans repeatedly for two reasons: if they lack the foresight to predict everything, they lack the foresight to do it." But God is omniscient and omnipresent, and he never needs to review his purpose. " The plan of the Lord will last forever, and so will the thoughts in his heart. What he did today has already been planned in eternity. Everything he planned in eternity was also completed in the scheduled time. What he promised to do will surely come true. Therefore, the Bible records "the invariance of his will" so that believers can fully enjoy the promised inheritance; It is also recorded that God proved this will to Abraham, the ancestor of faith, through an unchanging oath, and became evidence for Abraham and us (Hebrews 6: 17, etc. ). All the declared purposes of God are like this. None of this will change. His eternal plan has not changed at all.
There are some scriptures (Gen. 6: 6, etc. ; Section 1511; 24 16; Take three10; Er 2: 13, etc. ) I really regret it. Every time, it is said that God changed his way because some people reacted to his previous way. But it doesn't mean that God can't predict these reactions at all, or that God is completely unexpected and unprepared in the eternal plan. When he begins to deal with a person in a new way, it doesn't mean that he has changed his eternal purpose.
6. The Son of God remains the same.
Jesus Christ "yesterday, today and forever are the same" (come 13: 80). Wherever he touched, he left traces of eternal power. Anyone who comes to God by him can be saved to the end, because he lives long and prays for them. (Hebrews 7: 25) This sentence still applies. He will never change. This fact is a powerful comfort to all God's people.
Three.
In this way, where is the sense of distance and difference between believers in the biblical era and us? I won't. With what? With god's perseverance. We meet him, believe his words, live by faith, and "stand on God's promise", which is basically true, just like believers in the Old Testament and the New Testament. We enter a complex environment every day, which brings comfort; In the nuclear age, life is changeable, and God and his Christ are still the same-full of the ability to save the world. But this idea also brings the challenge of bone erosion. If our God is the same as the God of New Testament believers, our experience of fellowship with God and the standard of Christian behavior are far below them. How can we justify ourselves when we are so complacent? If God does not change, none of us can avoid this problem.
Question discussion:
1. List the six unchanging aspects of God.
2. Compare God's life with the life he created.
3. How do the two revelations of Exodus to the name of God complement each other?
4. Compare God's words with human's.
5. What did God do in biblical times? Is he still doing it today? Why did he do such a thing?
6. Why does God never need to regret? How does the author explain those verses that talk about God's regret?
7. Why can the author say that Jesus Christ is "yesterday, today and forever", and this truth is "a powerful comfort to all the people of God"?
What makes the distance between us and the believers in biblical times disappear? What is the truth that is as true to us as it is to them?
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