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God in the Ways of God
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- God is omniscient and man is not. God is not a man, thus He would never need to change His mind; what He wills, He does. Not only does God know all things but He can do all things; He is omnipotent. God is not even limited to time or space, nor any single place; He is omnipresent. THESE are the ways of God. Since He is this way in His person, when He is in THESE ways at any certain time, what God wills or thinks, what He speaks or does – it is irresistible, determinate, eternal, invariable (Jas. 1:17), changeless (Mal. 3:6), and immutable (Heb. 6:17-18). There is something the inspired word of God is seeking to make known to humanity when it states that, “God is not a man” (Num. 23:19), and again, “He is not a man” (1 Sam. 15:29). Furthermore, concerning the deeds of God in response to sin or righteousness, resulting in damning wrath or salvation for those in Covenant promise with God, He says, “I am God and not a man” (Hos. 11:9), and again, “I am the LORD, I change not” (Mal. 3:6)…but if ever God does act inconsistent with His higher ways, it is then we must remember, even again, “He is not a man” (Job 9:32). The subject matter which is contained within the scope of the former two sentences is so vast and shockingly relevant to you and me, that to discover and explain its significance with decent success, the body of text will stretch across this entire book, but as for the beginnings of our study, let the readers be introduced to these words and phrases, and understand first, “God in the ways of God”:
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Malachi 3:6
"For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." (Ex. 32:10, Neh. 9:31) James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him. |
What He is in Person He is in His ways, which are His thoughts, words, and deeds:
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Numbers 23:19
19 God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good? 1 Samuel 15:29 "And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for He is not a man, that He should repent." Hebrews 6:17-18 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Titus 1:2 "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;" Romans 11:29 “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” |
God always fulfills His will and therefore controls the heart and spirit of man:
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Revelation 17:16-17
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. Deuteronomy 2:30 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. NOTE: God passively and ordinately hardens men’s hearts. We cannot say that He thinks the evil thoughts Himself… Does He harden their hearts passively through circumstances, or through His own work in the heart? Whatever it is, God takes ownership of it. We would transgress our comprehension boundaries to presume we could fully understand how God does what He says He does.
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His purposes and thoughts are mightily Godlike and therefore irresistible:
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Isaiah 14:24-27
24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: 25 That I will break the Assyrian in My land, and upon My mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. 26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. 27 For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? |
His purposes, thoughts, and will are His counsel and pleasure:
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Isaiah 46:10-11
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth My counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. Job 23:13 13 But He is in one mind, and who can turn Him? and what His soul desireth, even that He doeth. |
In all things whether past, present, or future we can be assured that what is done on earth is done “for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:28). Be it a sin against mankind, small or great, or be it the greatest sin against God, namely the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, it is done according to “whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:28).
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Acts 4:23-31
23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, Thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25 Who by the mouth of Thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. 27 For of a truth against Thy Holy Child Jesus, Whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28 For to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done. 29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak Thy word, 30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of Thy Holy Child Jesus. 31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. |
And this has been the teaching and recognition through all the centuries, but will you recognize it? Regarding the common thought of the Jews toward the “movement” which arose with Jesus Christ, it was spoken in the light of the irresistible sovereignty of God:
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Acts 5:38-39 38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: 39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
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According to His counsel, things are predestinated to salvation:
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Ephesians 1:11
11 In Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: |
According to His ordination, men are predestinated to condemnation:
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Jude 4
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. |
God sets the course for all damned men to be just as Eli’s sons who, “hearkened not…because the LORD would slay them” (1 Sam. 2:25). Like as it was said of the Canaanites, even so it will be said to all that it is ordained upon, “it was of the LORD to harden their hearts…that He might destroy them utterly” (Josh. 12:20). A panoramic view of God’s sovereignty reveals that God is in control of the full expanse of things in the universe of His creation; He rules the systems made by man – like kingdoms, classes, authority, and prosperity (or man’s inventions and works) – all of this! In every kingdom on earth, and more, all is under God’s control, but look closer! A zoomed-in picture of God’s sovereignty at work is that He “declareth unto man what is his thought”! Amos 4:13 reveals this panoramic and zoomed in detail of God’s sovereign glory with descriptive language that is God-breathed. Wonder as you read it:
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"For, lo, He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is His Name" (Amos 4:13).
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God “declareth unto man what is his thought,” so that, a "man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way" (Proverbs 20:24)? God calls nations of men, with kings, armies, and orders of authority and rule, they all obey His orders and serve His purposes, but like brute animals they don’t even know it! He calls them like as a human makes a “hiss” (Isa. 5:26), as a master to a trained pet, like to a ravenous bird (Isa. 46:11), and they all like bees and flies come swarming forth for war (Isa. 7:18, Zech. 10:8) – an ordered chaos! God’s commands from heaven are declared in the hearts of man! He elaborates on His sovereign powers in the humiliation of one of the world’s greatest human sovereigns, Nebuchadnezzar by name. God self-declares that He does all great things, and He rules all great men. “He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, and He maketh them to stagger like a drunken man” (Job 12:23-25). “Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it” (Amos 3:6)? Behold, God is sovereign!
Put your mind at rest from trying to understand perfectly, dear saint; you cannot understand how this is just. In the greatest treatise we have in the whole of scripture arguing the defence of God’s absolute sovereignty, all the evidence and truth leads the readers to one question – “if all this is true, how can God be just in condemning us?” This very question is asked and answered in Romans chapter 9; read carefully and find the answer:
Put your mind at rest from trying to understand perfectly, dear saint; you cannot understand how this is just. In the greatest treatise we have in the whole of scripture arguing the defence of God’s absolute sovereignty, all the evidence and truth leads the readers to one question – “if all this is true, how can God be just in condemning us?” This very question is asked and answered in Romans chapter 9; read carefully and find the answer:
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Romans 9:18-23
18 Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast Thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, |
My dear brethren, my fellow vessels of clay, if we cannot understand the footstool of God, how can we understand His heavenly Throne of Judgment? If we cannot understand things on earth, which is His footstool, how can we understand His Throne Judgments made in heaven? If we cannot reach our hand to grasp the circumference of His pinky finger, how can our comprehension grasp the incomprehensible mind of our Maker!? Our every supplication should be preceded with an awareness of our state before this Awesome Deity! Many men murmur against God, but Abraham saw it a weighty thing to even speak to God. In righteousness he had faith, in humility he did premeditate, before speaking to God he did inculcate: “Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes” (Genesis 19:27).
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Mankind may desire to supplicate, but no prayer can he worthily generate.
But dust and ashes I am, just an earthly creature. Under the Sun I burn, in the night a sleeper. As for God, I cannot grasp His pinky finger! God sows together the threads of time, He is arrayed in it like a kingly gown, Until finally, BEHOLD, He is descending, and His coming is Heaven-bringing, Because God transforms everything, all around, by Heavenly Jerusalem coming down! His Kingdom blooms after apocalyptic dooms, the beauty of a heavenly flower falling to earth like a rain shower. Mountains melting, the earth under God’s smelting. The heavens rolled back, and nothing is left intact. In pools of blood, He returns wicked men to the mud. But the saints, they will not break, Even while the earth staggers and shakes. From dust and ashes they will arise, alive, like lightning to the sky they will be translated, having glorified eyes to see God–face to face–the same One Who they once carnally hated. They will wonder, still, at His right hand majesty, even though they are now glorified-sinless, everlastingly Gathered around with gaping eyes – wondering how – IT IS THE END OF DAYS! Heavenly saints, GASP! It is the end, AT LAST! For, lo, The Rod of Iron He’s grasping! The Universe Bows…Hallelujah! The Nations in recreation, He subdues all scholastically. God becomes all in all, and the Father takes supremacy! |
Guard your mind from pride, for we sit at the foothills of His condescension! In all your learning, saint, learn to silently trust, giving glory to the God of wonders! If we cannot understand even how He is, that He is three and one, how can we think to understand the galaxies of His Judgment and the intricacies of His ways? If you saw Him rightly, dear one, you would remember that God is greater and more fearful than the Leviathan. If you understood “Him of Whom we have to do,” you would not answer Him again.
So fearful is the sight of the Almighty that He says, “there shall no man see Me, and live” (Ex. 33:20)! God dwelt in the midst of and walked with Judah and Israel. It was written, “Judah was His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion” (Psalm 114:2). Oh Israel! Did you know that when sitting on the Banks of the Red Sea, there the sea caught a glimpse of the Almighty! Oh Israel, it is because God was in the midst of thee! Therefore was it said that thou art His sanctuary. “The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? Thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? Ye Mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs? Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters” (Psalm 114:3-8). What ailed the sea ought to ail you and me. What struck the sea to flee? It was because of WHOM it did see, and the God of Israel has made a Covenant with you and me! He turns mountains into rams, rivers to shining walls. He can make Mount Everest into a skipping ram, the Rocky Mountains into lambs. The wicked were born to be damned, the righteous in a merciful, mysterious walk, preplanned. Now saints, He is your Shepherd, and by His written word He calls. Do you hear His voice? His commands do not necessitate man’s free will to choose, but, “of His own will begat He us with the word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18).
In His mercy He has condescended to our humble finite state. So great is the Leviathan that he does not “make many supplications unto thee? Will he speak soft words unto thee? Will he make a covenant with thee?” Indeed he does none of these things (Job 41:3-4). How much more fearful is it that the Almighty creator of the Leviathan has condescended to speak soft words to us and make a Covenant with man? Even at the sight of the Leviathan you would be cast down to the ground! Do you think you will fight with the Leviathan? “Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before Me? Who hath prevented Me, that I should repay him? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is Mine” (Job 41:8-11). God has condescended to our humble stature and spoken soft works to us. These words are in the softness of a page contained in a holy Book. Should we then wrangle with God? Are we forgetting the gravity of this great God, “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; Whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting” (1 Tim. 6:16)!? Should we receive His written word with less fearful trembling than if we were in His very presence as it was spoken? Before His brilliant face that shines like the edges of the sun, no man would even be able to stand before Him, let alone question His Almighty Judgments. It would be a serpent’s pride to even question what was spoken; how then can you question what is written?
So fearful is the sight of the Almighty that He says, “there shall no man see Me, and live” (Ex. 33:20)! God dwelt in the midst of and walked with Judah and Israel. It was written, “Judah was His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion” (Psalm 114:2). Oh Israel! Did you know that when sitting on the Banks of the Red Sea, there the sea caught a glimpse of the Almighty! Oh Israel, it is because God was in the midst of thee! Therefore was it said that thou art His sanctuary. “The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? Thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? Ye Mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs? Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters” (Psalm 114:3-8). What ailed the sea ought to ail you and me. What struck the sea to flee? It was because of WHOM it did see, and the God of Israel has made a Covenant with you and me! He turns mountains into rams, rivers to shining walls. He can make Mount Everest into a skipping ram, the Rocky Mountains into lambs. The wicked were born to be damned, the righteous in a merciful, mysterious walk, preplanned. Now saints, He is your Shepherd, and by His written word He calls. Do you hear His voice? His commands do not necessitate man’s free will to choose, but, “of His own will begat He us with the word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18).
In His mercy He has condescended to our humble finite state. So great is the Leviathan that he does not “make many supplications unto thee? Will he speak soft words unto thee? Will he make a covenant with thee?” Indeed he does none of these things (Job 41:3-4). How much more fearful is it that the Almighty creator of the Leviathan has condescended to speak soft words to us and make a Covenant with man? Even at the sight of the Leviathan you would be cast down to the ground! Do you think you will fight with the Leviathan? “Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before Me? Who hath prevented Me, that I should repay him? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is Mine” (Job 41:8-11). God has condescended to our humble stature and spoken soft works to us. These words are in the softness of a page contained in a holy Book. Should we then wrangle with God? Are we forgetting the gravity of this great God, “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; Whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting” (1 Tim. 6:16)!? Should we receive His written word with less fearful trembling than if we were in His very presence as it was spoken? Before His brilliant face that shines like the edges of the sun, no man would even be able to stand before Him, let alone question His Almighty Judgments. It would be a serpent’s pride to even question what was spoken; how then can you question what is written?
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"A King that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with His eyes." (Proverbs 20:8)
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Will you lay your hand upon the majesty of His Judgment and intermeddle with wisdom before His throne? Are you so arrogant as to suppose you could judge the price of His justice or the value of His sayings? You strike war with God if you fight against His word, but if you were there would you not be cast down even at the sight of Him? If none can stand before the Leviathan, who can stand before God? No, we will fall as dead men in His Holy presence. He has spoken to us in soft words, even through the words of an inspired, holy Book. He has made a covenant with us! Let us therefore not stumble at what is written. It is pride to seek an understanding of forbidden knowledge. The highminded do fret in anxiety until they vent their ungodly wrath and wrangle against the higher things of God. God hides things from us for our good, and these things we cannot understand. Job grievously sinned against the Lord by transgressing the limitations of his understanding; he ventured to judge God and contended with the justice of His doings. My reader, you who unceasingly strain because you heart cries out, “how can this be righteous?!” You need the humility of Job, but I hope it comes at a lesser cost than how he did obtain it. God said to Job fearful sayings so that you would learn to copy his humility. Now listen up! Will you lay your hand upon your mouth? The Leviathan is a whimper next to the Almighty’s temper. Before this beast you may die but your soul to the Almighty will fly with an eternal destiny by and by.
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Job 40:1-14
1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said, 2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. 3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer Thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. 5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further. 6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 7 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me. 8 Wilt thou also disannul My judgment? wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest be righteous? 9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like Him? 10 Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty. 11 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. 12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. 13 Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. 14 Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee. |
There are many things written and taught by the Lord. Except we have faith, they will serve as a stumbling block to our harm. If we don’t have the humble faith wherein we receive the Word of God as “seeing Him Who is invisible,” we will not fear His Word as we ought, and we will be offended like the rest. If we believe not, we forget the glory of His majesty. If we believe not, we forget the limitations of our earthly tabernacle and proudly err. In the earthly days of Christ Jesus, He preached a message causing most people to offend. After the message was preached, “many therefore of His disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples murmured at it, He said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before (John 6:60-62)?” "Thou, even Thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in Thy sight when once Thou art angry" (Psalm 76:7)?
Jesus knew that their pride had caused them to overlook the Lordship and brilliant glory of the One Who was speaking to them. If the same message was given from the ascended glory of His Throne, the place that He was before the humiliation of His incarnation, these men would not have been offended. It was their unbelief that caused this prideful offense at what was spoken. What they heard by the hearing of the ear was not received because they remembered not Who it was that spoke with them. Because they could not understand, they were offended. What arrogance! Job learned this same lesson and we must learn it too. Have you begun to abhor yourself, you who wrangle with God in offense? Take heed to Job’s example of repentance and humble yourself, as it is written:
Jesus knew that their pride had caused them to overlook the Lordship and brilliant glory of the One Who was speaking to them. If the same message was given from the ascended glory of His Throne, the place that He was before the humiliation of His incarnation, these men would not have been offended. It was their unbelief that caused this prideful offense at what was spoken. What they heard by the hearing of the ear was not received because they remembered not Who it was that spoke with them. Because they could not understand, they were offended. What arrogance! Job learned this same lesson and we must learn it too. Have you begun to abhor yourself, you who wrangle with God in offense? Take heed to Job’s example of repentance and humble yourself, as it is written:
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Job 42:1-6
1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 2 I know that Thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from Thee. 3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 4 Hear, I beseech Thee, and I will speak: I will demand of Thee, and declare Thou unto me. 5 I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. |
My reader, whether sinner or saint, read of the Son of Man ascended in glory:
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Daniel 7:13-14
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. 14 And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. |
Can the Son of Man be “betrayed” by him who is but a “grass blade” (Luke 22:22, 1 Pet. 1:24, Isa. 40:7-8)? Can He Who “was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him,” be shaken, mistaken, or asleep in a tempestuous sea so that He and those given Him are by waves overtaken? Though the waves wax bold and things appear undetermined of old, by the declarative word of God are things rightly told that the end from the beginning did the Potter mold. “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,” and though “the heathen rage” and devise a tempestuous snare, it is of God that “many sons” might His glory share (Ps. 2:1, Acts 4:25, Heb. 2:10). In one moment He could command “twelve legions” (Matt. 26:53), and He is not intimidated by the “enchained dark demons” (Jude 1:6); their “time is short” (Rev. 12:12) for the cause in which they are employed to rend “the veil that is His flesh” (Heb. 10:20), to redeem “every race” of men (Rev. 5:9), to have all the world by Christ possessed. As “foaming waves” (Jude 1:13) they sought to oppress, all His glory they sought to suppress, but He with an innumerable company will this world possess, and “His Kingdom” is “that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13-14).
This work of humility is the grace of God! In the same sermon Jesus preached, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). And again, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not…..Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given him of My Father” (John 6:63-65). If the Spirit of God will quicken you to receive the biblical instruction of the sovereignty of God and the justice of man’s responsibility, you will be like Job and wonder that these things are too wonderful for you. Faith sees Him (Heb. 11:27, 2 Cor. 3:18)! Let us therefore repent in dust and ashes.
God in the ways of God: it is the higher thoughts and ways of God which man cannot comprehend – it is the secret contents of the scripture which we are only able to blindly trust. Of these ways we are instructed, yet only God can understand them. However, there are ways in which we are instructed that we are able to understand – God relates to us in the ways of man.
This work of humility is the grace of God! In the same sermon Jesus preached, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). And again, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not…..Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given him of My Father” (John 6:63-65). If the Spirit of God will quicken you to receive the biblical instruction of the sovereignty of God and the justice of man’s responsibility, you will be like Job and wonder that these things are too wonderful for you. Faith sees Him (Heb. 11:27, 2 Cor. 3:18)! Let us therefore repent in dust and ashes.
God in the ways of God: it is the higher thoughts and ways of God which man cannot comprehend – it is the secret contents of the scripture which we are only able to blindly trust. Of these ways we are instructed, yet only God can understand them. However, there are ways in which we are instructed that we are able to understand – God relates to us in the ways of man.