Monday, June 30, 2014

ABBA, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN - PART 2: ATTRIBUTES OF HEAVENLY FATHER

When we look at the attributes of an earthly father (from Part 1), it is obvious that God ordained parents (and dads especially) to represent Him to His creation. There is a reason the first commandment with a promise - "Honor Your Father and Your Mother, your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you". This commandment appears as the transition from the Commandments which are vertical and dealing solely with our relationship with Holy God, to the horizontal - re: our relationships with our fellow human beings.


The plan and purpose of God is for His created ones to obey their parents in reverence, so that we will reverence our Heavenly Father, in the same way. We know this has never been the case for most of humanity, even though it has been commanded. This does not change "conditions on the ground", so to speak. The self-existent always alive Creator of the Universe is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow!

The great Illinois preacher A.W. Tozer is well known as the foremost expounder of the Attributes of God. In his phenomenal Classic Book - "THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY", Tozer presented 18 Attributes of God. Some of them are presented here with the link to continue reading the rest of those eighteen.  Tozer's work is highlighted here because they are the best known and acknowledged as complete and inspired:



Attributes of God – The Basis
Jesus came to reveal the God of the Bible. And God has revealed Himself in His book. Any deviation from that insight from Him is a made-up god. Tozer in Knowledge of the Holy finds 18 characteristics of God in the Bible. They are repeated here, although not in the same order. Tozer’s definitions, when used, will appear in quotes. 

Attributes of God – The Characteristics
Wisdom: “Wisdom is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve these ends by the most perfect means.” In other words, God makes no mistakes. He is the Father who truly knows best, as Paul explains in Romans 11:33: “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways!” 

Infinitude: God knows no boundaries. He is without measure. This attribute by definition impacts all of the others. Since God is infinite, everything else about Him must also be infinite. 

Sovereignty: This is “the attribute by which He rules His entire creation.” It is the application of His other attributes of being all-knowing and all-powerful. It makes Him absolutely free to do what He knows to be best. God is in control of everything that happens. Man still has a free will, and is responsible for his choices in life. 

Holiness: This is the attribute that sets God apart from all created beings. It refers to His majesty and His perfect moral purity. There is absolutely no sin or evil thought in God at all. His holiness is the definition of that which is pure and righteous in all the universe. Wherever God has appeared, such as to Moses at the burning bush, that place becomes holy just for God having been there.


The following is a part of a teaching I did on one of the TV shows I appeared on in the recent past which include more clarification on the Attributes of Our Great God in Heaven - Abba Father:

No comments: