03.5. Attributes of God with respect to redeemed man
The Attributes Of God With Respect To Man As Redeemed 1.The Redemptive Love Of God
We are now at the point in our study where we must encounter the most amazing, glorious, unfathomable truth ever told: the righteous and holy God loves sinful man! How staggering to think that such a thing could be! God has no need in himself that would cause him to seek our reconciliation. There is nothing desirable in us that God should be attracted to. We certainly do not deserve his love. It would be just of God to pour out wrath and hatred upon each one of us forevermore. That would be justice. And yet, co-existing along with justice in God’s perfect nature is his free, sovereign love, a love which is the only source and fountain of our eternal redemption. We may grow in our knowledge of the redemptive love of God in Christ Jesus for all eternity, and still never plumb its depths. How can we not bow our hearts in worship every time we consider this glorious truth?
John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10; 1 John 3:1 a; 1 John 3:16; 1 John 4:19; Ephesians 3:17-19; Song of Solomon 2:4 2.The Condescension Of God
Every gracious and good act of God toward us manifests his condescension. God is high and lofty, and we are lowly and miserable. Every good thing we have, we have because God stooped to give it to us. How glorious a truth this is! And this attribute of God is thoroughly and perfectly expressed to us through Christ. We can only know God because Christ deigned to reveal him to us. We can only come before him in confidence and hope upon his grace because Christ stooped to become flesh, to be humiliated, to be obedient to the point of death on a cross. This awesome condescension of God in the person of Jesus is the basis for every good thing we have. Every gift we possess now or in the future is a blood-bought gift. It is the fruit of God’s mighty condescension on the cross. And the greatest of these gifts is that we who were sinners can now know God and have a favorable relationship with him.
Php 2:5-11; Isaiah 53:2-7; John 1:10-11, John 1:14, John 1:18; Hebrews 2:9-18. The Mercy Of God
It is an amazing truth that the righteous Judge would not give us the punishment that we deserve. But that is exactly what God’s mercy does for us. This mercy is sourced in God’s free redemptive love. It is brought about through his condescension in Christ Jesus. Without it we are lost. Oh, let us praise our wonderful Savior for his mercy in our lives! Let us sing with John Stocker, Thy mercy my God is the theme of my song The joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue Thy free grace alone from the first to the last Hath won my affection and bound my soul fast Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here Sin soon would reduce me to utter despair But through Thy free goodness my spirits revive And He that first made me still keeps me alive Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart Dissolved by Thy goodness I fall to the ground And weep for the praise of the mercy I’ve found Great Father of mercies Thy goodness I own In the covenant of Thy crucified Son All praise to the Spirit whose whisper divine Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine!
Psalms 136:1-3; Numbers 14:18; Psalms 86:5; Luke 1:76-79; 1 Peter 1:3; Psalms 40:11 4.The Grace Of God
God’s grace is the free, sovereign, unmerited favor that he shows to us. God’s grace even extends beyond his mercy, which withholds from us the punishment we deserve for our sins. So great is the Father’s love for us, that he did not rest with merely fixing the devastation our rebellion brought, but he went beyond that and procured for us many marvelous benefits. God’s mercy may be extended in a limited sense to all of mankind; but his grace is reserved for the elect alone. If there is one thing we may learn from the nature of grace it is that, anyone who seeks grace from God must utterly abandon any thought of works or merit in procuring or maintaining a right relationship with God.
2 Timothy 1:9; Ephesians 2:4-9; Romans 3:23-24; Romans 4:4-5; Romans 5:21; Romans 11:5-36. The Faithfulness Of God So great was God’s love and so greatly did he condescend to make his mercy towards the elect sure, that now the continuance of mercy and grace is demanded by the very faithfulness of God. God has freely and graciously bound himself to us so that, if his favor towards his children ever fails, then he would be shown unfaithful. But God is faithful and our mercy is sure forevermore. It was through entering into a covenant relationship with his children that God bound himself by his faithfulness to keep us forever in his love. Our confidence in remaining in God’s favor, if we truly know and love him, is as sure as the very character of God!
A) God entered into a sovereign covenant with his children and bound himself to them by his own faithfulness
Genesis 3:15; Genesis 17:7; Isaiah 49:7-8, Isaiah 49:15-16; Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 6:13-18; Psalms 89:33-34; Hosea 2:20
B)God’s faithfulness ensures that all of his children will be sanctified and will persevere in faith until they reach glory Php 1:6; John 6:37-39; Hebrews 13:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 C)Praise for God’s faithfulness Psalms 36:5; Psalms 89:1-6; Lamentations 3:22-66. The Righteousness/Justice Of God
It must greatly increase our wonder at the redemptive love of God to consider that it was not, nor ever could have been, irrespective of his justice and righteousness. God cannot glibly overlook evil. His eyes are too pure to behold evil (Habakkuk 1:13). His mercy, then, does not ignore his righteousness. On the contrary, the flawless righteousness of God is the very thing that demands that he treat us as though we had no sin. How could this be? It is only because of the cross. Consider how glorious the cross is: there is no greater display of the wrath of God against sin than upon the cross, where because of sin he was pleased to crush his own spotless Son. There is no greater display of God’s justice than on the cross, where for sins against an infinitely holy God he demanded an infinitely worthy Sacrifice. There is no greater display of God’s redemptive love and mercy than on the cross, where because he loved sinful man, God was pleased to substitute his own dear Son to absorb his wrath against sin so that we could be reconciled to him, wearing the perfect righteousness of Christ as our only plea in approaching him. The cross made it righteous and just for God to do nothing other than forgive us, love us, show his favor toward us, and overwhelm us with sweet grace for all eternity. The very heart of the great transaction of the cross is the precious doctrine of imputation. Upon the cross, God credited our sin to Christ’s account, and credited his righteousness to our account, so that it was righteous and just of God to smite his Son and to heal us, his redeemed children. Marvel at the glory of the cross! Therein is the righteousness, mercy, faithfulness, and love of God displayed for all to see!
2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 1:16-17; Psalms 32:1-2; Psalms 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-12. The Initiative Of God
Man’s natural wickedness and hatred toward God is so extreme that, if left on his own, he would never come to God and humbly ask for his mercy. But God did not leave him on his own. His love is so great that he actively initiates the reconciliation that he has provided through the atoning work of the cross. Hence, we can learn the wondrous truth of God’s initiative in showing mercy to man when we consider his attributes with respect to man as redeemed. Included in this initiative is God’s electing, calling, regenerating, and giving faith and repentance, all while man is still a hardened rebel who would never desire to seek God’s love.
A)Man on his own would never seek God Romans 3:10-12; Ephesians 2:1-5; John 3:20; John 6:44 B)God elected some for salvation from eternity past Ephesians 1:3-5; John 15:16; Romans 9:11-13, Romans 9:16, Romans 9:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Romans 8:29-30 C)God sovereignly calls all who come to Christ 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 1:26-27; 2 Timothy 1:9 D)God regenerates all whom he calls so that they can see the truth Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 1:12-13; John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 2:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17 E)God gives the faith and repentance of those who believe and repent Ephesians 2:8; Acts 5:31; Acts 11:18; Philippians 1:29 8.The Fatherhood Of God The end result of the immense grace that God poured out upon us is that, now, as his redeemed, we can see an attribute of God which we could never have known before: his Fatherhood. Through the grace that he has poured out upon us, God has adopted us into his family to be his children, and brothers of Christ, the firstborn. Throughout all eternity, we will know no sweeter joy than that of being the children of God.
Ephesians 1:3-5; Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:10-13; Matthew 6:9 9.The Joy Of God In His Redeemed The work of the cross was so perfect, and the grace of God so abundant that it did much more than make us accepted with God. We are not just endured, we are embraced! We are not just forgiven, we are rejoiced in! This is a tremendous truth. God joyfully delights in his children, and Christ truly delights in his bride.
Zephaniah 3:17; Luke 15:4-7; Song of Solomon 2:2; Song of Solomon 4:9-16. The Glorification Of God In His Redeemed When we first discussed the attributes of God with relation to man as a created being, we mentioned that the ultimate purpose of creation is the glorification of God. This is particularly true with relation to man as redeemed. The ultimate purpose of redemption, just like that of creation, is the glorification of God. This will be our pursuit throughout eternity. There is no more fitting place at which we might bring our study to an end. Let us do everything to the glory of the One who made us and redeemed us for the sake of his name!
Romans 9:22-24; Ephesians 1:4-6, Ephesians 1:11-12, Ephesians 1:14; Ephesians 2:4-7; Revelation 5:12