Page 18 - Bible Doctrines II w videos short

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spiritual condition.” This attribute can be imitated by worshipping Him through the spirits He has given
us (1 Cor. 14:14; Phil. 3:3). Through those spirits, we are united with the Lord’s spirit (1 Cor. 6:17) with
which we join to bear witness to our adoption in God’s family (Rom. 8:16).

Invisibility
Invisibility means that “God’s total essence, all of his spiritual being, will never be able to be seen by us,
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yet God still shows himself to us through visible, created things.” Apostle John says that “ No one has
ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed
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him” (CSB). Paul in 1 Timothy 1:16-17 says that “ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (CSB). In the same book chapter 6:16, he says that
“ who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see, to
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him be honor and eternal power. Amen” (CSB). Those passages above were written after events in
Scripture where people saw some outward manifestation of God. The LORD used to speak to Moses face
to face (Exod. 33:11). Yet, God told Moses that he cannot see His face and live (Exod. 33:20). However,
the LORD caused His glory to pass by Moses while He hid Moses in a cleft of the rock, and then let
Moses see His back after He had passed (Exod. 33:21-23). We are learning that while God’s total essence
will never be seen by us, yet, God still shows something of Himself to us through visible created things.
We cannot see God. And though idolatry is forbidden, God understands that we must think about Him
somehow, and He has given us several analogies in Scripture. For example, a rock, a mother hen, a
warrior, a shepherd, consuming fire. However, we should not make too much out of one image, but
understand them to be but a limited glimpse of one aspect of who God is.

Communicable Attributes that Describe the Mentality of God the Father.

Knowledge (Omniscience)
When God is said to be omniscient, it means that He is all-knowing. “God fully knows Himself and all
things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act.” Elihu says that “ Do you understand how
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the clouds float, those wonderful works of him who has perfect knowledge?” (Job 37:16 [CSB]). If God
knows all things actual, how can we be genuinely free? So, human beings are reasonable. That is, we use
our minds, rational thought processes, and make decisions. Also, human beings have self-determination.
That is, our choices do actually direct our path and what happens in our life. God is all-knowing and
sovereign. Even though how they work together is beyond our ability to comprehend, genuine human
agency is still very much under the sovereign control of God.

Wisdom
This attribute means that God the Father “always chooses the best goals and the best means of those
goals. God is called the only wise God (Rom. 16:27). Job says that God is wise in heart (Job 9:4). The
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psalmist screams, “ How countless are your works, Lord! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth
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is full of your creatures” (Psa. 104:24). The biblical idea of wisdom is skill in living. I like to think of it
being able to take knowledge and know how to apply it to specific situations. Wisdom and knowledge
are not the same thing. Thus, simple rules and formulas for Christian living will not cut it. We need to
look at each situation individually, and then apply the Scriptures that best work redemptively. Why is
God’s wisdom perfect? It is perfect because His wisdom is perfect. God is not pulled by sin. Even when
we have full knowledge of a situation, we are sometimes pulled by sin, or do not interpret the facts
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correctly. We might also ‘will’ something less than perfect. Paul says that “ Yet to those who are called,
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both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, “ because God’s foolishness
is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor. 1:24-25
[CSB]). How can we have wisdom? The fear of the LORD produces wisdom (Psa. 111:10; cf. Prov. 1:7;

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