The Self-Sufficient Glory of God

Jonathan Edwards, from A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections:

The first objective ground of gracious affections, is the transcendently excellent and amiable nature of divine things as they are themselves; and not any conceived relation they bear to self, or self-interest.

There is a huge difference between being able to say "God is excellent" and "God is excellent to me." Edwards refers to the God-given revelation that God is and would continue to be excellent even if I did not exist, or the creation itself did not exist. God's glory, beauty, holiness, and joy are not contingent upon anything He has created.

QOTD - The Wrath and Love of God

The wrath of God is not to be set in sharp contrast with the love and mercy of God. It is so often asserted that if God is truly love then he cannot be angry. But wrath and love are not mutually exclusive. In the NT as well as the Old, in Jesus as in the prophets and apostles the proclamation of God's mercy is accompanied by the preaching of his wrath. A holy God does not stand idly by when men act unrighteously, transgress the law, show disdain to him as their creator or spurn his love and mercy. He acts in a righteous manner punishing sin in the present and especially on the final day. Yet God also acquits the guilty, and only the person who understands something of the greatness of his wrath will be mastered by the greatness of his mercy. The converse is also true: only he who has experienced the greatness of God's mercy can understand something of how great that wrath must be.

-- Peter T. O'Brien, Colossians, 185, quoting Stählin's TDNT entry on the wrath of God.

Quote of the Day

Many people visualize a god who sits comfortably on a distant throne, remote, aloof, uninterested, and indifferent to the needs of mortals, until, it may be, their importune cries badger him into taking action on their behalf. Such a view is false to the point of blasphemy. The bible reveals a God, who, long before it even occurs to man to turn to Him, while man is still shrouded in darkness and sunk in sin, takes the initiative, rises from His throne, lays aside His glory, and stoops to seek until He finds him.

-- John R.W. Stott, from chapter 1 of his terrific little book entitled Basic Christianity.

We Are Loved for His Glory

via youtube.com

An excellent message. Key words: "The love of God that makes much of us for his glory is a greater love than a love that would only make much of us." - Piper.

Posted via web from The Central Point

Quote of the Day

By Tim Keller in The Reason for God:

It is possible to avoid Jesus as Savior as much by keeping all the Biblical rules as by breaking them. Both religion (in which you build your identity on your moral achievements) and irreligion (in which you build your identity on some other secular pursuit or relationship) are, ultimately, spiritually identical courses to take. Both are "sin."

Posted via email from The Central Point