V
GOD IS CRUEL?
The Lie: A God of love
could never allow suffering and evil.
The world is marred with suffering and
almost every conceivable form of evil. Some religions try to deny the reality of
suffering and evil but their very denials often express an acute awareness of
undesirable phenomenon. There are also
those who claim that evil is only a relative term that varies in definition
from one culture to another; however, there are certain basic standards of goodness and evil which have been common among
virtually every culture. Therefore,
since evil and suffering do exist, many people have incorrectly concluded that;
either God must be unloving, or; He must not be powerful enough to cope with
human adversities. However, both
conclusions are totally contrary to the Christian perspective of the
true nature and character of God.
The God of the Bible is powerful enough
to command the entire universe into existence by the mere
words of His mouth (Genesis 1).
He is so constantly aware of everything that occurs in this world, that
not a single sparrow can fall to the ground and escape His notice (Matthew
10:29). He knows what the outcome of
every life and every situation will be before it actually culminates (Isaiah
42:9). He is a God of righteousness
(Psalm 111:3), a God of holiness (1 Samuel 22) and a God of perfect
justice (Psalm 19:9). The God of the Bible
cannot lie, nor will He ever break a promise (Numbers 23:19). He is revealed as a God of compassion, a God
of mercy (Lamentations 3:22, 23), and above all, a God of
everlasting love (I John 4:16).
These and many other divine
attributes comprise the whole nature and character of the eternal God
of all creation. Each one of God's attributes is intrinsic to
the completeness of His perfect being.
He cannot compromise any portion of His complete nature and character
without violating His perfection. For
example, God's love cannot be manifested in a way which would compromise His justice. If God expressed His love at the expense of
His justice, He might still be a God of love, but would no longer be a totally
just God. Such an action would therefore
violate His perfect and complete character.
To illustrate this
principle, let us hypothetically suppose that an honorable Judge is required to
try his own son for the crime of vandalism. And, let us suppose that after
examining all of the evidence; it becomes obvious to the
Judge that his son is definitely guilty of the offense. In
this situation, would it be right for the Judge to declare his son "not
guilty" if this Judge had previously convicted other people on far less
incriminating evidence? Or, would it be proper for the Judge to
impose the required punishment in spite of the fact that the
criminal happened to be his own son?
Although the honorable Judge loves his son very much, he should
obviously impose the required penalties for his son's guilt. Otherwise, the Judge can no longer be
considered a just man. The Judge's love
and compassion for his son may cause him to personally pay the son's fine; nevertheless, to satisfy justice, a debt has
to be incurred.
God's love cannot be
manifested at the expense of sacrificing His other divine attributes. Therefore, before anybody questions the love
of God, it is necessary to take into consideration His other
divine characteristics as well. It is also important to
remember that it is impossible for finite minds to totally comprehend the thoughts, motives, and actions of an infinite God. In fact, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and said: "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways,' declares the Lord. 'For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts'." (Isaiah 55: 8,9)
However, even though the
mind of God is infinitely superior to the human mind, He has not left His people
without at least some degree of insight and comprehension of His plans and
dealings with the human race. One of the
best ways to obtain this insight is to become familiar with the information which God has
revealed about Himself and mankind throughout
the pages of Holy Scripture. However,
God's revelation should be examined
in its entirety before judgmentally evaluating a problem such as the existence
of evil. It is especially important to
consider the Biblical record of creation itself, before the problem of evil and
suffering can ever be properly understood.
The Cause
When God created the first
man and woman (Adam and Eve), He gave them a perfect, uncorrupted environment.*
They were given the responsibility and privilege to govern the entire
earth and all of its living creatures (Genesis 1:28-30). They also experienced
an intimate spiritual relationship with their eternal Father and creator and
their world was untouched by sickness, death, or any form of evil. Adam and Eve literally lived in a
"paradise on earth."
When God created mankind,
He took a calculated risk by implanting the gift of volition within man's
being. God could have created a world
full of “robots," programmed with unchangeable instincts to love and obey
Him; but, instead, He chose to give man His own creative thought processes and
the freedom of choice because God wanted a relationship which was based upon a
two-way exchange of voluntary love and respect.
Therefore, He gave man
the ability to accept or reject His love and guidance.
God provided a simple test
in order for man to have a means of exercising His volitional right to accept
or reject His love and guidance. Adam
and Eve were told by God that they could eat the fruit of any tree within the
"Garden of Eden" with the exception of only one. They were permitted to eat the fruit from the
"tree of life" but they were forbidden to eat from the tree of
"the knowledge of good and evil." God warned Adam and Eve that they
would die if they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree.
Some Christians believe
that God's test involved actual trees and fruit while others believe that the
trees and fruit were only symbolic of deeper spiritual truths. Whatever the actual case may be, it is
certain that the test was relatively
simple and the importance of the test was made absolutely clear to Adam and Eve.
In spite of God's explicit
warning, Satan tempted mankind into disobeying God's instructions. He did this by first convincing Eve that God
had lied to her and Adam about the consequences of eating the forbidden
fruit. He assured her that death would
not result from eating such a tantalizing food (Genesis 3:4). In fact, he insinuated that the fruit was all
that was preventing mankind from becoming like God (Genesis 3:5). Eve yielded to Satan's temptation and then offered
the forbidden fruit to Adam, who accepted it without hesitation. It was at this point in time that sin entered
into the human race.
Both Adam and Eve accepted
the deceitful advice of Satan and ignored the truthful advice of God. They not only considered God to be a liar,
they apparently chose to become independent of His fellowship and wisdom. Since Adam and Eve believed that they would
become as "Gods" themselves, it is reasonable to assume that they no
longer wanted to depend upon the life and guidance of their creator.
The failure of God's simple
test certainly did not stem from ignorance or immaturity on the part of
man. The first people were created as
fully mature adults, both physically and intellectually. Adam and Eve probably had the ability to
utilize 100% of their brain potential.
Modern man, in his fallen state, only utilizes a small portion of the
brain's potential capacity. In addition
to their thinking ability, the first man and woman also had a spiritual
relationship with God that was unlike any relationship which man has had
since. They had direct, uninhibited access to their creator and
all of His goodness. The violation of
God's simple instructions by people, who were so enlightened, constituted a
reproachable act. Although the act does
not seem so terrible to man in his current state, by relative comparison, it
was a heinous crime for man in his original state.
The knowledge of good and
evil would not have even been necessary in a world which contained no
evil. Nor would it have been necessary
as long as Adam and Eve trusted in the goodness of God's instructions and
followed His loving guidance. Therefore,
when Adam and Eve rejected God, the first evil they became aware of was their
own! Their newly acquired
"knowledge of good and evil" was conceived in sin and rebellion so
therefore it was used to testify against them. Because it was conceived in sin, it was not a
pure and objective knowledge like that which God possesses. Thoughts which were
once holy and acceptable became distorted and corrupted within the minds of
Adam and Eve because God was no longer the governor of those thoughts. Adam and Eve experienced a deep sense of
shame which prompted them to cover their naked bodies because their entire
beings became infected with sin and guilt.
They recognized that their inner thoughts and consciences were no longer
pure or innocent, and this realization affected their outward behavior.
The Effect
Contrary to what Satan told
Adam and Eve, God did not lie to them about the immediate consequences of their
failure to heed His guidance. The very
moment in which Adam and Eve rebelled, their innermost spirits died. In other words, that essential part of man,
which was specifically designed for intimate fellowship and communion with God,
became dysfunctional. In effect, mankind
became separated from the holy and righteous God by a barrier called sin. Nevertheless, God still loved man, but He
could no longer retain the same close relationship with him. God could not
compromise His divine attribute of perfect righteousness by allowing Himself
to remain in spiritual union with any
form of evil or corruption.
Man's spiritual demise
eventually produced his physical death as well, because God did not want
mankind to live forever in a state of ever-increasing corruption and misery.
Although the soul, or consciousness, of man would exist forever, physical
death would serve as a deterrent to the malignant, cancerous potential of sin
and its effects upon the whole of humanity.
Furthermore, death served as a constant reminder to mankind that this
world is imperfect and needs to be corrected.
The anticipation of death also served as a "checks" and
"balances" of human behavior.
This suppression of evil would allow mankind to live the happiest, most
abundant life possible in his fallen state.
Imagine what the world would become if the great tyrants of history were
allowed to live forever!
Another consequence of sin
was the deterioration of man's original authority and ruler ship over the
earth. When Adam and Eve accepted the
deceitful advice of Satan while ignoring God's truthful guidance, they somehow
relinquished (or at least greatly diminished) their God-given authority
to reign over the earth and all of its creatures. They followed the dictates of the creature
(serpent through whom Satan was speaking) rather than exercising their own
authority, which was based upon God's knowledge, to rebuke the creature. The serpent governed them instead of them
governing the serpent. As a result of
Man's fall, Satan was somehow allowed to enter into a position of power and
influence over the earth and humanity.
This fact is borne out in
several scriptures of the Bible. One
specific example is found in the fourth chapter of the gospel of Luke, where,
after fasting for forty days in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted by Satan. Consider the following words from Luke's
account: "And he led Him up and
showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, 'I will give you
all this domain and its glory; for it has
been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if you worship me, it shall be all
yours,1 And Jesus answered and said to him, 'It is written, (you
shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only).' “(Luke 4"5-8).
God entrusted man with a
precious gift. He literally gave him
dominion over the entire earth. However,
man took God's gift and handed it over to Satan. Although it is impossible for us to
understand all of the spiritual ramifications of this transaction, at least
certain basic principles can be comprehended.
In order to better understand a situation which encompasses
metaphysical concepts, it is sometimes helpful to relate it to a physical, or
earthly, situation by using a parable which contains similar underlying
principles. A parable can never
illustrate every aspect of spiritual truth within a situation, but it can be
used to demonstrate the feasibility of one or two particular concepts. For example, to better understand how man
could have given away his position of authority over the earth without God
intervening, consider the following situation:
Let us suppose that a
modern day father gives his teenage son the title to a new automobile. The father obviously wants his son to
respect the gift and use it wisely so he makes it absolutely clear to him that
this particular car will be the only one which the son will be allowed to have
until he reaches adulthood. Now, let us suppose that the teenage son soon
decides that it would be more desirable to have money instead of a car; therefore, without
consulting his father, the son sells his car for far less than its real value.
When the father hears of
this transaction, should he go out and immediately buy his son another
car? Or, can he take the car back from
his son after it has already been sold? Obviously the answer to both questions
is no. The father entrusted his son
with a valuable gift. With that valuable
gift came the explicit warning that the gift would not be replaced. The
automobile was legally the son's property to manage in whatever manner he chose. Therefore, once the title was transferred to
another person, the father had no legal or ethical way of reclaiming the gift –
unless of course he would be willing to
pay an acceptable price for it. However,
even if the loving father did decide to buy back the automobile for his son, it
wouldn't be right for him to do so until the son learned a valuable, but
somewhat painful lesson. Until the son
was allowed to experience the adversities of being without a car, any
restoration of the father's gift would only be detrimental to the character of
the son.
Somehow the title deed to
man's position on earth was transferred into the hands of Satan. The earth was still God's creation,
completely dependent upon the power of God for its existence; but, as long as
God allowed the earth and humanity to exist, Satan maintained a sort of
"legal right" to participate in the scheme of earthly activities. The
extent of Satan's malignant participation however, is limited and restrained by
God's Holy Spirit. If this were not so,
there would be absolutely no goodness whatsoever upon the earth.
God's
Decision
When sin entered into the
world, God could have immediately destroyed the earth along with mankind. Just as an artist has the right to destroy an
unsuitable painting, God had the right to eliminate His own creation. Such an act would have been within the
guidelines of God's perfect nature and character because regardless of God's
love for mankind, the infection of evil needed to be dealt with. God couldn't bypass it by manifesting His
love and mercy at the expense of His righteousness and justice. Therefore, realizing the malignant, cancerous
effect that unrestrained evil would have upon humanity and all of creation, God
could have justly eradicated sin at its inception, just as a surgeon might have
to eradicate cancer from the human body to keep it from reaping greater
destruction.
Remember, the penalty for
sin was death because a holy and righteous God would never allow Himself to
enter into an eternal relationship with any form of evil or corruption. And, since
God is the only provider of true
life, any type of severance from Him and His life-giving spirit would constitute
a very real form of death. Therefore,
even if God merely withdrew Himself totally from humanity, mankind would still
eventually reap a terrible destruction.
However, instead of
abruptly ending humanity, or completely withdrawing Himself from earthly
affairs and allowing sin to eventually destroy mankind by itself, God chose to
deal with sin in another special way. He
allowed the earth and mankind to exist because He knew of a way to cure the cancer of sin without
irreparably destroying the beings that became infected by sin. In fact, since God has all foreknowledge, He
apparently knew that man would fall before the world was ever created; however,
man was nevertheless created because God had a preconceived plan of redemption
for the human race.
God knew beforehand that
Satan would try to thwart His intended purpose of creating a special race of
beings who would share in His love and righteousness throughout all eternity;
but, Satan's interference would not prevent God from accomplishing this purpose. Although God knew that the infection of sin
would be a "hereditary" trait within the nature of every human being,
He nevertheless permitted an infected humanity to exist because He conceived of
a way which would eventually eliminate
that "hereditary trait." However, because of the gift of volition, He
realized that there would be those who would reject His love and His plan of
redemption; but, He also knew that there would be multitudes of people who would be willing to come to Him for
eternal salvation, and, because of this, the whole plan of creation was
apparently deemed worthwhile.
God's
Involvement
Because of God's deep love
for man, He designed a plan which would not only provide a remedy for sin; it
would also restore man to an even greater spiritual relationship with God than
was originally enjoyed before man's fall.
This plan would allow God to be loving and merciful; but, without
sacrificing His attributes of righteousness or justice. However, the cure for
sin was to be very costly, yet God was willing to pay the entire price Himself in order for man to be eternally
delivered from sin and its effects.
In order to achieve His
final "cure," God chose to remain actively involved in human lives
and affairs. Man was still spiritually separated from God because
of the barrier of sin but, nevertheless, God was still able to communicate with
mankind and assist him in coping with his spiritual condition through various
indirect means and channels. However, the
extent of God's involvement was based in part upon human volition; therefore,
any "healing" within the human race depended somewhat upon man's
willingness to be healed. God provided
an unlimited source of benevolent assistance for the human race, but man had to
be willing to receive that assistance and also to share in the distribution of God's benevolence to others throughout
the world.
Although the human race was
no longer in a position to have the same direct, uninhibited fellowship with
God, God was still able to use individual people as instruments or channels
through whom He could reveal Himself and His remedy for sin to the world as a
whole. God chose to allow His Spirit to
work upon, and within, the lives of people who would be willing to act as His
messengers; and, because of this, man himself became the main instrument through which God would touch the world. In this respect, man was given some degree of
responsibility to participate in God's program of healing and redemption.
God's Progressive Therapy
When man first sinned, God's
plan of redemption was put into effect immediately. However, it would require a
considerable amount of "spiritual therapy" and preparation in
history before the "final cure" would be administered by God. The
Bible contains a progressive, historical revelation of this curative
intervention into the human race.
Apparently sin had such a
devastating effect upon mankind and his relationship with God, that the
re-establishment of a volitional union between God and man required a gradual
"therapy," or preparation, of the human race to receive God's final
cure for sin. Since mankind had become
so alienated from God and His righteous character, it would have been
impossible for man to tolerate a sudden exposure to the complete holy radiance
of God's entire being. The Bible indicates
in the Old Testament that such an exposure would have caused death. (Exodus 33:20 also John 1:18). Therefore, God often appeared to man in the
forms of fire, clouds, light, and even theophanies
(which were human forms that only reflected a limited revelation of God's
entire spiritual being).
It would have also been
difficult for humanity to totally comprehend a sudden and complete revelation
of God's spiritual truths. Therefore,
God's truth was progressively revealed and illuminated throughout history. It was apparently necessary for humanity to
acquire a gradual education which was based upon human experience in
conjunction with each individual's desire to draw closer to God. Apparently man needed to experience the
benefits of living within God's guidelines, and to contrast that experience
with the effects of living outside of those guidelines. Just as in the previous story about the
teenage son who needed to experience the adversities of being without a car for
awhile; humanity likewise needed to experience the
adversities of being spiritually separated from the source of all goodness
before being allowed to enter into eternal fellowship with that source.
Personal experience is an essential part of any
learning process; but, the recorded experiences of others are also
beneficial. Each individual can avoid
unnecessary failures by paying attention to the mistakes and successes of other
people. That is why the cumulative
record of human experience as recorded in the Bible can serve to accomplish
this same purpose. The Bible helps to
establish the validity of God's precepts while it demonstrates the foolishness
of trying to live apart from God.
Because of this, people in this generation could avoid unnecessary
spiritual despair by being more attentive to the record of Holy Scripture; but,
unfortunately, most people completely disregard it.
God's plan of redemption is
progressively revealed from the first pages of the Old Testament through the
last pages of the New Testament. The
Bible is a continuous unfolding story which starts from "paradise
lost," and ends with "paradise found." This revelation encompasses many generations
of social and cultural development, but, for the most part, the Old Testament
contains a record of God's dealings with mainly one special race of people.
Because of the faith of an
ancient man named Abraham. God promised to bless the entire world through his
descendants - the Jewish people. The
Jews became God's chosen people and their history is recorded throughout the
pages of scripture. It was through the
race of the Jews that God would bring salvation and redemption to all mankind.
God's complete plan of
redemption was not instantly revealed to mankind when sin and death entered
into the world; but, many foreshadows of truth related to God's plan were
revealed throughout the Old Testament.
For example, a foreshadowing truth was revealed when Adam and Eve
covered themselves with garments of fig leaves after sinning against God. (Genesis 3:7). It was vaguely symbolized at this point in
time that sin itself would require some type of covering. This fragment of
truth was somewhat magnified when God Himself had to make a more appropriate
covering for Adam and Eve. The Bible
states that God personally made garments of animal skins to cover their
bodies. (Genesis 3:21). Therefore, this act obviously required the
bloodshed and death of God's own innocent
creatures. Up until this time there had
been no bloodshed of any kind upon the earth and this act was a prefigure of
three elements of truth which would later be clearly revealed by God. The first element of truth was that "the
wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
The second was: "without the
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22). And the third element of truth was that God Himself would have to provide the only
sufficient remedy or covering for sin
in the world.
As time progressed,
numerous reflections of God's eternal plan of salvation were symbolically
revealed throughout the remainder of the Old Testament. In many cases, these reflections became much
clearer and more meaningful. Of particular
significance was the Hebrew system of sacrifice and, although the concept of
animal sacrifice seems cruel to most people of modern cultures, it served as an
effective means of "communication by demonstration" to the ancient
Hebrews and their forefathers.
To better understand this,
it is important to remember that God's participation in human affairs was
affected by certain cultural limitations and moral values which resulted from
the infection of sin. Jesus Himself
indicated this when He was asked by some of the Jewish religious leaders if it
was lawful for a man to divorce his wife.
Jesus replied, “What did Moses command you’? And they said 'Moses permitted a man
to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.' But Jesus said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made
them male and female. For this cause a
man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh .
. . What therefore God has joined
together, let no man separate'." (Mark 10:3-9). Thus, God's
communication to mankind was generally within the realm of human comprehension
and cultural acceptability. To accomplish this, the spiritual lessons of
history were usually taught in terms that were familiar to each generation.
Before condemning the Old
Testament accounts involving animal sacrifices, one must first consider the
cultures in which the sacrificial practices occurred. Remember, the effects of sin had a
devastating effect upon human conscience and morality. Many of the ancient cultures
of the world became barbaric and decadent and the knowledge of God became further
distorted as people ventured away from God's intended standards of
living. Yet, in spite of the many
misconceptions about God (or "gods") that developed, there usually
existed a common feeling of guilt and an inner awareness of impending judgment
for mankind among diverse cultures. Because of this, people often sacrificed
their possessions to God (or "gods") as a means of earning God's
favor and averting His wrath. These
sacrifices often involved crops and animals, but remember, the slaughter of animals
for food was a commonplace duty shared by most families of ancient times who
could not enjoy the modern convenience of obtaining their necessary food from
supermarkets. Therefore, the slaughter
of animals for sacrifice was not as abhorrent to ancient man as it is to many
modern people because animal slaughter was often a part of one's daily routine
for survival.
When God reached into the
Hebrew culture, He provided a temporary
remedy for sin which was dependent upon faith, obedience, discipline and sacrifice. The Hebrew system of religion was
understandable and culturally acceptable to the ancient Hebrews and it was also
morally and ethically superior to the religions of other nations of the same
era. So, within the limitations of a
somewhat uncivilized culture, the true nature and purpose of God began to be
progressively illuminated within the Hebrew nation. And, just as with other ancient religions, a
system of sacrificial offering was still an integral part of ancient Judaism;
however, the sacrificial order of the Hebrews became more spiritually
meaningful than the sacrificial practices of other cultures. In many ways the Hebrew sacrifices for sin
were symbolic of the final, ultimate sacrifice which would be offered by God
Himself for the sins of the world and, although the ancient sacrifices did not
provide a complete cure for sin, they did provide a temporary remedy for the
guilt which was produced by sin.
Through these sacrificial
rituals, God was able to demonstrate certain spiritual truths that helped to
alleviate the adverse consequences of sin.
For example, in the seventeenth chapter of "Leviticus," God
identifies the blood of animals as representing "life." In the eleventh verse of this chapter God
says: "For the life of the flesh is
in the blood, and I have given it to you on the alter-to make atonement for
your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes
atonement." The blood of animals
was shed as atonement for sin because God's required punishment (and the
inevitable result) for sin was death.
The sacrifices for sin
served as a continuous reminder of the seriousness and severity of sin. They constantly demonstrated to the nation
of Israel that the penalty for sin was death; however, the sacrificial practices also demonstrated God's desire not to
inflict the required penalty upon mankind. Because of God's righteous character, a
penalty had to be paid, but, God was willing to "defer" the final
payment by allowing His people to make temporary "installments" (so
to speak) on the ultimate debt, by offering the life of innocent animals instead of their own. The sacrifices had to be perfect, or
"without blemish" in order to be acceptable to God. This symbolically demonstrated to the nation
of Israel that only an innocent, perfect life would be the acceptable, ultimate
sacrifice for sin.
The remedial benefits of
the sacrifices for sin would only be effective if they were offered according
to God's exact instructions. This
demonstrated the importance of obediently following God's guidelines and not
human notions. It also foreshadowed the fact that any final remedy for sin
would have to involve a sacrifice of God's own choosing and not one that is
offered according to man's own precepts and desires. The rules and regulations of the sacrificial
orders gave the nation of Israel the opportunity to demonstrate her loyalty and
trust in God by adhering to His established guidelines without question or
reservation. In doing so, the Jews could
receive a temporary relief from the devastating effects of sin. This was accomplished as individuals
symbolically identified themselves with the animals that were slain.
For example, even before
the elaborate Mosaic sacrificial systems were established, innocent lambs were
sometimes slain as offerings for sin.
When this occurred, the person offering the sacrifice would lay his hand
upon the head of the innocent lamb. This
act symbolically depicted the transfer of the man's sins and guilt into the
lamb which would then become defiled and was therefore slain as a result. This act would serve to alleviate the guilt
consciousness of the person who wanted to be made more acceptable to God.
The substitutionary death
of a single innocent sacrifice on
behalf of a multitude of people was
well symbolized in the annual observance of "Yom Kippur," or the
solemn "Day of Atonement."To better
understand the symbolism of this special day, it is important to have an
understanding of the Jewish Temple itself.
Within the elaborate structure of the ancient Jewish Temple was a
special room known as the most holy place or "Holy of Holies." The "Holy of Holies" was the place
that was permeated by the actual holy presence of God and within the "Holy
of Holies" was the "Ark of the Covenant." The Ark of the Covenant was a specially
designed, ornate box which contained the rod of Aaron, a pot of manna, and the
Ten Commandments. The lid of the Ark
was known as the "Mercy Seat.”The “Most Holy Place” was separated from the
"Holy Place" and the rest of the temple by a large veil, or curtain.
The Jewish high priest was
the only person who was allowed to enter the "Holy of Holies" through
the veil and, as a rule, this was done only once a year on the "Day of
Atonement." However, before entering the most holy place, the high priest
would have to offer a special sacrifice for his own sins and would then choose
two perfect goats to be offered on behalf of the people. One goat was slain and its blood was
sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat. This
sacrifice served as a substitutionary offering or covering for the sins of the people who had violated the laws of
Moses written on the tablets of stone that were contained in the Ark of the
Covenant. When this was done, the Lord
would look upon the covering of the blood and see the sins of the people no
more. The high priest would then lay his
hands upon the head of the other goat known as "the scapegoat" and
confess the sins of the nation of Israel.
These sins would then be transferred to the goat and the goat was then
removed from the land and released in the distant wilderness. Through this entire sacrificial ceremony
the people of Israel were made cognizant
of the facts that they were indeed sinners; that the penalty for sin was death;
but that God would provide a substitute; and, that once their sins were atoned
for, they would be removed from them and "remembered no more" by God.
The Plan Revealed
The ancient sacrifices were
merely foreshadows of God's ultimate cure for sin. They were only temporary remedies for the
symptoms of sin, without lasting effect because the debt of sin required a more
supreme price than the blood of animals.
A glimpse of this truth was revealed in the fortieth Psalm of the Old
Testament when King David wrote: "Sacrifice and meal offering You have not
desired; my ears You have opened. Burnt
offering and sin offering You have not required." (Psalm 40:6).
This truth is elaborated in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. The writer of the book of Hebrews says: "For the Law, since it has only a shadow
of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the
same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those
who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the
worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have a consciousness of
sins? But in those sacrifices there is a
reminder of sins year by year. For it is
impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:1-4).
In order for God to remain
an eternally just and righteous being, the infection of sin and evil needed to
be dealt with. It could not be overlooked.
The death penalty had to be imposed to satisfy God's required justice;
but, because of His unfathomable love, and boundless mercy, God decided to pay
the debt Himself on our behalf. The
sacrifice of Himself would be the only sufficient way to once and for all satisfy
the just requirement of sin without imposing the penalty of eternal separation
from God upon mankind.
In order to accomplish
this, God Himself entered the human race as a man; yet, He retained His divine
nature. He became completely human, but,
because of His divine nature, He still remained God. He entered the human race in the person of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth who came into the world as a baby boy through the
process of natural child birth; However He was the first man since Adam who was
born without an inherent sinful nature because He was not conceived by an
earthly father.
The inherent nature of sin
was transmitted from one generation to the next through the "seed" of
each earthly father because Adam was the first-created human being and was
probably more responsible for the willful act of sin against God then was Eve
since Adam apparently "ate of the fruit" without question or without
experiencing any enticement or temptation from Satan like Eve did. (Genesis 3:6, 17).
So, the incarnation of God
occurred within the womb of a woman called Mary through a supernatural
conception by the Holy Spirit of God. In
the third chapter of the Gospel of Luke, an angel says to this woman called
Mary: ". . . The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you; and for that reason the Holy offspring shall be
called the Son of God." (Luke
3:35). As previously stated, God became
totally human, yet, because of His divine nature, He was still the eternal
God. The "Son of God" laid
aside His characteristics of total omnipotence, total omniscience, and total
omnipresence to enter the world as a servant; but, He never laid aside His divine nature. In the second chapter of the
book of Philippians, the Bible says, speaking of Jesus: "... who, although He existed in the
form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, (held on
to) but emptied Himself, taking the form
of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He
humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross." (Philippians 3:6-8).
Could it be Possible?
At this point it is
important to briefly diverge from the subject matter of this chapter and
clarify the Christian concept of God.
Christians believe that there is only one eternal God, but that He is a Triune God. According to the revelation of Holy
Scriptures; within the nature of the one eternal God, there exist three
distinct persons who are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
God the Father is presented in scripture as the unseen, personal source and cause
of things; God the Son executes the will of the Father and tangibly reveals the
Father to mankind; and God the Holy Spirit is the unseen personal agency by
whom the purpose and will of God is accomplished. The Spirit also reveals the Son to mankind and,
through the Son, establishes fellowship with the complete Godhead. All three persons of the Trinity are capable
of interpersonal communication with each other at the same given moment. Each person of the Godhead has a separate
distinction; yet, each is by nature co-equal, and co-existent as one God in
substance.
Without question, this
doctrine is extremely difficult to comprehend; yet, it is not impossible. In fact, it is the only logical concept of
God that can be derived from the complete revelation of Holy Scripture because
the Bible declares with absolute certainty that there is only one eternal God;
and, that there has never been another God formed before, nor will there ever
be another God formed after the one and only eternal God. (Isaiah 43:18; Deuteronomy 6:4; I Corinthians
8:4-6). However, with just as much
certainty, the Bible speaks of three distinct persons known as The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit;
who are all referred to as God and are ascribed certain attributes which the Bible
says that only God can posses.
Most people have no
difficulty accepting the fact that there is a definite person in the Bible
known as "The Father" who is equated with the eternal God (I
Corinthians 8:6; I Chronicles 29:10; John 6:27; Matthew 11:25-27). The Father is represented as a cognizant,
personal being and not some inanimate, impersonal governing "force."
Since "the
Father" is obviously represented as being God, it is often difficult for
some people to accept Jesus (the Son), or the Holy Spirit, as likewise being
God. In fact, many people fail to recognize the Holy Spirit as a
person at all, but rather as some sort of impersonal force like fire, wind,
electricity etc. . . . However, a careful study of the scriptures will reveal
that both "The Son" and The "Holy Spirit" are two distinct
persons apart from the Father who are referred to, both directly and
indirectly, as also being God.
The fact that Jesus Christ
is revealed in scripture as a definite person who is called "the Son of
God," is obvious. Isaiah 9:6; Luke 1:31-32; Mark 1:11; II John: 3; Romans
1:4). The Son is ascribed with attributes of omnipotence (Matthew 28:18),
omniscience (Colossians 2:3), and omnipresence (Matthew 18:20). He also is said to be the eternal creator of
all things (John 1:1-4, 14, 18) (Hebrews 13:8) and, according to the Bible,
only God Himself can be credited with such attributes and credentials. However, in addition to possessing the
divine qualities, Jesus was also directly referred to as God.
For example, the apostle
John stated (speaking of Jesus): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him
and apart from Him nothing came into being that has
come into being. . . And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among
us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the
Father, full of grace and truth. (John
1:3, 14). And, in the twentieth chapter
of the Gospel of John, the disciple Thomas is quoted as saying to Jesus: "My Lord and My God." (John 20:28).
Some of the additional verses equating Jesus with God can be found in
the books of: Titus 2:13, 14; Hebrews
1:8; John 10:30-33; Revelation 1:8 & 22:12, 13, 20.
Although Jesus equated
Himself with God, He sometimes spoke of "the Father" as being
"greater" than He. But such
verses must be considered in the light of Christ's role on earth as a man.
Remember the previously mentioned passage from the book of Philippians which
states:". . . who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard
equality with God a thing to be grasped (held on to), but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant and being made
in the likeness of men. And being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross.
(Philippians2:6-9).
God the Son humbled Himself
when He became a man known as Jesus of Nazareth. In doing so, He willingly "emptied
Himself" by laying aside His divine attributes of total omnipotence,
omniscience and omnipresence; but, in spite of this, He always retained His
divine nature. He was a complete human being who
experienced human feelings, emotions, and temptations; yet, by virtue of His
nature, He was able to completely subject Himself to the will of the Father, depend
totally upon the Holy Spirit for his supernatural power and live a perfect life
without committing sin. However, His
voluntary mission on earth was never an easy task, in spite of His divine
nature, because Jesus often had to endure great physical and emotional anguish
as a man.
Therefore, whenever Jesus
spoke of the Father as being "greater" than Him, He was speaking from
the perspective of a human, Jewish Rabbi.
He was making a quantitative statement
in reference to His position as a Rabbi who was totally subject to the Father's
will, but He was never speaking qualitatively
in reference to His divine nature or substance.
In other words, Jesus said the Father was greater than He, just as we
might say the President is greater than ourselves by virtue of his office. Jesus never said the Father was
"better" than He (a statement referring to quality), just as we would
never say the President is "better" than us; since he too is a human
being like ourselves.
The Bible also reveals
"the Holy Spirit" as a definite, cognizant person, distinct from the
Father and the Son, but, who also is called "God" and possesses the
divine attributes. In speaking of the Holy
Spirit Jesus said: "And I will ask
the Father, and He will give you another helper, that He may be with you
forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it does not behold Him, or know Him, but you know Him,
because He abides with you and will be in you." (John 14:16, 17). From these verses it is
evident that the Holy Spirit is a personal being and not an impersonal force
because He sometimes spoke to the
Apostles.
For example, in the book of
Acts, the Bible says: "And while they
were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work
to which I have called them1 .... So, being sent out by the Holy
Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to cypress."
(Acts 13:2, 4). In addition to speaking, the Holy Spirit
teaches (John 14:26), comforts (Acts 9:31), intercedes for us in prayer (Romans
8:26), and is capable of becoming "grieved" (Ephesians 4:30). Such traits are hardly indicative of an
inanimate, impersonal force. The Holy
Spirit is a definite personage who, like the Father and Son, is revealed as
being omnipotent (Luke 1:35), omniscient (I Corinthians 2:10, 11), and
omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10). He is
sovereign (I Corinthians 12:6, 11), eternal (Hebrews 9:14), and was also
involved in the creation of the world.
(Genesis 1:2).
Not only is the Holy Spirit
ascribed with the attributes that only God can posses,
He is also directly referred to as "God" by the Apostle Peter. In the
fifth chapter of the book of Acts, Peter, after discovering that a man and his
wife had deliberately conspired to withhold a portion of the proceeds they
received from the sale of a parcel of property that they had previously
committed to give to the Lord, rebuked them with the following words: ". . . Ananias, why has Satan filled
your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and
to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it
not remain your own? And after it was
sold, was it not under your control? Why
is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You
have not lied to men, but to God."
(Acts 5:3, 4) It is impossible to lie to an impersonal, lifeless entity
such as a car, or the wind, because only a reflective, cognizant being is
capable of being lied to. In the
aforementioned passage of scripture, Peter accused Ananias of lying to the Holy
Spirit. He then tells him that in doing
so, he had lied to God. Obviously the
Holy Spirit is revealed by Peter to be a reflective cognizant person who is
directly referred to as God.
The Bible contains many
other verses which, both directly and indirectly, imply the absolute deity of
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Therefore, since there are three distinct persons who are identified as
God; yet, the Bible reveals that there is only one God, the only possible
conclusion one can arrive at (if the Bible is believed to be God's trustworthy
revelation) is that the three persons must comprise the one eternal God.
On this issue, some people
will make a mathematical objection by stating that 1+1+1=3. However, the Godhead is not triplex, but is rather, triune and can be mathematically
analogized as 1x1x1=1. The entire
universe reflects a Trinitarian creator because it contains a host of
tri-unities within itself. For example,
we live in a "space-mass- time continuum" which comprises the entire
cosmos. All physical knowledge and
experience can be classified under the heading of space, mass, or time. Each of the three is a separate entity, yet
each is an essential component of the united "space-mass-time"
continuum. Furthermore, each of these
three entities likewise reflects a Trinitarian design. For example, space (as we perceive and
experience it) consists of exactly three dimensions. Each dimension is distinct from the others,
yet the three are absolutely essential to the composition of
"space." Without all three dimensions, there would be no space or
reality. The three dimensions comprise
the whole of space, yet there is only one "space."
As with space, there are
three essential ingredients in the composition of matter. Matter is comprised of energy in motion which
produces various phenomenon. Energy is
the unseen source, or power, which manifests itself in motion. The type of motion determines the type
of phenomenon that is produced and thus perceived by our senses. Energy, motion and phenomenon are three
distinct phases of matter yet all three unite to form the whole of matter. One phase cannot exist without the other two.
And finally, the entity of
time consists of past, present, and future.
All three unite to form the whole of time, yet one cannot exist without
the other two. Dr. Henry Morris explains
time in the following manner: "The
future is the unseen source of time and made, real, moment by moment in the
present. The past then proceeds from the
present, becoming invisible again yet continually influencing us with regard to
the present and even, to some extent, the future."*
Much more could be said
about the Trinitarian design that permeates all of creation. Indeed, several books have been devoted to
this one subject alone because of the many scriptural passages which allude to
the Trinity and because of the many analogies which are available to illustrate
the feasibility of a triune God.
Although the concept of a
triune God is admittedly difficult for mankind to totally comprehend, our
incomprehension does not constitute a legitimate excuse for the rejection of a
triune God. There are many things in
this world which are difficult to understand; but, which are nevertheless
proven realities. For example, it is
somewhat perplexing to imagine that the chair you may be sitting on is composed
of trillions and trillions of tiny vibrating particles called atoms. Within each atom exists even smaller units
called electrons, which move so fast that they orbit the center, or nucleus of
the atom, billions of times in less than one millionth of a second. Our inability to fully comprehend this fact
does not detract from its reality, nor does it prevent us from placing our
trust-in the chair as we rest our entire weight upon it; just as our inability to understand
everything about electricity certainly does not prevent anyone from turning on
the light switch to enjoy the benefits derived from it. Therefore, if people trust in finite
perplexities which seem to defy human perception and logic, why should they
demand total understanding of an infinite God, before placing their trust in
Him.
The most basic and cardinal
doctrine of the true Christian faith
is the Doctrine of the Trinity. It is a
revelation of Holy Scripture and an historic belief of the earliest Christian
churches (although some cults unintelligibly try to deny this). The concept of a triune God is one further
indication of a faith that was not conceived within the limitations of finite
human logic; rather, it was revealed by an infinite God and accepted by His
people, even though it defied
complete human comprehension.
The Christian concept of a
triune God is essential to a proper understanding and appreciation of God's
supreme remedy for the infection of sin in that, because of God's unfathomable
love for mankind, He personally
provided the one and only sufficient sacrifice for sin. God the Father, sent His only begotten Son,
Jesus Christ into the world to redeem the human race. Because of this, the Holy Spirit is now
actively engaged in the ministry of revealing God's plan of redemption
throughout the world.
God's Final Cure
In order to satisfy the
required debt of sin; God the Son took upon Himself the punishment which all
men rightfully deserved. The eternal
God of heaven humbled Himself, became a human servant, and allowed Himself to
be mocked, humiliated, spit upon and finally crucified in order that man could
be eternally delivered from all evil and suffering.
Jesus lived a perfect life,
unblemished by sin or evil. Wherever He ventured, He alleviated human suffering
and satisfied human needs. As a man, He
always sought the will of the Father and never succumbed to the temptations of
Satan. Because of this, Jesus was undeserving of death; yet, He willingly suffered one of the most
heinous executions imaginable. He, who
had been united with the Father from the beginning, experienced the horrible
emptiness of being separated from the Father when the past, present, and
future sins of the world were transferred to the innocent Lamb of God who hung upon a cross and suffered in our place.
Just as the sacrificial lambs
of the Old Testament were required to be perfect and unblemished, so also was
the "Lamb of God," Jesus Christ, was required to be perfect and
unblemished by sin. If Jesus had sinned
against God, His life would have been an insufficient sacrifice because He
would have no longer been free of guilt and undeserving of punishment. Plus, He would have never conquered death
through the resurrection from the grave because sin would have held Him in
bondage forever. However, because of His perfect life; and because the debt of
sin had been paid in full; death could not hold Him in the grave. Furthermore, if Jesus had been only a mere
man, without the divine nature, His death would have had no more vicarious
significance than the deaths of the patriarchs and prophets before Him. But, since God Himself laid down His own holy
life as a ransom, there is no greater price which can be paid; therefore, the
debt of sin for all time has been more than satisfied.
There is now no other
sacrifices which can be offered as atonement for our sins except the precious
blood of Jesus. There is no more need for mortal priests who offer continuous
sacrifices to God on our behalf because Jesus is now our "Great High
Priest" who continuously intercedes for those who love Him. Consider these words from the book of
Hebrews: "And the former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater
numbers, because they were prevented by death from continuing, but He (Jesus),
on the other hand because He abides forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Hence, also, He is able to save forever those
who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession
for them. For it was fitting that we
should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from
sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high
priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins
of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself" (Hebrews
7:23-27).
At the very moment Christ
died, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom while the earth
experienced an upheaval
in nature (Matthew 27:51). This event is
well documented in history and was believed by the Jews to be an omen of the
impending destruction of the temple.
However, the tearing of the curtain may have also symbolized the new
available relationship between God and man.
It may have signified the removal of any barrier between God and
man since all people now have access to God through faith in Jesus Christ. This thought is expressed in the following
passage of scripture: "Since
therefore brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of
Jesus by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil,
that is, His flesh, and since we have a great
priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart
in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
without wavering, for He who promised is faithful"; (Hebrews 9:19-23).
The preceding passage was
written to some Jews who had originally accepted the free gift of forgiveness
through Jesus Christ; then later began sacrificing animals again as an additional
means of forgiveness. The writer of the
book of Hebrews goes on to sternly warn these people by saying: "… if we go on sinning willfully after
receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for
sins." (Hebrews 10:26). In other words, if we continue to rely upon
any other means of forgiveness besides the blood of Jesus, then there will be
no forgiveness of sins as long as we maintain this attitude; because there is
no greater sacrifice, no further price that can now be offered on our behalf.
The debt of sin has been
satisfied for all eternity. The required justice of God has been
administered. Now God can freely extend
His love and mercy without compromising
His attribute of justice. All that
remains for man to do is to thankfully receive His free pardon through faith
and trust in Jesus Christ.
The Truth:
“….God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God,
and God abides in him.” (I John 4:16)
"For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send
the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved
through Him.” (John 3:16)
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and
everyone who loves is born of God and
knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (I
John 4: 7,8)