The Humble God...

[cyberjosh]

I was looking back over some of my old posts when I first came to this forum, and I ran across a post that I had made which reminded me of an insight I had received about God at one time after discussing an issue with my Dad.

In this forum someone wrote this, asking about God & Satan:

"This is not something I'm really considering. I'm thinking about more of a contradiction in Biblical doctrine. God is supposed to be perfect. Ok. So how did Satan choose to be imperfect if he was as close as or closer to God than we ever were? He was the covering Cherub, wasn't he?

Shouldn't he have been filled with God's love and beauty of spirit as well as splendor of form rather than just the latter? Anyone out there with an answer?"

To which I replied:

Satan became enthralled with his own glory and beauty that God had given him and became prideful trying to exalt his throne above God's. Why would he do this? Would it be because God in all of his glory is perhaps...*gasp*....humble. No, never..... Yet it is so, and Satan thought he could be better than God because he saw God's humbleness.

I believe this to be true. There was something unique about God that set Him absolutely above His creatures in every respect and that made Him holy and righteous, by virtue of His very character and being, and though God's glory is beyond any other I believe that in the wholesome, perfection of His being that God's character as "love" balances and completes His person and manifests in a measure of humbleness, and that alone sets Him apart above any other. Not humbleness, mind you, in the respect of feeling subjected to anything, but rather a willful disposition due to God's goodness toward His creatures that is inherent in God's very character. In fact, we can argue that the supreme act of God's humbleness was when Christ as the Divine Logos of God, being God himself (John 1:1), emptied Himself and dwelt among us (John 1:14, Philippians 2:7). It was not below God to come to His creatures and save them at the greatest cost (and was not ashamed to call them brethren - Hebrews 2:11), something you will never see among the tales of the proud, whimsical, and worldly gods of the Greek pantheon. And I also think it does make for reasonable conjecture to say Satan's fall was due to pride and was done in the face of God's humbleness, thinking his beauty deserved a glorified placement in God's kingdom.

You could almost say that God's disposition was "glory with humbleness", while Satan's was "glory with pride & self-exaltation", while God has every right to be self-exalting and seek His own glory (and in fact He does do so - He alone has that right - and we are to exalt Him as well) and yet Satan does not. Only God's glory is worthy of exaltation, and yet God Himself still exercises a measure of humbleness toward His creatures. Oh what an awe inspiring and wonderful mystery of God!

What are your thoughts on this issue and this insight?

God Bless,

~Josh

 

[Ret]

God is supposed to be perfect. Ok. So how did Satan choose to be imperfect if he was as close as or closer to God than we ever were? He was the covering Cherub, wasn't he?

Shouldn't he have been filled with God's love and beauty of spirit as well as splendor of form rather than just the latter? Anyone out there with an answer?"

Josh,
Appreciate your thought about the humility of God, is interesting. [You may be wanting to discuss 'humility', but since the question on Lucifer was asked...please indulge a comment]

Re: Lucifer....He can KNOW all about science and the wonders of creation but apart from faith and believing the divine love of God Almighty and His son Jesus Christ, he will not KNOW nor is he able to KNOW and fully understand God.

As we enter in to the experience of calvary with Christ, we gain an experience Lucifer knows nothing about, and will never know... The hidden mystery of God, as revealed in the 'LAMB slain from the foundation of the world' (Revelation 5:6 & 13:8 KJV). This is ultimate HUMILITY!

Peace...Ret

 

[cyberjosh]

Thank you for your input Ret.

I think you do make a valid point about the intimate knowledge of God being involved in one's reaction to God. God's redemption plan and His work in His people by the work of the Holy Spirit was said by Peter to be a matter "into which angels long to look" (1 Peter 1:12). Even angels marvel at God's work, and I'm sure they kept careful eye on Christ's work on earth, having humbled Himself by coming in the flesh, and the Bible even says that they ministered to Jesus when he was in a physcially weakened state (Matthew 4:11). So certainly angels must also follow closely God's actions, marvel at His being, and no doubt try to emulate Him as we do. It seems though for Satan that he took something for granted, whether it be his beauty, some great knowledge he thought he had of God, or a desire for more authority. No one really knows, however I found there to be an interesting and fundamental difference in Satan's basic attitude and disposition from God's, who infact even shows a measure of humbless while Satan has demonstrated none himself.

P.S. Also perhaps 'humility' is in fact the correct term, although I'm not sure of the nuanced semantic differences between 'humbleness' and 'humility'. But whichever conveys the idea best I suppose.

God Bless,

~Josh

 

[Ret]

It seems though for Satan that he took something for granted, whether it be his beauty, some great knowledge he thought he had of God, or a desire for more authority. No one really knows, however I found there to be an interesting and fundamental difference in Satan's basic attitude and disposition from God's, who infact even shows a measure of humbless while Satan has demonstrated none himself.

Appreciate your comments Josh,
True in a sense, 'no one really knows' much about Satan....it's enough to judge by the fruits, the 'fundamental difference' resulting in murder and lieing, while in Jesus the opposite is love and humility/humbleness....Ret

 

[cyberjosh]

Although my original intent was to focus more on God's character in this thread, since we have begun to discuss Satan I thought you might get a kick out of this thread I made a while back called "Satan? You mean THAT little imp...?". Feel free to revive it if you have anything to say on the topic. Honestly I think Satan is the only one you can say "I hope he burns in the lowest hell" about and still be in the right :D. We were told to love our neighbor, but nobody said we couldn't hate the Devil ;).

"Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).

God Bless,

~Josh

 

[Ret]

Although my original intent was to focus more on God's character in this thread, since we have begun to discuss Satan I thought you might get a kick out of this thread I made a while back called "Satan? You mean THAT little imp...?". Feel free to revive it if you have anything to say on the topic. Honestly I think Satan is the only one you can say "I hope he burns in the lowest hell" about and still be in the right :D. We were told to love our neighbor, but nobody said we couldn't hate the Devil ;).

"Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).

God Bless,

~Josh

Checked out the link, read your first post...looks interesting. Maybe I'll post something further on there, after I finish reading the rest. (My apologies for getting sidetracked).

Thanks...Ret

 

[Joe67]

Voluntary humility spoils our walk in Jesus. Colossians 2.

It makes a shew of wisdom.

Joe

 

[Veritas]

Only God's glory is worthy of exaltation, and yet God Himself still exercises a measure of humbleness toward His creatures. Oh what an awe inspiring and wonderful mystery of God!

I think God's glory is intrinsically bound to other attributes such as love and humbleness. Certainly, love and humbleness are bound. One can imagine the risk that is involved in true love. Love freely given is a love that is expecting nothing in return, even accepting malice. One cannot love without a humble position towards the beloved. What other than this salient love God displays towards us can be more resplendent? Granted, the scope of God's majesty in His power is worthy of glory in and of itself, but the love required to give it up for us is even more astonishing.

 

[cyberjosh]

Thinking back over this, it only makes God seem all the more wise. This is why no accusation against God at the end of time will stand. God trumps all prideful men with his own humbleness and yet all the while possesses glorious, unspeakable, and worthy-to-be-praised majesty. It's somewhat mind boggling and awe inspiring.