“But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”
Matthew 8:27 (KJV)
Theologians use terms like sovereignty, omnipotence, and moral perfection to describe God, however, unless God tells us what those words mean when applied to Him, we will remain ignorant of God’s true nature and character. This is crucial; unaided human reason is unable to deduce what God is really like. “How unsearchable are His judgments,” said Paul, “and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33). Isaiah the prophet asked rhetorically, “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?” (Isaiah 40:18). No god ever conjured up by the mind of man is like the true God of the Bible. He is very surprising to say the least! The True God is singular in being, but multi-Personal, subsisting as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When the Son became incarnate, He astounded the world with His words and deeds. His disciples exclaimed, “What manner of man is this?” He was totally unlike anything in their experience. The apostle John used the same terms when describing God’s redemptive love for us. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,” wrote John, “that we should be called the sons of God “(1 John 3:1a). God’s love is unlike anything in our experience; it is beyond unaided human imagination. As His adopted children, we are to resemble the surprising God who loved us first. Peter used the same terminology again when he asked, “what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God . . .? (2 Peter 3:11-12). May God help us, His born-again ambassadors, to stand out as wonderfully strange in this present evil age, our words and deeds both glorifying God and blessing others also.
God bless you, dear fellow-heir in the kingdom of God!
Pastor John
English