“Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?” [Isaiah 40:13-14]
“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen,” [Romans 11:34-36]
“For this is what the LORD says -- he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited -- he says: "I am the LORD, and there is no other,” [Isaiah 45:18]
“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man he imprisons cannot be released. If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. To him belong strength and victory; both deceived and deceiver are his. He leads counselors away stripped and makes fools of judges. He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows men long established. He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light. He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he sends them wandering through a trackless waste. They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards. "My eyes have seen all this, my ears have heard and understood it,” [Job 12:13ff]
“This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it -- the LORD is his name: `Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know',” [Jeremiah 33:2-3]
God’s ways are infinitely superior to man’s ways. When we stop to contemplate the wisdom of God, we are found lacking and awestruck by His Greatness. Have you ever asked questions like these: Why would Jesus need to be baptized? Why did Jesus wash His disciples’ feet? Why did God have mercy on Nineveh, yet destroyed the cities of the plain? Who was Melchizedek? Why is Mount Moriah so important? How did God create the world so that it could survive His judgments? If God knew we would sin, then why did He create us? Why was Satan allowed to rebel? How did God perfectly direct history to the cross and the empty tomb despite our rebellion? Why Judas? Why entrust the church to imperfect people? Why the Jews? Why does God even care about us? Why apostles? Why eldership? Why do we need to gather together often for fellowship? Why do we need to pray if God already knows how things will turn out? Why does God expect us to pray for things that He already wants? Why does God want us to praise Him? Why aren’t there more miracles happening in this day and age? When will Jesus return? Why hasn’t He come yet? What will happen when He does? Why is God so cryptic with prophetic language? How is it that 4000 years of teaching (in truth, all of time), was recorded by imperfect people, and yet remains perfect and consistently true? Why was the earth positioned in this place in the universe? God Always Was, Is and Shall Be? He made all those stars… for us? How does He make things so that they are simple to understand, yet complex beyond our understanding? Why does weakness make us strong, humility results in exaltation and death results in life? How can He be the Paradox of paradoxes? How can He… be Who He Is?
More than simple philosophy, God is the embodiment of wisdom. His Ways are truly higher than our ways. When our arrogance pretends to know all that there is to know, when we somehow attempt to assert that we are “gods” because of all that we have learned, God has already foreseen all and thought of all and has created things in such a way that we will always be forced to immanently return to a state of humility: He is THE LORD and there is no other.
Because we are the workmanship of our Creator, we can be lead by awe to exalt Him, or, in rebellion, resent Him. We can try to ignore Him or deny Him. We can try to deceive others to renounce Him or attempt to eliminate the truth. But no matter what we do, He is still the same God and will never change. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Forever and Always. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Truth and Life and Light and All in all.
We are told in Hosea 6:6: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” Kouts Christian Church belongs to God. And in all of our ways, and in all of our decisions and in all of our conduct, we are required to acknowledge God in all that we do and say: Not just on Sunday, but in our daily lives. Church is never just location –church is the assembly of “called out ones” (Gk.ecclesia). We are called out to go in. We are taken out, set apart for God (made holy) that His Kingdom might infiltrate and transform the realm of darkness (be in the world but not of it). And the power and the kingdom of God are manifested through the humble, who acknowledge God and seek His will consistently in prayer. The life of a local church is directly proportionate to its love of God. But, as Jesus said, “Those who are forgiven much… love much…” Let’s humbly acknowledge Him and seek His will consistently, purposefully and perpetually until faith is sight. We cannot stand in awe and then never change the world. God requires our acknowledgement of Him –and that requires faith and action.
Our God is an Awesome God.
On the Solid Rock we stand!
George