Attributes of God (Part 1)

God is omnipresent, which means His presence is everywhere at all times. Omnipresent refers to God’s presence within the universe (Thiessen, p.80). God is present at all places in the universe at all times. He his not limited by distance, space, or any of the measurements we think of. He is not limited at all. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10 NIV).

God is Omniscient, which means that His knowledge is infinite. He is all knowing. His knowledge is without limit. Here is how Grudem defines God’s knowledge, “God fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act” (Grudem, p. 190). That’s a power-packed definition. First, God fully knows himself. “The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10 NASB). God is infinite, and He alone fully knows himself. Next, Grudem says God knows “all things actual”. God knows all things which exist and happen. He is aware of everything concerning His creation (Hebrews 4:13). A popular example out of Scripture is Matthew 10:30, which says that God knows the exact numbers of hairs on your head. God is aware of every event, every word spoken, every action taken by every human on planet earth. There is nothing that God is in the dark about. “God is light and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). Finally, God fully knows all things possible. He is aware of every possibility in the universe He created. Grudem writes, “If God fully knows himself, he knows everything he is able to do, which includes all things that are possible” (Grudem, p. 191). He is aware of every consequence and possible outcome of all things. He knows what could have happened. David wrote in Psalm 139, “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all” (NASB).

God is omnipotent. He has the power to do all things (Matt. 19:26, Luke 1:37, Jer. 32:17 to name a few). He is all-powerful. Grudem writes, “God’s omnipotence means that God is able to do all his holy will” (Grudem, p. 216). There are however, certain things God will not, or can not do. “God cannot lie (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18), sin (James 1:13), deny himself (2 Timothy 2:13), or be tempted with evil. He cannot cease to exist, or cease to be God, or act in a way inconsistent with any of his attributes” (Grudem, p. 217, Scripture references added). He is sovereign.

Also see: Attributes of God (Introduction)

Attributes of God (Introduction)

I recently wrote a paper for my Survey of Theology I class detailing the attributes of God. It was a fascinating study to say the least! I’d like to share it with all of you guys, but it’s fairly long (unedited, it ended up being over 15 pages). So, in an effort to keep you interested (and awake), I shortened it and hopefully hit the main points.

I’ll be referring to two authors throughout the series of posts I have planned. I relied heavily on Henry C. Thiessen, author of Lectures in Systematic Theology and Wayne Grudem, author of Systematic Theology. Systematic Theology is a hefty book, but a must for anyone interested in theology and Christianity. I highly recommend both books. I will be quoting both authors quite a bit.

Part 1 will be posted either today or tomorrow. I hope you enjoy it!

Studying Paul’s letters

I apologize for the lack of content. It’s been a very busy couple of months. I have been studying a few of Paul’s epistles for a class I’m taking this semester (Pauline Epistles II). It’s currently my favorite study this semester. The lengths at which Paul goes to spread the Gospel is nothing less than inspiring. He put everything on the line for the sake of Christ.

I’ve taken away so much from this study. I’d like to slowly start posting some thoughts on salvation by faith (never can get too much good info on that), the supremacy of Christ, and a lot more! In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this…

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 NASB).

Works vs. Grace

I think too often people (including myself) think “if I can just clean up my life a little bit, then I’ll start praying and reading the Bible more.” We think we have to be at a certain level, a good place in our life, in order to A) begin a relationship with God, or B) reconnect with God. This is false and dangerous thinking. This sort of thinking is useless. It’s a salvation by works mentality.

God wants us to come to Him just the way we are, right now. He wants us to come to him even though we’re carrying an oversized load of sin or baggage. Once we place our trust in Christ as our Savior, our sin is forgiven – past, present, and future. We have full access to God at that point forward, but when we get into this mode of “well, when I clean up my act…”, we become the stumbling block that keeps us from a wonderful relationship with our Heavenly Father!

Think you have too many problems or are too sinful to come to God? Remember, you + God can solve your problems much easier than you alone.

“know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16 NIV)

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21 NIV)

Also see this post – Is Heaven Really Totally Free? No Charge?

Life at the Cross blog launch

Welcome to the Life at the Cross blog! There’s so much I’d like to say in this first post. First, let’s start with what this weblog will be and what you can expect to find here. Life at the Cross is a Christian blog where you’ll find me (and hopefully many of you) discussing the Bible, my faith (your faith), and various apsects of Christian living. I’ll be genuinelly authentic in discussing my faith, shortcomings, and victories, and in all areas, in every post and article, I hope Christ shines through.

Audience participation is important here. I want you guys to be involved in the discussions by commenting. Tell me what you agree with, what you have problems with, how something has inspired you, etc. I’d even like to invite some of you to be involved as guest authors if there’s enough interest. I realize at first that’s impossible. I have no readers as I’m writing this, but hopefully that will change. If you like what you read here, tell someone else about this blog!

What’s ahead? Content is of course the key. In my free time, I’ll get some good content up here in the form of posts. I’m also working on putting together a “Know God” page. I hope to put together a very simple, straight forward, and accurate page on salvation and knowing God. I’d like to pick up some readers and maybe even try to get a guest author or two here. I’d also like to make contact with other Christian blogs out there and partner up.

For more, check out the About page.