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More than probably anything else, shame is the junk beneath the junk in our lives. It’s a powerful motivator and at the same time, terrible at solving problems and bringing peace. It’s also an elusive enemy. Too often we don’t see it or realize its incredible influence over us.
If you find that you’re often considered a “perfectionist”, an “all or nothing thinker”, have a tendency to keep people at arms length, or that you are “hard on yourself”, then you’re likely far more affected by shame than you know or care to admit. If you feel dirty, irredeemable, rejected, like an outsider, less-than, insecure, worthless–the list could go on and on–you and shame have been probably living together for a while now.
Shame is more complicated than just bad thoughts and feelings. It’s an entire experience that can shake a person at the deepest levels of the soul. Moreover, feeling “bad” isn’t always or necessarily a bad thing, despite what you’ve likely heard. Over the years, while standing on the shoulders of others, I’ve noticed a few things. So, I’d like to outline for you the anatomy of shame. Let’s make some sense out of a complex issue and then talk about hope.
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Guilt v. shame
Before defining shame itself, we need to differentiate shame from guilt. These get confused with one another quite often. When someone says, “I feel guilty” we usually know what they mean. But really, what they’re describing is shame. Guilt itself is a fact. It’s a legal and forensic reality. You either are guilty or you are not. You either transgressed or you didn’t.
Not only can guilt and shame be conflated, but sometimes we believe we’re guilty when in fact we’re not. We submit ourselves to illegitimate laws, place ourselves underneath unauthorized authorities, and accept the condemnation these contrived courts pronounce over us. So we think of ourselves as guilty and experience the shame that comes with it.
Of course, there are legitimate authorities established by God, and you are commanded to obey them (Matt. 16:13-20; 18:15-20; Mark 12:17; Rom. 13:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:13-14; Eph. 5:21-22; 6:1-3; Heb. 13:17; 1 Thess. 5:12-13; cf. Jer. 29:7) insofar as you’re not being asked to disobey God (Acts 5:29). What I’m referring to instead is the expectations and requirements of people that are given the weight of law, when in fact God hasn’t asked those things of you (Matt. 15:9). Sometimes these “laws” come from others, sometimes from ourselves. Either way, we believe lies and make promises we can’t keep.
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Distinguishing Shame
But there’s still more to untangle here. If you ask the prevailing culture about shame you’ll mostly hear too many voices with too much heat and not enough light. Sadly, there are people who will use the word “shame” as a weapon to (ironically) shame others, and in the process drown out those who are truly suffering. They may even become such a distraction that those who should be ashamed end up off the hook. If you ask current medicine you’ll hear about feelings of worthlessness and excessive or inappropriate guilt. Yet, in an attempt to force objective criteria upon matters of subjectivity, you won’t find any glossary to define the associated terms or any clear and agreed upon thresholds for measuring when something’s become “excessive” or “inappropriate”. And I want to be clear here–I believe the research that’s been done over the past century or more into matters of human neurology, behavior, and functioning are in many ways good. It’s good to study God’s creation including his image-bearers, especially when that research stays in its lane. This means sticking to the “whats” and the wonders of God’s material creation rather than the metaphysical “whys” of things belonging to the immaterial creation and the divine–yet doing so without dismissing or mocking the immaterial and spiritual.
So, then, how should we define shame? Unsurprisingly, the Bible gives us some robust discussion on the matter. Over time, I’ve noticed these seem to fall into three general categories.
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Shame as conviction
First, shame can present as conviction. In a world where people believe they should never have to feel ashamed of anything, conviction reveals that not all shame is bad. In fact, this kind is very good. Conviction comes from God, whether that be in a common restraining of evil kind of way, or in a redemptive repentance unto life kind of way. Conscience is a good thing, especially when made wise by the Holy Spirit.
Conviction can come in two forms: 1) conviction of the truth; and 2) conviction of sin. These are obviously two sides of the same coin. We can’t separate them but we can distinguish between them.
First, we can speak more generally about conviction of the truth. This includes conviction of sin but it can also refer to simply agreeing with God about something of which you were previously ignorant or unskilled. Perhaps there’s a biblical truth you learn from a pastor or member of your church that you hadn’t known or understood before. Upon being presented with the truth, you see it and agree with it. In that way, you agree with God and are sanctified “in the truth” of God’s Word (John 17:17) and its general wisdom. Sometimes we just don’t know what we don’t know, so we don’t know to look for it. This is one reason why sound doctrine and the local church are so absolutely necessary to our spiritual health (Tit. 2:1; Heb. 10:24-25). When the Lord in his kindness places you amongst brothers and sisters that benefit you in new ways, that is a wonderfully helpful means of conviction. This also happens, of course, at the time of a person’s conversion alongside their conviction of sin. They don’t only see their sin, they see and receive the grace and mercy of God in Christ and they trust him. God’s love and mercy are impressed upon them and that truth is their joy (1 Pet. 1:6-9). When the Spirit brings the gospel to someone effectually, he does so with power and “full conviction” (1 Thess. 1:5).
Second, we can speak more specifically about conviction of sin. We see this all over the Bible. Real faith and repentance require this kind of Spirit-wrought conviction. For instance, David prays after his famous blunder with Bathsheba that, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psa. 51:17). Jesus commends, “Blessed are those who mourn,” that is, over their sin, “for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). And John tells us, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).
Notice that true and lasting conviction is always something produced in us by the Spirit, as a response to the gospel. It never stops at feeling bad about our sin but always goes that most glorious step further–to faith in Christ. We lay down our sin and our ignorance at the feet of Jesus and admit, with empty hands, we are needy, helpless people. There is no pride in it that tries to be good enough on its own or to make up for failures by oneself. No, true conviction casts its cares upon Christ (1 Pet. 5:7) and gives him that burden (Matt. 11:28-30), knowing that he cares for his people. It accepts with humility the gift of grace that we could never earn or achieve no matter how hard we try (Rom. 3:27-31; Eph. 2:8-10).
If you struggle with shame, this second kind may feel like a far more familiar way to encounter conviction than the first kind. But be careful here. There is a kind of shame that may feel similar or even the same as conviction, but in reality is quite different.
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Shame as self-righteousness
There is a more sinister kind of shame. Something that comes from our own sin but isn’t taken to Christ. Instead, our response to our sin is to relate to shame in self-righteousness. That is, we attempt to deal with our sin problem on our own, in our own strength, without Christ.
Self-righteous shame also comes in two forms: 1) attempts to establish one’s own righteousness by good works; and 2) attempts to atone for one’s own unrighteousness by way of self-punishment. These will typically present together but can at times present separately.
First, self-righteous shame comes from a desire to earn, in part or in whole, our own righteous standing before God, ourselves, or others (John 12:43; Luke 16:15). We actively attempt to justify ourselves. We try to be good or good enough by our own estimation. We make our own rules and standards. We may shift blame when we’re guilty. We take God’s holy Law and minimize it–shrink it down to a level we can attain–and in that way our legalism is lawlessness (Matt. 7:21-23; 23:1-36). This posture of heart flies in the face of the imputation of Christ’s active obedience. That is, the righteousness that Christ achieved for us and credited to us, whether we know it or not, is something we seek to supplement or supplant, and in so doing we scorn his work for us. Do you “need” to be the best? To “win”? To know it all about your “thing”? Do you look down on those who don’t care as much as you do or do as well or as much as you do about that “thing”? Do you minimize the importance of things you aren’t great at, but elevate the things you do well? Are you trying to prove something about yourself? If you don’t achieve or display your competence, is it devastating? To whatever degree you see yourself when I ask these questions, you have some self-righteousness in you that needs to die.
Second, self-righteous shame comes from a desire to make up for, in part or in whole, our sin before God, ourselves, or others (Col. 2:23). We passively attempt to justify ourselves. We try to make atonement by punishing ourselves. This could look like self-sabotage, volitional isolation, or keeping ourselves from any number of good things. It could look like physically harming our bodies, repeatedly giving in to an addiction over time, or restricting what is good for our bodies like food or cleanliness. Most often it looks like self-loathing thoughts and beliefs about oneself. We silently beat ourselves to a pulp and give in to lies that contradict God’s Word and gospel. This posture of heart flies in the face of the imputation of our sin onto Christ by his passive (think “passion” like suffering, not disengaging) obedience on the cross. That is, the sins that Jesus died to forgive, whether we know it or not, is something we seek to augment or replace with our own suffering. We say in our hearts that it is by our wounds that we are healed, rather than Christ’s (Isa. 53:5). Not only that, but we insult the image of God in us when we denigrate it in ourselves these ways (Gen. 1:27; 2:23-25; Psa. 139:13-18). And to God this is nothing to wink at, but instead it’s of great offense to him (Psa. 51:4; cf. 2 Sam. 11-12).
Most often, we’ll swing back and forth between these two attempts at self-righteousness. I usually see people begin with attempts at being good, followed by the inevitable failure of that strategy, and then the self-loathing punishment described above. And so a cycle begins. We sin, so we try to be better. We can’t be good, so we punish ourselves to make up for it. That doesn’t ever really work either, so we give up and give in to sin so we can feel better. And the cycle starts over again. Take some time right now to examine yourself on this one. Everybody has it to some degree. When do you tend toward this kind of thinking and acting? Look especially for patterns of besetting sin in your life that you’ve chronically had difficulty shaking.
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Shame that’s attributed
Attributed shame is a phantom–felt but not always seen. It comes to us by proxy. The guilt isn’t real but the experience of shame certainly is, so the guilt feels legitimate. Memories haunt us. Words and actions cut deep and we can’t seem to stop the bleeding. Someone else’s yuck gets all over us, and at some point we own it. Or for whatever reason, we believe something demeaning that isn’t true about us as image-bearers or as individuals. This fallen world hurts, and we think it’s because of something uniquely and especially broken about us. Sometimes others, even those we call friends, will blame us for things we didn’t invite into our lives (e.g., Job’s friends).
Anytime someone sins against us and we accept responsibility for it or identify with it we experience this kind of shame. This can likewise come from two sources: 1) others; and 2) ourselves.
First, the most obvious way that attributed shame can come upon us is when others sin against us or we are associated with someone or something that’s sinful or shameful. Anyone who’s been abused or the victim of a violent crime knows this all too well. Someone else committed horrible acts against you, and it can be extremely difficult to shake the thought that maybe you deserve to be treated this way by other people. Perhaps, you think, there’s something exceptionally worthless or disgusting about you that you would be the rightful recipient of this kind of behavior. “I must be the kind of person people treat that way.” You see yourself as fundamentally broken, dirty, and contemptible and everyone else around you can see it too–or so you think.
Second, we can attribute shame to ourselves illegitimately without the direct prompting of another’s sin. You simply believe a falsehood about God, yourself, and the reason things happen to you. The reasons one might fall into this kind of shameful thinking are too numerous and complex to discuss here, but suffice to say, this can happen for all sorts of reasons. Perhaps you’ve internalized something from earlier in your life that isn’t true. Possibly you’ve been poorly taught about who God is and why we suffer in this life. Maybe you don’t feel well and don’t know what to do with that pain. Or perhaps you have some confusion about distinctions between the law and the gospel.
In whatever you have attributed shame, you also have a choice. In Christ, you don’t have to bear that weight. You don’t have to let that shame rule you or define you. But you could if you’re not careful. At this point we need to ask: Will you address this attributed shame–that isn’t your fault–with self-righteousness, or with conviction of the truth?
Shame is a universal problem for fallen humanity, so no one is exempt. The question is not if you have any shame in your life, but instead, “Where do I have shame in my life?” Where have I associated myself with, or been associated with, what is shameful, dirty, foolish, worthless, rejected, etc.? Some of us will have more than others, but no one will be completely free of it. And if shame goes unaddressed it will bear rotten fruit, whether you’re willing to acknowledge or deal with it or not. So then, what to do about your shame?
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What is my only comfort in my shame?
Famously, the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) and after that the Baptist adaptation, An Orthodox Catechism (1680), asks and answers the following:
Q 1. What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A. That I am not my own, but belong–body and soul, in life and in death–to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him. [1]
I love that question and response because it so helpfully takes our heart’s eyes off ourselves and places them on Jesus. That movement of gaze from internal to glorious external is the key to overcoming and persevering in the shame experience. Too often we engage in what Jerry Bridges calls “morbid introspection”. [2] The prevailing culture around us may counsel you to look inside yourself for comfort, but anyone who’s honest with themselves knows this isn’t the answer. Look long enough and you’ll find your ugly stuff hidden behind the surface level veneers. And refusing to see it is no solution either. That’s like hearing you have cancer from the doctor but refusing to believe or act upon that news. You can pretend it isn’t there but it’s eating you up inside all the same.
This is the bad news. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God…no one does good, not even one” (Rom. 3:10-12). Left to ourselves there is no hope and there is no comfort of any lasting substance. But if there’s bad news, there might be good news too. Is there? Yes! Though the “wages of sin is death,” the Good News is that, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).
Focus with me for a moment on that phrase “in Christ Jesus”. We find this and similar phrases throughout the New Testament, and it’s meant to speak to us about our union with Christ. If you haven’t heard of the doctrine of our union with Christ, then you’re in for a treat. Union with Christ can be defined as “that intimate, vital, and spiritual union between Christ and His people, in virtue of which, He is the source of their life and strength, of their blessedness and salvation.” [3]
If you wanted a good summary phrase in Scripture it might be that, because of God, every true Christian is “in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). Every aspect of our salvation flows from this singular reality. This union between us and Jesus is mysterious and it’s Spiritual. That is, there’s a mystery to how the resurrected Christ can be as far away as heaven and yet at the same time as intimate and close as within us. And that mystery is explained (though no less incomprehensibly mysterious and wonderful) by our knowing that God the Holy Spirit within us is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27; cf. Rom. 8:9-10; Eph. 3:16-17). Jesus promised to not “leave [us] as orphans” but “will come to you” (John 14:18). And how does he say he does this? By “the Helper, the Holy Spirit” (v. 26) who is himself “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9; 1 Pet. 1:11; Gal. 4:6).
In this way, you are Christ’s and Christ is yours (1 Cor. 3:23). That is, you don’t belong to yourself. You belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to Christ your most faithful Savior. We are not most faithful; he is. And you are now indestructibly associated with Christ. All that is his is now also yours. His Father, his righteousness, his kingdom, his Spirit, his glory, his honor—and the list could go on. In him we have “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3).
You may already be putting the pieces together. If shame associates us with the marred identities and reputations of ourselves and others, then in our union with Christ we’re no longer associated with those things but are instead associated with him. And we can’t earn it or contribute in any way. It’s all of Christ and he alone gets the glory. You can’t do it…and you don’t have to. Thank God!
Have you sought to establish your own righteousness; to justify your existence? When we trust our righteous Messiah in all our weakness, we can be sure that our sins are removed and his refreshing presence is our good (Acts 3:19; Psa. 73:28). By taking on our sin and giving us his righteousness, “in him” we “become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Have you attempted to atone for your own sin by punishing yourself? “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Have you been shamed by others or crushed by your own self-loathing? Look to Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2).
You may have any number of reasons for why Christ should reject you. And yet, you must contend with Jesus himself who says that, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out…And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:37, 39).
The reality is that whatever you’ve done or think you’ve done can’t be worse than refusing the grace of God in Jesus Christ–not only for your justification at your conversion, but every single moment of every single day. His grace is relevant all the time and working in you all the time. Of course you don’t deserve it. So what? You’ve got two options: 1) in your pride try to be good enough on your own and assuredly fail; or 2) admit you can’t be good enough and accept the love God has shown you in Jesus (see Gal. 3:10-14). What right do you have to refuse him? So give up. Surrender to the King. And “whenever our heart condemns us” let us recall that “God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20). Agree with God, not your own deceitful heart (Jer. 17:9). When everything in you says otherwise, remember Christ is truer. And when “we are faithless, he remains faithful–for he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). You can’t wiggle out of his loving arms, so stop trying.
And let me ask you one last question…Does that kind of grace and mercy compel you to sin and thumb your nose at the one who has loved you so perfectly? Of course not! Yes, sadly, you will sin. And, thankfully, you also never have to sin. Why? Because the law can’t condemn you anymore, and the Holy Spirit works effectually in you despite you until he completes that work in his time at the Day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6). So be encouraged! You ultimately can’t mess this up. Let his kindness lead you to repentance as it’s meant to (Rom. 2:4). Yes, our sin has consequences in this life, age, and world. Make no mistake, your sin will find you out (Num. 32:23), God will not be mocked, and we all reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7-8). But that is in no way contradictory to the reality that God “does not deal with us according to our sins” (Psa. 103:10) and there is absolutely nothing that can separate God’s children from his love in Christ (Rom. 8:35-39). Even our sins and sufferings in this life he uses to produce in us “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:11). There is no eternal punishment or shame for any true Christian. No, that’s not fair. Again, thank God. We don’t want what fair would get us. We want grace–and that’s exactly what’s been given to us in Christ.
For further reflection…
Where have you resisted addressing shame in your own life? Have you examined your heart to see where shame is hiding? If you find yourself defensive or recoiling from these questions or anything in this article, why might that be? How might you be attempting to protect yourself from shame? Are you denying its presence in your life? Are you hiding behind your own talents, skill, aptitude, intelligence, or reputation? Have you faced the reality that God will address these things in you because he loves you, even if you don’t want him to? In what ways might you trust him to take care of you as you face these scary thoughts, memories, feelings, and experiences?
I recently preached a sermon on shame from the story of Peter’s denials of Jesus in Luke 22. If you’d like to think more about this topic and your own life, here’s a link to that sermon:
Footnotes
[1] I’ve chosen to quote Hercules Collins’ An Orthodox Catechism not only because of my own Reformed Baptist convictions, but because I find the wording to be a tad bit sweeter.
[2] Bridges, Jerry. The Pursuit Of Holiness. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2006 (p. 45).
[3] Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology: New Edition Containing the Full Text Of Systematic Theology and the Original Introductory Volume To Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996 (p. 449).
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Part 3 – Divine Simplicity
I must confess—I especially enjoy discussing divine simplicity. It holds a special place in my heart. What a gloriously mysterious and worshipfully fascinating truth! Human expression will always come up wanting when describing God. Yet if we are silent, the very stones themselves may cry out (Luke 19:40).
You won’t find any singular proof text for divine simplicity in the Bible. Rather, it’s largely a matter of allowing Scripture to interpret itself, and reasoning from other essential doctrines concerning God’s nature and character–chiefly, his aseity, infinity, and creation. [1] We’ll spend some time on those shortly. But first, a brief detour. Unfortunately, over the past century or more, evangelicals have struggled to understand their relationship to Scripture and their place in church history. Without going into gross detail, because of these struggles, I’ll need to begin by explaining a few things about the relationship between Scripture and reason. Consequently, this post will be a bit longer than the others. Divine simplicity is indispensable to a proper doctrine of God, and since it can be understandably challenging for those new to the idea, you’ll find plenty of footnotes to assist in further study.
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Scripture and Reason
Because we live in a time when people are quite tolerant of logical inconsistencies, many construct their theologies more like choosing independent marbles for their doctrinal sack, rather than as a coherent and consistent system of truth. Put this one in…throw that one out…replace this one…set that one aside for later (insert obnoxious and lazy comment about “panmillennialism” here). Each doctrine functions as its own stand-alone truth that doesn’t bear much if any weight upon the rest of the theological marbles in the bag. Never mind centuries of church history; bring on the ill-fitted novelty. Some folks do this because they’ve embraced a kind of relativism that cares more about what feels or seems right to them at the time (Prov. 14:12; 16:25). For others, it’s just the philosophical air they’ve breathed for so long they don’t even know it’s happening.
Still others have a misguided animosity toward “reason” or “philosophy”. That antipathy might be across the board or exclusively in relation to matters of divinity. The irony is that these rejections are themselves (poorly) reasoned philosophies of interpretation and epistemology that apply to theology as much as anything else. [2] The novelty is embraced—knowingly or unknowingly—with heels firmly dug in. These kinds of approaches effectively make the individual their own “pope” of sorts, and eschews the wonderful ways the Holy Spirit has worked in many an incredibly gifted saint across more than two millennia of church history and beyond. [3]
And while there are certainly plenty of philosophies that in fact do contradict Scripture—some more than others—the Bible itself assumes human reasoning and laws of logic as prerequisite for a person to even read, comprehend, or understand its contents. In other words, ontology precedes epistemology; nature precedes ways of knowing.
Additionally, we do not only agree with what is “expressly set down” in Scripture “concerning all things necessary for [God’s] own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life [i.e., spirituality, religious practice, sanctification, etc.]”. We must also agree with what is “necessarily contained in the Holy Scripture.” [4] That is, if something is true in Scripture because of its corpus testimony, regardless of whether there is an explicit statement about that doctrine found anywhere within, it is nonetheless true and must be accepted by way of Spirit-wrought, sanctified reason and necessary inference. [5]
Therefore, by way of Scripture as a whole, in all it’s explicit and implicit truth–and by way of sanctified reason in service of the Scriptures–the doctrine of divine simplicity is in no way illegitimate but instead is quite necessary for our proper worship of God as he has revealed himself in both Scripture and in nature. [6]
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Defining Divine Simplicity
When speaking of God as “simple” we don’t mean that he’s simplistic or easy to understand. As we’ll discuss in a future post, God is truly knowable though not comprehensively or exhaustively so.
Foundationally, divine simplicity means that nothing not God makes God to be God. Did you catch that? In other words, nothing antecedent of or more essential than God comes together to make him what he is. There’s nothing behind or beneath God. His attributes are not parts of him but more like descriptions of him. He is those things without composite. These “attributes” are him–they are his singular essence.
Moreover, existence and essence are identical in him. Existence refers to the fact that something is. Essence refers to what something is. In God, his is-ness and what-ness are one and the same. You and I derive our existence as human beings from God as our Creator and Sustainer. We exist and we exist as humans because of him. But God’s being and existence are indistinguishable.
In short, the point of simplicity is this–God does not have parts–he is One.
“[W]e worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.”
Athanasian Creed, 3-6
“The Lord our God is…a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, [or] parts…”
Baptist Confession, 2:1
“In this divine and infinite Being there are three subsistences, the Father, the Word or Son, and the Holy Spirit, of one substance…”
Baptist Confession, 2:3
“We all believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that there is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God…”
Belgic Confession, Article 1
In contrast, you and I are composite beings made up of two parts—material and immaterial. Our material part has varying organs and systems of functioning like our circulatory system, skeletal system, nervous system, brain, tissue, hormones, etc. Our immaterial part is made up of three faculties—mind, affections (or “heart”), and will (or “volition”). [7] This is what God has decided you are and designed you to be. You didn’t decided this, he did.
But God is the great I AM. He didn’t decide to be. That would mean some things or parts more essential than him had to decide to become him. And he doesn’t become. That would mean he had to add some things or parts to himself that were previously not part of him. But there is no movement in God. He must, therefore, be simple and without parts.
When God gave ancient Israel one thing to pray and contemplate each day, he gave them the Shema—meaning “hear” or “listen”—which is the first Hebrew word in the phrase: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deut. 6:4; see also Gal. 3:20; James 2:19). The glory of God’s simple being deserves perpetual daily meditation. For God’s Old Covenant people, they were meant to rise in the morning and lay down at night confessing and contemplating God’s unique simplicity. He is the One true God, and in no way is he like the imagined gods of the nations that surround them.
Now, as I previously mentioned, divine simplicity is the imperative consequence of affirming God’s aseity, infinity, and creation. So we’ll consider each of these three in turn.
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Simplicity and Aseity
His simplicity follows from his aseity because God being absolutely independent and self-sufficient, he can’t be dependent upon or owe his existence to more fundamental things or parts. That would make some things more foundational to God than God–at which point he wouldn’t really be God.
No set of traits, characteristics, or virtues come together to form God. Nothing less than God can be combined to become God. Our “God cannot depend on what is not Himself in order to be Himself.” [8] This isn’t Voltron, Captain Planet, or the Power Rangers we’re talking about here (Did I just date myself?). “Rather, the reality in virtue of which all these things are truly said of God is nothing but His own simple divinity. Properly speaking, God is good by virtue of God, not goodness. He is wise by virtue of God, not wisdom. He is powerful by virtue of God, not power. He is love by virtue of God, not love”. [9] Truly, all that is in God is God. [10] God is not the cause of himself but simply is himself since he can’t give to himself anything he lacks since he lacks nothing. And he can’t receive from himself what is already his.
And so, to posit a complex God made of parts would necessitate that we should in fact be worshiping those more foundational parts rather than what those parts come together to be. The parts would be more essential than that divine Being itself and therefore that Being is not most essential. And what Christian could ever say that God isn’t the most essential Being? When it comes to our a se God, this just cannot be the case. If divine aseity is true, then divine simplicity must also be true.
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Simplicity and Infinity
His simplicity also follows from his infinity. James Dolezal explains:
“Scripture teaches divine infinity when it speaks of God’s greatness as exalted above creation. God’s glory is above the heavens (Ps. 8:1; 148:13), and even the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him (1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chron. 2:6; 6:18). His greatness is unfathomable (Ps. 145:3), and no one can discover the limit of the Almighty (Job 11:7). Other passages that speak of God’s infinity include those that attest to His fullness of being. God says to Israel in Isaiah 48:12, “I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last” (cf. 41:4; 44:6). This fullness of being sets Him apart from all false gods and indeed all finite beings of any sort. This same truth is conveyed in the parallel expression in Revelation 1:8, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ (cf. 1:11, 17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:13).”
Dolezal, pp. 47-48.
Parts, by definition not being whole, must be finite since they lack completeness. And an infinite God likewise can’t be made up of or dependent upon finite parts. The infinite cannot be composed of the finite. Finite things cannot create infinite things. Any whole must be considered greater than its individual parts. There can be nothing more full, foundational, or greater than God, otherwise what is behind God would be more truly God than God himself–and that’s nonsensical. And so, for God to be infinite he must also necessarily be simple.
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Simplicity and Creation
And finally, his simplicity must also follow from his status as Creator of all things visible and invisible. He stands alone as the one true God and there is no other (Mark 12:32). God creates from nothing and is totally unique in his ability to create ex nihilo. We, on the other hand, must use what raw materials he’s provided to make anything we attempt to make. God is the Uncaused Cause of all; we’re never really the truest starting point for anything. Everything we are and have is derived from him. If God was made from more foundational parts, then he would not truly be the Creator of all. Why? Because he would himself have been created. The combining of more fundamental uncreated things would create God. And again, those things would be the truest God, and there would be multiple of them. Then we have to ask, “So which is the greatest of these most fundamental parts?” And if we find there to be a greatest thing behind God that makes up God–then that means all the other more foundational uncreated things are inferior…and therefore not most excellent…so…not God. All of this clearly devolves into absurdity. Look at how imperative it is that we always maintain the Creator-creation distinction in our thinking!
But there’s one more thing we can’t forget to say. Not only did God create everything in this old creation, but he is the Creator of the new creation as well. In his letter to the Roman church, Paul tells us that salvation comes to a person only through the instrument of faith in Christ, and not in any way by keeping the law. He makes the point that God is not the God who saves Jews only but Gentiles also. He created both and he saves from both into a new creation–one that is earned, established, ruled, and perpetuated by Christ. And Paul also says we know this to be the case because “God is one” (Rom. 3:30). Huh? How does God’s simplicity relate to his saving a people for himself from both Jews and Gentiles? Where’s the connection? Paul’s point is that God being one simple Being has only one divine will; not two and not three (or more). Only one plan of salvation, according to the purpose of his perfect will, in all wisdom and insight, for all the elect (Eph. 1:5, 9). As he says elsewhere, “there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Cor. 8:6). Furthermore, “There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call–one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:4-6). In other words, our salvation hinges upon God being simple. If God were complex he might have competing wills or might show favoritism. But “God shows no partiality” (Rom. 2:11). Thankfully, all that come to the Father through Jesus will never be cast out, but will be resurrected on the last Day (John 6:37).
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Counseling Divine Simplicity
If there’s anything God’s simplicity should assure us of it’s this–God can’t and won’t fall apart. He’ll never go to pieces on you. Being simple and holy, he has perfect integrity. Compare this with Isaiah’s appearance in the throne room of God. In chapter six of his prophecy, Isaiah says he “saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (v. 1), and this awesome vision of God compelled these words: “Woe is me! For I am lost…for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (v. 5). That word for “lost” can also be translated as “undone” (see ASV, KJV, NKJV). It carries with it the idea of exposing a lack of integrity. In whatever way Isaiah may have imagined that he was “put together,” to stand before God showed otherwise, and he “fell apart” so to speak. Surely, Isaiah would have recalled Moses’ request to see God’s glory, and God’s response that, “man shall not see me and live” (Exod. 33:20). How, then, can he still live? There is only one reason–his “guilt [was] taken away, and [his] sin atoned for” (v. 7). And we know this is only because of the work of Christ for all of those who are in him by grace through faith–including Old Testament saints like Isaiah who looked forward in faith to the Messiah promised in the Offspring of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15, 20; Gal. 3:16).
Were any of us in Isaiah’s shoes, we would dis-integrate too. And yet, in Christ, we are held together. Not because of our own integrity, but because his integrity is our integrity in our union with him. He was crushed for our iniquities and by his wounds we are healed (Isa. 53:5, 10). He is the one true God and the only man who accomplished sinless, perfect righteousness. Only a simple God, in his absolute unity and immaculate purity, can hold together broken sinners like us.
So then, what is our only hope? What are you giving to those you disciple and counsel? When you minister, point them to this God who won’t give under the weight of fallen, creaturely frailty and failures. Even when we fall apart and break down, he never will. “[I]f we are faithless, he remains faithful–for he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). In him, we are safe (Prov. 29:25).
Additionally, when we are tempted to hide in the darkness and hold on to our sin and shame, we can instead come to the God who is himself Light, who is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:5, 9). We can stand before him as true confessors of our sin and his gospel (Luke 18:9-14) and have no fear of punishment because he is love (1 John 4:7-21).
It’s a little more difficult to piece together, but one way we see God’s simplicity in Scripture is in his being called “light” in whom there is “no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Typically, we think of God being light as having more to do with his holiness and his revelation–both true, of course. But his being light also speaks to his oneness. Light is nothing but light. Its absence is darkness. Darkness cannot impose itself upon light. Where there is light, there is no darkness. Even God’s first act of creation is to speak light into existence from nothing, and then separate it from the darkness. The light came first, then the darkness. Before light and darkness, there was nothing; just God. In a similar way, God is first, pure, and simple. And the same God “who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness'” in this old creation, has in the new creation “shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). It is this same Christ in whom we, with unveiled face, behold the glory of the Lord and are “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (3:18). The God whose gaze should disintegrate us, destroy us, doom us, ruin us–instead it changes us to be more like him. In Christ, we can say with confidence, “for me it is good to be near God” (Psa. 73:28). Next time you talk to someone who is discouraged or even hopeless about their same old besetting sins coming back to haunt them, don’t you dare point them back into themselves. You open the Word together and you look to Jesus. The more we look at ourselves, the more we’ll be hopeless and discouraged. The more we look at him, the more we’ll see him and his kindness will lead us to peace and repentance.
The same God for whom we should cower in fear and shame has instead lifted our heads and invited us to confess, be forgiven, and receive cleansing (cf. Psa. 32). When those you counsel are holding back out of fear, invite them not to look to you or themselves, but to this holy God who is their light, salvation, and the stronghold of their life (Psa. 27:1). Rather than hiding from him (Gen. 3:7-8), they can rejoice as the apple of his eye and instead hide in him (Psa. 17:8; 32:7). And rather than hide from the wonderful gift he’s given them in the church, they can confess to and pray with their brothers and sisters and be healed (James 5:16).
I know this was a long post, but I hope it was encouraging. Thanks for hanging in there with me. Our God cannot be anything other than he is–of perfect, simple integrity. Think of him in all these ways, and lead others to do the same. Perhaps you could memorize and pray the Shema twice a day for a while just to remind yourself of God’s simplicity and all the wonderful things it entails. In the meantime…
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For Further Reflection
What does it mean for you to see God as simple? How does it change the way you think and live that he cannot “go to pieces” on you? How should that change the way you pray, preach, teach, and counsel others?
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Footnotes
[1] Dolezal, James E. All That Is In God: Evangelical Theology and the Challenge of Classical Christian Theism. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2017. pp. 45-50.
[2] Moreover, for one to appeal to texts like Col. 2:8 as proof of the sinfulness of all philosophy, is to misunderstand and divorce Paul’s statement from its context. The idea is not that philosophy itself is bad, but that the kind of philosophy we should reject is the kind that is “according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” This means that philosophy, like any other good thing, can be used toward sinful ends with sinful motives. In particular, Paul means the kind of philosophy that is hollow, empty, or vain because it deceives, cheats, spoils, and captures or captivates a person–turning their focus from Christ to their own thoughts. Historically, this would have been a rejection of Sophism and similar ideologies. Sophism includes, to varying degrees, “radical skepticism” that “turn[s its] back on philosophy and practice[s] rhetoric instead.” That is, Sophism attempts to receive rhetoric at the expense of philosophy. Like philosophy, there’s nothing inherently wrong with rhetoric, and it is quite good and necessary for our everyday lives. Where would any of us be without the ability to persuade? But to the Sophists, “The goal of rhetoric was not to proclaim the truth but to achieve practical aims of persuasion”, to the point that some denied the existence of truth altogether and embraced a kind of relativism and so-called “religious tolerance” that anticipated the postmodern ideologies of our day. Sproul, R. C. The Consequence Of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts That Shaped Our World. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2000. pp. 29-30.
[3] In many ways, this is because we have been steeped in Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment ways of thinking that previous faithful generations would have found quite illogical and bizarre. For more on this see: Carter, Craig A. Interpreting Scripture With the Great Tradition: Recovering the Genius Of Premodern Exegesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018.
[4] Baptist Confession, 1:6.
[5] For example, we could never arrive at the doctrines of the Trinity or the hypostatic union without piecing together the necessarily inferred biblical facts that tell us these things. There are no explicit proof texts that tell us things like, “God is one being in three persons,” or, “Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human in two natures though one person.” Yet these are true nonetheless. In fact, they are so foundational to the Christian faith that to knowingly deny them is to deny the Christian faith itself and prove oneself to be a heretic.
[6] Classically, Christianity has always confessed that God reveals himself to us in two ways or “books”. Those are often termed natural revelation (or “general revelation”) and supernatural revelation (or “special revelation). The Baptist Confession 1:1 explains this differentiation as follows: “The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience, although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and His will which is necessary unto salvation.” Natural theology would include natural revelation and natural law and the right ways in which it may interpret God’s good creation and know his righteous requirements for mankind as his image-bearers (Rom. 1:19-21; Psa. 19:1-3; Rom. 2:14-15).
[7] For more on this see Chapter 2 of Renihan, Samuel. God Without Passions: A Primer: A Practical and Pastoral Study Of Divine Impassibility. Palmdale, CA: RBAP, 2015.
[8] Dolezal, p. 44.
[9] Ibid., p. 43.
[10] Ibid., p. 41.
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Part 2 – Divine Aseity
Not that I’m attempting necessarily–but if you forced me to choose the most foundational statement in the Bible concerning God’s being, essence, and activity–it would have to be his extraordinary self-description in Exodus 3:14.
“I AM that I AM.” [1]
Exod. 3:14
Every one of God’s attributes begins with this statement. But before any other, I want to first consider God’s aseity. Though a disturbing number of self-proclaimed evangelicals today have pitiable deficiencies in their understanding of theology generally, including in their doctrine of God [2]–divine aseity seems to be especially unrecognized or neglected. You may even be thinking to yourself now that you’ve never heard of that word, let alone that it describes God. For most, that will likely be because they were never taught, and so they just don’t know what they don’t know. You may find yourself in that category as well, as I did until several years ago.
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The Doctrine of Divine Aseity
So, what is divine aseity? Put simply, it means that God is absolutely self-existent and self-sufficient, and therefore, utterly independent. He exists a se–that is, he is “of himself”. [3] He doesn’t cause himself to be; he is being. He is life and existence, and therefore, dependent upon nothing and no one. It wouldn’t be wrong to simply say of God, “He is.” Or, to use his own words, “I AM”. Each of God’s three persons is essentially a se, because each of the persons is of the same substance (or essence) since all three are the one divine Being–”one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance.” [4] He is the first, and he is the last (Isa. 48:12). The living God (Isa. 37:17), and “the fountain of life” (Psa. 36:9). His life is his own; ours is derivative and dependent. “God lives at once, but we live over time, progressing…[he] lives necessarily, but we do not.” [5]
“The Lord our God is but one only living and true God; whose subsistence is in and of Himself…” [6]
Baptist Confession, 2:1
“God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself, is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them; He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things…” [7]
Baptist Confession, 2:2
One necessary conclusion to be drawn from divine aseity is that God is actus purus. That is, he is “most pure actuality” or “perfect actualization.” [8] He is, as Aquinas said, the “Unmoved Mover…[as] the first efficient cause of being must itself be pure act.” [9] He didn’t come from anywhere or anyone and he isn’t headed anywhere. In his divinity he is uncreated, immense, omnipresent, and atemporal–“a most pure spirit, invisible, without body.” [10] He created and fills all of time and space, while at the same time standing outside of them as eternal. There’s nothing about him in need of supplement, augmentation, or becoming. He is the most fundamental source of all things that depend upon him for their existence–which, of course, is everything in all of creation that ever was, is, or will be—everything that is not God. “That is to say, God, as the first cause of all things, must be a being who is not susceptible to further actualization because He possesses fullness of being in and of Himself.” [11] To put it more simply, there is no potential in God. He is supremely perfect in all ways. He is eternally incapable of becoming anything or losing anything. Nothing can add or subtract from him, including himself. He is utterly perfect and transcendent in all ways. He is eternally original and exemplary. He is only Being; he is in no way becoming. [12] Here we find that words ultimately fail us, though these descriptions are true all the same. But we should also find ourselves in worshipful awe and reverence.
In one sense, though all the excellencies we attribute to God are equally eternal and perfect, divine aseity “is the key that unlocks all other attributes. Without it, every other attribute cannot be what it is. With it, we see why God is who he is. We see why his perfection is, well, so perfect.” [13] Hence why I’ve started this series with divine aseity.
Who can give to this great Creator? What can he profit from us? Can we or any other created thing add anything to God? What does he need from his creation? Absolutely nothing (Acts 17:23-28). He is the Giver–and “In him we live and move and have our being” (v. 28) –not the other way around.
What can contain him? Nothing (1 Kings 8:27). Who can repay him? No one (Rom. 11:35). If you are righteous, does he gain or receive anything from you that he doesn’t already possess (Job 22:2-3)? And if you sin against him, do you cause him any harm? Not at all (35:6-7). God himself says to Job, “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine” (41:11), and, “Whom did [God] consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” (Isa. 40:14). The implied answer, of course, is nobody. Our God is the “Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22:13). He is not the Alpha somehow in process of becoming the Omega.
You may be thinking at this point something like, “Yeah that’s all really great, but is that helpful in my day to day life?” More than you may know.
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Counseling God’s Aseity
What this means ultimately and quite practically is that God is sufficient in all ways and all things. Being purely independent, he alone is enough for you and everyone you encounter no matter the person or the circumstances. And as believers, weak and sinful as we are, we can blissfully confess with Paul, “But he [says] to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9).
Think of all those people who have been betrayed, deceived, taken advantage of, and harmed by others. Think of all those who are stuck in cycles of sin and shame no matter how hard they’ve tried to stop. For anyone you sit with who is in Christ through faith, God’s aseity ensures they can trust him even when everything else—including themselves—proves unreliable and limited. The promise of salvation–including your sanctification–is absolutely certain not so much because a promise was made, but because of who is making the promise. The promise is sweet because of the Promise-keeper. God has been so kind as to display “more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of purpose, [guaranteeing] it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” (Heb. 6:17-18). Jesus has gone before us as a sure and steadfast anchor of our souls giving us infallible hope (v. 19). Not a feeling of hope that comes and goes in us, but one that’s always sure and steadfast because of a God who cannot be moved and a Christ whose work cannot be undone.
And for those who don’t know Christ savingly, this is what you have to offer them—real hope. The kind that isn’t uncertain but is assured and convicted of things not yet seen because God saves to the uttermost those who draw near to him in Christ through faith (Heb. 7:25; 11:1).
Unless we have a God who is truly self-existent and self-sufficient then we can’t be sure that anything I’ve just said (or the Bible says) is true or won’t somehow change. But he is enough and he will sustain you and those you counsel. He promises to bring to completion the good work he’s started in you and in them (Phil. 1:6), and his promises are not as sure as fallen creatures, but as sure as he is. Encourage those around you to take their eyes off of their ever-changing, inconsistent, fallible selves and look to the God who is a se. He alone is unassailable. That is, he has true and perfect integrity as the one who is existence himself. No one can assault him. No one can prove him wrong or wanting. Why? Because he is exclusively independent. And he is for his people not against them. Only a God like that can be fully trusted.
Take yourself and everyone you speak with swiftly to our a se God.
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Questions For Reflection
Have you ever thought about God in these terms? What rises to the surface in you when you read about God’s aseity? Are you comforted, afraid, angry, or something else? Perhaps some combination? Whatever comes up, pray for wisdom to see God as he is and love him for who he is. Allow this immeasurable truth to lead you to worship. Accept the mystery of it, but also the steadfast truth of it. How does God’s aseity change things for you, or recast the way you’ve thought about God, yourself, others, your past, present, and future? What would a universe without a God who is a se be like? Is that universe logical, tenable, or endurable? Compare and contrast that universe from the one in which God is a se, and talk with someone about the differences and consequences of both ideas.
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Footnotes
[1] Or “I AM WHO I AM,” or “I AM THAT WHICH I AM.”
[2] Every two years Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research partner to “take the theological temperature of the United States to help Christians better understand today’s culture and to equip the church with better insights for discipleship.” The result is The State Of Theology research study. See the key findings from 2022 here: https://thestateoftheology.com/
[3] Muller, Richard A. Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms: Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1985. p. 47.
[4] Athanasian Creed (6th century), Art. 3-4.
[5] Jones, Mark. God Is: A Devotional Guide To the Attributes Of God. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017. p. 67.
[6] 1689 Baptist Confession Of Faith & the 1695 Baptist Catechism. Port St. Lucie, FL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2018. Otherwise named the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, first published in 1677 and then again in 1689; hereafter abbreviated as the Baptist Confession. This excerpt is from Chapter 2: Article 1.
[7] Baptist Confession, Chapter 2: Article 2.
[8] Muller, p. 24.
[9] Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae Ia.2.3.
[10] Baptist Confession, Chapter 2: Article 1.
[11] Dolezal, James E. All That Is In God: Evangelical Theology and the Challenge of Classical Christian Theism. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2017. p. 16.
[12] To be more technical, there is no “passive potency” in God. The Puritan scholastic Stephen Charnock wrote in 1682 the following: “God is of himself, from no other. Natures which are made by God, may increase, because they began to be; they may decrease, because they were made of nothing, and so tend to nothing; the condition of their original leads them to defect, and the power of their Creator brings them to increase. But God hath no original, he hath no defect, because he was not made of nothing: he hath no increase, because he had no beginning. He was before all things, and, therefore, depends upon no other thing, which, by its own change, can bring any change upon him. That which is from itself cannot be changed, because it hath nothing before it, nothing more excellent than itself; but that which is from another as its first cause and chief good, may be changed by that which was its efficient cause and last end.” Charnock, Stephen. The Existence and Attributes Of God (Vol. 1). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996. p. 321.
[13] Barrett, Matthew. None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes Of God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2019. p. 68.
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Part 1: Prolegomena
“Behold your God!” Isaiah encourages us (Isa. 40:9). Paul explains that beholding the Lord’s glory sanctifies us–transforms us into his image “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18). And Jesus himself prays to his Father that his people would be sanctified “in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).
As biblical and Christian counselors, sometimes we can read lots and lots of great books and articles about counseling, but never really get down deep into the theologically rich “whys” that uphold the counseling “whats”. And that’s not just unfortunate, it’s dangerous.
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So then, why?
One area in which I’ve yet to see much focused discussion related to counseling is that of theology proper, which includes our understanding of God’s attributes. I especially haven’t seen this carefully explained from the perspective of classical Christian theism. [1] But no topic could be more foundational to our faith, and as a consequence, to our counseling. What questions could be more vital than, “Who is God?” and “What’s he like?” The answers to those questions will inevitably reverberate into every nook and cranny of our hearts, lives, and ministries.
That being said, I thought it would be helpful to write a short series of articles on counseling God’s attributes.
But we can’t turn to just any old place to find out who God is and what he’s like. That’s an extra special job, requiring an extra special voice, with extra special wisdom and authority. We don’t get to just make this stuff up. If we’re to have any true understanding of God, then we must hear from God himself. After all, only God’s Spirit is able to search “everything, even the depths of God” (1 Cor. 2:10). So we turn first and foremost to his perfect Word in the Holy Scriptures. But we’ll also consult secondarily with many gifted and faithful saints across the ages in whom the Spirit has worked powerfully.
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Foundations of the Foundations
If beholding our God is foundational to our practical ministry, then there are a couple of truths that I want to highlight from the start as things to be assumed in every subsequent article moving forward.
The first is that God is uniquely holy. He is most holy. That is, God is holy in a way beyond all other things that can be deemed holy, and he would be just as immeasurably holy if those other things never existed. Most essentially, when one speaks of God’s holiness, it means that he is altogether separate, above, and beyond. He is set apart, sacred, transcendent. He is majestic, pure, and perfect. He is highest and best–supreme and absolute in greatness. In a word, he is other. In fact, he’s beyond holy. He is holy, holy, holy!
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isa. 6:3).
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Rev. 4:8).
God can be described in many tremendous ways, but no other description in all of Scripture comes with this thrice-repeated statement about his character. God is never described as “Love, love, love” or “Justice, justice, justice” or “Merciful, merciful, merciful” or any other good and right description of his nature. [2]
Repetition in the Bible is meant to convey emphasis. But nothing is as important as those things which are given in repetitions of three. “To mention something three times in succession is to elevate it to the superlative degree, to attach to it emphasis of superimportance.” [3]
This is crucial for our purposes for a number of reasons, but in particular, because each and every attribute of God we discuss should be understood in light of God’s incomparable holiness.
Which brings me to my second point, which is what’s been often termed the Creator-creature distinction. That is, there is nothing more foundational to the way we think of God than that he is not like us. He is the Creator and everything else is his creation. He is in a consecrate league all his own.
“God, having all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself, is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them; He alone is the fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things”. [4]
Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, Ch. 2, Art. 2
For example, his wisdom is a thrice-holy kind of wisdom. The same is true of his power. His righteousness, of supremely perfect caliber. The list could go on. We as God’s image bearers can at times reflect and display his attributes, but never to the infinite and impeccable degree that he does. God is not some bigger, better version of us–he is sublime.
“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” (Isa. 55:8-9).
It’s been said that we, both being creatures, have more in common with the angels that surround God’s throne in heaven, than we do with God our Creator–and that’s exactly right! The astonishing mystery of salvation for all those who are in Christ is that this thrice-holy God would humble himself to take on sinless manhood, suffer and die for our sins, credit to us his righteousness, and resurrect victoriously to grant us eternal life with him. Even now he always lives to intercede for the saints, and when the time is right, he will return to receive us into eternal glory.
This is the glorious promise of the gospel. To neglect it is our doom, but to accept this free gift means every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:3)–now in part, and one day in full consummation. I pray that as we behold our God together in this series of articles, that these invincible truths would be evermore impressed upon your heart in worship of the One who deserves all praise and honor. I also pray that you wouldn’t keep them to yourself, but that you would allow these remarkable truths to both shape and color the very counsel you provide to others.
Thanks for joining me. And may he open our eyes to behold wonderful things (Psa. 119:18).
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Footnotes
[1] Dolezal, James E. All That Is In God: Evangelical Theology and the Challenge of Classical Christian Theism. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2017. Dolezal summarizes on p. 1 what is meant by this terminology: “The approach of classical Christian theism is what one discovers in older Protestant confessions such as the Belgic Confession, Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, Westminster Confession of Faith, and Second London Confession of Faith. This approach is basically in keeping with the view of God as found in the works of patristic and medieval Christian theologians such as Athanasius, Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas. It is marked by a strong commitment to the doctrines of divine aseity, immutability, impassibility, simplicity, eternity, and the substantial unity of the divine persons. The underlying and inviolable conviction is that God does not derive any aspect of His being from outside Himself and is not in any way caused to be.”
[2] Sproul, R. C. The Holiness Of God (Revised and Expanded). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 1998. p. 26.
[3] Ibid., p. 25.
[4] 1689 Baptist Confession Of Faith & the 1695 Baptist Catechism. Port St. Lucie, FL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2018. The above is from Chapter 2, Article 2 of the Confession. Hereafter referred to as The Baptist Confession.
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Recently, at the 2021 Called To Counsel Conference, Adam had the privilege of being interviewed by Michael Van Dyke on the Speak the Truth Podcast–the podcast of the Association of Biblical Counselors.
You can find that episode on any podcast app or platform, or you can listen here: https://www.speakthetruth.org/podcast-1/episode/2ba4a58a/ep-102-from-the-2021-called-to-counsel-conference-wadam-sandlin-founder-of-covenant-biblical-counseling-licensure-to-launching-a-non-profit-biblical-counseling-center
Speaking the Truth is a great podcast hosted by Mike and Shauna Van Dyke as well as the President of the ABC, Jeremy Lelek. It is worth your time, so if you’re interested in further listening, you can find all their podcast episodes on their website here: https://www.speakthetruth.org/
Everyone at CBC prays you are edified and encouraged by this and the rest of our blog content.
Grace and peace,
Adam
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If you struggle with panic attacks Lucy Ann Moll’s mini book is a great place to start on your journey of discovering how the gospel helps you. This is only 64 pages and can be read in a couple of evenings. She does a great job of providing biblical counsel, but also acknowledges the place of medicine.
Over four chapters she shares her own journey with panic attacks, but also some biblical ways to think about being overcome with fear as well as some gospel solutions and practical tips. From experience she boldly proclaims, “God can also use your panic attacks for good.”
In the first chapter she explains a panic attack as “an extreme fear experience which is out of proportion to the actual situation.” She acknowledges healthy fear, but puts panic attacks in the category of unhealthy fears. She also addresses the physical symptoms of panic attacks as well as how they can be treated. Moll provides a healthy discussion on the role medicine does and does not play in addressing panic attacks.
In the second chapter she links the Bible’s treatment of terror with our understanding of panic attacks. I think this is a fair link, however this is one of the challenges for Christians. We cannot always make these types of links and we should always strive for a biblical understanding of our problems.
The third chapter focuses on how we can move from fearful to faithful. This is how the gospel is the solution to panic attacks. After looking at a number of biblical examples she concludes that each of these people “focused on their circumstances rather than on God’s power and care.” This comment is the problem that causes panic attacks. She goes further to explain the “root of ungodly fear is belief in a lie.” We need to face the lies we are believing.
In the fourth chapter she explains the ultimate solution as fearing God alone. Battling against panic attacks requires us to watch our thoughts, change our thoughts, and then put off fear by putting on faith. In her fourth chapter she provides a helpful tool she calls the Fear-to-Faith Template. She also closes the read with some practical projects to help us turn our fear to faith.
Again, I think reading this mini book is a great first step for anyone struggling with panic attacks. She provides biblical counsel, provides a balanced holistic approach, and gives the reader practical tips and projects to turn fear into faith.
See Michah’s original post here.
