“In the Bible the great divide is between those who believe in the Christian God and those who serve idols—“gods,” that is, whose images, whether metal or mental, do not square with the self-disclosure of the Creator.”
"In the Bible the great divide is between those who believe in the Christian God and those who serve idols—“gods,” that is, whose images, whether metal or mental, do not square with the self-disclosure of the Creator." J.I. Packer, Affirming The Apostles' Creed
I am on the road. Yesterday I was sitting in the Benjamin L Hooks Central Library in Memphis, Tennessee. While there, I was reading and reflecting on the first line of the Apostles' Creed:
"I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth."
What does it mean to "believe in God"? In answering that question J.I. Packer says it means taking God the way he reveals himself in the Bible, not the way we want him.
Two events occurred yesterday that brought this into sharp focus. The events -- coupled with Packer's quote -- took the Apostles' Creed from a dusty piece of paper written more than 1500 years ago to a living, breathing document that has central relevance to my life in the twenty-first century.
While sitting in the library I received a note from someone who felt my Sunday sermon was too conservative and our approach to communion too exclusive. About the same time I also received word that a long-time family friend (a young man in his early thirties) lies in the hospital in a very critical state.
As I ponder these two incidents I have to ask if the God who meets me at the communion table is any different than the God who meets me in the hospital ward?
How do I know the nature of God? Is my understanding of God constructed by my feelings or by popular opinion? If by opinion, we can count on 331 million versions of God in the United States alone. But if God has revealed himself then I must align my understanding of who God is and how he acts with his self-disclosure.
Christians, including those who penned the Apostles' Creed, believe that God has made himself known generally through creation (Psalm 19), but specifically through his written (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and living Word (John 1:1-3,14). It is that written word that paints a picture of God as a loving Shepherd:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.He makes me lie down in green pastures.He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.He leads me in paths of righteousnessfor his name's sake....For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Psalm 23:1-3; 86:5 ESV
The same word tells me God has standards:
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 ESV
Reading those passages I get a better picture of the nature of God. As the Apostles' Creed states, God is "Father," which means he cares. He is also, "Almighty," which means he is not powerless to act. But he is also "Maker of heaven and earth." That means his way goes, including bringing judgment on the one who takes communion in an unworthy manner.
As I reflect on God, his word, and my response to it, I am reminded of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of our United States. Jefferson it seemed was one whose opinions did not square with God's self-disclosure. Rather than change his views, Jefferson simply changed the Bible:
Jefferson never tired of invention and inquiry, designing dumbwaiters and hidden mechanisms to open doors at Monticello. He delighted in archaeology, paleontology, astronomy, botany, and meteorology, and once created his own version of the Gospels by excising the New Testament passages he found supernatural or implausible and arranging the remaining verses in the order he believed they should be read.
We can't pick and choose God's Word any more than we can pick and choose God. God's Word comforts us but only if we allow it to rebuke us as well. We take all of God's Word or we take none of it. We do so because it is the self-disclosure of God.
"I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth."
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"Jefferson never tired of invention..." from Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, by Jon Meacham. New York: Random House. 2012. Page xxi.