My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
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| GOD WHO HAS MERCY |
| Romans 9:16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. |
| Warning warning warning! We are in a passage that is full of controversy, that fuels a theology that, in my opinion, locks a person away into a fatalistic future, either elevating them to a special status, or condemning them to a hopeless destiny. This controversy is not to be considered in this post. (But Carl – you just did!) Let both sides of the discussion put down their arguments, their opinions – yes – even the opinion expressed above is to be put down, to be put aside in the attempt to think of our merciful God. Again, to be clear, our name here speaks of God owning a characteristic. He has mercy. But Carl – He is the King, the rightful ruler who has no competition, no equal. He is all powerful, and is able to do whatever His will allows. He is the Judge of all of creation, and in this position, has no one to effectively attack His decisions. No one could mount an effective argument over what ever He decides. We all agree that He is above and beyond all our reach, that we have no defense against His decisions, that we are without any argument in His acting out of His will. Paul – why are you bringing up this mercy thing? Not that God knows of mercy, or that He may exercise mercy, or that He thinks mercy is good, but that He has mercy. Mercy is of God’s character. In relation to judgement, God makes judgements. He determines justice. Out of the perfections of His character, God makes determinations. These decisions are based on His character, but are not of the unchangeable character of our God. Let us not forget that mercy is an integral part of the perfections of His character. Consider. God is love. 1 John 4:8 God has mercy (our verse today) God is true. John 3:33 God is faithful 1 Corinthians 1:9 God is light 1 John 1:5 God is righteous Daniel 9:14 God is just Deuteronomy 32:4 God is a consuming fire Hebrews 12:29 My friend, I cannot find in the Bible a like description of God’s character being that of condemnation. Granted Psalm 50:6 contains the phrase “God is judge”, yet I am not convinced this speaks of a condemning heart. Simply that He makes determinations or judgements! God is described as just, or righteous, and for that we can be thankful. He seeks not to judge, in the manner of condemning. It isn’t in His heart, yet because God is righteous, and we rebel, judgement (condemnation) proceeds from the throne based on His character, as a result of our rejection. But judgement (condemnation) is a just reaction to our rebellion, not the core of His nature! Do you see God as being primarily a condemning judge, One who actually seeks to condemn, that His very nature is to reject that which is not pure? Consider Jesus, for in Him, we have witnessed the heart of God, the nature of God, the character of God. He took condemnation so we may find God, so we may find mercy. Our God has mercy. Seek Him while He may be found, for He is a merciful God! |
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
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