The Glory of God the Father’s GOODNESS to Us & Through Us
In our Last study, we learned the Glory of God’s Name as Jesus revealed it in the New Testament. We learned to “hallow” (sanctify) God’s name “FATHER.” Father is only a “Name” to those who are truly a child of God through being “born again” as God’s child through the Holy Spirit (John 1:12-13; 3:3-7; James 1:18; I Pet. 1:23-25; I John 2:29; 3:9). Now we will study the Glory of God’s GOODness. But we can only properly understand God’s Goodness in light of the fact that God is first and foremost our Heavenly FATHER.
I. THE GLORY OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD THE FATHER
Moses prayed to God: “Shew me thy glory” (Ex. 33:18). God responded: “I will make all my goodness pass before thee” (19). The LORD proclaimed He is: “… abundant in goodness” (Ex. 34:6). The LORD is always absolutely & perfectly Good. Because of that God can only do “Good.” “Thou art good, & doest good” (Ps 119:68; 145:7-9). It is impossible for God to do anything that is not Good! (I John 1:5; Heb. 6:18 with Num. 23:19; Tit. 1:2). Every Good thing we ever received came from God the Father:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (immutable) (18) Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures (James 1:17-18)
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Matt. 7:11)
God’s goodness is the essence of His nature & is inseparable from His Forgiveness & mercy (Ps. 86:5; Ps. 106:1; 107:1); Grace & compassion (Ps. 145:7-9); and His Lovingkindnesses (Isa. 63:7).
II. DEFINITION OF GOOD:
“Possessing or displaying moral virtue; that which is morally right; righteousness. A good person is “virtuous, right, commendable.”
Good conduct is kind, benevolent, competent, skillful.”
GOOD’NESS, n. The state of being good; the physical qualities which constitute value, excellence or perfection; Kindness; benevolence; but more generally, acts of kindness; charity (Psalm 73:1; Titus 2:7, 14); Promotive of happiness; pleasant; agreeable; gratifying (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 25, 31; Ps. 133).
The Biblical idea of Good is deep and profound. Webster’s Dictionary (1828) has 40 different meanings for the word Good. God’s Goodness disposes Him to be kind, benevolent, and full of good will toward us. By His nature God is inclined to bestow blessedness for the happiness of His people. All blessedness flows from God’s Goodness. What peace we have when we know the truth of God’s Goodness.
III. GOD HIMSELF IS THE ABSOLUTE STANDARD OF GOOD
From where do we get our standard of morality? How do we know what’s good or bad, what’s right or wrong? The Good God, who Created everything “very good”: He alone determines the meaning & standard of what is “Good” and morally right. God is goodness itself. God’s goodness is infinite, perfect, eternal & immutable.
It is impossible for God to do something that is not “Good!”
IV. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL (Man’s problem not God’s problem)
We know from God’s Word that God is all-good & all-powerful. But the infinite perfection of God & His goodness combined with our experience in world filled with so much evil has given rise to the so called “Problem of Evil” (Matt. 20:15). The faulty reasoning of fallen sinful mankind causes them to think: “Either God is all-powerful but not all-good, and therefore doesn’t stop evil, or he is all-good but unable to stop evil, in which case he is not all-powerful.”
Some people are so irrational they argue that the existence of evil proves that there is no God. That is equivalent to saying the existence of moral law proves there is no Lawgiver! The atheist cannot explain evil – the sense of moral right & wrong – without a moral Lawgiver. How do they know something is evil or not good?
Illustration: Movie “The Thin Red Line”
GENESIS: God’s revelation of the Origin of evil in a good World.
Those who reject God’s Word will never find a solution to the problem of evil. But the problem is not that hard to comprehend for those that believe God’s word. Originally everything was Created “very Good.” Physical Creation, plants, animals & Man were all created good. There was not suffering or death; no natural disasters or disease.
But man was created with freewill to either obey or disobey God. Adam & Eve disobeyed God and sin & death entered the World. God could have made man so he couldn’t sin but then we would have been machines & not human beings. Machines can’t experience love.
Mankind has universally “dispised the riches of God’s goodness” (Rom. 2:4) and rebelled against God’s Truth (Rom. 2:8). But the eternal Glory of giving man Free will far outweighs the temporary suffering:
“our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding & eternal weight of glory (2Cor 4:17-8)
Bearing up under evil in this life increases the glory of our resurrection in the next. This was true for Jesus (Phil. 2:8-9; Heb. 12:2). It is true for us (I Tim. 4:8; 2 Tim. 2:12; Heb. 11:24-27)
Illus.: Mark Eastman, M.D. story of Mother whose child died
V. WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE BEFORE GOD TO BE GOOD
God reveals His Good & moral standards to us in His holy Word.
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Mic 6:8; read Ps. 25:8)
Goodness in Man: is not a mere passive quality, but the deliberate “preference of right to wrong…, the firm & persistent resistance” “of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good.”
“Depart from evil, & do good; seek peace, & pursue it.” (Ps. 34:14; 37:27; Job 28:28; Prov. 3:7; Isa. 1:16-17; Rom. 12:9; I Tim. 2:19)
So, Can anyone be Good enough to “earn” a place in Heaven? God’s Word makes it perfectly clear it is impossible to be good enough to earn a place in Heaven. We have all fallen short of God’s standard of Goodness (Rom. 3:23; Eccl. 7:20; Job 15:14-16). God’s standard is Himself, which is perfection. So as far as mankind is concerned, “There is none that doeth good, no, not one!” (Ps. 53:1; Eccl. 7:20). You don’t get to heaven by vainly trusting in your own goodness but by trusting in the perfections of our LORD Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21; Isaiah 53:4-6).
VI. BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL FALLEN SHORT OF GOD’S GLORY THERE ARE 2 MIRACLES EVERY ONE OF US NEEDS TO EXPERIENCE
1. We need a way to be forgiven for the countless times we have come short of God’s perfect standard of Goodness. 2. Then we need to be supernaturally empowered to live up to God’s standard.
- FORGIVENESS THROUGH THE CROSS:
The LORD Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross for my sins is the miracle of God’s Grace that makes complete & total Forgiveness possible when I believe His Word.
The Cross of Christ also presents to the entire World a major part of God’s solution to the ‘Problem of Evil.” For the Cross was where Jesus Christ defeated evil. The Cross was D-DAY for the evil of sin and satan. The Devil, who became the embodiment of evil (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-17), was defeated by the Cross (Hebrews 2:14-15; I John 3:8; Rev. 20:10). We still have to actively resist the Devil (James 4:7) but our victory is guaranteed through Christ (I Pet. 5:8-11).
We now live between D-DAY and V-DAY as we await the return of our LORD Jesus Christ to come and set up His glorious and perfect Kingdom (I Thess. 1:10). Every time we partake of the LORD’s Supper we proclaim Christ’s death until He comes again (I Cor. 11:26).
Those who believe God’s Word understand that God has once and for all settled the question of His Goodness when Jesus Christ died on the Cross for sinners. (Rom. 5:8-9; I John 3:5; Rom. 8:3). Now “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
2. EMPOWERED WITH THE GIFT OF GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT
What an amazing miracle! To think that God would give us His Holy Spirit to live in us forever (John 14:16-17). It is by receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit that we are empowered to live an upright & godly life in this fallen sinful world.
When the Holy Spirit lives in us we can manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our life (Gal. 5:22-24). One of the supernatural fruit of the Spirit is “goodness.” So the one true God who is the absolute standard of all Goodness supernaturally empowers us so we can live up to His high standards of moral good (Zech. 4:6)
“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (15) For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (16) The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:13-16)
“Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that does good is of God: but he that does evil hath not seen God” (3John 11). God’s Goodness gives us noble purposes & strong character.
BOOK OF REVELATION: God’s revelation of the end of evil.
The Final Victory over, & elimination of, all Evil is revealed to us in The Book of Revelation. Our Good God Triumphs over the horror of human history. Read Revelation 21 & 22. What an incredibly GOOD GOD we serve. No matter what we suffer in the sinful fallen world it will all be more than worth it in the End!
Illustration: Corey ten Boom – “VICTORY!”