THE HUMILITY OF GOD

In order to understand God, one would have to be God, for He is beyond human comprehension (Jn. 1:18). God is revealed in the Bible as the Father of Jesus Christ, and although His voice has been heard on occasion (Matt. 3:17; 17:5; Mk. 9:7; Lk. 9:35), He has never been seen by man (Jn. 1:18; 6:46; 1 Tim. 6:16; 1 Jn. 4:12, 20). His name is not "God," anymore than ours is "human being." In fact, man does not know His name, if He even has one. When Moses asked what His name was, he addressed Him as God (Elohim), which is a Hebrew word that is translated "God," "god," or "gods." Christian Bible scholars recognize the singular "El" as "God," and the plural ending (ohim) as evidence of the Trinity. Because the word can be translated to describe gods other than the one true God, "El" is more a title than a name.

As I mentioned yesterday, God told Moses that His name was YHVH from which we get "Jehovah," but "Jehovah" is actually the name of the pre-incarnate Christ. In addition, YHVH is a present tense verb of being or existing. In other words, He did not tell Moses His name, but basically told him "I exist," or that He was the One True God. The flame in the bush was the Angel (messenger) of the LORD, and the voice was that of the LORD, not the first person of the Trinity (Ex. 3:1-15).

The only real name we find in the Bible for the Father is "abba" which is more like our "daddy" than "father." It appears three times in the New Testament: Mark 14:36 where Jesus is pleading with His Father about His pending death, Romans 8:15 where Christians are told that we are adopted sons and daughters of "abba," and Galatians 4:6-7 where Paul repeats that we are the adopted children of "abba" God. The Gospels are replete with references to God being our Father, often telling us that He is in heaven (Matt. 5:16, 45, 48; 6:1, 9, etc.). When His disciples wanted to see God, Jesus told them that if they had seen Him, then they had seen the Father (Jn. 14:8-9). Jesus told them that He and the Father were One (Jn. 10:30; 17:22). And for all those non-trinitarians out there, John wrote that the Father, the Word (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit are one (1 Jn. 5:7)!

Since no man has ever seen God as I mentioned earlier, it makes sense that He is elsewhere. This brings me to the view that God is humble. In order for God, Who is Light, to create an empty Universe yet to contain light, He had to limit Himself. In order for Jesus to become a man, He limited Himself (Phil. 2:5-8). The Holy Spirit has humbled Himself by indwelling born-again Christians Jn. 14:17). God must have decided to let His works declare His identity and to emphasis His Word over His name (Rom. 1:19-20; Ps. 138:2). So, when I use the word "God," I mean the One who is the Father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus, and me! I pray that He is your God, too!