3 Truths You Must Remember About God

Last week I wrote about three common lies that Christians can believe about God. Here are three truths with which we can extinguish these flaming darts.

Truth #1: He Who Did Not Spare His Own Son

“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made”. (Psalm 145:8-13;16).

The picture that the scriptures portray is that of an abundantly generous God, both to the righteous and the wicked. He cares and provides for all of his creation. To those who trust in him, he is generosity is absolutely lavish. He is willing and ready to shower His Children with good things. In fact, he has already given us the greatest, most lavish, and most costly of all blessings: Salvation Through Christ and everything that it entails (Ephesians 1:3-14, ESV):

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

The issue is how we define good things versus how God defines good things (more on that in Truth#3).

Truth #2: There Is No Condemnation For Those Who Are In Christ Jesus

When suffering, many of us wonder: is this punishment for a sin in my life? While suffering may be the result of personal sin, it is never punishment if you are in Christ. ‘For those who are in Christ Jesus, there is no more condemnation’ (Romans 8:1, ESV). We must not think that God hates us. The reason for his discipline is precisely because he loves us. His discipline is that of a loving Father, for our good, that we may share his holiness (Hebrews 12:7-11). Suffering may also come as a result of living in a fallen world, especially as a follower of Christ. Whatever the reason, it is all filtered through God’s hands. He uses it all to prune, teach and shape us into Christlikeness.

Truth #3: In Christ, There is Full and Ultimate Satisfaction

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. (James 1:17, ESV).

which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:9-11, ESV).

You [The Lord] open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145:16, ESV).

Though it is true that God will not grant many of the things we ask, we need not fear living a life of unfulfilled desires. God is The Giver of good gifts; in him alone is full and ultimate satisfaction. Let us continue to bring our requests and desires to him earnestly and expectantly. In doing so, we must remember that God will never give his children serpents instead of bread, i.e., gifts that would lead us away from him or into sin; we often unknowingly ask for serpents. We must also remember that in sanctifying us, God transforms our hearts to desire what is actually good for us, so that our requests are more and more conformed to his will.

This gives us hope. In Christ, we can walk through hard circumstances, yet be fully content and satisfied in our inner beings; In Christ, it is possible to be content in whatever situation, to outwardly waste away yet be renewed inwardly day by day, to be treated as sorrowful yet always rejoice …. (Philippians 4:11-13; 2 Corinthians 6:8-11; 2 Corinthians 4:16-20). Friends, I am not there yet (not fully at least), but he who started a good work in me is faithful to complete it.