Questions About God

CARM

Where did God come from?

We can only partially comprehend the notion of God’s existence. To do so, we must use human concepts to speak of God: “without beginning or end”; “eternal”; “infinite”, etc. The Bible says that He has always existed: ” . . . even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:2). And, “Your throne is established from of old; Thou art from everlasting” (Psalm 93:2). Quite simply, God has no beginning and no end. So, where did God come from? He didn’t. He always was.

To us, the notion of time is linear. One second follows the next, one minute is after another. We get older, not younger and we cannot repeat the minutes that have passed us by. We have all seen the time lines on charts: early time is on the left and later time is on the right. We see nations, people’s lives, and plans mapped out on straight lines from left to right. We see a beginning and an end. But God is “beyond the chart.” He has no beginning or end. He simply has always been.

Also, physics has shown that time is a property that is the result of the existence of matter. Time exists when matter exists. Time has even been called the fourth dimension. But God is not matter. In fact, God created matter. He created the universe. So, time began when God created the universe. Before that, God was simply existing and time had no meaning (except conceptually), no relation to Him. Therefore, to ask where God came from is to ask a question that cannot really be applied to God in the first place. Because time has no meaning with God in relation to who He is, eternity is also not something that can be absolutely related to God. God is even beyond eternity.

Eternity is a term that we finite creatures use to express the concept of something that has no end — and/or no beginning. God has no beginning or end… He is outside the realm of time.

What is the Trinity?

The word “trinity” is a term used to denote the Christian doctrine that God exists as a unity of three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each of the persons is distinct from the other, yet identical in essence. In other words, each is fully divine in nature, but each is not the totality of the other persons of the Trinity. Each has a will, loves, and says “I,” and “You” when speaking. The Father is not the same person as the Son who is not the same person as the Holy Spirit who is not the same person as the Father. Each is divine, yet there are not three gods, but one God. There are three individual subsistences, or persons. The word “subsistence” means something that has a real existence. The word “person” denotes individuality and self awareness. The Trinity is three of these, though the latter term has become the dominant one used to describe the individual aspects of God known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Included in the doctrine of the Trinity is a strict monotheism which is the teaching that there exists in all the universe a single being known as God who is self-existent and unchangeable (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8). Therefore, it is important to note that the doctrine of the Trinity is not polytheistic as some of its critics proclaim. Trinitarianism is monotheistic by definition and those who claim it is polytheistic demonstrate a lack of understanding of what it really is.

  • The Trinity
    • God is three persons
    • Each person is divine
    • There is only one God.

Many theologians admit that the term “person” is not a perfect word to describe the three individual aspects/foci found in God. When we normally use the word person, we understand it to mean physical individuals who exist as separate beings from other individuals. But in God there are not three entities, nor three beings. God, is a trinity of persons consisting of one substance and one essence. God is numerically one. Yet, within the single divine essence are three individual subsistences that we call persons.

  • Each of the three persons is completely divine in nature though each is not the totality of the Godhead.
  • Each of the three persons is not the other two persons.
  • Each of the three persons is related to the other two, but are distinct from them.

The word “trinity” is not found in the Bible. But this does not mean that the concept is not taught there. The word “bible” is not found in the Bible either, but we use it anyway. Likewise, the words “omniscience,” which means “all knowing,” “omnipotence,” which means “all powerful,” and “omnipresence,” which means “present everywhere,” are not found in the Bible either. But we use these words to describe the attributes of God. So, to say that the Trinity isn’t true because the word isn’t in the Bible is an invalid argument.

Is there subordination in the Trinity?

There is, apparently, a subordination within the Trinity in regard to order but not substance or essence. We can see that the Father is first, the Son is second, and the Holy Spirit is third. The Father is not begotten, but the Son is (John 3:16). The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (John 5:26). The Father sent the Son (1 John 4:10). The Son and the Father send the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26). The Father creates (Isaiah 44:24), the Son redeems (Gal. 3:13), and the Holy Spirit sanctifies (Rom. 15:16).

This subordination of order does not mean that each of the members of the Godhead are not equal or divine. For example, we see that the Father sent the Son. But this does not mean that the Son is not equal to the Father in essence and divine nature. The Son is equal to the Father in his divinity, but inferior in his humanity. A wife is to be subject to her husband but this does not negate her humanity, essence, or equality. By further analogy, a king and his servant both share human nature. Yet, the king sends the servant to do his will. Jesus said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). Of course Jesus already is King, but the analogy shows that because someone is sent, it doesn’t mean they are different than the one who sent him.

Critics of the Trinity will see this subordination as proof that the Trinity is false. They reason that if Jesus were truly God, then He would be completely equal to God the Father in all areas and would not, therefore, be subordinate to the Father in any way. But this objection is not logical. If we look at the analogy of the king and in the servant we certainly would not say that the servant was not human because he was sent. Being sent does not negate sameness in essence. Therefore, the fact that the Son is sent does not mean that He is not divine any more than when my wife sends me to get bread, I am not human.

Is this confusing?

Another important point about the Trinity is that it can be a difficult concept to grasp. But this does not necessitate an argument against its validity. On the contrary, the fact that it is difficult is an argument for its truth. The Bible is the self revelation of an infinite God. Therefore, we are bound to encounter concepts which are difficult to understand — especially when dealing with an incomprehensible God who exists in all places at all times. So, when we view descriptions and attributes of God manifested in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we discover that a completely comprehensible and understandable explanation of God’s essence and nature is not possible. What we have done, however, is derive from the Scripture the truths that we can grasp and combine them into the doctrine we call The Trinity. The Trinity is, to a large extent, a mystery. After all, we are dealing with God Himself.

It is the way of the cults to reduce biblical truth to make God comprehensible and understandable by their minds. To this end, they subject God’s word to their own reasoning and end in error. The following verses are often used to demonstrate that the doctrine of the Trinity is indeed biblical.

  • Matt. 28:18, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
  • 1 Cor. 12:4-6, Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
  • 2 Cor. 13:14, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
  • Eph. 4:4-7, There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
  • 1 Pet. 1:2, “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.”
  • Jude 1:20-21, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; 21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.”1
  • 1.
         Sources: (1) Harrison, Everett, ed., Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960; (2) Berkhoff’s Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988; (3) Grudem, Wayne, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994; and (4) Hodge’s Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981.

Is God’s nature changed by Jesus being divine and human?

The Christian doctrine concerning Jesus’ two natures is called the hypostatic union. It is the teaching that the Divine Word of God (John 1:1) “became flesh and dwelt among us,” (John 1:14). Therefore, Jesus is both divine and human in one person (Col. 2:9); He has two natures: human and divine. But some who oppose the Trinity and Jesus’ incarnation (the Divine Word becoming a man), say that if Jesus is God in flesh this must mean that God’s nature changed because God added a human nature to His divine nature. This would violate Malachi 3:6 which says that God does not change. But, the union of the two natures of Jesus in one person does not constitute a change in the nature of God.

Since the hypostatic union teaches that in the one person of Jesus there are two natures, the divine nature of Jesus is not affected by union with the human nature because there is no fusion of the two natures. That is, the divine nature is not combined with the human nature to make a third thing. This would be the error known as monophysitism. Jesus is not a new third thing with a fused-together new nature. Instead, it is a union. An example of a union is marriage between a man and a woman. Each is separate, but in marriage “…they shall become one flesh,” (Gen. 2:24), yet they remain two distinct individuals. They are not blended into a new third thing. Fusion, on the other hand, can be illustrated by combining copper and zinc together to form a new third thing called brass. In this case, the two elements lose their identity and are merged together into something new. But in a union, the elements do not lose their identity or nature. The hypostatic union is not a hypostatic fusion and the two natures of Jesus do not lose their distinction and they are not altered.

Furthermore, within the union of the two natures in the one person of Christ, the divine nature is still divine and the human nature is still human. One is not altered by the presence of the other anymore than my spirit in me is altered in nature by its indwelling a physical body. Likewise, the divine Word is not altered by indwelling human flesh.

Finally, the doctrine of the Trinity is that God is three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This does not mean three gods. There is only one God. The Trinitarian nature of God is not altered by the union of the Word with humanity since it was the divine Word that humbled Himself to become a man (John 1:1,14; Phil. 2:5-8), not the Father or the Holy Spirit. Therefore, by definition, the Trinity is unaffected by the union of the Word with humanity in the incarnation of Jesus.

If God is unchangeable, how could he become a man?

God’s nature did not change when he became a man in the person of Jesus. First of all, the Bible teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, that the one God exists as three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Before the Son became flesh, he was known as “The Word.” John 1:1,14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” When the Word became flesh, he was born of the Virgin Mary and named Jesus. So, it was not the Father or the Holy Spirit who became flesh, but the Word alone.

Furthermore, the Bible tells us that Jesus has two natures: divine and human. Col. 2:9 says, “For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” So the divine nature of God remained unchanged, but was united to the human nature in the person of Jesus. Again, Jesus has two natures: divine and human, and the divine nature is not changed at the incarnation.

Isn’t the Trinity really teaching that there are three gods?

By definition the Trinity doctrine teaches that there is only one God. Nevertheless, there are those who assert that the Trinity is really teaching three separate gods. They claim it is either impossible for God to exist in three persons and/or that the Trinity is really borrowed from pagan three-god figures. Many add that a person is by necessity an individual being. Therefore, they conclude, that the Trinity really teaches three gods.

The problem with this criticism is that it denies the very nature of the doctrine. First of all, Trinitarianism by definition denies that there is more than one God. It is clearly monotheistic in spite of what the critics want to claim.

Second, there is a word used to describe a unity of three separate gods. It is the word “triad.” A triad is not a trinity. A triad is three separate gods — as in Mormonism. A Trinity is one God in three persons. A triad is polytheistic. A trinity is monotheistic.

Third, there is no logical reason to deny the possibility that three persons can exist in one God. Critics may not like it, but it is not a logical impossibility. God is infinitely complex and we cannot understand His vastness nor simply claim He can’t exist in three persons. Instead, we should look at the Bible to see what it says about God and see if the Trinity is taught. But, that is another subject.

Theologians admit that the word “person” is not the perfect word to use because it carries with it the idea of individuals who are different beings. We are familiar with this limitation because it presents a problem when we use the term “person” to describe the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But this is what we must use when we see the Bible speaking of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit… each are called God, each speak, and each have a will. They exhibit attributes of personhood. We describe what we observe and are forced to use words with which we are familiar. “Person” is just such a word. It is not necessary for each person to exist as an individual being.

And fourth, trinities are known and accepted by people as observed in nature. By analogy we see that creation itself is Trinitarian. Time is past, present, and future. There are not three times. Each part of the whole of time is by nature time yet there are not three times but one. Likewise, space is height, width, and depth. Matter is solid, liquid, and gas. The Bible says that God’s invisible attributes are made known in creation

Rom. 1:20: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made.”

When the critics of Trinitarianism say it really teaches three gods, they demonstrate their lack of understanding of the doctrine and they either purposefully or mistakenly confuse it with something it is not. Trinitarianism denies and opposes the idea that there is more than one God. It is by definition, monotheistic.

How can you believe in the Trinity if the word “Trinity” isn’t in the Bible?

Some critics of the Trinity doctrine claim that since the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible, it isn’t true. Furthermore, some assert that if God wanted us to believe in the Trinity He would have stated the doctrine clearly.

First of all, it is illogical to claim that since the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible that its concept is not taught therein. This kind of objection usually demonstrates a prejudice against the teaching of the Trinity. Instead, the person should look to God’s word to see if it is taught or not.

Second, there are many biblical concepts that people believe in that don’t have a specific word describing them used in the Bible. For example, the word “bible” is not found in the Bible, but we use it anyway to describe the Bible. Likewise, the words “omniscience,” which means “all knowing,” “omnipotence,” which means “all powerful,” and “omnipresence,” which means “present everywhere,” are words not found in the Bible either, but we use them to describe the attributes of God. We don’t have to see a specific word in the Bible in order for the concept it describes to be true.

Following are other words that the Bible does not use but the concepts are mentioned.

  • Atheism is the teaching that there is no God. “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).
  • Divinity which means divine quality or godlike character. Yet, we speak of the godlike quality of the Lord God. See Psalm 139.
  • Incarnation which means the word (God) who became flesh. Yet, this is definitely taught in the Bible (John 1:1,14).
  • Monotheism is the teaching that there is only one God (Isaiah 43:10; 44:8).
  • Rapture is the teaching that the Christians who are alive when Jesus returns will be caught up to meet Him in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-18).

So, to say that the Trinity isn’t true because the word isn’t in the Bible is an invalid argument. Furthermore, to say that if God wanted us to believe in the Trinity He would have clearly taught it in scripture, is also an invalid argument. Something does not have to be clearly formulated in the Bible to be valid. Not all things taught in the Bible are perfectly clear. Take a look at the book of Revelation. It contains many things that are cryptic that must be interpreted after examining all of the Bible. Even then, there are disagreements as to what some things mean. Yet, we know that the truths there are true whether or not we discover them.

Nevertheless, there are scriptures that demonstrate a Trinitarian aspect:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Mat. 28:19)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. (2 Cor. 13:14)

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. (Eph. 4:4-7)

But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (Jude 1:20-21)

How Can We Experience God’s Love?

This is a difficult question to answer because it deals with subjective experiences. Nevertheless, we can try to answer it.

Generally, love is understood to be a feeling of euphoria, a feeling of some sort that brings a sense of well-being. However, biblically, love is the concern and action that seeks the best for others. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life.” Notice it says that God’s love gives. The nature of love is to give. It is “other” focused.

So, in order to experience God’s love we should not look to a feeling, but to that which fits the best description of the other-centeredness that God declares in his Word. In Christianity, the greatest example of the experience of God’s love is in the person of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. God loves us so much that he took our place on the cross and died for us. Jesus said in John 15:13 that the greatest act of love is to lay your life down for another. This is exactly what Jesus did for us.

So, to experience God’s love is first of all to trust him by faith, to trust in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross on our behalf. By trusting in Jesus, by looking to Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your sins through his death, burial, and resurrection, you can then receive the forgiveness of God and experience his love for us.

There is, however, another way of experiencing God’s love. All across the world Christians have had times when they have “sensed” the presence of God in a very real and powerful way. Since God is love (1 John 4:8), to experience his presence is to experience his love. This experience is often humbling and serves to reveal our own sinful natures, because when we are in the presence of love and holiness, we are “undone” and we see ourselves as we really are. This is an enigmatic experience because it both brings us to tears and engulfs us in his divine presence. This is not very common, but it is experienced by Christians regularly.

Why does God create people he knows will go to hell?

The answer to the question is found in Romans 9:21-23 which says,

“…does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use, and another for common use? 22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory.”

So, according to the Bible it seems that God patiently endured the “bad” people so that He could express His great riches upon the people who go to heaven. These evil people freely choose to be evil, and if God were to stop them from existing then He would have to, in effect, stop people from being born who would never hear the gospel and who would reject the gospel.

But still, even the people going to hell can have a purpose in this life. There are many non-Christians who have advanced medicine, technology, and helped other people a great deal. God has ordained that they perform work which is ultimately for His glory since he has blessed even the lost with gifting — in accordance with them being made in God’s image. But, they reject God and are without excuse (Romans 1:20).

Finally, there is a logical problem with not creating people who go to hell. It would mean that no one would go to heaven. You see, without the crucifixion no one could be saved. But, in order for Jesus to be crucified, evil people had to lie about Him and murder Him. His crucifixion is the means by which we are saved. So, if God doesn’t create people He knows will go to hell, then there would have been no crucifixion by which people could be saved. In that case, all people would go to hell. Therefore, if God was to not make anyone who would go to hell, then He would not make anyone at all.

Why does God permit sickness?

The most direct answer to why God allows sickness is because it is his will to permit it. In theology we have what’s called the decretive will of God and the permissive will. God decrees certain things to happen like the creation of the universe, the flood, etc. In this he is directly involved and causes them to occur. But, with the permissive will of God we say that he permits things to happen like an automobile accident, or a thief stealing from someone. With these sorts of things, God is not causing them to happen. He is allowing them to happen.

Another reason that God permits sickness is because sin is in the world. Sickness is a result of the fall which was a sinful rebellion against God. Sin entered the world through Adam (Rom. 5:12) and since we are all in Adam (1 Cor. 15:22) we are all subject to sickness.

If God is all knowing and he knows our future, then how is that free will?

God knows the future of what the free-will creatures choose. Free will does not stop becoming free because God knows what will happen. For example, I know that my child will choose to eat chocolate cake over a bowl full of stinking dead mice. If I were to set them both before my child, it is safe to say she will not eat the dead mice. Knowing this is not taking away the freedom of my child since she is freely choosing one over the other. Likewise, for God to know what a person will choose does not mean that the person has no freedom to make the choice. It simply means that God knows what the person will choose. This is necessarily so since God knows all things (1 Joh 3:20). Besides, if a person were to choose A instead of C, then that is what God would have known would happen.

Furthermore, if God knows all things and knows what we are going to choose, then by definition, we are still making the choice; after all, the argument says that God knows what “we are going to choose”. If we are going to “choose something”, then we really are making the choice — otherwise it wouldn’t be logical to assert that God knows what we are going to choose. Choice implies the ability to decide between different options. Again, by definition if God is knowing what we are going to choose, then He knows what we are going to choose between options… otherwise we are not choosing anything and the statement is illogical.

Back to the bowl of dead mice. The father, however, is not omniscient where God is. But does this difference negate the analogy? Not at all. Knowing what a person will do still does not force them or limit them to doing what is known. Some people assert that if God knows what we are going to do, then we don’t have “real” freedom. They try to state logically that God’s foreknowledge of an event somehow limits the event and the choice of the individual. The complaint implies that there is an action by God upon a person that negates His freedom to choose. It would be up to the complainer to establish some logical connection between what God knows what will happen and the mind of the one who makes a choice so that the mind of the person making the choice no longer is making a choice. It seems that the critics are saying that the choice-maker is affected by God’s knowledge to such an extent that his freedom is lost. If that is the case, then can they prove this logically? If not, then how can they maintain their position?

God’s knowing what we will choose is a function of His omnipresence since He is in all places all the time. If He were not, He would not know what choices we were freely going to make. To deny that God is all-knowing, even of the choices we make, is to deny His omnipresence and reduce God’s nature to something more like ourselves, which would be a mistake.

Nevertheless, some people try and claim that God does not know what we will freely choose. But, this cannot be since it would violate the biblical teaching that God knows all things.

Following is taken from an email complaining that God’s foreknowledge means we have no free will. The person wrote six points. I reproduced them and have inserted comments, in green below the points.

  1. God knows every decision that I am going to make tomorrow.
    1. Correct.
  2. For sake of simplicity, let’s assume that I am going to make only one decision tomorrow. My decision will be whether or not to go to my aerobics class at the gym.
    1. A decision is a choice about something that you want to do or believe. It is drawing a conclusion while considering the options. Your statement that you are going to make the decision means that you admit that you are the one making the choice. By definition then, you are freely choosing to do something. Therefore, to later say that you have no choice in what you are doing is a contradiction of your statement here.
  3. God knows what decision I will make. He has it written on his “list.”
    1. There is no “list” that God has anywhere of the things that anyone is going to do. The knowledge of God is not a list. It is simply necessarily complete since He knows all things. This is because God’s nature requires that He know all things since He is everywhere all the time: the past, present, and future.
  4. His “list” can’t be wrong.
    1. This is not an issue of the list being wrong. It is simply a fact that God knows all things. Whatever you choose to do is what God knows will happen. If you chose not to go to the class, then that is what God would have known would be your choice. So, whichever choice you freely make is the one God knows you will make.
    2. Furthermore, the “list” will always be right. That is, it is always right because it is a list of the free will choices you want to make. Read below…
  5. If his “list” says I am going to my aerobics class, I must go.
    1. The problem here is that the idea of a list introduces the error that there is a set list of things that the person must accomplish, because it is on a list for them to do. This is not the case. You do not go to the gym because it is on the list that you must fulfill. It is simply an advance recording of what you will do based on the choices you will freely make.
    2. A better understanding of the “list” idea would be if God wrote a list of the things you did after you did them. He can do this since He is in the future and can look back from the future to see what you chose to do at any time. Time is relative to God. Because you have already done them freely (from God’s future perspective looking backward), the list can be made accurately by God. Since He is also in the past and present, He can even show us this list in advance… only for Him it happened a long time ago as He watched you freely do what you wanted to do. So, since God is in all places at all time, He can look back in time to get the list, and then even reveal it in advance to you. It would be a list of things you freely chose to do — or should I say, that you will freely choose to do.
  6. The fact that “I must go” is incompatible with the statement that I am free to decide whether to go or not to go.
    1. There is no “must” in this situation. You will freely choose.
    2. There is no incompatibility at all if we see that God simply knows what our choices are going to be before we make them since it is necessarily true that He knows all things.
    3. Furthermore, this idea of God’s knowledge and peoples’ freedom is ultimately an unanswerable issue since it involves us working in time and God is outside of time. Our question deals with a situation from a perspective inside of time where God is outside of time. By default, our questions and answers concerning this issue cannot be complete. Past, present, and future are concepts and realities created for us, not for God.

As a Christian should I fear God?

For the Christian, the answer is both yes and no. Yes, we should fear God because He is the Almighty Creator who can discipline us should we rebel against Him. He is so holy and so awesome that being in His presence brings an inspiring fear. Consider Isa. 6:5 where Isaiah has a vision of God’s majesty and glory: “and the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.” Isaiah isn’t the only one who had such an encounter. Gideon thought he would die when he saw the angel of the Lord face to face (Judges 6:22). Manoah also thought he would die after encountering God (Judges 13:22). When anyone experiences the Majesty of the Lord, he naturally is humbled and the awesome greatness of God automatically produces a normal and healthy fear.

On the other hand, we do not need to fear God regarding judgment. As Christians, we have escaped the righteous judgment of God in the person of Jesus (Romans 8:1). We have nothing to fear on the Day of Judgment because Christ took our place and bore the judgment of God on our behalf. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God,” (John 3:18).

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