Not a Man

      "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent; hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"

       That God is not a man is a truth so elemental, so simple, and yet, so beyond reach. We think we know Him, but the most basic truths about the person of God are beyond any mortal frame of reference. He is one being eternally existing as three persons, each of which is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, self-existent, and timeless. Anyone who thinks he understands all that that entails is delusional. Nevertheless, Christians and non-Christians alike have readily labeled God; stuffed Him into a box; and profess to know all that God would or would not do as if He were not the Sovereign of all. God is not "the man upstairs" because he is not a man.

     

     God is not like us. God is the I Am; uncreated, self-existent and self-sustaining. He is not a part of the universe, the universe flows from Him like the words of a song. "With God nothing shall be impossible," is not an exaggerated, motivational meme, it is a statement of the absolute truth. Paul's statement that he could do all things through Christ is equally true, but what the apostle is not saying the same thing. We are enabled through God, but God is able of Himself. We are created in His image, but He is the master--the source of inspiration.

As far as the likeness and image thing goes, we would do well to remember that was written on the sixth day of creation. Things have changed since then. The likeness and image in which we are created Is corrupted by sin. Our natural state is a satanic inspired imitation of the being God created for divine fellowship. A dim reflection of what we were is still present in us, but is far from dominant. Our life is now an effort to either reclaim that true image or a continued rebellion against it.

     God is not a man. His thoughts are not our thoughts. I don't think one can read the bible and come away with the opinion that Man is nothing worse than a happy-go-lucky moral bumbler. We like to tell each other how our sin is no worse than the next guys as if somehow that makes it acceptable to God and Man. Sin is not simply inherited imperfection or a penchant to err. Sin is a calculated rejection of God's love and provision.

     Sin is not acceptable with God. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." It doesn't sound like God is playing around or that He's willing to give us a free pass because we disagree with Him about what is or is not sin. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but God's word will never pass away. Meanwhile, our life is a vapor. Which do you suppose is the more trustworthy?

God's ways are not our ways. I'm going to touch on the up side of this divine attribute. We say, "Everybody makes mistakes." In fact, we love the mistakes. A entire segment of entertainment is dedicated to viewing the mistakes of celebrities. News correspondents and political pundits live on the gaffes of political figures. We climb up by tearing down others. On the other hand, God lifts errant souls up to heaven. Along the way He spends the time to dust them off, straighten their tie, and set their feet back on the right way.

     "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would dare to die. But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." In this we know with certainty that God is not a man.