“Who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:16
November 9, 2022
It has been asserted that Christians for the most part are ignorant of God. There exists generally a low view of God. A.W. Tozer has made the disturbing observation that, “The church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men” (The Knowledge of the Holy p. 6). This is not being brought forward to create discouragement but to stir us in the pursuit of knowing God. The apostle Paul erupts in a doxology in the passage before us to settle his readers in mind-stretching thoughts of God. Living exuberantly for Christ as a kingdom citizen means being enthralled with God’s self-existence (“who alone has immortality”). This assures us of His sufficiency for the godliness that is to characterize us. God has no needs and therefore depends on no one. He has life in Himself without cause or any need of sustenance. He does not need oxygen, food, water, help of any kind, not even defenders. The obvious is that though we are subject to death, God is not. “God is not answerable to us, or to anybody, and we do not like that” (Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith). We would do well to keep in mind that God does not have to give an account of Himself or offer any kind of self-defense. Job, in the wake of all his arguments with God, had to be schooled in this truth (Job 40:2). The crying shame is that prideful humans think God away to their meaningless existence. H
“Father of mercies, keep me from buying into the swagger and unbelief of our generation. Draw me closer to you and your sufficiency lest I think I can depend on myself.”