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In this message we shall consider more of God’s attributes.
Holiness is one of the main attributes of our God. Revelation 4:8 says, “The four living creatures…have no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God the Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is coming.” The mentioning of “holy” three times, as in Isaiah 6:3, implies the thought of God being triune, as the mentioning of God’s existence with three tenses does. The emphasis here is that the Triune God is holy and is triply holy, referring to the quality of God’s nature — God’s being. What God is, is holy. To partake of God’s holiness (Heb. 12:10) is to partake of the quality of His nature, of what He is.
First Peter 1:15 and 16 say, “According to the Holy One who called you, you yourselves also become holy in all your manner of life; because it is written, You shall be holy, because I am holy.” The Holy One is the Triune God — the choosing Father, the redeeming Son, and the sanctifying Spirit (1 Pet. 1:1-2). The Father has regenerated His elect, imparting His holy nature into them (1 Pet. 1:3); the Son has redeemed them with His blood from the vain manner of life (1 Pet. 1:18-19); and the Spirit has sanctified them according to the Father’s holy nature, separating them from anything that does not fit in with God’s nature so that they, by the holy nature of the Father, may become holy in all manner of life, even as holy as God Himself is.
We become holy through the sanctification of the Spirit, based on regeneration, which brings us the holy nature of God and issues in a holy life. The Father has regenerated us to produce a holy family — a holy Father with holy children. As holy children we should walk in a holy manner of life. Otherwise the Father will deal with our unholiness. He begot us with His life inwardly so that we might have His holy nature; He disciplines us outwardly so that we may partake of His holiness (Heb. 12:9-10).
These words “holy” and “holiness” have been spoiled by today’s teachings. In the Bible the word holy should not be understood according to the natural concept. Some think that holiness is sinlessness. According to this concept, someone is holy if he does not sin. This thought is absolutely mistaken. Holiness is neither sinlessness nor perfection. Holy not only means sanctified, separated unto God, but also different, distinct, from everything that is common. Only God is different, distinct, from all things in His nature. Hence, He is holy; holiness is the distinct quality of His nature, as one of His attributes.
The way God makes us holy is to impart Himself, the Holy One, into us so that our whole being may be permeated and saturated with His holy nature. For us, God’s chosen ones, to be holy is to partake of His nature (2 Pet. 1:4) and to have our whole being permeated with God Himself. This is different from mere sinless perfection. This makes our being holy, like God Himself is in His nature.
To be holy is to be separated unto God from everything other than God. It also means to be different, distinct, from all that is not God. Thus, we become not common but different. In the universe God alone is holy. He is different from everything and is distinct. Therefore, to be holy means to be one with God in His distinction. You may be sinless and perfect, but if you are not one with God, you are not holy. When God gets into us, we are holy. When we get into God, we are more holy. And when we are mingled with God, we are most holy. We become holy by having God in us, we become more holy by being in God, and we become the holiest by being mingled, permeated, and saturated with God. This will eventually issue in the New Jerusalem, which is called the holy city (Rev. 21:2, 10), a city that not only belongs to God and is for God, but is filled with God, saturated with God, and one with God, a holy entity sanctified with God.
Another attribute of God is righteousness. God is righteous as well as holy. Whereas holiness is related to God’s inward nature, righteousness is related to God’s outward acts, ways, actions, and activities. Everything God does is righteous.
What is the righteousness of God? The righteousness of God is what God is in His action with respect to justice and righteousness. God is just and right. Whatever God is in His justice and righteousness constitutes His righteousness.
Revelation 15:3 says, “Great and wonderful are Your works, Lord God the Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, O King of the nations.” God’s works are His acts, whereas God’s ways are His governing principles. God’s ways are righteous in His principles. If you know God’s ways, you will not need to wait to see His works in order to praise Him. Although His works have not yet come, you will know they will come because you know the governing principles by which God does things. God’s ways are righteous according to His principles.
In Romans 1:16b and 17a Paul says that the gospel “is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes, both to Jew first and to Greek. For the righteousness of God is revealed in it.” In John 3:16 God’s love is the source and motive of God’s salvation. In Ephesians 2:5 and 8 God’s grace is the basic element of God’s salvation. But here God’s righteousness is the power of God’s salvation. Legally speaking, both love and grace can fluctuate, but not righteousness. This is true even the more with God’s righteousness. Because God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
According to John 3:16, salvation is out of God’s love, and according to Ephesians 2:5 and 8, salvation is by God’s grace. But in Romans 1:17 Paul says that salvation comes by the righteousness of God. Neither love nor grace is related to the law. No law forces us to love or to give grace. Whether we love or not we are still lawful, and whether we extend grace or not we are still legal. In a sense, God is not bound to love us. Furthermore, He is not legally bound to show us grace. Righteousness, on the contrary, is very much related to the law. Because Christ has fulfilled all the righteous requirements of God’s law, God is bound to save us. If you say, “Lord Jesus, You are my Savior,” you can turn to God and say, “God, You must forgive me, whether You like it or not. You are righteous if You forgive me, but You are unrighteous if You do not forgive me.” We can say this to God because Christ has fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law, and, as a result, God is bound by His righteousness to save us. Righteousness, therefore, is a mighty bond God cannot escape — He must save us because He is righteous.
First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous that He may forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God is faithful in His word (1 John 1:10) and righteous in the blood of Jesus His Son (1 John 1:7). His word is the word of the truth of His gospel (Eph. 1:13), which tells us that He will forgive us our sins because of Christ (Acts 10:43), and the blood of Christ has fulfilled His righteous requirements that He may forgive us our sins (Matt. 26:28). If we confess our sins, He, according to His word and based on the redemption through the blood of Jesus, forgives us, because He must be faithful in His word and righteous in the blood of Jesus. Otherwise, God would be unfaithful and unrighteous.
In Romans 3:21 Paul speaks a further word concerning the righteousness of God: “But now without law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.” To say that the righteousness of God has been manifested without law means that the righteousness of God is not based on our doing; that is, it is not based on our keeping the law. Although the righteousness of God has existed for ages, it was not manifested to us until we believed in the Lord Jesus and called on His name. Then the righteousness of God was revealed to us. When God’s righteousness is revealed, it is manifested. It is manifested to us when we believe in the Lord.
The manifestation of God’s righteousness is mentioned twice in the book of Romans. Romans 1:17 says that the righteousness of God is revealed out of faith to faith. Then Romans 3:21 says that the righteousness of God has been manifested without the law. Now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested through faith of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:22).
By forgiving us God shows forth His righteousness. He makes a declaration to the whole universe that because He is righteous, He must forgive us for our sins. Because His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was put to death by Him on the cross on our behalf, God is legally obligated to forgive us. Whether He is happy with us or not, He must forgive us according to His righteousness. God knows that whenever a person points to the resurrected and ascended Christ as a “receipt” for sin, God must forgive that one. In this matter the righteous God has no choice.
Whenever our conscience condemns us because of our failures, we need to remember to stand upon the foundation of God’s righteousness. You may be fervent for the Lord today. But in the future you may fail Him and become very disappointed with yourself, unable to believe that God could ever forgive you. At such a time you need to praise God for His righteousness. Tell Him that no matter how much you have failed, Christ is still at His right hand as the receipt for payment for all your debts (Heb. 1:3). Our experience may fluctuate, but God remains righteous forever. Whenever we confess our sins, claim the blood of Jesus, and appeal to God’s righteousness, God has no choice except to forgive us.
Our experience of Christ rests on the foundation of God’s righteousness. The foundation is not our fervency or victory; it is God’s righteousness, the unshakable foundation of God’s throne (Psa. 89:14). God has shown forth His righteousness by forgiving us of our sins. In this way God has proved that He is righteous. Now such righteousness of God is our solid foundation.
We have seen that both love and grace may change, but righteousness is solid and steadfast. God is free either to love us or not to love us; however, He is bound by His righteousness. Because Christ died to fulfill God’s righteous requirements, God has put Himself into a position where He is legally bound to forgive everyone who believes in Christ. God is bound by His own righteousness to forgive us. Therefore, the righteousness that is the foundation of God’s throne is also the foundation of our salvation. Can the foundation of God’s throne be shaken? Certainly not. Likewise, the foundation of our salvation cannot be shaken.
If we consider ourselves, we shall realize that we are not lovable or worthy of God’s grace. We simply do not deserve anything from God. But God is righteous. He put Christ to death on our behalf, and He has recognized the death of Christ as the full payment of our debt. Therefore, we can boldly say to God, “If You do not deal with me according to Your righteousness, Your throne will be shaken. The important issue is not whether or not I shall be saved or perish; it is whether or not You will allow the foundation of Your throne to be shaken. God, I remind You of Your righteousness. Christ has died for my sins, and He is now at Your right hand as proof that You have received His payment for all my debts. According to Your righteousness, You have no choice except to forgive me. You are legally bound to forgive me of my sins. O Father God, I appreciate Your love and grace. But now I stand before You in Your righteousness. Because You are righteous, You must forgive me.” Have you ever prayed to God in this way? It pleases Him when we pray like this. This is a prayer that knows God’s righteousness and appeals to God according to His righteousness. Our God is righteous, and the gospel of Christ is the power of God because the righteousness of God is revealed in it. Such a divine righteousness is a strong attribute of God.
Romans 11:33 speaks of God’s wisdom: “O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments, and untraceable His paths!” At the very end of the book of Romans Paul says, “To the only wise God through Jesus Christ be the glory forever and ever! Amen” (Rom. 16:27). Wisdom is different from cleverness and deeper than cleverness. It is possible to be clever without being wise. For example, a criminal may be very clever, but he is altogether lacking in wisdom. God is very wise, and the universe reveals His wisdom.
It is important to see the difference between wisdom and knowledge. Wisdom is both higher and deeper than knowledge. Wisdom is seen in the initiation of something, for example, in the formulation of a new invention, and knowledge is seen in the practical application. If you have only knowledge and lack wisdom, you will not be able to initiate anything or invent anything. God is the unique Initiator. He has initiated many things, not by His knowledge but by His wisdom. When He comes in to apply what He has initiated, He displays His knowledge.
Ephesians 3:10 speaks of the multifarious wisdom of God being made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies through the church. The Greek word translated “multifarious” indicates that God’s wisdom has many sides, aspects, and directions.
Only through problems can all the aspects of God’s wisdom be manifested. This means that, in a sense, God needs problems and troubles: He even needs an adversary, Satan. Without Satan, God’s wisdom cannot be fully manifested. Satan has created many opportunities for God’s wisdom to be manifested in a multifarious way. The rebellion of Satan is within the realm of troubles for God’s wisdom. If it were not for Satan’s rebellion, God’s wisdom could not be made known in a full way. If you are a person full of wisdom, the more troubles and difficulties you have, the more wisdom you will express. But if everything related to you is peaceful and without problems, you will have no opportunity to express your wisdom. You need problems in order to display your wisdom. Likewise, God needs problems in order to display His wisdom. Whatever the enemy of God does gives God the opportunity to show forth His wisdom.
Another aspect of God’s wisdom is revealed in 1 Corinthians 1:30, where we are told that of God we are in Christ Jesus, “who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” For Christ to be our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption requires much wisdom on God’s part. Many aspects of God’s wisdom are manifested in His making Christ our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Our experience of Christ in these matters is according to God’s manifold wisdom.
Furthermore, in His wisdom God is able to make us the church. Sometimes God may say, “Look, Satan, I have taken the very people whom you have ruined and I have made them into the church. Do you have the wisdom to do such a thing? You do not have this wisdom, but I have it.”
In the sight of God the most marvelous thing in the universe is the church, for through it His multifarious wisdom is made known to Satan and his angels. The day is coming when Satan and his angels will be put to shame. They will realize that everything they have done has given God the opportunity to manifest His wisdom. In the same principle, our failures, mistakes, defeats, and wrongdoings have also given God opportunities to display His wisdom. We are God’s chosen people, and even through our failures He manifests His multifarious wisdom. Such a wisdom is also a strong attribute of our God.
Ephesians 1:8 indicates that there is a difference between wisdom and prudence. In this verse, Paul, speaking of the riches of God’s grace says, “Which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence.” Wisdom is what is within God to plan and purpose a will concerning us; prudence is the application of God’s wisdom. First, God planned and purposed in His wisdom, and then He applied what He had planned and purposed for us with prudence. Wisdom was mainly for God’s plan in eternity, and prudence is mainly for God’s execution of His plan in time. What God planned in eternity in His wisdom He is now executing in time in His prudence.
We may say that prudence is a “stairway” connecting cleverness, which is on a lower level, to wisdom, which is on a higher level. In order to go up to wisdom from cleverness, we need prudence. If a certain person chooses not to remain in his cleverness but to advance to wisdom, he must ascend up the stairway of prudence. We may also say that prudence is a proper cleverness. Those who are prudent will not do things in a foolish way. This kind of prudence is also a divine attribute in God’s move.
