Purity of God ...

Montag, Oct 22, 2018. As humans we are busy with many things. That is life, we just need to look around us or into our own actions and priorities. But while we tend to find excuses for many things we do or do not do during our day, we find something truly exceptional in the biblical teaching. It is the deep and overwhelming purity of God!

What kind of God is this? …

What kind of God is this? God is the creator, we have heard that. He is the Lord, we heart many stories about that. But what about the purity of God? In him, there is no false thought. In him, there is no lie, no deception. In him, there is no letting down. He is not bound by the limits of humans. But he is pure in a way which we hardly understand. Jesus himself teaches about the purity of God, in his sermon on the mount. Look into Matthew Chapter 5, there we read:

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. Divorce […]

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.7

Your Reaction? …

How do you react when you hear about the purity of God, in particular when Jesus himself tells you? I must say, I am again and again surprised by this purity. I have read it the first time many years ago, when I was still in my teenage years. It was difficult to grasp that time. Then, I got to understand it better, but only a little bit. Since then, my understanding has been growing, but slowly. How can we even have a faint idea of this amazing purity? How can you even think about it?

I believe that the purity of God is one of the keys to understanding the bible. If you do not get at least some faint idea of this purity, you cannot understand God's justice. You cannot understand that all what is not pure must die. It cannot be allowed to live forever! It is just not possible, not good, it would be like loosing everything. Yet, God generates justice and purity - here we come to the story of the cross of Christ Jesus. At this cross, a pure heart dies. It is murdered. It is given into vanity. It takes what all should bear.

The biblical message ist much better than we can even imagine. It is about deep purity which is the only way to meet our deepest needs. We want to trust. We want to be save. We want to be accepted and loved - not just tolerated. Of course not. And we find all this in the character and existence of the eternal God. It is reality, not illusion. It is there, today, for me and for you, through the cross of Jesus. Only in the light of unlimited purity the blood of Christ becomes a reasonable step. (Roland Potthast) ... further texts