Chapter 4: Charnock on God's Attributes
Pages 80-84
Gods dominion
He has authority to subdue all His creatures to Himself. We are always under His moral law, accountable to Him. He dispenses gifts and reward as He pleases, including exalting His Son, raising kingdoms and bringing them low. See Daniel 4:3.
God's patience
He is slow to anger. This is different than His mercy, for it means delay in punishment, not pardon. It allows for the continuance of mankind and the church. We see His forbearance justified (how could He not destroy all humanity right away in Eden after the first sin?) at the cross (Rom 3:24-26). Apart from Christ, God would have no reason to be patient.
The Puritans saw it as a weakness in man to view God according to multiple attributes. "God's mercy is His goodness; His goodness is His justice..." This contradicts what I just read in Frame, who says God's attributes are NOT synonymous. Which is it? I think it's only a problem to conceive of multiple attributes of God if we assume they are more substantial in themselves as opposed to descriptive of the Person who is God.
No comments:
Post a Comment