We Need a Bigger View of God
What do you need if you want to advance in your Christian life? Some people would suggest a theological book, a good church, more time in the Bible, or listening to more sermons and Christian music. Any or all of those may be helpful, but they aren’t what you ultimately need most. Ultimately, each one of us needs a bigger view of God.
The Bible Presents God…as BIG!
The Biblical authors describe God as a big God. He isn’t small. You can’t begin to comprehend Him, describe Him, or experience Him as He really is. It isn’t that God doesn’t want us to know Him – it’s just that our frail human minds are unable to comprehend a Being that is as awesome, magnificent, and glorious as God.
Listen to how God is described in the Bible:
“He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.” (Psalm 147:4-5)
“All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.” (Isaiah 40:17)
“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 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 6:15-16)
Why We Need This
God uses, and blesses, those who understand His greatness. No, they don’t understand it completely – but some people are blessed with a bigger view of God.
When Isaiah the prophet had a vision of the glory of God, he was overcome with conviction about his sins. God purified him, and then used him to write one of the most glorious, beautiful, and theological books of the Old Testament.
Those who gain a greater view of God, fight sin more effectively. When you begin to comprehend and believe the sovereignty of God, doubts and worries vanish. When you understand the glorious love of God, and you are satisfied by it, you seek your joy in that – not the counterfeit desires of the world. When you are overcome by the faithfulness and fatherly love of God, unbelief vanishes and your faith grows.
Best of all, those who have a greater view of God will have a heart filled with praise. This doesn’t mean that taking a class on the character of God will fill you with praise. It means that those who truly believe God’s greatness – those who have experienced the greatness of God – will be left on their knees. They can’t return to the trite and tired joys of the world. Now the only thing that will satisfy them is God Himself.
Praise God! Jesus Christ brings the character of God to earth. While we can’t see the spiritual nature, that spiritual nature took on flesh. He revealed Himself to us in a physical body, living among us, loving us, and dying for us. That is why those who seek a bigger view of God will find it by considering Jesus Christ.
Hello Daniel. I have received two posts from you and I thought I had emailed you concerning your comments about Believers believing in a big God. I realize now that I did not send the email to you so I’m sending one of my favorite stories.
The late Donald Grey Barnhouse, pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church of
downtown Philadelphia, was invited back to his alma mater – Princeton Theological
Seminary, to speak at a chapel. In attendance that day was one of the most brilliant men
Barnhouse had ever met – his OT professor named Robert Wilson. Professor As
Barnhouse stood to speak, Dr. Wilson sat with his arms folded on the front row, peering
stoically over the top of his glasses. The young pastor preached the best he could, but
he found it difficult not to be preoccupied with what Dr. Wilson was thinking.
Suddenly, midway through Barnhouse’s message, Wilson shuffled his papers together,
stood to his feet, and walked out. Barnhouse could barely gather the strength to finish
his message. When chapel was over, he exchanged a few polite pleasantries and then
went straight to the revered professor’s office. With a trembling voice, asked, “Where
did I fail?” Dr. Wilson stopped his reading and looked up. “Fail? Oh, you didn’t fail,”
Wilson explained. “I always come to hear my former students speak one time. I simply
want to know if they are a big-Godder or a small-Godder. I am very pleased that you
are one of our few graduates who is a big-Godder. You preach a big God. I didn’t need
to hear anymore.”
Keep up the good work and may the Word of God bear much fruit as you teach and proclaim it for the glory of God!
Blessings, Greg
Hi Greg, that’s a great story! Thanks so much for sharing! I’ve recognized more and more that this is such an essential part of our Christian life – coming to understand that greatness, grandeur, and glory of God. I know that I still have a lot of room to grow in this.
That is a great story that you gave. I might use it in the future, if that is alright. Thanks for sharing, and feel free to email me if there was more you wanted to share in your email!
Daniel