Speculum et Lavacrum

The Nature of God~
“Why has the Trinity become a theological appendage that is more often misunderstood than rightly known? I believe there are many reasons. There is the utterly false idea that God does not want us to use our minds in loving and worshiping Him (anti-intellectualism), as well as the idea that “theology is for cold, unfeeling people. We want a living faith.” The last reason is the most irrational because a living faith is one that is focused upon the truths of God’s revelation. The deeper feelings and emotions evoked by the Spirit of God are not directed toward unclear, nebulous, fuzzy concepts, but toward the clear revealed truths of God concerning His love, the work of Christ, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It makes no sense whatsoever in human relations to say “I love my wife” while doing our best to remain ignorant of her personality, likes, dreams, etc. And even worse, if my wife has put forth the effort to make sure that I can know these things about her, and I go about ignoring her efforts, what does that say about how much I really love her? The idea that there is some kind of contradiction between the in-depth study of God’s Word, so as to know what God has revealed about himself, and a living, vital faith is inherently self-contradictory” ~Dr. James R. White, The Forgotten Trinity, p. 16

As I was reading the other day, these are the words that my eyes fell upon, words that resound greatly within me and my experiences. I have been studying the doctrine of the Trinity for roughly three years, as the first year passed it was my goal to try and understand the nature of our God. As the second year passed I was merely trying to gain some sort of comprehension. The third year quickly passed and a mere mental assent, of some kind, was desired. The more and more I study the nature and attributes of God the more it appalls me when I hear of a “child of God” who is content in their milk of ignorance, concerning the God that saved them. Some time back I was listening to a message by John MacArthur Jr. entitled “What to Look for in a Church?” and the first thing he said to look for is a high view of God. It dawned on me how truly pathetic it is that one would even have to mention this in a message, this should be fundamental. As I have encountered this fideistic attitude amongst western churches at large it makes me ponder: should/can this kind of arrogance truly be a mark of a believer? And with the answer to the previous question in consideration, what are the implications and ultimate consequences in maintaining this apathetic mood?

Charles Spurgeon stated on the morning of January 7th, 1855,
“It has been said by someone that the proper study of mankind is man, I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God’s elect is God. The proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The Highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy which can ever engage the attention of a child of God is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the Great God, whom he calls, his Father.”

J.I. Packer echoed these same sentiments, at the conclusion of his book he writes,
“We have been brought to the point where we both can and must get our life’s priorities straight. From current Christian publications, you might think that the most vital issue for any real or would-be Christian in the world today is church union, or social witness, or dialogue with other Christians and other faiths, or refuting this or that ism, or developing a Christian philosophy and culture, or what have you. But our line of study makes the present-day concentration on these things look like a gigantic conspiracy of misdirection. Of course, it is not that; the issues themselves are real and must be dealt with in their place. But it is tragic that, in paying attention to them, so many in our day seem to have been distracted from what was, is, and always will be the true priority for every human being--that is, learning to know God in Christ.” ~Knowing God, p.279

“…the people who know their God will display strength and take action.” Daniel 11:32