Letter 10 — Meet the Awesome God of the Bible
Letters To A Mormon Elder
by James R. White
Wednesday, July 11
Dear Steve,
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed our time together Tuesday evening. When you were delayed I began to wonder if you would come. I was very happy to see you striding across the park. Again, thank you for coming. And, even more so, thank you for your willingness to continue this conversation. I am glad to have had the opportunity of more fully explaining why I feel it is so important.
From the very beginning of my correspondence with you, I have mentioned how much I wish to speak to you about the God of the Bible. The very first time I ever met with LDS missionaries this same topic came up. I recall clearly to this day speaking to them of the salvation that is mine, and how it is based not upon the words of a changeable being, or a god who was once a man but had evolved to the status of a god, but upon the words of the never changing, eternal God of the Bible — the Creator of all things, the sustainer of all things, who has always been and will always be, fully, completely, God. I could rest in that assurance — I knew that God was not going to change, for He had never been anything other than He was — God. They listened intently, Steve, and I hope that God has seen fit to be merciful and to reveal himself to them since that day.
It is difficult to know where to start in even attempting to summarize a few of the more important aspects of the Bible’s presentation of God. It is not that the Bible is unclear about God’s nature, it is that we are so limited in our capacity to even begin to understand the awesome Being who is presented to us in Scripture. I truly believe you will come to see that the God of the Bible is far removed from the concept of an “exalted man” that you have been taught. God is the Eternal King. To facilitate my presentation, let me break this up into topics.
The Uniqueness of God
The first aspect of God’s being is His uniqueness. I have already presented to you a good deal of the biblical evidence on this point under the topic of “monotheism” in one of my earlier letters. God is utterly unique — there is none like Him. He even challenges mankind by saying,
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. (Isaiah 40:25-26)
The people of God know that He is unlike anyone or anything else, for He is the Creator of all that is. He is unique, absolute, one-of-a-kind. Note what Jeremiah said:
Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? (Jeremiah 10:6-7a)
And the Psalmist is no less clear:
The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! (Psalm 113:4-6)
Just think about it Steve, the Psalmist proclaimed that God humbles himself even to look on the things that take place in heaven, let alone on the earth! Here is one who is so far above our imaginations of Him as to defy definition. There is none like Him — none at all. The question of “who is like Him” must be left unanswered, for the answer is too obvious to utter. Isaiah’s prophecy exhausted the reaches of human language to describe the incredible, solitary glory of the mighty Jehovah, and still he fell short. Think on what he says in the fortieth chapter:
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the spirit of the LORD, or being his counselor, hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? (Isaiah 40:12-l8)
Some LDS take all the references to God’s hands or eyes or whatever literally, Steve, but in this passage it is quite obvious that such would be a gross misreading of the intention of Isaiah. None of the questions asked by Isaiah can be answered — they are purely rhetorical. No one (but God) has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and no one at all has instructed God or taught Him wisdom. This is the true God of the Bible — a very different God than one who was indeed taught wisdom as a little spirit child, or again as a little human being on a planet far away. This God is unique and totally different. He has never been instructed because He has always had all knowledge indeed, He created all knowledge!
As we examine what the Bible teaches about the one true God I will ask you often to compare the majestic Being who is presented in the pages of Scripture with your own beliefs as a Latter-day Saint. I can only ask you to be honest in answering the question, “Is your God the same God as is described here in Isaiah, or here in Deuteronomy” I know that I see a vast difference between the God of Joseph Smith and the God of Isaiah. Can you honestly say that the God of Mormonism is unique, one-of-a-kind, or do other gods exist that are just like him, who exercise dominion over other worlds? If you believe that there were gods before Jehovah God, you cannot possibly accept the teaching of the Scriptures that testify to the solitariness of the true God.
God Is . . .
When Jesus spoke to the woman by the well in Samaria, He spoke a truth that was known to all. He said, “God is spirit” (John 4:24).
Yes, the King James has “God is a Spirit” in its translation. But the original Greek can allow for either translation, and saying “God is a Spirit” is not as clear with reference to Jesus’ point in this passage. God is not just a spirit among many spirits, but He is spirit. The woman had attempted to engage the Lord in a debate as to where people were supposed to worship God — in Jerusalem (as the Jews said) or in Mount Gerizim (as the Samaritans claimed). Jesus’ response was that worship — true worship — is performed by those who truly know God, and it takes place wherever they are. Worship is not limited to Jerusalem or to Mt. Gerizim. Why? How could God be worshipped anywhere? Because God is spirit, and a spiritual being is not limited by physical constraints such as temples or locations.
When the Lord Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, they thought that they were seeing a “spirit” (Luke 24:38). But when Christ spoke to them, He corrected their misunderstanding:
And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
If God then is spirit (or, as the KJV says, “a Spirit”), then He is not limited to a body of flesh and bones. Does the Bible teach otherwise? No, it teaches clearly that God is a spiritual being, not a physical being, in His true nature. Please note, however, that I am not saying that God could not, if He so chose, enter into a physical manifestation, as He did numerous times prior to the coming of Christ. But God has eternally existed and He has done so as a spiritual being, not a physical being. The difference between the biblical presentation of God and the Mormon doctrine is clear, for in Mormon theology God is unable to exist outside of a physical body — it is part and parcel of his nature. Jehovah is different — He entered into a physical manifestation in Genesis l8 when He visited with Abraham (we know from the rest of Scripture that this was specifically the Son, the Lord Jesus), but it was not a permanent situation. I will talk about the incarnation of the Lord Jesus at a later time.
Spiritual beings are not limited by spatial considerations — God is not limited to one particular “place” where He is to “dwell.” As God himself said:
Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off.
Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:23-24)
Does God fill heaven and earth, Steve? This concept normally bothers Mormons greatly for they have been taught that this is the “doctrine of the devil.” Yet the Bible proclaims this truth. God did not say above that His influence fills heaven and earth, but that He himself fills heaven and earth. No man can hide from God, for God is omnipresent — there is no place where God is not.
Now before I look at other Scriptures that teach this, I want to point something out that seemingly many LDS do not understand. God is unlike us. God is unique and different. But He is also eternal and infinite and unlimited all things that you and I are not. There are things about God that we simply cannot comprehend. Note that I didn’t say that we can’t understand the truth that, for example, God is omnipresent — that He is not limited to one place and one time as you and I are. I understand that, and I hope that you understand that this is what the Scriptures teach as well. But, I cannot comprehend how He can exist in that way. I have nothing to compare Him to that would help me to “get a hold of” such an awesome, tremendous God. But it seems to me that many LDS reject that God can exist in this way, not because the Bible does not teach it, but simply because they won’t believe in anything that they can’t comprehend.
Since when did man become the measure of all things? There are lots of things I can’t understand, much less comprehend. Scientists tell me that when two photons are emitted from the same light source they have a particular polarization. If you change the polarization of one, the other will change, too — even if it is billions and billions and billions of miles away. Wow! The best minds in the world scratch their heads at such an oddity of nature, so I’m much more in the dark than they are. But would I be wise to say, “Well, I cannot begin to understand how that is, so I reject that nature exists in this way?” No, I would not. Yet, when it comes to the Creator of both of those photons (who designed them to behave that way in the first place), many are willing to look at His revelation of himself and say, “Well, since it doesn’t make sense to me that God is ______________________________ (fill in anything you would like — eternal, omnipresent, triune, anything), then I reject that He exists in that way.” Whether God is omnipresent is not dependent upon whether you, or I, believe that He is or not. If He has revealed that He is, then He is, and all that is left is whether we are going to worship Him “in truth” as Jesus said or go our own way in darkness. Whether my puny little mind can even begin to comprehend such an awesome truth is utterly irrelevant to its being true. So, when you see things in Scripture that even rival the “two-photon” phenomenon of nature, do not allow yourself to slip into the deadly error of making your own mind the measure of what can and cannot be. “Let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). As God has reminded us before:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts’ neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Our pride may stand in the way of our fully recognizing this truth. But it is a truth all the same.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. (Psalm 139:7-12)
This is one of my favorite Psalms. There is no place I can go to get away from God. I have often felt sorry for those who have to limit this passage to simply meaning that God’s “influence” fills heaven and earth so that God is no more “present” with them than the sun is truly “present” in a room into which its light shines. The true God of the Bible is not limited in His presence in this world to simply having an “influence” that acts like a giant information-gathering system while He himself is absent. He is far above such a concept.
God is infinite, limitless, in His Being. This is just one of the many ways in which we, as men, differ from God. You have been taught that God and men and angels are all of one kind of being. “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become” is the common saying, is it not? But the Bible does not present this kind of teaching at all. Remember God’s rebuke of anyone who would think of Him as “one such as yourself” in Psalm 50:21? We would do well to heed His warning. God is God, and man is God’s creation, His creature (Isaiah 29:16). He is infinite, unlimited, and eternal, while man is finite, limited, and locked in time. “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in” (Isaiah 40:22). Would those who are of the “same kind of being” as God be called “grasshoppers” in comparison with God if all that separated them from Him was a period of progression and exaltation? He never intended us to be anything other than what we are His creations — and He has never been anything other than He is, the one true God.
He Who Inhabits Eternity
The next concept is probably the most amazing truth about God in the Bible at least it fascinates me, and causes me to bow in awe and wonder every time I consider it. God has said,
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. (Isaiah 40:28)
Jehovah is the “everlasting God.” A literal translation of the Hebrew would be “A God eternal is Yahweh.” This is not simply teaching that God has eternally been God (though this is certainly true — Psalm 90:2). The concept is not just that God has been God for a long time. If we look at all that these chapters in Isaiah teach, we will discover that God is, in fact, the Creator of time itself. Isaiah 41:4 presents this truth, and I shall return to that passage at a later point. Right now I am intent on understanding how God is the “eternal God.” Later Isaiah will say of Him,
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15, emphasis added)
God is the one who “inhabits eternity.” He inhabits eternity as we inhabit a house. Just as we build houses, so God created eternity itself — time. He is active in time, but just as we are not limited to our houses, so He is not limited to time. The God of the Bible exists outside of time! How else could it be if God is the Creator of all that exists? What a tremendous truth! Everything that takes place in time is a present reality to God. Confused? Amazed might be the better adjective. When these kinds of incredible facts of God’s existence are proclaimed to men who are still in rebellion against Him, they frequently mock and laugh — but the truth remains the truth in spite of their scorn. God is the great “I Am” (Exodus 3:14). He is always the “I Am” — His existence is an eternal “present.” There is no future to God — no past, either. He is just as much present at the burning bush of Exodus 3 as He is with you and me right now, Steve. Perhaps a little graphic will help:
Seem “incomprehensible” to you? Me, too. And, though I’d like to discuss the reasons for this a little later, I am convinced that outside of the Holy Spirit opening your mind and bringing you into submission to His truth, you will never accept such a stupendous teaching. It is not that the Bible doesn’t teach this — we shall see a number of additional passages that assert this very thing as we discuss God as Creator, as Sovereign, etc., — but that we are unwilling to submit to the truth of God whenever it “infringes” upon our own supposed freedoms. A God like this scares us because we cannot put Him at a safe distance from us. We know that we owe such a tremendous God worship and praise — and we know how far short we fall of thanking Him properly for all that we have, all that we are.
Isaiah 44:6 says,
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
God is both the first and the last, the beginning and the end. How could this be if God is not timeless, eternal in His nature and being? And that is exactly what He is.
I want you to think about some of the results of recognizing this teaching of the Bible. Mormons have been taught that the Christian doctrine of God makes God an “ethereal nothingness” or some kind of “fuzzy, nebulous force” that no one can know. Of course, this is utterly untrue. We will see that despite the incredibly high and lofty being of God, He has condescended to have dealings with man — indeed, to enter into a relationship with man through Jesus Christ — a fact that is all the more incredible when one realizes the true nature of God! But aside from this, we can see that if God is not locked in time — if time is actually His creation, so that He rules over it, and is not ruled by it, then God is unchanging. Christian theologians use the term immutable to describe the fact that God simply cannot change. How could He? Change takes place over time, does it not? And if God does not experience a progression of time, then how could He change? Also, if God is perfect now, and He changes tomorrow, what has happened? Has He not become imperfect? So the Christian doctrine of the changelessness of God comes directly from the Scriptures that teach that God is eternal and is the Creator of all that is. The Psalmist wrote,
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. (Psalm 102:25-27)
And James added,
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)
The fact that God is unchanging is certainly one of the most comforting truths in the Bible. While we may be awestruck at His immutability (since we are so easily changed and experience growth or decay each and every day), we can rejoice that God is the eternal God, the unchanging God. He will not be something different tomorrow than He is today. We can trust that since He is just and merciful today, He will be just and merciful tomorrow, too. We can believe in His promises because He has eternally been what He is today. Can you say this about the LDS concept of God, Steve? Has God eternally been what He is today? And though you may not accept the earlier LDS teachings about the continuing evolution of God, if you believe that God has ever been in a state of “progression” how can you be sure that He will not change again tomorrow? I have confidence in my salvation because it is based upon the words of an unchanging, eternal God. How about you?
The God of the Bible is perfect. He lacks nothing, needs nothing, is dependent upon nothing or no one. Since all else that exists does so at His command, then how could He possibly need anything? Therefore, He is perfect. Perfection is part of His nature. If He were to change, or evolve, as Mormon theology has presented it, then He would be imperfect, for that which is changing and evolving is either moving toward perfection (which shows that at the present time it is imperfect) or away from perfection (showing the same thing). But Jehovah God is complete, perfect, unchanging.
You may ask, then, how God can be active in the world at all. Does not the Bible speak of God “doing” this or “doing” that? Does this not show that He is acting in time? Yes, it does, but that does not mean that He is locked into time, nor that He is experiencing a progression of time. Let me explain. I have already alleged that God is the Creator of time itself. Since He created it — all of it — then He is also the one who has determined what will take place within time. What we see as God’s “actions” in time is, in reality, simply the result of God’s eternal decrees. God has decreed all things that take place in this universe, and His “actions” in time as we experience them are really the result of what He determined before time itself existed. Amazing, isn’t He? Worthy of your awe, your worship, your all. Even some Christians think that this kind of “theology” is dry and boring. But pondering the awesome God of Creation is about the most exciting thing I can think of.
God’s decrees, His eternal decisions about how He will rule His creation, are seen in Scripture. Paul wrote to the Ephesians about the salvation that was theirs, and in speaking of how this salvation was given to them solely by God and not as a result of their works or worthiness, he described God in a wonderful way. Note what he says:
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. (Ephesians 1:11)
Did you see how God is described? He is called the one “who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” All things happen on the basis of God’s will, God’s decision. He is not simply “reacting” to man, doing His best to keep things going in the “right direction.” Rather, He is in control, working things out as He determines.
That God has a purpose in all things is seen as well in those passages in Isaiah that by now should be becoming familiar. We read,
Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen: let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. (Isaiah 41:21-23)
In challenging the false gods, Jehovah lays down two challenges. One is pretty obvious: “Show the things that are to come hereafter.” False gods cannot predict the future, since they don’t know what the future is. Only the true God knows the future. And how does God know the future? Have you ever wondered about that, Steve? Many Christians have never really given it a lot of thought, either. It is just assumed that He knows somehow. But we don’t have to guess about it. God knows the future because He created time and all that would happen in it. He knows the future because (1) He determined the future when He created all things, and (2) He is present in all points of time, so He is in the future just as much as He is here and in the past. So being able to relate future events is something that only the true God can do.
The second challenge, however, is a little harder to notice. The passage reads, “Let them show the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them.” What God is challenging the false gods to do is not just to give us a bare recitation of past events. He is not simply looking for a history lesson. He wants to know the reasons why things happened the way they did. What was the purpose of this event or that one? Now there is a challenge! How often we experience things and have no idea why God would bring such a thing to pass? But God knows even if we do not. And the false gods have no more idea of why things happened in the past than we do. They don’t know the purposes of God in creation.
Both of these challenges demonstrate that God’s decrees determine whatever comes to pass. If they did not, then God could not speak of the purposes of past events, nor could He certainly speak of future events. For the God of the Bible, there is nothing unsure about tomorrow. There are no “ifs” in the divine knowledge. What a tremendous God! And how very different than the being described by Mormon writer W. Cleon Skousen in his book The First 2,000 Years:
It is apparent from these and other scriptures that the present exalted position of our Heavenly Father was gradually built up. His glory and power is something which He slowly acquired until today all things bow in humble reverence. But since God “acquired” the honor and sustaining influence of “all things” it follows as a correlary [sic] that if He should ever do anything to violate the confidence or “sense of justice” of these intelligences, they would promptly withdraw their support, and the “power” of God would disintegrate. That is what Mormon and Alma meant when they specifically stated that if God should change or act contrary to truth and justice “He would cease to be God.” Our Heavenly Father can do only those things which the intelligences under Him are voluntarily willing to support Him in accomplishing. (pp. 355-56)
While I agree that God would “cease to be God” if He were ever to act in a way that is contrary to His own nature (an impossibility in and of itself, the reason for this is surely vastly different than Skousen would like us to think! God’s power is in no way “dependent” upon some community of “intelligences” that pass judgment on God’s actions! God’s power has eternally been His — He did not “acquire” it over ages of time and change. Rather than being dependent upon “intelligences,” the true God of Scripture has eternally been the omnipotent, self-sustaining Creator. All things are dependent upon Him, not the other way around!
Creator
The single most often repeated “evidence” of the divinity of the true God is that He is the Creator of all that exists. There can be no question that Jehovah God of Israel claims to be the maker and framer of the entire universe. As the Psalmist said, “The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them” (Psalm 89:11), and in so doing he was echoing that which was known to Israel from the very beginning: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). From the earliest history of Israel the creatorship and the resultant ownership by God of all the universe was confessed. Deuteronomy 10:14 says,
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein.
Again in the section of Isaiah where the false gods are exposed as frauds and the true God is set forth, the concept of God being the Creator is emphasized over and over. Isaiah 42:5 is representative of many of these passages:
Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. (See also Isaiah 44:24.)
The language used here by God cannot in any way be limited, Steve. The heavens — all the stars, planets, galaxies — the entire universe, is the creation of God. Every human being is God’s creation — He makes them alive and gives to them breath. And yes, God is the Creator of their spirits as well. God forms the spirits of men — they are creations just as much as anything else. I know this is not what you have been taught, but listen to the prophet Zechariah as he relates God’s message:
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. (Zachariah 12:1)
God’s “stretching forth” the heavens is clearly with reference to the creation of the heavens; His “laying the foundation of the earth” is clearly in reference to the creation of the earth; so, his “forming the spirit of man” must also refer to the creation of the spirit of man. God does not create spiritual beings by procreation, as in Mormonism. Rather He creates spiritual beings simply by the word of His power. The God of the Bible is the great Creator, not simply an “organizer” of “pre-existing matter” nor a being that is limited to procreation to create spiritual beings. Anything that is not God was created by God. Can you say this of the God of Mormonism? No, for you have been taught that matter is eternal, and Joseph Smith claimed that God “never had the power to create the spirit of man at all” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 354). Which will you believe — the claims of God as seen in Isaiah and Zechariah, or the words of Joseph Smith? As for me, I choose to praise God as the hosts of heaven do, as John tells us in Revelation 4:11:
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Since God created everything, then He has the perfect right to rule over everything. If I create something, I have control over that something. It is mine by right. In the same way God, as the Creator, has the perfect and complete right to do with His creation as He sees fit. This concept certainly angers many men who are unwilling to bow before their Creator. Few truths are more hated by men than the fact that God reigns over the universe and can simply do as He pleases with it. But few truths are more clearly taught in the Bible, either. For example, God is called the “King” over and over again in Scripture. He who is a king rules over his kingdom. In the same way, He who is the King of the universe rules as Sovereign over all that exists. The authors of Scripture certainly understood this:
Wherefore, David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. (1 Chronicles 29:10-11)
The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. (Psalm 10:16)
Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. . . . Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. (Psalm 24:8, 10)
For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. (Psalm 47:7-8)
But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. (Jeremiah 10:10)
Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. (l Timothy 6:15-16)
The king of an ancient nation was the supreme authority. The king’s word could not be challenged; his plans could not be questioned. So it is with God. While many today do not like the concept of an “ultimate authority” (preferring our own supposed “personal freedom”), the Bible is clear on the fact that God, as the Creator and King of all that is, is sovereign over all that is. He will accomplish everything that He intends, and His purposes cannot be frustrated or deterred by anything — including the will of man! There are many passages that teach this truth. The Psalmist wrote,
But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. (Psalm 115:3)
Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. (Psalm 135:6)
Understanding that God is sovereign is a common theme of the “wisdom writer” of the Proverbs, as well. Note these passages:
There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand. (Proverbs 19:21)
Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way? (Proverbs 20:24)
But, as we have already seen, Steve, that tremendous section in Isaiah provides us with some of the richest treasure of truth about God, and here, specifically about His sovereignty. Do you recall back in about my fourth letter to you, when I addressed the Bible’s teaching that there is only one true God, that I cited Isaiah 43:10 as one of the most “common” verses that Christians use in showing this truth to Mormons? Well, note what comes immediately after this direct statement of monotheism:
I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shown, when there was no strange god among you: therefore, ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? (Isaiah 43:11-13)
Notice that last phrase. In modern terms we would translate it, “I act, and who can reverse (or hinder) it” When God determines to do something, when He decides to act, who can possibly stop Him? The question is, again, rhetorical, for there is no answer — none can possibly stop God from accomplishing exactly what He wills. Earlier in Isaiah we read,
For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? (Isaiah 14:27)
Yes, I know exactly what that means, believe me. But I cannot hide from what is in Scripture. Read on:
I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me. . . . I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (Isaiah 45:5,7)
The term evil that is used here is placed in contrast with the term peace so that it most probably means calamity or distress. But, the intention of God in uttering these things is clear: Whether it be peace and prosperity, or calamity and disaster, God is in control of what takes place. This is absolutely necessary if anything is going to have meaning and purpose, and we have already seen that all things are purposeful. God is working out His will in the world even if we are not sharp enough to figure out exactly how God will be glorified in each separate event that takes place.
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. (Isaiah 46:9-10)
The true God is able to “declare the end from the beginning” long before the end has even come into view. The true God is able to speak of that which is going to take place. How so? Because His counsel shall stand, and He will do all His pleasure. Can your God say these things? The true God of Creation can. He is the Sovereign King of all that is. This majestic Person demands worship that is undertaken in truth. Can a person who has been taught to believe in the god of Joseph Smith possibly worship the true Jehovah in truth? Not when the true God is so utterly and completely different than the god of Joseph Smith’s final sermons.
One of the truths that flows from God being the Creator of all things, and from His “inhabiting eternity” as we have seen, is that He is omniscient — that is, He has all knowledge. I realize that some Mormon writers will speak of God being omniscient. For example, Stephen Robinson, writing in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism said,
Latter-day Saints attribute omnipotence and omniscience to the Father. He knows all things relative to the universe in which mortals live and is himself the source and possessor of all true power manifest in it. (p. 549)
Notice that Robinson has to limit God’s omnipotence and omniscience to those things “relative to the universe in which mortals live.” Since he also admits that God is an “exalted being” it follows that God acquired His knowledge over a period of time, as a part of His exaltation. But, as we have noted already, God did not “acquire” this knowledge over time through some process of learning or progressing as Joseph Smith taught, and as modern Mormons affirm. Rather He has all knowledge because He created all things! Everything there is to know exists only because He allows it to and sustains it! All that is has being and existence because in His eternal wisdom, He planned for it. How, then, could there be anything that He does not know? Not only this, but if God were to “learn” something, then He would change, and we have already seen that this is an impossibility. As God claimed,
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. (Isaiah 42:9)
Here is a God who knows and understands all things. The Psalmist reveled in this truth:
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, and I cannot attain unto it. (Psalm 139:2-6)
Can you join with the Psalmist in saying “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, and I cannot attain unto it”? For some, the fact that God knows all about them is downright frightening. But for one who worships this God, it is a comfort indeed. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews certainly agreed on this subject as well, for he wrote,
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13)
God has all knowledge — there is nothing He does not know. The Psalmist said that His “understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). What a comfort to know and worship the true God in such an uncertain world!
The Providence of God
I mentioned earlier the common LDS belief that Christians believe in a rather nebulous concept of God and how many feel that their belief in a very human, concrete deity is much more logical. Yet, as we have seen, the Bible is very clear in proclaiming the eternal, infinite, limitless nature of Jehovah. And beyond this, the Scriptures also declare that this God is intimately involved in all that takes place here on earth. He is working out His purpose in the lives of men and the courses of the nations. He is working in this situation between you and me, Steve He has been from the very beginning. It was not by accident that you and Elder Young were riding through that parking lot that evening right as I was getting out of my car. God had set that appointment from eternity past. The Psalmist expressed it like this:
Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the LORD standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. (Psalm 33:8-11)
It is not men’s plans that will in the end be “established,” but God’s. This is true of nations, it is true of leaders, it is true of the worker on the farm or the peasant woman on the street. All of creation experiences God’s providential care and control. No king, no matter how mighty or powerful, is outside of God’s command. God is described as the one who “bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity” (Isaiah 40:23). Not only is His control exercised in this area, but the natural elements — wind, rain, and sun — obey His command at all times, too. The Psalmist said,
He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly. He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoar- frost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? He sendeth out his word, and melteth them, he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. (Psalm 147:15-l8)
But while there are many who are willing to confess this kind of general sovereignty of God, few are willing to go as far as the Scriptures go in describing the control of God over one particular area — the very actions of men themselves. When the truth of God begins to impinge upon man’s supposed freedom, men begin to rebel with intense hatred. The Bible, however, is clear on the subject. For example, when Abimelech took Abraham’s wife at Gerar, Jehovah kept him from sinning in the matter. The Bible says,
And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for [also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. (Genesis 20:6)
God withheld Abimelech from sinning! Does God truly have this kind of power? Yes, He does. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will” (Proverbs 21:1); “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Here is a God who is not simply taken up with the “big things” but is involved in each and every happening on earth and in the heavens above. As I pointed out before, Steve, this is due to the fact that God is the Creator of all things, including time and all the actions therein. His providential activity in this world is the result of His eternal plan and decree. What a tremendous God!
One last example of God’s providence — Isaiah 10:5-7. Note here how God uses an evil people (the Assyrians) to punish His people, and how He does so in such a just and righteous way as to be able to hold the wicked Assyrians responsible for their behavior:
O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
The Assyrians came against Israel and destroyed her. They had no idea they were fulfilling God’s design and that He in fact was working out His plan through them. Yet, at the same time, they were to be held responsible for what they did. The Assyrians were incredibly wicked people — brutal and harsh. God used their wickedness to accomplish His goals, His plans, and in doing so showed His holiness and power!
Holiness, Wrath, Goodness, Mercy, and Grace
If all we knew of God is that He is in control of all things and is our Creator, we might indeed have good reason to despair, for we know how often we have rebelled against Him. But God has revealed much more about himself than just this, though all else we know of God (and anything else for that matter) must be based upon the truths we have already seen. Mormonism shows us all too well what happens when we attempt to build an edifice upon a cracked and broken foundation — just so if we do not understand God’s eternity, His unchanging nature, and His absolute sovereignty over all things, we will end up making serious errors later on in understanding how God acts in this world, especially with reference to how God saves men and brings them into a proper relationship with himself.
Before we can get to the wonderful truths of God’s mercy and grace, we must recognize God’s holiness and his wrath against sin. The God of the Bible is holy. The Scriptures again are clear on this fact:
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. (Psalm 29:2)
Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever. (Psalm 93:5)
I would strongly suggest that you find the time, Steve, to sit down in some quiet place and slowly read through the sixth chapter of the book of Isaiah. Then read it again. Try to envision what Isaiah saw on that day. Listen as the angels cry over and over again, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!” Notice how Isaiah immediately recognizes his own sin when he sees the Holy God of Israel. With that in mind, remember the words I quoted earlier from Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt from his book The Seer:
The Gods who dwell in the Heaven from which our spirits came, are beings who have been redeemed from the grave in a world which existed before the foundations of this earth were laid. They and the Heavenly body which they now inhabit were once in a fallen state. . . . And thus, as their world was exalted from a temporal to an eternal state, they were exalted also, from fallen men to Celestial Gods to inhabit their Heaven forever and ever.” (p. 23, emphasis mine)
This Holy, eternal God who sits upon the throne in Isaiah 6 was once a fallen, sinful creature upon another planet? Is this what we are to believe the Bible teaches? Surely not! It may have been the god of Joseph Smith’s final years, but it is not the God of the Christian!
God’s holiness is not simply limited to His moral perfection — His holiness is related as well to His absolute “otherness,” or, as we saw before, His utter uniqueness. That which is holy is separate, distinct. God is separate, and distinct — He is not to be confused with the creation itself. Have you noticed that this truth is also compromised in Mormon theology, Steve? The God of the LDS faith is not separate from the creation! In fact, not only can it not be said that He is the creator of all that exists, but if one believes that He was once a fallen man who lived upon another planet, then He was, at least for a time, dependent upon other things. If He is a man like you and me, then we know that we are not holy in the sense of being separate or unique. No, the god of Mormonism is certainly not the Jehovah of the Bible.
Because God is holy, He cannot abide the presence of evil. Evil, though it exists with His permission and functions to serve a purpose, is still abhorrent to Him. He must punish evil if He is to be just. Please note that I am not saying that God is limited by what we think is justice. We are often wrong in our ideas. Rather, God is the very definition of what is right, what is just. He loves righteousness and justice. Note a few more Scripture passages:
He loveth righteousness and judgment justice]: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. (Psalm 33:5)
The king’s strength also loveth judgment justice; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment justice] and righteousness in Jacob. (Psalm 99:4)
God’s holiness and righteousness result in wrath against sin. Many in today’s world think that this concept is antiquated — we need an “up-to-date” God, or so they think. But such men do not have the slightest idea of what God is truly like — His eternal nature, His holiness, His purity — and they are even less likely to honestly admit the depth and wickedness of their own personal sin. Show me a person who is unconcerned about God’s punishment of sin and I’ll show you a person who doesn’t know God or themselves very well at all. “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11). God’s wrath is responsible for many of the judgments that take place in our world — of course, we do not see this, for we do not see His hand in control of the wind or the waves, but it is true nonetheless.
In light of God’s holiness and His wrath against sin, we can begin to recognize the incredible depth of God’s mercy and grace in having anything at all to do with sinners, let alone providing a way for them to have forgiveness and eternal life! But, to properly discuss God’s grace and mercy, we must speak about He who is Mercy, Grace, and Truth — the Lord Jesus Christ. I would like to hold that discussion long enough to ask you to respond to this material and allow me to attempt to answer any questions or objections you might have. Then I would like to discuss my Lord and Savior with you.
In closing, Steve, I want to ask you to go back and read this letter over again before forming your final questions or thoughts. Ponder the Scriptures that I have referenced. Look them up as well in the New American Standard Bible and the New International Version that I gave to you when we met — some of these passages in the King James use very archaic language that might make some of these things a little more difficult to grasp. But most importantly of all, realize that we are bound to accept God’s truth about himself — we cannot “edit” Him down to fit into our limited concepts. Even someone as tremendously knowledgeable as the Apostle Paul, when he finished reviewing God’s works in this world, had to simply throw up his hands and cry,
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)
To which I add my own “amen.” May you be blessed as you seek His will and His truth.
In Christ Jesus,
James White
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