God is…

John tells us that Jesus Christ came to explain the Father (Jn. 1:18).  That is, Jesus came to expose or exegete God; He came to give an accounting and revelation of the Father (and at the same time also revealed His own nature and character, Jn. 10:30).  Only the Son, who has the very nature of God, is able to give an authentic exposition of God to man.  And that is what He did through His words and works.

It is wise when reading Scripture to always ask, “what does this reveal about the Godhead?”  And that is particularly true in the Gospels, where Christ reveals both Himself and His Father.

So in Luke 18 there is a mixture of parables, Q&A’s, historical accounts, and a miracle that all reveal the nature of the Godhead.  What is God like?

• Our God is a prayer-hearing God.  Don’t read the parable in vv. 1-8 and assume that God must be badgered or our prayers won’t be heard.  Jesus’ point is that even evil men (v. 2; cf. also Mt. 7:11) sometimes do things that are good, kind, or gracious.  And if ungodly men respond to the real needs of others, how much more will God who is infinitely, eternally, and completely good do what is just and kind for those who are His and who call out to Him (v. 7).
• Our God is a gracious God.  The publican also prays (v. 13), but his prayer is for righteousness.  He knows He is not righteous so he asks God to be merciful to him — a request for God to withhold His wrath.  And God answers.  That’s grace.
• Our God is a righteousness-imputing God.  Because the standard of righteousness is perfection (Mt. 5:48), it is impossible for any man to ever be righteous since all men have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect glory (Rom. 3:23).  So the only way any man has ever been right before God is through the declaration of God that we have been freed from guilt and He has credited to our account an alien righteousness (a righteousness that is not our own).  And that is just what happened to this praying publican (v. 14).
• Our God is good.  No one else is good.  Oh, people will do things that give evidence of kindness and gentleness.  Some will engage in charitable acts.  But no one is inherently and completely good.  But God is good (v. 19).  And Christ is also inherently good (vv. 20-21).  And that means that everything He does in history and our lives and says in His Word is good.
• Our God does the impossible.  It is impossible for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle — and that means just what it says.  A camel can’t be fitted through the eye-hole of a knitting needle.  In the same way it is impossible for a man to save himself (vv. 25-26).  But God can do the impossible; He can save sinners from His wrath (v. 27; notice that He demonstrates that ability three times in this chapter — vv. 14, 16, 42).
• Our God is worth following.  Or better, it is better to give up everything we have for the privilege of following and having Christ (vv. 22, 28).
• Our God is a rewarding God.  Are there sacrifices to be made in the quest to follow and know Christ?  Certainly.  And a wise man counts the cost of those sacrifices.  But he also counts the benefit of receiving eternal and unfading reward from God.  Whatever is given up in following Christ will be given back many times more (vv. 29-30).
• Our God and Savior is a wrath-enduring Savior.  Christ endured wrath from God through the mistreatment, scourging, and killing of the Gentile political rulers and Jewish religious leaders.  And that act was the means of securing our pardon.  (We would do well to constantly thank God that He has given us minds to comprehend and respond to that truth, v. 34).
• Our God is a mercy-loving, miracle-working, faith-giving, life-giving God.  The story of the blind man, Bartimaeus, encompasses most of the preceding truths in this chapter. Christ heard and answered his prayer (vv. 38, 42).  Christ extended mercy and grace to him (v. 42).  Christ met both his physical and spiritual need (vv. 42-43).  Christ proved to be worth following (v. 43).  And the only reason that Christ could do any of the things He did for Bartimaeus was because His anticipated work on the cross would provide for all these needs of the blind beggar.

This is our God.  And He is worth having above all other things because He is infinitely better than all other things and people.