Colossians 1:9-10
"For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom, and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God," Colossians 1:9-10. Today we will learn that God is good. The personal perfections of God are eternal. God does not evolve. God has always been good and patient. Let us look at the goodness of God.
"Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endureth continually," Psalm 52:1. Our minds are finite, and are tainted with sin. We view goodness form our fallen perspective. God's goodness is truly heavenly. "He is originally good, good of Himself, which nothing else is; for all creatures are good only by participation and communication from God. He is essentially good; not only good, but goodness itself; the creature's good is a superadded quality, in God it is His essence. He is infinitely good; the creature's good is but a drop, but in God there is an infinite ocean or gathering together of good. He is eternally and immutably good, for He cannot be less good than He is; as there can be no addition made to Him, so no subtraction from Him." Thomas Manton.
Is God good to everyone? Yes. God is not only good to everyone, but also to all things. God is good to everyone by His common graces. "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust," Matthew 5:45. The saved and the lost all enjoy the pleasures of this life. We enjoy a cool breeze in the heat of summer; the sunshine in the winter; the colors of the tree leaves in the fall; the pollen during the spring. No matter what part of the earth you live, the lost and the saved experience the same elements. Even our bodies are evidences of God being good to all. All of creation praises God for His goodness. Have you ever listened to the birds at first light in the mornings? They start out by praising God for another day. When the coyotes leave their dens at dusk they also sing their praises to the Lord. "Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever," Psalm 136:25. The birds of the air and the beasts of the field sing their praises for the goodness of the Lord. How much more should mankind?
"Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD," Psalm 33:1-5. As we continue to grow in our knowledge of the Most High God, our prayers and our praise should be transformed. We who have been saved by Jesus Christ are thankful for the common graces of God, but are eternally thankful for the effectual grace of God. Because the Lord has saved us, we now understand that we deserved hell for eternity. But God has been so good to us in that He sent His only begotten Son to die for the sins of all who have and will believe. When we understand that we do not deserve the least of His mercies, we begin to see the goodness of God towards us. "The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him," Nahum 1:7.
We can view life from a worldly perspective. This means we will view life as being fair or unfair. We view fair or unfair from our understanding and opinions. As soon as something happens that is not fair in our opinion, we say that God is not good, because if He was good, then what we think is not fair would not have happened. The question comes up, How can a good God let bad things happen? Our first mistake is not knowing the God of the bible, and then thinking that God owes us something because we think we are good. We must establish everything by the Scriptures. "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one," Romans 3:9-12. The bible goes on to say, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23. When things do not go our way we want to stand flat footed shaking our fist and scream at God accusing Him of being unfair. People do not understand that if it weren't for the goodness of God, all who are lost would be suffering the torments of hell at this very moment. People want to scream, "I do not deserve this", when they have no idea what they do deserve. The majority of people in this world view God apart from the Scriptures. Therefore, they do not know the God of the bible. If they knew the God of the bible they would thank Him for His goodness.
Those of us who are saved are not exempt from doubting the goodness of God. We are still covered in this unredeemed flesh. We are still full of emotions and passions. We feel for other people. Having a biblical perspective comes from the bible. This means we must stay in the Scriptures. This doesn't mean that we stick our heads in the sand, or that we become stoic, no, this means we have a biblical view of life. Life doesn't always go our way. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose," Romans 8:28. Turn to Psalm 107. We should remind ourselves, God is good. "When others behave badly to us, it should only stir us up the more heartily to give thanks unto the Lord, because He is good; and when we ourselves are conscious that we are far from being good, we should only the more reverently bless Him that He is good. We must never tolerate an instant's unbelief as to the goodness of the Lord; whatever else may be questioned, this is absolutely certain, that Jehovah is good; His dispensations may vary, but His nature is always the same." C.H. Spurgeon.
Our God is good.
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Soli Deo Gloria.
