4 Gs: Truths to Live (and Die) For
The term gospel means “good news.” When we speak of gospel, generally we refer to what God has done for us in Christ, something that we’ll get to soon. However, as John Piper points out, who God is should enthrall us, as well. He is good news. God is the gospel.
When I say that God Is the Gospel I mean that the highest, best, final, decisive good of the gospel, without which no other gifts would be good, is the glory of God in the face of Christ revealed for our everlasting enjoyment. The saving love of God is God’s commitment to do everything necessary to enthrall us with what is most deeply and durably satisfying, namely himself. Since we are sinners and have no right and no desire to be enthralled with God, therefore God’s love enacted a plan of redemption to provide that right and that desire. The supreme demonstration of God’s love was the sending of his Son to die for our sins and to rise again so that sinners might have the right to approach God and might have the pleasure of his presence forever. (John Piper)
The character of God can be expressed and summarized with four helpful adjectives (Chester and Timmis, You Can Change). These “Four Gs” make all the difference in how we live our lives.
God is Great
Our Lord is a great God. We emphasize here that He is sovereign, and particularly over His creation. Because He made all things, He owns all things, and therefore, He rules over it all as He wishes. As Ephesians 1:11 puts it, He “works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Here we speak of the providence of God. He first sustains His creation, holding it together. He second governs His creation, ensuring everything happens - even evil - according to His purposes.
Col. 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Dan. 4:34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
Listen to Piper once again:
This "all things" includes the fall of sparrows (Matthew 10:29), the rolling of dice (Proverbs 16:33), the slaughter of his people (Psalm 44:11), the decisions of kings (Proverbs 21:1), the failing of sight (Exodus 4:11), the sickness of children (2 Samuel 12:15), the loss and gain of money (1 Samuel 2:7), the suffering of saints (1 Peter 4:19), the completion of travel plans (James 4:15), the persecution of Christians (Hebrews 12:4-7), the repentance of souls (2 Timothy 2:25), the gift of faith (Philippians 1:29), the pursuit of holiness (Philippians 3:12-13), the growth of believers (Hebrews 6:3), the giving of life and the taking in death (1 Samuel 2:6), and the crucifixion of his Son (Acts 4:27-28) (John Piper).
God is Glorious
Our Lord is glorious. Jonathan Dodson calls His glory His “consummate worth, beauty, virtue, and excellence.” The Hebrew word literally refers to “heaviness,” as well. We must recognize His beauty and weightiness. Our Lord made all things to showcase His glory. Human beings, creation’s pinnacle, were made to reflect His glory, as well. In Isaiah 6, the prophet came to grips with God’s glory, and it put him on his knees. He arose with a new perspective. He then pursued His new mission with a new power.
Is. 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
God is Good
Our Lord is perfectly good. This means that He is morally excellent, but it means more than that. He is also completely satisfying. We were made to find our joy in Him. Coming to Him brings deep satisfaction. This is what the Psalmist dares us to explore in Psalm 34. In verse 8, he writes, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!”
Psa. 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! 4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
God is Gracious
Our God is a God of grace. He welcomes undeserving people to His table even though He is not obligated to do so. As frail, finite sinners we can do nothing on our own. We deserve nothing at all - that is, except judgment. Yet God gives us salvation. Through the life and death of Christ, God doesn’t simply blow off our sins; He remains just but freely gives mercy. He forgives all of our sins. He also forgives our deeds, our best works not done for His glory, as well as those done in an effort to earn His approval or seek it from others. He comes to helpless, needy sinners and rescues them. Here we emphasize God’s sovereignty over salvation, what we call His election. As in the Old Testament where we see God freely choose a nation, Israel, God has chosen a people by His grace, apart from their works, from every tribe, tongue, and nation. He has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28). He chose us in him before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3).
Rom. 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
To know this God who is great, glorious, good, and gracious is indeed good news. However, this God is holy. Our sin puts distance between us and Him. Thankfully, our Lord took costly measures to restore us to a place where we can enjoy who He is.
For Discussion:
What do we learn about God in these passages and in these four truths?
How are they encouraging to you as we walk through these fiery trials?
What false beliefs about God must you walk away from to truly embrace them?