Skip to main content

G. C. Berkouwer On "Election And The Hiddenness Of God"

In his discussion, "Election and the Hiddenness of God" in Divine Election (Chapter Four, pp.102-131), G. C. Berkouwer emphasizes that God's hiddenness is not to be set over against His salvation. He rejects a concept of God's hiddenness which "separates the God of revelation from our lives and mitigates the absolute trustworthiness of that revelation" (p. 125). Even in confessing God's salvation, faith acknowledges that it does not know everything about God (pp. 120-121, especially  the reference to Isaiah 45:15 - "Truly You are a God who has been hiding Himself, the God and Saviour of Israel."). Although our knowledge of God in Christ is confessed to be true and reliable, we must not presume upom complete knowledge (p. 124 - especially the reference to John 14:9 - "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."). The attempt to attain to complete knowledge is admonished for its spiritual pride, when Christ speaks of these things which are hidden from "the wise and learned" yet revealed "to little children" (p. 123, quoting Matthew 11:25). This Biblical passage - Matthew 11:25 - concludes Berkouwer's study of Divine Election (p. 330). He ends by emphasizing that knowledge of God is not to be sought apart from a simple faith, which looks to Christ as Saviour.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes, Lord, our lights are switched off.

Exodus 27:20-29:9   Sometimes, Lord, our lights are switched off. Sometimes, they're switched on. The light of Your love is never switched off. It's always switched on. Your love is 'all the time' love. There is no love like Your love for us. It's the only 'always and forever' love. Thank You, Lord, for the light that never stops shining - the light of Your undying love. This is the only light that is always shining.
Post a Comment
Read more

Help us, Lord, to invite Jesus, Your Son, to be our Saviour and our Friend.

Proverbs 18:1-24   Lord, we thank You that ‘the fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream’ (Proverbs 18:4). We read the joyful testimony of Paul: ‘The grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus’ (1 Timothy 1:14), and we say, in our hearts,  ‘This is the “wisdom” we must seek – the wisdom which receives “salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). True wisdom finds its overflowing joy in the Saviour: ‘The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe’ (Proverbs 18:10). We rejoice in Jesus. He is Your Son – ‘You shall call His Name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High’ (Luke 1:31-32). He is our Saviour – ‘You shall call His Name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21). He is ‘the Friend who sticks closer than a brother’ (Proverbs 18:24). Help us, Lord, to be wise. Help us to invite Jesus, Your Son, to be ou...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Godly, Christlike And Spirit-Filled Life

What kind of people are we to be? What kind of life are we to live? Lord, You're calling us to live a life of "love" (Proverbs 17:9). How, Lord, do we learn what love is? - We learn from You. You show us what love is - "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son ... " (John 3:16). In Jesus, we see perfect love - "The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). The Holy Spirit fills our lives with Your love - "The fruit of the Spirit is love" (Galatians 5:22). Help us, Lord, to live a Godly, Christlike, Spirit-filled life - a life of love.
Post a Comment
Read more