The picture that emerges, then, is of a God who is both the God of the basin and towel and the mighty King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He has planned all of history for His glory and our benefit. He does not sit impotently in heaven waiting for us to act in order to plan His next move. God and we are not, somehow, equal players in a cosmic game of chess. At various points in Scripture (e.g., Isaiah 6; Revelation 4), the curtain of heaven is drawn back so that we get a glimpse of what is happening. The picture is one of a majestic, awesome, omnipotent king upon His throne surrounded by the angelic hosts and the saved of all ages bowing in humble adoration and worship. We need to take such pictures seriously! We also need to reflect on God’s answer to Job (Job 38-41) and even upon the glory Christ’s disciples saw when they viewed Him on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is no impotent God. He is the king of the universe!
From: No One Like Him: The Doctrine of God by John S. Feinberg (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2001), p. 801.
John S. Feinberg (born in 1946) is Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology, and Chairman of the Department of Biblical and Systematic Theology, at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.
