NG Kerk Wynberg

3.1   Die leer aangaande God

[Kommissie se weergawe]

Alpha haal die Bybel veelvuldig aan. Dit moet waardeer word. Tog kom God soos Hy Hom in sy Woord geopenbaar, nie in duidelike reliëf nie. Ons sit hier met 'n onvolledige Godsbeeld. Wat elke christen nodig het, is 'n deeglike besef van die grootheid, krag en majesteit van God. Daar is veel meer wat oor die God van die Skrifte gesê meet word.  Hy is die Skepper en Onderhouer van die heelal.  Hy is soewerein in die mees absolute sin van die woord.  'n Mens soek tevergeefs in die kursus na 'n Godsbeskouing soos wat ons dit byvoorbeeld in Jes 40:25-26 en Rom 6:23 terugvind. Niks word oor die ontsagwekkende Skepper-wees van God en sy heerskappy oor alles gesê nie. Klaarblyklik word Hy hoogstens veronderstel, maar geniet nie die nodige aandag nie. In die kursus word God se heiligheid bykans verswelg deur ons wonderlike verhouding tot Hom. Die eintlike kwessie is hoe ons voor Hom lewe. Die vraag wat hom by herhaling aan jou voordoen, is: Waar is die ontsagwekkende God en die enorme kloof tussen Hom en 'n sondaar, soos ons dit in byvoorbeeld Jesaja 6 aantref? God is in die hemel en die mens op die aarde! (Pred 5.1). Wat dus hier wesenlik is vir ons verstaan van die God van die Woord, word nie behandel nie.

[Aanhaling uit kursusmateriaal: Gumbel 1995] Jesus taught us to pray, 'Our Father in heaven' (Matthew 6:9). God is personal. Of course he is 'beyond personality' as C.S. Lewis put it, but he is nevertheless personal. Man is made in the image of God. Personhood is a reflection of something within the nature of God. He is our loving Father and we have the extraordinary privilege of being able to come into his presence and call him 'Abba' -- the Aramaic word for which the nearest translation is 'Daddy' or 'Dear Father'. There is a remarkable intimacy about our relationship with God and about praying to our Father in heaven.

He is not only 'our Father'; he is 'our Father in heaven'. He has heavenly power. When we pray we are speaking to the Creator of the universe. On 20th August 1977, Voyager II, the inter-planetary probe launched to observe and transmit to earth data about the outer planetary system, set off from earth travelling faster than the speed of a bullet (90,000 miles per hour). On 28th August 1989 it reached planet Neptune, 2,700 million miles from the earth. Voyager II then left the solar system. It will not come within one light year of any star for 958,000 years. In our galaxy there are 100,000 million stars, like our sun. Our galaxy is one of 100,000 million galaxies. In a throwaway line in Genesis, the writer tells us, 'He also made the stars' (Genesis 1:16). Such is his power. Andrew Murray, the Christian writer, once said, 'The power of prayer depends almost entirely upon our apprehension of who it is with whom we speak.'

When we pray, we are speaking to a God who is both transcendent and immanent. He is far greater and more powerful than the universe which he created and yet he is there with us when we pray.

Paul says that 'through him [Jesus] we both [Jews and Gentiles] have access to the Father by one Spirit' (Ephesians 2:18). Jesus said that his Father would give whatever you ask in my name' (John 15:16). We have no right in ourselves to come to God but we are able to do so 'through Jesus' and 'in his name'. That is why it is customary to end prayers with 'through Jesus Christ our Lord' or 'in the name of Jesus'. This is not just a formula; it is our acknowledgement of the fact that we can only come to God through Jesus.

It  is Jesus,  through his  death  on  the  cross,  who removed the barrier between us and God. He is our great High Priest. That is why there is such power in the name of Jesus. The value of a cheque depends not only on the amount, but also on the name that appears at the bottom. If I write out a cheque for ten million pounds it would be worthless; but if the Sultan of Brunei, reputed to be the richest man in the world, were to write a cheque for ten million pounds it would be worth exactly that. When we go to the bank of heaven, we have nothing deposited there. If I go in my own name I can achieve nothing; but Jesus Christ has unlimited credit in heaven. He has given us the privilege of using his name… p88-90.

[Aanhaling uit kursusmateriaal: Gumbel 1995]  If we are honest, we would all have to admit that we do things which we know are wrong. Paul wrote: 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23). In other words, relative to God's standards we all fall a long way short. If we compare ourselves to armed robbers or child molesters or even our neighbours, we may think we come off quite well. But when we compare ourselves to Jesus Christ, we see how far short we fall.  Somerset Maugham once said, 'If I wrote down every thought I have ever thought and every deed I have ever done, men would call me a monster of depravity.'…p44

It is not just other people's sins that deserve punishment. It is our own as well. One day we will all be subject to the judgement of God. St Paul tells us that 'the wages of sin is death' (Romans 6.23)… The death Paul speaks of is not only physical. It is a spiritual death which results in eternal isolation from God. This cutting off from God begins now. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed, 'Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear' (Isaiah 59.1-2). The things we do wrong cause this barrier…p46.

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Kopiereg © 2002 Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk Wynberg
Laaste verandering: 09/03/10