Attributes of LORD - Part 2

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And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.  -  Genesis 17:1

The LORD appeared to Abram.  Abram could see him.  Yet:

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.  -  1 Timothy 1:17

So who did Abram see?  Abram did not see the only wise God.  He did see the LORD.  Isaac saw the LORD  (Genesis 26:2), as did Moses (Exodus 3:16), Samuel (1 Samuel 3:21), and Solomon (1 Kings 3:5).  Either John was incorrect in saying that no man has seen God at any time or the LORD is not the only wise God.

Many argue that LORD is the pre-incarnate manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  However, the LORD states that he knows both good and evil in Genesis 3:22.  If the LORD is the Lord Jesus Christ, then he knows good and evil.  Also, that would make him both the instituter of the law (ministration of death) and the end of the law (Romans 10:4).  It implies that the Lord Jesus Christ is a hypocrite for telling the people of Israel, "Thou shalt not kill." and then saying, "I will kill ..."  The only reasonable alternative is that LORD is neither the only wise God nor is he the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lives in Darkness

He (from the context - LORD) made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.  -  Psalms 18:11

What can I say?  Here in the Bible we see that the LORD has a dark, secret place.  Yet of God, John said, "God is light and in him is no darkness at all."  This should astound the reader.  There is no way to reconcile these two aspects.  The LORD likes dark places, but anywhere that God is then there is no darkness.

The differences above are stark.  They are not subtle.  It amazes me that for the better part of my 30+ yer Christian life.  I didn't see it, or accepted the explanation of the differences without questioning.  I am often reminded of::

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  -  2 Corinthians 11:3

Paul was concerned that people would be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  Seeing these stark contrasts plainly shows the ease of deceiving mankind from the truth.

Good Trees and Corrupt Trees

For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.  -  Luke 6:43-44

The Bible provides simple principles to allow you to discern between two or more things.  I've mentioned one of them relating to the the inability of a person to have two or more masters.  Now lets look at trees and the fruit they produce.

Its simple.  A grape vine produces grapes.  An apple tree produces apples.  A good tree produces good fruit, and a corrupt tree brings forth corrupt fruit.  In I Corinthians 15:33, we find that evil communication corrupts good manners.  Evil corrupts good.  The reason the evil corrupts good is that the person infected by both has two motives, and, therefore, two masters.


And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:  -  Genesis 3:22

The LORD God testifies that he knows good and evil.  Furthermore:

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.  -  Isaiah 45:7

This LORD creates evil.  He has two masters.  Whatever is good in or about him is corrupted with evil.  So what kind of fruit does he produce?  Corrupt fruit.  In fact, the tree of knowledge of good and evil is a corrupt tree, since it produces corrupt fruit.  Adam and Eve partake of that fruit, and they become corrupt and take on the likeness of LORD God in that they know good and evil.  Adam and Eve are corrupt just like LORD God.

Contrast this with God, the true and wise one.  Through his witness to all men, Paul, God tells us to abide in charity, the greatest of faith, hope and charity.  According to I Corinthians 13, charity is NOT bestowing your good s to feed the poor.  You can bestow your goods to feed the poor and still not have charity.  One of the characteristics of charity is that it "thinketh no evil."  Charity is the bond of God's perfectness, so he must be the supreme example of charity.  That means he thinketh no evil, and that God is not corrupted with the knowledge of evil.  God sees no evil, hears no evil and thinks no evil.  He must produce good fruit.  Indeed, look at the fruit of his Spirit in Galatians 5:22,23.  Can you find anything bad about those nine things?  I didn't think that you could.

The Bible says that charity never faileth.  There has never been a need for God to abandon charity.  Why would God abandon charity for something that can fail?  Charity edifies, and does not destroy.  If God abandoned charity then that would make him a hypocrite.

Why doesn't God just put an end to the deception, pain, and just  plain bad fruit?  Because charity is longsuffering, is kind, it seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked.  For God to end it all would mean that he had abandoned charity.  He merely presents the evidence along with principles to apply when considering the evidence.