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How Should We
Understand the Hands of God?
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by Don Johnston, Reasons for Hope* Jesus
God the Father is an invisible spirit and has no physical
body.
Yet the Bible refers to Him as having physical characteristics
that theologians call Anthropormorphisms.
Even though He has no body, Scripture does speak of God’s eyes,
ears, nose, arms, etc. We’ve already covered the mind, face, eyes, ears, nose, voice, shoulder, back, and arms of God.
Let’s now consider the hands of God.
But the hands of the Lord are referenced dozens of times, and
these passages help us to further understand our great God in at least 5 ways.
God’s Hands Provide Enabling POWER
“Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose
over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the
word to no one but the Jews only. But some of them were men from
Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists,
preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was
with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” - Acts 11:19-21
These verses describe the incredible, rapid expansion of the early
church in the 1st century.
After great persecution arose in Jerusalem, thousands of
Christians fled.
As they went, they witnessed about Jesus Christ.
In Scripture we see the mighty hand of God demonstrated through
many people. These supernatural demonstrations or events are called ‘miracles.’
During Christ’s earthly ministry, He did His miracles in the power
of the Holy Spirit.
After He rose from the dead and just before ascending back to
Heaven, He told His disciples in Acts 1:8:
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
On the Day of Pentecost, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and
preached the gospel resulting in the salvation of 3000 souls.
A few days later, 5000 more were saved, and so it went as the
early Christians faithfully witnessed of Jesus and His power to forgive sins
and grant the gift of eternal life to any and all who would repent and believe
in Him.
God’s Hands Provide Earthly PROTECTION
“And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would
bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your Hand would
be with me, and that you would keep me from the evil, that I may not cause
pain! So God granted him what he requested.” - 1 Chronicles 4:10
Years ago, I preached a sermon on this text and some years later,
Dr. Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book on it called The Prayer of Jabez.
When studying the passage, you see that Jabez got a rough start in
life and didn’t have anything going for him.
But in this sincere prayer, he earnestly asked God to put
His hand on him in order to experience divine blessing and
protection.
Centuries later, Jesus taught His followers to pray… “and lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…”
Throughout history, God’s saints have depended on His hand
of protection, e.g. Esther, Elijah, David, Jeremiah, Daniel,
etc.
The apostle Peter reminds us… “casting all your care upon Him,
for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary,
the devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour”.
It’s so good to know that our Heavenly Father cares, that He
watches over us, and that His hand of protection rests on His obedient
children!
God’s Hands Provide Eternal PRESERVATION
“My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who
has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them
out of My Father’s hand.“ - John 10:27-29
In this passage Jesus gives blessed assurance to His sheep, His
true followers… “and I give them eternal life, and they shall never
perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My
Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to
snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”
Jesus taught that God’s true saints are eternally
secure.
In fact, there is a ‘double lock’ on their eternal security! Every
believer is held tightly by both the Father and the Son. They will never
let go, and no one, or nothing, can ever separate us from the
loving hand of God (Romans 8:38-39).
This passage and many others have contributed to the Doctrine of
Eternal Security.
A true understanding of this wonderful truth does not lead to a
blatant license to careless living, but to a blessed assurance for careful,
prayerful serving of our Good Shepherd and Father of Mercies.
God’s Hands Have Prepared Eternal PUNISHMENT
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me,
you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” - Matthew 25:41
The Bible also unequivocally teaches that God is the creator and
sustainer of everthing!
Exodus 20:11 says: “For in six days
the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them…”
The whole universe; the galaxies, solar systems, planets, stars,
sun, moon, land, seas, rivers, continents, etc. God made them all (Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 146:6, Acts 4:12)
And this includes the 3rd Heaven, where God
abides, and Hell, where God-rejecters abide.
Now who will go to this place of eternal punishment?
First, the Devil and his angels, as Matthew 25:41 states.
Second, the Beast and False Prophet as Revelation 19:20, 20:10 declares.
Third, all Unbelievers, as Revelation 20:11-15 says… “and anyone
not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire”.
So, the Bible teaches that God originally made Hell as the eternal
abode of Satan and his evil angels, but it is also the place where all will
reside who do not choose by faith to follow Jesus.
The good news is that no one has to go to Hell!
God’s Hands Have Prepared Eternal PARADISE
Hebrews 11 is a wonderful listing of ‘Heaven’s Hall of Fame,’
or heroes (and heroines) of the faith.
With great faith he obeyed God, following His commands, dwelling
in tents, living as a stranger or pilgrim on the earth.
But all the while, Abraham was looking forward by faith to a
heavenly “city which has foundations (unlike a tent), whose builder
and maker is God”.
Abraham knew that paradise would never be found on this earth, even
when he reached the land the Lord had promised to him and his
descendants.
Jesus shed more light on this subject of eternal paradise as He
taught His disciples in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe
also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that
where I am, there you may be also.”
John Wesley, the great preacher and founder of Methodism told of a
dream he had.
In his dream, he went to the gate of heaven and asked, “Are
there any Methodists in heaven?”
An angel answered, “No.”
“Are there any Presbyterians in heaven?”
Again, “No.”
“Are there any Lutherans?… Catholics?… Baptists?”
Again, “No.”
Wesley asked, “Then who is in heaven?”
Now we don’t get our theology from a dream, but that’s good
theology!
There are many church members or attenders who are lost, and
multitudes have died in their sins and abide in Hell.
The Good News
No one has to go to hell, and anyone can be saved!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life” - (John 3:16).
Friend, are you certain that you are saved, and that Jesus is
preparing a place for you?
If so, like Abraham, you can endure all earthly trials because you
are looking for that heavenly city which has foundations, whose builder and
maker is God!
And you can say with the songwriter…
This world is not my home, I’m
just a passin’ through.
My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me through Heaven’s open door,
and I can’t feel at home in this world any more!
My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me through Heaven’s open door,
and I can’t feel at home in this world any more!
One of my favorite hymns is “Until Then”, written by Stuart
Hamblen….
My heart can sing when I pause
to remember,
a heartache here is but a stepping stone;
along a trail that’s winding always upward,
this troubled world is not my final home…
But until then, my heart will go on singing;
Until then, with joy I’ll carry on.
Until the day, my eyes behold the city;
Until the day, God calls me Home!
a heartache here is but a stepping stone;
along a trail that’s winding always upward,
this troubled world is not my final home…
But until then, my heart will go on singing;
Until then, with joy I’ll carry on.
Until the day, my eyes behold the city;
Until the day, God calls me Home!
Don Johnston
Pastor
and Contributing Writer
Don was
raised in a Christian home on an Iowa farm. He is a graduate of Faith Baptist
Bible College. He pastored in Iowa and Minnesota for 36 years and served as a
hospice chaplain for 6 years. His time is now spent writing and guest
preaching in area churches. In addition to ministry, he enjoys
sports, reading, writing, exercise, travel, and his antique tractor and classic
car. He and his wife, Jenni, have four children and 12 grandchildren. Articles
by Don Johnston
Reasons
for Hope* Jesus is
a discipling and apologetics ministry with a mission to equip YOU–believers in
the Lord Jesus Christ–to know Him better and to love Him more.
The
apostle Peter wrote of our great commission to share our faith with others and
to be prepared to defend God’s Word:
Reasons
for Hope* Jesus believes and teaches that all reasoning begins with the
literal interpretation of Holy Scripture and by being in communion with the one
and only Triune God.
Reasons
for Hope*Jesus is a ministry of HOPE, offering information, reasoning, and
answers from God’s Word with the purpose of equipping, encouraging,
and empowering the Body of Christ to know Jesus better, to love Him more, and
to find real rest and ANCHORED HOPE in Him (Hebrews 6:19).
Our
mission is to help you learn to rightly remember Jesus every day. Rightly
remembering is defined as renewing your mind in God’s Word, focusing your
eyes on Jesus, devoting your heart to Jesus and strengthening your hope in
Jesus. Rightly remembering will:
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