“THE AWESOMENESS OF GOD”
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The majestic message of John 3:16 is filled with kingly terms, with key words of the Bible. The Bible contains 3,566,480 letters and 773,746 words. No combination of letters is more important in the Bible that the three letters G-O-D. When these letters are linked, they form the greatest word in the Bible, God. He is the greatest object in all the Bible. It has been suggested that the word “Jehovah” occurs 6,855 times in the Bible and that Inspiration used Lord 1,853. The second word in John 3:16 is God. The human mind can fathom no being greater than God. We are reminded of how the bible begins, “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). (Taken from, “My Heart Standeth In Awe of Thy Word, A Brief Biography of Robert R. Taylor, Jr by Irene C. Taylor).
The awesomeness of God is seen in that he gave his son to die for us (John 3:16). He allowed him to go through the agony and suffering of the cross for our forgiveness (Ps. 85:2).
The awesomeness of God is seen in that He sustains us. Paul in speaking at Mars hill exalted the God “Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship…” (Acts 17:23) by saying, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring” (Acts 17:28).
The awesomeness of God is seen in his knowledge of all things. Paul wrote, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out” (Rom. 11:33)! Isaiah described God’s knowledge and thoughts by writing, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9).
The awesomeness of God is seen in that man cannot escape his presence. The Psalmist makes this declaration, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me” (Ps. 139:7-10). Therefore, because of His awesomeness, shouldn’t we humble ourselves before Him (James 4:10) and bow our knees before Him (Eph. 3:13)?