The Approachable Unapproachable God

The people of Jeremiah’s day rejected his message because it attacked their sense of well-being.  The message that God preached through Jeremiah exposed.  It exposed ignorance.  It exposed pride.  It exposed futility and error.  It exposed faulty reasoning and willful delusion.  It exposed spiritual nakedness in a people full of spiritual pride. The people believed they were spiritually clothed because of their religious efforts, but the reality was that they were spiritually naked because they had no true understanding of God.  A true understanding of God always begins with fear of Him.  Scripture says so.  But this truth seems so contrary to what we have grown up hearing in the church.  We grow up learning about the approachability of God, but now I find myself wondering,  what good is teaching about God’s approachability before someone understands about His unapproachability?  How can we truly value and understand what it means to be able to approach the throne of God through Jesus Christ, unless one first grasps the magnitude of God’s unapproachability?  Paul understood this, which is why he describes Jesus, Who is both approachable Christ-Who-has-been-seen and unapproachable God-Whom-no-one-has-seen, as “the King of kings and Lord of lords, Who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see…” (1 Tim 6:15,16).

The writers of the Old Testament wisdom literature understood this also, which is why they repeatedly advise that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.  When we truly fear the Lord with reverential fear and awe, we recognize our true condition of being spiritual paupers in need of, and subject to, something greater than ourselves.  Jesus understood this, which is why He began His Sermon on the Mount by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:3).  You cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless you fear God in such a way that a child fears their parent. “Truly I tell you, unless you convert [turn from your sinful ways] and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 18:3).  That is the true gospel and that is the message Jesus had for the generation at His first coming, and that is the same message He has for the generation of His second coming.  To believe in Jesus is to follow Jesus and to follow Jesus is to fear God.

Jesus’ message to us in the Beatitudes is:  Blessed are those who fear God in such a way that they recognize they are nothing without Him (Matt 5:3); Blessed are those who fear God in such a way that they mourn their own unrighteousness, they mourn that they are sinners in need of a savior, they mourn the ongoing battle between their flesh and spirit, they mourn the sorrow, brokenness and devastation that is caused by sin, they mourn the suffering and death of Christ that was necessary to reconcile creation (Matt 5:4); Blessed are those who fear God in such a way that they dare not compare themselves to others or think that anything good in them comes from themselves (Matt 5:5); Blessed are those who fear God in such a way that their recognition of being paupers in the spirit causes them to long for the righteousness of Christ, a righteousness that comes from no other source or impetus but Him, a righteousness that will never be found in humanity and is even foreign to humanity and alien to this world because it is not of humanity or this world… it is “other than” all that we know or understand of humanity and this world (Matt 5:6);  Blessed are those who fear God in such a way that they forgive because they have been forgiven, and give to others the mercy and patience and empathy that they so desperately desire for God to give them (Matt 5:7); Blessed are those who fear God in such a way that they surrender themselves to His examination, surrendering their heart to the purifying, refining fire of His presence and nature (Matt 5:8);  Blessed are those who fear God in such a way that their sole ambition is for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven—to bring creation back into a state of peace and reconciliation through Jesus Christ (Matt 5:9); Blessed are those who fear God in such a way that they are willing to suffer for the sake of His righteousness being exampled and lived out in their own lives in a world that hates them for it (Matt 5:10); Blessed are those who fear God in such a way that they are willing to endure the hatred and insults and criticisms and disdain of others because the message that God preaches through them attacks the well-being of those whom the message is for (Matt 5:11)--  the message that exposes. 

The message that God preached through Jeremiah was more pointed at those who claimed to know and serve God, than for those who were ignorant of Him.  God speaks to His own before He speaks to anyone else (1 Pet 4:17).  Before the church can grieve over the sinful state of the world, it must first grieve the sinful state of itself.  An immoral church cannot preach righteousness to an immoral world. But that is what we see today.  The blind and foolish trying to lead the blind and foolish.  The church is full of those who say they fear God, but in reality have no understanding of what that truly means.  Those who know the fear of God begin seated in ashes, looking down at empty hands.  The fear of God begins in anguish over your desperate need for Him.  The fear of God begins in utter recognition that you have absolutely nothing to offer Him or His church, other than repentance and humility.  Once you reach that place, you have made your first step into the true realm of understanding.  Once you reach that place you understand the paradox of an approachable unapproachable God.  Once you reach that place, you hear the voice of the Spirit say, "Blessed are you, poor in spirit, welcome to the kingdom of God."

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:3)

But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder the from coming to Me, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matt 19:14)

Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all. (Mark 10:15)

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.. (Rom 1:21,22)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Prov 9:10)

But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living….Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding?  Thus is it hidden from the eyes of all living…God understands its way, and He knows its place, for He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. And to mankind He said, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” (Job 28:12-28)