God Is Beautiful
For many years (a phrase which seems to introduce almost everything I say or write these days), I have thought about and preached on the subject of the beauty of God. I have never heard anyone teach on the subject, but I did through the decades come across two written sermons on the topic, “The Beauty of the Lord” by J. D. Jones and “Are There Shortcuts to the Beauty of Holiness?” (the short answer is “No!”) by A. W. Tozer. More recently, I read a review of a scholarly article about the American preacher Jonathan Edwards (of “sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” fame) that mentioned in passing that the beauty of God was one of the great themes in his preaching. I was thus encouraged that I have not headed off on an unprofitable tangent. In simple terms, beauty is that which attracts, causes a favorable interest, and creates an affinity. Such real, eternal beauty is found in our God. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
God’s attractiveness is active and literal. John 6:44 unequivocally states, “No man can come to Me, except the Father Which hath sent Me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” The fulfillment of prophecy is one powerful means by which God attracts us to Himself. For the last two days, we have considered some of the prophecies pertaining to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. We looked at His lineage and birth and at His crucifixion. The details are convincing. Thus, it should not surprise us that both the resurrection and ascension of Jesus are foretold. Psalm 16:10 and 22:21-22 predict the resurrection of the Savior. Matthew 28:6 records the outcome: “He is not here, for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Jesus had added to the Old Testament prophecies with His own extraordinarily specific statements concerning His death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21, 17:22, 20:18). Even Jesus’ enemies remembered His detailed predictions (Matthew 27:62-66) and unwittingly provided undeniable proof of the truth of His resurrection. Also, the ascension of Jesus into heaven was prophesied (Psalm 68:18) and fulfilled (Luke 24:50-53). President John Adams once said, “Facts are stubborn things.” When referring to Jesus, these facts are also beautiful.