Christian Life Institute Alfred Street Baptist Church
May 20-22, 2014
The Attributes of God A. W. Tozer
Rev, Cynthia T. Turner, D.Min., Instructor
Aiden Wilson Tozer
Born: April 21, 1897
Died: May 12, 1963
Birthplace: Newburgh,
PA
Wife: Ada C. Pfautz
“I refuse to allow any man to put his
glasses on me and force me to see
everything in his light.”
“Refuse to be average; let you heart
soar as high as it will.”
“Hardly anything else reveals so well
the fear and uncertainty among men as
the length to which they will go to hide
their true selves from each other and
even from their own eyes.”
- A.W. Tozer, That Incredible Christian
“What we think about when we are free
to think about what we will – that is
what we are or will soon become.”
- A.W. Tozer, Born After Midnight
“I am among those who believe that our Western
civilization is on its way to perishing. It has many
commendable qualities, most of which it has
borrowed from the Christian ethic, but it lacks the
element of moral wisdom that would give it
permanence. Future historians will record that we
of the twentieth century had intelligence enough
to create a great civilization but not the moral
wisdom to preserve it.”
~ A.W. Tozer, Man, The Dwelling Place of God
“The world has yet to see what God can
do with a man fully consecrated to Him.
By God’s help, I aim to be that man.”
- D. L. Moody (via Henry Varley, a
British revivalist)
n. attribute
n. : an inherent characteristic; also : an accidental
quality
an object closely associated with or belonging to a
specific person, thing, or office <a scepter is the
attribute of power>; especially : such an object
used for identification in painting or sculpture
adj: a word ascribing a quality
n. attribute (Tozer)
For Tozer, an attribute is not merely a quality or characteristic of God; rather, it's who and what God is.
Why do we need to take
time to appreciate
God’s attributes?
The Infinitude of God
“Christianity is a gateway into God. And then
when you get into God, ‘with Christ in God,’ then
you’re on a journey into infinity, into infinitude.
There is no limit. No place to stop.” -- TAG, 3
Understanding Infinitude
Infinity… no, beginning, no end; can’t be
measure; boundless; unlimited
Trinitarian delight, TAG 9
Moving away from nominal Christianity
Focus on God rather than man
(“Thou Art,” not “I am”) TAG 14
Understanding Infinitude
If there were a point where God stopped, then
God would not be perfect; and God’s power
would not be omnipotent. TAG, 6
“Christianity is decaying and going down into the
gutter because the god of modern Christianity is
not the God of the Bible. I don’t mean to say we
do not pray to God; I mean to say that we pray
to a god short of what he ought to be. We have
got to think of God as the perfect One.” TAG 7
Understanding Infinitude God takes delight in God’s self and the works of
God’s hands – So should we (not at ourselves)
Singing at creation (Job 38:7)
Singing at incarnation (The Magnificat)
Singing at resurrection (as foretold in Ps. 57:9)
Singing at the rapture (Rev. 5:9-12) “Worthy is
the Lamb!” TAG 15
The Immensity of God
“If there’s anything necessary to your eternal
happiness but God, you’re not yet the kind of
Christian that you ought to be.” TAG, 30
Understanding
Immensity
Anything + God ≠ happiness
God alone = happiness
We are hid with Christ in God. (Col. 3:3)
“Only God, only God, only God!” -- Julian of
Norwich
Understanding
Immensity Whereas Infinitude deals with TIME,
Immensity deals with SPACE
Julian of Norwich: “This is all that was made; this
is all that was made” regarding the hazelnut
TAG 20
God doesn’t travel to go anywhere. … there’s no
place that God is not. Psalm 139:8-10 TAG 22
Understanding
Immensity Nominal faith vs. real faith; knowing about God
vs. knowing God, God’s character
Revelation is not enough! It’s external – not
internal. TAG 19
We seek illumination: Quakers call this “an
opening”
Understanding
Immensity
“Anything less than God
ever me wanteth.” – Julian
of Norwich
Christian Life Institute Alfred Street Baptist Church
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
The Attributes of God Rev, Cynthia T. Turner, D.Min., Instructor
Tozer facts
Avoided greeting congregation – fearing too many compliments
Preferred students, children, and young parents
Voracious reader, with only ~14 yrs education
Received two honorary doctorates
Wrote The Pursuit of God in one day
Pants tailored to withstand long hours of prayer; often prayed prostrate
Dinner at home always when in town
Tozer Prayer
O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire.
O God, the Triune God, I want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.”
Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.
The Immanence of God
“To have found God and still pursue God is the
soul’s paradox of love.” – A. W. Tozer
Understanding Immanence
God is everywhere, IN everything. Penetrating
everything. God is always there, always
around, always in and always through
everything. God answers our yearnings to be
close to God through God’s Immanence.
Understanding Immanence
“Divine Remoteness:” Claiming salvation and still feeling the absence of God
How can we feel far away from a God who is immanent, who penetrates the universe? How can we be like a person starving to death will seated before a lavish banquet?
God is everywhere, in everything, penetrating everything.
“We need never shout to an absent God. He is nearer than our soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.”
Understanding Immanence
Why does Tozer say it is sometimes natural for
us to sometimes feel as if God is far away?
What are we really praying for when we pray for
God to come near? TAG, 145
Divine remoteness is answered by Divine manifestation.
Understanding Immanence
Atonement: becoming at one with God again through the salvific work of Jesus Christ; repairs the breach
Justification: overrides the penalty of sin; just as if I never sinned; where condemned criminals are made righteous
Regeneration: overcomes the power of sin; where malicious, hateful, enslaved sinners are transformed into lovers of God and humanity
Understanding Immanence
Atonement: becoming at one with God again through the salvific work of Jesus Christ; repairs the breach EXTERNALLY ACCOMPLISHED
Justification: overrides the penalty of sin; just as if I never sinned; where condemned criminals are made righteous
EXTERNALLY ACCOMPLISHED
Regeneration: overcomes the power of sin; where malicious, hateful, enslaved sinners are transformed into lovers of God and humanity
INTERNALLY ACCOMPLISHED
Understanding Immanence
Atonement: LEGAL ACT: becoming at one with God
again through the salvific work of Jesus Christ; repairs the breach
Justification: LEGAL ACT: overrides the penalty of sin;
just as if I never sinned; where condemned criminals are made
righteous
Regeneration: ACT OF GRACE: overcomes the power
of sin; where malicious, hateful, enslaved sinners are transformed
into lovers of God and humanity ...
Understanding Immanence
Atonement: LEGAL ACT: becoming at one with God again through the salvific work of Jesus Christ; repairs the breach
Justification: LEGAL ACT: overrides the penalty of sin; just as if I never sinned; where condemned criminals are made righteous
Regeneration: ACT OF GRACE: overcomes the power of sin; where malicious, hateful, enslaved sinners are transformed into lovers of G...od and humanity ... “Born again” ... Moral likeness to God; bearing God’s likeness
Understanding Immanence
How do we miss out on the manifestation of
God’s presence? TAG 153-4
How do we arrive at the manifestation of God’s
presence? What’s needed to bring it about?
TAG 154
Understanding Immanence
Holiness: To be morally pure, in a class
separate and distinct by itself, other worldly, to
be ‘other,’ different in a special way
(fabric) “A cut above,” outstanding, of superior
excellence (A.C. Sproul)
>>>Sometimes we miss the Immanence of God
because we are too worldly.
Understanding Immanence
Unselfishness: Jesus was completely unselfish and gave of Himself. >>>Sometimes we miss the
Immanence of God because we are too selfish.
Love: Jesus showed that love gives! It is limitless; doesn’t keep a tally, and goes beyond and above. It’s not
cheap or on a budget with God and does not seek to self-please. >>> Sometimes we miss the Immanence of
God because we count the cost too much, keep the score too often, and sell ourselves too short to truly
demonstrate the love of Christ.
The Holiness of God
“A true love of God must begin with a delight in His holiness, and not with a delight in any other attribute; for no other attribute is truly lovely without.”–Jonathan Edwards
Holiness is foreign soil for us fallen creatures. We were made to be holy by our Creator, but we are fallen beings – spiritually, morally mentally and physically. -- Tozer
The Holiness of God
Holiness implies an awe-full (awful) thing.
How is holiness imparted on God’s people:
Through direct contact with “The Holy One.”
Through impartation of holiness by contact or
association with God.
Problem: We have become too familiar with
God to appreciate God’s holiness.
Understanding Holiness
Don’t Disregard God’s Fiery Holiness
God is not only comfort. He is also the Supreme
terror. ... Some people will talk as if meeting the
gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They
need to think again. They are only playing with
religion. -- C S Lewis
Understanding Holiness
If we better understood God’s awesome holiness, we would not neglect to repent of the “hanging on” sins.
We should not insult God, His Majesty, by coming to Him in prayer with a “shopping list.” He is the God of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.” (Hab. 1:13)
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed. (Lam. 3:22)
Understanding Holiness
Don’t Disregard God’s Fiery Holiness Devouring fire
Everlasting burnings
Pillar of cloud by day
Pillar of fire by night
Thunder and lightning
Explain what happens when iron goes in fire; clay; gold...
Understanding Holiness
Shekinah: A place where you can experience
the feminine presence of God. The presence of
God on hearty, or a symbol or a manifestation of
God’s presence. The fire that came down after
Solomon finished praying and the glory of the
Lord filled the house (2 Chron. 7)
Understanding Holiness
Tozer claims some folks should not be allowed
to join church, because they don’t meet P. 172
Christian Life Institute Alfred Street Baptist Church
Thursday, May 22, 2014
The Attributes of God Rev, Cynthia T. Turner, D.Min., Instructor
Tozer facts
Had 7 children, whom he often quizzed on what they were reading
Created special bedtime stories for his children, though he struggled to connect with them in latter years
Died 1963 in hospital in Canada, alone
“This is the price that every true man of God pays. You cannot follow the Lord and make friends with everyone around you.” – Tozer
After his death, Ada remarried: “A.W. was God’s man; my new husband is my man.”
REVIEW
Infinitude: God has no beginning, no end
Immensity: God has no special barriers
Immanence: God penetrates everything
Holiness: God’s excellence is awe-full, terrible
AHEAD
Omnipresence:
Justice:
Grace & Mercy:
Goodness:
Perfection:
The Goodness of God
Christianity at any given time is strong or weak
based on her concept of God. TAG 41
The solution to a shallow concept of God:
“Magnify the Lord,” Psalm 34:3
Understanding Goodness
Signs of God’s Goodness
God created creation
God spared Adam & Eve, TAG 46
God is not revolted by our wretchedness, TAG
54
God takes no pleasure in our tears, TAG 55
Understanding Goodness
Nobody ever got anything from God on the
grounds s/he deserved it. – Tozer
Understanding Goodness
Proof of God’s Goodness:
God came near! God is not an absentee
engineer running the universe by remote
control (deism). TAG 44
God allows us near! We can BOLDLY
approach the throne.
Understanding Goodness
Proof of God’s Goodness:
God came near! God is not an absentee
engineer running the universe by remote
control (deism). TAG 44
God allows us near! We can BOLDLY
approach the throne.
The Justice of God
Justice is not something God does, Justice is something God is.
Justice does not “require” God to do anything. God does not have to bow to justice – God is justice.
God brings justice to a moral situation. If a person’s ways are equal, then justice favors the person. If not, then the person is judged.
God’s “foreign policy” cancels man’s death sentence!
Understanding Justice
How can a holy God justify a wicked man?
Unity of God: No internal conflict. Not by
compromise, but by Jesus Christ coming ALL
THE WAY, because there was no way for us to
get to Him.
Read pp. 65-6 on the error of thinking God has
conflict.
Understanding Justice
How can a holy God justify a wicked man?
Passion of Christ: As in suffering ... For us.
Shedding of the infinite, almighty and perfect
blood.
The holy suffering on the cross and the
resurrection of the dead cancels our sin and
abrogates our sentence.
Understanding Justice
How can a holy God justify a wicked man?
Passion of Christ: As in suffering ... For us.
Shedding of the infinite, almighty and perfect
blood.
The holy suffering on the cross and the
resurrection of the dead cancels our sin and
abrogates our sentence. It cancels the moral
sin-debt that we ran up but could not pay.
Understanding Justice
How can a holy God justify a wicked man?
Passion of Christ: As in suffering ... For us.
Shedding of the infinite, almighty and perfect
blood.
The holy suffering on the cross and the
resurrection of the dead cancels our sin and
abrogates our sentence.
Understanding Justice
All the attributes agree!
When God sentences a man to die, all the
attributes – love, mercy, grace, etc., -- agree
that death is deserved.
Atonement: But in steps atonement – mystery
that it is – which confronts an unprotected sinner
and introduces him/her to a changed moral
situation. TAG 70
Understanding Justice
Jesus’ death did not change God; it changed the law – the moral situation.
The atoned-for sinner no longer is subject to the law; not because the sinner has gotten it all right and turned him/herself around, but because the sinner has accepted the blood of the covenant.
While we were YET sinners, ...
If we confess our sins...
The un-atoned-for sinner must die. TAG 71
Understanding Mercy
Error in thinking: OT is a book of severity and
law; NT is grace and mercy. Truth: >>Mercy and
grace are in both NT and OT. (God is the same)
Psalm 103:8-17
2 Cor. 1:3
James 5:11
2 Peter 3:9
The Mercy & Grace of God
Grace is getting what I don’t deserve; mercy is
not getting what I do deserve.
Mercy stoops in kindness to inferior humanity; it
has pity on and is actively compassionate. Verb
tense: Mercy compassionates suffering
humanity! God takes action. TAG 79
Understanding Mercy
Goodness is the source of God’s mercy. TAG,
78
God takes pleasure in the pleasure of God’s
people, provided their pleasure is in God.
Understanding Mercy
Mercy is infinite
INCORRECT: God showed mercy because
Jesus died.
CORRECT: Jesus’ dying is evidence of God’s
mercy.
Discuss: Mercy of God
Tozer said: Describing Jesus’ death on the cross
as merely “paying a price” is vulgarizing the
atonement.
The Operation of Mercy
Mercy is God’s goodness confronting human guilt and suffering
“In all their affliction he was afflicted.” – Isa. 63:9
“It is of the Lord’s mercy that we are not consumed, because God’s compassion fail not. They are new every morning.” – Lam. 3:23
Consider the prodigal; everybody is a candidate for mercy ... At all times.
Discuss: Grace of God
People often say: “God is too good to punish
anyone.”
The Operation of Grace
Grace is that in God which brings into favor one
justly in disfavor.
Grace is God’s good pleasure and it is what God
infinitely is.
We are saved by GRACE, through faith... It is
the gift of God.
It is the only means of salvation.
The Operation of Grace
Grace is that in God which brings into favor one
justly in disfavor.
Grace is God’s good pleasure and it is what God
infinitely is.
We are saved by GRACE, through faith... It is
the gift of God.
It is the only means of salvation.
The Omnipresence of God
The Scriptures have their origin in the nature of
God.
God is near to everything, everywhere, everyone
and everything.
God is with us always: If we feel God’s presence
has evaded us, ask yourself who moved?
Understanding Omnipresence
Reasons we feel God’s absence: Sin, Dissimilarity in Nature
Moral vs. Immoral: Sin blinds us and shuts us off from God because our natures are different; i.e., angel and ape
Cultural barrier: Sin divides us from God and we share no common ground.
Language barrier: God speaks the language of the Spirit; we speak flesh.
Understanding Omnipresence
Sinful man cannot see or experience the
manifest presence of God.
Hell is the absence of life with God. “Surely the
Lord was in this place and I knew it not.” (Gen.
28:16)
C. S. Lewis: Bus trip from hell to heaven. The
residents of hell can’t enjoy heaven because it is
not made for them.
Understanding Omnipresence
Restoring the Relationship
Reconciliation: Not by compromise, but by Jesus
Christ coming ALL THE WAY, because there
was no way for us to get to Him.
Communion: We must come ALL THE WAY
back to God by partaking of God’s holy nature.
No compromises here
The Perfection of God
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has
shined. – Psalm 50:2, KJV
God shines brightly from Zion, the most beautiful
city. -- CEV
From the dazzle of Zion, God blazes into view. --
The Message
Understanding Perfection
Losses in Past 50 Years
No “religious fear”
No awareness of the eternal
No recognition of God’s absence
No understanding of majesty,
Gains in Past 50 Years
More churches
More schools
Better communication
More organizations
Understanding Perfection
Losses in Past 50 Years INTERNAL
No “religious fear”
No awareness of the eternal
No recognition of God’s absence
No understanding of majesty,
Gains in Past 50 Years EXTERNAL
More churches
More schools
Better communication
More organizations
The Perfection of God
We must see again how awe-full God is, how
beautiful and perfect. TAG 181
Christian Life Institute Alfred Street Baptist Church
May 20-22, 2014
The Attributes of God A. W. Tozer
Rev, Cynthia T. Turner, D.Min., Instructor
Top Related