{"id":304206,"date":"2016-10-12T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-12T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/understanding-the-attributes-of-god\/"},"modified":"2016-10-12T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-10-12T15:00:00","slug":"understanding-the-attributes-of-god","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/understanding-the-attributes-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the Attributes of God"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jen Wilkin talks about the attributes of God. Wilkins reminds listeners that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2016-10-12.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"28.37M","filesize_raw":"29747752","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2822],"tags":[6089,4602,6087,6088],"podcast_series":[8168],"cwp_profile":[3337],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-304206","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growing-in-your-faith","tag-gods-character","tag-gods-promises","tag-the-attributes-of-god","tag-who-is-god","podcast_series-none-like-him","cwp_profile-jen-wilkin","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/304206\/understanding-the-attributes-of-god","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/304206\/understanding-the-attributes-of-god","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"K6kjiUMAt1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/understanding-the-attributes-of-god\/\">Understanding the Attributes of God<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/understanding-the-attributes-of-god\/embed\/#?secret=K6kjiUMAt1\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Understanding the Attributes of God&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"K6kjiUMAt1\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Jen Wilkin talks about the attributes of God. Wilkins reminds listeners that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2016-10-12.pdf","transcript_content":"<strong>Bob: <\/strong>God is too big for us to wrap our minds around; right? So does that mean we can\u2019t know Him? Here\u2019s Jen Wilkin.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>You get people who say: \u201cOh, God is just so big and vast. I can\u2019t understand Him\u2014so I\u2019m not going to try. I\u2019m just going to have my simple faith, and all I need is Jesus,\u201d and they just go on about their way. And yet the Bible tells us we ought to devote ourselves to getting these feeble human brains around as much of the knowledge of God as we can.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Wednesday, October 12<sup>th<\/sup>. Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey. I'm Bob Lepine. There\u2019s a lot we can\u2019t understand about who God is; but there\u2019s a lot we can understand, and we should. We\u2019ll talk more about that today with Jen Wilkin. Stay with us.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>1:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. Thanks for joining us. I just got my wallet out. There\u2019s something I want to show our guest here that I have tucked in my wallet. I think you\u2019ve seen this.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>There\u2019s no money in there. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>That\u2019s what I wanted to show our guest. Introduce our guest, and I\u2019ll get this out of my wallet.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Jen Wilkin joins us again on <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>\u2014Jen, welcome back.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Thank you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Jen\u2019s a speaker, a writer, a teacher of women\u2019s Bible studies\u2014lives down near Dallas\/Fort Worth. She and her husband Jeff have been married since 1993. She has four children; and she\u2019s a couple of years away from the empty nest, where she can be reminded once again why she and Jeff met\u2014[Laughter]\u2014and what you really did like about each other. She has written a book called <em>None Like Him: Ten Ways God Is Different from Us<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>And that gets me to what I wanted to pull out of my wallet, because I saw the book and I thought back\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>\u2014to a ticket?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>No! In 2001, I was invited to give the commencement address for the graduating seniors at Walnut Valley Christian Academy, which is today Little Rock Christian Academy. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>2:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo I started thinking, \u201cWhat do I want to make sure I tell these kids?\u201d What you just picked up\u2014what\u2019s the first thing at the top of my \u201cSeven Irrefutable Truths\u201d that I shared with the class of 2001?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>\u201cThere is a God\u2014it\u2019s not me.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>And that\u2019s what I thought of when I saw your book, <em>None Like Him<\/em>. This is a book about how different we are than God and how different He is than us; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>I know you read a lot of Tozer, and you like his writings; and you\u2019re a Bible student. You believe what we think about God is very, very important.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes. You know, it\u2019s been said that the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self always go hand in hand, and that there\u2019s no true knowledge of self apart from the knowledge of God. It follows that, if we\u2019re going to have true self-knowledge, we need to understand what the Bible says is true about God and have a pretty good grip on that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>3:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne of the things that I encourage women to do, when they\u2019re studying the Bible is\u2014to read, looking first, for what it says about God Himself. I\u2019ve just learned, over the years, that that\u2019s a more difficult request than we might think\u2014that many of us have an underdeveloped vocabulary when it comes to discussing the nature and character of God. So I wanted to write a book that helped us to form our thinking around what the Bible has to say about who God is\u2014specifically, about what it has to say about Him that is unique to Him and that is distinct to Him, relative to who we are.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>I had a friend ask me a number of months ago what were the most influential books in my life. I don\u2019t know that I\u2019d stopped to think about that in awhile. I thought he wanted the top-ten list\u2014so I put it together. The number one book on my list\u2014probably the most influential book\u2014was J.I. Packer\u2019s book, <em>Knowing God<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>4:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe reason is because just what you\u2019re saying\u2014it gave me a picture of God \/ an understanding of God that was more exalted than the smaller picture I had in my own mind. There is something about understanding just how amazing \/ just how spectacular God is that changes everything.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>I think that we have tendency to diminish who God is naturally or to form Him after our own likeness. Because God is so other than we are, and because it is difficult to wrap our human brains around that, we default to thinking about ways to sort of frame Him up within our human understanding that diminishes who He is.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>So our thought naturally gravitates to, \u201cGod is like us\u2014only better.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>And that\u2019s kind of our\u2014it\u2019s the \u201cbest us you could be,\u201d\u2014is kind of \u201cThat\u2019s who God is.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Right. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>But that\u2019s not who the Bible\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>No; and that\u2019s pretty sad too\u2014[Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>\u2014if that\u2019s who you think who God is!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Kind of adding up all of humanity and trying to make that into God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>5:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you\u2019re going to have good self-knowledge\u2014appropriate\/accurate self-knowledge\u2014you have to begin with God and think backward from Him.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes; exactly. But what we have a tendency to do is\u2014to turn and measure ourselves against the person sitting next to us or the person that we know from work\u2014someone who usually we\u2019re going to hand-pick so that we measure up favorably when we place ourselves next to them. But when you measure yourself next to an immeasurable, transcendent God, it teaches you to place yourself rightly in the scheme of things. It creates worship in us, and worship is something that we <em>need<\/em> to be able to flourish as creatures.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>As a mom, you raised four children\u2014about to be done raising them to adulthood.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Stop saying that!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>I know, it\u2019s a hard assignment to get fired as a mom.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>You want me to just sob and cry for the rest of the show?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>I know \/ I get it. I just want to ask you, though\u2014you\u2019ve written a book here about passing on the truth about who God is. How did you do this with your kids? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>6:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat would you say were the best couple of things you did in passing on the truth about God to your children?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Children tend to see their parents as almost god-like. A lot of helping your child have a transcendent view of who God is\u2014is by allowing them to see you as fully human. That\u2019s a difficult thing, but it means that you have to be vulnerable around them. You have to be able to confess when you have done something that is wrong or that is offensive, and repent in front of your children. It\u2019s a combination of them being able to process both the things that are truly admirable in their parents in balance with the things that just make their parents fallen and human.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>What I hear you saying is, \u201cLet your children into the interior of your soul\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>\u2014\u201cinto your relationship with Christ. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>\u201cExplain it to them\u2014let them hear about your humanity and how you fail.\u201d I\u2019m listening to your definition and I thought, \u201cMy kids ought to have a really good understanding of who God is [Laughter] because I sure had to ask for their forgiveness or tell the kids: \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>7:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u00a0\u201cYou know, I blew it here,\u201d or \u201cI was not\u2014I did not behave like the daddy God made me to be in that situation.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>But I think I felt pressure, as a parent, to be as perfect as I could be in front of my kids. If there was something wrong\u2014to kind of skirt it away or explain it away rather than doing what you\u2019re talking about, which is confessing, and repenting, and showing them: \u201cThis is natural and normal. This is what we do as Christians\u2014it defines us.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe talked about influential books. I know Psalm 111, verse 10, was an influential verse for you. Was this early in your life that you came across this verse and it kind of grabbed you?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes; fairly early. I hit young adulthood and started to become increasingly aware of my own limits\u2014I think it\u2019s a pretty common thing that happens\u2014and came across that verse that said, \u201cThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.\u201d It really stopped me in my tracks, because I just did not expect that the word \u201cfear\u201d would be where it was in that verse. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>8:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI wanted it to say, \u201cThe love of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,\u201d or \u201cThe worship of the Lord\u2026\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo then it became really important to develop a biblical understanding of what fear is being talked about there. You find that in Hebrews, Chapter 12\u2014that it\u2019s the right reverence and awe that you should feel towards someone who is worthy of it. That made more sense, you know, that we begin to become wise when we rightly acknowledge God for who He is and we place Him where He belongs in our estimation.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Jen, there\u2019s a paragraph in your book that I want you to read and then comment on\u2014it\u2019s on page 13, right in the middle. That whole paragraph, I think, is really good; because it explains what happens when we don\u2019t revere and fear God.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen we lose sight of the majesty of God, we invariably fill the gap in our vision with the fable of the majesty of someone else\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>9:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014we revere a spouse or a leader; we worship our children or friend; we even give reverence and awe to ourselves. This is complete folly. Not only is it unwise to give our worship to someone other than God, it is the very definition of irrationality; and it is an exhausting business.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Because ultimately, it you end up focusing on yourself, you\u2019re trying to be God.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Right! I wanted to\u2014not just talk about what theologians would call the incommunicable attributes \/ the ones that can only be true about God\u2014but I wanted to relate it to how we actually\u2014even without knowing it sometimes\u2014reach out to take on those attributes, thinking that we will find some sort of personal significance in them that would make gods of ourselves, just like Adam and Eve were reaching for the forbidden fruit and the serpent telling them, \u201cYou will become like God.\u201d That\u2019s still an appealing message to us\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>10:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014so we feel like: \u201cI do want to be sovereign over the people in my life,\u201d \u201cI do want to be omnipotent,\u201d \u201cI do want to hold all knowledge, and I think it would be great if I did.\u201d We talk ourselves into thinking that to be limitless would be something that would suit us just fine.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>You talk about, in your book, ten ways God is different <em>from<\/em> us. The first one you start with is hard to argue with\u2014God is infinite.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes; yes\u2014not able to be measured. You and I are a set of measures, and we love to measure. This is the thing that was fascinating as I was writing that chapter\u2014I started realizing how many things we measure and how much time we give to calculating\u2014and that these are all ways that we try to take control over the environments that we inhabit. I don\u2019t mean that in a negative sense \/ I think it\u2019s a very human compulsion. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut it\u2019s interesting to me that God defies measurement; because again\u2014there, we have no choice but to worship and to marvel; because we can\u2019t quantify Him.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>11:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI know the exact calorie count in anything that I put in my mouth, because it\u2019s labeled on the package. I can weigh myself every morning. I know how tall I am. I know how much gas is in my gas tank. I know how many minutes it is until I arrive at my destination. All of these measurements are ways that we provide ourselves with a level of comfort and control, but God does not allow us to feel any of that with regard to Him.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>You know, the whole idea of infinity is something that just will curl you up in a ball.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Makes your head hurt; right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Yes. So I\u2019m thinking of the fact that I will have eternal life\u2014it will go on forever \/ there is no end\u2014but I had a beginning.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>God had no beginning.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes; yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>He created the beginning.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Can you just explain all of that to me?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Sure, let me just wrap that up for you. [Laughter] Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>This is\u2014and the fact that it\u2019s beyond our comprehension should help us understand, first of all, that it\u2019s true; because we would not make up something that is beyond our comprehension\u2014we\u2019d try to define it if we were making it up. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>12:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSecondly, it should tell us that our minds are not big enough to be able to comprehend everything that\u2019s true about God. We get pictures \/ we get glimpses; but if we try to get our minds around all of it, we\u2019ll never get there, because we\u2019re finite creatures.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes. And there\u2019s a right response to that and there\u2019s a wrong response to that. You get people who say: \u201cOh, God is just so big and vast. I can\u2019t understand Him\u2014so I\u2019m not going to try. I\u2019m just going to have my simple faith, and all I need is Jesus,\u201d and they just go on about their way. And yet the Bible tells us that we\u2019re to love God with all of our mind. It gives us sufficient knowledge of the character of God\u2014everything necessary for salvation and to grow in holiness is there for us. We ought to devote ourselves to getting these feeble human brains around as much of the knowledge of God as we can.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>And what you\u2019re talking about there is comprehending who God is\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>\u2014the Incomprehensible.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Yes. That\u2019s what I was going to\u2014is the second attribute you talk about is He\u2019s beyond understanding.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>13:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes. But in contrast\u2014and this is what\u2019s so interesting\u2014we\u2019re able to be fully understood. The God who cannot be measured actually measures everything; right? He\u2019s the one who numbers our days and He counts the hairs on our head.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Now wait\u2014you\u2019re saying my wife is able to be fully understood?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes; yes. And we don\u2019t like that; right? I mean, we would love to tell ourselves, \u201cI\u2019m just a bit of an enigma and you can\u2019t possibly understand me.\u201d With other human beings that\u2019s true; right?\u2014I mean, we can\u2019t ever fully understand one another. But God <em>fully<\/em> understands us\u2014you know, the picture in Psalm 139 of Him knowing our words before we speak them. Why?\u2014because He knows our thoughts. How does He know our thoughts? Well, because He made us; right? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo there\u2019s no aspect of us that <em>He<\/em> does not have an absolute and thorough grasp on, which means we could never go to Him and make the claim that we have been misunderstood when we are called into conviction for sin or when there is a claim made about our behavior. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>14:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tEverything is known to Him.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>And I want to go back to a statement you made earlier, where you talked about someone who just kind of gives up because they say they can\u2019t know God.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Well, it is true He is incomprehensible. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>You can\u2019t fully understand who God is; but in the midst of Him having this attribute, He is knowable.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes; He is knowable. Praise God!\u2014right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>And that\u2019s the thing that sets Christianity apart from the agnostic. The agnostic would say, \u201cWell, you acknowledge that there is a God, but you can\u2019t know anything about Him.\u201d The Christian would say: \u201cBut we can! He\u2019s disclosed Himself to us. Has He disclosed Himself to us in nature? Yes; He has. With broad brush strokes, we can learn things that are true about God; but the fine-tipped pen writing of His nature and character is found in His Word, faithfully recorded for us and preserved.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>And in the stories about when He became flesh and He dwelt among us\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>15:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>\u2014we see the life of Christ\u2014where God took on flesh and was fully truth and fully grace and showed us how to relate to fallen human beings.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>We can know who God is through Jesus.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Hebrews: \u201cHe\u2019s the exact imprint of His nature.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Yes; in fact, you can look at the stars and know something about God. You see creation and you should be able to conclude there is a God. In fact, it takes more faith, I believe, to look at creation and conclude that \u201cSomehow there was gas and now there\u2019s this,\u201d than it does to believe that that tree is there because God can create trees.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou look at your own conscience and you know there\u2019s a God, because the moral impulses we have are not something that we generate for ourselves. But then, when we want to know God in a more personal way, that\u2019s when we look at His Son and look at His Word. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>16:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s where He has disclosed things. Some of what He\u2019s disclosed\u2014we look at and go, \u201cI don\u2019t understand it.\u201d He said: \u201cI know. It\u2019s like trying to teach calculus to a third grader. You\u2019re not going to understand it all, but you recognize there\u2019s math at work in here\u201d; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>And then there\u2019s other stuff that we look at and we go, \u201cNow, it makes sense to me,\u201d because we see who God is in the person of Christ and in the revelation of His Word.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>And that really leads us to a third one you talk about here in your book\u2014self-existent. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>God has no beginning\u2014we already talked about this a bit earlier\u2014this is close to the attribute of Him being infinite; is it not?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Yes. You can\u2019t separate His infinitude from any of these. His infinitude is just saying He has no limits and then\u2014the fact that He\u2019s self-existent means that there are no limits to His life, so to speak. He\u2019s the source of all life. The fact of God\u2019s self-existence is the very first declaration that the Bible makes. It doesn\u2019t beat about the bush to tell you what it\u2019s going to be about\u2014it says, \u201cIn the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>17:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo He has within Him the power to give life\u2014it\u2019s His creative nature, and there are no limits on it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>So how did you teach this to your kids growing up?\u2014the self-existence of God\u2014because parents\u2019 assignment is to take their children\u2019s hands in theirs and to put it in God\u2019s hands and to introduce the child to who God is in an accurate way.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>Sure. I\u2019m a gardener. The way that I know what grows in my garden\u2014the reason that people think I\u2019m a good gardener is because they have not been there to watch all of the things that I killed in my garden to teach me what was going to grow. This is because I don\u2019t have the power of life <em>in<\/em> me; right? I can nurture something, but I can\u2019t <em>give<\/em> life to something.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe would point our kids to things\u2014you know, an example like that\u2014like: \u201cWho gives life to this plant? Why does this plant grow?\u201d Of course, God creates and He also sustains, which gets into His self-sufficiency. But you can look at the world around you and\u2014you know: \u201cI can\u2019t keep a loved one alive. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>18:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cI gave birth to you, but I didn\u2019t make that life start inside of me. Something is driving that.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen the kids were little, we would go on road trips. They loved it when mom would do this\u2014I\u2019d make them have a nature moment. We\u2019d be driving along and I\u2019d be like, \u201cNature moment!\u201d and they\u2019re like: \u201cMom! Stop!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>Rolled their eyes; yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jen: <\/strong>But just to take time to look around you and acknowledge kind of what you\u2019re saying, Bob\u2014the common sense\u2014which we all know is not common knowledge\u2014would say to you that none of this is an accident \/ it has an origin. That\u2019s an interesting thing that we have to come to grips with\u2014with God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you think about fine art, the reason that fine art is worth more than art that is not fine is because of who painted it; right? It\u2019s a matter of origins. It\u2019s really important for children to understand: \u201cGod is your origin, because that\u2019s where you derive your value from. It\u2019s not from anything else. It\u2019s also the reason that we owe Him our obedience and our worship.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>19:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNo human creates the way that God creates. God speaks, and where there was nothing, there is something; and that is spectacular.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s important \/ it\u2019s so important for us to understand, because that is the work of the new creation that is spoken of in the New Testament\u2014you know: \u201cIf any of you is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone and the new has come.\u201d God speaks the word of life into our hearts; and where there was no righteousness, there is righteousness\u2014it\u2019s the righteousness of Christ.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s so foundational for us to understand how God creates in creation to understand how God creates a new heart in us as we become those of the new creation.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>What I want every parent to do right now is to listen up. Teacher Jen has just given you some great illustrations of how you can introduce your children to God. I don\u2019t care how old they are. Even if your children are adults, you can keep on introducing them to God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>20:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou can do that through creation, you can do that through His Word, you can do that through your experience of His Word in your life and your experience of God. In fact, this is a command of Scripture. Go take a look at Psalm 78\u2014the first six or seven verses. It is a command for parents to introduce their children to both who God is and to also introduce them to God through their experience of Him on a daily basis.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen you give kids the truth about God and the experience of God, you have a chance of them catching the picture of what Christianity is really all about. It\u2019s not just about a cerebral understanding of who God is\u2014it\u2019s about experiencing God on a day-in and day-out basis.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI have to tell you\u2014having started this journey more than 50 years ago\u2014it\u2019s exciting! It\u2019s not always easy; but seeing God at work in you and through you and around you and in other people\u2019s lives, and running into people\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>21:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014the other day, I was on an airplane; and I was just looking around at the people getting on the plane. I thought, \u201cEvery one of these people are image-bearers.\u201d They\u2019re not just people\u2014they are eternal because of who made them. I just had to take a step back and go, \u201cWhat a great God we serve.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI just want to encourage parents: \u201cMake the hand-off, and do it well. Don\u2019t quit!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>The cerebral knowledge is necessary, but it\u2019s not sufficient\u2014that\u2019s what you\u2019re saying\u2014you have to have both. I\u2019m just thinking of the cerebral knowledge as a starting place. A mom and a dad could take Teacher Jen\u2019s book\u2014that\u2019s your new name now, \u201cTeacher Jen\u201d\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>Teacher Jen.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>\u2014you could take Teacher Jen\u2019s book\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis: <\/strong>And it\u2019s deep, but it\u2019s not cerebral.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob: <\/strong>You could take Chapter 3 on the self-existence of God\u2014it\u2019s ten pages long\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>22:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u2014you could read that in a couple of nights at the dinner table; or read a few paragraphs out of that chapter and have a great conversation about what this teaches us about who God is.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe book is called <em>None Like Him: Ten Ways God Is Different from Us (and Why That\u2019s a Good Thing).<\/em> We have copies of the book in our FamilyLife Resource Center. Go online at FamilyLifeToday.com. You can order from us online\u2014again, the website is FamilyLifeToday.com\u2014or call 1-800-358-6329. That\u2019s 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, we want to wish a \u201cHappy anniversary!\u201d today to Leonardo and Marie Murphy, who live in Woodridge, Illinois. The Murphys have been married 14 years today. As they celebrate today, we hope you have a great celebration. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are big on anniversaries, here at FamilyLife\u2014we think they\u2019re important \/ we think they matter. Our mission, here at FamilyLife, is to effectively develop godly marriages and families; because those godly marriages and families can change the world one home at a time.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>23:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen you partner with us, here in the mission at FamilyLife, what you\u2019re doing is investing in the marriages and families of people all around the world\u2014people who are listening to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>; downloading past programs; they\u2019re reading articles online; they\u2019re going to our events; using our resources. You\u2019re making it possible for those families to be impacted as you support this ministry.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re grateful for your partnership with us. In fact, if you can make a donation today, we\u2019d love to say, \u201cThank you for your support,\u201d by sending you a banner that you can hang in your home. It\u2019s something that Barbara Rainey has recently created. It declares that your home is an embassy of the kingdom of heaven\u2014and reminds you and your family\u2014that, at the end of the day, our citizenship and our loyalty belong to the King who we\u2019ve been talking about on today\u2019s program.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, we\u2019ll send out that banner when you go online to FamilyLifeToday.com and make an online donation. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>24:00<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOr you can request the banner when you donate by calling 1-800-FL-TODAY. You can also request the banner when you mail your donation to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> at PO \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBox 7111, Little Rock, AR; our zip code is 72223.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, tomorrow, we\u2019ll continue our conversation with Jen Wilkin about God\u2014His attributes and how we can know Him better. That\u2019s coming up tomorrow. Hope you can be with us for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine. We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today. Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t______________________________________________________________________________\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\"><u>donating today<\/u><\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2016 FamilyLife. 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