This essay continues a sequence. Read the previous one here.
One single inconsistency, and the entire Creation would have to fall…
The Perfection of God is a common theme in the explorations we have made e.g. the unity of God’s Love and God’s Will (ref. “Will vs Love: A Divine Quantum Entanglement“), the Nature of God (ref. ““Knowing Of” Is Not Knowing“, “The Nature of God’s Laws“), the Nature of The Word (ref. “What The Word Is“), etc.
What Is God’s Perfection?
Perfection is faultlessness. It cannot be improved upon.
To improve is to change. Therefore Perfection does not admit of changes, since it cannot be improved.
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass,
— Luke 16:17
than one tittle of the law to fail.
We have already accepted this in the things of the physical world. We do not, for example, expect the law of gravity to “evolve”, change, or fail. It is our understanding of it that is subject to evolution.
Neither do we blame the Almighty when we trip and fall – in this matter we can readily understand that “misuse” of the free will can result in consequences that are both lawful and painful.
Conceiving of the unchanging laws of the physical world as physical manifestations of certain spiritual laws emanating from the Creator helps to form an idea of His Perfection.
It is impossible for the Creator to “change His mind”, because everything He already decided is perfect and omniscient, and a change would imply imperfection.
Therefore, if we come across scriptures that imply that God changed His mind or contradicted Himself, we must either find a deeper meaning to the story or set it aside completely.
It is the evolution of human understanding of His Will that is often misinterpreted as Him changing His mind.
Truth Is Progressively Revealed
The understanding of a child and that of an adult are different. Therefore their understandings of the same statement would be different, and there is nothing “wrong” in the child having a childish interpretation of the statement.
As we human beings mature spiritually, our understanding of God’s Will also advances (ref. “The Nature of God’s Laws“).
That is why Christ had to explain that while His Word (the revelation of Truth, the explanation of God’s Will, ref. “What The Word Is“) is higher than the Mosaic Law (an earlier revelation of God’s Will), and in particular the Ten Commandments, the two are in alignment:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:
— Matt 5:17
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
It is left for man to understand this, and the key is the correct understanding of God’s Love, as already discussed extensively in earlier essays (ref. “Is His Love Blind?“).
No Randomness, No Inconsistency
Therefore we should not make the mistake of anthropomorphism (ref. “God Is Not Superman“) and liken the Creator to an earthly king who can “do and undo” as his mood changes.
God only “does”; he does not “undo”. It would be easier for heaven and earth to vanish than for there to be the slightest change in what He has Willed.
As already explained (particularly in “Mercy Is Not Random” and “The Nature of God’s Laws“), all the possibilities of grace, mercy, and what we call miracles have already been provided through His Will (His Laws) in Creation.
The key to “unwrapping” these gifts (i.e. accessing God’s Power) is the living of The Word through the cultivation of love in our hearts.
Today’s Resolution
- We will give God the honour of perfection. We will not expect from Him things that are imperfect and not aligned with His Will and His Love.
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