Why God commands …

God doesn’t make suggestions, He gives commands.

Jesus — God in the flesh — also gave us commands.

For some reason, it seems to “freak out” many pastors today to admit that Jesus Christ actually commands us to do anything! For some reason, we like to think of God as the Old Testament deity who was fearless in giving commands, but like to think when we get to the New Testament that Jesus represents a more collaborative God. Like it or not, Jesus really did say things like …

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. – John 13:34

Or …

If you love me, obey my commandments. – John 14:15

There are many other statements Jesus made that don’t include the word “commandment” or “command,” but nonetheless are an instruction given to be followed, including teaching that include the word “must” or “if,” such as …

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. – Luke 9:23

Perhaps we can more easily overcome the fact that God commands, or accept He is a God who still commands, by understanding why He commands.

Blame it on His character!

As we dig into scripture, we learn that God is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (everywhere at once), sovereign over all (reigns over and controls everything), holy (entirely pure), perfect, that He IS love, and that He created everything for Himself and His glory. The list goes on. But let’s make sense of it.

If God knows everything (He’s never been surprised, never had to guess), is perfect (has never been wrong and has never failed), is entirely pure (holy, righteous, just), that He IS love, and that He created us to know and glorify Him, then we can understand that God never has to speak from speculation, possibilities, guesses, hunches, or experience. God has never been uncertain, He’s never been worried whether He could pull off something. He’s never had to ask a question or gain information from any other source. He has never had to wonder, and He has never needed the help of anyone else. There has never been something too big for God to handle. God KNOWS everything, including what is good, right, and perfect for us.

When those are your attributes, you don’t make suggestions, you speak as God!

Popular pastor and author, Tim Keller, said in 1970 a Sunday school teacher changed his life with a simple illustration.

The teacher said, “Let’s assume the distance between the earth and the sun (92 million miles) was reduced to the thickness of this sheet of paper. If that is the case, then the distance between the earth and the nearest star would be a stack of papers 70 feet high. And the diameter of the galaxy would be a stack of papers 310 miles high.”

Then Keller’s teacher added, “The galaxy is just a speck of dust in the universe, yet Jesus holds the universe together by the word of His power.”

Finally, the teacher asked her students, “Now, is this the kind of person you ask into your life to be your assistant?”

No! You ask Him to be in charge. You ask Him to take command! Why would we, in our puny strength, want to run the show when we know Someone who has unlimited power, perfect knowledge, and loves us unconditionally?

A final thought: It is important for us to remember that God really did create everything, and that He created everything for His purposes, not ours!

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see — such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together – Colossians 1:15-17.

When we understand the story of God, we see that He invites us to participate in His story — a story He is in command of — and that our story fits into His.

Jesus says to us, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15). Are you doing that? Are you letting Jesus be the God who commands your life?

Scotty

P.S. If you haven’t already done so, let me suggest you do an in-depth Bible study of the attributes and character of God. The better you understand His attributes and His character, the easier it is to more “naturally” yield to the sovereignty of God and actually desire that He be in command and that He command the way for us.