Beauty of God Pt. 2: The Beauty of His Word

 This is part 2 of a paper I wrote for seminary in which I meditated on the attribute of the beauty of God.

The beauty of God is also on display in His word.  The Bible is God’s special revelation of Himself to us, and His attributes are on full display in it.  If God’s beauty is defined as Him having all desirable qualities, then this is also true of His word.  The psalmist declares in Psalm 119:103, “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”.  Again in verse 19 he says, “I shall delight in Your statutes” and in verse 18 “open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law”.  His word is beautiful, and should be the desire of the heart of His people.  It is not the ink on the pages of a book that is beautiful, but it is the God behind the words.  The words of Scripture are God’s very words, and we could never begin to comprehend the true beauty of God if He had not revealed Himself to us in His word. 

            Further, if the word of God reveals to us the beauty of God, then Jesus, the Word incarnate, does so even more.  John 1:1 says, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.  John 1:14 goes on to state that “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth”.  Hebrews 1:3 praises Jesus as “the radiance of His [God] glory and the exact representation of His nature”.  Jesus himself says in John 14:9, “He who has seen me has seen the Father”. 

            Scripture also declares that God’s beauty is displayed in those who proclaim the good news of the gospel.  Romans 10:15 says, “How will they preach unless they are sent?  Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News of Good Things”.  To proclaim the gospel is to proclaim the beauty of God and the glory of redemption in Him.  The gospel is beautiful because the Savior it heralds is infinitely beautiful.

            Jesus truly is beautiful, and He contains all the desirable qualities attributed to God because He is God incarnate.  It was beautiful when Jesus heard the cries of a leper, healed him, and declared the unclean clean.  It was beauty on display on the mount of transfiguration as Jesus revealed His beauty and glory to three unsuspecting disciples.  And it was the beauty of atonement on display as the innocent Son of Man hung on a cross bearing the wrath of God on behalf of undeserving sinners.  How beautiful is our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Sources:

*Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture was taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, by The Lockman Foundation.  Used by permission.