God’s attribute of blessedness is one of his least discussed attributes in churches today. Many in the vaguely nondenominational evangelical camp have too deficient a theology to account for any of God’s attributes other than his love and even that attribute is reduced and stripped of much of its meaning. Many in the conservative and traditional camps are so busy reacting against what they see as an overemphasis on and misrepresentation of the love of God that they spend all of their time stressing his holiness and justice. Consequently attributes such as God’s blessedness receive little to no explication. This is unfortunate, as God’s blessedness provides us with an important lens through which to view God’s motivations towards man; both is his creation, and his redemption.
In 1 Timothy 1:11 God is referred to by Paul as “the blessed God.” The term used here is also applied to Christ later in the book (6:15), and its primary connotation is one of being privileged or happy. Quite simply, our God is a happy God. Is that thought or attribute one that often crosses our minds? Often times we think of God as being the very opposite. He is always angry and upset with the world, ready to pour out his judgment at any moment. Or perhaps our image of God is a bit more charitable, looking out for opportunities to bless his people and show his love to them. While both of these perspectives are true in some sense and emphasize others of God’s attributes rightfully, they both fail to account for God’s blessedness. In a very real sense, God takes real and emotional delight in himself and in his creation. God truly is a happy God.
We must first note that God’s blessedness is fully sufficient within himself. As the Triune God, He has always been perfectly blessed and happy to take delight in the other persons within the Trinity. God shows love because God is love, and God is love precisely because he is Triune. It is within the context of this inter-Trinitarian love that God’s blessedness is fully realized and sufficiently satisfied. This means that God does not “need” anything or anyone else in order to be happy or satisfied. With that said however, we can now explore how God’s happiness is extended to us.
Have you ever wondered why God created everything? Some have tried to explain God’s creation of the world and humans by saying he was “lonely.” Not only is this perspective terribly shallow, but it is also theologically incorrect. As we have seen, God has always been perfectly happy and satisfied in the communion he has within the persons of His Triune nature. Instead, it is better to view God’s creation out of the superabundance of His love and glory. Though He did not need to, God created us so that we could enjoy his blessedness and ascribe glory to Him for it. Jesus brings this out in his high priestly prayer in John 17:20-24: "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world."
Our perception of God’s blessedness does not end with creation, however. It pursues us into the realm of our redemption as well. God was not content to allow His creatures that rejected him to persist in their lost and tragic state. Instead, he devised a way to bring them back into communion with him so that they might enjoy and partake in his inter-Trinitarian blessedness as he originally intended. So the Scriptures tell us that Jesus went to the cross “for the joy that was set before him” and that “it was the will of the Lord to crush him.” It was God’s good pleasure to chase after sinful mankind and bring them back to himself.
God takes great delight in himself and his perfection. He is right to do so, as he is the very definition of goodness, love, and perfection. However, God’s self-delight is not some narcissistic ego trip. There is so much blessedness within the Godhead that he saw fit to share himself with his creatures. The Bible is a book of redemption, and it is important to view that redemption in light of all of who God is. God takes great joy in us! He is a happy God who delights in his people and desires to share loving relationship with them. It will do much for our relationship with him if we keep in mind his blessedness as we continue to look forward to the day when we will see him face to face.
-tanner
In 1 Timothy 1:11 God is referred to by Paul as “the blessed God.” The term used here is also applied to Christ later in the book (6:15), and its primary connotation is one of being privileged or happy. Quite simply, our God is a happy God. Is that thought or attribute one that often crosses our minds? Often times we think of God as being the very opposite. He is always angry and upset with the world, ready to pour out his judgment at any moment. Or perhaps our image of God is a bit more charitable, looking out for opportunities to bless his people and show his love to them. While both of these perspectives are true in some sense and emphasize others of God’s attributes rightfully, they both fail to account for God’s blessedness. In a very real sense, God takes real and emotional delight in himself and in his creation. God truly is a happy God.
We must first note that God’s blessedness is fully sufficient within himself. As the Triune God, He has always been perfectly blessed and happy to take delight in the other persons within the Trinity. God shows love because God is love, and God is love precisely because he is Triune. It is within the context of this inter-Trinitarian love that God’s blessedness is fully realized and sufficiently satisfied. This means that God does not “need” anything or anyone else in order to be happy or satisfied. With that said however, we can now explore how God’s happiness is extended to us.
Have you ever wondered why God created everything? Some have tried to explain God’s creation of the world and humans by saying he was “lonely.” Not only is this perspective terribly shallow, but it is also theologically incorrect. As we have seen, God has always been perfectly happy and satisfied in the communion he has within the persons of His Triune nature. Instead, it is better to view God’s creation out of the superabundance of His love and glory. Though He did not need to, God created us so that we could enjoy his blessedness and ascribe glory to Him for it. Jesus brings this out in his high priestly prayer in John 17:20-24: "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world."
Our perception of God’s blessedness does not end with creation, however. It pursues us into the realm of our redemption as well. God was not content to allow His creatures that rejected him to persist in their lost and tragic state. Instead, he devised a way to bring them back into communion with him so that they might enjoy and partake in his inter-Trinitarian blessedness as he originally intended. So the Scriptures tell us that Jesus went to the cross “for the joy that was set before him” and that “it was the will of the Lord to crush him.” It was God’s good pleasure to chase after sinful mankind and bring them back to himself.
God takes great delight in himself and his perfection. He is right to do so, as he is the very definition of goodness, love, and perfection. However, God’s self-delight is not some narcissistic ego trip. There is so much blessedness within the Godhead that he saw fit to share himself with his creatures. The Bible is a book of redemption, and it is important to view that redemption in light of all of who God is. God takes great joy in us! He is a happy God who delights in his people and desires to share loving relationship with them. It will do much for our relationship with him if we keep in mind his blessedness as we continue to look forward to the day when we will see him face to face.
-tanner