The perfection of God Almighty

 Christ in all the scriptures

The perfection of God   Deuteronomy 32v4

The primary purpose in studying God's word is to increase our knowledge of Him.  This verse proclaims the integrity of the God who has saved us.  Moses opens the song with a reminder of His perfect attributes.  Present day songs like "Rock of ages", and "The Solid rock! immortalise the metaphor.

"His work is perfect".  Perfect (tamim) is "complete". comprehensive, all-sided so as to cover all aspects.  Everything He does is crafted to perfection, taking into account the purpose of its creation.  Genesis 2v2, "On the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made".   Again in Psalm 8v3/4 David ponders the wonder of creation, "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou visitest him?"  From the precision of the natural world, we move to the realm of the spiritual world.  There we see the perfection of the new creation, as Isaiah pens it, "And the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever"-Isaiah 32v17.  What about the work of God in transforming individual lives, as Paul writes in Philippians 1v6, "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ".   Jesus defined the work of God today as the saving faith of believers, mas in John 6v29 "This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom He hath sent".  The great work of world evangelisation will go on to perfection when believers are glorified in His presence.  His work in turning rogue regimes around to begin to worship Him and befriend His people is also stated in scripture: Isaiah 19v24-25, "Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance".  The point of the song is this; why would you seek any lesser gods, when your God's work is perfect?

"All His ways are judgment".   Not only are the deeds of His work perfect, but the manner in which He performs everything is perfect.  His ways are not our ways, because they are higher than our ways.  Judgment is mishpat in Hebrew and refers to decisions, verdicts pronounced in given situations.  Every act and decision made by God is fair to man and just in accordance with His infallible knowledge.  He does not show favouritism, and treats all individuals equitably.  He judges people according to their works (a repeated phrase in the bible-Psalm 62v12; Proverbs 24v12; Matthew 16v27; Romans 2v6; 1st Corinthians 3v8; 2nd Corinthians 5v10; Colossians 3v25; 1st Peter 1v17; Revelation 20v12-13).  For good or bad, we will all be rewarded according to our works.  The believer can rely on God's guidance to lead them through life's complexities on their pathway to glory.  The onus is on us to honour His ways.

"A God of truth and without iniquity".   His words are truth, unmixed with error or any form of deceit.  He never utters half-truths, He speaks the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth (as we humans are to declare in a court of law).  There is no double meaning in His words, there is no hidden agenda.  He never utters idle words, all that He says will come to pass.  In a world full of untruths, and deceit, marked by malicious slander, it is refreshing to know there is One whose word is absolute and trust worthy, and whose intentions toward us are good.  He does not use prevarication, when He speaks, nor change His words with time, as is rife in our present world.  "Forever O Lord thy word is settled in heaven"-Psalm 119v89 is the biblical description of God's truth, which, like Himself, never changes.  The Bible Hub translates this as "Your word , O Lord is everlasting, it is firmly fixed in the heavens".  Complex, at times, it is, but it is never devious, and we can rely on it as truth that will never alter.

"Just and right is He".   In a shifting world, morally and culturally speaking, is there a standard we can all depend upon?  We hear the constant cry that "he or she is always right", in a derogatory sense, to minimise personal embarrassment.  God sets the standard for right and wrong, and He spells out the consequences for both.  The course of time proves, without exception, that God is right all the time, and if we follow His way we will be blessed.  The essence of this is to be found in the real meaning of the biblical word "righteousness".  This is a word of massive proportions, and is the state of moral perfection to which the universe is heading.  Righteousness means that God will make everything right that is wrong in His sight.  He will compensate for loss in this life, that was suffered through human prejudice and malice.  He will judge infidels according to their works  Peter sums it up in 2nd Peter 3v10-13, which says that the day of God is coming when everything on earth and heaven will pass away, and the new heavens and new earth will be characterised by permanent righteousness, the exact opposite of the unrighteousness that prevails today.  Scriptures have their say:

"For the word of the Lord is right; and all His works are done in truth.  He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord"-Psalm 33v4.

"And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; salvation and glory and honour, and power unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are His judgments..."-Revelation 19v1-2.

He is right, for everything is measured according to His own perfect standard.  He is just, for we will all receive what is fair, what we deserve. 

His work, His ways, His words, His wisdom...all perfection; and this will be universally accepted, this will be our eternal song.  He will make everything right, let the wonder of this inspire us all.  I recall an exchange with a work colleague, who was the grandmaster in a local Masonic order.  We had our differences, but we engaged in regular discussions about God.  One day he said to me, "George, why do you believe in God?"  I replied, "Because I believe in justice, and only God can make that a reality".  Is my friend a believer?  I don't know, as we have lost contact, but now he knows the truth.  Will I meet him in glory?  I hope so, as I hope to meet all of you reading these words.