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Balancing Human Examples with God's Complex Nature Theologically

The theological task of understanding God often involves balancing human examples and analogies with the recognition of God's complex and transcendent nature. Scripture frequently presents God in ways that invite human imitation while simultaneously emphasizing divine incomprehensibility.

One foundational concept is that humanity is created in the "image of God" (Genesis 1:27) [8]. This imago Dei suggests a capacity for humans to reflect divine attributes, making human examples relevant for understanding aspects of God's character. The Tyndale House commentary on Psalm 8:5 notes that humans bear God's image, endowing them with dignity and a charge to rule, reflecting God's own dominion [10]. Josephus, in Antiquities of the Jews, suggests that contemplating God's operations should lead humans to imitate the "best of all patterns" as far as possible [6]. This implies that certain human actions and virtues can serve as reflections, albeit imperfect ones, of divine qualities.

However, the Bible also consistently portrays God as fundamentally distinct and superior to humanity. Job 25:4 asks, "Can a man be justified compared to God? Or appear clean one born of a woman?" [3]. This rhetorical question underscores the vast qualitative difference between the divine and the human. Zophar, in Job 11:7, asks, "Canst thou by searching find out God?" [11, 15]. Matthew Henry interprets this as highlighting God's incomprehensible nature, infinite and immense, whose perfections and actions finite human understandings cannot fully grasp [11]. John Gill further elaborates that while the existence of God can be inferred from creation, the nature of God—what God truly is—cannot be fully discovered by human search [15]. Ecclesiastes 1:13 also speaks of the "heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them" in seeking and exploring wisdom, implying the profound challenge of understanding divine matters [1].

The person of Jesus Christ serves as the ultimate example of how divine and human natures intersect and provide a model for human conduct. The Torrey's Topical Textbook lists numerous aspects of Christ's life as examples for believers, including holiness, righteousness, purity, love, humility, meekness, obedience, self-denial, ministering to others, benevolence, forgiving injuries, overcoming the world, and being guileless [2]. Christ's diligence is also presented as an example for seeking God, obeying Him, striving for perfection, and cultivating Christian graces [4]. These examples are rooted in Christ's human nature, which was necessary for his mediatorial office [5]. The Torrey's Topical Textbook explains that Christ's human nature is evidenced by his birth, partaking of flesh and blood, having a human soul, weeping, hungering, thirsting, sleeping, and experiencing weariness [5].

Yet, Christ's humanity is always understood in conjunction with his divinity. The author of Hebrews uses Psalm 8:4-6 to transition from Christ's "exalted divinity" to his humanity, presenting him as the "ideal human who fully realized God’s purposes" and the "consummate human being" [10, 12]. In his exaltation, Christ fulfills the dominion over creation that fallen humanity could not [12]. This dual nature means that while Christ provides a human example, he also embodies the divine perfection that transcends human capacity.

The concept of "acceptable unto the Lord" further illustrates this balance. John Gill, commenting on Ephesians 5:9, lists various things acceptable to God, including Christ's person, righteousness, sacrifice, and mediation, as well as the services, sufferings, and prayers of his people [9]. These human actions are acceptable when they align with God's will, are done in faith, and are directed to His glory [9]. This implies that human actions can reflect divine standards, but their acceptability ultimately depends on their connection to God's nature and purposes.

The Psalms frequently call for contemplation of God's works as a means of understanding His nature. Psalm 66:5 exhorts, "Come and consider the works of God; he is awesome in his dealings with the children of humankind" [7]. Matthew Henry, in his introduction to Psalm 8, describes it as a "solemn meditation on, and admiration of, the glory and greatness of God," noting that God's goodness is an instance of His glory [13]. Adam Clarke, commenting on Genesis 1:28, highlights the "astonishing wisdom" in the adaptation of human body and soul to their residence and occupations, and the surrounding objects to the mind and body, all pointing to the excellence of God's creation [16]. These reflections on creation and God's dealings with humanity provide tangible, observable "examples" of divine attributes like wisdom, power, and goodness, which humans can apprehend and appreciate.

However, these observations are always understood within the context of God's ultimate incomprehensibility. Adam Clarke, commenting on Hebrews 1:1, describes the opening of the epistle as presenting the "infinite God" not merely in His essential attributes, but in the "manifestations of his love to the world" through revelation [14]. This suggests that while God reveals Himself in ways that humans can understand and relate to, His full nature remains beyond complete human comprehension. The balance lies in recognizing that human examples, particularly Christ's, offer a pathway to understanding and imitating God, while simultaneously acknowledging that God's nature is infinitely complex and transcends all human analogies.

Sources

  1. Ecclesiastes “Ecclesiastes 1:13 (BSB) — And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!”
  2. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Example of Christ, The — Is perfect -- Heb 7:26. Conformity to, required in Holiness. -- 1Pe 1:15,16; Ro 1:6. Righteousness. -- 1Jo 2:6. Purity. -- 1Jo 3:3. Love. -- Joh 13:34; Eph 5:2; 1Jo 3:16. Humility. -- Lu 22:27; Php 2:5,7. Meekness. -- Mt 11:29. Obedience. -- Joh 15:10. Self-denial. -- Mt 16:24; Ro 15:3. Ministering to others. -- Mt 20:28; Joh 13:14,15. Benevolence. -- Ac 20:35; 2Co 8:7,9. Forgiving injuries. -- Col 3:13. Overcoming the world. -- Joh 16:33; 1Jo 5:4. Being not of the world. -- Joh 17:16. Being guileless. -- 1Pe 2:21-22. Suffering wrongfully. --”
  3. Job “Numquid justificari potest homo comparatus Deo ? aut apparere mundus natus de muliere ? -- Job 25:4”
  4. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Diligence — Christ, an example -- Mr 1:35; Lu 2:49. Required by God in Seeking him. -- 1Ch 22:19; Heb 11:6. Obeying him. -- De 6:17; 11:13. Hearkening to him. -- Isa 55:2. Striving after perfection. -- Php 3:13,14. Cultivating Christian graces. -- 2Pe 1:5. Keeping the souls. -- De 4:9. Keeping the heart. -- Pr 4:23. Labours of love. -- Heb 6:10-12. Following every good work. -- 1Ti 5:10. Guarding against defilement. -- Heb 12:15. Seeking to be found spotless. -- 2Pe 3:14. Making our call, &c, sure. -- 2Pe 1:10. Self-examination. -- Ps 77:6. Lawful business. -- Pr 27:”
  5. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Human Nature of Christ, The — Was necessary to his mediatorial office -- 1Ti 2:5; Heb 2:17; Ga 4:4,5; 1Co 15:21; Ro 6:15,19. Is proved by his Conception in the Virgin's womb. -- Mt 1:18; Lu 1:31. Birth. -- Mt 1:16,25; 2:2; Lu 2:7,11. Partaking of flesh and blood. -- Joh 1:14; Heb 2:14. Having a human soul. -- Mt 26:38; Lu 23:46; Ac 2:31. Circumcision. -- Lu 2:21. Increase in wisdom and stature. -- Lu 2:52. Weeping. -- Lu 19:41; Joh 11:35. Hungering. -- Mt 4:2; 21:18. Thirsting. -- Joh 4:7; 19:28. Sleeping. -- Mt 8:24; Mr 4:38. Being subject to weariness. -- Joh 4:6. ”
  6. Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 11, section 4: life well, and give laws to others, in the first place should consider the Divine nature; and, upon the contemplation of God's operations, should thereby imitate the best of all patterns, so far as it is possible for human nature to do, and to endeavor to follow after it: neither could the legislator himself have a right mind without such a contemplation; nor would any thing he should write tend to the promotion of virtue in his readers; I mean, unless they be taught first of all, that God is the Father and Lord of all things, a”
  7. Psalms “Psalms 66:5 (LEB) — Come and ⌞consider⌟ the works of God; he is awesome in his dealings with the children of humankind.”
  8. Genesis “Genesis 1:27 (YLT) — And God prepareth the man in His image; in the image of God He prepared him, a male and a female He prepared them.”
  9. Ephesians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Ephesians 5:9: Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. There are many things that are acceptable to God, as the person of Christ, his righteousness, sacrifice, sufferings, death, and mediation; the persons of his people, their services, sufferings, sacrifices of prayer, and praise to him, and of bounty and liberality to the poor; their graces, and the exercise of them; and the actions of their lives and conversations, when they are becoming the Gospel, are according to the will of God, and are done in faith, and are directed to his glory: and these things which are acceptable to”
  10. Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 8:5: 8:5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God: Humans bear God’s image; the Lord has endowed humans with dignity and charged them to rule (Gen 1:26-27). Hebrews 2:6-8 applies these words to Jesus Christ, the ideal human who fully realized God’s purposes.”
  11. Job (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Job 11:7: Zophar here speaks very good things concerning God and his greatness and glory, concerning man and his vanity and folly: these two compared together, and duly considered, will have a powerful influence upon our submission to all the dispensations of the divine Providence. I. See here what God is, and let him be adored. 1. He is an incomprehensible Being, infinite and immense, whose nature and perfections our finite understandings cannot possibly form any adequate conceptions of, and whose counsels and actings we cannot therefore, without the greatest presumption, pas”
  12. Hebrews (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Hebrews 2:5: 2:5-9 The author of Hebrews uses Ps 8:4-6 to transition from the discussion of Christ’s exalted divinity (Heb 1:5-14) to the discussion of his humanity (2:10-18). Psalm 8 is often presented with Ps 110:1 (see Heb 1:13) to speak of the submission of created things to Christ (see 1 Cor 15:25-27; Eph 1:20-23). Christ is the consummate human being. In his exaltation, he fulfills what fallen humanity could not: true dominion over the created order. 2:5 it is not angels: Cp. 1:13.”
  13. Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 8 (introduction): This psalm is a solemn meditation on, and admiration of, the glory and greatness of God, of which we are all concerned to think highly and honourably. It begins and ends with the same acknowledgment of the transcendent excellency of God's name. It is proposed for proof (Psa 8:1) that God's name is excellent in all the earth, and then it is repeated as proved (with a "quod erat demonstrandum" - which was to be demonstrated) in the last verse. For the proof of God's glory the psalmist gives instances of his goodness to man; for God's goodness is his glor”
  14. Hebrews (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Hebrews 1:1: God, who at sundry times and in divers manners - We can scarcely conceive any thing more dignified than the opening of this epistle; the sentiments are exceedingly elevated, and the language, harmony itself! The infinite God is at once produced to view, not in any of those attributes which are essential to the Divine nature, but in the manifestations of his love to the world, by giving a revelation of his will relative to the salvation of mankind, and thus preparing the way, through a long train of years, for the introduction of that most glorious Being, his own Son”
  15. Job (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Job 11:7: Canst thou by searching find out God?.... God is not to be found out by human search; that there is a God may be found out by inquiring into the book of nature, by considering the creatures that are made, who all proclaim some first cause or maker of them, who is God; but then it cannot be found out what God is, his nature, being, and perfections: an Heathen philosopher (i), being asked by a certain king what God was, required a day to give in his answer; when that was up he desired a second, and still went on asking more; and being demanded the reason of his dilatorines”
  16. Genesis (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Genesis 1:28: And God blessed them - Marked them as being under his especial protection, and gave them power to propagate and multiply their own kind on the earth. A large volume would be insufficient to contain what we know of the excellence and perfection of man, even in his present degraded fallen state. Both his body and soul are adapted with astonishing wisdom to their residence and occupations; and also the place of their residence, as well as the surrounding objects, in their diversity, color, and mutual relations, to the mind and body of this lord of the creation. The co”
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