Why Does God Have to Do It This Way? (5)
As I noted in my previous article, the personification of the native substance and power of God and the intervention of the personal God in the explosive and potentially catastrophic beginning of the universe is the key to understanding the problem of evil in the world. This proposition will be put in a sharper perspective and biblically supported in the present article.
According to John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” What is a word? It is the expression of a thought, the verbal representation of an idea. Word-based communication enabled by a unique kind of intelligence is a special ability of humans, who are created in the image of God. It is what primarily distinguishes us from other creatures.
The Word that was with God in the beginning is the totality of his divine intelligence, a holistic representation of his idea, plan, and purpose for the universe (Hebrews 11:3). It can be compared to a computer program that represents an objective and the processes and protocols for achieving it — a kind of cosmic DNA (cf. Psalm 139:16; see also Ephesians 3:9–11).
It was this intelligent attribute of God that took control of the explosive and potentially catastrophic beginning of the universe to progressively create order, life, and beauty out of the chaos. As Scripture tells us, “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens” (Proverbs 3:19).
This is why Scripture also teaches that God created the world by Jesus (Hebrews 1:2), because Jesus is the unique human embodiment of the Word, wisdom, and intelligence by which God created all things; the preeminent human character in the execution of the divine program for the universe (John 1:14; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 1:17; see also John 1:18; Colossians 1:15–17, 2:9). John says the Word “was with God” in the beginning because the divine intelligence that the Word represents is an integral part of the native substance and power of God. As experienced Bible students recognize, the word, wisdom, and power of God are closely associated in various Scripture passages (e.g., Proverbs 2:1–5; 1 Corinthians 1:18–19; Hebrews 1:3).
The personal God — that is, the personification of the native substance of God — is what we commonly refer to as “God” or “the Father.” It is the form in which the native power of God that originated the universe relates to men as a person (see 2 Corinthians 6:17–18). Those who acknowledge and submit themselves to this divine personality and his sovereign power are the enduring objects of the “love of God,” outside of which is the “wrath of God.”
Both love and wrath are inherent potentials of the native substance of God (see Romans 11:22). As noted, the purpose of the personal God is to intelligently control the expression of all the potentials of his native substance toward exhausting the power of the destructive aspects and establishing a tranquil and eternal steady state in the universe (Revelation 21:1–4).
This is where we will nail down the problem of evil in the world and why the personal God takes ownership and responsibility for it.
Let’s recall his words, “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things” (Isaiah 45:7). What is light, and what is darkness? Scientifically, light is an electromagnetic entity consisting of photons. It can be generated, observed, and studied. This is not the case with darkness. Darkness is the default state of things in the absence of light.
Something similar applies to good and evil. When the native substance of God personified itself to rescue the universe, it effectively separated its good and productive potentials, including all their future expressions and outcomes. Everything outside this sphere of redemptive goodness constitutes evil and its destructive potentials. In other words, evil is the state of things in the absence of the redemptive good of the personal God. It is the sphere of everything that must be given up and destroyed as the cost of saving the universe — a kind of collateral damage. The personal God owns the creation of evil because it was an unavoidable consequence of his intelligent intervention to save the universe.
The elimination of the evil and destructive elements of the universe cannot be done unilaterally, as some may think, and as some criticize God for not doing. This is because the destructive power of evil is actually part of what makes the native substance of God “all-powerful.” This is something that those who question the all-powerfulness of God in the face of evil in the world seem not to grasp.
Think of it, the native substance of God to which the all-powerful attribute primarily applies will not be all-powerful if it could only do good and not bad, if it could only produce and not destroy. It must be able to do all things for it to be truly all-powerful or omnipotent. The only realistic way it could demonstrate its all-powerfulness in an ultimately productive way is by using its good attributes to exhaust and prevail over its bad attributes. Since the personal God is the one who intelligently achieves this productive end, he can also rightfully claim omnipotence.
It cannot be overstated that the all-powerful native substance of God is an impersonal entity. Hence, it cannot be reasonably criticized for its destructive potential any more than the sun, on which earthly life critically depends, could be criticized for the hazardous radiation it emits. Taking issues with the sun for being what it is would be unthinkable.
As we can clearly see, rather than being something to be criticized or vilified, the personal God is the only hope for eradicating evil and establishing lasting good in the universe, and he is deserving of our appreciation and reverence (Isaiah 43:11–13). Moreover, what we call evil is often only part of the nature of things, often contributing to maximizing the beauty and appreciation of good. We only need to learn to bear it until it has run its course (1 Peter 5:10–11).
Now, just as the good potentials of the native substance of God were personified, so were the bad potentials. The personification of the bad or evil part is what Scripture calls the devil. The two personalities — God the Father and the devil, who is also a father (John 8:44) — are in conflict for the soul of the universe. This conflict, the so-called battle of the ages, is the ongoing cause of so much sorrow, pain, and suffering in the world, just as natural conflicts and wars do.
But, as certainly as darkness cannot prevail over light (John 1:5), the eternal goodness of God the Father will prevail over evil and accomplish its redemptive mission in the world and the universe (Romans 8:20–25; Revelation 21:1–4).
(To be continued.)
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