The Goodness of God

Mark 10:18 “And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.”

“No one is good but God alone.”

Why does Jesus say this? Aren’t there good people? Yes, there are, but compared to God, it is as if there are none good.

“His goodness is of such perfection and such completeness that all other goods seem as if they are not.” Says one Comm

His goodness is incomparable

Definition

He is originally good, good of Himself, which nothing else is; for all creatures are good only by participation and communication from God. He is essentially good; not only good, but goodness itself: the creature's good is a superadded quality, in God it is His essence. He is infinitely good; the creature's good is but a drop, but in God there is an infinite ocean or gathering together of good. He is eternally and immutably good, for He cannot be less good than He is; as there can be no addition made to Him, so no subtraction from Him (Thomas Manton) .

God is summum bonum, the highest good.

God's goodness should be understood not as his way of behaving, nor even as a characteristic he possesses, but as essential.

'Goodness is not a quality in him,' says Charnock, 'but a nature; not a habit added to his essence, but his essence itself'

"he is not first God, and then afterwards good; but he is good as he is God, his essence, being one and the same, is formally and equally God and good."

Goodness and the Psalter/Scripture

Goodness has preeminence among the other attributes in the Psalter. It is what Terry Johnson calls a “Captain attribute”. Other attributes seem to be subsumed under goodness.

Love, so commonly considered as the chief attribute of God is just one consideration of God’s goodness. Mercy, grace, faithfulness, lovingkindness are all considered as forms of goodness.

The Psalms are repleate

Scripture references here:

O thank the Lord for He is good, his mercy

Other Scriptures:

Exodus 33:19 “And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.””

The proclamation of Gods goodness, is the proclaiming of his name, which is the proclaiming of himself toward his people. Moses learns that there is a remnant to be saved. God’s goodness( mercy, grace, and faithfulness), is independant like himself, of the creature. The sin of the people won’t bar God from his faithfulness. At the same time, there are those who will be left, and in his goodness will be punished for their iniquities. The justice and mercy and grace of God equally display the goodness of God.

Goodness and the Law

Psalm 119:68 “You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.”

The Law shows forth the goodness of God. It’s an expression of his goodness. As we learn and obey those statutes, we participate in God’s goodness. We become good, what we were created to be. Which only a Christian can do by the Spirit. Why is the law good and holy? Because God is good and holy.

Goodness and Creation

Genesis 1:31 “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

Everything God created is good.

As we’ll see below, creation is concluded with God’s pronouncement of it’s goodness. In other words, God’s goodness communicates itself. It comes out of His eternal goodness. It is a loving and good communication that would have it’s creatures participate in. It’s goal is communicative and escahtological we might say.

All created good reflects God who is goodness itself, and the source and end of all goodness. God is summum bonum, the highest good.

Rom 11:33-36.

All creaturely good is derived from him and is a reflection of him. All that is morally good and all that is beneficial or pleasant may be traced to its source in God. All that I touch, taste, see, feel, and know that is pleasing and enjoyable is but a reflection, indeed a dim reflection, of the goodness of God from which it originates. ~TJ

2. Providence

Psalm 119:68.

He is good essentially. And he does good to all in his providential governing.

Psalm 145:9 “The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.”

God keeps and sustains all living things. He feeds and provides. He gives good things, things that fill and satisfy. He gives things that cheer and delight. He gives rain and sun to all. (See Piper article.) Non-rational creatures often sing and tell of this better than rational creatures do.

3. Redemption

The goodness of God in redemption is most gloriously displayed in Christ.

John 3:16. He showed forth his goodness how? In what way? That he would give his eternal Son over to death. As Mark Jones suggests, There is a point in the life of Christ, where the Father shows more goodness to us than to his own Son. That is on the cross. He looked at his own Son as a cursed sinner. Bearing the wrath of a million worlds. The frown of God upon the Son, so that his good and smiling countenance would be towards us. This is the height of God’s goodness.

The goodness is upheld in redemtption as we saw earlier in Ex 33,34. Did God show mercy and grace in the cross? Did he show his faithfulness to his promises? Did he forgive iniquity? Did he leave the guilty unpunished? He did not and will not.

Further considerations

Matt 20:15 His goodness is free.

Rom 2:4 His goodness is not to be thought lightly of. It ought to lead to repentance

Psalm 107:8 It is a means of thanksgiving

Nahum 1:7 His goodness is a stronghold.

His dispensations of goodness may very, but he remains the same We can be assured of God’s goodness.

James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

What is the context. Near and far that help us understand this specific verse?

What is the good and perfect gift?

Why are the gifts said to be without varying or shifting? What is the implication?

Count it all joy. What does that look like? (A firm conviction that they work for your sanctification). Not that you need to smile or that you’re not really feeling the weight and pain, and difficulty of the trial. But seeing knowing the end of it, and knowing who your God is. Because the goodness of God is not only unchanging in trial and temptation, but at work, it is a good gift. To produce endurance and Christian maturity.

God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

I think we say this, but perhaps don’t truly grasp the reality of it. We perhaps say it thinking that eventually God’s goodness will come back around. But for now, while I’m in this evil, I’ll hold onto this sentiment. No, he’s good right now, in the evil, the trial, the temptation. God’s unwavering, unchanging, independant goodness toward the Christian stays. “What you meant for evil, God intended for good.” Again, not some Christian Science idea where the suffering and pain aren’t real. But taking the character of God by faith regardless of circumstance.