What man fails to realize…
2 Samuel 7:1-17
Big Word Time: Divine Condescension
What is this term and why do I need to know it?
- CONDESCENSION is a very negative word by definition. Simply, to paraphrase the definition, it means you are superior in intelligence to someone else and you believe that that person is beneath you and you treat them as such.
- However, when you add the word DIVINE in front of it, it turns to a more positive definition. This is God “LOWERING HIMSELF” to communicate wisdom to people.
Why does this matter?
- His
ways are not our ways.
- Isaiah 55:8-9
- He
has plans that He likes to share.
- Psalm 103:7
- What
He can make is better.
- Deuteronomy 8:3-4
So, God always has a better way. Mankind likes to figure things out, so we are like God in that we like to think we know everything that is there to be known and strive to figure all the mysteries of the universe. This is impossible. The proof of this is when you misplace your keys or when you put something somewhere purposefully so that you would remember where you put it. Our minds have limited space for these things.
What does DIVINE CONDESCENSION look like scripturally? Well, it looks like this according to Paul:
- Philippians 2:5-11
Luke perhaps says it better since these are the direct words of Jesus:
- Luke 19:9-10
God’s way (truth) is the only way (perfect truth) according to what John records Jesus saying:
- John 3:11-18
- John 14:6-7; 19-21
God goes out of his way to meet people where they are at:
Matthew 9:10-13, Romans 5:6-8