The Justice of God

The justice of God is a subject matter that requires us to note its multi-dimensional facets, just as we have seen in the past topics pertaining to Kingdom matters. We can never take Kingdom affairs at face value, they require that we search them out and allow the Holy Spirit to speak out their truths and take us into their depths. Whilst reading up on the topic I received further revelation about God in relation to Justice and I am happy that I have learned a little bit more about our father as the God of Justice.

We find many scriptures pertaining to the Justice of God; one that comes top of mind to me is what the psalmist penned down in Psalm 89:14 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of thy throne”. In other words, without Justice the Throne and Kingdom of God cannot stand, Justice, is one of the pillars that holds the Kingdom together.

Isaiah corroborates this in his prophecy of the coming Messiah and the establishment of His Kingdom, outlining that Justice will uphold His government in Isaiah 9:7 “of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”

Justice is a common theme throughout scripture and the number of times Justice is mentioned should indicate to us the importance of this foundation of the throne room.

There are three aspects about Justice that I would like for us to look at in this short article, there is more which you can also add over and above what we discuss on the subject through the leading of the Holy Spirit as you study.

God’s character of Justice

When we look at scripture we see that God in himself is Holy and this refers to the character trait of perfection. Justice in relation to God's perfection means that God is perfectly just in himself. Thus the justice of God is the absence and impossibility of any moral disorder within himself. God's justice is thus equivalent to his infinite holiness and perfect goodness. Deuteronomy 32:4 refers to this character trait saying “The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.” God is just, not because He obeys a standard; He himself is the standard. God is not accountable to any law – He is the law. Justice flows from Him. It is who He is.

God is just, not because He obeys a standard; He himself is the standard

The God who enacts Justice

Now that we see that God in himself is Just, He is a fair and a good God we can then see how out of him justice flows. In an unjust world, everyone’s cry is - where is the Justice? Jesus tells a parable of the widow and the unjust judge in the book of Luke 18: 1 – 8. The parable of the widow and the judge is set in an unnamed town, over that town presides an unjust judge who has no fear of God and no compassion for the people under his jurisdiction. In the Jewish community, a judge was expected to be impartial, to judge righteously, and to recognize that judgment ultimately belongs to God. The judge in this story was incompetent and unqualified for the job, justice was not served. However, Jesus at the end mentions his point stating that; if an uncaring, unfit, ungodly judge answers with justice in the end, how much more will a loving and Holy Father give what is right to His children?

Daily we are faced with terrible situations that are brutal and unfair making us question God and life however what we need to understand is that there is a God who is fair and when we lay the situations we face in His hands - His Justice will prevail. What we need to understand is that Delayed judgment is not injustice; it is the mercy of God.

The God who sits as Judge

I think this is the part where people tend to get confused and think that God is an angry God who is going to punish us. However based on the above understanding that God in himself is just and justice flows from him as His nature, He has to take the seat of Judge to judge creation at the end of time. I hope we all understand that if God does not do this then God is not God, Jesus dying on the cross would be in vain, and the gospel would be futile. The coming of Jesus was an act of Justice in itself - a means to correct the wrong that took place in the garden of Eden

Humanity will be judged according to their relationship with Jesus. John 12:48 "The one who rejects Me and does not receive My word has a judge; on the last day the Word that I have spoken will serve as judge." The Bible is clear on this issue. Where a person spends eternity depends upon how they view Jesus Christ. Those who receive Him as Savior will not be condemned. However, those who reject His free gift of salvation will be condemned for all eternity. Scripture also emphasizes that God's judgment will be fair - there will be no partiality.

In closing, Humanity is in desperate need of Justice to be served in one way or another and one lesson I learned when putting together this article is that God’s character is Just and if we have the fullness of Christ in us we should reflect this nature in our immediate environments.

The fabric of Justice that holds our Kingdom together must touch the world and this can be done through you and me.

Shalom: Kay King