An Arm Like God

And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  

Colossians 1:17 

Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? 

Job 40:9 

God is not ashamed to be God. Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, is not ashamed to be God. When Christ said to His enemies, ‘before Abraham was, I AM,’ He was articulating a sober fact. It is not arrogance to articulate truth. In the second portion of our text, Christ, in per-incarnate form, is speaking truth about Himself. He is speaking to Job about His relationship to all that is. As Colossian 1:17 says, ‘in Him all things consist,’ or hang together. Thus when Christ asks the rhetorical question, ‘Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His?’ He is contrasting Himself and His power to all who may think themselves to be strong and their voice authoritative. Christ describes Himself in the most God-like terms. As was true of His I AM utterance in John, so here Christ is simply articulating truth about Himself. He is not ashamed to be God. While we rejoice in the gentle, compassionate Christ of the New Testament with His kind interactions with the weak, helpless people He encountered, we also rejoice in the Christ of the mighty arm and thundering voice. This is the God Who has real power and genuine authority. He captivates us and commands our respect, loyalty, and allegiance. He is no limpid Christ, but every whit the Almighty God.  

High King of heaven, 
we rejoice that You are strong. 
We praise You that You exercise  
Your strength on behalf of Your people. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning