Connect360: The Attributes of God

• Lesson Twelve in the Connect360 unit “Find Us Faithful: Standing Firm in Our Faith” focuses on 2 Peter 3:8-9

Every time I agree to officiate a wedding, I ask the couple to fill out an assessment and to meet with me a couple of times.

The assessment asks both the potential bride and groom about their family history, their expectations and the way each of them envisions this upcoming marriage relationship.

Together, the three of us spend time looking at the unique characteristics about each of them.

Every time I meet with a couple, I tell them, “Don’t forget these things about each other, for this is who God made you to be.”

As Peter continued his letter, he urged the church not to forget specific attributes of their God.

In 2 Peter 3:8, Peter continued to argue against the scoffers who claim God is not active in the world since Christ has not returned.

However, Peter asserted time is not the same for God as it is for a human.

God is eternal.

Peter’s words about a day being like a thousand years are a reference to Psalm 90:4. Some have interpreted this verse to mean there will be a literal 1,000-year reign of God at the end of time.

However, there are two reasons why this is not the best way to interpret this text.

First, Peter did not say one day equals a thousand years, but it is like a thousand years.

Secondly, it ignores the context of Peter’s entire message in the chapter.

Peter was not giving a human timeline of events at the end of time, but is telling us something about God’s character, God’s personality.

God is infinite.

Time is not the same for God as it is for humans.

What man and woman consider a very long time is a mere breath for God, the Creator, who stands outside of time and is sovereign over time.

Therefore, those Peter addresses should realize Christ’s coming is not being delayed. God just does not have the same perspective of time as we do.

Moreover, God not only views time with a different perspective than a human, but God also sees time with a different potency.

If one day with the Lord is like a thousand years, men and women ought to live their lives like any day might be the day Christ returns.

For Christ himself told his disciples: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come” (Mark 13:32–33).

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