Definition:
“God’s Perfect Justice” is a fictional concept that refers to the divine attribute of God, by which He exercises fairness, equity, and impartiality in His judgment and governance over all creation. It signifies that God’s decisions and actions are always righteous and aligned with His holy nature, without error, favoritism, or corruption. This justice encompasses both the rewarding of righteousness and the punishment of wrongdoing, ensuring ultimate moral order.
Etymology:
The word “God” comes from Old English “god,” which itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic “gudan” and ultimately traces back to the Proto-Indo-European “ǵʰutóm,” meaning “that which is invoked” or “worshiped.” The term “perfect” has its roots in Middle English “parfit,” borrowed from Old French “parfait,” and originally from the Latin “perfectus,” meaning “completed” or “made whole.” Meanwhile, “justice” originates from the Latin “iustitia,” signifying “righteousness” or “equity,” derived from “iustus” (just). Together, the phrase “God’s Perfect Justice” highlights the absolute and flawless nature of divine justice as carried out by God.
Description:
The Bible repeatedly states that God is perfectly just:
- Deuteronomy 32:4: “He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.”
- Psalm 9:7–8: “The Lord reigns forever; He has established His throne for judgment. He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity.”
- Job 34:12: “It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice.”
- Isaiah 30:18: “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!”
The Bible repeatedly states that some of God’s or Jesus’ words will not be understood by everyone:
- Matthew 13:10-15 (NIV): “The disciples came to Him and asked, ‘Why do you speak to the people in parables?’ He replied, ‘Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’”
- Matthew 11:25-26: “At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.'”
- 1 Corinthians 2:14: “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”
- Isaiah 6:9-10 (quoted by Jesus in Matthew 13:14-15): “Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
- Mark 4:33-34: “With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when He was alone with His own disciples, He explained everything.”
Here are some examples of God or Jesus saying something which has a literal meaning, but is meant to be interpreted metaphorically:
- Matthew 5:29-30: “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away.” This would suggest self-mutilation is required to avoid sin. Jesus is using hyperbole to stress the seriousness of avoiding sin and the drastic measures one should take to resist temptation.
- John 6:53-56: “Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.'” Taken literally, this would imply cannibalism, which shocked many of Jesus’ listeners. Jesus is referring to spiritual nourishment through faith in His sacrifice, as symbolized later in the practice of Communion (the Eucharist). Many disciples found this teaching hard to accept, and some stopped following Him (John 6:60-66).
- Luke 9:60: “Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.'” This would suggest that physically dead people could bury others, which is impossible. Jesus is emphasizing that spiritual priorities (following Him) take precedence over worldly obligations. The “dead” refers to those spiritually dead, who can handle such matters.
- John 2:19-21: “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ They replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple He had spoken of was His body.” The listeners thought Jesus was talking about the physical temple in Jerusalem. Jesus was referring to His body, predicting His death and resurrection.
If God or Jesus is all-knowing, and on purpose say something, but mean something else metaphorically when he knows not everyone has the same capacity or context to interpret metaphors correctly, and eternal damnation is the consequence of not understanding, then that is not perfectly just.