We see it on t-shirts, bumper stickers, church signs and in church bulletins. We heard it preached from pulpits and heard it on TV. We read it in magazines and in papers. But what does it really mean? What started as a catch phrase for churches that wanted to move out of the realm of the written word and into a new area of worship and belief, has done just what it meant to do. It was one of the first used and is still popular today as a phrase to explain why something is out of context of scripture. Along with “move out of your comfort zone” and one of the newest, “get in the river“.
What really bothers me about the phrase is that it accuses and judges people, that stand upon scripture. "If you don't believe the way I do then you are limiting God, and don't have enough faith to believe that God can do anything". I have been accused of that when questioning things that were not scriptural. "You are putting God in a box and limiting Him from working". First I can't limit God from anything. God is all powerful, He is the creator and I believe that God can do anything. But when I am judged because I have a very hard time believing that God is doing a work outside what is written in scripture, I find that there is a problem.
I asked a preacher once after a sermon in which the message contained no instruction and was clearly not from scripture. He said he was given the message by the Holy Spirit to preach in our church, and was not to question it. He also said the I had put God in my own personal box and was limiting Him from working in my life. I thought "I have God in a box?"
God in a Box. This has become a phrase used by many as an answer when they are questioned about their teaching and beliefs. You ask a question and instead of an answer you hear, "Don't put God in a box", or "God is doing a new thing". That is red flag territory. I am not against God doing a new thing, He can do whatever He wants. I would welcome a new thing from God, as long as its scriptural. Or as others would say inside the box. But I find it impossible to accept that God is going to do anything that can't be backed by scripture, which is the only authority that can confirm or deny that any action or teaching is of God. If we, as responsible Christians, set the scriptures as the standard to judge what we see or hear then we are guilty of denying God and putting Him in a box. When are we instructed to not use the scriptures as that standard? When have we been told that God will do things that can't be backed up by scripture? Statements like these come only from the mouths of men, who in most instances tell you that what God is doing is a new revelation that isn't in scriptures. A message that they received in their spirit, which gave them the word to say that something extra-biblical is going on. Then we are told not to put God in a box but allow Him to operate in this word they received. Again red flags should fly up and we should question whether or not it is of God or if the message we are hearing is from another that would have us turn away from God and follow the ways of the world.
God in a box. this has also been misapplied so much by honest people to try to get others to understand that God is not limited in His power and majesty, and that He can do anything he wants to do. Well believe it or not, mature Christians that study their bible or sit under a good bible preacher, understand that. These people don't limit God and what He can do, they want God to be God and they want Him to work in their lives anyway He wants to, according to His will. But many others use this box terminology like a container where God is trapped by man and limited to what they will allow Him to do. Well the God I serve is not controlled or limited by man, I cannot command God to do this or that, or restrict Him from doing anything. If I thought I could do that, it would put me to where I exalt myself over the Most High. It didn't work for Satan and won't work for man.
What is a box? A box is a container that holds some sort of product. When we buy something, most times it is in a box. The box itself is not a part of the product, but is the what carries the product. Working on a production line, this I have seen in my occupation, when a box is loaded it is filled with only what is needed. Those things that weren't called for in the box were not put in the box. They were not listed in the box manifest as needed or required. When the box is received only those things that are required are inside the box.
When we go out into the world we have perimeters that we operate in, or should operate in. We have written laws that are set up to protect people and property. We can assume that they are set up for us to follow, for our safety. When we operate outside of these laws, we put ourselves and others in danger. Traffic laws are set by the authorities to keep us safe. We have to wear our seatbelts in case of a crash. We can only go a certain speed around curves. We can only pass others in certain areas.
We have laws that prevent people from going into your home and taking your belongings, or your family. We have laws that try to prevent a person from harming others, when we live within these laws. Do all obey these laws? no. But most do. And there is a penalty for disobedience and not following the law when you are caught. And there can also be consequences for not following the law.
When we do get stopped for speeding or reckless driving do we tell the officer that we are operating outside of the box, or we took the chance because it was outside the comfort zone, and we didn’t feel the law applied to us, When we go before the judge do we tell them that we are not subject to the laws because you don't consider them to apply to you and that the judge needs to not put the traffic laws in a box and expect people to work within its confines. You can tell them that you always speed and nothing has ever happened. We are to act according to the confines of the law and not to operate outside of those confines.
God has given us the Word of God in the form of the Holy Bible. It contains our instructions and give perimeters that we are to live within as Christians. Within the pages of the Bible, God has put in scripture who He is and this tells us what He has done and what we are to expect from Him. When we follow the bible and see God for who He is and learn of His nature and understand His character, we learn that He has established perimeters in which He will operate in our lives. We learn what to expect from God. And example is the work done on the cross. We know and understand that it is finished and will not change, there will be no other means of salvation given to man other than what has already been done. To accept any other means not stated into the written word would be to move from the perimeter that has been set by God.
This is the confines in which God has placed Himself; the ever mentioned box. To go beyond the written word of scripture is man trying to add to what God has done or say‘s He will do. That is to move outside of the box.
Inside the box is where God operates. It isn't a place where man has forced God to be, but a place where man can know the confines that God operates within. The box contains perimeters set by God that he works within, the scriptures. So that you can know that what is happening is of Him, and not from others.
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