The Second Commandment “Making God Small”
Exodus 20:4-6
This matter deals with the true worship of God.
The matter of making images to worship or picture God makes God a small god.
God is a Spirit
John 4:21-24
It is clear that any image or picture of God must fail to take Him seriously
Human beings can only make images of God if their concept of God is vague, fleshly and inadequate
God is insulted by foolish and inadequate representations of Himself.
The moment He is reduced to a visual representation, we are bond to lose all real awe and wonder at this almighty and glorious God
God is Revealed by His Words
Only by words which God has chosen to describe is attributes may we gain a right impression of our great and glorious heavenly King, and so this second commandment is a crucial rule for the understanding of true worship.
God is Worshipped by Faith and Not by Sight
Hebrews 11:1-6
If someone protests that there is no intention to worship through a picture of Christ, we reply that the commandment is not only to prevent false worship by also to present a worthy concept of the divine Lord
We are controlled not by what we see but what we believe