Welcome to our NEW series, “Loud Ideas, Quiet Truth,” where we will explore some “loud” cultural ideas together and learn how to think about them Biblically. Together we’ll see the quiet truth of the Bible—Scripture’s enduring relevance and stable power to meet the challenges of our loud world.

The purpose is not to explore each of these wide-ranging topics to their depths, but to broadly identify the world’s perspective on each idea and then look to Scripture to understand it in God-honoring ways and to learn to speak about it confidently and faithfully. Consequently, we will see how applicable the Bible is to our everyday lives. 

This first topic we’ll explore is aesthetics. Today, art and culture may nuance “aesthetic” slightly differently, but it generally refers to things related to or concerned with beauty. We often think of it in terms of a certain look, style, or vibe. It is really about anything you find beautiful or that makes you feel beautiful. So, this topic covers everything from fitness to fashion and can seem very subjective (and sometimes superficial). If you are a left-brained, analytical type this topic might not feel very relevant. However, what I’ve come to see is that aesthetics influence how we think about the world, what we tell the world about ourselves, and it presents us with its own unique set of sins for us to avoid. So all Christians should understand how to think about this and be able to articulate a biblical view. 

To keep this manageable (and helpful!), what follows are a few foundational starting points to begin thinking about aesthetics biblically:

1. Establish a Definition of Beauty So You Find It In the Right Places

The very fact that we notice beauty, debate its definition, have different reactions to it, create beauty industries, participate in all types of art to feed our need for a certain aesthetic, and spend time studying the philosophy of aesthetics and art, all points to one thing: 

Humans are made to respond to beauty. I would even go so far as to say, we want to find beauty. 

Think about beauty for a minute. What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? 

You probably can’t narrow it down to one thing.

For me,

I think of when we hiked the Dolomites in Italy. I felt like we were on top of the world in an endless green belt of grass and jagged mountains, and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful scene. When I stepped into Westminster Abbey for the first time it took my breath away, and I couldn’t believe such a beautiful structure existed. And when I held my kids for the first time after they were born, I thought they were the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I’ve been known to cry at the symphony because music is so beautifully moving. I definitely cried when I saw my sister in her wedding dress for the first time because she had never looked so beautiful and happy. And when I see a truth I have never seen before in Scripture, or I am reminded of God’s love or Jesus’s sacrifice in those pages my heart overflows, and I think surely, I’ve never read anything so beautiful. 

What’s on your list?

I hope what you realize is that we find beauty in so many places, people, and experiences. 

Our lists might feel subjective, but you probably agreed with some of the things I found beautiful, and I’d probably agree with a lot of the things you find beautiful. Therefore, beauty is more objective than we think. Jonathan King defines beauty as:

 “an intrinsic quality of things which, when it’s perceived, pleases the mind by a certain kind of fittingness.”  

I like this definition for two reasons. First, I like it because it defines beauty in a way that doesn’t limit it. This definition even leaves room for seeing beauty in the mystery and unknowns of life. When something is “fitting”–enjoyably suitable, delightfully appropriate, magnificently relevant–we see beauty. And that could apply to a person, a symphony, a view, a wedding dress, or even something humorous or ironic. Secondly, I like this definition because it is a definition. It helps us locate beauty in the right places. Beauty is not “whatever” as if it can be found in anything. Beauty can be qualified; it is knowable, reasonable, and even sensical. This explains why modern art probably messes with your mind but why each of us would say our spouse is so attractive to us–they fit our expectations and desires. Defining and demarcating beauty is important because it reflects our ordered but creative God. 

2. Form a Theology of Beauty So It’s Connected to God Not Humans

Our working definition of beauty is predicated on the reality that God exists and created beauty. Because He is the Creator of everything, beauty must ultimately be connected to Him and His work.

We are told in many different ways throughout the Bible that God is beautiful. In Psalm 27:4 (ESV), David desires nothing but to “behold the beauty of the Lord” (which is perhaps another reason why he is a man after God’s own heart): 

“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”

In his Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem explains that God’s beauty is linked to his perfection: “‘Perfection’ means that God doesn’t lack anything desirable; ‘beauty’ means that God has everything desirable. They are two different ways of affirming the same truth.” God is everything desirable. Let that soak in.

God is beautiful and he has put beauty into all he has made as a reflection of who he is. Psalm 19:1-4 tells us that nature reveals God as the glorious Creator:

“The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.”

And the Psalm goes on to describe the Word of God (note: God and His Word share the same qualities):

“The Law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right,

bringing joy to the heart;

the commandments of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.” (Ps 19:7-8) 

Nature (general revelation) testifies to the truth of who God is and Scripture (special revelation) defines it plainly. Both types of revelation point us back to God in their own way. And in this way, His beautiful creation and His beautiful Word teach us about our beautiful God.

God has put beauty all around us and humans are made to recognize it. And as His image bearers, we are to reflect His beauty. Christ sanctifies us so His Church can be presented “without spot or blemish” (Eph 5:27). “Thus we individually and corporately reflect God’s beauty in every way in which we exhibit his character” (Grudem, 220). 

And we create beauty, too. The beautiful things we do and make should ultimately point to the fact that there is a God who is beautiful and created beauty. 

But creating or appreciating the beauty in the world is not the end goal. Our desire should be to reflect Him as our hearts are captured by His beauty. Like David, our desire should be to be fully captivated and satisfied gazing at Him–even as we recognize all the beauty He has put around us. 

We only know beauty because of God. Therefore, we can say that true beauty does not exist apart from God and is not found in things antithetical to Him. For example, we would never call any sin, deprivation, or war “beautiful.” And the world agrees with us about this some of the time. No one calls poverty, sickness, or being lied to “beautiful.” But the world loves to call pride and envy “beautiful” if it means “living your truth” or “following your heart.” 

Having the right theology about beauty helps us reject false ideas about it.

3. Recognize the Purpose of Beauty So You Avoid Its Traps

Scripture helps us understand beauty’s origin in God and its purpose to glorify God and point us back to Him. So, we have to keep beauty in its proper place. Its purpose is not to reveal comprehensively what Scripture reveals explicitly, and it is not for us to worship or idolize.

Beauty is Limited 

The beauty we observe in the world is not the ultimate revelation of who God is. And the beauty we create is not the highest good. Nature and art cannot comprehensively inform us about God or reflect Him completely. Beauty is not the way we experience God, as if we can understand Him rightly through a beautiful thing (a sunset, piece of art, or a child’s laugh) or understand him fully through a feeling or reaction to something beautiful. We need His Word, which is truth (John 17:17). We have to let His Word inform us of His character and deeds and teach us the right responses to Him.  

Beauty is Easily Worshipped

Beauty is not only limited, it is easily worshipped. Our sinful nature corrupts our perception, love, and enjoyment of beauty. We are always tempted to idolize beauty in one way or another, instead of worshipping the Creator of it. 

Obsessing over personal looks, lusting after another person, or loving anything more than God is idolatry. Seeing beauty in the wrong places is akin to misplaced worship. I think of 1 John 2:16 (NLT):

“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” (c.f. 2 Cor 4:4)

4. Enjoy the Gift of Beauty and the Hope It Offers

As Christians, we are not enslaved to the lust of the eyes or flesh or driven by pride (even though they are all always enticing). We can now “see” what God has done and what He has given to us. To understand the world this way and see Him correctly through His Word is evidence of His grace. Therefore, we understand not only that God is the definition of beauty, but I would argue that His grace is the most profound beauty we can experience in the world. For by His grace, we know Him, ourselves, and the world rightly.  And beholding Jesus Christ, the radiance of the Father, as revealed in Scripture, should be understood as the most profound beauty we can know. Consider Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians:

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor 4:4-6; c.f. Heb 1:3)

And we can look forward to all the beauty that is to come, when we will see unhindered by sin, and can be face to face with our beautiful Lord:

“Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12; c.f. 1 John 3:2; Ps. 17:15).

To reiterate the foundational ideas:

1. What is the definition of beauty? God. He is “everything desirable” (Grudem, 19). 
2. Why does beauty exist? Because God is beautiful and His creation reflects Him.
3. What is it for? To testify to the reality that our God is beautiful, to give Him glory, and to point us back to Him. 
4. Where is it found? In anything “fittingly pleasing” that reflects God’s creative and glorious nature–from a mountain to a smile, from an inspiring conversation shared among friends to a cry of repentance to God, from a piece of art that stirs our hearts to a walk on a beach that refreshes our mind, from an act of forgiveness to a masterfully written novel.

What would you add to this conversation? I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions.