1. GOD IS SOVEREIGN – ABSOLUTE:
"You will say to me then, 'why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?'
"But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'why have you made me like this?'
"Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?"
We are God's unique creation who live and move under the Sovereign God.
2. GOD IS GRACE – Though we are kings or paupers, righteous or sinners, yellow, brown, black or white, God loves us. You say, "but you don't know what I've done", and I tell you, "it does not matter what you have done—God Loves You, indeed He does, and He wants to save you!"
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
"For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
"And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Romans 5:8 – 11
"Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound…But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.
"So that as sins reigned in death, even so you might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 5:20 – 21
"Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord, 'though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.' For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Isaiah 1:18 – 20
3. GOD IS INFINITE – Without limit, without beginning or end "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting."
Psalms 41:13
4. God is Omnipresent – He is always present "If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there"
5. God is Omniscient – All Knowing. God does not need advice or consultation from any source whatsoever. Within the Trinity, they had council, however, there was no debate among the Father, the Son, nor the Holy Spirit.
To begin with, "God" in verse 1 refers to the Triune God: God, God the Son and God the Holy Sspirit, Who is invisible, intangible, and totally out of man's realm of understanding. He became visible and touchable.
"Who is the image of the invisible God….."
Colossians 1:15
1 "In the beginning God (the Triune God)"created"…" ) (called out of nothing (Hebrew: Barah meaning a perfect and beautiful creation) "heaven and earth."
Yet, in verse 2, "…the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep."
If God created the earth perfectly and beautifully in verse 1, and it was a chaotic mess in verse 2, what happened? No one knows how long of a space of time there is between verse 1 and 2. Evolutionists say millions and millions of years and creationists say thousands, but no-one really knows.
Obviously, something dreadful happened.
"…without form, void, covered with water and in darkness" indicates a flood condition which covered the face of the entire planet. Perhaps this is why God told Noah that the rainbow will be His everlasting promise that He would enver again destroy the earth with water.
"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth…And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh."
Genesis 9: 13, 15
So, the flood in Noah's time was not the first flood, but the second world-wide flood.
But why?
"Thou hast been in Eden the grden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created."
These precious stones are mentioned again in Revelations, in the description of the New Jerusalem, so we see that what began in Genesis will end in Revelations. "…the workmanship…" tells us that since God is not a creation, this verse must refer to Adam or Eve or Satan.
"Thou art the annointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire."
Since we know that people, in the scriptures, are never referred to as cherubs or angelic beings, it is obvious that this passage refers to Satan.
The Hebrew term for "covers" means to "rule", so we can deduce that Satan was "set"," …and I have set thee so:" by God to be a ruling being.
"Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee."
"You were in Eden, the garden of God;"
"Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God;" The word "mountain" in the Bible, unless specifically mentioned as a place, usually indicates a "kingdom". So what God is saying to Satan is that Satan ruled over a kingdom that God gave him.
"Thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire (speaking of the gemstones)."
So now we have established that by the command of the Sovereign God, this angelic creature, Satan, was ruling over a beautiful kingdom that was absolutely over-flowing with the beautiful gems.
"Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." So Satan was perfect "until" at some point, he lost his perfection and unrighteousness was found in him.
How did he lose it?
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, Which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High'"
In vs 12 we discover who this angelic creature is--"Lucifer"! As much as God gave him, it was not enough. He wanted much more, even the power and position of the Almighty God, Himself.
He has never quit in his attempts to rise above God: he tried to tempt Jesus in Matthew 4:8,9, and has been trying to bribe humanity, since Adam and Eve, into worshipping him instead of God.
"I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north;"
Some theologians speculate that "sides of the north" are located somewhere behind the northern sky, but it is only speculation. No one knows, nor is it that important.
"I will axcend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High."
"I will", "I will", "I will". Satan's hearts desire, "I will". But he won't—ever.
There are people, today, who believe Satan's lie that will can become God, and is the basis for all of the cults. Satan tried and God brought him down. And the result of that judgement was that the earth changed from what it was in Genesis 1:1 to what it was in 1:2. When Satan was cast down, he took with him one-third of the angels of heaven and are recorded in Jude as "fallen angels", locked up and awaiting judgement. These angels are not demons, and there is no mention in the Bible of exactly where demons come from, only that they are real, they do exist, and are part of Satan's evil forces.
In the judgement of Lucifer, God destroyed the earth and took away his place of authority and rule over that perfect and beautiful creation, and now Lucifer is the ultimate enemy of God.
He (Satan) can transform himself into an angel of light,
Corinthians 11:14
He will promote good and beautiful things if it will keep a human being from seeing the truth of God's Word.
He has tremendous power, don't be fooled!
In Genesis 1:3-19, the work described as "done" does not refer to the creation, but rather the restoration of His creation.
In verse 2, his creation did not cease to exist, but rather became dysfunctional.
In verse 3, it does not say God created light--"Let there be light", but just that he made the light functional. He removed what had hidden the light.
In verses 4 & 5, "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." This is the beginning of Time and indicates a twenty-four hour period, as we know it--one day.
When you read Genesis 1: 6 – 19, you will not find any reference to creation, but rather a replenishment or restoration of that which was already there.
We know God's word is true because hundreds and thousands of years before it happened, God prophesied and recorded that it would happen. And in every instance, these prophesies happened EXACTLY as God said they would. This is your proof that the Bible is, indeed, the inspired Word of the One and Only True God.
"LET ME EXPLAIN THE problem science has with Jesus Christ."
The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand. "You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"
"Yes, sir."
"So you believe in God?"
"Absolutely."
"Is God good?"
"Sure! God's good."
"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"
"Yes."
"Are you good or evil?"
"The Bible says I'm evil."
The professor grins knowingly. "Ahh! THE BIBLE!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help them? Would you try?"
"Yes sir, I would."
"So you're good...!"
"I wouldn't say that."
"Why not say that? You would help a sick and maimed person if you could.... in fact most of us would if we could...God doesn't."
[No answer.]
"He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"
[No answer]
The elderly man is sympathetic. "No, you can't, can you?" He takes a sipofwater from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. Inphilosophy, you have to go easy with the new ones. "Let's start again, youngfella."
"Is God good?"
"Er... Yes."
"Is Satan good?"
"No."
"Where does Satan come from?"
The student falters. "From... God..."
"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he?" The elderly man runs his bony fingers through his thinning hair and turns to the smirking, student audience. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun this semester, ladiesand gentlemen." He turns back to the Christian. "Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"
"Yes, sir."
"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? Did God make everything?"
"Yes."
"Who created evil?"
[No answer]
"Is there sickness in this world? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All the terrible things - do they exist in this world?"
The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."
"Who created them?"
[No answer]
The professor suddenly shouts at his student. "WHO CREATED THEM? TELL ME, PLEASE! "The professor closes in for the kill and climbs into the Christian's face. In a still small voice: "God created all evil, didn't He, son?"
[No answer]
The student tries to hold the steady, experienced gaze and fails. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace the front of the classroom like an aging panther. The class is mesmerized.
"Tell me," he continues, "how is it that this God is good if He created all evil throughout all time?" The professor swishes his arms around to encompass the wickedness of the world. "All the hatred, the brutality, all the pain, all the torture, all the death and ugliness and all the suffering created by this good God is all over the world, isn't it, young man?"
[No answer]
"Don't you see it all over the place? Huh?"
Pause.
"Don't you?" The professor leans into the student's face again and whispers, "Is God good?"
[No answer]
"Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"
The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor. I do."
The old man shakes his head sadly. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you seen your Jesus?"
"No, sir. I've never seen Him."
"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"
"No, sir. I have not."
"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus... in fact, do you have any sensory perception of your God whatsoever?"
[No answer]
"Answer me, please."
"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."
"You're AFRAID... you haven't?"
"No, sir."
"Yet you still believe in him?"
"...yes..."
"That takes FAITH!" The professor smiles sagely at the underling. "According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son? Where is your God now?"
[The student doesn't answer]
"Sit down, please." The Christian sits...Defeated.
Another Christian raises his hand. "Professor, may I address the class?"
The professor turns and smiles. "Ah, another Christian in the vanguard! Come, come, young man. Speak some proper wisdom to the gathering."
The Christian looks around the room. "Some interesting points you are making, sir. Now I've got a question for you. Is there such thing as heat?"
"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."
"Is there such a thing as cold?" "Yes, son, there's cold too."
"No, sir, there isn't."
The professor's grin freezes. The room suddenly goes very still. The second Christian continues. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold, otherwise we would be able to go colder than 458 - You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."
Silence. A pin drops somewhere in the classroom.
"Is there such a thing as darkness, professor?"
"That's a dumb question, son. What is night if it isn't darkness? What are you getting at...?"
"So you say there is such a thing as darkness?"
"Yes..."
"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something, it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, Darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker and give me a jar of it. Can you...give me a jar of darker darkness, professor?"
Despite himself, the professor smiles at the young effrontery before him. This will indeed be a good semester. "Would you mind telling us what your point is, young man?"
"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with and so your conclusion must be in error...."
The professor goes toxic. "Flawed...? How dare you...!"
"Sir, may I explain what I mean?"
The class is all ears. "Explain... oh, explain..." The professor makes an admirable effort to regain control. Suddenly he is affability itself. He waves his hand to silence the class, for the student to continue.
"You are working on the premise of duality," the Christian explains. "That for example there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science cannot even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism but has never seen, much less fully understood them. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, merely the absence of it." The young man holds up a newspaper he takes from the desk of a neighbor who has been reading it. "Here is one of the most disgusting tabloids this country hosts, professor. Is there such a thing as immorality?"
"Of course there is, now look..."
"Wrong again, sir. You see, immorality is merely the absence of morality. Is there such thing as injustice? No. Injustice is the absence of justice. Is there such a thing as evil?" The Christian pauses. "Isn't evil the absence of good?" The professor's face has turned an alarming color. He is so angry he is temporarily speechless. The Christian continues. "If there is evil in the world, professor, and we all agree there is, then God, if He exists, must be accomplishing a work through the agency of evil. What is that work, God is accomplishing? The Bible tells us it is to see if each one of us will, of our own free will, choose good over evil."
The professor bridles. "As a philosophical scientist, I don't vie this matter as having anything to do with any choice; as a realist, I absolutely do not recognize the concept of God or any other theological factor as being part of the world equation because God is not observable."
"I would have thought that the absence of God's moral code in this world is probably one of the most observable phenomena going," the Christian replies. "Newspapers make billions of dollars reporting it every week! Tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"
"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."
"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?" The professor makes a sucking sound with his teeth and gives his student a silent, stony stare. "Professor. Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a priest?"
"I'll overlook your impudence in the light of our philosophical discussion. Now, have you quite finished?" the professor hisses.
"So you don't accept God's moral code to do what is righteous?"
"I believe in what is - that's science!"
"Ahh! SCIENCE!" the student's face splits into a grin. "Sir, you rightly state that science is the study of observed phenomena. Science too is a premise which is flawed..."
"SCIENCE IS FLAWED..?" the professor splutters.
The class is in uproar.
The Christian remains standing until the commotion has subsided. "To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, may I give you an example of what I mean?" The professor wisely keeps silent. The Christian looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?"
The class breaks out in laughter. The Christian points towards his elderly, crumbling tutor. "Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain... felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain?"
No one appears to have done so. The Christian shakes his head sadly. "It appears no one here has had any sensory perception of the professor's brain whatsoever. Well, according to the rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science, I DECLARE that the professor has no brain."
The class is in chaos.
The Christian sits... Because that is what a chair is for..
