Nature Of God (Wed) – 3

Introduction

All right. The nature of God, as you’ll remember, we started with kind of the why, the why we’re studying it. lesson one was man’s greatest need to know God. The scripture that I think was referenced in that was John 17, 3, and this is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. So I think that captures that captures well why we’re studying what we’re studying, which is to know God. It’s it’s essential to our hope for eternal life, and the Christ through whom we have access. So that’s that’s what we’re trying to do with this as we look at the nature of God. We talked about knowing God, and that verb of that they should know you is a little bit like walking in the light.

It’s not a one time grab hold of acquisition of a knowledge of God. It’s it’s more of an ongoing keep on keeping on vision of knowing of knowing God, so that they should know. The Greek word there is really important and insightful. It’s again, it’s not just they should know. This is a very it’s gonosco, is if I could ever pronounce that correctly. It’s a very personal, very deep, intimate knowledge of God. And in fact, it’s used in John chapter 10 when Christ is saying you know, these are my own, I know my own. They know me as the Father knows me. that’s the no. That’s the level, the depth that we’re talking about needing to know God.

Was the train walking over me?

It reminds me of that Geico commercial that’s going right now. I don’t know if y’all have seen it, where he’s telling a joke and the guy keeps. Well, okay, out of all that, I think what I want you to, what I want you to hear this time is when we talk about knowing God, it’s very deep. It’s not you know, an a one-time acquisition. It’s again Christ said, I as I know my father and the father knows me, that’s the same no here. So that just wants you to grasp the incredible importance of this knowing of God. So that’s that’s the nature of God. Sir. I see that.

New God. Yeah, I’m telling you, that’s exactly right.

Yeah, it’s one and the same. We were noticing the sunset tonight was pretty. I was thinking about one of the questions in here is what makes you recognize God as the creator? So I’m I’m with you, Chris. Okay, so that’s the no. Then we did we talk about the names of God. What were the three names?

Yahweh, Adani. we did that last week. I had I didn’t hadn’t read before that the consonants of Y H W H and the vowels of Ad and A are how we got the word Jehovah. in the beginning, God, that’s the Elohim. I appreciated the note if you guys have your books on page 16. I thought it was a great highlight. Old Testament passages using all three of the above names for God are quoted in the New Testament and applied to Jesus demonstrating his deity. So that’s an important point I thought. And then lastly just before we move on the question why do you think it is important to know and understand these names of God those that scribbled answers or did not what do you think why is it important to know these names that we have of our creator think of the names themselves and what they mean that’s kind of the answer but why is it important that we understand those names they reference it to the thing our just all the trip to God each one’s yeah that was good in the book how I went through the different uses and abbreviations if you will yeah it really helps remind us you said the word power Martha I had that as well power and preeminence of the God so okay God is the eternal creator there’s this is Tony’s slides you can tell him I said thank you yeah these are really helpful God is the eternal creator this is part one is you guys are able to do the lesson it’s you know the creation the days the wisdom of God.

And the next week is around a little bit more on the evolution and the science and that kind of aspect. So two lessons here on the on the crater. And then we get into once we’re through some of this kind of fundamental stuff, we’ll get into the more the nature, the characteristics, what are the traits? What are those things that we need to know both to emulate in our lives and to understand again what God’s will is for us? Okay, so who wants to quote Genesis 1-1 from memory?

1. In the Beginning, God Created

Right. It’s it’s it’s one of those. I think Bible students, probably more so than just the world in general. That’s one that we all know. And it’s it’s interesting that it’s one of the few where almost all the translations. I need to check with Ed on the NIV, but almost all the translations are equivalent because it’s so it’s such a it’s a it’s the same. other references come to mind when you hear this in the beginning of these vast sort of introductory statements like that. What other scriptures do you think of?

Exactly. That’s the first one. There’s another one that we’re actually studying on Sunday. It’s a little bit different, but it has the a similar beginning word. that which was from the beginning. Remember, we’re doing that in Sunday morning, speaking of the Christ. But there’s a difference. What’s the difference in that beginning and these beginnings that we’re talking about in Genesis 1-1? There’s it’s a different word. Again, I’ll butcher the Hebrew Beresheth. but it’s a it’s a different beginning, different type of beginning. Anybody it’s the this beginning is more of the material creation. It’s the beginning of time. Time is not eternal. All those that John one where it’s in the beginning was the word, that’s an eternal statement, just like the Christ reference in first John one, that which was from the beginning.

Those are eternal. It’s a different word than is used here. This is that material time stamp of the beginning of the material. I’m sorry.

No, I was talking about first John, I believe. Yeah, we’re gonna read Yeah, we’re gonna read that. But so that’s the difference here. This is very much the beginning of time, the beginning of the material world, if you will, as we know it. beginning days of work. Again, the John one is more is an eternal, you know, from eternity. so you kind of get the difference. it’s used five times once here and then in Jeremiah, and then this particular word is never used. And you see it in Jeremiah, it kind of makes sense because it’s it is in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim or somebody, so it you can see that it’s it’s more about time stamps, and that’s what this is, because God doesn’t operate on time as do we, so that’s why it’s it’s important to note it.

The book calls out the Hebrew word bara, B-A-R-A. did anyone have a chance to look at that and see what bara has to say for itself?

Yeah, the X. Yes. all that’s buried in that word, and again, not a not a common word, only used in conjunction with God. And it’s used extensively, of course, here. I think.

Yeah, about four or five times in Genesis 1 and Deuteronomy, when it’s referencing, of course, the creation. But it carries with that, as you said, Martha, the formed out of nothing, from nothing, this was of God created. And in Genesis 1, the 27th verse, it’s it’s used three times, and we’ll come back to that and speculate a little bit about why that was that was so important. Martha, you mentioned Psalm 33.9. Somebody read Psalm 33.9 for us. And keep your finger on Psalms because we’ll be going to that a couple times. I’ll ask for volunteers, or I’ll just call you out. Psalm 33.9, if someone would read that, please. Thank you.

It’s literally, you know, it was. And it, you know, it at once stood. It stood. And there’s some reference to a pillar, so you can see there that it out of nothing, it was. It was created. And again, the pillar, I didn’t get too deep into this, but it’s a whole unmovable sort of feeling behind the word. So I thought that was I thought that was interesting. and made me think, of course, of the Christ in Hebrews, the 13th chapter. Page 21, I thought the author had a good comment down towards the bottom. Acknowledge this sublime truth and everything else falls into place. Deny it, and nothing makes sense, including our very existence, which I think that is that’s pretty well said.

2. The Days of Creation

I’m sure we all have people we run into the world, or you’ve heard the conversation about you know why am I here? And it just sets us up. That’s an opportunity for you to step in and say, I’ve got great news. I know exactly why I’m here. And I think this is the same thing when we see the creation as we were talking about. Okay. days of creation. This is where I need to I need to move on pretty quickly here. what marks the first the first move out of chaos and nothingness? What’s the first thing in verse three that happens? Yeah, we get we get light right off the bat. And think of that as you think of the scripture and goodness and purity and truth, the sun himself, all the references of light, and that’s the first thing that arrives on scene, which I think is kind of a neat concept.

Darkness, of course, isn’t abolished, but darkness is certainly subdued here. So that’s day one. Day two. what comes about in day two?

This the expanse. Yeah, we don’t use either word very firmament or expanse of the sky. I think that’s right. And it because we see it coming up again when the birds are in the expanse of the heaven or the stars are in the expanse of the heaven. again, a fairly rare word, as you would expect, is used here only here in Ezekiel. It’s interesting that there’s a concept about Hebrew writings, kind of a metallic substance up there. This is a hammering out, you know, a forming of that is this is this word that’s that’s used for the expanse. So that’s that’s the second day. Alright, third day we start to see, start to form the world.

Somebody read 9 through 12 there on chapter 1, of course, 9 through 12. Sean. Then God said, let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters he called seeds, and God saw that it was good. Then God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation. Plants yielding seed and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind. The seed in them on the earth, and it was so earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, the trees bearing fruit, the seed in them after their kind, and God saw that it was good. The it reads literally, you know, let the earth vegetate vegetation, seed, fruit.

It’s it’s an interesting thing. And after its kind is a reference to you know, species after its after its core, its model. Alright, day four. What happens day four? The sun, the sun shows up, moon, stars, lights. it was an interesting comment, I thought, in this. this is the fourth day, God made the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night. He quotes Jeremiah as the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured. And then funny enough, of course, from man’s wisdom, we have the little paragraph. Gradually through the invention of better instruments, the number grew till there’s now numbered 100 billion suns in our galaxy, estimated to be trillions of galaxies.

To comprehend the possibility of counting stars, if man were to count the suns in our milk away at the rate of 200 per minute would take him a thousand years.

So it’s interesting. It’s mind-boggling, but of course, men want to try to take care of that. Psalm 147, I believe, says that you know God knows them. He knows them by name, each and every star. so that’s day four. All right, the fifth day, what happens?

Water creatures, birds, mosquitoes, they’re also a winged question you get sometimes. Why did why did I wonder why God created the mosquito? Or so food that’s for the bats, right? I don’t know what bats. I think that’s that’s good, yeah.

That’s good. It’s very wise. I think you’re right. water creatures and birds, let the water swarm with swarms on day five. Okay, then thankfully what occurred on day six?

What’s that? Animals of man. Animals and man, that’s right.

3. Man, the Crowning Achievement

Is it appropriate to call it his crowning achievement? And if so, why? And what scripture would you give on his creation of mankind?

Right, exactly. Exactly. Made in his image, given dominion all over all other things. It is it is the crowning achievement. it is interesting if you go to verse 27. actually, somebody read that. You can get there before I flip it. Genesis 1 27, please.

So God created mankind as all image.

I just it was noteworthy that three times he uses the bar word. This is God’s creation, God’s creation. This is God’s creation. So next time you’re in your discussion with an evolutionist, this is a we believe this is the word, and the word says very clearly, God created, God created this. Okay, we share this day, of course, with animals. What note though, if you have your Bible open, verses 20, 24 and 26 are interesting. verse 20, then God said, Let the waters teem with swarms. Verse 24, then God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures. But then in 26, then God said, Let us make man our image very separate from the creation of all other things.

And again, people in the world, you know, whether they worship the planet or the animals or whatever, this is this is this is critical. this is God’s creation so different from anything, any of the man and the plants and the planet. So Okay, there was a question in your book about what distinguishes men and women from animals. Now let’s use some self-discipline here. When we’re s you know don’t don’t be tempted to talk about how some men can be like animals. so physically, of course, what are some of the we’ll do scriptures most importantly, but what are the differences between man and animals? What stand up stand up our hand and feet. Yeah, that’s the whole there’s a word for it.

Thank you for reminding me I don’t know that word. Bipedal. Yeah. Monkeys still have to they can’t do two things at once. They have to they have they have to have their hands to put down. So that’s right, Tim. That’s good. what else? What else is different about us? From what’s that? God breathed. God breed life, yeah, that’s that’s right. That’s right. Mental abilities, obviously. Speech.

Yeah, that’s good.

We don’t have we don’t have tables. Yeah.

That’s good. one of the things I saw is that they man can express emotion, and I thought, well, I’ve seen my dogs express emotion. So I th those are all men’s things. Okay. So Chris answered this in part, but scripturally, what is the difference between man and animals? Very different.

Right. Ecclesiastes twelve seven, the spirit. it’s exactly right. what else?

They don’t know what they should worship, they’ll create something. Right. And then it’s false there and acting even to God of God. About unknown God. Right.

And people find something to worship even against themselves. Yeah. But there’s a hole inside man. They’re gonna fill it with something. Yeah, on the radio you guys may have heard as well. It sounds like there’s been I don’t see the news, but there’s been lots of global warming protests and all kinds of stuff. And he just such a empty, kind of silly waste of time. in the image, the likeness of God, we talked about that. Ecclesiastes twelve seven talks about the spirit, of course God formed man, Genesis two. Umly man can communicate with God, right? And then Psalm eight five made a little lower than heavenly beings. let’s read Psalm eight. If someone has Psalm op Psalms open, I’d appreciate if you would read that.

Psalm 8. Read that entire Psalm, if somebody could, please. I think it’s a good conclusion to that. Psalm 8.

Okay, I’m there. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth. Who has displayed thy splendor above the heavens? From the mouth of infants and nursing babes, thou hast established strength, because of thine adversaries to make the enemy and their vengeance will cease. When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon, the stars, which thou hast ordained. What is man that thou dost take thought of him? And the Son of Man that thou dost care for him. Yet thou hast made him a little lower than God, and dost crown him with glory and majesty. Thou dost make him to rule over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth.

4. God's Wisdom in His Creation

So I thought that was a good conclusion to that. Alright, aspects of divine creation.

Yeah, great wisdom. let’s let’s let’s ask this question. We talked about it a little bit. What confirms or illustrates for you God’s wisdom in his creation? The author of the book calls something out. But what is it for you that you know you look at and say, you know, this is this is God’s majesty? The ocean. Well, I always go to the ocean whenever my faith of black is do. But it reminds me of the concept of God and how vast he is thinking.

Well, I can’t cannot see and feel that. Yeah. Well, it’s good. What else? Charles? For me it’s the heavens. If you’ve ever looked at story to God forever, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Infinite. Yeah. That’s good. What else? Anybody? Well, like the new testament says, his the creator is evident in the things that create. There’s there’s lots of things you can look at, you know, that in animals or in nature, just in the cycle of things and how perfectly in order it all is.

Right and think, wow, a bunch of parts got grounded for enough time that the watch finally popped out after thousands of years. You assume there’s a watchmaker behind that watch. Right. The earth and it’s it’s the balance of the ecosystems and the way that it tilts on its axis rotates. Yeah. If it wasn’t just bright, we wouldn’t be right. I agree.

The kids have got a bunch of little videos about God’s creation of animals, and it was just one like this little bombardier beetle, you know, and if it was a mutation, because it’s an explosion that happens out of the full insects, you know. And if it’s not just right chemically next to any that kills anything, right? So how does that accidentally happen? I’ve actually heard that one. All the ones that were mutated would have died, yeah, that wouldn’t have ended up there. You know, or woodpecker is when he’s hitting a tree completely roll back in his head, yeah. Or I socket just didn’t do that. And I think that’s why they’ve made up this billions and billions of billions of years, because how could anything like that have every it could happen?

The author calls out on page twenty-three that as his evidence, if you will, that the order of creation, which was an interesting thought. Water and water light, dry land before the plants, and then animals that ate the plants, and then man, and on and on and on. So it was an interesting point. Back to Psalm 33, 6 through 9. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their hosts. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps and the storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, for he spoke and it was done.

5. Six Literal Days

See, verse 31, I think at the at what point does God proclaim this done? What is he what does he say there in verse 31? Well, this is verse 25, but I think it’s 31. It’s very good. Yeah, each day he saw what he had done and said, This is good. And then in verse 31, 30 and 31, he’s he surveys all that he’s done and said, This is this is very good. I thought that was an interesting point. six literal days. let’s read Exodus twenty nine through eleven. Exodus chapter twenty. Somebody have that, Exodus twenty nine through eleven? Six days you shall all labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God in it you shall do no do any work should not do any work you or your son or your daughter your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth the sea and all that is in them and rest on the seventh day therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it whole so that you know that is our basis for the week right you know if we have this day age theory I think one of the questions we get to is what are some of the theories you know well a day was a million years a day has been a day the other interesting point how does the Lord describe each day as he completes that day’s work what is what is said yes morning and evening or the first day and morning and morning evening and morning oh that’s right that’s right yeah you’re right yeah so you know I mean it’s it’s it’s confirming these are these are days these are days the I can’t remember where I read it now but it was okay well if Adam was born on the it was created on the sixth day he lives six and seven but then he lives nine hundred and I forgot the number thirty something you know lives nine hundred years well that math won’t work if a day is a million day, a million years or what have you.

Yeah Ed I always come back to first Corinthians of the 15th chapter. And verse 21 says, But since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through man. Or as an Adam all die for when Christ calls a man alive.

Where did it come? Are we saved for billions of years thinking living and dying, living and dying, there was death. If it didn’t come then, how would one man take it out? Yeah. So the whole scripture to me hinges on this. And I think whatever man and woman would have been placed in the garden, we would have been in how long it would have been long, I would have been aware. But you mean you get bored years.

But that’s how death came. Right. That’s the separation. That’s when he started to work in Swift, and that’s what I was talking about thorns and mosquitoes. Exactly. I mean, if I step on a sticker, I say, you know, that fall.

He called that, and death came into the world. That’s right. And then he came to the case and then animals first died when he took those skins and made clothing for them. God did that. But they brought that. Man brought that, and then one man provides the remedy for it. But if we start talking about billions and billions of years of death through all that time, it would have been people through all that time.

It all falls. I agree with that. I agree with that. Well, the writer also talks about if we had a thousand years of daylight, it would have burned everything else. Yeah, I like that.

Yeah, it all froze.

That’s how he made it. Right. Twenty-four hours here.

There’s light before day four. Yes, John.

Okay, well, don’t get me wrong. I support this idea of eating a gate before anybody in through that. But there are two versions of scripture. What are those? What are they?

Yeah, I mean it does confirm for us, unquestionably. I think that’s a key a key argument. See, you worked during the day. Got up in the morning, what you want to say? You want to sit and sit there and you maybe start it, and then he got done what he was doing, and there was evening, and then the morning it’s been a twenty-four hour period, it’s one day. You know, I also had another support for the twenty-four-hour day cycle because the plants were created on day three, right? Right. In order for them to grow, they’ve got to be pollinated by insects and animals. They weren’t created until day five. So if it was thousands of years, all the plants would have died out without having anything to pollinate fall.

Yeah. That’s good. There’s no there’s no way that makes any sense. Yeah. That they just rocked along in the plant state when millions, thousands of years.

6. Intelligent Design: The Almighty God

There’s there’s that theory. I didn’t confess I didn’t really care to read into these theories. Literal days with gaps. You’ve heard of that gap theory, the revelatory day, in other words, it was just a series of visions, but a day is a day, and I think those days continue today until God decides that he’s he’s done. Okay. I must be hitting the wrong button. No intelligent design, I D. I tell you, I appreciate that this gives us a foothold in schools and places to talk, but you know, let’s let’s be clear. There was intelligent design, it was the almighty God was the omnipotent design. So you know, I again I’m glad we can use that and people will listen, but I don’t ever want to miss the opportunity to say, yes, it was intelligent.

You know, it was God that did this. I know that. So I don’t want to water that down. My brother knows all that coming bones, and he sent me this thing about I mean, you know, they have this little pointy beak, and you think that’s all it is, but when it goes in the flower, it splits open, and there’s these little tubes that fill up with the nectar, and they have to close off and it goes back together when he comes out. And all that happens very quickly.

So you could see what was happening. He said, This little fellow must have had a great designer. And I thought, yeah. What’s that? I mean, here he was of academia. Like, somebody, there’s a great designer to design this little bird. And then they do not accept them. I just thought, well, okay, you love it.

Just billions and billions of years.

I think somebody mentioned it, you know, the perfect design. The sun is just the right distance from the from away from the earth’s press to exist, not too hot, not too cold, it’s too further away. The precision of Earth’s design, speed, rotation, revolution, is important the moon, of course. Well I in my notes, you know, the intelligence, quote unquote, get God to put this incredible rock with white, chalky reflective material. I mean, yeah, this has happened. it’s amazing. So it’s it is intelligence. actually Bob Poleum did have a slide when he did a meeting for us some time ago that illustrated really the false the falsity of trying to calculate the odds of all this resulting.

Y’all may have seen that before, the odds of this of us evolving to where we are, and it you know it shows you it’s completely ridiculous. And if you just think about those three things when there’s an eclipse, the size of the sun could go huge but it’s so far away in the size of the moon compared to the school. That’s a good point.

Right.

Well yeah.

Conclusion

And then what do we do with that knowledge? You know, it’s to just absolutely convict us and make certain that we have a God and He’s told us what to do. And He’s he’s the Majesty. And my goodness, with that, why wouldn’t we do anything but try to follow what He says? Okay, so author concludes if there’s a design, there must be a designer. So we’ll we’ll give him that. real quick the fill in the bank fill in the blank questions. If you didn’t do them, I bet you can still answer them. God created everything blank of blank out of nothing. That’s the ex ni little thing. God gave man blank over the animals.

That was a little easy. in blank you have made them blank. This is a Psalm 104. We didn’t read this. In wisdom, you’ve made them all. every day consisted of I put morning and evening, forgive me. I wasn’t I was thinking without reading. Yeah, that’s right. Evening and morning. where there’s a design, there must be a designer. Hebrews 3 4. for every house is built by someone, but he who built all things is God, and that’s Hebrews 3 4. A couple of questions at the back. give it list at least two reasons why you believe God is the eternal creator. We talked a little bit about this when we were talking about the oceans or what have you.

Two reasons why you believe God is the eternal creator.

Amen. I agree.

What’s that? How do you think he’s in the Bible? Circular logic there. Well, we can play the hell’s out, you know. That’s what someone if someone doesn’t believe the Bible and you’re talking to them, then you’re out of gas. Yeah. so the next the next statement needs to be that there’s no evidence of God to support what it says. Yeah, that’s right. So therefore I can comment and believe what it says. Yeah. That’s good. That’s a good point, Sean. It is, yeah, because I had that one. I believe the Bible is God’s word. Well, Romans chapter one, it says that the Gentiles should have believed in God just in what they saw. So from just what we see around us every day, nature and all the things we talked about in this class.

Yeah, that there is there is a divine desire somewhere that has made this happen. And like people say, you can if you see a watch and put the pieces down there, they would think you were not very smart to think you could jump together and become something, even if you had the parts. But yet they don’t want to believe that we had a we have a creator, but you know what? That’s that’s their folly.

Yeah. There’s certainly faith involved, but that the watch is a good example of a stretch. Yes, Ed. I think it’s if you if you’ve done any research on it at all with an open mind, you come to the fact that it’d be most likely conclusions. Everything is out there. I like Hinduism when there was a giant cake and cracked open or all these bizarre things that do exist in quote unquote religion. or even the religion evolution. Because it’s a faith, it has to be accepted as a faith. Believe, yeah. not taking on evidence yeah so that’s you know god makes out of nothing but god always was and we have a terrible time trying to I have terrible time trying to keep my mind around that fact yeah he always existed but it’s the most logical answer for everything that we see it’s not that you’ve given enough time something will happen right yeah that just leaves it that leaves it blank evolved instead of unvolved in that things go from order to disorder yeah so you know say we’re accidentally falls apart falls apart thank y’all lesson I guess that would be was it four next week lesson four