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What is the Truth about God and the Origin of All Things? |
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What is the Truth about God and the Origin of All Things? |
Throughout history mankind
has sought the answers to the questions: What is man? Where
did man come from? Where is he going? How did the
world come to exist? Beginning with the Greek
philosophers--Thales, the father of philosophy, Anaximander, who
developed a version of evolution and natural selection;
Epedacles, who reasoned fire, air, earth and water were the basic
elements, as well as the philosophers Socrates, Aristotle, and
Plato--mankind has struggled to learn the truth about the origin
of man and all things. The purpose of this discussion is to
learn the truth about the origin of all things and about God, who
is the ultimate cause of them all.
(A) Ex.8:10 There is no one like the Lord our God.
1. God is unique. No one is like him. Consequently, he is incomprehensible. We are unable to know everything about him. Being God, he is greater than our human ability to understand him. Therefore, an adequate definition of God is impossible for us.
(B) Ex.3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “Thus you will say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
1. Only God can say his name is “I am,” for he alone is fully self-sufficient. He is not dependent on anyone or anything for his existence. He is fully independent. Thus he can do as he pleases. He is, then, also almighty.
2. God is eternal, without beginning or end. His name “I am” indicates he is the ever existing God, who says that he is the First and the Last, the One who was, and is, and is to come.(C) Jn.4:24 God is a spirit.
(C) Lk.24:39 A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.1. God is a spirit, an immaterial, non-physical, living being.
(C) Jn.1:18 No one has ever seen God.
1. Being a spirit, God is invisible to us.
The Truth Is: A. An adequate definition of God is impossible, for he is beyond our understanding and ability to know him fully. No one can compare with him.
B. God is a personal, independent, almighty, everlasting being. He alone has existence within himself.
C. God is an invisible spirit.
Note: So we may understand him better, God has revealed he is: eternal (Ps.90:1,2), unchanging (Mal.3:6), love (1 Jn.4:8), perfect (Mt.5:48; Lk18:19) omnipresent--everywhere present ((Ps.139:7-10), omniscient--knows all things (Ps.147:5), omnipotent--all powerful (Mt.19:26), wise (Ro.11:33,34), just (Dt.32:4). He also possesses these characteristics: faithfulness to his Word and promises (2 Tim.2:13), benevolence and mercy (Ps.145:9), and graciousness (Ex.34:6,7).
(A) Dt.6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord, our God, the Lord is one.
1. God is one. There are not many Gods, only one God.
(A) 1 Cor.8:4 There is no God except one.
(B) Mt.3:16,17 And when Jesus had been baptized, immediately he went up from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and coming upon him. And behold, a voice from the heavens was saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”1. God from heaven said Jesus is his Son, which makes the speaker the Son’s Father. Separate from them both is the Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit as he is called throughout Scripture. Three distinct, separate, divine persons are seen in these verses.
2. Coupling the information in these verses with the two above, we observe that God is one God, yet he is three, distinct, separate persons.(B) Mt.28:19 Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
(B) 2 Cor.13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
(C) Isa.63:9,10 . . . and the angel of his presence saved them (the Israelites) . . . but they rebelled and they grieved his Holy Spirit . . .1. The Old Testament also notes the three persons of the Godhead. Here: the Angel of the Lord, a title for the Son of God, “his” referring to the Father, and the Holy Spirit.
(C) Gen.1:26 & 3:22 And God said, “Let us make man in our image”. . . And the Lord God said, “Behold, the man is like one of us.”
1. God speaks of himself in the plural, indicating that he is more than one.
(C) Gen.1:1 In the beginning God...
1. “God” in the Hebrew is spelled with a majestic plural form that gives a hint of his plurality of persons.
The Truth Is: A. God is the one true God. Besides him there is no other God.
B. The one true God is three separate, distinct, divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Note: In addition to these names, God has also used others for himself, like Jesus Christ, God Almighty, the Good Shepherd, the Counselor. His names given in Scripture are the only names by which he is known.
C. The plurality of persons within the Godhead is also taught in the Old Testament.
Note: To designate this one true God who is three separate persons, the church uses the term "Triune," which means “three-in-one.” How God can be three persons and yet one God is beyond our understanding and human reason. We cannot figure this out, but then, God does not ask us to figure this out but only believe it. We can only accept what he says about himself by faith and praise him accordingly.
(A) Gen1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
1. Time and the history of this world did not begin until God began his creative work. There was no beginning of anything until he began creating the heavens and the earth. He then created the universe.
(A) Jn.1:3 Through him all things were made, and without him nothing was made that has been made.
(B,C) Heb.11:3 By faith we understand the universe was made by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made from things which are visible.1. God created the universe and all things by the power of his word.
2. God created everything out of nothing.(C) Gen.1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24 God said, “Let there be...”
1. Genesis 1 explains how God formed all things by his word “Let there be.”
(D) Ex.20:11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them. Then he rested on the seventh day.
1. God created all things in six, twenty-four hour days.
2. On the fourth day God created the sun, moon, and stars. He stated they were for seasons, days, and years (cf. Genesis 1:14). On the fourth day, then, God created and established the means for us to mark the passage of time. He put the clock into operation, so to speak. We know, then, that the fourth day, as well as the fifth and sixth days, were twenty-four hour days. Since Exodus 20:11 groups the first three days of creation with the last three days under the common term "days", the first three days also had to be twenty-four hour days. If they were not twenty-four hour days, but some other length of time, then God, who makes no mistakes and knows better than we do that two different things cannot be referred to with the same term, would have told us: "In three periods of time plus three days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth."
The Truth Is: A. God made the universe and everything that is in it.
B. God made all things from nothing.
C. God made all things by the power of his word, “Let there be.”
D. God made all things in six consecutive twenty-four hour days.
Read Genesis, chapter 1
The Truth Is:
God made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them in the following order:
Day 1: The earth without any form; water; light
Day 2: The sky, the earth’s atmosphere
Day 3: The bodies of water; the dry land; vegetation
Day 4: The sun, moon, and stars to mark the seasons, days, and years.
Day 5: The aquatic creatures; the birds
Day 6: The land creatures; man
Note:
In creating the different creatures and forms of vegetation, God established the principle that each kind would reproduce only its own kind. See Genesis 1:11,12,21,24,25. Micro evolution, a small change within a given kind, may be observed within these kinds. But macro evolution, a changing of one kind into a different kind is impossible.The angels are also the creations of God. See Colossians 1:16 in connection with Ephesians 6:11,12, and Psalm 148:1-5. Since all things, visible and invisible, were created by God and he ceased his creative work on the seventh day, like everything else God created, the angels were created during the six days of creation, cf. Exodus 20:11. The Bible, however, does not tell us on what specific day the angels were created. Like everything else also, the angels were good at their creation and without sin. At some subsequent time, but before Satan spoke to Eve, Satan led a host of angels into sin. They then became evil angels, or demons. The good angels received the reward of God’s grace of being confirmed in their holiness, so they could never fall into sin and become wicked. The good angels serve God; the evil angels serve Satan. All angels, good and evil, are subject to God’s will and must obey him. The good angels are ministering spirits who watch over God’s Christian people, see Hebrews 1:14 and Psalm 91:10,11. These good angels are our guardian angels.
(A) Heb.1:3 The Son is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his actual being, preserving all things by his almighty word.
(A) Mt.4:4 “It is written: MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON THE BASIS OF BREAD ALONE, BUT ON THE BASIS OF EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.”
(B) Isa.44:24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb.1. God is active in creating us people of the earth through the natural procreation of our parents. See Psalm 139:13-16 also.
(C) Ps.145:15,16 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at its proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
(D) Ps.91:10,11 No evil (or harm) will befall you, no calamity will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.
(D) Gen.50:20 You truly plotted evil against me, but God reckoned it for good, in order to produce this day of saving many people’s lives.
(D) Ro.8:28 And we know that God works all things for good for those who love him, for those who are the called ones according to his will.1. The three preceding verses inform us God is actively watching over us believers in Jesus, guarding us from harm and danger through his guardian angels, and even causing all things that happen to us to work for our good.
The Truth Is: God is active today in the world he created:
A. By preserving all things, even us, through his powerful word.
B. Through the natural process of procreation.
C. By providing the necessities of life to us and to all his creatures.
D. By protecting us from harm and danger, and by making all things work for our good.
(A) Gen.32:10 I am unworthy of all the lovingkindnesses and all the faithfulness which you have worked for your servant.
(B) Ps.103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
(C) Ps.136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his lovingkindness is everlasting.
(D) 1 Sam.12:24 Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart, for understand what great things he has done for you.
(E) Jn.14:15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
The Truth Is: God’s creative and preserving activities will move us to:
A. Confess we are unworthy of all his kindness to us.
B. Praise him.
C. Thank him.
D. Serve him.
E. Obey him.
For years evolutionists have shown illustrations of the horse in what was supposed to have been its stages of development, beginning with a small horse about the size of a dog and ending with the horse as we know it today. Not all scientists agree the first two creatures illustrated were horses. Whether the first two were or not, the illustration depicts a change has taken place. The fact remains, however, that the creature which began as a horse remained a horse. Even the evolutionists state the creatures shown are horses. Such a change within a given kind of creature is called micro evolution.
It is incorrect to reason, however, that since a change of a limited nature within a kind has occurred, therefore, broad changes also occur, in which one kind of a creature evolves into a different kind of a creature. For example, it is incorrect to conclude that reptiles dropped their skin to grow feathers in the process of changing into birds. Micro evolution, small change, does not prove macro evolution, a gigantic change from one kind of a creature into a different kind of a creature. Such macro evolution has not been observed to take place.
Observation, experimentation, and interpretation of the observations comprise the methods of science. Strictly speaking, the field of science only concerns itself with what is observable and subject to experimentation. Scientist Dr. Klotz has written, “Science deals with those things which can be measured. Its tools are the rule and the balance. It attempts to describe things in quantitative and mathematical terms. To come within the area of science a phenomenon must be capable of measurement, and it must be possible for another man to repeat that measurement and arrive at the same result as did the first worker.” (Genes, Genesis, and Evolution; Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri, 1972 revision, page 13)
This being true, the discussion of macro evolution and the origin of the world do not fall within the field of science, for neither are observable or measurable. A. M. Rehwinkel wrote, “...when the geologist enters the field of cosmogony, that is, when he attempts to write the history of the universe and deals with the origin and development of this earth, he is no longer in the field of science, but has entered into the domain of metaphysics and theology. He is then no longer operating with demonstrated and established facts, but with theory and hypotheses.” (The Flood, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri, 1951, page 278)
Macro evolution which attempts to delineate the development of the universe and explain its origin, then, is neither fact nor a part of the field of science. It is speculative philosophy and only an unproven theory. As a matter of fact, it has a number of scientific difficulties.
Macro evolution contradicts the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which simply stated, tells us that phenomenon in our universe proceed from order to disorder and randomness. Macro evolution, on the other hand, theorizes that phenomenon, when given enough time, will proceed from disorder to order, from the simple to the complex. The Second Law of Thermodynamics rules out such a proceeding from disorder to order.
Macro evolution cannot answer the problem of the missing links within the fossil record. If macro evolution actually took place over billions of years, then millions of fossils of creatures in the process of changing from one kind of a creature into another should exist. For example, if birds actually evolved from reptiles, as the evolutionists have theorized, then millions of fossils should exist of creatures that were part reptile and part bird. No such fossils, however, have ever been found.
The geologists’ rock layers, which they say explain how the earth evolved, do not match with what has been found either. Nowhere has there been found the arrangement of rock layers depicted by the geologists. The layers do, however, show a universal flood took place, for the layers are mixed up, such as would happen in a flood.
Mathematicians have also calculated that for the kind of evolution to have transpired that the evolutionists describe, four billion years is an insufficient amount of time for it to have occurred. The mathematical improbability of evolution has been described in various articles, such as in the one which appeared in Christian News, February 9, 1976, page 13. Due to its length it could not be reproduced here, but its title tells all: “The Mathematical Impossibility of Evolution.”
The Truth Is: Macro evolution is not fact but only a theory. At best, it is an impossibility.
1. God is benevolent, merciful. How does this apply to you?
2. God is just and punishes the evil doer. What warning is there in this for you?
3. God knows everything. Realizing this, how will this affect our thoughts, words, and actions?
4. God is present everywhere. Do you find comfort in this? If so, what?
5. Pantheism equates God with nature. It says God is everything we see in nature--the wind, the trees, the grass, and so forth. Evaluate this religion based on what we have learned from the Scriptures.
6. Which statements below are correct?a. There are three Gods: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit
b. There is only one God.
c. God is one God in three persons.
d. The three persons of the Godhead are not equal with one another in power, authority, or knowledge. One is greater than the others.
e. The Father existed before the Son and the Holy Spirit.
f. Only the Son became the man Jesus Christ.
g. All three persons of the Godhead consist of the same nature, or essence.7. What was the way in which God brought forth the universe?
8. The universe was created from what?
9. What was the length of each day of creation?
10. Based on what the Bible states, could the length of the days of creation have been millions of years in length?
11. Some have tried to harmonize evolution with the biblical account of creation, saying God used the evolutionary process to create the universe. Does this agree with Scripture? Support your answer with a Bible passage.
12. Who really determines when and if a husband and wife will have a child? The couple? Or God?
13. List some ways in which God is still active in his creation today.
14. Does each person in the world have one particular guardian angel to watch over him from birth to death?
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Unpublished work. Copyright © 1995 JCS of Christian Inconnect. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced for distribution or publication without prior permission from Christian Inconnect. |
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All Scripture verses on this web page, unless otherwise indicated, are a translation of the pastor of Christian Inconnect and are a part of the Christian Inconnect Version (CIV), on which he is working. He reserves all rights to his translated verses and to their copyright ©. They may not be quoted without his prior permission.
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