September 9, 2018 NOTES NOT
EDITED
Back to the School of
Faith, Pt2: God
Hebrews 11:6, et. Al.
SIS: God is
a Person and wants to have a personal relationship with you forever.
It takes faith to
“please” God, that is faith is fundamental to a relationship with God which is
the foundation for eternal life. Faith
in this sense equals eternal salvation. Salvation,
therefore, rests on two mighty
pillars: the existence of God
and the Nature of God—that is, to know that God “is” and to know “Who” He
is. These are the twin pillars of
reality and identity. God is both real
and personal, for there cannot be one without the other. Now all that is technical, but necessary if
we are going to rightly understand the Doctrine of God and the Nature of
Yahweh.
Our exploration into this introduction to the Living God will be guided by three questions: 1. Is there a God? 2. Who is this God? 3. What is His plan?
1. Is there a God? (Heb. 11:6a)
Our exploration into this introduction to the Living God will be guided by three questions: 1. Is there a God? 2. Who is this God? 3. What is His plan?
1. Is there a God? (Heb. 11:6a)
Theology, rightly
done, is not a sterile, lifeless academic exercise. It is the building of a
relationship with Almighty God. In a
word, theology done properly, is a matter of faith. Faith includes reason but is prior to and
superior to reason. True faith is
reasonable, and correct reason is faithful.
Paul speaks of faith as based upon two fundamental questions. He says,
6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
“We must believe He exists; and He is a rewarder.” That word, “exists” is a theologically loaded word. It means much more in Christian theology than we normally associate with it in philosophy in general. Existence is associated with the verb, “to be.” This is the most used verb in the English language. It is also the primary verb used in formal logic. The verb “to be” is immortalized in Shakespeare’s aphorism, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Paul is telling us that the path to eternal life begins with acknowledging God’s existence—but not merely the abstract concept of God, but a personal relationship with God. Salvation begins at the crossroads of acknowledging God’s existence and God’s identity. These two concepts are inseparably linked in Christian theology.
The word translated, “exists,” literally means, “He is.” That is the “third person, singular” construction of the verb to be. The “first person, singular” construction is what gives the theological term, “exists” it’s theologically weighted meaning. Paul says that the beginning of understanding the doctrine of God is to know, “He is.” God first used this term (in the Hebrew) of Himself in Exo. 3:13-14:
6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
“We must believe He exists; and He is a rewarder.” That word, “exists” is a theologically loaded word. It means much more in Christian theology than we normally associate with it in philosophy in general. Existence is associated with the verb, “to be.” This is the most used verb in the English language. It is also the primary verb used in formal logic. The verb “to be” is immortalized in Shakespeare’s aphorism, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Paul is telling us that the path to eternal life begins with acknowledging God’s existence—but not merely the abstract concept of God, but a personal relationship with God. Salvation begins at the crossroads of acknowledging God’s existence and God’s identity. These two concepts are inseparably linked in Christian theology.
The word translated, “exists,” literally means, “He is.” That is the “third person, singular” construction of the verb to be. The “first person, singular” construction is what gives the theological term, “exists” it’s theologically weighted meaning. Paul says that the beginning of understanding the doctrine of God is to know, “He is.” God first used this term (in the Hebrew) of Himself in Exo. 3:13-14:
13 Then Moses asked God, “If
I go to the Israelites and say to them: The God of your fathers has sent me to
you, and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I
AM WHO I AM. f This is what
you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”
We will say more
about this verse later, but for now we want to see that God identified Himself
by saying, “I am the Eternal One.” God
says, “I am the God Who Is,” as contrasted with all other gods who “are not.” Yahweh (again, we will look at this more
later) is the God Who is, was before all that is, and exists wholly apart from
all that is.
We live in a world that we often hear people say, “I don’t believe in God.” On the surface this is an intellectual statement meaning, “there is no reasonable evidence for the existence of God.” In other words, there is no proof, “God is." I cannot go into all the evidence for the existence of God, but let me say very strongly, there is an abundance of reasonable evidence supported by both science and other forensic and historical studies that “prove” beyond any reasonable doubt that not only “does God exist,” but in fact, “God MUST exist” or nothing else COULD exist. The Psalmist (19:1) says, that creation declares the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. the handiwork.” Paul says, “what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made” (Rom. 1:19-20).
We live in a world that we often hear people say, “I don’t believe in God.” On the surface this is an intellectual statement meaning, “there is no reasonable evidence for the existence of God.” In other words, there is no proof, “God is." I cannot go into all the evidence for the existence of God, but let me say very strongly, there is an abundance of reasonable evidence supported by both science and other forensic and historical studies that “prove” beyond any reasonable doubt that not only “does God exist,” but in fact, “God MUST exist” or nothing else COULD exist. The Psalmist (19:1) says, that creation declares the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. the handiwork.” Paul says, “what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made” (Rom. 1:19-20).
There is one
philosophical argument that provides an ironclad argument for the necessity of
God’s existence. Throughout recorded
history the primary premise upon which all philosophical study was based is the
premise known as, “Ex Nihilo, Nihil Fit,” meaning,
“From nothing, nothing could ever
be.” If there ever were a time when
nothing exists, nothing would exist today.
This is the fundamental premise of all intellectual thought in regard to
“existence” or anything else for that matter.
This is also why the very first verse of the Bible addresses the issue
of “How or why there is something rather than nothing.” The Creation account describes how Yahweh
created, ex nihilo, or from nothing.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1).
The word, “the,” does not appear in Gen.
1:1. Literally it says, “In
beginning [with nothing] God created.” Before
there was a “beginning” there was God, or Yahweh. Yahweh is the “God Who Is.” Yahweh is the “Living God.” Until you
acknowledge that God is—in fact, God MUST be—then, you cannot begin to move
toward salvation, or even make sense of the most basic issues of life.
As I said, I do not have time here to give all the intellectual, reasonable evidence for the existence of God. I can only emphasize, that without something (we know, Someone) existing totally independent of even time and space, there could NEVER be anything else. God is—He MUST be.
Let’s turn our attention from the “existence” of God to the “identity of God. Acknowledging God, or a Higher Power, is absolutely insufficient in understanding life or entering eternal life. Know that God is only gets us started. We must also know:
2. Who He Is.
As I said, I do not have time here to give all the intellectual, reasonable evidence for the existence of God. I can only emphasize, that without something (we know, Someone) existing totally independent of even time and space, there could NEVER be anything else. God is—He MUST be.
Let’s turn our attention from the “existence” of God to the “identity of God. Acknowledging God, or a Higher Power, is absolutely insufficient in understanding life or entering eternal life. Know that God is only gets us started. We must also know:
2. Who He Is.
Let’s read Paul’s
admonition of faith again (Heb. 11:6),
6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
Let’s concentrate on what Paul says after the, and: “and rewards those who seek Him.” This goes to the matter of God’s Person. “God” is a title—Yahweh is His Name. Names in the Bible refer to the character and nature of a person. For example, take my name, Jack. It is related to the Jewish name, Jacob. Jacob character is set forth at the time of His birth (Gen. 25:26) :
26 After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob.
The word, “Jacob,” is
similar in Hebrew to the word for, “heel.”
Jacob was called, “heel catcher,” which later Esau came to give the
meaning of “trickster” or “manipulator” (Gen.
27:26). Throughout the story of
the patriarch’s we see Jacob “manipulating” his circumstances to get what he
wanted, beginning with manipulating his hungry brother into giving him the
birthright for a bowl of beans (Gen.
25:29-34). Names in the Bible
reveal something of the character of those to whom the name is given. The same is true with God’s Name.
One of the key
problems many church-goers have is that they don’t know God has a name—that he
is a Person. For most, He remains a
transcendent, unapproachable, sterile “concept or idea.” God is a title. It is not a name. Let’s revisit the time that God made a
“covenant, a contract, or established a personal relationship” with the nation
of Israel by giving Moses His Name (Exodus
3:14):
13 Then Moses asked God, “If
I go to the Israelites and say to them: The God of your fathers has sent me to
you, and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I
AM WHO I AM. f This is what
you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”
The words translated, “I Am Who I Am,” are the four Hebrew letters (all consonants and no vowels), Yod-He-Waw-He, or in English, YHWH. It’s simply referred to in theology as the “tetragrammaton” or, “four letters.” It is considered so holy according to Jewish tradition that they never spoke these words when they show up in the Hebrew text. They usually speak the word, “Adonai,” instead which means, “Lord.” In fact, so holy was the Name of God that the Third Commandment warns against the wrong use of God’s name. “Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses His name” (Ex. 20:7). In modern English translations, the tetragrammaton is represented by the word, LORD, all in capital letters.
God is a Person with a Name. In fact, He is THE person from which mankind gets our personhood, or identity. The Bible says (Gen. 1:26), 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.
Volumes have been written speculating about the meaning of image and likeness (which are synonyms). Whatever it means, it means that our “personhood” resembles that of God. Our capacities represent the capacities of God—yet in a greatly diminished manner such as a plastic model of an airplane represents an airplane.
As a person God has “personal characteristics”—love, wisdom, justice, mercy, truthfulness, holiness, wrath, freedom, and the like—are all personal characteristics of God “mirrored” to a lesser degree in man somewhat like a reflection in a mirror.
What characteristics
we possess in a finite degree, God possesses in perfect, infinite degree. I wish I had time to discuss all the
characteristics of God’s person, but that is not possible in one sermon. I do want to focus, however, on God’s
personhood as reflected in the meaning of his personal Name. Yahweh, God’s Name, has great meaning and
importance for our eternal life. Essentially,
the idea of personhood refers to the ability of one being to interact
meaningfully to a high degree with another.
Rocks and plants do not have personhood.
It is not proper for animals to be discussed as “persons” though they
have a limited capacity to interact with others, and even humans. In giving us His Name, God established the
possibility for a “personal” relationship with us.
God is given many names in the Bible that amplify and expand our understanding of His character. He is called in the Bible, “Yahweh-Nissi, The LORD My Banner; Yahweh-Raah, The Lord My Shepherd; Yahweh-Rapha, The Lord That Heals; Yahweh-Tsabboaoth, The Lord of Armies; and Yahweh-Yireh, The Lord Will Provide, to name a few. There are also names of God using the more general term for God, El, as in Elohim, the Creator. Yahweh is also called, El Shaddai, or God Almighty. While many descriptive names are given to God in the Bible, the one He gives Himself is, Yahweh.
This is His “covenant” Name. This Name sums up all the other names given Him in the Bible—it is the “Salvation Name.” It is also the name Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, gives to Himself (Jn. 8:58-59): 58 Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am.” 59 At that, they picked up stones to throw at Him.
God is given many names in the Bible that amplify and expand our understanding of His character. He is called in the Bible, “Yahweh-Nissi, The LORD My Banner; Yahweh-Raah, The Lord My Shepherd; Yahweh-Rapha, The Lord That Heals; Yahweh-Tsabboaoth, The Lord of Armies; and Yahweh-Yireh, The Lord Will Provide, to name a few. There are also names of God using the more general term for God, El, as in Elohim, the Creator. Yahweh is also called, El Shaddai, or God Almighty. While many descriptive names are given to God in the Bible, the one He gives Himself is, Yahweh.
This is His “covenant” Name. This Name sums up all the other names given Him in the Bible—it is the “Salvation Name.” It is also the name Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, gives to Himself (Jn. 8:58-59): 58 Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am.” 59 At that, they picked up stones to throw at Him.
By identifying Himself with the Name, Yahweh, or “I am,” Jesus identified Himself as Almighty God, which is why the Jews were going to stone Him for blasphemy. Jesus is the ultimate expression of God in the flesh. Jesus fulfills the “covenant of grace” implied in the name, Yahweh. God’s Name reveals His deliverance of people from sin. God “personally” engages in our lives to bring about our victory over sin. By referring to God as Yahweh, instead of His title, God, a person begins to understand that the doctrine of God is personal matter, not an academic exercise. Yahweh is a Person, not an abstract idea or principle. God thinks, God feels, God wills.
We have now answered two fundamental questions about God: 1) Does God exist; and 2) Who is He? This brings us, then, to a third important question related to the Doctrine of God:
3. What is God’s Ultimate Plan?
Why would God Who needs nothing and is completely fulfilled in Himself want to have a personal relationship with anybody? You can accept all there is to know in regard to God’s existence, and even His nature and still miss the importance of the Doctrine of God altogether. You can study all there is about God and still end up saying, “So what?” How does this relate to me in my life today? It relates in the most important of ways. As we have seen, God is a Person, and His personhood is most fully revealed to us in the Person of Jesus Christ—the God of Heaven in human form. Jesus is 100% God and 100% human. What then does Jesus reveal to us about the plan of God.
Not only does God
have a Name, but God has a plan. Jer. 29:11 tells us, as he first
told Israel when it seemed God’s plan for them had failed. He said, For I know the plans
I have for you” —this is the LORD’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not
for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
God’s plan is perfect. Not all plans are perfect. I recall the story of an Army ranger learning to parachute for the first time. His jump sergeant barked out the instructions to the group of first-timers: (1) Jump when you are told to jump. (2) Count to ten and pull the rip cord. (3) If the first chute does not open, pull the second rip cord. (4) When you land, a truck will bring you back to the post. Good luck. The plane took off and when it arrived over the jump zone the soldier jumped up and waited for the jump master to shout jump. Then, he jumped and began counting to ten as instructed. Then, he pulled the first rip cord according to the plan. Nothing happened. According to the plan, he pulled the second rip cord. Again, nothing happened. The young soldier was really worried and said to himself, “Oh great! I’ll bet the truck won’t be waiting for us either!”
Some plans work out better than others, but God’s plan will work out perfectly. What is God’s plan?
Let me say at this point . . . just as a reminder, “There are 107 shopping days until Christmas!” Already, the Dollar Store has Christmas decorations on the shelf and we are over a month away from Halloween. Christmas is an important time, obviously. The Christmas Story begins at the Birth of Jesus and finds ultimate fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Christmas introduces the Plan of God. What is that plan. Luke tells us clearly,
2:11 Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.
The Doctrine of God is so very important, but only if we come to a ful understanding of what Paul meant when he said, “and God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). As I said earlier, or at least intended to say, “One can learn everything there is to know about God and still split hell wide open when they die!” God reveals Himself to us so that we can know Him personally and by surrendering in gleeful obedience, we can enjoy Him forever.
God exists. His Name is Yahweh. His plan is to save you. His plan is for you and I to accept His free gift of salvation to spend time enjoying Him in heaven, forever.
The Westminster Confession of Faith Catechism’s—the training manual for Presbyterians—widely accepted by many other Protestants—asks in the very first question (the catechism follows a question and answer format): Q: What is the chief and highest end of man? The answer in the catechism is: A: Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever. The Catechism includes the appropriate Scriptures.
God created man so that we could enjoy each other forever. Until we recognize that God’s plan for us is to bless our lives with His Presence for all eternity, we will continue to wander like a lost sheep in the desert always thirsting but never being satisfied. Augustine, the great church teacher, once wrote in his classical work, The Confessions: “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
Most people live small, insignificant lives punctuated perhaps by fleeting moments of happiness but never defined by a true, lasting, fulfilling spirit of joy because they do not align themselves with God’s plan for their lives.
Most people suffer from Sinatra Syndrome—you know, “I did it MY way!” That might make a great song but it is horrible theology. If we are to experience real joy—not just fleeting flakes of frivolous happiness—we must discover and surrender to God’s plan for our lives. We must embrace Him as Yahweh, and not just acknowledge Him as God. James tells us, even the devils acknowledge that God is and know who He is but the fear and tremble (2:19) because they are not aligned with God’s purpose as His elect.
There is much to the Doctrine of God that I have not mentioned. I’ve not even exposed the “tip” of the icberg of God’s Being and Nature. One list of the attributes of God has 32 entries, and other lists may have even more. Each attribute could easily be a sermon in itself. My goal was to scratch the surface of the Doctrine of God in such a way as to create an itch in your heart to know Him, and know Him better.
God has a name. His Name is Yahweh. He is a “Rewarder” and wants to reward you with eternal life—if you will only “diligently seek Him.” He wants you to know Him, and more importantly He wants to know you.
God’s plan is perfect. Not all plans are perfect. I recall the story of an Army ranger learning to parachute for the first time. His jump sergeant barked out the instructions to the group of first-timers: (1) Jump when you are told to jump. (2) Count to ten and pull the rip cord. (3) If the first chute does not open, pull the second rip cord. (4) When you land, a truck will bring you back to the post. Good luck. The plane took off and when it arrived over the jump zone the soldier jumped up and waited for the jump master to shout jump. Then, he jumped and began counting to ten as instructed. Then, he pulled the first rip cord according to the plan. Nothing happened. According to the plan, he pulled the second rip cord. Again, nothing happened. The young soldier was really worried and said to himself, “Oh great! I’ll bet the truck won’t be waiting for us either!”
Some plans work out better than others, but God’s plan will work out perfectly. What is God’s plan?
Let me say at this point . . . just as a reminder, “There are 107 shopping days until Christmas!” Already, the Dollar Store has Christmas decorations on the shelf and we are over a month away from Halloween. Christmas is an important time, obviously. The Christmas Story begins at the Birth of Jesus and finds ultimate fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Christmas introduces the Plan of God. What is that plan. Luke tells us clearly,
2:11 Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.
The Doctrine of God is so very important, but only if we come to a ful understanding of what Paul meant when he said, “and God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). As I said earlier, or at least intended to say, “One can learn everything there is to know about God and still split hell wide open when they die!” God reveals Himself to us so that we can know Him personally and by surrendering in gleeful obedience, we can enjoy Him forever.
God exists. His Name is Yahweh. His plan is to save you. His plan is for you and I to accept His free gift of salvation to spend time enjoying Him in heaven, forever.
The Westminster Confession of Faith Catechism’s—the training manual for Presbyterians—widely accepted by many other Protestants—asks in the very first question (the catechism follows a question and answer format): Q: What is the chief and highest end of man? The answer in the catechism is: A: Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever. The Catechism includes the appropriate Scriptures.
God created man so that we could enjoy each other forever. Until we recognize that God’s plan for us is to bless our lives with His Presence for all eternity, we will continue to wander like a lost sheep in the desert always thirsting but never being satisfied. Augustine, the great church teacher, once wrote in his classical work, The Confessions: “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
Most people live small, insignificant lives punctuated perhaps by fleeting moments of happiness but never defined by a true, lasting, fulfilling spirit of joy because they do not align themselves with God’s plan for their lives.
Most people suffer from Sinatra Syndrome—you know, “I did it MY way!” That might make a great song but it is horrible theology. If we are to experience real joy—not just fleeting flakes of frivolous happiness—we must discover and surrender to God’s plan for our lives. We must embrace Him as Yahweh, and not just acknowledge Him as God. James tells us, even the devils acknowledge that God is and know who He is but the fear and tremble (2:19) because they are not aligned with God’s purpose as His elect.
There is much to the Doctrine of God that I have not mentioned. I’ve not even exposed the “tip” of the icberg of God’s Being and Nature. One list of the attributes of God has 32 entries, and other lists may have even more. Each attribute could easily be a sermon in itself. My goal was to scratch the surface of the Doctrine of God in such a way as to create an itch in your heart to know Him, and know Him better.
God has a name. His Name is Yahweh. He is a “Rewarder” and wants to reward you with eternal life—if you will only “diligently seek Him.” He wants you to know Him, and more importantly He wants to know you.
