Condensed Theology, Lecture 8: Introduction & Existence

8/14/2019 Condensed Theology, Lecture 8: Introduction & Existence

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Theology Proper:

The Doctrine of God

What does the Bible teach about

God?


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Where Were Going

Ten lectures covering four subjects:

The existence of God

The attributes of God God as Trinity

Gods works of creation & providence


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Introduction to Theology

Proper


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Introduction

God is not simply a great sight, the object of speculativecuriosity. The revelation of His glory and the wholetheological process which legitimately follows from it isholy ground. We cannot stand as superiors over God or

His Word. We may not coldly and detachedly analyse[sic.] and collate the great self-revealing deeds andutterances of Jehovah. We may not theologise [sic.]without emotion and commitment. The doctrine mustthrill and exhilarate. It must humble and castdown.Theology has lost its way, and, indeed its very

soul, if it cannot say with John, I fell at his feet as dead(Rev. 1:17).1

1 Donald Macleod, Behold Your God(Ross-shire, Scotland: ChristianFocus, 1990), 39.


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Introduction

There is only one true and living God

Deut 6:4: Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our

God, the LORD is one! Isa 45:5a: I am the LORD, and there is no

other; Besides Me there is no God.

Mark 12:29: Jesus answered, Theforemost is, HEAR, O ISRAEL! THELORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD


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Introduction: Only One God

Rom 3:30: since indeed God who will justifythe circumcised by faith and the uncircumcisedthrough faith is one.

1 Cor 8:4: Therefore concerning the eating ofthings sacrificed to idols, we know that there isno such thing as an idol in the world, and thatthere is no God but one.

1 Tim 2:5: For there is one God, and one

mediator also between God and men, the manChrist Jesus Jas 2:19: You believe that God is one. You do

well; the demons also believe, and shudder.


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Introduction

As we move through our study of theologyproper, it is this one God that is our

subjectthe one true and living God And particularly, as we begin addressing

the existence of God, it is this one Godwhose existence we affirm

With reference to other so-called gods, weare confirmed athiests


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The Existence of God

How do we know that God exists?


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The existence of the one God is assumedin Scripture

The existence of God is attested bycreation

The existence of God is apparent to man


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The Existence of God:

Assumed in Scripture Gen 1:1: In the beginning God created the

heavens and the earth. The first verse of the Bible does not set out to prove

the existence of this one God; it merely asserts it The assertion is made against the backdrop of

polytheism

Everyone in Ancient Near Eastern culture believed ina godit was what the Hebrews predicatedof their

God that made their God so remarkable The issue was never the existence

It would have been absurd to suggest that there wereno gods at all


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Assumed in Scripture Ps 14:1: The fool has said in his heart, There is

no God. They are corrupt, they have committedabominable deeds; There is no one who does

good. Ps 10:3-4: For the wicked boasts of his heart's

desire, And the greedy man curses and spurnsthe LORD. The wicked, in the haughtiness of hiscountenance, does not seek Him. All histhoughts are, There is no God.

This may be from a person who outwardlyprofesses a connection to God


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Assumed in Scripture This may be from a

person who openlyasserts that God does

not existaprofessing atheist

Or it may be from aperson who openly

asserts that Godexistsa professingtheist

In the case of theformer, the atheist isfoolish because he

knows better (it isapparent to man)

In the case of thelatter, the theist is

foolish because helives as ifthere wereno God.


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Assumed in Scripture What makes those who either actively (the

atheist) or passively (the theist) declare

that there is no God foolish is clarified byour next two points:

The existence of God is attested by creationand



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Attested by Creation By the creation itself

Ps 19:1: The heavens are telling of the glory

of God; And their expanse is declaring thework of His hands.

Ps 8:1: O LORD, our Lord, How majestic isYour name in all the earth, Who have

displayed Your splendor above the heavens!


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Isa 40:25-26: To whom then will you liken

Me That I would be his equal? says theHoly One. Lift up your eyes on high And seewho has created these stars, The One wholeads forth their host by number, He calls

them all by name; Because of the greatnessof His might and the strength of His power,Not one of them is missing.


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Rom 1:20: For since the creation of the worldHis invisible attributes, His eternal power anddivine nature, have been clearly seen, beingunderstood through what has been made


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Since Gods crowning creative achievement ishumanity, exclusively made in his image (Gen

1:26-27), men and women, boys and girls, ascreatures made in Gods image, clearly testifyby their very existence to the existence oftheir creator

Since humanity is itself creative, the productsof human ingenuity also clearly testify to theexistence of God


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Attested by Creation By what the creation does

Acts 14:16-17: In the generations gone by Hepermitted all the nations to go their own ways;and yet He did not leave Himself withoutwitness, in that He did good and gave yourains from heaven and fruitful seasons,satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.


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Apparent to Man Rom 1:18-23: For the wrath of God is revealed from

heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness ofmen who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,because that which is known about God is evident within

them; for God made it evident to them. For since thecreation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternalpower and divine nature, have been clearly seen, beingunderstood through what has been made, so that theyare without excuse. For even though they knew God,they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but theybecame futile in their speculations, and their foolish heartwas darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for animage in the form of corruptible man and of birds andfour-footed animals and crawling creatures.


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Apparent to Man Rom 1:25: For they exchanged the truth

of God for a lie, and worshiped and servedthe creature rather than the Creator, whois blessed forever. Amen.

Rom 1:28: And just as they did not see fitto acknowledge God any longer, God gave

them over to a depraved mind, to do thosethings which are not proper.


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Apparent to Man Rom 1:29: Being filled with all unrighteousness,

wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder,strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,

slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant,boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient toparents, without understanding, untrustworthy,unloving, unmerciful; and although they knowthe ordinance of God, that those who practice

such things are worthy of death, they not only dothe same, but also give hearty approval to thosewho practice them.


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Apparent to Man Rom 2:14-15: For when Gentiles who do

not have the Law do instinctively thethings of the Law, these, not having theLaw, are a law to themselves, in that theyshow the work of the Law written in theirhearts, their conscience bearing witness

and their thoughts alternately accusing orelse defending them.


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The Existence of God: Review

The existence of the one God is assumedin Scripture




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Which god?


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Which Deity? Often, Romans 1 is used to assert

something less than what it actuallycommunicates

The Apostle Paul is not teaching that menand women have a nebuloussense thatthere is adeity that governs our existence

and commands our obedience andpunishes our wickedness


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Which Deity? Paul has a specific God in mind

Rom 1:1-4: Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus,called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

which He promised beforehand through His prophetsin the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who wasborn of a descendant of David according to the flesh,who was declared the Son of God with power by theresurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of

holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pauls God is the God and Father of our Lord JesusChrist


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Rom 1:7: to all who are beloved of God inRome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace

from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 1:8-9: First, I thank my God through JesusChrist for you all, because your faith is beingproclaimed throughout the whole world. For God,

whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of thegospel of His Son, is my witness as to howunceasingly I make mention of you.


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Rom 1:16-19: For I am not ashamed of thegospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to

everyone who believes, to the Jew first and alsoto the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God isrevealed from faith to faith; as it is written, Butthe righteous man shall live by faith. For the

wrath of God is revealed from heaven against allungodliness and unrighteousness of men whosuppress the truth in unrighteousness, becausethat which is known about God is evident withinthem; for God made it evident to them.


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Which Deity? The God whose existence is assumed in

Scripture, and attested by creation, andapparent to man is the true and living God,the Triune God, the God and Father of OurLord Jesus Christ

This is the God whom everyone knows but

whom in their sin (foolishness) they denyby their words and deeds


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Which Deity? From here there seems to be a necessary

implication, an inescapable inference;namely

That it is unnecessary to provetheexistence of the true God to theunbelieverthe unbeliever already knows

that he exists, that he created him or her,and that he justly punishes evildoers


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Evaluating the evidence


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Evaluating the Evidence for the

Existence of God We do not evaluate, in fact, we cannot

evaluate the evidence neutrallyRom 1:18: For the wrath of God is revealed

from heaven against all ungodliness andunrighteousness of men who suppress thetruth in unrighteousness.

Rom 1:21: For even though they knew God,

they did not honor Him as God or give thanks,but they became futile in their speculations,and their foolish heart was darkened.


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Existence of God We do not evaluate, in fact, we cannot

evaluate the evidence neutrally

1 Cor 2:14: But a natural man does notaccept the things of the Spirit of God, for theyare foolishness to him; and he cannotunderstand them, because they are spirituallyappraised.


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Existence of God We evaluate the evidence from an adversarial,

rebellious postureRom 5:10: For if while we were enemies we were

reconciled to God through the death of His Son, muchmore, having been reconciled, we shall be saved byHis life.

Eph 4:18: being darkened in their understanding,excluded from the life of God because of theignorance that is in them, because of the hardness oftheir heart.

Col 1:21: And although you were formerly alienatedand hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,


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Existence of God So, although there is overwhelming

evidence for the existence of God, both inScripture and in creation, men and womencannot properly evaluate it.

If they could, they would certainly reasonthat the true and living God is there

But because of sin, they are unable todraw the obvious inference


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The Place for Traditional

Proofs for Gods Existence

Is the use of proofs for Godsexistence legitimate?


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The Traditional Proofs

The ontological argument

The cosmological argument

The teleological argument The moral argument


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The Traditional Proofs:

The Ontological Argument Anselm (1033-1109 AD)

God is the being than which nothing greatercan be conceived.

This conception exists in our understanding.

If God is the greatest conceivable thing, he isgreater than our understanding.

Therefore, he exists outside of ourunderstanding.


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The Cosmological Argument Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 AD)

The cosmos is always in motion

There must be an unmoved moverresponsible for the effect

That unmoved mover must be God


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The Teleological Argument Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 AD)

Subcategory of the cosmological argument

The harmony and order of the universesuggests a designer, an intelligent purpose, atelos(end or goal) for existence

The designer must be God


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The Moral Argument Man has an innate sense of right and wrong

and the need for justice to be served

This sense transcends time and culture andis often appealed to by those addressingmoral wrongs espoused by their time andculture

Therefore there must be a God who hasgiven this sense of morality and who will oneday render judgment


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The Moral Argument Though I am not sure of the originator

of this argument, its most popular

exponent has been C S Lewis The following slides have been

excerpted from Mere Christianity


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The Moral Argument Everyone has heard people quarrelling. Sometimes it

sounds funny and sometimes it sounds merelyunpleasant; but however it sounds, I believe we canlearn something very important from listening to the kindof things they say. They say things like this: How'd youlike it if anyone did the same to you? That's my seat, Iwas there first Leave him alone, he isnt doing youany harm Why should you shove in first? Give mea bit of your orange, I gave you a bit of mine Comeon, you promised. People say things like that every day,educated people as well as uneducated, and children aswell as grown-ups.


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The Moral Argument Now what interests me about all these remarks is thatthe man who makes them is not merely saying that theother mans behaviour [sic.] does not happen to pleasehim. He is appealing to some kind of standard of

behaviour [sic.] which he expects the other man to knowabout. And the other man very seldom replies: To hellwith your standard. Nearly always he tries to make outthat what he has been doing does not really go againstthe standard, or that if it does there is some special

excuse. He pretends there is some special reason in thisparticular case why the person who took the seat firstshould not keep it, or that things were quite differentwhen he was given the bit of orange, or that somethinghas turned up which lets him off keeping his promise.


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The Traditional Proofs: Review

The ontological argument

The cosmological argument

The teleological argument The moral argument


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The Place of Traditional

Proofs for Gods Existence

The limitations of the proofs


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The Limitations of the Proofs

1. The proofs are put before a hostileaudience

2. The proofs are not logically air-tight3. The proofs cannot bring a person to

saving faith


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The Limitations of the Proofs:

A Hostile Audience Rom 5:10: For if while we were enemies we werereconciled to God through the death of His Son, muchmore, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by Hislife

Eph 4:18: being darkened in their understanding,excluded from the life of God because of the ignorancethat is in them, because of the hardness of their heart

Col 1:21: And although you were formerly alienated andhostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds.

Assuming for a moment that the proofs are logically

valid, assuming that the facts they assert are true, noone would be able to view them from a neutral vantagepoint.


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Limitations to the Proofs:

Less than Air-tight Argumentation More than one writer has demonstrated

that these arguments are not logically validor otherwise persuasive

At most, they suggest the probability thatthere is a god (in the nebulous sense ofthe term)

J I Packer is right when he says


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The Limitations of the Proofs: They

Cannot Bring a Person to Faith 1 Cor 1:18-25: For the word of the cross is foolishness tothose who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it isthe power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdomof the wise, and the cleverness of the clever i will set aside.Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the

debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom ofthe world? For since in the wisdom of God the world throughits wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleasedthrough the foolishness of the message preached to savethose who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greekssearch for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews astumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who

are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power ofGod and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of Godis wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger thanmen.


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The Limitations of the Proofs: They

Cannot Bring a Person to Faith Ratiocination, withoutspiritual light, never will giveone such an advantage to see things in their truerelations and respects to other things, and to thingsin general.A man that sets himself to reason

without divine light is like a man that goes in thedark into a garden full of the most beautiful plants,and most artfully ordered, and compares thingstogether by going from one thing to another to feelof them all, to perceive their beauty.

Jonathan Edwards, Miscellanies #408 in Works(Carlisle,PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1974 reprint),


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The Limitations of the Proofs

1. The proofs are put before a hostileaudience

2. The proofs are not logically air-tight3. The proofs cannot bring a person to

saving faith


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The Existence of God: Summary

The existence of God is assumed inScripture



The proofs for the existence of God are

severely limited by the nature of man andeven by the validity of their arguments


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Glossary

The ontological argument: God is than whichnothing greater can be conceived.

The cosmological argument: God is the

unmoved mover. The teleological argument: There is purpose or

design in the universe; God is the designer.

The moral argument: We have a natural sense

of right and wrong that must come fromsomewhere outside of time and culture; thesource must be God

Condensed Theology, Lecture 8: Introduction & Existence

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