Theology 1 Class NotesTheology Proper - Brother Gary Spaeth

How do we know God?• Nature

– Rom 1:19-20, Psalm 19:1-6

• Scripture

– Isaiah 6:1-4; Exodus 3:14, 19:9-19, 20:18-23

• Son of God

– John 1:18, John 14:7, 1 John 5:20

The Knowledge of God• God is infinite and incomprehensible.

• God has revealed knowledge about himself.

• Our knowledge of God is partial.

– There is much in God which we do not know at all

– Job 11:7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?

• Psalms 145:3

– his greatness is unsearchable

• Isaiah 40:28

– no searching of his understanding

• Romans 11:33-36

– how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

• 1 Corinthians 2:7-12

– Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God

The Existence of God• Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

• Isaiah 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Arguments for God’s Existence • Thomas Aquinas (1225 –1274)

Summa Theologica - Quinque viæ -“five ways”

• Aquinas proposed “five ways” by which one could arrive at a true knowledge of God apart from the Bible or special revelation.

– 1. From motion to an “Unmoved Mover.”

– 2. From a contingent being to a “Necessary Being.”

– 3. From degrees of perfection to a “Most Perfect Being.”

– 4. From effects to a “First Cause.”

– 5. From design to a “Designer.”

From motion to an “Unmoved Mover”• Our senses prove that some things are in motion.

• Things move when potential motion becomes actual motion.

• Only an actual motion can convert a potential motion into an actual motion.

• Nothing can be at once in both actuality and potentiality in the same respect (i.e., if both actual and potential, it is actual in one respect and potential in another).

• Therefore nothing can move itself.

• Therefore each thing in motion is moved by something else.

• The sequence of motion cannot extend ad infinitum.

• Therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, put in motion by no other; and this everyone understands to be God.

From effects to a “First Cause”• We perceive a series of efficient causes of things in the world.

• Nothing exists prior to itself.

• Therefore nothing is the efficient cause of itself.

• If a previous efficient cause does not exist, neither does the thing that results.

• Therefore if the first thing in a series does not exist, nothing in the series exists.

• The series of efficient causes cannot extend ad infinitum into the past, for then there would be no things existing now.

• Therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name of God.

From a contingent being to a “Necessary Being”• We find in nature things that are possible to be and not to be, that come into being and go out

of being i.e., contingent beings.

• Assume that every being is a contingent being.

• For each contingent being, there is a time it does not exist.

• Therefore it is impossible for these always to exist.

• Therefore there could have been a time when no things existed.

• Therefore at that time there would have been nothing to bring the currently existing contingent beings into existence.

• Therefore, nothing would be in existence now.

• We have reached an absurd result from assuming that every being is a contingent being.

• Therefore not every being is a contingent being.

• Therefore some being exists of its own necessity, and does not receive its existence from another being, but rather causes them. This all men speak of as God.

From degrees of perfection to a “Most Perfect Being”• There is a gradation to be found in things: some are better or worse than others.

• Predications of degree require reference to the “uttermost” case (e.g., a thing is said to be hotter according as it more nearly resembles that which is hottest).

• The maximum in any genus is the cause of all in that genus.

• Therefore there must also be something which is to all beings the cause of their being, goodness, and every other perfection; and this we call God.

From design to a “Designer”• We see that natural bodies work toward some goal, and do not do so by chance.

• Most natural things lack knowledge.

• But as an arrow reaches its target because it is directed by an archer, what lacks intelligence achieves goals by being directed by something intelligence.

• Therefore some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things are directed to their end; and this being we call God.

Cosmological –Creation (First Cause)• The term cosmological comes from the Greek word cosmos, meaning “world”.

– The argument from Cause and Effect

– God is the First Uncaused Cause

Teleological – Design (Designer)• Focuses on the evidence of harmony, order, and design in the universe, and argues that its

design gives evidence of an intelligent purpose

– 1. All designs imply a designer.

– 2. There is great design in the universe.

– 3. Therefore, there must be a Great Designer of the universe

– The argument from Order and Design

– The sun being ninety-three million miles distant is precisely right for an adequate climate on earth; the moon’s distance of two hundred forty thousand miles provides tides at a proper level; the earth’s tilt provides the seasons.

– God is the Principle Architect of everything

Moral /Axiological – Perfect (Right and Wrong)• Universal sense of right and wrong and of the need for justice, argues that there must be a God

who is the source of right and wrong.

– The argument from Morality

– from a moral law to a Moral Law Giver

– God is the Supreme Moral Lawgiver of the Universe

– Rom 2:14-15

Ontological – God (Necessary Being)• Begins with the idea of God, who is defined as a being “greater than which nothing can be

imagined.”

• The argument from Necessary Ideas

• God’s existence, by definition, is necessary

• It is impossible for God to not exist

Anthropological -Life• Based on the Greek word anthropos meaning “man”.

– Genesis 1:26-28

– Ephesians 4:24

– Colossians 3:10

– The argument from life

• Since life begets life, God is the source of all living things

Opposition to God’s Existence• “These arguments rely upon the idea of a regress and invoke God to terminate it. They make the

entirely unwarranted assumption that God himself is immune to the regress.”

• “It, it is more parsimonious to conjure up, say, a ‘big bang singularity’, or some other physical concept as yet unknown. Calling it God is at best unhelpful and at worst perniciously misleading.”

• “It is by no means clear that God provides a natural terminator to the regresses of Aquinas.”

• Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion (p. 101).

• “There has probably never been a more devastating rout of popular belief by clever reasoning than Charles Darwin’s destruction of the argument from design.”

• “..it is no longer true to say that nothing that we know looks designed unless it is designed. Evolution by natural selection produces an excellent simulacrum of design, mounting prodigious heights of complexity and elegance.”

• Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion (p. 103).

• “Most arguments of natural theology follow the same basic pattern. Each begins with a natural phenomenon— a fact, according to the theist, that requires an explanation. But this fact, he argues, cannot be explained in terms of other natural phenomena; therefore, we must posit the existence of the supernatural, a realm unrestricted by natural law, as an explanation.”

• Smith, George H. Atheism: The Case Against God

Response to opposition• “If I say “X creates Y”, this presupposes the existence of X in the first place in order to bring Y

into existence. If I say “X creates X”, I presuppose the existence of X in order to account for the existence of X. To presuppose the existence of the universe, to account for its existence, is logically incoherent. What this shows is that nonsense remains nonsense even when talked by world-famous scientists.”

• LENNOX, JOHN C. Gunning for God (p. 32).

• “Hawking has signally failed to answer the central question: why is there something rather than nothing? He says that the existence of gravity means the creation of the universe was inevitable. But how did gravity come to exist in the first place?”

• LENNOX, JOHN C. Gunning for God (p. 32).

• Richard Dawkins

• “Atheists do not have faith; and reason alone could not propel one to total conviction that anything does not exist.”

• “a case can be made that faith is one of the world’s great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to eradicate. Faith, being belief that isn’t based on evidence, is the principal vice of any religion.”

• “Scientific belief is based upon publicly checkable evidence. Religious faith not only lacks evidence;

• LENNOX, JOHN C. Gunning for God (p. 38)

• John 20:30-31 (KJV) 30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Biblical - The Bible demonstrates the existence of God

Through the creation (Cosmological, Teleological)– Psalm 19:1-5

– Isaiah 40:26

– Romans 1:19-20

Through the conscience (Axiological)– Romans 2:14-15

• Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics

• According to the second law of thermodynamics, in a closed, isolated system, such as the universe is, the amount of usable energy is decreasing. The universe is running down, hence cannot be eternal. Otherwise, it would have run out of usable energy long ago.

• Things left to themselves, without outside intelligent intervention, tend toward disorder. Since the universe has not reached a state of total disorder, this process has not been going on forever.

• Something not only caused the world to come into being (Gen. 1:1), but something causes it to continue to be (cf. Col. 1:17). The world needs both an originating cause and a conserving cause. This argument answers the basic question: “Why is there something (right now) rather than nothing?”

– 1. Every part of the universe is dependent.

– 2. If every part is dependent, then the whole universe must also be dependent.

– 3. Therefore, the whole universe is dependent for existence right now on some Independent Being.

Why do people deny God’s existence?• Sin causes people to deny their knowledge of God

• Rom. 1:18

• The truth of God is suppressed

Rom 1:20

• Cannot receive the things of God without the Spirit of God

– 1 Cor. 2:14, Psalm 14:1

Different systems in the world to explain “GOD” to man

Deism - God is not involved in his creation• God is Maker, but not Keeper of the Universe.

• God does not interact with man.

• God exists, but we have no personal relationship with Him.

Atheism - there is no God• The term atheist comes from the Greek word theos meaning “God”, and the prefix a which in

Greek negates the preceding statement. Therefore, it means a nonbeliever in God.

• The belief that there was nothing and nothing happened to nothing and then nothing magically exploded for no reason, creating everything and then a bunch of everything magically rearranged itself for no reason what so ever into self-replicating bits which then turned into dinosaurs.

• Makes perfect sense?

• Atheists can be classified into three categories:

– The practical atheist

– who lives as if there is no God

– The dogmatic atheist

– who openly repudiates God

– The virtual atheist

– who rejects God by his terminology

Agnosticism• The agnostic is one who says we cannot know that God even exists.

– If God exists, we cannot know Him.

– There’s no absolute knowledge about God.

– This is the position of a skeptic, bordering on atheism

Pantheism - all is God• God is an “impersonal force”

• Pantheism means everything is God and God is everything.

– Ancient Hindu philosophy

– There is only One Substance in the universe God.

• God is in everything.

• Everything is God.

Polytheism - there are many gods.• There are many finite gods who reign over separate realms of the universe.

• Our God is one of many to choose from

– Chinese traditional religion, Hinduism, Japanese Shinto

Theism• There is a God

• The belief that at least one deity exists.

– Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism

– The difference between theism and deism is that in Deism, God is viewed as a spectator, an observer. In theism, God is a participant.

Monotheism• A belief in one God.

– Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The Essence of God• That which underlies all outward manifestations

• The Essence of God

• Spirituality

– God is immaterial and incorporeal

– God is Invisible

– God is Alive

– God is a Person

• Self Existing

• Immensity

• Eternal

God is a Spirit (John 4:24)

God is immaterial and incorporeal (Luke 24:39)– God does not have a material body or form

– God is not limited by a physical body, or limited to a particular time or space.

– Reason for command in Exodus 20:4 – “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image”

– Lev. 26:1, Deut. 16:22

– Supporting Scripture

– Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

– 1 kings 8:27 will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee

God is Invisible – Rom. 1:20 - the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen

– Col. 1:15 - the image of the invisible God

– 1 Tim. 1:17 - the King eternal, immortal, invisible

– Heb. 11:27 - seeing him who is invisible

Man only see a reflection of God’s Glory but not his essence

• Heb. 1:3 - the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person

God is Alive (has feeling, power, and activity)– Josh 3:10 – “the living God”

– 1 Sam. 17:26 – “defy the armies of the living God”

– Contrasted to dead idols

• Ps. 115:3-8, 1 Thess. 1:9

• God is a Person

– Intellect – Gen. 18:19; Exod. 3:7

– Emotion - Gen. 6:6; Ps. 103:8–14; John 3:16

– Volition/Will - Gen. 3:15; Ps. 115:3; John 6:38

Self Existing• “”God’s existence is not dependent upon anything outside of himself.”

– Thiessen

• “God existed prior to and independently of anything else. All other things that exist depend on Him, while He depends on nothing else for His existence.”

– Geisler

– Gen. 1:1 – ““In the beginning God …”

– Exod. 3:14 – “I AM THAT I AM”

– John 8:58 – “Before Abraham was, I am”

– Col. 1:17 - “He is before all things”

– Isa. 41:4 – “I the LORD, the first, and with the last”

– Rev. 1:8 – “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending”

Immensity• “Immensity literally means “not measureable”… God is unlimited in extension (or nonspatial).

God is not in space, nor is He limited by space: He is present at every point in space, but He is not part of space or limited to it. Indeed, He transcends all space and time”

– Geisler

• “God is infinite in relation to space. He is not limited or circumscribed by space”

– Thiessen

– Ps. 113:4–6 – “The LORD is high above all nations”

– Ps. 139:7 – “whither shall I flee from thy presence”

– Isa. 66:1 – “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool”

– Jer. 23:24 – “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”

– Acts 17:24–28 – “dwelleth not in temples made with hands”

– Eph. 4:6 - “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

Eternal• “God has no beginning, end, or succession of moments in his own being, and he sees all time

equally vividly, yet God sees events in time and acts in time.”

– Grudem

• “God is above and beyond time… God has no past, present, or future; He simply has an enduring eternal present.”

– Geisler

• “God is also infinite in relation to time. He is without beginning or end, he is free from all succession of time, and he is the cause of time.”

– Thiessen

• Isaiah 57:15 – “One that inhabiteth eternity,”

• Gen. 21:33, Isaiah 40:28 – “the everlasting God” (El Olam)

• Deuteronomy 33:27 – “The eternal God ”

• Psalm 102:12, 25-27 – “shalt endure for ever”, “Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end”

• John 8:58 – “Before Abraham was, I am”

• Psalm 90:2 – “From everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God”

Scripture reveal God by Name, Attributes, Work

Names of God• LORD יהוה - Jehovah/YHWH - Covenant name

• God אלהים - Elohim - General name for a god

• God אל - El – Shortened form of Elohim

• Lord אדני - Adoni - Lord, Master

– Isaiah 1:24 Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

– Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

– Compound Names of God

• El Elyon – “The Most High” (41X)

– Genesis 14:22, Deuteronomy 32:8

• Jehovah Sabbaoth – “The Lord of hosts” (236X)

– 1 Samuel 1:3

• El Olam – “The Everlasting God” (3X)

– Isaiah 40:28, Romans 16:26

Compound Names of God• El Shaddai – “The Almighty God” (2X)

– Genesis 17:1, Ezekiel 10:5

• Jehovah Jireh – “The Lord provides”

– Genesis 22:14

• Jehovah Nissi – “The Lord is my Banner”

– Exodus 17:15

• Jehovah Shalom – “The Lord is peace”

– Judges 6:24

• Jehovah Roi – “The Lord is my shepherd”

– Psalm 23:1

• Jehovah Tsed-qe-nu – “The Lord our Righteousness”

– Jeremiah 23:6, 33:16

• Jehovah Elohim Israel – “The Lord God of Israel” (96X)

– Exodus 5:1

• Qadosh Israel – “The Holy One of Israel” (30X)

– Isaiah 1:4

• Jehovah Rapha – “The Lord that heals”

– Jeremiah 17:14

God is compared to:• lion (Isa. 31:4),

• an eagle (Deut. 32:11),

• a lamb (Isa. 53:7),

• a hen (Matt. 23:37),

• the sun (Ps. 84:11),

• the morning star (Rev. 22:16),

• a light (Ps. 27:1; Rev. 21:23),

• a fire (Heb. 12:29),

• a fountain (Ps. 36:9),

• a rock (Deut. 32:4),

• a hiding place (Ps. 119:114),

• a tower (Prov. 18:10),

• a shadow (Ps. 91:1),

• a shield (Ps. 84:11),

• a temple (Rev. 21:22),

Attributes of God• Non-Communicable

– (those which belong only to God)

• Communicable

– (those which God desires believers to posses)

Omnipresence - Present Everywhere at Once• Psalms 139:7-12

• Jeremiah 23:23-24

• Isaiah 57:15

• Acts 17:24-28

Omnipotence - God is All Powerful• God can do all things

– Can God Sin? No (God has a limitation to His ability)

– Can God make a square into a circle? No

– Can God create a creature that is more powerful than Himself? No

• God Cannot:

– Sin, Change His nature, will contradictory things, He cannot be overpowered by a creature, Cannot achieve certain ends without certain means (He cannot be worshipped unless he creates beings who are free)

God can do all things that are in keeping with His nature and Person.

God can only do what is actually possible to do; the contradictory is not possible for even an omnipotent God to do. (Geisler – Christian Apologetics)

• Genesis 1:3

• Ps. 33:6-9, 17:1, 18:14; 104:5-8

• Job 42:1-2

• Numbers 23:19

• Revelation 19:6

• Matthew 19:26

Omniscience - God is infinite in His KnowledgeGod knows all things actual and possible, past, present, and future.

• Psalms 139:1-6, 147:5

• Isaiah 40:28

• 1 John 3:20

• Rom. 11:33

• Matthew 6:8, 11:21

Immutability - God is unchanging and unchangeable• God is perfect and therefore does not need to change – judgments are also perfect – God does

not make mistakes.

Does God change?• Exodus 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

• Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Isaiah 38:1-6, Genesis 6:6, 1 Samuel 15:10-11

If God cannot change, then why should we pray?• Prayer is not a means by which we change God; it is a means by which God changes us.

• Prayer is not a means of our overcoming God’s reluctance; it is a way for God to take hold of our willingness.

• Prayer is not a means of getting our will done in heaven, but a means of God getting His will done on earth. (Geisler, Systematic Theology)

Change implies imperfection• If God is perfect and then changes, he becomes imperfect.

• If God changes to perfections that implies He was not perfect to begin with.

• God is an must be eternally the same, for he is infinitely perfect, and infinite perfection prevents and precludes change.

– Immutability does not imply inactivity or immobility, for God is infinite in power and energy.

– Does not imply that God is incapable of making free choices.

• Bancroft

• Now, if God changed His mind, it cannot be because He has learned some bit of information that He did not previously know, for God is omniscient—He knows all (Ps. 147:5). Therefore, it must be because the circumstances have changed that require a different attitude or action.

• Geisler,

Solutions• Anthropomorphisms

– They are simply descriptions of God’s actions and feelings in human terms, and from a human perspective (Gen 6:6, 1 Samuel 15:10-11)

– “God appears to change, when humans actually do, just as the wind appears to change when we turn in the opposite direction. God has unchanging anger at our sin and unchanging pleasure in our repentance. When we repent, we simply move from under one unchanging attribute of God to another. When a person moves in relation to a pillar, the pillar does not move.” (Geisler, Systematic Theology)

• God is active and enters into relationships with changing men. In these relationships it is necessary for an unchanging God to change in his dealings with changing man in order to remain unchanging in his character and purpose.

– Thiessen

New stages in the working out of God’s plan– Offering of salvation to the Gentiles (Rom 9-11)

Changes of orientation – Resulting from humans’ move into a different relationship with God (Jonah 3:10, Ex.

32:14, Isaiah 38:1-6 )

• R. A. Torrey

• God remained the same in character, infinitely hating sin, and in His purpose to visit sin with judgment. But as Nineveh changed in its attitude toward sin, God necessarily changed in His attitude toward Nineveh. If God remains the same, if His attitude toward sin and righteousness are unchanging, then His dealings with men must change as men turn from sin to repentance. God's character remains ever the same, but His dealings with men change as men change from a position that is hateful to God's unchangeable hatred of sin to a position that is pleasing to his unchangeable love of righteousness.

• What we are dealing with here is the dependability of God. He will be the same tomorrow as he is today. He will act as he has promised. He will fulfill his commitments. The believer can rely on that (Lam. 3:22–23; 1 John 1:9).

– Erickson

Communicable Attributes• Love

• Joy

• Peace

• Longsuffering

• Gentleness

• Goodness

• Faith

• Meekness

• Temperance

• Justice

• MercifulnessRighteous

The Holiness of God• God is absolutely holy

– Joshua 24:19 - he is an holy God

– Psalm 22:3 - thou art holy

– Psalm 99:5,9 -for he is holy

• God’s Name is holy

– Isaiah 57:15a - whose name is Holy

• God dwells in a holy place

– Isaiah 57:15b - I dwell in the high and holy place

Holiness is central to the nature of God• Holy is what God is

– His love is holy love

– His justice is holy justice

– His mercy is holy mercy

– His knowledge is holy knowledge

– His spirit is holy spirit.

Holiness means…• Basic meaning “set apart” or “separation”

• Absence of all defilement or evil, pure

– Leviticus 11:43-45

• Undefiled

– Deuteronomy 23:14

• No unclean thing in thee

• God is absolutely pure

– 1 John 1:5 - no darkness

The Holiness of God• Isaiah 6:3-4, Rev 4:1-11

• 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

• 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

• “…all these were intended to teach, emphasize, and burn into the minds and hearts of the Israelites the fundamental truth that God is holy. Not just holy, but unapproachably holy. The truth that God is holy is the fundamental truth of the Bible, of the Old Testament and the New Testament, of the Jewish religion, and of the Christian religion.”

– R.A. TORREY – What the Bible Teaches

Isaiah’s reaction to God’s Holiness• Isaiah 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I

dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

• Woe - אוי – ôy - announcement of doom

• Undone - to destroy, to come apart

God’s Holiness in relation to us• Habakkuk 1:13

– canst not look on iniquity

• Deuteronomy 25:16

– all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God

• Proverbs 15:9

– The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD

#1 - God Hates Sin

• Job 34:10

– far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity

• Deuteronomy 32:4

– a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

• James 1:13

– Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

#2 God cannot do anything that is wicked or sinful

• Proverbs 15:9

– he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.

• Leviticus 19:2

– Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

• Leviticus 20:22-26

– I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine

#3 God desires righteous and holy people

• Isaiah 59:1-2

– your iniquities have separated between you and your God,

– and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

#4 The holiness of God displays itself in the separation of the sinner from God. Sin is a violation of His holiness.

• Psalms 5:4-6

– For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness…Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing (a lie, a deception)

• Exodus 34:6-7

– will by no means clear the guilty

• Romans 1:18

– wrath of God is revealed from heaven

#5 The holiness of God manifests itself in the punishment of the sinner. The wrath of God is an expression of God's holy hatred of sin

• Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

• Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

• John 3:16

– should not perish

• 1 Peter 3:18

– Christ also hath once suffered for sins

• Ephesians 2:13

– Were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

• Hebrews 10:9-10

– we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

# 6 God’s holiness is shown by the ultimate price Jesus Christ paid to free us from the penalty of sin.

• The pure light of God's holiness reveals the blackness of our sin.

• The death of Christ shows both the love and holiness of God.

– Romans 5:8

• The wonderfulness of God's love! That the God whose name is holy, the Infinitely Holy God, could love beings so utterly sinful as we are, that is the wonder of the eternities.

– R.A. TORREY – What the Bible Teaches

– The Holiness of God

• What is the meaning of sovereignty?

• 1 Chronicles 29:10-12

• Ruler of all (sovereign) - Authority

– God of Israel, Father, Reignest over all, Head above all

– God allows others to rule (King of kings)

• Dan. 2:37, Rom 13:1, John 19:11

• God is the absolute sovereign ruler

• Psalms 83:18

• Psalms 135:5-12

• Psalms 66:7

• Psalms 93:1

• Psalms 113:4

• Psalms 145:11-13

• Isaiah 44:6

• Isaiah 46:10

• Lamentations 5:19

• Ephesians 4:6

• 1 Chronicles 29:10-12

• Ruler of all (sovereign) - Authority

• Power over all (omnipotence) - Control

– Greatness, power, glory, Victory, Majesty

– in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

• God’s Sovereignty over nature

• Creating the universe

• Parting the Red Sea and Jordan river

• Water into wine

• Sending manna and quails

• Stopped the sun – Joshua at Gibeon

• Feeding the 5000 & 4000

• Quieting the storm

• Healing the sick

• Raising dead (Lazarus, widows son, Jairius daughter

• 1 Chronicles 29:10-12

• Ruler of all (sovereign) - Authority

• Power over all (omnipotence) - Control

• Owner of all (creator) Col. 1:16-18

– all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine

• Everything and everyone belongs to God

• Psalms 24:1 - earth and its fullness

• Psalms 50:10-12 – every beast, cattle, fowls

• Genesis 14:19-20 - heaven and earth

• Deuteronomy 10:14 - heaven of heavens

• Ezekiel 18:4 - all souls

• Haggai 2:8 - silver and gold

• 1 Corinthians 6:20 - believers

• Our response to God:

• Psalms 47:1-9

• 1 O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. 2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. 3 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. 4 He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. 5 God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

• 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. 7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

• 8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. 9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

• Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

• Sovereignty and its subjects

• Man has a Democratic mentality when it comes to God.

– We think of Government of the people by the people

– This is not Sovereignty

• God is the sole authority over his creation. He can do as he pleases

• God demands total submitting to his authority

• Sin is a rebellion against God’s authority

• People think that rebellion against God will bring them freedom.

– This was not the case in the garden.

– True freedom is to accept the authority over you

• Isaiah 46:9-11 (KJV) 9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

• Romans 9:21-23 (KJV) 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

• The Sovereignty of God

• Romans 9:15-16 (KJV) 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

• Does God have the right to choose/elect Individuals for a special task?

• Does God have the right to choose/elect those who receive salvation?

• Elect/Chosen in the Old Testament

• .bā-ḥiyr: An adjective meaning chosen בחיר .

• It depicts a person or group chosen by God

– 2 Sam. 21:6 -“Saul, whom the LORD did choose”

– 1 Chron. 16:13- “His chosen ones” (Israel)

– Ps. 106:23 – “Moses his chosen ”

– Ps. 89:3 – “My chosen” (David)

– Isaiah 42:1 – “My servant…Mine elect” (Messiah)

– Election in the Old Testament

• Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

• Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

• Isaiah 65:9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, And out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: And mine elect shall inherit it, And my servants shall dwell there.

• Isaiah 65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; They shall not plant, and another eat: For as the days of a tree are the days of my people, And mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

• Elect/Chosen in the New Testament

• ἐκλέγω eklégō; from ek, out, and légō, to select, choose.

• ἐκλεκτός eklektós from eklégō, chosen, select.

– Choice or election, selection involves thoughtful and deliberate consideration.

• ἐκλεκτός (eklektós) - Elect = Israel

• Matthew 24:22 – “The elect's sake” (Israel)

– V. 24 – “They shall deceive the very elect”

– V. 31 – “They shall gather together his elect from the four winds”

– Mark 13:20, 22, 27

• Luke 18:7 – “shall not God avenge his own elect”

• ἐκλεκτός (eklektós) - ?

• Romans 8:33 (KJV) Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

• Colossians 3:12 (KJV) Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

• 2 Timothy 2:10 (KJV) Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

• ἐκλεκτός (eklektós) - ?

• Titus 1:1 (KJV) Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

• 1 Peter 1:2 (KJV) Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

• ἐκλέγω eklégō – to choose

• The Apostle were chosen by God:

– John 6:70 (KJV) Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? (John 15:16, 19)

– Acts 1:2 (KJV) Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

– Acts 1:24 (KJV) And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

• ἐκλέγω eklégō – to choose

• Others who were chose by God:

– Acts 13:17 - Patriarchs

– Acts 15:7 – Gentiles

– 1 Cor. 1:27-28 – Foolish things, Weak things

– James 2:5 - “Poor of this world (to be) rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom”

– Eph. 1:4 – “Us in him before the foundation of the world”

• Ephesians 1:4-5

– Who has been Chosen? – “Us” (Paul & Corinthian believers)

– What is the basis for choosing?

– When were they chosen? – “before the foundation of the world”

• καταβολή katabolḗ, to cast down.

– The absolute beginning in the phrase, katabolḗ toú kósmou

– Why were we chosen? – to be holy and Blameless

• Romans 8:28-30

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

• foreknow προγινώσκω proginṓskō, from pró (4253), before, and ginṓskō (1097), to know.

• προορίζω proorízō; from pró (4253), before, and horízō (3724), to determine.

– To determine or decree beforehand

– 1 Corinthians 2:7 (KJV) But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

– Predestination has a thing as its obj., namely, the wisdom of God.

• Predestination does not involve a predetermined plan only but also includes the individuals for whom the plan is devised.

– The goal of predestination is expressed in the phrase, “to be conformed to the image of his Son.” (Romans 8:29-30)

• In Eph. 1:5 we have been chosen for the purpose to become holy and Predestination to adoption.

– Ephesians 1:4-5 (KJV) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

– This status also provides us with an inheritance.

– Ephesians 1:11 (KJV) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

• Freewill – Man’s Responsibility

• John 3:16 – “Whosoever believeth in him ”

• John 3:18 – “He that believeth on him ”

• John 3:36 – “He that believeth ”

• Romans 10:13 – “Whosoever shall call…”

• John 1:12 – “As many as received him”

• John 5:24 – “He that heareth my word, and believeth”

• John 11:25-26 – “He that believeth in me”

• Acts 16:30-31 – “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”

• John 6:44 (KJV) No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

• Attempts to Reconcile God’s Sovereignty and Man’s freewill

• Two extreme positions

– Calvinism is based on the theological beliefs and teaching of John Calvin (1509-1564), a leader in the Reformation.

– Arminianism is based on the views of Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609).

• Comparing Arminianism and Calvinism

Arminianism

• Natural inability

• Election by foreknowledge

• Unlimited Atonement

• Prevenient Grace

• Conditional Perseverance

Calvinism

• T otal Depravity

• U nconditional Election

• L imited Atonement

• I rresistible Grace

• P erseverance of the Saints

• Comparing Arminianism and Calvinism

Arminianism

• Natural inability

• Election by foreknowledge

• Unlimited Atonement

• Prevenient Grace

• Conditional Perseverance

Calvinism

• T otal Depravity

• U nconditional Election

• L imited Atonement

• I rresistible Grace

• P erseverance of the Saints

• Arminianism – Focus on Man’s Responsibility

• Election Based on Knowledge

• Unlimited Atonement

• Natural Inability

• Prevenient Grace

• Conditional Perseverance

• God elected those whom He knew would of their own free will believe in Christ and persevere in the faith.

• In His atonement, Christ provided redemption for all mankind, making all mankind saveable. Christ’s atonement becomes effective only in those who believe.

• Man cannot save himself; the Holy Spirit must effect the new birth.

• Preparatory work of the Holy Spirit enables the believer to respond to the gospel and cooperate with God in salvation.

• Believers have been empowered to live a victorious life, but they are capable of turning from grace and losing their salvation.

• Calvinism – Focus on God’s Sovereignty

• Total Depravity

• Unconditional Election

• Limited Atonement

• Irresistible Grace

• Perseverance of the Saints

• Man is unable of himself to respond to God.

• God elects according to His own good pleasure.

• Christ died for the elect only.

• The elect are irresistibly drawn to Christ.

• The elect can never perish; they will surely persevere.

• Disagreements with Calvinism:Total Depravity

• Man is unable of himself to respond to God.

• There is nothing good in man to deserve salvation

• Rom. 3:10-18, Jer. 17:9

• Not inability but unwillingness to come to Christ

• John 5:40, Matt. 23:37

• Disagreements with Calvinism:Unconditional Election

• God elects some to Heaven some to Hell.

• Eph. 1:4, Rom. 8:29-30

• God has, from the foundation of the world decided all who will be saved and those who will be damned unconditionally.

• God is in control

• God selects some individuals for special service.

• God chose Israel, Jeremiah

• God foreknows all thing

• Eph. 1:4 Election is that we should be holy and blameless

• Rom. 8:29-30 Predestinated to be conformed to Christ.

• Disagreements with Calvinism:Limited Atonement

• Christ died for the elect only.

• 1 John 2:2 he is the propitiation … for the sins of the whole world.

• 1 Timothy 2:5-6 Who gave himself a ransom for all

• Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

• John 3:16 …whosoever…

• Disagreements with Calvinism:Irresistible Grace

• The elect are irresistibly drawn to Christ.

• God forces people to be saved

• God offers salvation to all. Some will accept while other will reject.

• Those who have rejected Christ could have accepted Him.

• Proverbs 1:24-26

• Acts 7:51

• John 5:39-40

• Matthew 23:37

• Disagreements with Calvinism:Perseverance of the Saints

• The elect can never perish; they will surely persevere.

• The believer is eternally secure.

• The saints do not persevere; they are preserved.

• Jude 1:1

• Ephesians 4:30

• Why does evil exist if God is sovereign?

• God is all powerful and holy.

• Evil is real.

• Evil opposes God’s holiness.

• If God is all-powerful and holy, he would not allow evil, but he does.

• Wrong Conclusions

• God Does Not Exist.

• God Is Not All Powerful.

• God Is Not All-Good.

• Evil Is Not Real

• Evil

• Hebrew - רע raʿ

• The Heb. word comes from a root meaning ‘to spoil’, ‘to break in pieces’: being broken and so made worthless.

• Greek κακὸς kakos, πονηρός ponēros, φαῦλος phaulos

• The quality of evil in its essential character, and its hurtful effects or influence.

• Good / Evil

• What is good and what is evil as determined only by God Himself.

• Genesis 3

• “Good” was the character of God and His work of creation was also good as an accurate representation of His desires. This was demonstrated in His creation when He pronounced it “very good.”

• Evil was the rejection of what was “good.”

• Genesis 2, evil had not been experienced, but it was known in concept.

• Dr. Charles P. Baylis

• Biblical Answer

• God Is absolutely Holy

• 1 John 1:5, Psalms 22:3, Psalms 99:9

• God Is Not To Blame For Evil

• Evil is anything contrary to the nature and revelation of God.

• Evil arises from man’s sinful inclinations

• James 1:13-14, Romans 3:10-12, Jeremiah 17:9

• God Allows Evil To Exist to be used for His Purposes

• Proverbs 16:4, Genesis 50:19-20, Romans 9:17, Job, Acts 2:22-24

• God’s permits sin for his own reasons, knowing that He will bring sin to judgment in the day of his wrath, and in the meantime will not allow it to go beyond the bounds that he has fixed for it.

• God permitting evil in order to achieve a greater good

• The existence of Evil

• In God’s sovereign wisdom he permits evil to exist in carefully restricted areas.

• In doing this God has acted according to his infinite wisdom and goodness.

• A.W. Tozer

• The Trinity

• Deuteronomy 6:4 (KJV) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

• 1 John 5:7 (KJV) For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

• The Trinity

“The Trinity is composed of three united Persons without separate existence—so completely united as to form one God. The divine nature subsists in three distinctions—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

Chafer, Systematic Theology, 1:276.

• Misinterpretations of the trinity

• Tri-theism

– Three who were God with a loose association

• Modalism

– Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were three modes of existence or three manifestations of one God

• Arianism

– The Son was subordinate to the Father

– Denied the deity of Christ

– Teaching was condemned at the Council of Nicea in a.d. 325

• The three Persons are equal in authority

• The Father

– Recognized as authoritative and supreme

– (1 Cor. 8:6)

• The Son

– Recognized as equal to the Father in every respect

– (John 5:21–23)

• The Spirit

– Recognized as equal to the Father and the Son

– (Acts 5:3-5; Matthew 28:18-20)

• New Testament Assertions

• The Father is God

– Romans 1:7; 15:6

• The Son is God

– John 20:28; Hebrews 1:8

• The Spirit is God

– Acts 5:3-5; Matthew 28:18-20

• Old Testament Indications of Trinity

• Genesis 1:26

– “Let us make man in our image”

• Deuteronomy 6:4

– “The LORD our God is one LORD”

• Jehovah [singular] our God [plural] is one.

• Lit. Jehovah, our Gods is one

– Reference to Trinity

• Baptismal Formula

– Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

– Apostolic Benediction

– 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.