Bible S1

{{Traditional “proofs” for the existence of God{{

  • cosmological
    • Everything that begins to exist has a cause
    • God has been eternally existent
  • teleological
    • the study of the purpose of the universe
    • looking at the apparent purpose -- what can we discern
    • irreducible complexity
    • the biological system is not a product of time, chance, or force
  • ontological
    • it is better for God to exist in reality rather than in our minds
    • God actually exists because he has every attribute to perfection

Communicable attributes about God

  1. spirituality
    • God exists as a being that is not made of any matter, has no parts or dimensions, is unable to be perceived by out bodily senses, and is more excellent than any other kind of existence (John 4:24; Ex 20:4-7)
  2. invisibility
    • God’s total essence, all of his spiritual being, will never be able to be seen by us, yet God still shows himself to us through visible, created things (1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16; 1 John 4:2)

mental attributes

  1. knowledge (omniscience)

    • God fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act (1 John 3:20; Job 37:16)
    • God’s knowledge is simple
      • he doesn’t have to think -- he just knows every situation and every possibility

  2. wisdom

    • God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those goals

  3. truthfulness (and faithfulness)

    • God is the true God, and that all his knowledge and words are both true and the final standard of truth (Titus 1:2; Proverbs 30:5)

  4. goodness

    • God is the final standard of good, and all that God is and does is worthy of approval (Luke 18:19; Psalm 34:8)

  5. love

    • God is eternally gives himself to others (1 John 4:8; Romans 5:8)

  6. mercy, grace, aptrience

    • God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress, toward those who deserve only punishment, and withholding of punishment toward those who sin over a period of time (Psalm 103:8; 2 Samuel 24:14; Psalm 119:32

  7. Holiness

    • God is separated from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor (Isaiah 6:3; Leviticus 19:2; Hebrews 12:14)
    1. peace (or order)
    • In God’s being and in his action he is separate from all confusion and disorder, yet he is continually active in innumerable well ordered, fully controlled, simultaneous actions (1 Corinthians 14:33)
    1. righteousness, justice
    • God always acts in accordance with what is right and is himself the final standard of what is right (Genesis 18:25; Romans 3:21-26)

    1. Jealousy

    2. God continually seeks to protect his own honor (Exodus 20:5; 34:14)

    3. Wrath

    4. God intensely hates all sin (Exodus 32:9-10; Ephesians 2:3)

]]The order of salvation]]

  1. election (God foreknows and predestines)
  2. the gospel call (the general, then effectual)
  3. regeneration (being born again)
  4. conversion (faith and repentance)
  5. justification (right legal standing)
  6. adoption (membership in God’s family)
  7. sanctification (becoming more like Christ)
  8. perseverance (remaining in Christ)
  9. death (united with Christ)
    1. glorification (receiving a resurrection body)

sometimes faith = salvation and sometimes faith doesn’t equal salvation

  • qualitatively different kinds of faith
    • f = s + w

God’s will

  • necessary will: what God must will according to his own nature
  • free will: what God decided to will, but had no necessity to will according to his nature
  • secret will: God’s hidden decrees by which he governs the universe and determines everything that will happen
  • revealed will: the moral law of God for Christ’s followers

attributes of purpose

  • freedom : the attribute of God whereby he does whatever he pleases (Psalm 115:3; Daniel 4:35)
  • omnipotence (power sovereignty) : God is able to do all his holy will (Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:17)
    • God is able to do anything that he wants to do but he won’t ever do anything that will contradicts his nature

Summary attributes

  • perfection : God completely possesses all excellent qualities and lacks no part of any qualities that would be desirable for him (Psalm 18:30; Matthew 5:48)
  • blessedness : God delights fully in himself and in all that reflects his character (Genesis 1:31; Isaiah 62:5)
  • beauty : the attribute of God whereby he is the sum of all desirable qualities (Psalm 27:4; 73:25)
  • glory : God’s glory is the created brightness that surrounds God’s revelation of himself (Psalm 24:10; 104:1-2; Revelations 21:23)

{{Gender Roles at Church{{

1 Timothy 2:11 - 15

  • egalitarian or complementarian
    • relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
    • men and women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, and religious leadership
  • v14 -- and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor
    • complementarian -- women are gullible
    • egalitarian -- the gender role ideas came as a consequence from the fall

Textual principles

learn quietly -- 1 Tim. 2:11not teach -- 1 Tim. 2:12creation -- 1 Tim. 2:12
submissive --1 Tim. 2:11exercise authority -- 1 Tim. 2:12creation -- 1 Tim. 2:13-15
Submissive -- 1 Cor. 14:34interpret prophecy -- 1 Cor. 14:34-35the law --1 Cor. 14:34
pray and prophesy 1 Cor. 11:5Insubordinately -- 1 Cor. 11:5-6creation 1 Cor. 11:7-12
correct privately -- Acts 18:26correct publicly 1 Tim. 2; 1 Cor. 14

1 Corinthians 14

  • the context for ‘silence’ is the interpretation of prophecy in corporate worship

Acts 18

the incommunicable attributes of God

  1. independence (aseity) -- God does not need us or the rest of creation for anything, yet we and the rest of creation can glorify him and bring him joy

    1. acts 17:24 - 25
    2. job 41:11

  2. unchangeableness (immutability) -- God is unchanging in his being, perfection, purposes, and promises, yet God does act and feel emotions, and he acts and feels differently in response to different situations

    1. The question of God’s impassibility

      1. not subject to passions

    2. the challenge from process theology

      1. process theologians dislike the doctrine of God’s immutability because they think it implies that nothing we do can really matter to God -- We are insignificant.
      2. This is an incorrect assumption that is not consistent with scripture
      3. college churches

    3. the importance of God’s unchangeableness

      1. if God could change for the better, that would mean that he was not the best possible being when we first trusted him
      2. If God could change for the worse, then what horrors might result?

    4. Eternity

      1. God is timeless in his own being

        1. Rev. 1:8

      2. God sees all time equally vividly

        God is not physical -- he is spiritual : God’s experience of time is unlike our experience of time

      3. God sees events in time and act in time

    5. omnipresence

      1. God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places

        1. Jer. 23:24
        2. Ps. 139:7-10

      2. God does not have spatial dimensions

        1. 1 Kings 8:27
        2. Isaiah 66:1-2

      3. God can be present to punish, to sustain, or to bless

        1. to punish (Amos 9:1-4)
        2. To sustain (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3)
        3. To bless (2 Corinthians 3:17; John 14:23)

    6. unity

      1. God is not divided into parts, yet we see different attributes of God emphasized at different times

      2. God’s being is not a collection of attributes added together

      3. God’s attributes are not additions to his real being

        1. God himself is the standard of love

      4. God himself is a unity -- a unified and completely integrated whole person who is infinitely perfect in all of these attributes

]]The Trinity]]

Errors have come by denying any of the three statements summarizing the biblical teaching

  1. ]]Modialism claims that there is one person who appears to us in Three different forms (or “modes”)]]

    1. seeks to emphasize the the “one-ness” of God
    2. fails to account for the obvious personal relationships between the persons of the Trinity
    3. loses the heart of the doctrine of the atonement -- the son did not satisfy the holy demands of the Father
    4. denies the independence of God and the eternal manifestation of his love between the persons of the trinity

  2. ]]Arianism denies the full deity of the son and the holy spirit]]

    1. the arian controversy

      1. Arians affirmed that Christ was “begotten” -- that there was a time when Christ was not (John 3:16; Colossians 1:15)
      2. Arians also affirmed that Christ was of a similar substance (homoiousios) to the father, but not the same substance (homoousios)
      3. These beliefs were rejected at the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople (AD 325 and 381)

    2. Subordinationsim

      1. similar to Arianism, this view held that the son was eternal but inferior to the Father in being and attributes
      2. origin held that the son eternally derives his being from the Father

    3. adoptionism

    4. the filioque clause

      1. filioque -- “and the son”

    5. the importance of the doctrine of the trinity

      1. First, the atonement is at stake -- Could any creature, no matter how great, really save us?
      2. Second, justification by faith alone is threatened if we deny the full deity of the son. Could we really depend on any creature fully for our salvation?
      3. Third, if Jesus is not infinite God, should we pray to him or worship him? Who but an infinite, omniscient God could hear and respond to all the prayers of all God’s people? And who but God himself is worthy of worship? Indeed, If Jesus is merely a creature, no matter how great, it would be idolatry to worship him -- yet the NT commands it!
      4. Fourth, if Christ was a created being but nonetheless saved us, then this attributes credit for salvation to a creature and wrongfully exalts the creature rather than the creator, something scripture never allows us to do.
      5. Fifth, the independence and personal nature of God are at stake: If there is no trinity, then there were no interpersonal relationships within the being of God before creation. How could such a God be genuinely personal or be without the need for relationships?
      6. Sixth, the unity of the universe is at stake: if there is not perfect plurality and perfect unity in God himself, then we have no basis for thinking there can be any ultimate unity among the diverse elements of the Universe either.

What are the distinctions between the father, son, and the holy spirit

  1. the persons of the trinity have different primary functions in relating to the world

    1. in creation
    2. in redemption

  2. the persons of the trinity eternally existed as father, son, and holy spirit

    1. the only distinctions between the members of the trinity are in the ways they relate to each other and to the creation
    2. “ontological equality but economic subordination”

  3. what is the relationship between the three persons and the being of God

    1. God’s being is not divided into three equal parts belonging to the three members of the trinity

      1. not combining their powers to become God

    2. the persons of the trinity are not just 3 different ways of looking at God

    3. there are three distinct persons, and the being of each person is equal to the whole being of God.

  4. Can we understand the doctrine of the trinity?

    1. truly but not fully
    2. it is a mystery but not a contradiction

{{Creation{{

  1. biblical evidence for creation out of nothing

  2. The creation of the spiritual universe

    1. Neh. 9:6
    2. Col. 1:16

  3. the direct creation of adam and eve

  4. the creation of time

  5. the work of the son and the holy spirit in creation

  6. God is both transcendent and immanent

    1. It was a totally free act of God

      1. Rev. 4:11
      2. Isa. 43:7

  7. when all the facts are rightly understood, there will be “no final conflict” between scripture and natural science

  8. some theories about creation seem clearly inconsistent with the teachings of scripture

    1. secular theories -- we should reject out of hand any theory of the origin of the universe that denies an infinite - personal God
    2. theistic evolution -- scripture teaches that God was purposeful about creation, and that it was “very good” from the beginning. God was the driving force, not randomness or mutation
    3. notes on the darwinian theory of evolution

current challenges to evolution

Animals have a very limited range of genetic variability

natural selection is a mere tautology -- the fit animals survive, the animals that survive are fit

irreducibly complex systems exist in nature which could not evolve in a single generation but which cannot function with the loss of any single component

the destructive influences of evolutionary theory in modern thought

if existence is the result of chance and random occurrence then we have no meaning

if there is not God, there is no right and wrong

The theory of a gap between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2

  • this theory holds that God created and there was a significant rebellion. He judged the earth so that it became formless and void
  • this has no support in scripture and is based on an unlikely translation
  • Gen. 1:31 indicates that all of creation was “very good”, which would include all angelic creatures -- satan had not yet rebelled

  1. the age of the earth -- some preliminary consideration

    1. there are gaps in the genealogies of the bible

    2. the age of the human race

      1. cro-magnon cave paintings indicate that humans were on the earth by at least 10,000 BC

    3. did animals die before the fall?

      1. if the earth is much older than humanity, this is possible
      2. Gen. 2:17 only warns of death for humans in the event of sin

    4. what about dinosaurs 🦕 🦖

    5. Are the six days of creation 24-days?

      1. the Hebrew word yom could refer to a period of time other than a single 24 hour period (Gen.2:4; Ps. 20:1)

      2. however, Gen. 1 does not give us reason to assume that anything other than normal days are meant

        1. every day ends with “there was evening, and there was morning” which implies a 24 hour period
        2. plants (3rd day) would need the sun soon (4th day)Ex. 20:8 - 11 speaks of creation in six literal days
        3. Jesus describes Adam and Eve as existing “from the beginning of creation” (Mark 10:6)

  2. both “old earth” and “young earth” theories are valid options for Christians who believe the bible today

    1. “old earth” theories of creation

      1. day age view: seeks to account for the vident age of the earth by affirming that each day of creation was a very long period of time
      2. literary framework view: states that Gen. 1 does not give us any information about the age of the earth, but rather a literary account of God’s creation in six parallel “pictures”

    2. “Young earth” theories of creation

      1. creation with an appearance of age (mature creationism) -- states that God created an earth that appears old (Adam and Eve were not infants)
      2. flood geology -- states that the flood made the earth appear to be very old, creating many layers of thick sediment and fossilizing the creatures

  3. Conclusions of the age of the earth

    1. much scientific data points to a very old earth
    2. “old earth” interpretations of Gen. 1 do not seem as natural to the sense of the text

  4. The need for further understanding

    1. we need further understanding as well as graciousness in the ongoing discussion

Application

we should seek to be like the early Christians who enjoyed God’s good creation

we should recognize that scientific and technological study glorifies God

we should have confidence in God’s sovereign power

we can wholeheartedly enjoy creative activities

]]God’s Providence]]

God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he

  1. keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them (preservation)
  • Heb. 1:3
  • Neh. 9:6
  1. cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do and (concurrence)
  • inanimate objects (weather)
  • animals
  • seemingly “random” or “chance” events

  1. directs them to fulfill his purposes

  2. \

  3. The affairs of nations

    1. Job 12:23
    2. Ps. 22:28
    3. Acts 17:26

  4. All aspects of our lives

    1. what we eat
    2. our every need
    3. our lifespan
    4. all our actions
    5. success or failure
    6. childbearing
    7. our talents and abilities
    8. our desires and decisions

  5. what about evil?

    1. scripture never blames God for evil or shows God as taking pleasure in evil
    2. there are literally dozens of passages that say that God (indirectly) brought about some kind of evil (Gen 50:20; Ex 4:21; 7:3; Josh. 11:20; Judges 14:1-4; 2 Sam. 24:1-17; 1 Kgs 22L23; 2 Thess. 2:11-12; 1 Pet. 2:8)

  6. analysis of verses relating to God and evil

    1. God uses all things to fulfill his purposes and even uses evil for his glory and for our good (Rom. 8:28; Gen. 50:20)
    2. nevertheless, God never does evil and is never to be blamed for evil
    3. God rightfully blames and judges moral creatures for the evil they do
    4. Evil is real, not an illusion, and we should never do evil, for it will always harm us and others
    5. in spite of all the foregoing statements, we have to come to the point where we confess that we do not understand how it is that God can ordain that we carry out evil deeds and yet hold us accountable for them and not be blamed himself

  7. are we “free”? do we have “free will”?

    1. scripture nowhere says that we are “free” in the sen of being outside of God’s control or of being able to make decisions that are not caused by anything
    2. nor does it saw we are “free” in the sense of being able to do right on our own apart from God’s power
    3. But we are nonetheless free in the greatest sense that any creature of God could be “free” -- we make willing choices, choices that have real effect

God’s Government

  • God has a purpose in all that he does in the world and he providentially governs or directs all things in order that they accomplish his purposes

  1. Scriptural evidence

    1. Dan 4:35
    2. Rom. 8:28

The decrees of God

  • the eternal plans of God whereby, before the creation of the world, he determined to bring about everything that happens

The importance of our human actions

  1. we are still responsible for our actions
  2. our actions have real results and do change the course of events
  3. prayer is one specific kind of action that has definite results and that does change the course of events

{{Angels{{

  1. created spiritual beings

  2. other names for angels

    1. sons of God -- Job 1:6; 2:1
    2. Holy ones -- Ps. 89:5 & 7
    3. Spirits -- Heb. 1:14
    4. Watchers -- Dan. 4:13, 17, 23

  3. other kinds of heavenly beings

    1. the Cherubim
    2. The seraphim
    3. the living creatures

  4. rank and order among the angels

  5. names of specific angels

    1. michael
    2. Gabriel

  6. only one place at one time

  7. how many angels are there?

  8. Do people have individual guardian angels?

    1. Ps. 91:11-12
    2. There is no convincing support from scripture for the idea of individual guardian angels

  9. Angels do not marry

    1. The power of angels

    2. apparently very great

    3. used to battle against demonic forces