God And All Things https://www.newhope-ny.org Sun, 09 Aug 2026 18:54:36 -0400 https://www.churchplantmedia.com/ The eternal God and the supernatural realm https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/the-eternal-god- https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/the-eternal-god-#comments Thu, 05 Dec 2019 11:00:00 -0500 https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/the-eternal-god-       Today's post aims to introduce readers to a Biblical view of the supernatural realm. In order to begin, we must first consider the nature, attributes and identity of God. Below are a series of thoughts which serve to pull together such a consideration. May this post raise our awareness of God's supernatural power and presence. 

1. Scriptures and definition of the eternal God and supernatural.

       As we begin to consider the supernatural realm, we must begin with the only being that is eternal by nature - God. God is eternal. As we consider this first heading under “eternity”, we can refer to God’s existence by the phrase: "that God is". Hebrews 11:6 expresses: “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Eternity is foundational to thinking about God (see Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16-17; 1 Timothy 1:17).

      We could define eternity as: "without beginning, without end, fulness of being without the limitations of time." Passages such as Psalm 90:2; 102:25; Isaiah 57:15; John 1:1-3; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Timothy 6:16; Rev. 4:8 speak to us of God's eternity.  Boethius, a 6th century Christian thinker, defines eternity as: “the complete, simultaneous and perfect possession of everlasting life.” In thinking about: "that God is", i.e., His existence, other related perfections fill out our basic idea about God.

  1. There is God’s Divine "immensity", that perfection dealing with God's relationship to space as He being in it and beyond it (see 1 Kings 8:27; Acts 17:25-30).
  2. There is Divine infinity, speaking of the endless extent of the Divine nature. Paul speaks of God's Divine power or omnipotence in Romans 1:20.
  3. God being a spiritual, immaterial being, per Jesus' words in John 4:24.
  4. God as a Personal being that creates, Genesis 1:1; 33:6; 1 Cor 8:6; 2 Peter 3.
  5. Ways to think about God’s Divine eternity and the supernatural realm.

      New Testament passages such as Colossians 1:16-17 and Hebrews 1 speak of “God” and “everything else”. The “everything else” refers to creation. Creation is divided up into two distinct and somewhat interactive realms: “visible” and “invisible”. The “invisible” realm is another way of talking about “the supernatural realm”, as it refers to an unseen part creation (God of course is His own, separate, uncreated reality apart from creation). God of course is deemed “invisible” (1 Timothy 1:17), spiritual (John 4:24) and personal (Acts 17:25-30). He differs by the fact He is without beginning (Psalm 90; 102; Revelation 4:8) and self-existing apart from and prior to creation (Isaiah 44:6; 43:10-11). There is an illustration I can think of to approach the otherwise incomprehensible truth God’s Divine eternity and His relationship to the supernatural.

Illustration: God and “everything else”

“God” <--∞ --> “angelic realm, humans, cats, wooly-worms, amoebas, atoms”

Where we get this notion of divine eternity?

1. Scripture.

2. The beginning of the universe. For the universe to have begun, it needed its origin in a cause that is without beginning. Moreover, for there to be a finite universe, produced by an eternal being, the eternal being had to have had a will and and a mind.

3. The attributes of God. Consideration of God's attributes demonstrate this most essential perfection of eternity. Omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence and other perfections require a God that is not bounded by time.

Take-aways for your life.

1. What we learned today. As we close this first class, we note that reference to the phrase: "that God is" means His existence. Eternity was defined as: "without beginning, without end, fulness of being without the limitations of time." Standard arguments for God’s existence bolster this claim of Divine eternity, since they show that the finite realm of creation requires a timeless, spaceless, immaterial, infinitely powerful, all present mind with a will we call: "God"

2. We need greater awareness of the supernatural realm. A.W. Tozer once remarked about God’s Divine eternity and the supernatural realm’s relevance to our lives:2. “A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His Presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.”

3. How we live day-to-day. Giving time to think about God’s eternity lifts our focus from the horizontal, visible world of our five senses to that of the “stuff” that drives us to worship. To realize that we live out our daily lives and spiritual lives before a holy, eternal God to whom we are accountable, and that, in the Person of the Son, came as “God with us” to be “man for us”, ought to sharpen our awareness of Him.

4. Strengthening our prayer lives. When we pray, we ought to think of prayer as “the greatest adventure”, since we are treading into the very foothills of God’s eternal presence. We could say far more, but let us live this week in light of this truth that God, is, eternal.

]]>       Today's post aims to introduce readers to a Biblical view of the supernatural realm. In order to begin, we must first consider the nature, attributes and identity of God. Below are a series of thoughts which serve to pull together such a consideration. May this post raise our awareness of God's supernatural power and presence. 

1. Scriptures and definition of the eternal God and supernatural.

       As we begin to consider the supernatural realm, we must begin with the only being that is eternal by nature - God. God is eternal. As we consider this first heading under “eternity”, we can refer to God’s existence by the phrase: "that God is". Hebrews 11:6 expresses: “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Eternity is foundational to thinking about God (see Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16-17; 1 Timothy 1:17).

      We could define eternity as: "without beginning, without end, fulness of being without the limitations of time." Passages such as Psalm 90:2; 102:25; Isaiah 57:15; John 1:1-3; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Timothy 6:16; Rev. 4:8 speak to us of God's eternity.  Boethius, a 6th century Christian thinker, defines eternity as: “the complete, simultaneous and perfect possession of everlasting life.” In thinking about: "that God is", i.e., His existence, other related perfections fill out our basic idea about God.

  1. There is God’s Divine "immensity", that perfection dealing with God's relationship to space as He being in it and beyond it (see 1 Kings 8:27; Acts 17:25-30).
  2. There is Divine infinity, speaking of the endless extent of the Divine nature. Paul speaks of God's Divine power or omnipotence in Romans 1:20.
  3. God being a spiritual, immaterial being, per Jesus' words in John 4:24.
  4. God as a Personal being that creates, Genesis 1:1; 33:6; 1 Cor 8:6; 2 Peter 3.
  5. Ways to think about God’s Divine eternity and the supernatural realm.

      New Testament passages such as Colossians 1:16-17 and Hebrews 1 speak of “God” and “everything else”. The “everything else” refers to creation. Creation is divided up into two distinct and somewhat interactive realms: “visible” and “invisible”. The “invisible” realm is another way of talking about “the supernatural realm”, as it refers to an unseen part creation (God of course is His own, separate, uncreated reality apart from creation). God of course is deemed “invisible” (1 Timothy 1:17), spiritual (John 4:24) and personal (Acts 17:25-30). He differs by the fact He is without beginning (Psalm 90; 102; Revelation 4:8) and self-existing apart from and prior to creation (Isaiah 44:6; 43:10-11). There is an illustration I can think of to approach the otherwise incomprehensible truth God’s Divine eternity and His relationship to the supernatural.

Illustration: God and “everything else”

“God” <--∞ --> “angelic realm, humans, cats, wooly-worms, amoebas, atoms”

Where we get this notion of divine eternity?

1. Scripture.

2. The beginning of the universe. For the universe to have begun, it needed its origin in a cause that is without beginning. Moreover, for there to be a finite universe, produced by an eternal being, the eternal being had to have had a will and and a mind.

3. The attributes of God. Consideration of God's attributes demonstrate this most essential perfection of eternity. Omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence and other perfections require a God that is not bounded by time.

Take-aways for your life.

1. What we learned today. As we close this first class, we note that reference to the phrase: "that God is" means His existence. Eternity was defined as: "without beginning, without end, fulness of being without the limitations of time." Standard arguments for God’s existence bolster this claim of Divine eternity, since they show that the finite realm of creation requires a timeless, spaceless, immaterial, infinitely powerful, all present mind with a will we call: "God"

2. We need greater awareness of the supernatural realm. A.W. Tozer once remarked about God’s Divine eternity and the supernatural realm’s relevance to our lives:2. “A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His Presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.”

3. How we live day-to-day. Giving time to think about God’s eternity lifts our focus from the horizontal, visible world of our five senses to that of the “stuff” that drives us to worship. To realize that we live out our daily lives and spiritual lives before a holy, eternal God to whom we are accountable, and that, in the Person of the Son, came as “God with us” to be “man for us”, ought to sharpen our awareness of Him.

4. Strengthening our prayer lives. When we pray, we ought to think of prayer as “the greatest adventure”, since we are treading into the very foothills of God’s eternal presence. We could say far more, but let us live this week in light of this truth that God, is, eternal.

]]> Questions to ask when in pursuit of knowing God https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/questions-t https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/questions-t#comments Fri, 29 Nov 2019 16:00:00 -0500 https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/questions-t Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.

Introduction:

     The prophet Jeremiah urges upon us the purpose of life: "knowing God". I have found that whenever approaching any subject, it is important to ask the right questions. Someday I hope to write a short work entitled: "100 days with God". The project will challenge people to know God through key ideas revealed in scripture and expounded by the doctrine of God. This short post may very well begin a series of reflections what would lead to such a study.

      Frankly, none of us can think too much about God. The problem with our church world and the world in general is that we think much more about ourselves, less about others and lesser still about God. I would hope that the questions I list below may reverse the problem. May we think most about God, more about others and lastly about ourselves. So, what questions might we ask when in pursuit of knowing God?

1. What is God like?

2. How is it that God exists?

3. How can we know God exists?

4. Who is God?

5. How can we personally know God?

       Theology is defined as: "the study of God". The five above questions occupy the first and most important area of theology called: "Theology Proper", due to God as the "first" or "proper" beginning point of theology. If you and I don't have our thoughts of God right, everything else will drift. 

       The first question: "What is God like?", deals with God's being or "what He is". The second question, "How is it that God exists", deals with God's attributes, or those perfections which express "that He is in virtue of what He is". The third question, "how can we know God exists", address theistic arguments that explore various evidences for God's existence. The fourth question, "Who is God?", concerns how one experiences Him. Then the final question, "How can we personally know God?", centers on experiencing God in saving faith and discovering His identity through the scriptures - an identity expressed by the doctrines of the Trinity, Christ (also called "Christology") and the Holy Spirit (also called "Pneumatology).

       Over time, I plan to write short posts that urge us to think about God. Remember, the depth of our heart's devotion in worship to God can go no deeper than our minds willingness to think more highly of God. To God be the glory! 

]]> Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.

Introduction:

     The prophet Jeremiah urges upon us the purpose of life: "knowing God". I have found that whenever approaching any subject, it is important to ask the right questions. Someday I hope to write a short work entitled: "100 days with God". The project will challenge people to know God through key ideas revealed in scripture and expounded by the doctrine of God. This short post may very well begin a series of reflections what would lead to such a study.

      Frankly, none of us can think too much about God. The problem with our church world and the world in general is that we think much more about ourselves, less about others and lesser still about God. I would hope that the questions I list below may reverse the problem. May we think most about God, more about others and lastly about ourselves. So, what questions might we ask when in pursuit of knowing God?

1. What is God like?

2. How is it that God exists?

3. How can we know God exists?

4. Who is God?

5. How can we personally know God?

       Theology is defined as: "the study of God". The five above questions occupy the first and most important area of theology called: "Theology Proper", due to God as the "first" or "proper" beginning point of theology. If you and I don't have our thoughts of God right, everything else will drift. 

       The first question: "What is God like?", deals with God's being or "what He is". The second question, "How is it that God exists", deals with God's attributes, or those perfections which express "that He is in virtue of what He is". The third question, "how can we know God exists", address theistic arguments that explore various evidences for God's existence. The fourth question, "Who is God?", concerns how one experiences Him. Then the final question, "How can we personally know God?", centers on experiencing God in saving faith and discovering His identity through the scriptures - an identity expressed by the doctrines of the Trinity, Christ (also called "Christology") and the Holy Spirit (also called "Pneumatology).

       Over time, I plan to write short posts that urge us to think about God. Remember, the depth of our heart's devotion in worship to God can go no deeper than our minds willingness to think more highly of God. To God be the glory! 

]]> God's Divine eternity as a starting point for considering the supernatural realm https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/the-divine-eternity-of-god https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/the-divine-eternity-of-god#comments Fri, 29 Nov 2019 16:00:00 -0500 https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/the-divine-eternity-of-god Introduction:      

       We live in a physical world – or, is it just a physical one? So many people in today’s culture live as “practical naturalists”, that is, they live as if the only thing that exists is the “natural” or “physical world”. The goal of this course is to introduce listeners to a “Biblical view of the supernatural”.

      When I say: “supernatural”, what is meant? The word, “supernatural”, is made up of two words. The first term, “super” refers to what is “beyond something” in terms of quality and quantity. The second term, “natural”, derives from a Latin root that refers to “the essence or being” of something. Whenever we put these two terms together, they give us a word, “supernatural”, that points us to a realm that is included in the Christian understanding of what makes up our world.  The great 19th century theologian B.B. Warfield once noted: “The supernatural is the very breath of Christianity’s nostrils and an anti-supernaturalistic world atmosphere is to it the deadliest of toxic gases.” We will aim, in this course, to recapture a Biblical view of the supernatural. Why? So we can best approach life in this world, the one beyond it, and the God that reigns supreme over all of it.

Course overview:

  1. Eternity P1 - God exists (that God is)
  2. Eternity P2 - God's attributes (what God is)
  3. Eternity P3 - God's identity (who God is)
  4. Meet the angelic realm - the Divine council
  5. Meet the angelic realm - cherubim, seraphim, the watchers
  6. Meet the angelic realm - messengers from God
  7. Cosmic fallout - Lucifer becomes Satan
  8. Cosmic fallout- the demonic realm and it's ranks, activity
  9. Glories of heaven.
  10. Why Hell?
  11. The End: Lake of Fire/New Heavens & Earth
  12. Q&A, class wrap-up

 Session 1 – Eternity part one – God exists

1. Scriptures and definition of the eternal God and supernatural.

      As we begin to consider the supernatural realm, we must begin with the only being that is eternal by nature - God. God is eternal. As we consider this first heading under “eternity”, we can refer to God’s existence by the phrase: "that God is". Hebrews 11:6 expresses: “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Eternity is foundational to thinking about God (see Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16-17; 1 Timothy 1:17).

We could define eternity as: "without beginning, without end, fulness of being without the limitations of time." Passages such as Psalm 90:2; 102:25; Isaiah 57:15; John 1:1-3; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Timothy 6:16; Rev. 4:8 speak to us of God's eternity.  Boethius, a 6th century Christian thinker, defines eternity as: “the complete, simultaneous and perfect possession of everlasting life.” In thinking about: "that God is", i.e., His existence, other related perfections fill out our basic idea about God.

A. There is God’s Divine "immensity", that perfection dealing with God's relationship to space as He being in it and beyond it (see 1 Kings 8:27; Acts 17:25-30).

B. There is Divine infinity, speaking of the endless extent of the Divine nature. Paul speaks of God's Divine power or omnipotence in Romans 1:20.

C. God being a spiritual, immaterial being, per Jesus' words in John 4:24.

D. God as a Personal being that creates, Genesis 1:1; 33:6; 1 Cor 8:6; 2 Peter 3.

E. Ways to think about God’s Divine eternity and the supernatural realm.

       New Testament passages such as Colossians 1:16-17 and Hebrews 1 speak of “God” and “everything else”. The “everything else” refers to creation. Creation is divided up into two distinct and somewhat interactive realms: “visible” and “invisible”. The “invisible” realm is another way of talking about “the supernatural realm”, as it refers to an unseen part creation (God of course is His own, separate, uncreated reality apart from creation). God of course is deemed “invisible” (1 Timothy 1:17), spiritual (John 4:24) and personal (Acts 17:25-30). He differs by the fact He is without beginning (Psalm 90; 102; Revelation 4:8) and self-existing apart from and prior to creation (Isaiah 44:6; 43:10-11). There is an illustration I can think of to approach the otherwise incomprehensible truth God’s Divine eternity and His relationship to the supernatural.

Illustration: God and “everything else”

“God” ß∞ à “angelic realm, humans, cats, wooly-worms, amoebas, atoms”.

2. Where we get this notion of divine eternity?

A. Scripture.

B. The beginning of the universe. For the universe to have begun, it needed its origin in a cause that is without beginning. Moreover, for there to be a finite universe, produced by an eternal being, the eternal being had to have had a will and and a mind.

C. The attributes of God. Consideration of God's attributes demonstrate this most essential perfection of eternity. Omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence and other perfections require a God that is not bounded by time.

3. Take-aways for your life.

A. What we learned today. As we close this first class, we note that reference to the phrase: "that God is" means His existence. Eternity was defined as: "without beginning, without end, fulness of being without the limitations of time." Standard arguments for God’s existence bolster this claim of Divine eternity, since they show that the finite realm of creation requires a timeless, spaceless, immaterial, infinitely powerful, all present mind with a will we call: "God".

B. We need greater awareness of the supernatural realm. A.W. Tozer once remarked about God’s Divine eternity and the supernatural realm’s relevance to our lives:

“A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His Presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.”

C. How we live day-to-day. Giving time to think about God’s eternity lifts our focus from the horizontal, visible world of our five senses to that of the “stuff” that drives us to worship. To realize that we live out our daily lives and spiritual lives before a holy, eternal God to whom we are accountable, and that, in the Person of the Son, came as “God with us” to be “man for us”, ought to sharpen our awareness of Him.

D. Strengthening our prayer lives. When we pray, we ought to think of prayer as “the greatest adventure”, since we are treading into the very foothills of God’s eternal presence. We could say far more, but let us live this week in light of this truth that God, is, eternal.

]]> Introduction:      

       We live in a physical world – or, is it just a physical one? So many people in today’s culture live as “practical naturalists”, that is, they live as if the only thing that exists is the “natural” or “physical world”. The goal of this course is to introduce listeners to a “Biblical view of the supernatural”.

      When I say: “supernatural”, what is meant? The word, “supernatural”, is made up of two words. The first term, “super” refers to what is “beyond something” in terms of quality and quantity. The second term, “natural”, derives from a Latin root that refers to “the essence or being” of something. Whenever we put these two terms together, they give us a word, “supernatural”, that points us to a realm that is included in the Christian understanding of what makes up our world.  The great 19th century theologian B.B. Warfield once noted: “The supernatural is the very breath of Christianity’s nostrils and an anti-supernaturalistic world atmosphere is to it the deadliest of toxic gases.” We will aim, in this course, to recapture a Biblical view of the supernatural. Why? So we can best approach life in this world, the one beyond it, and the God that reigns supreme over all of it.

Course overview:

  1. Eternity P1 - God exists (that God is)
  2. Eternity P2 - God's attributes (what God is)
  3. Eternity P3 - God's identity (who God is)
  4. Meet the angelic realm - the Divine council
  5. Meet the angelic realm - cherubim, seraphim, the watchers
  6. Meet the angelic realm - messengers from God
  7. Cosmic fallout - Lucifer becomes Satan
  8. Cosmic fallout- the demonic realm and it's ranks, activity
  9. Glories of heaven.
  10. Why Hell?
  11. The End: Lake of Fire/New Heavens & Earth
  12. Q&A, class wrap-up

 Session 1 – Eternity part one – God exists

1. Scriptures and definition of the eternal God and supernatural.

      As we begin to consider the supernatural realm, we must begin with the only being that is eternal by nature - God. God is eternal. As we consider this first heading under “eternity”, we can refer to God’s existence by the phrase: "that God is". Hebrews 11:6 expresses: “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Eternity is foundational to thinking about God (see Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16-17; 1 Timothy 1:17).

We could define eternity as: "without beginning, without end, fulness of being without the limitations of time." Passages such as Psalm 90:2; 102:25; Isaiah 57:15; John 1:1-3; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Timothy 6:16; Rev. 4:8 speak to us of God's eternity.  Boethius, a 6th century Christian thinker, defines eternity as: “the complete, simultaneous and perfect possession of everlasting life.” In thinking about: "that God is", i.e., His existence, other related perfections fill out our basic idea about God.

A. There is God’s Divine "immensity", that perfection dealing with God's relationship to space as He being in it and beyond it (see 1 Kings 8:27; Acts 17:25-30).

B. There is Divine infinity, speaking of the endless extent of the Divine nature. Paul speaks of God's Divine power or omnipotence in Romans 1:20.

C. God being a spiritual, immaterial being, per Jesus' words in John 4:24.

D. God as a Personal being that creates, Genesis 1:1; 33:6; 1 Cor 8:6; 2 Peter 3.

E. Ways to think about God’s Divine eternity and the supernatural realm.

       New Testament passages such as Colossians 1:16-17 and Hebrews 1 speak of “God” and “everything else”. The “everything else” refers to creation. Creation is divided up into two distinct and somewhat interactive realms: “visible” and “invisible”. The “invisible” realm is another way of talking about “the supernatural realm”, as it refers to an unseen part creation (God of course is His own, separate, uncreated reality apart from creation). God of course is deemed “invisible” (1 Timothy 1:17), spiritual (John 4:24) and personal (Acts 17:25-30). He differs by the fact He is without beginning (Psalm 90; 102; Revelation 4:8) and self-existing apart from and prior to creation (Isaiah 44:6; 43:10-11). There is an illustration I can think of to approach the otherwise incomprehensible truth God’s Divine eternity and His relationship to the supernatural.

Illustration: God and “everything else”

“God” ß∞ à “angelic realm, humans, cats, wooly-worms, amoebas, atoms”.

2. Where we get this notion of divine eternity?

A. Scripture.

B. The beginning of the universe. For the universe to have begun, it needed its origin in a cause that is without beginning. Moreover, for there to be a finite universe, produced by an eternal being, the eternal being had to have had a will and and a mind.

C. The attributes of God. Consideration of God's attributes demonstrate this most essential perfection of eternity. Omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence and other perfections require a God that is not bounded by time.

3. Take-aways for your life.

A. What we learned today. As we close this first class, we note that reference to the phrase: "that God is" means His existence. Eternity was defined as: "without beginning, without end, fulness of being without the limitations of time." Standard arguments for God’s existence bolster this claim of Divine eternity, since they show that the finite realm of creation requires a timeless, spaceless, immaterial, infinitely powerful, all present mind with a will we call: "God".

B. We need greater awareness of the supernatural realm. A.W. Tozer once remarked about God’s Divine eternity and the supernatural realm’s relevance to our lives:

“A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His Presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.”

C. How we live day-to-day. Giving time to think about God’s eternity lifts our focus from the horizontal, visible world of our five senses to that of the “stuff” that drives us to worship. To realize that we live out our daily lives and spiritual lives before a holy, eternal God to whom we are accountable, and that, in the Person of the Son, came as “God with us” to be “man for us”, ought to sharpen our awareness of Him.

D. Strengthening our prayer lives. When we pray, we ought to think of prayer as “the greatest adventure”, since we are treading into the very foothills of God’s eternal presence. We could say far more, but let us live this week in light of this truth that God, is, eternal.

]]> Running the Race of Faith - Defining Faith and its Actions https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/running-the-race-of-faith---the-act-of-faith https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/running-the-race-of-faith---the-act-of-faith#comments Sun, 04 Aug 2019 18:00:00 -0400 https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/running-the-race-of-faith---the-act-of-faith Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Running. Running. Running.

       I started running in 2014. Every year there was a 5K (3.1 mile) foot race at a church camp to which my children and I attended. In a hasty moment (the night before the race!), I decided to enter. No, I had never trained! Nevertheless, what could possibly go wrong? I had an old pair of sneakers, an extra pair of jeans and an old t-shirt to run the course. As we all lined-up at the starting line, the air-horn blasted and we were off. I won't relay my time - however - when I crossed the finish line, I laid on the ground just as long. I swore I would never run ever again. I had attempted to do the race by my own effort - without any input. I realized that doing it every day was beyond my abilities. 

       Months later a friend of ours was planning to start a new evangelistic outreach ministry. In order to launch the effort, it was decided to have a 5k race fundraiser. Debi suggested I try it. At first I hesitated. It was apparent - I needed outside help. I got advise from those who knew running and trained, per their counsel, for 4 weeks. Once that race was done, even though I broke no records, I was bit by the "running-bug". Due to input from other people, I had the desire to run every day. To grow as a runner, there are two requirements: first, you need to get input from another (whether a coach, a book or online source) and second, you need to then run, run, run. 

Running the race of faith

Whenever we approach Hebrews 11-12, we come to a foot race that is beyond our natural capabilities. Hebrews 12:1-2 gives us the "finish-line" of the race - 

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

      The one concept that defines the beginning, middle and end of this race is "faith". In a bit we will define what we mean by "faith". As I've ran over the years, I've discovered that I run best with other people. As we are urged to "run the race set before us", we have placed before us what the writer of Hebrews describes as a "great cloud of witnesses".

Jesus, not ourselves, is the focus of the race of faith

Whenever we read these words, we most likely think of the "great cloud of witnesses" as spectators and we as the participants or focal point of the race. However, whenever we consider the notables in this "cloud" from the seventeen names depicted in Hebrews 11, we come to a different conclusion. New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce comments:

It is not so much they who look at us as we who look at them - for encouragement. They have borne witness to the faithfulness of God; they were, in a manner of speaking, witnesses to Christ before His incarnation, for they lived in the good of that promise which has been realized in Him."

 Another notable author, R.C.H. Lenski, observes:

"The Scriptures teach that they behold the heavenly glories and say nothing about their beholding and watching earthly events. These saints are not 'witnesses' that see our faith and testify about us. They are witnesses whose life, works, sufferings, death attest their own faith, testify to us through the pages of holy Writ and in other history that they were true men of faith indeed."

These remarks aim us to see the true focal point of the "race of faith" as not having to do with ourselves as with the Author and Finisher of faith - the Lord Jesus Christ.

Defining what faith is not

As we behold the finish line and focus of the race of faith in Hebrews 12:1-2, we discover that the finish line is also the starting line we read of in Hebrews 11:1. I like races which have the start and finish lines in the same place, since I can say once I start the race: "I now know what the finish line already looks like".

      To understand what faith is, we must first grasp what it isn't. Most popular cynics today define faith as: "believing in something that makes no sense". This popular understanding is not referring to faith but rather what pyschologists call a "delusion". A delusion, according to Christian philosopher William Lane Craig, is a "firm, fixed, false belief". Delusions are spotted by their refusal to give up their claims despite the preponderance of contrary evidence and reason. Christian faith, on the other-hand, includes appeals to history, experience and reason, as seen in the remainder of Hebrews 11 (see also Isaiah 1:18 and Romans 12:1-2).

       Others have alleged that "faith is a leap in the dark". However, as one reads the Biblical actions of faith in Hebrews 11, the men and women of faith acted not in ignorance. Instead, they expressed what they understood from God's interractions with them. Faith is not so much defined in a textbook way as it is in action.

Defining what faith is

       So then, in seeing what faith "is not", what then is faith? Hebrews 11:1 is the closest we come to in all the scripture to a formal definition of faith. The New American Standard Bible gives us the translations of "assurance of things hoped for" and "the certainty of things not yet seen". "Assurance" and "certainty" are consequences of faith. To have assurances means I've arrived at a point where I'm confident in God, His words and work. Certainty, in the words of theologian Herman Bavinck, refers to a settled state of the soul brought about by the object of its focus. Both the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament words for "faith" speak of "firm persuasion" or simple "trust". 

      To flesh out further this base definition of "firm persuasion" or "trust", we can consider attempted definitions. J. Robertson McQuilkin defines faith as: "a choice to commit all of oneself unconditionally to the person of God, who is revealed in the Bible and witnessed to by the Holy Spirit." The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 logically credits the regenerating work of the Spirit as moving a sinner to see the need to trust in Christ. We read in its article on "Salvation":

"Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."

God the Holy Spirit works the work of regeneration, which branches in repentance and faith through the will of the sinner. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 continues....

"Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour."

Ephesians 2:8-9 rightly informs us that -

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Such saving faith is wonderfully summarized by theologian Herman Bavinck: "Saving faith is a sure knowledge that produces assurance and certainty".

Actions which follow from faith

      Faith is the root of life implanted at the moment of salvation by the Spirit which is accompanied by a free response of the sinner (James 1:18). Faith grows and matures. It is not based on any work of man while leading to a new way of life that issues forth in new works. Throughout the Christian life, we find that God uses a combination of spiritual disciplines (such a prayer, Bible reading, fellowship with other believers) and trials to mould our faith (James 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7). Faith defined is even better understood by the sort of actions that accompany it, since it manifests itself by fruits or spiritual affects of obedience to God (James 2:14-26). 

      The remainder of Hebrews 11 is devoted to unpacking what faith looks-like as it "walks on all fours". Hebrews 11:1-7 describes the actions of faith. Note the words in bold-print in the following excerpts from Hebrews 11:1-7 -

*"By faith we understand" - 11:3

     Biblical faith delivers to us genuine knowledge about God, the meaning of life and the destiny of our soul. The 11th century theologian Anselm describes how faith is a form of understanding in chapter 1 of his classic work "The Proslogion" - 

"Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me, when I seek you, for I cannot seek you, except you teach me, nor find you, except you reveal yourself. Let me seek you in longing, let me long for you in seeking; let me find you in love, and love you in finding."

Anselm then closes out his chapter with a statement that has historically expressed how faith functions as described in Hebrews 11:3 - 

"For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe, --that unless I believed, I should not understand."

*"By faith Abel offered to God" - 11:4

      Abel, whose name signifed the brevity of his life, led a life of faith that testified of God's working in his life. Jesus references Abel as a bookend in his summary of the Old Testament in terms of the righteousness of God expressed through faith (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51). Abel's martyrdom at the hand of Cain testifies to believers of every generation of what it means to lean on Jesus by faith alone. 

*"By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death" - 11:5

      Enoch was the first recorded man in redemptive history to have had “walked with God” in his generation. It is likely that Enoch’s naming of his son Methusaleh (whose name meant “in the year it was sent”) was due to his foreseeing God’s judgment on the world by the world-wide flood. We can surmise this point by noting that in the chronology of the pre-flood patriarchs, Methusaleh died in the very year the flood came on the earth. This may explain why Jude in Jude 1:14-16 evoked Enoch as an example of a godly man who was himself “fighting the good fight of faith”. 

*"And without faith it is impossible to please Him" - 11:6

     Sometimes the best way to understand a subject is by observing what happens whenever that element is missing. The writer of Hebrews utlizes this approach by showing how impossible it is to enjoy the pleasure of relationship and fellowship with God apart from faith. 

*"By faith Noah....in reverence prepared an ark..." - 11:7

     Hebrews 11:7 tells us that Noah is the first recorded person in redemptive history to have the notoriety of being an "heir of righteousness, according to faith". Such a title for Noah connects us to one other man ten generations removed from Noah - Abraham. As Noah walked with God in faith, 1 Peter 3:20 tells us that God's attribute of forebearance or "delaying of judgment" was refracted through Noah's life. Whenever we give our lives in preparation for God's service, we too can function as prisms by which God's character is seen more clearly by others. Hence, "reverence in preparation" is that action of faith that speaks of our heart motives lin living daily for Jesus.

From the five phrases above we can list five main actions of faith.

1. Primary way of understanding.

2. Prioritizing God before ourselves.

3. Passively yielding to God's will.

4. Pleasure in God.

5. Preparing to obey.

Illustrating the actions of faith       

      Imagine claiming to be a runner while ignoring the actions of obtaining proper footwear, training, coaching and nutrition. Such actions demonstrate whether or not we have it "in-us" to take running seriously. As I have discovered, people needed to input into me before I responded and began to pay attention to what was needed if I wanted to run. The Spirit of God is required for there to be a response of faith (John 16:8-12). Once He does His work of opening my heart (Acts 16:14) to see God's word addressing me as really being God's Word (1 Thessalonians 2:13), only then will I run the race of faith. Every single one of the people we read about in Hebrews 11 began their race of faith with an experience of a birth from above (the Old Testament term was called "circumcision of the heart" (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; Romans 2:29).  The faith that saved these pre-flood patriarchs was the same faith which sustained them. 

Closing thoughts

By God's marvelous grace, all of the seventeen individuals in Hebrews 11 ran the race of faith and crossed the finished line where Jesus is. May anyone reading this post, who is a follower of Jesus, so run their race. May we have those actions which accompany faith to urge us on to fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of faith. 

]]> Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Running. Running. Running.

       I started running in 2014. Every year there was a 5K (3.1 mile) foot race at a church camp to which my children and I attended. In a hasty moment (the night before the race!), I decided to enter. No, I had never trained! Nevertheless, what could possibly go wrong? I had an old pair of sneakers, an extra pair of jeans and an old t-shirt to run the course. As we all lined-up at the starting line, the air-horn blasted and we were off. I won't relay my time - however - when I crossed the finish line, I laid on the ground just as long. I swore I would never run ever again. I had attempted to do the race by my own effort - without any input. I realized that doing it every day was beyond my abilities. 

       Months later a friend of ours was planning to start a new evangelistic outreach ministry. In order to launch the effort, it was decided to have a 5k race fundraiser. Debi suggested I try it. At first I hesitated. It was apparent - I needed outside help. I got advise from those who knew running and trained, per their counsel, for 4 weeks. Once that race was done, even though I broke no records, I was bit by the "running-bug". Due to input from other people, I had the desire to run every day. To grow as a runner, there are two requirements: first, you need to get input from another (whether a coach, a book or online source) and second, you need to then run, run, run. 

Running the race of faith

Whenever we approach Hebrews 11-12, we come to a foot race that is beyond our natural capabilities. Hebrews 12:1-2 gives us the "finish-line" of the race - 

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

      The one concept that defines the beginning, middle and end of this race is "faith". In a bit we will define what we mean by "faith". As I've ran over the years, I've discovered that I run best with other people. As we are urged to "run the race set before us", we have placed before us what the writer of Hebrews describes as a "great cloud of witnesses".

Jesus, not ourselves, is the focus of the race of faith

Whenever we read these words, we most likely think of the "great cloud of witnesses" as spectators and we as the participants or focal point of the race. However, whenever we consider the notables in this "cloud" from the seventeen names depicted in Hebrews 11, we come to a different conclusion. New Testament scholar F.F. Bruce comments:

It is not so much they who look at us as we who look at them - for encouragement. They have borne witness to the faithfulness of God; they were, in a manner of speaking, witnesses to Christ before His incarnation, for they lived in the good of that promise which has been realized in Him."

 Another notable author, R.C.H. Lenski, observes:

"The Scriptures teach that they behold the heavenly glories and say nothing about their beholding and watching earthly events. These saints are not 'witnesses' that see our faith and testify about us. They are witnesses whose life, works, sufferings, death attest their own faith, testify to us through the pages of holy Writ and in other history that they were true men of faith indeed."

These remarks aim us to see the true focal point of the "race of faith" as not having to do with ourselves as with the Author and Finisher of faith - the Lord Jesus Christ.

Defining what faith is not

As we behold the finish line and focus of the race of faith in Hebrews 12:1-2, we discover that the finish line is also the starting line we read of in Hebrews 11:1. I like races which have the start and finish lines in the same place, since I can say once I start the race: "I now know what the finish line already looks like".

      To understand what faith is, we must first grasp what it isn't. Most popular cynics today define faith as: "believing in something that makes no sense". This popular understanding is not referring to faith but rather what pyschologists call a "delusion". A delusion, according to Christian philosopher William Lane Craig, is a "firm, fixed, false belief". Delusions are spotted by their refusal to give up their claims despite the preponderance of contrary evidence and reason. Christian faith, on the other-hand, includes appeals to history, experience and reason, as seen in the remainder of Hebrews 11 (see also Isaiah 1:18 and Romans 12:1-2).

       Others have alleged that "faith is a leap in the dark". However, as one reads the Biblical actions of faith in Hebrews 11, the men and women of faith acted not in ignorance. Instead, they expressed what they understood from God's interractions with them. Faith is not so much defined in a textbook way as it is in action.

Defining what faith is

       So then, in seeing what faith "is not", what then is faith? Hebrews 11:1 is the closest we come to in all the scripture to a formal definition of faith. The New American Standard Bible gives us the translations of "assurance of things hoped for" and "the certainty of things not yet seen". "Assurance" and "certainty" are consequences of faith. To have assurances means I've arrived at a point where I'm confident in God, His words and work. Certainty, in the words of theologian Herman Bavinck, refers to a settled state of the soul brought about by the object of its focus. Both the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament words for "faith" speak of "firm persuasion" or simple "trust". 

      To flesh out further this base definition of "firm persuasion" or "trust", we can consider attempted definitions. J. Robertson McQuilkin defines faith as: "a choice to commit all of oneself unconditionally to the person of God, who is revealed in the Bible and witnessed to by the Holy Spirit." The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 logically credits the regenerating work of the Spirit as moving a sinner to see the need to trust in Christ. We read in its article on "Salvation":

"Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."

God the Holy Spirit works the work of regeneration, which branches in repentance and faith through the will of the sinner. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 continues....

"Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour."

Ephesians 2:8-9 rightly informs us that -

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Such saving faith is wonderfully summarized by theologian Herman Bavinck: "Saving faith is a sure knowledge that produces assurance and certainty".

Actions which follow from faith

      Faith is the root of life implanted at the moment of salvation by the Spirit which is accompanied by a free response of the sinner (James 1:18). Faith grows and matures. It is not based on any work of man while leading to a new way of life that issues forth in new works. Throughout the Christian life, we find that God uses a combination of spiritual disciplines (such a prayer, Bible reading, fellowship with other believers) and trials to mould our faith (James 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7). Faith defined is even better understood by the sort of actions that accompany it, since it manifests itself by fruits or spiritual affects of obedience to God (James 2:14-26). 

      The remainder of Hebrews 11 is devoted to unpacking what faith looks-like as it "walks on all fours". Hebrews 11:1-7 describes the actions of faith. Note the words in bold-print in the following excerpts from Hebrews 11:1-7 -

*"By faith we understand" - 11:3

     Biblical faith delivers to us genuine knowledge about God, the meaning of life and the destiny of our soul. The 11th century theologian Anselm describes how faith is a form of understanding in chapter 1 of his classic work "The Proslogion" - 

"Teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me, when I seek you, for I cannot seek you, except you teach me, nor find you, except you reveal yourself. Let me seek you in longing, let me long for you in seeking; let me find you in love, and love you in finding."

Anselm then closes out his chapter with a statement that has historically expressed how faith functions as described in Hebrews 11:3 - 

"For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe, --that unless I believed, I should not understand."

*"By faith Abel offered to God" - 11:4

      Abel, whose name signifed the brevity of his life, led a life of faith that testified of God's working in his life. Jesus references Abel as a bookend in his summary of the Old Testament in terms of the righteousness of God expressed through faith (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51). Abel's martyrdom at the hand of Cain testifies to believers of every generation of what it means to lean on Jesus by faith alone. 

*"By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death" - 11:5

      Enoch was the first recorded man in redemptive history to have had “walked with God” in his generation. It is likely that Enoch’s naming of his son Methusaleh (whose name meant “in the year it was sent”) was due to his foreseeing God’s judgment on the world by the world-wide flood. We can surmise this point by noting that in the chronology of the pre-flood patriarchs, Methusaleh died in the very year the flood came on the earth. This may explain why Jude in Jude 1:14-16 evoked Enoch as an example of a godly man who was himself “fighting the good fight of faith”. 

*"And without faith it is impossible to please Him" - 11:6

     Sometimes the best way to understand a subject is by observing what happens whenever that element is missing. The writer of Hebrews utlizes this approach by showing how impossible it is to enjoy the pleasure of relationship and fellowship with God apart from faith. 

*"By faith Noah....in reverence prepared an ark..." - 11:7

     Hebrews 11:7 tells us that Noah is the first recorded person in redemptive history to have the notoriety of being an "heir of righteousness, according to faith". Such a title for Noah connects us to one other man ten generations removed from Noah - Abraham. As Noah walked with God in faith, 1 Peter 3:20 tells us that God's attribute of forebearance or "delaying of judgment" was refracted through Noah's life. Whenever we give our lives in preparation for God's service, we too can function as prisms by which God's character is seen more clearly by others. Hence, "reverence in preparation" is that action of faith that speaks of our heart motives lin living daily for Jesus.

From the five phrases above we can list five main actions of faith.

1. Primary way of understanding.

2. Prioritizing God before ourselves.

3. Passively yielding to God's will.

4. Pleasure in God.

5. Preparing to obey.

Illustrating the actions of faith       

      Imagine claiming to be a runner while ignoring the actions of obtaining proper footwear, training, coaching and nutrition. Such actions demonstrate whether or not we have it "in-us" to take running seriously. As I have discovered, people needed to input into me before I responded and began to pay attention to what was needed if I wanted to run. The Spirit of God is required for there to be a response of faith (John 16:8-12). Once He does His work of opening my heart (Acts 16:14) to see God's word addressing me as really being God's Word (1 Thessalonians 2:13), only then will I run the race of faith. Every single one of the people we read about in Hebrews 11 began their race of faith with an experience of a birth from above (the Old Testament term was called "circumcision of the heart" (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; Romans 2:29).  The faith that saved these pre-flood patriarchs was the same faith which sustained them. 

Closing thoughts

By God's marvelous grace, all of the seventeen individuals in Hebrews 11 ran the race of faith and crossed the finished line where Jesus is. May anyone reading this post, who is a follower of Jesus, so run their race. May we have those actions which accompany faith to urge us on to fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of faith. 

]]> The Good News About Fearing God - Thoughts on Revelation 14:6-7 https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/fearing-god- https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/fearing-god-#comments Sun, 04 Aug 2019 18:00:00 -0400 https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/fearing-god- Revelation 14:6-7 "And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”

Avoiding poison ivy

     As a young boy, I can recall the time one of my childhood friends had gotten into a batch of poison ivy. He had the tell-tale rash of poison ivy on his face, arms and legs. For several days, I watched him scratch in agony, not finding relief. The blisters turned into sores. I told my dad the story of my friend, commenting that I never wanted to run into poison ivy. Now keep this short little story in mind, since I'll refer back to it later in this post.

The "good news" and the "not-so-seemingly-good news"

       Whenever we turn to the pages of the New Testament, we find reference to the word "gospel" over 100 times. The term "gospel" means "good news". Jesus first mentions the term "gospel" in Matthew 4:23 as He begins to proclaim the "Gospel of the Kingdom". The good news that Jesus preached was that the reign of God in salvation had begun to manifest in the midst of a people who were spiritually oppressed. The Jews conceived of the "kingdom of God" as becoming visible at the end of history. Much like a birthday present that comes early, the good news was that God's Kingdom had begun to appear as a result of Jesus' public ministry. The middle mention of the term "gospel" in the New Testament is found in the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3.  Paul writes of the Gospel or "good news" of salvation found in Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. The good news is that the forgiveness of sins was once for all achieved, as demonstrated by Christ's resurrection from the dead.

      So far, then, we can see how the term "Gospel" refers to "goodnews". However, whenever we turn to the final mention of this term in Revelation 14:6-7, we read the following words - 

       "And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to                    preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and                      tongue and people. and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him                  glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made                  the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”

       These two verses put together two seemingly unrelated ideas - "the gospel" and "fear God". What makes this final mention even more remarkable is that, unlike the other examples mentioned earlier, this final reference makes it hard to see how the angel's message would count as "good news". So how do we make sense of this? Let's first return back to the little story I told at the beginning of this post and define what the scriptures means when it says: "fear God".

The news I was glad to hear

       I had told my dad about my friend and the poison ivy. He warned me about the poison ivy around our wooded home, what it looked like and how to avoid it. I can remember playing outside in absolute terror. I was so afraid of running into poison ivy, that I went to the extreme to avoid anything that had leaves. One day I was outside and suddenly my dad yelled to step away from one of the larger trees in our yard that had the dreaded plant. He told me that what was growing upon the tree was not poison ivy, but its worse cousin - "poison oak". As my dad retaught me what to look for, I rejoiced in hearing the words - "fear poison ivy". I could now play freely outside while avoiding the fate of my friend. Such a "fear" or "respect" for the outdoors actually saved me from pain. 

The news we need to hear - "fear God"

      So in light of this illustration, how can we discern Revelation 14:6-7 to contain good news in its urgent message to the final inhabitants of future planet earth: "fear God"? To fear God involves four key ideas.

1. To fear God means that I reverence God. To reverence someone or something desribes responding in a way that recognizes the thing or person for what they are. God is described, for example, in Hebrews 12:29 as "our God is a consuming fire". If we fail to revere normal fire, we will get burnt or hurt. God is uncreated, holy and, by His very nature, upholds all other things. If I fail to acknowledge God's nature, to "revere Him", I am demonstrating a "lack of fear" in God at the peril of my own soul (see Hebrews 10:31). 

2. To fear God means I depend upon God. "Fear of God" also carries the idea of dependance on God. Hebrews 12:28 states this point most plainly -  "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe."

3. To fear God is to have the desire to obey God. In Genesis 22:12, we find the patriarch Abraham heeding the voice of God in offering up his son Isaac on an altar. As Abraham is about to plunge the knife into his son's chest, the Angel of the Lord (i.e. an appearance of God Himself) cries out to Abraham to desist, since he has demonstrated his "fear of God". Abraham's actions reveal a total desire to obey God. When we fear God as believers, we are willing to do whatever it takes, whatever the cost, to live out God's will for our lives. 

4. To fear God means I'm on my way to escaping what I deserve. This final meaning of the Biblical concept of "fearing God" refers to the impulse sinners ought to have in relating to their Creator. Hebrews 12:25 captures what we're saying here in a most perfect way - "See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven."

      The Holy Spirit's involvement is necessary to stoke the impulse of the "fear of God" into a full-fledged desire to trust God. Theologians talk about two-types of fear: "servile fear" or a fear of someone that is perceived as wanting to harm them, and "filial fear" or the type of fear a son may have in not wanting to bring grief to his dad. Sinners, by nature, view God as their enemy. As the Spirit sheds further light of grace, for those who come to see God as a Father reaching out to save them, such "fear of God" saves them (comapre John 16:8-12).

       Just as I rejoiced when my father had told me the need to "fear poison ivy", the goodnews of the Gospel includes this notion of "fearing God" to warn us of how to escape what we deserve - wrath. God's wrath has to do with His "settled opposition against sin". God hates sin because it opposes His holy character and destroys the objects of His love - namely ourselves. As the Spirit of God works in us the need to "fear God", author John Murray notes:1

"As sinful people, we have every reason to fear God's judgment; it is part of our motivation to be reconciled with God".

Is it no wonder that Proverbs 1:7 tells us - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction." What at first is "seemingly-not-so good news"  - "fear God" - is actually news we need to hear. 

The final mention of the Gospel is good news after all

       In this brief survey of the concept of "the fear of God", we have discovered that its placement along with the term "Gospel" is very, very good news. What the Apostle John demonstrates is that at the end of the age, God extends an undeserved overture of grace to a world that doesn't intend to return the favor. To a world that doesn't want God, God wants to show mercy. The Gospel is about giving us "good news" of how to escape the wrath that is to come (read John 3:16). Author John Murray lays out three practical benefits stemming from a healthy fear of God:2 

1. By the fear of God we flee to Jesus (since we see in Jesus our provision for              satisfying the wrath of God, or what is called "propitiation"), (1 John 2:1-2).

2. By the fear of God we seek after godly living (Philippians 2:12-13).

3. By the fear of God we conquer all other fears (1 John 4:18).

Closing thoughts:

      As I close out this post today, Revelation 14 reminds us that God's attributes are never in conflict. God's wrath against sin shows us what He opposes or hates. God's love toward sinners describes His intention to want to save them. God's justice is His righteous actions towards a world that has no desire for God. God's mercy in having the angel proclaim the Gospel once more at the end of history reveals a God whose mercy is extended, undeserved. All of these attributes are not merely possessions of God, they are Him. God expresses Himself in these ways, not because of the creature, but because of the kind of God He is. Would it be that we would respond appropriately to this God of grace. Would we fear God - since to fear Him leads to the greatest news of all - the Gospel. 

End notes:

1. John Murray. No true religion without the fear of God.

2. John Murray. No true religion without the fear of God.

]]> Revelation 14:6-7 "And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”

Avoiding poison ivy

     As a young boy, I can recall the time one of my childhood friends had gotten into a batch of poison ivy. He had the tell-tale rash of poison ivy on his face, arms and legs. For several days, I watched him scratch in agony, not finding relief. The blisters turned into sores. I told my dad the story of my friend, commenting that I never wanted to run into poison ivy. Now keep this short little story in mind, since I'll refer back to it later in this post.

The "good news" and the "not-so-seemingly-good news"

       Whenever we turn to the pages of the New Testament, we find reference to the word "gospel" over 100 times. The term "gospel" means "good news". Jesus first mentions the term "gospel" in Matthew 4:23 as He begins to proclaim the "Gospel of the Kingdom". The good news that Jesus preached was that the reign of God in salvation had begun to manifest in the midst of a people who were spiritually oppressed. The Jews conceived of the "kingdom of God" as becoming visible at the end of history. Much like a birthday present that comes early, the good news was that God's Kingdom had begun to appear as a result of Jesus' public ministry. The middle mention of the term "gospel" in the New Testament is found in the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3.  Paul writes of the Gospel or "good news" of salvation found in Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. The good news is that the forgiveness of sins was once for all achieved, as demonstrated by Christ's resurrection from the dead.

      So far, then, we can see how the term "Gospel" refers to "goodnews". However, whenever we turn to the final mention of this term in Revelation 14:6-7, we read the following words - 

       "And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to                    preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and                      tongue and people. and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him                  glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made                  the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”

       These two verses put together two seemingly unrelated ideas - "the gospel" and "fear God". What makes this final mention even more remarkable is that, unlike the other examples mentioned earlier, this final reference makes it hard to see how the angel's message would count as "good news". So how do we make sense of this? Let's first return back to the little story I told at the beginning of this post and define what the scriptures means when it says: "fear God".

The news I was glad to hear

       I had told my dad about my friend and the poison ivy. He warned me about the poison ivy around our wooded home, what it looked like and how to avoid it. I can remember playing outside in absolute terror. I was so afraid of running into poison ivy, that I went to the extreme to avoid anything that had leaves. One day I was outside and suddenly my dad yelled to step away from one of the larger trees in our yard that had the dreaded plant. He told me that what was growing upon the tree was not poison ivy, but its worse cousin - "poison oak". As my dad retaught me what to look for, I rejoiced in hearing the words - "fear poison ivy". I could now play freely outside while avoiding the fate of my friend. Such a "fear" or "respect" for the outdoors actually saved me from pain. 

The news we need to hear - "fear God"

      So in light of this illustration, how can we discern Revelation 14:6-7 to contain good news in its urgent message to the final inhabitants of future planet earth: "fear God"? To fear God involves four key ideas.

1. To fear God means that I reverence God. To reverence someone or something desribes responding in a way that recognizes the thing or person for what they are. God is described, for example, in Hebrews 12:29 as "our God is a consuming fire". If we fail to revere normal fire, we will get burnt or hurt. God is uncreated, holy and, by His very nature, upholds all other things. If I fail to acknowledge God's nature, to "revere Him", I am demonstrating a "lack of fear" in God at the peril of my own soul (see Hebrews 10:31). 

2. To fear God means I depend upon God. "Fear of God" also carries the idea of dependance on God. Hebrews 12:28 states this point most plainly -  "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe."

3. To fear God is to have the desire to obey God. In Genesis 22:12, we find the patriarch Abraham heeding the voice of God in offering up his son Isaac on an altar. As Abraham is about to plunge the knife into his son's chest, the Angel of the Lord (i.e. an appearance of God Himself) cries out to Abraham to desist, since he has demonstrated his "fear of God". Abraham's actions reveal a total desire to obey God. When we fear God as believers, we are willing to do whatever it takes, whatever the cost, to live out God's will for our lives. 

4. To fear God means I'm on my way to escaping what I deserve. This final meaning of the Biblical concept of "fearing God" refers to the impulse sinners ought to have in relating to their Creator. Hebrews 12:25 captures what we're saying here in a most perfect way - "See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven."

      The Holy Spirit's involvement is necessary to stoke the impulse of the "fear of God" into a full-fledged desire to trust God. Theologians talk about two-types of fear: "servile fear" or a fear of someone that is perceived as wanting to harm them, and "filial fear" or the type of fear a son may have in not wanting to bring grief to his dad. Sinners, by nature, view God as their enemy. As the Spirit sheds further light of grace, for those who come to see God as a Father reaching out to save them, such "fear of God" saves them (comapre John 16:8-12).

       Just as I rejoiced when my father had told me the need to "fear poison ivy", the goodnews of the Gospel includes this notion of "fearing God" to warn us of how to escape what we deserve - wrath. God's wrath has to do with His "settled opposition against sin". God hates sin because it opposes His holy character and destroys the objects of His love - namely ourselves. As the Spirit of God works in us the need to "fear God", author John Murray notes:1

"As sinful people, we have every reason to fear God's judgment; it is part of our motivation to be reconciled with God".

Is it no wonder that Proverbs 1:7 tells us - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction." What at first is "seemingly-not-so good news"  - "fear God" - is actually news we need to hear. 

The final mention of the Gospel is good news after all

       In this brief survey of the concept of "the fear of God", we have discovered that its placement along with the term "Gospel" is very, very good news. What the Apostle John demonstrates is that at the end of the age, God extends an undeserved overture of grace to a world that doesn't intend to return the favor. To a world that doesn't want God, God wants to show mercy. The Gospel is about giving us "good news" of how to escape the wrath that is to come (read John 3:16). Author John Murray lays out three practical benefits stemming from a healthy fear of God:2 

1. By the fear of God we flee to Jesus (since we see in Jesus our provision for              satisfying the wrath of God, or what is called "propitiation"), (1 John 2:1-2).

2. By the fear of God we seek after godly living (Philippians 2:12-13).

3. By the fear of God we conquer all other fears (1 John 4:18).

Closing thoughts:

      As I close out this post today, Revelation 14 reminds us that God's attributes are never in conflict. God's wrath against sin shows us what He opposes or hates. God's love toward sinners describes His intention to want to save them. God's justice is His righteous actions towards a world that has no desire for God. God's mercy in having the angel proclaim the Gospel once more at the end of history reveals a God whose mercy is extended, undeserved. All of these attributes are not merely possessions of God, they are Him. God expresses Himself in these ways, not because of the creature, but because of the kind of God He is. Would it be that we would respond appropriately to this God of grace. Would we fear God - since to fear Him leads to the greatest news of all - the Gospel. 

End notes:

1. John Murray. No true religion without the fear of God.

2. John Murray. No true religion without the fear of God.

]]> How the doctrine of the Trinity relates to saving faith https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/how-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity-relates-to- https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/how-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity-relates-to-#comments Wed, 10 Jul 2019 14:00:00 -0400 https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/how-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity-relates-to- 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

Introduction: 

I was once asked a question about what the bare minimum requirements for expressing trust in Jesus Christ for one's salvation. The questioner then added a caveat: "how does the doctrine of the Trinity fit into one's salvation experience?" This question and its caveat are very important, since various levels of comprehension of the Gospel exists across the spectrum of children and adults.

In this post I will lay out four basic truths that are vital in any profession of faith. The Christian faith centers around the doctrine of the Trinity as the Biblical teaching on the nature and identification of the God of the Bible. The aim of today is to demonstrate why Biblical saving faith is ultimately connected to the Trinity. May this post aid us all in praying for the salvation of loves ones and friends and assessing our own spiritual status before the Lord.

What doctrines are included in a basic profession of faith in Jesus Christ?

Let's consider first what are the "basics" for saving faith.

1. Acknowledgment of Jesus as Savior, Lord and the exclusive way of salvation (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9).

2. Belief in the existence of God as revealed in the Bible (1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews 11:6).

3. A level of acknowledgement of the total truthfulness of scripture regarding my sinful condition and God's provision of salvation in Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15).

4. Salvation is a free gift received by faith alone, apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

All people are going to have varying levels of comprehension and exposure to the four points I just mentioned (a little child, a person from a non-Christian home and a person raised in a Christian home, for example). Moreover, some may nuance the above "short-list" with other very important truths. For our purposes, though, this short-list could count as a minimal content requirement for saving faith.

How the Trinity relates to salvation

So what about the Trinity? Some may noticed that I did not explicitly include the Trinity in the short list of necessary truths. As I'll explain in a moment, the doctrine of the Trinity may not be explicitly comprehended by some at salvation, however, its implications embed the other four truths. Let's unpack this further.

The doctrine of the Trinity involves three truths about God:

1. There is One, and only one God.

2. This One God exists as three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

3. The three Persons, distinguished by their relationships to one one another, are One God. A person may very well be saved by not having an explicit grasp of the Trinity (say a child), however, all are saved by the implicit foundation the doctrine of the Trinity provides for all four points. Consider how the four truths I mentioned at the beginning of this post are implicitly (and with discipleship, seen to relate explicitly) to saving faith.

#1 The confession - "Jesus is Savior and Lord", is an affirmation of Christ's deity.

The early Christians already affirmed the Jewish Monotheism of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Isaiah 43:10-11). However, they also asserted the Deity of Jesus (1 Corinthians 8:6) which followed from the vindication of His claims and life by His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). Yahweh in the O.T was declared the only Savior (Joel 2:9; Isaiah 43:10-11). Jesus, of course, is declared the Savior of the world (John 1:29). The doctrine of the Trinity has as part of its structure the affirmation of monotheism and the deity of Christ. This implication of the Trinity flows from the explicit affirmation of Jesus as Savior and Lord. Deny the Trinity and you lose the coherence of this first foundation stone of saving faith.

What of #2, the existence of one true God revealed in the Bible?

We know God is love (1 John 4:8,16). To love, God within Himself had to had been the God of love before and apart from creation. To have love, you need a subject who loves, a second person that receives such loves and the love in between the two. No other religion in the world posits a loving God like Christianity. The doctrine of the Trinity affirms the eternal act of love between the Trinity. To deny the Trinity leads to positing a God that became a God of love because of the creation. Again, the God of scripture makes the Trinitarian revelation the scaffolding for revealing truly who God is (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Cor. 13:14).

How about #3, namely, grasping the authority of scripture's statements about my sin and the salvation work of Jesus?

The implications of the Trinity also work to support this point as well. In addition to the belief in monotheism and Christ's deity, we have the Personality of the Holy Spirit rounding out a most basic outline of the Trinitarian understanding of God. If we affirm scripture as Divinely revealed (Exodus 24:4; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21), we must also affirm the Spirit's status as Truly Divine, since He is credited as the Person superintending the production of scripture through the agency of the 40 human authors of the Old and New Testaments (2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16).

This then leads us to #4, salvation is received by faith alone, apart from works.

Does the Trinity implicitly undergird how we receive our salvation? Absolutely! 2 Corinthians 5:15-20; Ephesians 1:1-5; 2:1-5; 2 Peter 1:1-2 and other texts describe the Person of the Father planning our salvation. John 1:29; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Timothy 2:4; 4:10; Titus 2:11-12; 1 John 2:2 and other texts express the Son as purchasing our salvation. John 16:8-12; Ephesians 1:13 and other texts describe the Holy Spirit applying salvation through saving faith. As each of the Persons of the Trinity are involved in how we receive salvation, other texts credit the miracle of salvation to God (Isaiah 43:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:20, 6:1-2), which can only mean that if one denies the Trinity, then the way in which we receive salvation is underminded.

Bringing it home

To summarize, let me say two things.

1. First, the Trinity implicitly flows from and provides the foundation for the four main points of what comprises basic saving faith (these are mentioned at the beginning of today's post).

2. Second, even if a person gets saved without having a full working knowledge of the Trinity, nevertheless, upon being discipled, that person will embrace the doctrine, and thus see it as the only valid way for understanding the God of scripture, salvation and eternity. To explicitly and knowingly deny the Trinity brings into serious question the genuineness of one's salvation. I close out with this quote I heard years ago: "Try to figure out the doctrine of the Trinity, and you'll lose your mind. Deny the doctrine of the Trinity, and you lose your soul."

]]> 2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

Introduction: 

I was once asked a question about what the bare minimum requirements for expressing trust in Jesus Christ for one's salvation. The questioner then added a caveat: "how does the doctrine of the Trinity fit into one's salvation experience?" This question and its caveat are very important, since various levels of comprehension of the Gospel exists across the spectrum of children and adults.

In this post I will lay out four basic truths that are vital in any profession of faith. The Christian faith centers around the doctrine of the Trinity as the Biblical teaching on the nature and identification of the God of the Bible. The aim of today is to demonstrate why Biblical saving faith is ultimately connected to the Trinity. May this post aid us all in praying for the salvation of loves ones and friends and assessing our own spiritual status before the Lord.

What doctrines are included in a basic profession of faith in Jesus Christ?

Let's consider first what are the "basics" for saving faith.

1. Acknowledgment of Jesus as Savior, Lord and the exclusive way of salvation (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9).

2. Belief in the existence of God as revealed in the Bible (1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews 11:6).

3. A level of acknowledgement of the total truthfulness of scripture regarding my sinful condition and God's provision of salvation in Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15).

4. Salvation is a free gift received by faith alone, apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

All people are going to have varying levels of comprehension and exposure to the four points I just mentioned (a little child, a person from a non-Christian home and a person raised in a Christian home, for example). Moreover, some may nuance the above "short-list" with other very important truths. For our purposes, though, this short-list could count as a minimal content requirement for saving faith.

How the Trinity relates to salvation

So what about the Trinity? Some may noticed that I did not explicitly include the Trinity in the short list of necessary truths. As I'll explain in a moment, the doctrine of the Trinity may not be explicitly comprehended by some at salvation, however, its implications embed the other four truths. Let's unpack this further.

The doctrine of the Trinity involves three truths about God:

1. There is One, and only one God.

2. This One God exists as three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

3. The three Persons, distinguished by their relationships to one one another, are One God. A person may very well be saved by not having an explicit grasp of the Trinity (say a child), however, all are saved by the implicit foundation the doctrine of the Trinity provides for all four points. Consider how the four truths I mentioned at the beginning of this post are implicitly (and with discipleship, seen to relate explicitly) to saving faith.

#1 The confession - "Jesus is Savior and Lord", is an affirmation of Christ's deity.

The early Christians already affirmed the Jewish Monotheism of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Isaiah 43:10-11). However, they also asserted the Deity of Jesus (1 Corinthians 8:6) which followed from the vindication of His claims and life by His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15). Yahweh in the O.T was declared the only Savior (Joel 2:9; Isaiah 43:10-11). Jesus, of course, is declared the Savior of the world (John 1:29). The doctrine of the Trinity has as part of its structure the affirmation of monotheism and the deity of Christ. This implication of the Trinity flows from the explicit affirmation of Jesus as Savior and Lord. Deny the Trinity and you lose the coherence of this first foundation stone of saving faith.

What of #2, the existence of one true God revealed in the Bible?

We know God is love (1 John 4:8,16). To love, God within Himself had to had been the God of love before and apart from creation. To have love, you need a subject who loves, a second person that receives such loves and the love in between the two. No other religion in the world posits a loving God like Christianity. The doctrine of the Trinity affirms the eternal act of love between the Trinity. To deny the Trinity leads to positing a God that became a God of love because of the creation. Again, the God of scripture makes the Trinitarian revelation the scaffolding for revealing truly who God is (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Cor. 13:14).

How about #3, namely, grasping the authority of scripture's statements about my sin and the salvation work of Jesus?

The implications of the Trinity also work to support this point as well. In addition to the belief in monotheism and Christ's deity, we have the Personality of the Holy Spirit rounding out a most basic outline of the Trinitarian understanding of God. If we affirm scripture as Divinely revealed (Exodus 24:4; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21), we must also affirm the Spirit's status as Truly Divine, since He is credited as the Person superintending the production of scripture through the agency of the 40 human authors of the Old and New Testaments (2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16).

This then leads us to #4, salvation is received by faith alone, apart from works.

Does the Trinity implicitly undergird how we receive our salvation? Absolutely! 2 Corinthians 5:15-20; Ephesians 1:1-5; 2:1-5; 2 Peter 1:1-2 and other texts describe the Person of the Father planning our salvation. John 1:29; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Timothy 2:4; 4:10; Titus 2:11-12; 1 John 2:2 and other texts express the Son as purchasing our salvation. John 16:8-12; Ephesians 1:13 and other texts describe the Holy Spirit applying salvation through saving faith. As each of the Persons of the Trinity are involved in how we receive salvation, other texts credit the miracle of salvation to God (Isaiah 43:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:20, 6:1-2), which can only mean that if one denies the Trinity, then the way in which we receive salvation is underminded.

Bringing it home

To summarize, let me say two things.

1. First, the Trinity implicitly flows from and provides the foundation for the four main points of what comprises basic saving faith (these are mentioned at the beginning of today's post).

2. Second, even if a person gets saved without having a full working knowledge of the Trinity, nevertheless, upon being discipled, that person will embrace the doctrine, and thus see it as the only valid way for understanding the God of scripture, salvation and eternity. To explicitly and knowingly deny the Trinity brings into serious question the genuineness of one's salvation. I close out with this quote I heard years ago: "Try to figure out the doctrine of the Trinity, and you'll lose your mind. Deny the doctrine of the Trinity, and you lose your soul."

]]> God And All Things https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/god-and-all-things-primary https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/god-and-all-things-primary#comments Mon, 01 Jul 2019 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.newhope-ny.org/god-and-all-things/post/god-and-all-things-primary Romans 11:36-12:2 "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Introduction: I don't want to be another goldfish

I used to own a goldfish. As I watched the fish swim, it would stare blankly, unaware of the water that was sustaining it. The fish was fed by me. If there had been no aquarium, the fish would have died. Like that fish, many Christians carry on their day with hardly a second thought about God, His being and attributes. The great Dutch thelogian Abraham Kuyper once noted: "there is not one square inch of space that Christ cannot say "mine!" I don't want to remain ignorant of God's presence like a goldfish. Instead, I need His grace to cultivate a heightened awareness of His all pervading reality.

This first post sets the tone for what I aim to do in this blogsite - to write about God and everything else. There is the Creator and His creation. There is the Redeemer and those whom He came to redeem. Any possibility we have of knowing God, or even knowing about God, is totally due to the gracious efforts He initiates. Knowing God is the chief purpose of life. With those thoughts in mind, is it a wonder how we could put anything in God's place? Yet, we often do. The late author A.W. Tozer writes in his classic book, "The Pursuit of God":

"The world of sense intrudes upon our attention day and night for the whole of our lifetime. It is clamorous, insistent and self-demonstrating. It does not appeal to our faith, it is here, assaulting our five senses, demanding to be accepted as real and final. But sin has clouded the lenses of our hearts that we cannot see that reality, the City of God, shining around us. The world of senses triumphs. The visible becomes the enemy of the invisible, the temporal of the eternal."

Tozer then concludes:

"At the root of the Christian life lies belief in the invisible. The object of the Christian's faith is unseen reality."

This first post aims to stir our thoughts toward cultivating a greater awareness of God's all-surpassing presence. 

God's infinite presence is the majesty which stirs the believer to live for Him

Reflection upon Romans 11:36-12:2 gives us a way to understand how the Christian is to live in the presence of God. Older writers often talked about living in God''s presence by the Latin phrase "Coram Dei", which referred to heightened awareness of God's activity within them and through them. God's omnipresence, we could say, is His "infinite presence" which influences all points in the universe, even the universe itself. All things - time, space, people - are present to God. To illustrate, picture a man at the supper table. He has before him a plate and all the utensils. He can reach out and affect anyone of those objects, since they're all in front of him.

All of creation is before the living God. Not only do all things lay before Him, God also is present at every place and moment in history and space. Theologians refer to this aspect of God's omnipresence as His immensity, which is referred to in the Bible (1 Kings 8:22-23; Acts 17:26-28). God's presence suffuses the fabric of time and space while keeping Himself distinct and separate from it (i.e. another aspect, God's transcendence, Psalm 46:10; 1 Timothy 6:16).

What I've described marks the first step in cultivating a greater awareness of God - namely what we could call His "infinite presence". He is the ultimate, living, only, Personal, uncreated reality that is identified as three persons - Father, Son And Spirit (Matthew 28:20; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

This infinite presence of God is the majesty which stirs the heart to want to know God. When I focus on God''s infinite presence in Romans 11:36, the verse leaps off the page. This one verse of Romans 11:36 is a Bible within the Bible. Note the words of the verse:

"from Him" - that is, God the creator.

"through Him", that is, Christ the redeemer".

"to Him", that is, Christ our soon coming King.

"to Him be glory for ever, amen", that is, the Triune God's work of concluding history. The entire canon of scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, finds its summary in Romans 11:36. So God''s infinite presence is the majesty which stirs the heart to know God. Let''s now consider how we go from knowing God to living for Him.

God's indwelling presence motivates the believer to live for Him

When we transition to Romans 12:1-2, we find the command to present our bodies as living sacrifices. Paul is beginning to discuss what we could call God's "indwelling presence" in the Christian. Here we see the Christian presented as a living sacrifice, much like those sacrifices brought into the temple at Jerusalem in Paul's day. They were brought for presentation to God to express worship. Those sacrificial animals were set apart. The result? Death. The sacrifice left the world of the living to give its life to point the way to the Author of all things. The sweet aroma that wafted its way throughout the temple would remind worshipers of their purpose for living - to know God.

The Christian is a living sacrifice (see Ephesians 5:1-2). He or she is to voluntarily come. The remainder of Romans 12:1-2 commands not only action, but surrender. Just as Jesus went willingly to the cross to give His life on our behalf, we too are to follow in His steps (Hebrews 12:1-3; 1 Peter 2:21).

We find the command in the passive voice: "be transformed by the renewing of our minds". Too often we are tempted to "be conformed to this world". Passivity in the things of the flesh leads to swift spiritual decline. We find too often the tendency to put things in cruise control and let the world dictate our agenda. God''s indwelling presence in the Christian as the Person of the Holy Spirit urges that we exchange worldly passivity to surrender to His leading.

What does it look like when the Christian follows through in surrender to the Spirit's indwelling presence? Paul supplies the answer in Ephesians 4:20-24 -

"if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

As one reads Romans 12:1-2, the urgency to be transformed by the "renewing of the mind" is heightened. Renewal of one's mind entails the combination of spiritual and moral transformation. The Christian is passive, in one sense, yielding to the Spirit's inner working. Yet, at the same time, the Christian is actively participating with the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23; Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 1:4-11).

How God's infinite and indwelling presence work in the believer's life to increase a sensitivity to Him.

So as we head down the homestretch of today's post, lets put together what we have said about God, all things and how we increase our awareness of Him by His grace. The two headings we considered had to do with what we call God's "infinite presence" and "indwelling presence". At salvation, the Spirit of God comes to indwell the Christian (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20). Christians are described as the temple of the living God, both individually and corporately (Romans 6:4-12; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; Ephesians 3; 1 Peter 2:4-11). God's infinite presence, accessible to anyone, manifests in its more obvious expression by the indwelling of the Person of the Holy Spirit in Christans (see John 14:16-18; 15:26-27). Only by the Spirit can one test or prove that good, acceptable and perfect will of God (i.e. the scriptures, see 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Hebrews 4:12).

Closing thoughts

Today's post featured Romans 11:36-12:2. We noted how God's presence can be understood by two headings: His infinite presence (i.e. omni-presence) and His indwelling presence (i.e. the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Christian). The presence of God, by the Person of the Spirit in the Christian, enlightens them to their spiritual identity. The Spirit's enlightening work also empowers such persons to live out the will of God found in the Word of God. Such truths alert us to the pervading reality of God's desire to work in and through every Christian His powerful and mighty presence. There is God and all things. May we, as part of "all other things", look to and live for God that is overall and through all things.

]]> Romans 11:36-12:2 "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Introduction: I don't want to be another goldfish

I used to own a goldfish. As I watched the fish swim, it would stare blankly, unaware of the water that was sustaining it. The fish was fed by me. If there had been no aquarium, the fish would have died. Like that fish, many Christians carry on their day with hardly a second thought about God, His being and attributes. The great Dutch thelogian Abraham Kuyper once noted: "there is not one square inch of space that Christ cannot say "mine!" I don't want to remain ignorant of God's presence like a goldfish. Instead, I need His grace to cultivate a heightened awareness of His all pervading reality.

This first post sets the tone for what I aim to do in this blogsite - to write about God and everything else. There is the Creator and His creation. There is the Redeemer and those whom He came to redeem. Any possibility we have of knowing God, or even knowing about God, is totally due to the gracious efforts He initiates. Knowing God is the chief purpose of life. With those thoughts in mind, is it a wonder how we could put anything in God's place? Yet, we often do. The late author A.W. Tozer writes in his classic book, "The Pursuit of God":

"The world of sense intrudes upon our attention day and night for the whole of our lifetime. It is clamorous, insistent and self-demonstrating. It does not appeal to our faith, it is here, assaulting our five senses, demanding to be accepted as real and final. But sin has clouded the lenses of our hearts that we cannot see that reality, the City of God, shining around us. The world of senses triumphs. The visible becomes the enemy of the invisible, the temporal of the eternal."

Tozer then concludes:

"At the root of the Christian life lies belief in the invisible. The object of the Christian's faith is unseen reality."

This first post aims to stir our thoughts toward cultivating a greater awareness of God's all-surpassing presence. 

God's infinite presence is the majesty which stirs the believer to live for Him

Reflection upon Romans 11:36-12:2 gives us a way to understand how the Christian is to live in the presence of God. Older writers often talked about living in God''s presence by the Latin phrase "Coram Dei", which referred to heightened awareness of God's activity within them and through them. God's omnipresence, we could say, is His "infinite presence" which influences all points in the universe, even the universe itself. All things - time, space, people - are present to God. To illustrate, picture a man at the supper table. He has before him a plate and all the utensils. He can reach out and affect anyone of those objects, since they're all in front of him.

All of creation is before the living God. Not only do all things lay before Him, God also is present at every place and moment in history and space. Theologians refer to this aspect of God's omnipresence as His immensity, which is referred to in the Bible (1 Kings 8:22-23; Acts 17:26-28). God's presence suffuses the fabric of time and space while keeping Himself distinct and separate from it (i.e. another aspect, God's transcendence, Psalm 46:10; 1 Timothy 6:16).

What I've described marks the first step in cultivating a greater awareness of God - namely what we could call His "infinite presence". He is the ultimate, living, only, Personal, uncreated reality that is identified as three persons - Father, Son And Spirit (Matthew 28:20; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

This infinite presence of God is the majesty which stirs the heart to want to know God. When I focus on God''s infinite presence in Romans 11:36, the verse leaps off the page. This one verse of Romans 11:36 is a Bible within the Bible. Note the words of the verse:

"from Him" - that is, God the creator.

"through Him", that is, Christ the redeemer".

"to Him", that is, Christ our soon coming King.

"to Him be glory for ever, amen", that is, the Triune God's work of concluding history. The entire canon of scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, finds its summary in Romans 11:36. So God''s infinite presence is the majesty which stirs the heart to know God. Let''s now consider how we go from knowing God to living for Him.

God's indwelling presence motivates the believer to live for Him

When we transition to Romans 12:1-2, we find the command to present our bodies as living sacrifices. Paul is beginning to discuss what we could call God's "indwelling presence" in the Christian. Here we see the Christian presented as a living sacrifice, much like those sacrifices brought into the temple at Jerusalem in Paul's day. They were brought for presentation to God to express worship. Those sacrificial animals were set apart. The result? Death. The sacrifice left the world of the living to give its life to point the way to the Author of all things. The sweet aroma that wafted its way throughout the temple would remind worshipers of their purpose for living - to know God.

The Christian is a living sacrifice (see Ephesians 5:1-2). He or she is to voluntarily come. The remainder of Romans 12:1-2 commands not only action, but surrender. Just as Jesus went willingly to the cross to give His life on our behalf, we too are to follow in His steps (Hebrews 12:1-3; 1 Peter 2:21).

We find the command in the passive voice: "be transformed by the renewing of our minds". Too often we are tempted to "be conformed to this world". Passivity in the things of the flesh leads to swift spiritual decline. We find too often the tendency to put things in cruise control and let the world dictate our agenda. God''s indwelling presence in the Christian as the Person of the Holy Spirit urges that we exchange worldly passivity to surrender to His leading.

What does it look like when the Christian follows through in surrender to the Spirit's indwelling presence? Paul supplies the answer in Ephesians 4:20-24 -

"if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

As one reads Romans 12:1-2, the urgency to be transformed by the "renewing of the mind" is heightened. Renewal of one's mind entails the combination of spiritual and moral transformation. The Christian is passive, in one sense, yielding to the Spirit's inner working. Yet, at the same time, the Christian is actively participating with the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23; Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 1:4-11).

How God's infinite and indwelling presence work in the believer's life to increase a sensitivity to Him.

So as we head down the homestretch of today's post, lets put together what we have said about God, all things and how we increase our awareness of Him by His grace. The two headings we considered had to do with what we call God's "infinite presence" and "indwelling presence". At salvation, the Spirit of God comes to indwell the Christian (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20). Christians are described as the temple of the living God, both individually and corporately (Romans 6:4-12; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; Ephesians 3; 1 Peter 2:4-11). God's infinite presence, accessible to anyone, manifests in its more obvious expression by the indwelling of the Person of the Holy Spirit in Christans (see John 14:16-18; 15:26-27). Only by the Spirit can one test or prove that good, acceptable and perfect will of God (i.e. the scriptures, see 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Hebrews 4:12).

Closing thoughts

Today's post featured Romans 11:36-12:2. We noted how God's presence can be understood by two headings: His infinite presence (i.e. omni-presence) and His indwelling presence (i.e. the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Christian). The presence of God, by the Person of the Spirit in the Christian, enlightens them to their spiritual identity. The Spirit's enlightening work also empowers such persons to live out the will of God found in the Word of God. Such truths alert us to the pervading reality of God's desire to work in and through every Christian His powerful and mighty presence. There is God and all things. May we, as part of "all other things", look to and live for God that is overall and through all things.

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