It’s Been Way Too Long
There is a lot to share since the last time I have written. I want to let you know about the great things that are happening out here. A few weeks ago I left my apartment at the youth center and moved into a friend’s house a few miles away. I’m glad to have done so as it is much closer to the youth center and just over a mile from Sara’s apartment.
Things are going well at the youth center. We have been making some changes to the programs lately. Taking a look at what times might work best, how we can meet the needs of the kids, etc… but we have a consistent group who really enjoys their time and seems highly invested in the program and I look forward to seeing the ministry develop over the school year.
My greatest encouragement comes from Brenden, a volunteer I picked up this summer. He has been working with Sara’s program for a little while now, and was actually saved through Sara’s youth ministry about three years ago when he was in high school, but has become a powerhouse youth leader and is desperate to get a hold of every opportunity for youth ministry he can in order to reach kids. He made the decision to enter full time ministry just a few months ago and Sara and I have come along side him as mentors in that process.
About a month ago I had the great privilege not just to come home, but to bring Sara with me and introduce her around to many of the people who are most important in my life. I am very grateful for the time she was able to spend with my parents and getting to know all my friends, co-youth leaders, and kids from Grace. Not to be sappy about it or anything, but I have never loved anything or anyone the way I love Sara and it was really cool for me to share that with the people I care most about.
I am eager to share with you all much more in more updates to come, but I will keep this post somewhat short.
I hope you are all doing well.
-Timbo
The Trinity Part 3 – The Holy Spirit
If you have followed this blog for the last several entries you know we have been talking extensively about the trinity and just how clearly the Bible supports the doctrine of the Trinity; regardless of what some critics may claim. We’ve even had the opportunity to hear directly from one of those critics and see, first hand, his alternative perspective and the flaws inherent in those arguments.
So far we have only looked at how Jesus fits in as a part of the Trinity. For the sake of this discussion we are taking for granted the idea that “God the Father” is the accepted Deity. But for many, the idea of “The Trinity” is quite controversial and even for those who fully accept it few know why and are able to convey that truth to others.
Today we are going a step further to take a look at How the Holy Spirit fits into the picture. For those of you who already have a firm belief in the Trinity and wonder what argument there could be against the Holy Spirit I’ll share with you the beliefs of the Jehovah’s Witnesses as an example.
In one of their brochures describing their doctrinal stance against the trinity they clearly deny the Holy Spirit as God. Rather, they describe Him as “a controlled force that Jehovah God uses to accomplish a variety of his purposes.” They go on to say further “To a certain extent, it can be likened to electricity, a force that can be adapted to perform a great variety of operations.” Their belief is that the Holy Spirit is not personal. He is not knowable. And he is not relational. Rather, it is simply the name given to the almighty power behind God the Father’s supernatural actions here on earth.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses are not the only ones to carry such beliefs. There are many other cults and groups who question this doctrine or have specific beliefs in this regard. All I am concerned with is what the Bible itself says. If the Bible says the trinity is false, then I’ll deny it right now, but if it declares it clear and true then I have no choice but to confirm my belief in the Holy Spirit as a member of the trinity and therefore not only equal to God, but also God himself.
(I want to note for those who may not be familiar with the terminology the use of the word “Person” henceforth is not exclusive to a human being. It’s purpose is to describe any being that is sentient, relational, and personal. This is why we describe the Trinity as “God in three persons”.)
What the Bible Says:
Mark 3:29 (New International Version)
29But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.”
You can only “Blaspheme” God. I don’t need to go into the theology surrounding the “eternal sin” right now. That’s a topic for another blog but Jesus is clearly describing the Holy Spirit as God in this case, and goes to great lengths to ensure that we understand just how serious we are to take that understanding.
1Corinthians 12:4-6
“4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.”
You may have to read that passage again to realize that in Paul’s redundancy he equates “Spirit”, “Lord”, and “God.” In verse 4 the Greek word for Spirit is “Pneuma”. (This is the same word typically translated throughout the New Testament for the Holy Spirit) The equating of “pneuma” to “God” in this case is a big blow to the argument that many (including the JW’s) would make that “pneuma” is not appropriately translated or used in such a manner.
This same kind of thing happens in 2 Cor. 13:14 when he closes out the book:
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”
Peter does something similar in 1Peter 1:2:
“who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood”
Matthew 28:19 (New International Version)
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Jesus gave the great commission and he commanded that people be baptized into the “Name…of the Holy Spirit.” To say this suggests in and of itself that the Holy Spirit is more than simply an impersonal force. You certainly wouldn’t do anything in the name of “Electricity”. Especially something of that great significance. If He has a name that usually suggests that he is, well, personal. After all, the other two are: (Father and Son).
Acts 5:3-4 (New International Version)
3Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
Another great passage of scripture that shows the Holy Spirit as God, without explanation, but as a simple assumption that someone reading would understand Holy Spirit = God. It should also be noted that you can’t lie to a force. (I can’t lie to electricity.) But I can lie to a knowable, relational, person.
1 Corinthians 3:16
16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19
19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
Either the Bible is contradicting itself in these two verses or it is using “God” and “The Holy Spirit” interchangeably. A temple is the dwelling place for a Deity. A battery is the dwelling place for a force, or for electricity. So either, this passage is declaring the Holy Spirit God, or Paul meant to declare us batteries, your call.
Job 33:4 (New International Version)
4 The Spirit of God has made me;
the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
He is the creator
Ps. 139:7-8
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there”
He is omnipresent
Hebrews 9:14 (New International Version)
14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[a] so that we may serve the living God!
He is Eternal
1 Corinthians 2:10-11
10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
He is Omniscient
For those who believe in “The Force”
Ephesians 4:30 (New International Version)
30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
The Holy Spirit can be grieved. An emotion, or at least a personal/relational response a person has. It’s not something that a force, or electricity can have. Also note the words “with whom”. The pronoun “Whom” refers not to a thing but to a person – a relational being.
John 14:26
26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
The Holy Spirit is called the counselor many times in scripture. This is simply one example. A counselor is a personal being. This verse in particular seems to note the significance of this. If you are unable to see this through reading it and seeing it’s basic simple interpretation, look once again at the use of the pronoun “Whom”.
The Holy Spirit is alive
Romans 8:11
11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
1 Corinthians 3:16
16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
He Thinks/Considers:
Acts 15:28
28It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements
The Holy Spirit Speaks
Acts 8:29
29The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
Acts 10:19
19While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three[a] men are looking for you.
Acts 11:12
12The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.
Acts 21:11
11Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ “
The Holy Spirit Speaks Referring to Himself as “I” and describing himself in the position of God.
Hebrews 3:7-10
Warning Against Unbelief
7So, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
9where your fathers tested and tried me
and for forty years saw what I did.
10That is why I was angry with that generation,
and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
So, the Holy Spirit is a Living, Relational, Person. This is indisputable. And the Holy Spirit, by his very own claims is indeed God. That’s what the Bible says. If you don’t find yourself fully satisfied with the verses above, please explore your Bible further and look to find what the bible as a whole has to say.
That’s it for the Holy Spirit. I hope you found this helpful for wherever you are in your spiritual journey. Be looking for “The Trinity Part 4 – The Trinity as a Whole” Coming soon.
A Second Reply
I just received this reply to “the Trinity Part 2 – Jesus” and thought it might make for great discussion. This is the second reply I received to that article. Within the next few days or so we will be moving on in the discussion to “The Holy Spirit”.
Comment:
Lord does not mean God. Jesus is made lord by God. It is not true that the word “lord” (kurios) “in the Bible that is reserved for God.”
In the Bible, there is nothing in the scriptures that say that for us to be saved, we need to believe that Jesus is the God of Jesus, that is, that we are to believe that Jesus is the One who made Jesus both Christ (the Anointed One) and Lord (Kurios). — Acts 2:36.
I will take this moment to concede that I was incorrect in making that statement. Upon further review I have discovered that the Greek word Ronald has brought up, transliterated “Kurios” can refer to more than simply God himself.
In fact, this particular Greek word is used several times throughout the New Testament, many times with a different meaning. (The context defining the meaning of the word, as often happens with many English words.) Each definition however (as found in both Strong’s Greek Lexicon, and the one by F.Wilbur Gingrich I have on my desk) denote significant authority. In fact, the root word of Kurios means “Supreme Authority” which is why every definition ranges from things including “Supreme authority”, “Lord”, “Master”, “God”, or “In reference to Jesus with an emphasis on His authority.”
It is clear that through the use of the word “Kurios” God was trying to convey that Jesus was now being elevated to a position of supreme authority. (Fully restored to the place he was before he descended) Even if you don’t believe they directly point to his Godhood, you have to acknowledge that, upon looking closer at the actual Greek word, there is more there than simply “Jesus was made Lord (Powerful)”
However in response to your statement about the Bible not ever stating that it is necessary for us to believe he is God I believe I have already fully supported that. In fact, I have filled two blogs having done so. If you have yet to read them they are full of scripture that fully substantiates Jesus Godhood over and over again.
What scripture does say in response to false teachers appears in 2 Corinthians 11
3But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough….. 13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Yahweh Yahweh has anointed me. (Isaiah 61:1) This does not read “I am Yahweh and anointed myself.”
I’m not sure what your point here is.
Yes, Jesus’ only true Supreme Being (John 17:3) has given to the Jesus the plenitude of mightiness in his spiritual body. (Colossians 2:9) Praise the God and Father of Jesus!!
Jesus is indeed the image of the only true Supreme Being, the first of God’s living creation to be given life by the only true Supreme Being, and then all things were indeed created by means of the firstborn creature.
Can you show me where in scripture it show’s me that Jesus was created? Because we’ve already demonstrated that Jesus existed before all things began, so we aren’t talking about his human body. So… where does the bible say that Jesus was created? (for the readers at home – it doesn’t, however Jesus does declare himself to be eternal/God using God’s name “I AM” in John 8:58)
The Greek word pas always looks to context and common evidence for what is included or excluded in the the “all” that is being spoken of.
Most Greek words (as is the same in English) are dependent upon grammar. If your beef is with the translators of this particular passage due to their contextual misinterpretation, you have been misinformed. As a student of Greek myself I have reviewed that passage and there is nothing there, contextually or otherwise to suggest that passage should be interpreted any differently than the obvious “all” in terms of “all – things” or “everything”.
There is nothing in any of the scriptures presented that say one word about more than one person in the only true Supreme Being. Nor is there anything at all that establishes that Jesus is the Supreme Being. The ideas do indeed have to assumed beyond what has been written, and the assumptions have to be added to and read into the added-on assumptions.
At this point I haven’t gotten to “The Trinity as a Whole”. Right now I am just dealing with scriptures that are a part of one section of the trinity at a time, so I wouldn’t expect to see anything that dealt with much more than one person, excepting that in each scripture Jesus shares the exact characteristics of God. Which proves that either the Bible is contradictory, that God is not God alone, (which also makes the bible contradictory) or that the trinity exists. (or, at least two parts of it so far – as we have yet to talk about the Holy Spirit)
The trinity sets up a man-formed god, an idol, which diminishes the role of Jesus as the Son of the Most High, the son of the only true Supreme Being, in effect, nullifying the ransom sacrifice of Jesus as shown in the scriptures.
What nullifies the ransom is if Jesus was in-fact not God. This would leave him sinful and unable to atone for the sins of man as we need a pure sacrifice.
You keep looking for these verses that specifically point out that Jesus is God. I believe I have already pointed out the most obvious one, but if I haven’t I will do so now. It is in John Chapter 1. In this passage John refers to Jesus as “The Word” (as it becomes clearer later on in the passage) I have only included the relevant passages. Nothing should be taken out of context, but if you wish you can read the chapter from your own Bible.
John 1
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
(We have already established with other scriptures that the Bible is talking about Jesus using those words almost verbatim only here it says “He WAS God”)
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
(We recognize this from passages all throughout the NT which tell us that if you receive/believe in Jesus you become children of God)
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[d] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Here John gives Jesus the title of “The One and Only” who came from the Father – Note “Grace and Truth”
17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,[e][f]who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
Here John kicks it up a notch to refer to “The One and Only” – Jesus as “God The one and Only” Who is at the father’s side. Note how it’s a whole separate person. God the One and Only – Who is at the father’s side. Which means that either the Trinity exists, the Bible is wrong, or there are two Gods in heaven. You decide.
…Just to go one step further a little later on in the book in John 6:46 it says:
“46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. (Which of course we just learned was Jesus)
And John 14:9-14 …Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father….10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.
As I have often said, there are certainly many many more verses I can offer, but by the time I finish this series I may feel as though I have reproduced half the New Testament. I hope this has been helpful to you and many of the other readers who have been following this series.
I promise that I will be posting “The Holy Spirit” soon. And we will all have a chance to discuss His connection to The Trinity
The Trinity – A Reply
To my readers:
I just received this comment in reply to my most recent post concerning Jesus as a member of the Trinity. I thought it would make for a great continuation of this discussion so I wanted to share this reader’s concern with everyone so that you may see what some people’s thoughts on these issues are. His claim is that I have somehow added something on to the scriptures that I posted in my last article. If you read it you will note that it consisted of little more than introduction and largely scripture allowing scripture to speak for itself.
I will however take greater liberty to respond here with greater explanation as I feel necessary.
*Please note that all discussion concerning the trinity will center primarily around Jesus as we have yet to discuss the Holy Spirit or the Trinity as a whole.
The comment:
The trinity is not a true Biblical Christian doctrine, nor do we find anywhere in the scriptures that for one to be a follower of Jesus, that one has to imagine, assume, add to and read that doctrine into the Bible. Indeed to do so actually diminishes the work that Jesus came to do for the only true God who sent him, especially the redemption. — John 17:3.
None of the scriptures presented, when examined closely, actually support the added-on dogma. One does indeed have to make use of the traditional imaginations that have been placed upon those scriptures, and the assumptions forumulated through what has been imagined, and which assumptions are then added to, and read into, each and every scripture that is presented to allegedly support the added-on trinitarian dogma.
Thank you for your comment. I truly appreciate your input and I am grateful for this opportunity to discuss the topic further.
Scripture does in-fact claim in no uncertain terms what it takes to be saved. Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. For it is with your heart you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth you confess and are saved.” I won’t spend forever on this one verse, but it says confess with your mouth Jesus is “Lord” and that word is a word in the Bible that is reserved for God. (As I mentioned in my previous article in can be found many times in psalms). It is literally saying “Confess with your mouth that “Jesus is God”. Otherwise it is telling you to make someone who is other than God Lord over your life which would be blasphemy and heresy altogether.
Let’s take a look at another verse. Col: 2:9-10 “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in Bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.” I noted a part of this passage in my previous article. What I want to focus on here is the statement that says that Christ is the “head over every power and authority.” If you disagree with the idea of the trinity then this would seem to be in conflict with 1Tim 6:15:
“15which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
So if God is the “only Ruler” (the Ruler over everything, even those in power), the “King of kings”, and the “Lord of Lords”, then Jesus, who is “head over every power and authority” is either equal to God, or is God. But, as both of those descriptions are mutually exclusive (“Head over all authority” – therefore nothing can be equal to or greater than his authority) the only conclusions possible are either that the Bible is wrong, or that Jesus is indeed, in some capacity, also God.
In your comment you mentioned John 17:3 “3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” I suppose this is to demonstrate that Jesus Christ is indeed not the true God. What you’re missing is the context of the passage. (A text, without context, is a pretext, for a prooftext) Let’s start from the beginning:
1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
There is actually a lot that could be said about this passage, but to keep it simple, this is actually a great affirmation of the trinity. As Jesus comes here in prayer and takes a moment to describe the salvation saying, that the point is that they know the “One true God” then he makes the differentiation “and Jesus Christ.” The whole point of having Jesus here on earth was that we might know God through Jesus! Colossians 1:13 says “He is the image of the invisible God”. While he was bodily here on earth we got to see God through Christ. Because, as Jesus said God is in him, and Jesus is in God. He and the Father are one. He makes that differentiation because the point of Jesus being on earth was for us to restore our relationship with God through Jesus.
But Jesus even further substantiates his eternality and union with the father in verse 5 with the words “with the glory I had with you before the world began”. That is yet another passage to substantiate that Jesus existed before creation and it even mentions him with God in glory.
Colossians 1:16-17 says “For by him [Christ] all things were created: Things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
Again, this should create a crisis of faith for the non-trinitarian. The Bible says in Genesis 1:1 that God Created the heavens and the Earth. Proceeding through the rest of the chapter, which I won’t take the time to print out here, you can see where by God all things were created. God is also praised for this specific thing many times throughout the Bible and yet here and in John Chapter 1 Jesus is attributed with the act.
He is not just attributed with the act of creating earth, but with creating heaven, rulers, authorities, and powers, and things visible and invisible (likely alluding to the spiritual realm). This cannot simply be written off with an excuse. These are the qualities of God. If they are also the qualities of Jesus, then Jesus is God.
So, while many people may claim that you do not have to believe in the “Trinity”, Romans 10:9-10 clearly demonstrates that we need to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, and many of us know John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son [Jesus], THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM shall not perish but have eternal life.” We have now fully established thoroughly with scripture that Jesus is God. It is “God the son” that you must believe in to be saved.
Just because you call something “Jesus” doesn’t mean you can believe in it and be saved. Not even if you think of him as a guy with a beard who lived a long time ago. It has to be the same Jesus that the Bible talks about, or you may as well be worshiping “Jesus” your pet dog. The Bible tells us that Jesus is God; that’s who he was.
The Trinity (Part 2) – Jesus
The Trinity Part 2
We are talking about the Trinity. The doctrine that every Christian believes in, but very few Christians know why. Essential to the faith of every Christian is that there is only one God, but also that God is the Father, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. If any of those statements are false in anyway, than Christianity falls apart.
That’s the problem. Most people who call themselves Christians will tell you that they believe in a Tri-une God (or the “Trinity”) but few can tell you why.
The Jehovah’s Witness will come to your home, sit with you, open the Bible you use, and, using verses you have likely underlined yourself “prove” to you that the trinity doesn’t exist. He will then proceed to call himself a Christian and your brother in the faith. Do you have an answer? Or will you be convinced? Does it matter if the trinity exists or not?
The answer is a resounding YES!!!! It absolutely matters!!! Why? Because the Bible clearly describes the trinity and the necessity of it.
I will go with the assumption that everybody agrees that God the father – Creator, Judge, Sustainer, Provider – is God and therefore I will not have to make a case for him as a member of the Trinity. In this article we will deal with Jesus.
I could give you my input for more pages than you would care to read, but I would rather you hear it directly from scripture. Of the few things I will say, I will tell you that Jesus came to be a pure Sacrifice for our Sins. He did this as someone who was 100% sinless (a quality that only God has) as both fully man and fully God. He had to be sinless to be a valid sacrifice. His “Godness” defined his purity, and the validity of his sacrifice. If you remove it, you remove the cross altogether and salvation is gone.
But I really don’t want you to take my word for it:
Colossians 2:9
9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
Colossians 1:19
19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
John 10:30 – Jesus said “I and the Father are one”
John 20:28
Thomas was doubting that Jesus had risen from the dead, then He appeared to Thomas proving he had power over sin and death and 28 “Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
John 14:9
9Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
John 8:58
Jesus declared himself God in the same way that God identified himself to Moses in the wilderness 58“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
Romans 10:9
“9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” As specified in Romans, a condition of Salvation is acknowledging that “Jesus is Lord”. A word used exclusively of God the Father throughout the Old Testament (Ex. Psalm 113:1).
John 1:1, 14
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the father, full of Grace and Truth.
While it takes him a few more verses before he uses Jesus name directly, these verses are speaking of Jesus. That becomes more clear when read in context. (Read all of John 1 if you need a better perspective.)
NOTE: Note how he spoke of “The One and Only who came from the Father.” A few verses later it reads
John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”
DON’T MISS THAT!!! He is separating the first term “God” from “God the one and only”. This is basically describing “God the father”, and “God the son” outright.
This verse is similarly stated by Jesus in Matthew 11:27 “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’ (also stated in Luke 10:22)
Isaiah 9:6
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, [a] Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Technically I suppose the fact that he has been called that doesn’t really prove that he actually is the Mighty God except that the passage that follows says that he will reign from “that time on and forever”. That kind of prophecy establishes him as God. Any other place in scripture where people are found calling someone or something God they are fiercely rebuked for it. Here it seems they are offered this message as a message of hope almost that they might look forward to calling him “Mighty God”.
Matthew 1:23
3“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[a]—which means, “God with us.”
His Name Itself was “God with Us!”
Also see the prophesy in Isaiah 7:14
Philippians 2:6-7
Talking about Jesus:
“6Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.”
John 1:2-3 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Again a passage that speaks of Jesus (“The Word”) describing qualities that are only true of God.
Eternal – In the beginning means in the beginning of time; before all things, as the next verse says.
Creator – “Through him all things were made.” God is the creator of all things. While this isn’t describing him as the “Creator” per say, it is at least saying that the Creator created everything “Through Him.” I have no idea what that means other than to say that gives us more clear a picture of the unity in the tri-une God. “God the Father” is Typically attributed with the quality of being the creator but here it is at least partially laid on Jesus showing that he too has more than a part in the fathers work but is essential to it as both are one. “without him NOTHING was made that has been made.” Everytime God moves he moves in tri-unity.
These are some basic Scriptures which talk about Jesus as God. It is a list that is far from comprehensive, but one substantial enough that I hoped it would provide the Christian, Skeptic, and Seeker alike with a basis for understanding that Jesus is God.
As you were reading through you were sure to notice that not only did many of those scriptures simply center around Jesus being God, but also the unity of Jesus with God. (This last scripture especially) We will talk more about the trinity as a whole later in the series.
Of all things, the most crucial to know is that if Jesus is not God (Both fully God and fully man) then he was not sinless and his sacrifice was not pure and we could not now be saved. If Jesus is not God then we’re all going to hell. Case Closed.
In the next part we will be talking about the Holy Spirit and what the Bible has to say about how He fits into this triune relationship
The Trinity (Part One)
One of the fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith is the belief that God exists in the form of the Trinity. That God is Three in one: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, are all the same one God yet each is also an individual with specific attributes. This is a very difficult concept to understand, yet one that Christians hold absolute and essential to the faith.
There are many who challenge this belief. Jehovah’s Witnesses (who now also call themselves Christians, so be on your guard and test those you speak to) for example argue that if “God is one” he cannot also be three and therefore the triune God, or the “Trinity” that the Christians believe not only does not exist, but is heresy. The JW’s may be most well known for this argument, but they are far from being the only group that does so.
There is not one verse in the entire Bible that uses the word “Trinity”. That is a nice word theologians made up a long time ago to describe the concept. There is also no verse in the bible that says “God exists as three in one.” Look for yourself, I promise you it’s not there. If that’s true then how can a Christian say with absolute authority that the Trinity exists?
Some people say “Well the Bible says: Baptize them ‘In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…’ doesn’t that prove that they are all equally God?” I would greatly caution you against that argument alone for there are many who see that verse from another perspective.
Are you a Christian? Do you believe in the trinity? Why? Is it because your pastor told you? Perhaps your Sunday School teacher when you were little? Do you really know? Does the Bible say the trinity exists? Where? Does it really matter if the Trinity exists or not?
(To be continued in part 2)
Is Polygamy Really Wrong? Do you know for sure?
Just yesterday I was reading yet another passage in my Bible that described a King of Israel that had many wives. If you’ve ever read the Old Testament you’ve come across this time and time again. David, Solomon, Gideon, and Jacob all had multiple wives. In fact, when you look through the history of the Israelites it seems as though it was only the very rare man that had one wife. If these were really God’s people how could this possibly be true? Is Polygamy just something that Christians don’t think is right so they say that it is against God’s will? Was Polygamy ok with God until the New Testament? After all, you would expect to see something in the Old Testament that said something like God saying “You are a whole race of people who are committing Polygamy, now I will strike you with something”. Like he did when they did other things right?
So I began looking for verses that talked about this very subject. Scripture that could dictate a clear answer. In my study I found an amazing number of passages that could easily be clearly used to demonstrate the clarity of God’s will in this matter. But if this is supposed to be such an important doctrine I wanted to see if there were statements in scripture that were undeniably clear.
For the average Christian this whole topic isn’t much of a question. It’s something they take at face value. They believe that whether it took place in the Old Testament or not, it’s wrong now. In addition to the supporting scriptures The New Testament clearly declares polygamy as a sin. (Romans 7:3, Mark 10:11-12, 1cor 7:2, Eph 5:31, 1tim 3:2, 1tim 3:12, titus 1:6)
For the most part that is rarely ever in question. The bigger question for most people is “Was it ok in Old Testament times, and if it was ok, how could it be?”
Some of the greatest and most Godly men in Israel had several wives. Hey, take a look at Solomon! This is a guy with 700 wives! (1Kings 11:1-3) But the thing to remember is that just because a great man of God does something (don’t forget, this is the guy who God chose to build his temple) or the Bible describes him doing it, does not mean it’s the right thing to do.
When the flood was over, and everyone got out of the boat, the Bible tells of how this great man of God, Noah, planted a vineyard, made wine got drunk out of his mind and passed out naked in his tent. Is God saying it’s ok to go home, strip down and pass out bare naked on your bathroom floor? No, In fact the bible offers commands over and over again about not getting drunk (often specifically with wine). It’s just telling the story, the truth of what happened. Not telling you to follow his example.
Solomon was in a similar position. He was in a great position of favor with God. God had given him more wisdom than any man ever had in addition to great wealth and favor of men. He expanded and grew his kingdom. And he chose him as the man to build his temple. But Solomon, a man who was supposed to be a great man of God also violated the law. Deaut. 17:17 A command regarding the kings of Israel says “He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.” And 1Kings 11:1-3 Says that exact thing happened.
1 Kings 11
1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
It describes the history of Solomon and how he acted, but even here it tells of how he violated the law in Deut. 17:17 and it caused him to fall away from the will of God. Just because a man of God did something in the Bible, doesn’t mean it was right. We are to learn from the actions of those described in the Bible. If they lived by the Law – to learn how to be more like them, if they violated the law – to learn how to avoid those circumstances. First we must know the Law – God’s will for our lives.
There are those who would take issue with this particular scripture to say “That was a command that stood only for kings.” While that might be true, the point of the passage isn’t to say “The king should be limited and all the people should have the freedom to do whatever they want.” That of course makes no sense at all in any culture. In-fact the exact opposite is true.
While many of the people may have practiced polygamy, it was still against God’s will. So God was calling the King to live a life above reproach, and in that way be able to challenge his country to do the same. As opposed to what has the tendency to happen, and what did happen. The king rises to power and says “well, the common people have rules that they have to follow, but as the king I am above the common rules and entitled to a few extra privileges. The rules for the kings are to set the tone for the common people as well.
Leviticus 18:18 is another great verse that talks about this subject. It says “Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.” For anyone who would like to offer the argument that this verse talks about a specific situation, I can agree on one level, but I also believe that this verse is a part of establishing a basic principle. Saying “Do not take another wife because they will become rivals and this is destructive to any family environment.” This is more than a simple supposition.
It says in 1 Samuel 1:6-7 “And because the LORD had closed her womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.” You can read the whole chapter to get an even better chapter of what’s going on here, but I believe this is an example of the law laid out in Leviticus 18:18 being broken and the consequences that happened as a result. The similarity in the wording is no coincidence. I think anyone who came before God and said, “but hey, you just said I couldn’t marry them if it was two sisters, you didn’t say anything about two cousins, or two strangers!” I think the response would come with a solid smack upside the head “What’s wrong with you? Haven’t you ever been in a relationship? The point was to not create two rivals, whether they are sisters, friends, enemies, or strangers. I mean come on man, how would you like it if you were one of two husbands?”
That’s the kind of thing Jesus said all the time when he was here. He came to explain how the principles of the law actually equal the law. Things like if you’re angry at a man, you’re guilty of murder, and if you’ve looked lustfully at a woman you’re guilty of adultery.
In addition to those previous passages most of the Polygamy passages in scripture speak of intermarriage with people other than Israelites. In the case of kings it is alluded to that they would acquire women from different cultures, almost for simply for the sake of doing so. We know that the common people were constantly being scolded for such impropriety both during times of exile and national unity.
Some of the commands against intermarriage can be found in: Deuteronomy 7:3, Ezra 9:14, Ezra 10:2, and Nehemiah 13:27. Intermarriage was often a way for other cultures to bring their pagan gods into the houses of Israel and lead many people away from the worship of the one true God.
Nehemiah 13:26 Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women.
(Again, the bible telling us that one of the greatest men of God was also one of the most prolific polygamists of all time but that we should follow his Godly example and not the example of his sin. )
It’s not that polygamy could not be entirely “in-house” but I believe one of the greatest downfalls of this sin is that, by and large to the even greater down fall of intermarriage with foreign cultures who worshipped foreign Gods.
And now the big question… So why was it permitted? Who says it was? Over and over again the Bible shares accounts of God being angry with the Israelites for turning their back on God. It doesn’t always speak in specifics, simply that Israel has violated God’s Law. Frankly, that’s enough said. For more information, please see God’s law.
There is a lot more I could say on the subject. There are many more verses and passages I could cover. The Bible certainly has a wealth to say about it. The point I want to make sure everyone understands is that the Old Testament makes it very clear that Polygamy is a sin (with, of course the clear support of the New Testament). Beyond even these few passages we’ve explored here, there are many more that can be looked at to clearly understand God’s will in this area, but I will leave those to perhaps another time.
A Reply From Michael Dowd!
Just a few days ago I posted a blog post mentioning Michel Dowd’s Book “Thank God for Evolution” among the theistic evolution movement in America. Not long after, I received a comment from Dowd himself.
I am am not sure how he found my little website, but I am truly grateful for his attention. Below you will find the comment he sent me, along with my reply. I hope you get a lot out of it.
“Thanks for the mention of my book (even if disparagingly).
There is, however, a fairly serious point you are overlooking…
Whenever ANY story, culture, or scriptural passage claims “God said this” or “God did that,” what follows is necessarily what some person or group of people felt or thought or wished or wanted God to say or do, often as justification after the fact. These claims are never objective, measurable fact. They are always subjectively meaningful interpretations. In other words, had CNN or ABC News been there to record the moment of divine revelation, there would have been nothing out of the ordinary (nothing miraculous) to show on the evening news — nothing other than what was coming out of someone’s mouth, or pen, or whatever folks wrote with back then. If we don’t understand this, we mock God and will surely miss what God is revealing and doing today. And we belittle God as ‘the Great Communicator’ if we argue that He spoke more clearly to goat herders and fisherman in the distant past, through dreams and intuitions, that He does today through evidence discovered by the community of scientists worldwide.
[***Please note - I have edited this comment to remove links to his blogs in accordance with my belief against teaching false doctrine - Timbo]
…I embrace the science-based history of the universe (the evolution of everything and everyone) that 97-98% of the world’s scientists agree on, because it offers a more undeniable real God, a more this-world realistic salvation, and more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control (the fruit of the Spirit) than I had when I was a young-earth creationist.
BTW… I’m a creatheist, not a theistic evolutionist.
God bless you!
~ Michael”
My Reply
Mr. Dowd, I am truly grateful to be receiving a direct reply from you. I am both surprised that you were able to find my blog and also that anyone with your speaking schedule to address me. I am sure you have faced your share of questions and concerns since your book has been published and I respect you for going out of your way to address this post.
I will begin by reiterating what I stated in the post you are referring to. That if you are to believe in the God of the Bible, you are unable to compromise on the concept of evolution. But in truth, it goes further than that. If you are to believe in the God of the Bible, you must go further than that to believe in the infallibility of scripture.
One of the reasons I believe in the things I do about God is because they come directly from Him. In the Old Testament phrases such as “thus saith the Lord,” “the word of the Lord came,” and “God said” are repeated over 3800 times.
2Timothy 3:16-17 says “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” This means that if you are going to believe in bible at all you have to believe that all the bible is given by “inspiration of God”. Though it was written by human hands, it came from God. Or it’s a worthless book and not worth reading at all.
Even to go beyond that, scripture says clearly 2 Peter 1:20-21 “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (Whenever the Bible talks about a prophet it’s not just talking about someone who tells the future, it’s talking about all the preachers and writers. So even when Moses was writing history, he was a prophet.) But this is exactly what you were talking about. It’s the difference between the persons interpretation, and whether or not God said it, and it says very clearly right here in this verse that no prophecy (nothing written in the bible) came about by any man’s interpretation, but by God.
There are other verses I could draw from, just another from the New Testament, is one that Paul shared in his description of his teaching. It comes from Galatians 1:11-12 “I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”
To solidify the very eternality and importance of scripture, Jesus even spoke of it in the following two passages:
Matthew 5:18-19
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Luke 16:17
It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
There is much more that I can point to throughout scripture, but I think that very clearly cuts to the heart of the matter. That if you are going to believe in the God of the Bible, then you have no choice to believe that he is the divine author of the bible – cover to cover without interpretation on the part of the human writers.
The simple truth is to believe in the God of the Bible, is to believe that he authored the Bible, because that’s what the Bible says about the God it describes. The same way that, in order to believe in the God of the Bible you have to believe he literally created the world in six literal days and literally sustains and interacts with all that is in it, because that’s what the Bible says about the God it describes.
If, however, you do not believe those things, then you don’t believe in the God of the Bible.
If I tell you I’m eating an apple, you ask me what it looks like, and I tell you it’s straight, long, orange, with green leaves at one end, you’ll tell me I’m eating a carrot no matter what I want to call it.
What you’re describing is nothing like what the Bible talks about. You might be very well served to start there and begin a new process of discovery, or even re-evaluation.
One way or the other, you can’t have it both ways. Revelation 3:15-16 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
Again, I want to thank you a great deal for dropping me a line. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this with you and I look forward to any further discussion we may be able to continue in the future.
The God of Creation
In my previous Blog I noted that I was asked to read the book “Thank God for Evolution” by Michael Dowd. I am sure that the man who suggested it me thought it would open my eyes to a new world of science.
If he didn’t Michael Dowd sure thought it would. He opens his book with more than 3 pages of quotes of famous scientists and clergymen offering great acclaim for his book and right off the back jumps right off to tell you exactly how life changing an experience it will be for you.
Long story short, this guy is a former pastor who became convinced that he could meld the idea of evolution and religion together because he didn’t have the faith to believe that God could do miracles. (He also doesn’t believe in the virgin birth and many other things the bible talks about) For many years there have been people who have attempted to fit this square peg in the round hole and he did it just as unsuccessfully as ever.
The concern? His book is a best seller and his talks are a hit across the nation.
Dowd efforts along with another man, Hugh Ross and his heretical organization “Reasons to Believe” are propagating the view that you can meld these two views together. They are telling people “You do not have to believe in the God of the Bible, you can simply come to the church with the beliefs you feel comfortable with without having to lay aside your old life.” Or quite literally, “Without accepting the God who created you.”
In almost every attempt to resolve evolution together with scripture people almost exclusively take a look at the genesis account of creation and try to dismantle that in some manner. Dowd has his own way, Ross another, and so on. But I submit to you that if you tore the book of Genesis out of your Bible you would find the exact same message. In-fact, I can prove it to you! Below I have included a few (10 pages worth – and it’s incomplete) verses that stretch across the entirety of scripture that not only talk of what God created, but how he created it, that he sustains it, and how long he specifically took to make it.
The fact of the matter is that you cannot resolve evolution with the Bible. You have a choice to say “The God of the bible created the world in six days, and he personally sustains it and works in and through it”, or “I don’t believe in the God of the Bible”
It’s ok if you don’t believe in the God of the Bible. That’s fine. And God would actually prefer that honesty. In Revelation 3 he said that he would prefer you be Hot or Cold but those who are luke warm he will spit out. In trying to propagate this “half-way” view of God, the direct creator of all things, they are no longer speaking of the God of the bible but are in-fact spreading a faith in a God that can be no more found in the Bible than he can be found in a text book.
If you don’t believe me, read below and find out for yourself, the Genesis is not included until the very end.
God Created the World in Six Days
Exodus 20:11
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exodus 31:17
It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work
and rested.’ “
God Made the Whole Universe – Including the Stars
Nehemiah 9:6
You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Psalm 8:3
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
Psalm 33:6
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
Psalm 147:4
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
Isaiah 40:26
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Isaiah 45:12
It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.
Job 9:9
He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
Jeremiah 31:35
This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is his name:
Hebrews 1:2
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
Ecclesiastes 11:5
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
Jeremiah 10:16
He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including Israel, the tribe of his inheritance— the LORD Almighty is his name.
Jeremiah 51:19
He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including the tribe of his inheritance— the LORD Almighty is his name.
“The Heavens” As they are referenced in the verses below are not a reference to heaven as we describe the spiritual place where we will go to live an eternal life. It is a word used to describe where the sun, moon, stars, and “heavenly bodies” – (planets etc…) reside. Essentially – outer space. I sectioned off the verses that stated God’s creation of stars and the universe explicitly for those who might need to see that stated bluntly. But these verse say exactly that same thing – “God created the heavens” means “God created all that is in the universe – the sun, moon, stars, planets, galaxies, the whole universe.” (Many of these verse mention both God’s creation of the Earth and the Heavens, please take note of that as well.)
Job 9:8
He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 89:11
The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it.
Psalm 96:5
For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
Psalm 102:25
In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Psalm 136:5
who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.
Isaiah 42:5
This is what God the LORD says— he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
Isaiah 44:24
“This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,
Isaiah 45:18
For this is what the LORD says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.
Isaiah 48:13
My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.
Isaiah 65:17
Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
Jeremiah 10:12
But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
Jeremiah 32:17
“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah 51:15
“He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
Zechariah 12:1
This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares:
Hebrews 1:10
He also says, “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
2 Peter 3:5
But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
Revelation 10:6
And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay!
Revelation 14:7
He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Genesis 14:19
and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
Genesis 14:22
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath
God Created Man/Formed Him
Deuteronomy 32:6
Is this the way you repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?
Deuteronomy 4:32
Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of?
Psalm 94:9
Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?
Psalm 103:14
for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
Isaiah 43:7
everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Isaiah 43:21
the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.
Isaiah 44:2
This is what the LORD says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
Isaiah 49:5
And now the LORD says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength-
Romans 9:20
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ “
Matthew 19:4
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
Ecclesiastes 12:1
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”-
1 Peter 4:19
So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
Job 4:17
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
Job 35:10
But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
Psalm 95:6
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
Psalm 149:2
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
Proverbs 22:2
Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.
Isaiah 17:7
In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
Creator of the Earth
Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
Romans 1:25
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Psalm 115:15
May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 89:12
You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Psalm 121:2
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 124:8
Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 134:3
May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion
Psalm 146:6
the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
Psalm 95:5
The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
Jeremiah 33:2
“This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name:
Isaiah 45:11
“This is what the LORD says— the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?
Isaiah 54:5
For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.
He is actively involved in sustaining every creature and the land.
Psalm 136:25
and who gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.
Psalm 104:24
How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
Job 38:41
Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? [A reference to God’s Provision of food for the raven]
Psalm 65:9
You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it.
Deuteronomy 11:15
I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
Psalm 36:6
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Luke 12:24
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
It happened in Six Literal Days – If only there was some way they could describe the day as a literal day… like the sun going up or down, a counting of 24 hour period, or man, at the very least they could say that the morning and the evening passed each day and we would know exactly what they were talking about.
Gen 1:5
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
Gen 1:8
8 God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
Gen 1:13
13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
Gen 1:19
19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
Gen 1:23
23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
Gen 1:31
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Genesis Account of creation
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:21
So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 2:4
[ Adam and Eve ] This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens-
Genesis 5:1
[ From Adam to Noah ] This is the written account of Adam’s line. When Godcreated man, he made him in the likeness of God.
Genesis 5:2
He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they werecreated, he called them “man. “
Genesis 6:7
So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”
Genesis 2:7
the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:19
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
Bad Science?
I have come under fire recently for some of the blogs that I have posted regarding Evolution. One comment I received very specifically was actually from a Christian that read something to the effect of (And I won’t quote his exact words) “When Christians get out of the way of science with their attempt to spread Creationism, we will be able to truly make greater strides in Innovation and Scientific Discovery”. He then sent me a link to Michael Dowd’s book “Thank God for Evolution”. I will take the opportunity to answer the first objection here and proceed to answer the question about the book in my next blog, (Which should be published immediately after).
I have often heard the argument claiming that Christians are attempting to step in the way of “Real Science.” Many people are attempting to make the claim that every current Scientific innovation and discovery today has been based on the theory and presumption that evolution exists, especially medical discoveries. The questions have arisen “What has Creation Science ever contributed to the world?” and “If the theory of creation started taking over we would have a total breakdown in progress.”
The exact opposite is true. The truth is many of today’s top scientists, that have made some incredible scientific discoveries and innovations, making great progress in their respective fields (including medicine, biology, and geology) have been literal Creationists. The fact of the matter is that few people have known about it. And what happens when people find out (specifically the people above them or in charge of their funding) is they lose their jobs and get black listed from their profession.
What needs to be understood about these scientists is just like any other scientist they believe strongly in the scientific method. (I would submit to you that they believe more strongly in the scientific method as the vast majority of the claims of evolution do not qualify as theories, let alone hypothesis that can be tested, while Creation science can be, but I’m not talking about that now.) Because they believe in the scientific method, they believe in what is observable, they believe in testing hypothesis, creating theories, and even in terms of medicine they study how bacteria and viruses behave and understand how they adapt, etc… (You don’t have to believe that something came from nothing to study the behavior of microorganisms for the sake of medical treatment.) It has actually been through the study of micro-organisms that many of the world’s top creationists have come to their realization that God must have created the world.
Further, while, for some reason, many people have made the assumption that “Creation Scientists” will want to wave the white flag and say “God just did everything! Fold up shop and go home! There is no more research to be done!” That is the furthest thing from the truth. A Scientist who believes in Creation doesn’t believe that the job is over. He simply believes that’s where things began! Does an evolutionist say “We all started in a pond of goo. We know that, so there is no more research to be done?” No! Of course not! Just because we know where we started doesn’t mean the Creation Scientist doesn’t have all the reason in the world to work hard discover more and more about the way this world works and what new things can be done with it (and for that matter, outside of it).
I would submit to you that perhaps a Creation Scientist may even have a stronger motivation for Scientific exploration, innovation, and discovery because of his desire to glorify God and discover more and more, both what the things of this world reveal about God, and how we can use them to further glorify God. I understand why the evolutionist works tirelessly in an endless pursuit of meaning apart from God. Most people trying to find an alternate means from God will go to great lengths to do so. But that doesn’t necessarily make them better scientists.
