Friday, February 12, 2010

Glory

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him. Psalm 8:3-4

  1) God created everything from nothing to glorify himself.
  2) God is transcendent- "above" and greater than all of creation and completely independent of it. In no way does God need any part of creation.
  3) God is immanent- involved continually with his creation, for creation is dependent upon him.

 One God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is not "in" everything and everything is not a part of God. This false belief is called Pantheism. God is holy, sin and evil are not a part of God, for there is no evil in him. Man is created in the image of God, we are not a part of God. We do not become God or a part of God, and we do not become "a god."
  God is not uninvolved, he did not set things into motion and step back to watch and wait, only to intervene if necessary. He is not powerless, he is not uninterested, and he did not abandon creation and man. This false belief is called Diesm.
  God does not exist on an equal level with anything. He is completely in control of all things. There is no force, including evil, that is not subject to God and his will. He did not create from existing matter, for matter did not exist before him.
  The belief that there are two ultimate forces in the universe, good and evil, or that God and the material universe have always existed side by side is called Dualism. If he did not create it, he cannot sustain it. If there is an equal evil force battling against God, he is not God at all, for his sovereignty would end there.
  God created all things good, very good. Man, not God chose to sin, to disobey, to seek the will of self over the will of his father.
God the Father, before he created man, had covenanted with God the Son, Jesus Christ,by the blood of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, to save fallen man.

Shall we question God's motives or dare to blame him for what seems unfair to us?
Romans 9:19-23 Paul writes; One of you will say to me:"Then why does God blame us? For who can resist his will?" 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?" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of wrath- prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects or his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory.
James 1:13-15 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me."for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.

God is not the author of sin, but he is sovereign over it.
If you have more questions ... read Job.
 Bad things happen because sin brings death. Death of the soul, the body and creation.
All sin must be atoned for, think about it, if someone has wronged you, you want justice. We have all wronged God, shall we call out for justice?
Justice will come, and it will come swift. The wrath of God is mighty. Those who have wronged God must be subject to his justice and God has said they will pay for it eternally.
Those who place their faith in Jesus Christ will be saved from God's wrath. For Christ's life was lived in full obedience to God's law, he was sinless. He took upon himself that wrath. He sacrificed himself so God would look upon believers with favor and mercy. This is called Propitiation.

God created and sustains all things.
All things are for his glory.

 Some things are very hard to understand, perhaps impossible. Why does a child die? Why so many killed in earthquakes and hurricanes? Why would God allow such things? There is  no answer that will make you feel better. God is holy, perfect, beyond our comprehension. We are sinful, selfish and live in a world saturated by sin. What is sin? any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.
  No doubt this opens more questions than it answers. We can focus on the unknown, the why, the unfair, anger, resentment, or we can focus on a God that is powerful and in control. A God that will set all things right. We can stay steeped in sin or cry out for mercy. We can ask God for faith and trust in him or we can continue to trust in ourselves. One choice brings mercy, one brings justice. Both choices bring glory to God.


             Definitions taken from Wayne Grudem- Systematic Theology    Bible verses NIV

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