KEEPING IT SIMPLE — Our objective is centered around our Savior, Jesus Christ, because everything that God the Father does for mankind flows through the Cross.
The Cross of Christ is man’s contact point with God, it is man’s restoration point, the place of forgiveness and mercy. The place where God’s Justice and Love are displayed for all mankind to accept or reject. The Cross is the place of man’s regeneration, man’s point for reconciliation with God. Think on these things.
We begin our study by examining WHO and WHAT GOD IS. We will learn that God has a Plan that was determined in eternity past and ordained as history.
The Bible is our textbook!
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR GUIDE!
Exodus 3:13 In this context, we join a conversation between Moses and God.
“I AM that I AM.” I Am, that I Am, literally means “to be” or self-existent one — “Yeshua.” To Be is the expression of absoluteness. It implies Self-Existence, Self-Sustainment! It implies Eternalness. I AM that I AM, is a DIVINE Proclamation.
Our study, which is in two parts: “Divine Decree” and “Divine Essence,” could just as easily be entitled “I AM,” because both God’s Decrees and His Essence describe God — “I AM.”
Everything we learn about God requires faith! Faith is the key that unlocks God’s Truths. Faith literally unlocks God. Cross-Faith opens the window so that we can see God and know God personally. He wants this from us; He wants to walk with us, daily, in complete loving fellowship and harmony. Share in His peace. Share in His gift of eternal life by accepting Christ as your Savior, today. Then, get out there! Get going with the Light of the Living God dwelling and shining within you. Let the world see it. Allow your soul to feed on the one and only thing that will satisfy it: A daily, tenderhearted fellowship with our God.
Bask in His love for you, let it fill the dark places with the light of truth — God’s truth. THE truth. Fulfillment, deep and meaningful fulfillment, awaits you, one so complete and so perfect that it’s nothing short of folly for us to ignore it, to not take advantage of what God has offered us — Himself.
There are three systems of perception: Rationalism, Empiricism and Faith.
Empiricism – reality through what we see, touch, taste, hear and smell (observation and experimentation). This is of course, the scientific approach.
Rationalism – perception through reason, or “seeing the world through the eyes of reason, free from the instability of emotion.” A particular theory states that “reason is, in itself, the source of knowledge.” This is the ludicrously incorrect idea, stating that human viewpoint determines truth, or “truth is what you make it, therefore truth is relative.” Or “there is no absolute truth.”
Faith – is based on acceptance of an established criterion. Faith ‘sees’ God. Faith believes God. Faith follows God through fields of Grace. God’s Word must be received by faith. Please see Hebrews 11:3 for further insights.
Based on empiricism and rationalism you may state that God does not exist. Based on faith, I can say God does exist
Proposition: We exist – you and I!
“I exist!” is a proposition. Prove that I do not exist and you prove that you do not exist. Our current existence exists. Do we exist by chance or design? The cause of our existence is either a supreme being or chance. Can you describe chance? Is chance an entity? Is evolution? Does anyone really believe in chance for existence? That takes more faith than I have! Believing in a supernatural being, existing outside of time, with no beginning and no end, makes much more sense to me.
CAUSALITY: Cause has a causer! Who caused us? ANSWER: God!
God exists! If God does not exist, neither do we! So, since we exist, God exists. “I AM” exists … believe it or not!
In the Koiné (pronounced ‘koy-nay’) Greek of the New Testament there are two words we need to look at for just a moment. Gnosis and Epignosis. Gnosis in Greek is our English word ‘knowledge.’ Epignosis is our word for ‘wisdom.’ — knowledge understood and metabolized (properly digested by the mind, soul, and spirit of the believer) for application.
The difference between these two words is the application of acceptance or rejection. Knowledge in Greek is just that — something we know. Maybe we believe it, maybe we don’t. Maybe it is true, maybe it isn’t, but none the less it is knowledge.
You can KNOW all about the Bible, or you can know all about any particular subject, however, when it comes to God’s Word, God’s Promises, God’s Proclamations (Bible Doctrine) must be believed as TRUTH, which then, becomes the experience of certain knowledge.
For example: “The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a critic of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Do you believe that? If you do not accept the truths of this verse, you do what? You reject it.
When you reject it, it doesn’t really have much authority with you, does it? But when you believe it, now you see it in a different ‘light!’ Now, it becomes usable for you, it makes you want to share it, doesn’t it? This is the difference between knowledge and wisdom no matter what language you speak. When we believe the Words of God revealed in Scripture, a light seems to come on and when this occurs, we suddenly understand.
When we believe God’s Word, our knowledge of God becomes wisdom for the soul — wisdom for application in the Christian Life. God’s Word is designed to light the world of men who live in darkness. To see the light of Scripture — the Light of God, man must kneel at the Cross and by FAITH accept Christ as Savior: John 3:16; Acts 16:31.
It is at the Cross where God becomes real.
See the doctrine of gnosis (knowledge). Suffice to say that we tend to apply what we learn to the details of life — making decisions.
Alright, with this introduction, we are ready to move forward.
In the Word of God, the term Grace speaks of the work of God on behalf of man apart from man’s ability or merit (merit: something we earn). God’s Grace depends upon who and what God is, never on man’s ability or talent (Ephesians 2:8,9).
Whether one realizes it or not, the Bible is the most amazing book you will ever study, it is the most fantastic journey you will ever take, it is … a journey into the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), which is absolutely fascinating.
My prayer for each of you is that every day you will decide to search out God for yourself and if you do, you will go where few people have ever gone before. Every day, at some point, think on God. Take a moment to meditate on God’s Words of comfort and encouragement to us, ‘be still and know that I am God.’
God has a Grace Plan for all believers, so, if you have a problem, God has a plan! If you do not have a problem, God has a plan! As a believer it is impossible to get out of God’s Justice or His Love (Romans 8:38, 39).
God’s Plan has Three phases:
1). Phase One is Salvation – God’s Grace Plan for your life begins at the Cross. This first phase of God’s Plan reconciles the total depravity of human nature with the Holiness of God. God’s Holiness refers to His Perfect Righteousness and Justice, which are a part of God’s Essence — His Character. Phase one is executed by the Son, Jesus Christ.
2). Phase Two: The Believer in Time – This phase is executed by the filling of the Holy Spirit and the inhale of God’s Word. Then, we exhale in application to the details of life. During our lifetime here on earth we have the privilege and freedom to learn the very mind of Christ (Corinthians 2:16).
3). Phase Three is Eternity — executed by God the Father.
DIVINE DECREES demonstrate God’s SOVEREIGNTY
Please turn to Deuteronomy 4:39. In this verse, Moses is speaking to the Israelite’s, but his statement is applicable to all mankind for all generations.
“God is sovereign” means God is the Supreme Ruler of the universe. God is King of Heaven and Earth. God has absolute will, authority, and volition. The sovereignty of God is the first cause and the final cause of all things that exist. All things exist by God’s Divine Decree — God’s Breath.
DEFINITION: “The Divine Decree” is the Plan of all God’s Works for the benefit of His creation.
Accordingly:
God decreed to create and maintain the universe (Colossians 1:16-17), through His Son, Jesus Christ.
God decreed to create both Angels and Man. God decreed to the events of angelic and human history — past, present, and future.
God decreed to deal with man through a policy of Grace. Grace may be defined as: “All that God is free to do for mankind on the basis of the Cross of Christ.” Therefore, God decreed to send Jesus Christ to the Cross to provide eternal salvation for mankind (John 3:16).
God decreed to reveal Himself and His Plan to man through His written Word (Bible Doctrine) (Hebrews 4:12).
Through God’s Decree all things are brought into being, and made subject to His pleasure (Isaiah 45:5-9, 12, 18; 46:10) therefore, all things exist for the glory of God (Psalms 19:1; Isaiah 6:3).
The sovereign decrees of God make all things certain, but does not interfere with angelic or human volition (free will). In fact, the sovereignty of God and the free will of man coexist in human history and meet at the Cross of Christ.
In giving man free will, God also decrees that man’s decisions, whatever they may be, would certainly take place — even those that are contrary to His desires. We could say that the Grace of God allows volition.
Please turn to Psalm 139:1-16. God’s Love for us has never diminished, never wavered, never changed, even though He knew beforehand all the details of each one of our lives, all the details of our thoughts and actions, all the wonderful and horrible occurrences of history (Isaiah 55:8-11; Hebrews 4:13-16).
We need to realize that even as Christ was being crucified on that Cross, He was thinking of you and me and all mankind, even those who spat on Him and beat Him and cursed Him.
God’s Plan of Grace centers “around,” “in” and “through” Jesus Christ (Romans 11:36).
It is interesting that the prepositional phrase “IN CHRIST” or a facsimile thereof, appears 93 times in the six short chapters of Ephesians. We as believers are in Christ. This is a subject that has no ending. We will always be learning what God has given us IN His Son. In fact there are Forty Grace Gifts that every believer receives from the Father that come to the believer because of his relationship to Jesus Christ.
There are Five points of Doctrine to help us further understand the Doctrine of Divine Decrees:
1). Divine Purpose – God’s Will is designed to bless believers. Please turn to Ephesians 1:3 -14. From verse 3, all the way to verse 14, is one long sentence in the Greek text.
In this context Paul really delivers Doctrine. For example: In verse 4, notice God “chose us,” God elected us before creation, before there was anything except the Godhead. Then, God “predestined” us to “adoption” in verse five; “redemption” and “forgiveness” in verse 7. (Please continue reading through verse 14; then continue with point 2 below).
2). The determinate counsel Acts 2:23. A conference apparently was held in eternity past with the result that the Godhead decided to proceed with creation, time, and history, with its dramatic conclusion at a point yet future in time.
3). Foreknowledge; 1 Peter 1:2 (cf 1:20) God’s foreknowledge simply perceives what is certain to be as history unfolds. Everything from Genesis to the end of Revelation, written in Scripture, God has always known. There never was a time when God did not know everything there is to know. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13).
The foreknowledge of God is the Omniscience (all-knowing) of God. The word foreknowledge in the Greek is proginosko. The first syllable pro means before hand or ahead of, and ginosko means knowledge, therefore, knowledge before history would be a good description in this context.
4). Predestination Romans 8:30; Ephesians. 1:5. God predestined what He always knew. God ordained history because He always knew (omniscience) everything there is to know regarding history. There isn’t anything that is knowable that God doesn’t know. There is no such thing as unknowable for God. Therefore God predestined (ordained) creation and human history. God controls history. The believer is predestined by God to be conformed to Christ.
5). Election of the believer, which may be termed as “Selection” as we just learned in Ephesians chapter one verse five, because God knew (always has known) every person who would believe. With this knowledge, God elected and called all those who would believe.
GOD REVEALS HIMSELF
The Bible reveals that God is a Spirit. Spirit in the Greek is the word pneuma, John 4:24: “God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” The Greek word pneuma means “breath,” and is something invisible but real. Bible Doctrine makes God REAL and VISIBLE!
God exists as three separate and distinct persons. The word “Trinity,” though not found in Scripture, is used to express three persons in the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All three members are: co-equal and co-eternal. They are three persons that are ONE in Essence.
Let’s look at a few verses that express each one: the Father: (1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 1:3); the Son (Psalms 2:7; Colossians 2:90; and the Holy Spirit (Exodus 31:3; 1 Corinthians 3:16). Did you take time to find these verses?
In Deuteronomy 6:4 the Bible states that God is one. It is referring to essence! The oneness of God, called His glory, is identical in all three persons of the Godhead (John 10:30). Jesus spoke of the Trinity in Matthew 28:19; Peter spoke of the trinity 1 Peter 1:2 (See also, 2 Corinthians 13:14).
WE ARE NOW READY FOR PART TWO: THE ESSENCE OF GOD.