While eating breakfast the other day, my 6 year old said, “I thought it was supposed to rain today.” I asked why he thought that and he told me that he had heard it on the radio. I told him that sometimes the radio is wrong. He looked at me with complete surprise and replied, “really?”
-
The innocence if youth is refreshing, but it also reminds us that we should not believe everything we hear. As school starts, many teachers and playground supervisors are going to be drug into conflicts between students. They will have to try to figure out what the truth is as they hear two different stories about what happened. The rest of us face the same challenges as we turn on the radio or the television. Fox news and MSNBC can report and the same story, yet have different “facts” about what actually happened. If you do a quick internet search on the conflicting reporting, you will soon find that there are a number of different versions of what actually happened.
-
Of course we know that the weatherman will be wrong sometimes because he is trying to guess about things that have not even happened yet. It would be nice if we could go to a place where reports of events that have already happened and predictions about the future were always accurate.
-
There actually is such a place. You can even find it online. All you have to do is type in www.bible,com and hit a link to start reading the word of God. The Bible, whether in electronic or printed version is trustworthy and accurate.
-
The reason that the Bible is trustworthy and accurate is not because it had great editors and fact checkers. The Bible is accurate because it came from God. “For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (II Peter 1:21 NASB) When you watch Fox or MSNBC the reporting is filtered through humans with wills and agendas. The Bible, however came about as God moved men to write what He wanted them to write. He allowed them to use their own writing style, while still ensuring that what they wrote was completely accurate. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;” (II Timothy 3:16 NASB).
-
When the Apostle Paul came to a city called Berea, he told them about Jesus Christ. The Old Testament scriptures speak of Jesus in many places. Just a few examples are Micah 5:2, Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 7:14, and Isaiah 53. The Bereans listened to Paul, but they realized that he may not be any more reliable than some biased reporter. Instead of just accepting whatever he said, they went and checked it out with the Bible. “And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:10-11 NASB)
-
Notice that these Bereans did not just look up a verse or two and then agree with what Paul had said. Instead they examined (the Greek word here actually means scrutinized) the scriptures. We know that the Bible is true and accurate, but just like a biased reporter, many people take it out of context and misuse it. Since the Bible is true, we should study it carefully. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15 NASB) Men are often wrong, but God is never wrong and the Bible is God’s word.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Friday, September 4, 2015
God With a Capital "G"
Who is Jesus? Is he simply a great prophet sent to help the world, or is he actually God with a capital “G”? Some would suggest that he is the son of God, but not actually God. Others suggest that followers of God are sons of God in the same way that Jesus is. Though true Christians are God’s children, we are not deity (God).
-
The deity (Godness) of Christ is an important doctrine to consider. John 1:3 tells us Jesus made all things. Micah 5:2 tells us that he has been going forth from everlasting (existed forever). I Corinthians 10:4 speaks of Christ being with the Israelites during the time of Moses. This was nearly 1500 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16, and Hebrews 1:2 all show that Jesus is the creator. Consider Isaiah 44:24, “Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself”. This shows that God created all things alone. Jesus is the Son of the Father. Each member of the trinity has a distinct role, yet they are all God. For example the shell of an egg is not the yoke. But the yoke, white and shell are all egg.
-
In Revelation 22:8-9, the Apostle John is reprimanded for worshipping an angel who connects himself with the prophets. Jesus Christ, however, did not rebuke people for worshipping him. Remembering that Jesus is the creator, consider Revelation 4:10-11, “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
-
Not only do the elders worship Jesus, but they make it clear that he is worthy to receive glory. This is significant considering that God will not share his glory with anyone else. Consider Isaiah 48:11, “For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.” See also Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” In John 17:22, Jesus speaks of giving glory to his followers, that the Father had given to him. There is, however, a difference between glory given to us by Christ and God sharing his full personal glory as deity.
-
Jesus prayed in John 17:5, “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” Hebrews 1:3 speaks of Christ, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”. This is not just glory like Christ shares with us mere humans, but the actual glory of God in heaven. How could the Father share his personal glory with Jesus Christ, if God will not share his glory with another? The answer comes from Jesus’ own statements when he says in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one.” Also consider his response to Philip in John 14:9, “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”
-
Jesus Christ is not a separate God from the Father. There is perfect unity between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three are as distinct from each other as a yoke, white, and shell are, yet as unified as a complete egg. All can claim deity- the right to be called God with a capital “G”.
-
The deity (Godness) of Christ is an important doctrine to consider. John 1:3 tells us Jesus made all things. Micah 5:2 tells us that he has been going forth from everlasting (existed forever). I Corinthians 10:4 speaks of Christ being with the Israelites during the time of Moses. This was nearly 1500 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16, and Hebrews 1:2 all show that Jesus is the creator. Consider Isaiah 44:24, “Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself”. This shows that God created all things alone. Jesus is the Son of the Father. Each member of the trinity has a distinct role, yet they are all God. For example the shell of an egg is not the yoke. But the yoke, white and shell are all egg.
-
In Revelation 22:8-9, the Apostle John is reprimanded for worshipping an angel who connects himself with the prophets. Jesus Christ, however, did not rebuke people for worshipping him. Remembering that Jesus is the creator, consider Revelation 4:10-11, “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
-
Not only do the elders worship Jesus, but they make it clear that he is worthy to receive glory. This is significant considering that God will not share his glory with anyone else. Consider Isaiah 48:11, “For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.” See also Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” In John 17:22, Jesus speaks of giving glory to his followers, that the Father had given to him. There is, however, a difference between glory given to us by Christ and God sharing his full personal glory as deity.
-
Jesus prayed in John 17:5, “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” Hebrews 1:3 speaks of Christ, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”. This is not just glory like Christ shares with us mere humans, but the actual glory of God in heaven. How could the Father share his personal glory with Jesus Christ, if God will not share his glory with another? The answer comes from Jesus’ own statements when he says in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one.” Also consider his response to Philip in John 14:9, “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”
-
Jesus Christ is not a separate God from the Father. There is perfect unity between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three are as distinct from each other as a yoke, white, and shell are, yet as unified as a complete egg. All can claim deity- the right to be called God with a capital “G”.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
