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"IN THE BEGINNING GOD"
I. THE BIBLE NEVER SEEKS TO PROVE THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.
A. It always assumes the existence of God.
1. You do not seek to prove your existence, you have enough sense to know that by seeing you we should automatically know that you exist.
2. God is clearly seen in His creation.
ROM 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
ROM 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.
ROM 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
3. As in the psalm we read this morning, "The heavens declare the glory of God and the earth shows His handiwork, every day and every night they speak to us."
4. The Bible assumes that only the fool would say that there is no God, and it is folly to argue with a fool.
PSA 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God.
a. Solomon said:
PRO 23:9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
B. For the person who says, "Well I have to see to believe." Isn't it interesting that God made the Universe out of invisible things. Have you ever seen an atom? a proton? an electron? Have you ever seen the wind?
1. The interesting thing is that it is not seeing is believing, but believing is seeing.
II. IN THE BEGINNING GOD.
A. Before ever anything else existed He was there.
1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."
a. Note, in the beginning was. That is past tense, when the beginning began, He already existed.
b. The child always asks that profound question, "Who created God?" No one created God, He always was, He is self-existent.
2. He was the only one to observe the creation of the Universe, so the only one who can speak with authority as to how it began.
3. Any theory of man must remain just that, an unproven, and unprovable theory. Man was not there to observe it.
a. Thus the theory of evolution must be placed in the category of science fiction rather than science.
4. Job who was in a philosophical discourse with His friends which included a lot of conjecture about God and the Universe. When God came on the scene He began to question Job.
JOB 38:2 Who [is] this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
JOB 38:3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand you to answer Me.
JOB 38:4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding.
B. It is true that this takes faith to accept.
HEB 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
C. I believe that it takes greater faith to believe that in the beginning all of the matter in the Universe was compressed into a small object the size of a dried pea. Had they said baseball, I might have an easier time believing it.
1. Can you imagine our solar system being compressed into a small pea?
2. Can you imagine our earth?
3. Maybe you can, but I can't.
4. The story of the Emperor's new suit.
5. Only the brilliant minds can understand that the whole Universe was compressed into a small mass the size of a pea. Call me a fool, but I say the emperor is naked, that's preposterous.
D. Did you hear of the scientists who went to God and said, "We do not need you anymore, we have advanced to the place were we can now create man, we can clone so we do not need you anymore. God said, "That is interesting, let's see you do it." So as the scientist picked up a handful of dirt, God said, "Oh no, you get your own dirt."
1. You see if you buy into that pea theory, you still have to explain where the pea came from.
2. The alternative to "In the beginning God..." is in the beginning was nothing, and nothing exploded with a big bang, and formed our marvelous and orderly universe of stars, and galaxies.
3. Dr. Spencer gave a definition of evolution as: "An integration of matter and concomitant dissipation of motion during which the matter passes from an indefinite, incoherent, homogeneity to a definite, coherent heterogeneity, and during which the retained motion undergoes a parallel transformation." That is what is know as gobboly gook, or better known as hogwash. Surely not science.
4. The process of evolution has been described as fortuitous occurrences of accidental circumstances. You see if they can confuse your mind with big words, you think that they are smart.
5. When we were kids, if someone would ask us a question that we did not know the answer, we would say, "Not knowing and having a large regard for the truth, I feel a natural delicacy in expressing to you an opinion so dubious to my mental faculties." Rather than people thinking that we were dumb because we did not know the answer, they thought we were smart, because we could use big words.
6. How simple, in comparison, is the statement in the Bible, "In the beginning God."
III. IN THE BEGINNING GOD. HOW LONG AGO WAS THE BEGINNING?
A. Who knows?
1. Oft times you will read an article in "Time" or one of the other magazines that asserts that the Bible teaches that the earth is only about 6,000 years old.
a. Nothing of the sort.
b. The Bible says, that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and just how long ago that was, no one really knows.
c. There are many scientists that hold to a young earth theory, they may be right, no one knows for sure.
2. Scientists are now trying to date the beginning as somewhere between 15 and 17 billion years ago. They may be right, all I know that in the beginning, God was already there.
IV. IN THE BEGINNING GOD. ETERNAL, OMNIPOTENT, OMNIPRESENT, OMNISCIENT, ALL LOVING, ALL MERCIFUL, ALL GRACIOUS, ALL HOLY.
A. In the Hebrew the word translated God is Elohim, which is the plural form of the Hebrew word for god which is el.
1. Thus in the first verse of the Bible you have the hint of the plurality of the Godhead.
2. We believe in One God who exists in the three persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
3. Later in the creation story we will find Elohim saying, "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness." Again the use of plural pronouns.
4. You say, "I can't understand the Trinity." Of course you can't Paul wrote great is the mystery of the Godhead. God was manifested in the flesh. Justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles and received up into glory.
5. Can you understand eternity? Can you understand infinity? of course you can't. We can use the words, we can understand the concept, but to actually understand it is impossible for our finite faculties.
B. God is an infinite being, and we are finite. The gulf between the finite and the infinite is too great to be bridged by man.
1. This spells doom for all man-made religions which start with an earth base.
2. Religions are the stories of finite man trying to reach and understand an infinite God. They are doomed before they start.
3. Christianity is the story of an infinite God reaching down to finite man. I can understand how that is possible.
V. "IN THE BEGINNING GOD."
A. This is the opening statement of the Bible, and it is introducing the subject of the Bible, the true and living God.
1. The Bible is all about the true God.
2. It's purpose is to reveal God to man.
3. God is the author, thus it is an autobiography.
a. "God who in sundry times and in diverse ways spoke to our fathers through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us through His dear Son."
b. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God."
c. "Holy men wrote as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit."
B. I might add that after studying this book for over 65 years, it makes great sense to me, I have put my hope, trust and faith in the God who has revealed Himself to me through the Bible.
1. It has brought joy to my life.
2. It has brought peace to my heart.
3. It has brought love to my soul.
4. It has brought hope to my spirit.
Verse-Reference
Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]
Abbreviate Books
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