BiblicalInsights.net

     We have just completed VBS for the summer.  We studied an important theme:  Exploring the Nature of God.  The material was published by Promise Press, c. 2010 and distributed through Gospel Advocate, Nashville, TN.  I enjoyed the study of God through in-depth consideration of five names for God:  Elohim, Yahweh Elohim, Yahweh Jireh, Yahweh Nissi, and Yahweh Ra-ah.  The first name for God in the Bible comes from the Hebrew term Elohim (Gen. 1:1).  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Here are some significant facts about this name for God.
     First, Elohim is a plural noun.   The singular form would be Eloah which is poetic and rare.  In prose, the plural has to be used whether polytheistically or monotheistically because there is no other suitable word (Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, p. 239). 
     Second, the plural form in and of itself does not indicate a Triune God, but hints in the context of Genesis 1 do indicate a Triune God.  In Genesis 1:2, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”  The  Holy Spirit is referenced in this passage.  In Genesis 1:26, the Scriptures declare, “And God (Elohim) said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”  The plural pronoun “us” indicates that more than one person was present in the Godhead.  From John 1:1-3, we learn that the eternal Word was present at the time of the creation of all things and all things were created by Him (see also Col. 1:16-18).  A grammatical analysis of John 1:3 shows that Jesus Christ is the indirect agent in creation and God the Father is the direct agent.  Therefore, the word Elohim refers to God the Father, the Eternal Word and the Holy Spirit as the context of Genesis 1 affirms.
     Third, The plural form is better understood as indicating a plenitude of power (Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, p. 239).  The fullness of the authority and power of God is inherent in this word.  By the word of God (Elohim), the universe and everything in it comes into existence (Heb. 11:3, Psa. 33:8-9).  God is the First Cause and He Himself is uncaused.  Only God (Elohim) can create (bring into existence out of nothing material that which did not exist before).
    Fourth, man (created by God in His image) sustains a relationship to God by virtue of God being his creator.  This is a general relationship in which all men and women are the offspring of God.  Consider Paul’s words delivered on Mars hill in Athens, “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.  Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.  Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:23-30).
     Fifth, God (Elohim) has the power to bring man into full reconciliation with Himself through Jesus Christ (II Cor. 5:18-19).  Consequently, we can become the “children of God” in a spiritual sense which elevates us to the status of “sonship”.  This spiritual status is achieved through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.  We obtain the remission of our sins through the power of His blood (Eph. 1:7) and we are regenerated through the power of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).  Remission of sins and regeneration (new spiritual life) lead to sonship.  “…Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). 
     Sixth, God (Elohim) is the only one to be worshipped.  God the creator is the only God and He is the only being in the universe worthy to be worshipped.  (see Exodus 20:3).

     What does it mean to love God?  Love for God is a weighty matter!  Did you know that you can keep commands given by God without loving Him, but you cannot love God without keeping His commands?  Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).  He addressed the hypocritical Pharisees by saying, “But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Luke 11:42).  The Pharisees did the “pass over” on important commands from God.  They majored in minors.  The real problem is that they loved themselves more than they loved God.  They elevated their views over God’s Word.  How do we show love for God?  There are five elements of  love for God that we want to consider.
     The first element is adoration for God.  If we truly love God, we will recognize His excellencies and His goodness.  We must know God before we can love God.  We must know His perfections including His glory, majesty, power, wisdom, love, mercy, wrath, justice and judgment.  We must recognize His goodness  revealed by His creative genius–producing design, beauty, functionality and sustenance and His redeeming love–producing salvation, joy, peace and the hope of eternal life.  Adoration is the esteem or value we place upon God when we understand who He is and what He has done for us.  That esteem is manifested in praise.
     The second element is attachment to God.  Love, by its very nature, attaches itself to the object of affection or devotion.  Love for God begins with an exclusive choice for God (Luke 16:13).  Luke declares that we cannnot serve two masters.  We will either hate the one and love the other; or we will hold to the one and despise the other.  We must choose.   A choice for God is a choice to enter into covenant relationship with God.  When we truly love God, God’s laws rule in our hearts.  To love God means that we deny self and live surrendered to Him.
     The third element is fidelity to God.  Fidelity means that we will keep covenant with God.  It means that we will be loyal and faithful to God.  Fidelity to God means that we will forsake all others (we will not serve any other gods).  Fidelity to God means putting God first and loving God exclusively.  We will worship Him only and serve Him only.  Love for God means that we make God the priority of our lives.
     The fourth element is gratitude to God.  Gratitude is the attitude of thankfulness that stems from a humble heart that recognizes that God is the ultimate source of all blessings. Love for God is prompted by God’s gracious acts that overwhelm the human heart.  The unspeakable gift of God’s Son if one example of God’s grace (John 3:16).  Love for God prompts gratitude as we recognize God’s goodness toward us on a daily basis.  God’s grace supplies us with many blessings that enrich our lives.
     The fifth element is consecration to God.  In Luke 10:27, we are taught to love God with “all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength and with all thy mind…”  We must be wholly given to God (Rom. 12:1-2).  Love for God motivates to a life of holiness.  We conform to His will and are transformed by His Word.  Love for God produces the desire to be like God (Eph. 5:1).  We imitate what we admire. 
     Love for God is the ultimate beginning point in establishing relationship with God.  Remember, God went first. “We love him, because he first loved us.”  I John 4:19.

Lecture Hall Bethany, WV

Alexander Campbell spoke these words to his students at Bethany College during the morning lectures that he gave on the Pentateuch.  He delivered the lectures in the great hall which is a part of the historic Old Main at Bethany College, Bethany, WV.  “If a man should have the ear of an earthly autocrat for an hour’s interview, he would tell the honor to his children and his children’s children.  But what is this, to having audience with the King of kings and Lord of lords? Can man conceive of any thing which should so inspire him with gratitude, with veneration and love, as that, upon the throne of his glory, God should hear the prayers of the frail denizens of earth–should listen to their supplications?  There is not, within the lids of the Bible, a presentation of the Divine character, so fascinating as that which reveals Him as a prayer-hearing God.  The idea that God, in his infinite majesty, could condescend to listen to the prayer of an earthly beggar–or that he would hold in abeyance the awful machinery of the universe, as in answer to the prayers of Joshua! What an exhortation to man, to bend his heart and soul in thanksgiving and adoration, to the bountiful Fountain of his being” (Lectures on the Pentateuch, by Alexander Campbell, 264).

     Robert Reymond in his book What is God? makes an astute comment concerning contemporary worship and the concept of the majesty of God.  Here is the quote, “Therefore, it is absolutely esential–indeed, it is a vital imperative for our spiritual health–that we who desire to know what God is like should always listen carefully to God’s description of himself in Holy Scripture alone, submit our hearts to that description without murmuring against it, endeavor to live our lives in accordance with it, and worship him in a way that befits his revealed perfections, that is, with reverence and awe.  And speaking of worship, I want to state categorically that, in my opinion, the intrusion into the contemporary church of superficial, flippant worship styles that abound everywhere today, with their applause for the church’s “performers” and their sappy contemporary music, is not and should never have been regarded as simply a matter of ‘cultural preference.’  Rather, as an infusion of the popular culture into the church it is a symptom of what A. W. Tozer describes in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, as “The loss of the concept of (the) majesty of God from the popular religious mind.  The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be unworthy of thinking, worshipping men…”  (What is God? 48).
     This quote, it seems to me, is targeting the heart of many problems in religion in general and in worship in particular.  Our religion is more about us than it is about God.  We are more inclined to act to please ourselves rather than God.  We pay lip service to Him while ignoring His Will.  A study of God, based upon what the Scriptures affirm about Him, would be beneficial for every person and every congregation of the Lord’s people. We must love God supremely, worship Him only, and serve Him faithfully.

     In the last few years, numerous books by atheists have appeared on the market.  Richard Dawkins wrote The God Delusion (2006) openly attacking belief in God.  Dawkins occupies the Charles Simony professorship for public understanding of science at Oxford University.  In November, 2005, Dawkins was voted one of the world’s three leading intellectuals–a survey that took place in Prospect magazine.  What does this leading intellectual say about belief in God?  He refers to those who believe in God as “dyed-in-the-wool faith-heads” and contends that they are immune to argument.  He defines God as “a petty, unjust, unforgiving control freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomanical, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully” (Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, 31).  Come to think of it, I don’t believe in a God defined like that either.  Dawkins defines God by attributing to God the sins of mankind.  This is radically false. 
     Other atheistic books recently published are:  Sam Harris’ work, The End of Faith (2004, over 400,000 copies in print) and  his follow-up work, Letter to a Christian Nation.  Daniel Dennett’s book, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon.  Marc Hauser’s, Moral Minds, explores the non-divine origins of right and wrong.  Lewis Wolpert’s Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast affirms religion as one of those impossible things.  Victor Stenger produced God: The Failed Hypothesis.  Finally, Ann Druyan, Carl Sagan’s widow, wrote, The Varieties of Scientific Experience.
     This surge in atheistic writings seems to be a reaction to the success and progress of the Intelligent Design movement in America.  Atheists have been and will continue to be met with sound arguments for God’s existence.  The battle is not just for a correct understanding of God, but it is also for an accurate understanding of ourselves.  Victor Frankl wrote, “If we present man with a concept of man which is not true, we may well corrupt him.  When we present him as an automation of reflexes, as a mind machine, as a bundle of instincts, as a pawn of drive and reactions, as a mere product of heredity and enviornment, we feed the nihilism to which modern man is, in any case, prone.  I became acquainted with the last stage of corruption in my second concentration camp, Auschwitz.  The gas chambers of Auschwitz were the ultimate consequence of the theory that man is nothing but the product of heredity and environment–or, as the Nazis like to say, “of blood and soil.”  I am absolutely convinced that the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Maidanek were ultimately prepared not in some ministry or other of Berlin, but rather at the desks and in lecture halls of nihilistic scientists and philosophers” (quoted in Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God, 25).
     The best atheists have to offer is meaninglessness, lawlessness and hopelessness.  After considering this alternative, I think I will pass.  “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God” (Psa. 14:1).