THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1 NKJV).

This opening verse of the Bible immediately brings the reader face to face with the fact of God. There is no argument to prove His existence. There is no introduction to lead up to the point. There is no room for speculation, no philosophizing. There’s not even time to duck. By revelation, not speculation, we are brought face to face with the God who created the universe. Gen. 1:1 draws a line in the sand and asks us to step over. It was Arthur W. Pink who said “false religions and human philosophies begin with man and, in some cases, seek to work up to God. But the Bible begins with God as the One who was in the beginning, the One who made all that is. We must, in all our thinking, begin with God. He is the Source of all else.”

God is referred to by name 35 times in the opening section of Genesis 1:1-2:3. Clearly He is the great subject; creation is merely His handiwork, here to tell us of Him. As Paul states in Rom. 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Thus we can enjoy creation as a marvelous source of revelation, compatible with and expounded upon by the more specific revelation of the written Word.

Further, because God is the eternal Creator of the universe, we all must submit to Him. If we reject Him, our only option is that matter has always been in existence in one form or another. It is inconceivable that matter came into being apart from God. Science can take us back 15 billion years ago to the Big Bang, but it can’t tell us where the material which exploded came from or what caused the explosion. If there was ever a time when nothing existed, then nothing could exist now, because something cannot come from nothing. So either matter always has been or God always has been.

Thus, the choice is either the eternal, intelligent, all-powerful God created the universe and everything in it, or it came about from senseless chance acting on matter that has eternally existed. If eternal matter plus impersonal chance caused all that is, we don’t have to submit to it and repent of our sin. We can live as we please. But if a personal God created everything by His word, a God who is awesome in His holiness, then there are definite implications for us! Because God is the creator of everything in this universe, including human life (1:26), we cannot ignore Him. This is the inescapable import of this profound first verse of the Bible!

Adapted from Steve Cole - Sermons on Genesis 1

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“God without man is still God; man without God is nothing!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Let there be

In Genesis 1:3 we read, “Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light!” (NKJV)

Let there be is one word in Hebrew; it is the word haya (‏‏הָיָה = haw-yaw'). It is the basic Hebrew word for being, and it can be translated to be, to become, to exist, to happen and to have. It is a strong, active imperative (a command). God is commanding light to become, to come into existence. Light is not eternal; it has not always been in existence. Light came into existence just like everything else in the universe. God’s first creative word created light.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – That he would be called Emmanuel: Isa. 7:14

New Testament Fulfillment – Matt. 1:23

Bible Facts

Birth of the Sanitation System – In Deut. 23:12-13 we read, “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse.” Some 3,500 years ago God commanded His people to have a place outside the camp where they could relieve themselves. They were to each carry a shovel so that they could dig a hole (latrine) and cover their waste. Up until World War I, more soldiers died from disease than war because they did not isolate human waste.

Bible Quiz

According to Psalm 19, what uses no words or voices, yet shouts, ‘God, the Creator, exists?’

**Answer to last week’s trivia: What were the first things in Creation God saw as “good?” Night and day – “And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night” (Gen. 1:4-5).

That’s in the Bible

“Toss and turn”

“He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball into a large country; There you shall die, and there your glorious chariots shall be the shame of your master’s house!” (Isa. 22:18 NKJV)

After a bad night’s sleep, we might say that we ‘tossed and turned.’ The Bible’s use of this phrase doesn’t involve a bad night’s sleep. The Lord was pronouncing judgment on a certain Shebna, a treasurer of the Persians, for his invasion of Israel. God said He would “turn and toss” him like a ball.

Did You Know – Christian History

Johann Gerhard Oncken was born January 26, 1800 in Varel, a town in the Duchy of Oldenburg. His father was exiled for political reasons, his mother died, and his grandmother raised him. He was a pioneer German Baptist preacher, variously referred to as the “Father of Continental Baptists,” the “Father of German Baptists” and the “Apostle of European Baptists.”

Oncken was born a Lutheran, was converted at a Methodist meeting, adopted Baptist views and possessed a relationship with the Mennonites. His theology can be described as conservative, Calvinistic, and evangelistic. He favored ministerial education, but not at the expense of spiritual preparation. He held spiritual gifts as a priority over academic preparation.

Although Oncken had no formal theological training, the Continental Society appointed him as a missionary to Germany. He traveled across the European continent preaching the gospel, giving out Bibles, and conducted ‘preaching tours’ in the Balkans, France, Hungary, Prussia, Russia, and Switzerland, as well as visiting Britain and the United States.

During his ministry as a Baptist preacher, Oncken constituted over 280 Baptist churches and 1222 preaching stations. He founded over 170 churches in Scandinavia and the Slavic states. He also formed 771 Sunday Schools in Germany. His ministry even extended indirectly to places such as Australia. It is estimated that he was responsible for distributing over two million Bibles and untold millions of gospel tracts. His work continues to leave a mark on the Baptists of Germany and Europe. His motto, “Every Baptist a missionary” should be indelibly written upon the heart of every believer.

A Little Humor

An unbelieving lawyer had a plaque on his office wall that read: GOD IS NOWHERE. His small daughter, while waiting for him one day, passed the time by copying that motto over and over on a piece of paper. Unintentionally she spaced the letters in a way that completely changed their meaning. Adding a space between the letters W and H, she wrote GOD IS NOW HERE.

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“One may go wrong in many directions but right in only one!”