Lesson 6
A. The Existence of God
1. What are the scriptural proofs for God?
a. There are none!!
b. Scripture
assumes there is a God - it does not argue the point Gen. 1:1;
Heb 11:6; 1 Cor. 8:6
2. Are there any rational proofs for God's
existence?
a. Cosmological
-> cause/effect
Every
effect must have a cause therefore there must be a cause behind every effect.
In looking at the universe and
considering its existence, we only have four options that I see:
#1 - The universe in its present form.
#2 - Matter into what we have today, .
#3 - The universe and God from E-P.
#4 -
That God from E-P and the universe that we have today at some point.
Ps 19:1; Rom 1:18-20
b. Teleological [having an end/goal teleioj]
The material world has design, order,
and therefore implies a designer, a creator. [is
alluded to in Heb 3:4]
c.
Moral
Inside everyone there is an "oughtness". Rom.
3.
Scriptural definition of God i.e. Who is God?
a. There is none - God cannot be
described in totality.
You know why there is no definition? God is not He is .
God knows no boundaries - no .
b. What can we conclude to this point??
That there is an
cause, He is a , and He is moral, the cause, the timeless immutable agent
= God!
B. Knowability
1.
2 propositions in Scripture
1st
proposition; God is incomprehensible;
2nd proposition, balance; but God is knowable.
a. Now lets look
at some documentation for proposition #1.
1. Ps 139:6
- adj. wonderful yailpi pil'iy;
- high hg;f' sagah = high, inaccessible
- David's conclusion: God is
so great, so awesome He is incomprehensible, indefinable
2. Job 11:7 Zophar, very blunt/tactless
friend of Job asks a rhetorical question.
3.
Dt 29:29 Points out
there are a lot of things to comprehend that man will never comprehend.
4.
Rom
unsearchable, unfathomable, untrackable says you can't put limits on God and that you cannot comprehend all there is about God.
5.
1 Tim 6:16
- What does Paul mean when He says God is unapproachable?
6.
1 Cor
7.
1 Cor
- The contrast is between now in
Church Age vs eternity face to face with God.
2. IF GOD IS
INCOMPREHENSIBLE THEN WHY IS HE INCOMPREHENSIBLE?
(have two very obvious
reasons)
#1. He is
infinite
- How do you put infinity in a bottle?
Can't!
-> If the heaven of heavens cannot
contain Him, as vast as it is, then how can the finite mind we're operating
with going to comprehend God?
#2. Man's
character, not only are we finite but we are also sinners, with an OSN.
*** Mankind being finite, imperfect, does not have the capacity to fully perceive the character of a Holy God, we must wait for our resurrection body, which is minus the contamination of sin nature. [its distorting impact, when we allow it to]