The Omnipotent God

The Omnipotent God

And Elijah laughed, he chided, he ridiculed…Let Baal answer by fire (1 Kings 18:24).  Elijah begged the prophets of Baal to let their inanimate and lifeless object of their affection prove that he is God.  So, the prophets of Baal danced and chanted themselves into a frenzy.  They cut, they bled, and they cried out loud, but nothing, Baal proved to be another farce Satan sent to steal the hearts of Israel (18:25-29).

Ephesians 4:6, tells us there is one God.  However, in the world, humanity recognizes thousands of gods, though the Bible teaches, there is only one living God.  Only one omnipotent God is our creator, and our earthly, physically and spiritual provider and sustainer.  This God, “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” is the God that brings His will to pass.  He is the one that knows no bounds or limitations when is comes to His will being carried out.  “Hath he said, and shall he not do it?” Numbers 23:19.  Job declared, “I know that thou canst do everything and that no purpose of thine can be restrained,” Job 42:2.  Moses declared, “For what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to they might?” Deut. 3:24.  Brethren, is there “anything too hard for the Lord?”  Gen. 18:14.

There is nothing too hard for God.  An example of this is when He spoke (Gen. 1:3) His words alone “Laid the foundation of the world,” Job 38:14.  Psalms 33:9 says, “He spake and it was done.  He commanded, and it stood fast.”

So, not only did God create the earth with His words, but “He commanded, and it stood fast,” Psa. 33:9.  Meaning, God sustains the earth as well.  He brings forth each morning, Job. 38:12.  He fashions the weather to feed and nourish the earth, 22-30.  He controls the constellations in the heavens, 31-33, which determine our seasons, days and years, Gen. 1:14.  He has fashioned the entire creation and controls it for His personal will.

Not only did God create and continue to sustain this universe.  But He also controls the spiritual realm as well.  In Daniel 4:25 as Nebuchadnezzar was finally confessing the power of God, Nebuchadnezzar admitted that even the army in heaven, the angelic beings are under God’s control, Dan. 4:35.  And it is just not the angelic beings under God’s control.  The Bible makes it clear that even Satan and his angels and in subjection to God.  In Job 1-2, we witness Satan asking God to tear down fences, to allow him to tempt Job, even more, Job 1:10ff.  The incident in Job 1 shows who was subservient to whom?  Also, in Revelation 9:1-5, God for a predetermined amount of time, released Satan from the bottomless pit with great power.  However, Satan was limited, and could not hurt certain people, 4-5.  Then, when God’s will was accomplished, in Revelation 20:2, we witness God sending His angel again to bind once again Satan.  All of this is evidence of God’s power over the entire spiritual realm. And Satan and his angels will eventually feel the entire wrath of God when they are sent to eternal judgment, 2 Pet. 2:4.

The greatest evidence of God’s omnipotence is through the victory we can achieve in His Son.  In Genesis 3:15, God made a promise to deliver humankind from the grasps of Satan.  And when the fullness of time came, Gal. 4:4, God sent His Son born of a virgin, to deliver man from their sins, Matt. 1:21.  Unfortunately, Satan soon went to war with Jesus on earth.  And eventually, Satan had Jesus nailed to the cross.  Then, after Christ’s burial, we see the greatest work of God, the resurrection of His Son.

While Peter was defending his belief before the Sanhedrin, he told them that He had to obey God instead of men, and obeying God consisted of addressing the fact that “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, who ye slew and hanged on a tree,” Acts 5:29-30.  Jesus arose.  And through that act, we today can now come in contact with the blood of the Lamb, Rev. 1:5-6, through the act of baptism, Romans 6:1-4, which is a representation of His death, burial, and resurrection.  And through that washing, we can be regenerated, Titus 3:5, and saved, 1 Peter 3:20-21.

God is omnipotent.  Now Satan has done a good job in convincing men otherwise.  However, the Bible declares that the clay has no right, to strive with the Creator.  And for those who stand firm against the Almighty God.  God has left you with a warning.

“Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!  Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth.  Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What maketh thou?  Or thy work, He hath no hands?”  Isaiah 45:9.

The Omniscience of God

The Omniscience of God

If I asked you to list all the attributes of God, how long of a list would you have?  If I asked you to write a paper on each attribute, how many pages would there be?  The attributes of God, are like God Himself, infinite.  There are not enough trees on the earth to process enough paper to print and define all the attributes of God.  Though the list is long and beautiful, we still from time to time, must be put in remembrance of various attributes.

We first must understand that God is omniscient, meaning God knows all things.  His knowledge is absolute, eternal, absolutely comprehensive, perfect in man and the ways of man.

John wrote in I John 3:20, “God is greater than all our hearts, and knoweth all things.”  What a statement!  God knows all things?  About yesterday, about today, about tomorrow?  Really, can that be true?  Can God foreknow everything concerning our nations, national changes and destinies of this world?  Isaiah 46:10 reads, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.”  Isaiah believed God could declare everything from yesterday until the end of the world.  In Acts 3:18, Peter tells us that God announced before the time that Christ would suffer.  In Acts 2:22-23, Peter in preaching the first gospel sermon taught that the events of that day were foreknown and part of a predetermined plan of God.  In prophesying about these events, God told Isaiah in 42:9 (around 712 BC), “Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.”  And sprung forth they did.

What about us?  Does God know everything about us?  Remember 1 John 3:20, God knows what?  In Psalms 139:1-5, David in praising God for His infinite knowledge, praised God because God knew his thoughts and words before David had a chance to form them.  David, a prophet of God, believed that God knew beforehand everything David would speak or think.  David even went so far at one point (39:4) to ask God to let him know, when his end was coming.  David may have had various reasons to want to know when his demise would be, but one thing is for sure, he understood that God knew when his demise would come.

What about those that question or deny the omniscience of God?  If we turn to 1 John 3:20, the Bible declares God knows all things.  David declared God knows what we will say and do before the situation even arises, Psalms 139:1-5.  Is it easy for the finite to understand the infinite?  No!  Romans 11:33.  But God did leave a warning behind in Psalms 73:9-19:

“They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth….And they say How doth God know?  And is there knowledge in the most High?  Behold, these are the ungodly.”

Three Arguments Concerning The Existence of God

 

Cosmological Argument

The cosmological argument for the existence of God is considered perfectly logical and straightforward to understand.  The argument is: We exist, yet the possibility is there for us not to exist though the possibility not to exist is there, we still exist, thus someone or something has caused us to exist.  Meaning our existence is not based on our life.  Just as cornbread could not have produced cornbread, but something caused the bread to exist.  We exist not by our power, but because of a cause.  Our existence depends on something that causes our existence.

Today we exist.  There has to be a cause for it.  God is that cause, and we are the effect.  The Bible teaches us that God created us (Gen. 1:26-27), in His image, Gen. 5:1; 1 Cor. 11:7; James 3:9.  And we were created to glorify Him, Isa. 43:7.  However, we quickly proved that we would like to glorify Him, but we often fail. And since we failed, and created a schism between us and the cause of our existence. Our Cause sent us a Redeemer and through that Redeemer we can now conform to the express image of God through Christ, 1 Cor. 11:7; Heb. 1:3; Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Col. 3:10.

Teleological Argument

The teleological argument is better known as the “Designer” argument today.  This case is considered logical and straightforward to understand as well.  William Paley (1743-1805) is famed for giving us the “Watchmaker” analogy, which helps us understand this argument.  The “Watchmaker” analogy goes something like this.  If you were walking through a field and found a watch, you would know that the watch just did not evolve out in the field.  Instead, the watch was designed with many intricate parts and was made for a purpose.  So, if there is a design, then that means there must be a designer.  The same would be true for the grass, weeds, and plants in that same field.  They too just did not evolve, but something created them for a purpose.  So, as the watch did not form from a random formation, then it is only natural to believe that the flowers, weeds and grasses of the field did not develop from a random formation as well.

Many apologists will use Illustrations about the eye to promote the designer belief.  Within the eye, there are dozens of convergent parts.  And each part on its own is worthless, yet when God molds those varying parts together, then we understand the real value and function of the eye.  Who molded them together? A designer or random formation?  Just as the watch, a designer molded the dozens are varying parts together to give us a time keeping device.

Paley would say since archeologists have discovered plenty of human artifacts that is evidence of purposeful, intelligent design.  The universe, in itself, resembles such artifacts.  Therefore, the universe is of design.  And since its components are much more complicated than a watch, the designer must be much more intelligent than us.

The Bible too supports such this view.  Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly see, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”  And even though people may try to change the image of God, the truth still stands, Rom. 1:20-32.

The Anthropological Argument 

The anthropological argument concerns the condition of basic human moral standards.  Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) a Frenchman, is perhaps famed most for the development or thrusting this evidence into the public eye.  First, if you have never heard or studied about Mr. Pascal, it is worth it to search him on the internet and read about his very short life, he died at 38. As a teenager and young adult, his intellect was captured by Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Then in 1654, at the age of 30, he switched his focus to Theology.  The advances this man made in Mathematics and Physical Sciences at such a young age are astounding.  He made significant contributions to the design of the calculator, the study of fluids, and he clarified the concept of pressure and vacuum.  So, remarkable was his work at such a young age critics denied he was the author of his work.  His critics claimed he was simply too young to have understood what he did, especially since he was a homeschooler.

In 1654, the child prodigy began to devote himself entirely to Theology.  And he is quoted as saying, “it was a better ‘bet’ to believe in God than not to do so.”  Why did he come to such conclusions?  Because of at least two points: 1) Man is intellectual and moral.  And why are we moral, intelligent beings?  The creator instilled that in His creatures.  Therefore, when humanity searches for a higher being, it is because God instilled that desire.   2) He concluded our emotional nature is evidence of a God.  Our consciences teach us to be good, loving, and holy.  And our consciences show us that certain things are wrong.  Where did we get such information or such a standard today?  Because this standard is not optional, it is something everyone with a sound mind understands.  Thus, it is concluded that our emotional nature, our desire to be good, and to do good, can only come from the existence of God.  Cardinal Newman said, “Were it not for the voice speaking so clearly in my conscience and my heart, I should be an atheist, or a pantheist when I look into this world.”

The anthropological argument is simple; we are a people of inherent morality.  We just know, some things are wrong, and others are right, and the entire world has those same feelings and understandings. And the question that remains is how?  GOD!

The War On Genesis 1

The War On Genesis 1…

Genesis 1 is powerful!  Ask any good English teacher to look at chapter 1, and they will scream that it is a “Polysyndeton nightmare.”  Yet there is a purpose behind all the repeated conjunctions found in chapter one.  If the Holy Spirit wanted, He could have precisely recorded these days over thousands of volumes without one grammatical mistake.  Did He not know language skills before there appeared a single human language?  You see, the continual use of conjunctions in such proximities is a tool the Spirit uses to slow us down while reading this section.  So, as readers, we will look intently at every phrase, and search each word with acute interest.  The Holy Spirit desires us to divide, measure and weigh each word, thus the explanation for the “Polysyndeton nightmare.”

Satan despises Genesis chapter 1.  And Satan is trying his very best to get men today to deny the accuracy of this chapter.  Hoping to convince men; this chapter is a: fairy tale, legend, myth, unreliable, unrealistic and unfactual.  Why?  Because if Satan can get us to deny the very first assertion of God that He is God and Creator of this Universe, then Satan can get us to deny anything God has written.  Once the door of denial is open to inspiration, then he knows he can waltz in and destroy.  Thus, if Satan can get us to question Genesis 1, why not question Genesis 12?  If Satan can get us to deny the creation, why not reject salvation as well?  If we cannot trust God to tell us the truth in Genesis 1, then please tell me how we can trust Him in John 3:16?

Brethren, there is a war today concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in Genesis 1.  And we expect this war today especially from Atheists, Agnostics, and Darwinists.  But the war is closer home today than that.  For we now have those who teach and instruct in our Christian Colleges today, who deny the reality of Genesis 1?  And if Genesis 1 is not legit, then where does it end?  And who gives scholars the right to decide which Scriptures are to be accepted or not?

When all is said and done, who wins when people start to deny any inspiration from Scripture? We clearly know the answer to that one, Satan, 1 Timothy 4:1. Why would anyone give in to him today?

He Is…

He is…..

“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth,” Genesis 1:1.  What an astounding verse.  The Bible has just opened, and yet, the Bible begins with the supposition that there is a God.  A supreme being exists.  The Hebrew word for God is Elohim, used approximately 2,000 times in the Old Testament.  Though the word Elohim is plural, its usage is surrounded by the singular.

Every inspired author of the Bible wrote accepting the fact there is a God, accepting that He is the “I Am That I Am,” Exodus 3:14.  He is self-existent and the Source of every living creature, as John puts it, “The Father has life in himself,” John 5:26.  Never did doubt exist in the minds of the inspired authors.  Why would they question the existence of God?  A watch and no watchmaker?  A garden and no gardener? Atheist and Evolutionist, today, can claim what they want, but their theories are filled with questions that can never be answered?  Some claim we came from goo.  Have you asked them where did the goo originate?  Some claim a catastrophic cosmological event took place, and the effect is us today.  Where did the cosmos arise for such an event to take place?  Some say a star blew up, and now we are here today.  And where exactly did that star originate?   You get the picture, right?

The first ten words of the Bible are an introduction and the most powerful words in the Bible, and the most powerful introduction ever written.  The first ten words introduce us to God, whose name alone is mentioned 32 times in the first 31 verses; including the pronouns, God is mentioned over 40 times in 31 verses.  And within this chapter, there is no attempt to apologize to skeptics.  Moses does not take on the role of an apologist, proving the existence of God to humanity.  In the first statement of Genesis, the Holy Spirit takes one huge swipe and sweeps away vain doctrines such as Atheism, Agnosticism, Polytheism, Fatalism, Idealism, Darwinism, Materialism, Pantheism and more.  God asserts, He is, and is not about to apologize!

What The Bible Says – About New Testament Worship

“What the Bible Says…”

About New Testament Worship

“That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ,” Philippians 1:10.

In the first century, Paul declared there would be a gradual falling from the doctrines of Christ (2 Thess. 2:3-9; 1 Tim. 4:1-3).  Today one can compare the doctrines of the religious denominations and witness mass confusion.  Over the last 24 weeks, we have dealt with our Restoration Plea, to restore a complete return to New Testament Christianity.  Following the laws and doctrines of Christ and the apostles, as practiced by the New Testament Church, through the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Mankind (And, yes, I know that word is politically incorrect.) is born with an innate desire to worship.  However, our worship cannot be patterned after our lusts, desires, whims, and dreams. To pattern our worship after what we want would make our worship vain (Matt. 15:8-9) and ignorant (Acts 17:23; 1 John 4:22).  The Bible gives us three acceptable elements in worship: the right object – God, the right manner – in spirit, and the right way – in truth, John 4:24.

Today I want you, wherever you may worship to compare the cooperate worship you engage in, to the cooperate worship in the New Testament.  And if you see a difference in where you worship compared to the Bible, then you must change as God so desires!  When the New Testament Christians came together, they sang songs, without the accompaniment of instruments (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; 1 Cor. 14:15).  They also would pray (1 Cor. 14:15; 1 Thess. 5:17; Col. 4:2).  They preached, studied and read the scriptures (Acts 17:11; 1 Cor. 1:21,23; 2 Tim. 4:2-4).  Then on the Lord’s Day they would take up a collection (1 Cor. 16:1-3; 2 Cor. 8:1-9:15), and they would partake of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16; 11:20-34).

Here at Brown Trail, our plea is to restore New Testament Christianity.  Please, if you have any questions about the first-century church and restoring her precepts today, please find one of our elders and deacons and they would be thrilled to sit with you and discuss how to approve things that are excellent.

What The Bible Says – About How To Be Saved?

“What the Bible Says…”

About How To Be Saved?

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good,” 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Traditionally the churches of Christ have sought to restore New Testament Christianity.  The Bible firmly states that the word of God is a seed (Lk. 8:11), and each seed only produces after its kind (Gen. 1:12).  Therefore, the seed, the word of God, if planted in the hearts of man today, can spring forth and bring back New Testament Christianity, as is the desire of God.  Therefore, as Paul wrote to the Body at Thessalonica and told them to “Prove all things,” he likewise told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that God has given us what we need to be perfect in every work.  We can know God has given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness.”

The question remains: what are the “all things” we are referencing?  At the Brown Trail church of Christ, we pattern our worship, organization, our daily pattern of living and the plan of salvation from the word of God, with the goal of restoring true New Testament Christianity.

The question remains, how can a sinner enter the realm of the saved? First, we know one must hear the word of God which produces faith (Romans 10:14-17).  However, according to scripture faith alone cannot save anyone.  Even the demons believe and tremble, yet they clearly are not saved.  The Bible teaches, after you believe, you must be willing to confess the name of Christ before men (Acts 8:36-37). Then repent of your sins, (Acts 2:38; 3:19), as Peter told the 3,000 on Pentecost. And then be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). And through this plan from God; baptism, being the final step, God will wash away your sins and place you in the realm of the saved, 1 Peter 3:21; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12; Acts 2:47.

If you have any questions concerning the plan of salvation that God has brought forth.  Please contact one of our elders or deacons. But, before I close, where you worship, is their pattern of obtaining salvation found in the New Testament pages or found in the authority of man? Remember the Bible has placed the burden upon us to “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good?” (Matthew 7:21; Proverbs 14:12.)

What The Bible Says – What Authority Is The Church Under?

“What the Bible Says…”

What Authority Is The Church Under?

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” Matthew 28:18.

After Christ’s death, burial and resurrection He explained to His apostles about the authority He had received in heaven and earth.  As Head of the Church (Eph. 1:22), ruling from His throne in heaven (Heb. 8:1; Rev. 3:21; Heb. 3:1; 10:11-12), Christ is our authority on earth.

The Church (the called out) is therefore under His power and authority.  Thus, we must live, obey, organize and worship as He pleases.  Because He is the one with the final say, not “the called out.”  The point from scriptures is clear “the called out,” are under the authority of Christ, and whatever we do in word or in deed must be authorized by Christ, Colossians 3:17.  Friends we are not the Creator, nor the Son of God, nor did we die and arise for anyone or anything. We have no right to claim any authority over Christ.  The fact is today there is “one Lord, one faith,” Eph. 5:23.  Thus, as preachers today, we must strive to preach “warning every man, teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus,” Col. 1:28.  These words of Paul cannot be fulfilled on earth today if man continues to follow their creeds and councils!

God’s word clearly teaches Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. And for us to survive we must abide in Him keeping his commandments (John 15:1-11).  2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  John, the apostle of love, makes it clear in 2 John 1:9, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”

At the Brown Trail church of Christ, we understand our authority does not rest in our elders, our members, nor in a creed written by us. Our authority rests only in the words of Christ. Please, if you have any questions about this, seek out one of our elders or deacons for clarification.

What The Bible Says – About The Headquarters Of The Church

“What the Bible Says…”

About the location of the headquarters of the church.

“And hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,” Ephesians 1:22.

“Even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body,” Ephesians 5:23.

When Christ died, buried then arose.  He fulfilled the Law and took away the keys of sin and death from Satan (Revelation 1:18).  Then through the Spirit and Apostles in Acts 2, the Church was established in Jerusalem, with Christ as the foundation (“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 3:11.) and head.

Therefore, Christ is the Head of His Church (Ephesians 1:22)!  He alone laid the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11).  He alone has received all authority in heaven, and earth (Matthew 28:18-20), and Christ alone is preeminent in all things (Colossians 1:18).

Today there is a pre-denominational religious group on earth that Christ established.  He alone is the head of this church which is His Body (Col. 1:18) and His headquarters is where the Head of the body is, in heaven!  Scriptures reveal that the Father promised Jesus the throne of David (Luke 1:31-33), and He was raised to sit upon His throne (Acts 2:29-31).  When Jesus sat down on the right hand of God (Heb. 3:1; 10:11-12). He sat down on His throne in heaven (Heb. 8:1; Rev. 3:21), where He receives as King over His kingdom, dominion and glory (Dan. 7:13-14; 1 Pet. 1:21; 3:22).

Jesus today rules His Church as Head from His headquarters in Heaven.  We at the Brown Trail church of Christ recognize Christ as our head, who is in heaven, and our creed is the New Testament and none other.  Please feel free to contact one of the elders and deacons here at Brown Trail if you have any questions about these doctrines.

What The Bible Says – About The Church Christ Adds Us To…

What the Bible Says …..

About The Church Christ Adds Us To…..

“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” Matthew 16:18.

The Bible is clear that by virtue of our belief and obedience the Lord will add such as should be saved to His Church (Acts 2:38, 47).  What we must understand today is when we obey the gospel message and Christ adds us to His Church, He is not adding us to any group of men who “claim” to be believers or followers of Christ.  Instead, Christ adds us to His Church, His Body.

Christ came and established His Church.  Meaning He established one body.  In Acts 20:28, the Bible states Christ purchased His Church.  In Ephesians 1:22-23, the Bible says Christ is the head of the Church, which is His body, of which there is only One, Ephesians 4:4.  Yes, the Bible teaches there is only one Church, and that Church is Christ’s Church, and only the saved are in His Church.

Today religious confusion runs rampant throughout the world.  There are thousands of denominations with countless contradictory doctrines.  Christ did not bring this mass confusion to the world.  However, Satan with his angels has divided us from God by casting upon us countless doctrines and denominations of man (1 Timothy 4:1).  At Brown Trail, we ask that everyone will pick up their Bibles and examine our lives, worship, plan of salvation, organization, names, etc. to the written word of God.  Compare these items to the New Testament church as found in Scriptures.  And understand, if where you worship is different from scripture, then know Christ did not bring in this mass confusion.  Man did!  And now it is our responsibility to restore that which Christ established upon this earth.  If you have any questions, please feel free to visit with one of our elders, deacons or men here at Brown Trail.