Articles, Thinking in Public, Bible Studies, Sermons, Devotions, Biblical Theology, Historical Theology, Contemporary Theology, Doctrinal Studies and etc
Month: February 2016
Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.
There is power enough in God to help the weakest, and grace enough to help the unworthiest of all that trust in him.
Donald Trump is attracted to evangelicals. Some evangelicals say that in Trump they find a voice. According to Dr. Anthony Bradley, chairman of the program in religious and theological studies who also serves as associate professor of religious studies at King’s College in New York City, these evangelicals are the ones who have been fueling Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s meteoric push toward the party’s nomination and they are angry and looking for vengeance.
Trump evangelicals are evangelicals who have been on the margins. They are not mainstream evangelicals who are burdened by the sort of traditional concerns of the church. Trump evangelicals are angry. They are mad at the Obama administration. They believe that the Obama administration has ruined the country,”
For months, Trump has been declaring;
the evangelicals love me and I love them.
They have had it with Washington D.C. They have had it with politics as usual. They cannot stand outside special interests from lobbyists. So Donald Trump is speaking right to the heart and core concerns of the types of evangelicals that have been ignored probably over the last 10 -15 years.
Trump evangelicals are primarily working class and lower middle class people who want the America back that they grew up in. They want the America back where there were jobs in smaller towns. They want the America back where there wasn’t that sort of liberal encroachment on all sorts of institutions from public schools and churches. They want the America back that gives them and their children the projection that they’ll be able to make it in small town America. They want that America back and Donald Trump speaks directly to those concerns.
When Trump says things like ‘Make America Great Again,’ he’s speaking right into the core concerns of the types of evangelicals who care more about America than they do evangelicalism. They don’t need Trump to be a moral leader. They don’t care about the number of divorces he’s had, they don’t care about his character, they care about the fact that he finally speaks for them. Finally they have someone who articulates the sorts of fears, and cares and concerns that the establishment and institutional evangelicals have been slow to care about and respond to and to do it in such a way that makes them believe that there is hope for real change.
Donald Trump is clear, he is articulate in terms of reducing things to really simple sayings and aphorisms that makes sense to the types of evangelicals who care about the sorts of things that he directly speaks to.
This is an old strain in American politics. This is populism and populism is from the gut. Not from the brain.
People that are old like me remember that in 1968 you had this same kind of irrational response. People’s first choice was George Wallace and their second choice was Robert Kennedy. And people’s first choice was Robert Kennedy and their second choice was George Wallace. But that makes no rational sense, but if it’s all emotion, if it’s all gut, if it’s all simple answers, if it’s all expressing your anger and frustration it does make sense.
Donald Trump is appealing to a lot of people, a lot of working class whites who feel like, especially males … that the government doesn’t care about them, the Washington establishment exists for its own self, not for the people, their government doesn’t care about them and they have been taken advantage of and they’ve been ignored and they’ve been forgotten and they are mad as heck.
And Donald Trump comes along as sort of a blue collar billionaire, articulating their anger and trumpeting their anger and their frustration and acting out the political incorrectness they’d like to act out but they are intimidated about acting out in their culture.
So when he speaks about women in derogatory ways, they like it. That’s the way they feel but they can’t say it. When he talks about Vicente Fox saying ‘we’re not gonna build that blanking wall’ and he’s asked ‘what’s your response’ and he goes ‘it just got 10′ taller’ [His supporters go] ‘that’s right.’
Land questioned the bona fides of the Trump supporters who self-identify as evangelicals in exit polling and charged that true evangelicals vote their values. He also noted that the Bible did not call Christians to be pragmatic when it comes to their faith. Land said;
I vote my values, my beliefs and my convictions, I’m not pragmatic. Which means I don’t compromise my values, beliefs and convictions for what I may perceive to be my own narrow self-interests. I don’t see pragmatic in the New Testament, I see being salt and light.
I’ve said it before, I will say it again. If we’re gonna be salt and light, as Jesus commanded us to be, we need to vote our values our beliefs and our convictions. If I am forced to choose between a Jewish woman who is running on a platform of raising my taxes by 50 percent, but she is gonna protect unborn babies and she is running against a Southern Baptist friend of mine, whose gonna lower my taxes by 50 percent but is gonna protect a woman’s supposed right to kill her unborn baby, I’m gonna vote for babies and against my pocketbook every time because I don’t want to have to explain to Jesus someday why I thought my pocket book was more important than unborn babies.
He further noted
“I think that the problem is he talks in everyday, plain language. He is a master communicator, he’s learned that from his television experience. He doesn’t talk in politicalese. He doesn’t talk in political indirect terms, he talks in very plain simple language in which he has plain simple answers to complex problems.
“And there is a reason why his biggest appeal is among non-college educated people. High school graduates, working class, lower middle class people. And if he does get the nomination frankly, I think he will be a lot harder to beat than some people think he will.
“He throws the political map out the window. He puts New York in play. You don’t think there are a lot of policemen and firemen, and union workers in New York that will tell their union bosses to go take a hike they’ll vote for Donald Trump? Because he is saying exactly what they think.
Same thing in Chicago, same thing in Los Angeles. He puts states in play that haven’t been in play for a long time.”
Despite these possibilities, however, Land says he is worried about Trump’s malleability.
Of course to me the biggest danger with Donald Trump is we have no idea what Donald Trump will do if he were president because Donald Trump doesn’t have any idea what he would do. He is flying by the seat of his pants. He doesn’t have any deep-seated political philosophy. He has no real philosophical or political moorings. And so he could do wildly irrational things on the same day.
…12But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. 13The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
Ecclesiastes 12:12 – 14
This is a ‘theological’ reflection on electing old age leadership. Here in North America, Joe Biden is 80 years old and Donald turns 77. In their seventies, Joe and Donald want to bear the weight of the world for the next four to eight years.. Whatever their motives are, we can only hope that they want to do good.
At this time, five of the Supreme Court Justices are over 65 and three are over 75. Ronald Reagan served as President from age 70 to 78. He was shot at age 70 and recovered. Then at 76 he stood against the USSR in West Berlin and said to Mikhail Gorbachev, “Tear down this wall!”
Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1940 at the age of 66. He wielded his mighty eloquence against the Nazis till he was 70. Six years later he was reelected, and served till he was 81. At 82 he wrote A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.
The theologian Charles Hodge (1797–1878) lived to be 80. His biographer, Paul Gutjahr, wrote, “His last years were among his most productive . . . wielding his favorite pen to compose literally thousands of manuscript pages, which would eventually become his monumental Systematic Theology and his incisive What is Darwinism?.”
At 70 Benjamin Franklin helped draft the Declaration of Independence. John Glenn became the oldest person to go into space at age 77. At the same age, Grandma Moses started painting. Started! At 82, Goethe finished writing his famous Faust. At 89, Albert Schweitzer ran a hospital in Africa. At 93, Strom Thurmond won reelection after promising not to run again at age 99. He lived to be 100. At 93, P.G. Wodehouse worked on his 97th novel, got knighted, and then died.
I heard Oswald Sanders lecture when he was 89. He said, “I have written a book a year since I was 70.” So I have just arrived at the beginning of this writing life. The beginning! What a thrilling example!
Ralph Winter, the great missions visionary and activist was thinking and writing and strategizing for world evangelization until he died at 84. He was passionate about non-retirement.
“Most men don’t die of old age,” he wrote, “they die of retirement. I read somewhere that half the men retiring in the state of New York die within two years. Save your life and you’ll lose it. Just like other drugs, other psychological addictions, retirement is a virulent disease, not a blessing. . . . Where in the Bible do they see that? Did Moses retire? Did Paul retire? Peter? John? Do military officers retire in the middle of a war?”
God has great promises for those of you who trust your precious and ever-present Savior, Jesus Christ:
“Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).
When I saw the cleansing fountain
Open wide for all my sin,
I obeyed the Spirit’s wooing,
When He said, “Wilt thou be clean?”
Refrain
I will praise Him! I will praise Him!
Praise the Lamb for sinners slain;
Give Him glory, all ye people,
For His blood can wash away each stain.
Though the way seems straight and narrow,
All I claimed was swept away;
My ambitions, plans and wishes,
At my feet in ashes lay.
Refrain
Then God’s fire upon the altar
Of my heart was set aflame;
I shall never cease to praise Him
Glory, glory to His Name!
Refrain
Blessèd be the Name of Jesus!
I’m so glad He took me in;
He’s forgiven my transgressions,
He has cleansed my heart from sin.
Refrain
Glory, glory to the Father!
Glory, glory to the Son!
Glory, glory to the Spirit!
Glory to the Three in One!
Some people tell me that they are scandalized because they see many things wrong in the Church. I tell them that if you ask a fly, “Are there any flowers in this area?” it will say, “I don’t know about flowers, but over there in that heap of rubbish you can find all the filth you want.” And it will go on to list all the unclean things it has been to.
Now, if you ask a honeybee, “Have you seen any unclean things in this area?” it will reply, “Unclean things? No, I have not seen any; the place here is full of the most fragrant flowers.” And it will go on to name all the flowers of the garden or the meadow.
You see, the fly only knows where the unclean things are, while the honeybee knows where the beautiful iris or hyacinth is.
As I have come to understand, some people resemble the honeybee and some resemble the fly. Those who resemble the fly seek to find evil in every circumstance and are preoccupied with it; they see no good anywhere. But those who resemble the honeybee only see the good in everything they see. The stupid person thinks stupidly and takes everything in the wrong way, whereas the person who has good thoughts, no matter what he sees, no matter what you tell him, maintains a positive and good thought.
+ St. Paisios of Mt. Athos, “Good and Evil Thoughts,” Spiritual Counsels III: Spiritual Struggle
“The corroding immorality of Herod’s race shows itself in his marriage with Herodias his brother’s wife and the wanton offense thereby given to Jewish sensibilities.”
Among the female characters in God’s portrait gallery there are many wicked women as we are discovering, but surely Herodias stands out among them as one of the most vile and vicious.
Amid the putrefying influence of the palace, however, there was one man who knew no fear, John the Baptist. Herod “feared” him and regarded him as “a just man” and whom “he heard gladly.” Herod found music in the preacher’s message until he sternly rebuked the king by saying of Herodias,
“It is not lawful for thee to have her.”
But such a warning bell was to toll the Baptist’s doom. For his faithful rebuke of Herod’s sin, John was cast into prison, and the evil, scheming mind of Herodias began to work. She was stung by the arrow from the preacher’s quiver and hated him for exposing her shame. “For Herodias’ sake,” he was imprisoned and thus the greatest of the prophets was sacrificed for this lewd and vicious woman. But the hatred of such a vile creature was more to be desired than her affection (Matthew 10:23; Luke 6:26). Herodias, with her conscience in turmoil because of her accuser, planned to silence him. She did not want Herod to listen too closely and constantly to John’s forceful preaching. She feared her illegal husband—for her first husband was still alive—might repent, and her position as queen, imperiled.
Herodias knew Herod only too well. He easily succumbed to sensual excitement, and as his birthday drew near her foul design was hatched. On the day when drink freely flowed, Herodias used her own daughter to inflame Herod’s passions. She was willing to sacrifice her child’s modesty in order to bend Herod to her will. Herod was overcome by Salome’s form seen through the flowing flimsy garment she wore, and influenced by the act of the dancing girl took a rash and foolish oath to give her whatever she asked, even to half of his kingdom.
Approaching her mother, Salome said, “What shall I ask?” Without hesitation Herodias, the female hyena, replied,
“Ask for the head of John the Baptist.”
Returning to Herod she presented her demand, and Herod was extremely sorry at such a request. Yet, because of his oath’s sake, he sacrificed the preacher whom he regarded as just and holy, and all because of his guilty love for a vile woman. No wonder he was smitten with fear when he heard of the fame of Jesus, thinking it was John the Baptist risen from the dead to torment his conscience further. One wonders how Salome felt when the gory dish of the preacher’s head was handed to her?
Herodias’ Old Testament counterpart was Jezebel. What Herodias was to Herod, Jezebel was to Ahab. Both Ahab and Herod were wicked, and in both cases the woman was more wicked. Both Jezebel and Herodias fostered hate that became deadly against a prophet of God. Jezebel hated Elijah and sought to kill him—Herodias hated John the Baptist, the New Testament Elijah, and succeeded in his murder.
What was the end of Herodias? Since she was the source of Herod’s sin, Herodias also became the source of his shame. According to Josephus, Herodias’ ambition was the ruin of Herod. Jealous of the power of Agrippa her brother, she prodded Herod to demand of Caligula, the emperor, the title of king. Agrippa saw to it that this demand was refused, and Herod was banished and ended his days in shame and exile. The pride of Herodias forced her to be faithful to her husband in the disgrace and misfortune she herself had caused.
Despite our best efforts, we all judge others. Jesus said “judge not.” The words “judge not” refers to the judgment of Hidden motives.
Superficial judgment is wrong. Passing judgment on someone based solely on appearances is sinful (John 7:24). It is foolish to jump to conclusions before investigating the facts (Proverbs 18:13). Simon the Pharisee passed judgment on a woman based on her appearance and reputation, but he could not see that the woman had been forgiven; Simon thus drew Jesus’ rebuke for his unrighteous judgment (Luke 7:36–50).
Hypocritical judgment is wrong. Jesus’ command not to judge others in Matthew 7:1 is preceded by comparisons to hypocrites (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16) and followed by a warning against hypocrisy (Matthew 7:3–5). When we point out the sin of others while we ourselves commit the same sin, we condemn ourselves (Romans 2:1).
Harsh, unforgiving judgment is wrong. We are “always to be gentle toward everyone” (Titus 3:2). It is the merciful who will be shown mercy (Matthew 5:7), and, as Jesus warned, “In the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2).
Self-righteous judgment is wrong. We are called to humility, and “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6). The Pharisee in Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector was confident in his own righteousness and from that proud position judged the publican; however, God sees the heart and refused to forgive the Pharisee’s sin (Luke 18:9–14).
Untrue judgment is wrong. The Bible clearly forbids bearing false witness (Proverbs 19:5). “Slander no one” (Titus 3:2).
The Bible has a whole book entitled Judges. The judges in the Old Testament were raised up by God Himself (Judges 2:18). The modern judicial system, including its judges, is a necessary part of society. In saying, “Do not judge,” Jesus was not saying, “Anything goes.”
Henry Allen “Harry” Ironside (October 14, 1876 – January 15, 1951) was a Canadian-American Bible teacher, preacher, theologian, pastor, and author.
Ironside was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to John and Sophia (Stafford) Ironside, who were both active in the Plymouth Brethren. At birth, Harry was thought to be dead, so the attending nurses focused their attention on Sophia, who was dangerously ill. Only when a pulse was detected in Harry, 40 minutes later, was an attempt made to resuscitate the infant. When Harry was two years old, his father, John, died of typhoid, at the age of 27. From a very early age, Ironside showed a strong interest in evangelical Christianity and was active in the Salvation Army as a teenager before later joining the “Grant” section of the Plymouth Brethren.
The family then moved to Los Angeles, California, on December 12, 1886, and finding no Sunday school there for him to attend, Harry started his own at age 11. Gathering old burlap bags, Harry and his childhood friends sewed them together, producing a burlap tent that could accommodate up to 100 people. Unable to find an adult teacher, Ironside himself did the teaching, with attendance averaging 60 children – and a few adults – each week.
In 1888, well-known evangelist Dwight L. Moody preached at a campaign in Los Angeles, with meetings held at Hazard’s Pavilion, (later known as “Temple Pavilion”) which could seat up to 4,000. This inspired Ironside, who hoped to also be able to preach to such crowds one day. In 1889, after a visit from evangelist Donald Munro, Ironside became convinced that he was not “born again,” and so gave up preaching at his Sunday school, spending the next six months wrestling with this spiritual problem. After an evening of prayer, in February 1890, Ironside, at age 13, accepted Christ. As he is quoted as saying years later, “I rested on the Word of God and confessed Christ as my Savior.” Ironside then returned to preaching, winning his first convert. Though he was taunted at school, he was undeterred from his mission to win souls. Later that year, his mother remarried, to William D. Watson. Ironside graduated from the eighth grade, began working as a part-time cobbler, and decided he had enough education (he never attended school again, which he later regretted).
During the days, young Ironside worked full-time at a photography studio, and at night he preached at Salvation Army meetings, becoming known as the “boy preacher.” At age 16, he left the photography business and became a preacher full-time with the Salvation Army. Commissioned a Lieutenant in the Salvation Army, Ironside was soon preaching over 500 sermons a year around Southern California. At 18, the grueling schedule had taken its toll on his health, and Ironside resigned from the Salvation Army, entering the Beulah Rest Home to recuperate.
In 1896, at 20, he moved to San Francisco, becoming associated again with the Plymouth Brethren. While there, he began helping at British evangelist Henry Varley’s meetings, and there met pianist Helen Schofield, daughter of a Presbyterian pastor in Oakland, California. The two soon married. In 1898, Ironside’s mother died, and less than a year later, Harry and Helen’s first son, Edmond Henry was born. The family moved across the bay to Oakland, where Harry resumed a nightly preaching schedule. They resided there until 1929.
In 1903, Ironside accepted his first East Coast preaching invitation, but on returning, the family only had enough funds to make it as far as Salt Lake City, Utah, where he spent the next ten days doing street preaching. Just as the last of their money for a hotel ran out, they received an anonymous envelope with $15, enough to return to Oakland. In 1905, a second son, John Schofield Ironside, was born.
During this time, Ironside also began his career as a writer, publishing several Bible commentary pamphlets. In 1914, he rented a storefront and established the Western Book and Tract Company, which operated successfully until the depression in the late 1920s. From 1916 to 1929, Ironside preached almost 7,000 sermons to over 1.25 million listeners. In 1918, he was associated with evangelist George McPherson; and in 1924, Ironside began preaching under the direction of the Moody Bible Institute. In 1926, he was invited to a full-time faculty position at the Dallas Theological Seminary, which he turned down, although he was frequently a visiting lecturer there from 1925 to 1943. After a series of sermons presented at the The Moody Church, in Chicago, he was invited to a one-year trial as head pastor there in 1929. Almost every Sunday that he preached there, the four thousand seat church was filled to capacity. While there, he continued traveling to other US cities during the week for preaching engagements. In 1932, he expanded his travels internationally. Ironside preached at the 1935 funeral of Billy Sunday, at Moody Church. In 1938, he toured England, Scotland and Ireland, preaching 142 times to crowds of upwards of two thousand. In 1942, he also became president of the missionary organization, Africa Inland Mission.
In 1930, Wheaton College presented Ironside with an honorary Doctorate of Letters degree, and in 1942 Bob Jones University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.
Bob Jones, Jr., wrote that although Ironside was considered a dignified man, when one got to know him, “he had a terrific sense of humor. Nothing was more fun than to have a good meal in a home somewhere when Dr. Ironside was present. After he was full – he could eat a lot, and he ate faster than any man I ever saw, and his plate would be empty before everyone else got served – he would sit back, push his chair back from the table, and begin to tell funny stories and personal experiences.”
A few months after he and his wife celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, Helen died on May 1, 1948. Ironside resigned as pastor of Moody Church on May 30 and retired to Winona Lake, Indiana. On October 9, 1949, he married Annie Turner Hightower, of Thomaston, Georgia, who became his constant companion. He suffered from failing vision, and after surgery to restore it, he set out on November 2, 1950, for a preaching tour of New Zealand, once more among Brethren assemblies, but died in Cambridge, New Zealand, on Jan 15, 1951 and was buried there.
Along with others such as Cyrus Scofield, he was influential in popularizing dispensationalism among Protestants in North America. Despite his lack of formal education, his tremendous mental capacity, photographic memory and zeal for his beliefs caused him to be called, “the Archbishop of Fundamentalism.”
Ironside was one of the most prolific Christian writers of the 20th Century and published more than eighty books and pamphlets, a number of which are still in print. He also wrote the popular hymn Overshadowed. One editorial reviewer wrote of a 2005 republication that, “Ironside’s commentaries are a standard and have stood the test of time.”.
http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/isn/view.cgi?bk=39&ch=0
The first inklings of God’s Kingdom are found in the promises given to Abraham in Genesis 17:6 where it is recorded:
“And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.”
This is restated in verse 16 of the same chapter in relation to the promise of the son of Sarah:
“And I will bless her, and moreover I will give thee a son of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be of her.”
The promise of a kingdom given to Abraham’s seed is subsequently narrowed to Isaac and Jacob, and in Genesis 49:10 is further limited to the tribe of Judah. Jacob in his prophetic summary of the future of Israel prophesied concerning Judah:
“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.”
When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, he made a covenant with them.
“3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: “4 You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.'” (Exodus 19:3-6)
The covenant is mentioned extensively in Genesis where God makes a covenant with Abraham, renewed with Isaac and Jacob. This patriarchal covenant is referred to in Exodus 2:24 and 6:4-5 as the reason God is delivering the descendants of the patriarchs.
God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. (Exodus 2:2)
2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them. 4 I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.(Exodus 6:2-5)
At Sinai, God entered into a deeper covenant relationship with His newly redeemed people. The “Sinai covenant,” as fleshes out in a deeper way the character and purpose of national Israel. It sets forth the constitution of the nation within the framework of the covenant with Abraham. God tells the people:
“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then….” (Exodus 19:5a)
When the covenant in our passage is referred to, it is called the Mosaic Covenant (given through Moses) or the Sinaitic Covenant (given at Mt. Sinai), or, when contrasted with the New Covenant through Jesus, it is called the Old Covenant.
The benefits of the covenant in Exodus 19:4-6 are awe-inspiring! Hear the word again;
“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
There are THREE elements in this passage that we must discuss briefly that make up the Sinai covenant.
“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.” (Deuteronomy 14:2)
“And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands.” (Deuteronomy 26:18)
“For the LORD has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.” (Psalm 135:4)
“A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. ‘They will be mine,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession.'”
(Malachi 3:16b-17, KJV “when I make up his jewels”)
2. The next phrase is “a kingdom of priests.”
“5b Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5b-6)
A kingdom assumes a king. Yahweh is the King. Israel, then, is either (1) a kingdom consisting of priests — people, set apart to God (that is “holy”), who relate to God directly and serve him, or (2) “royal priests,” a cadre of priests belonging to Yahweh the King. Either way, it is a position of great privilege and access.
This idea is echoed in the New Testament, and became the basis of Martin Luther’s teaching of the “priesthood of believers.”
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)
The immense privilege of being God’s chosen people became a source of national pride for Israel, causing them to despise the Gentiles, rather than becoming a source of humility and awe as intended. In the New Testament, this privilege of being God’s special people is opened to all who trust in Jesus the Messiah!
“… Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:13b-14)
3. Finally, is the phrase “a holy nation” both in Exodus 19:6b and 1 Peter 2:9.
Israel was to be a nation unlike other nations – a nation consecrated to God’s service, set apart to preserve the knowledge and worship of God.
HEAR THE WORD… AGAIN
“5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6)
What a calling! Sadly, the Israelites did not live up to this high calling. That remained for fulfillment under the New Covenant that was to come with Jesus the Messiah.
THE POSTPONED KINGDOM
The kingdom of God was established at Mt. Sinai but the people wouldn’t obey their King. God sent them away, but he promised to restore the nation with a new heart (Jeremiah 31:31-33), a prophecy that is being fulfilled in the church today. We who are led by the Holy Spirit are the royal priesthood and holy nation that ancient Israel could not be (1 Peter 2:9, Exodus 19:6).
The book of Daniel predicts a kingdom of God that will rule the earth (Daniel 2:44, 7:13-14, 22). When Jesus talked about the kingdom, he didn’t emphasize its physical blessings or clarify its chronology. He focused instead on how people get in that kingdom, and how they live. We enter the kingdom when we respond to God with faith and allegiance, when we come under his authority; we then seek to live in way that is reflective of that kingdom.
The kingdom is closely connected with eternal life—The kingdom is not just a future reality – people are even now entering God’s kingdom by responding to what he offers. He offers not an artificial world in which our enjoyment has no connection with the way we treat other people, but a world or kingdom in which joy is the natural result of love, of treating others the way we wish to be treated.
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
In the gospel of Mathew we find the use of the word, “the kingdom of Heaven.” We read that John came saying to Pharisees as well as Sadducees and to all who came:
“Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
What did John mean by “kingdom of heaven”? Nebuchadnezzar referred to God as the “King of heaven” (Dan 4:37). Daniel had predicted that the climax of world history would come with the advent of the Son of man, who would be given an everlasting kingdom. This was likewise to be fulfilled by the prediction of Daniel 2:44 that
“the God of heaven” would “set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.”
Matthew, alone of New Testament writers, uses “the kingdom of heaven” and rarely uses “the kingdom of God,” which is often used in parallel passages in the other gospels and throughout the New Testament. Most expositors consider the two terms identical.
Although the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are similar, there seems to be some distinction.
In his book, Thy Kingdom Come, John Walvoord notes that eschatologically and dispensationally, a threefold distinction must be observed in the use of the term “kingdom of heaven.”
First, in John the Baptist’s ministry, it is announced as at hand, meaning that in the person of the King, Jesus Christ, the kingdom was being presented to Israel and to the world.
Second, in Matthew 13, the kingdom in its present mystery form is revealed, that is, the rule of God over the earth in the hearts of believers during the present age when the King is absent. These are mysteries because they were not anticipated in the Old Testament doctrine of the kingdom.
The third and climactic form of the kingdom will be when Christ returns to set up the kingdom of heaven on earth, in fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies and countless other passages of the Old Testament that picture a golden age, when the Son of David will reign over the entire world in righteousness and peace.
Only the premillennial interpretation of the concept of the kingdom allows a literal interpretation of both Old Testament and New Testament prophecies relating to the future kingdom.
Nineteenth century liberal theologians Albrecht Ritschl and Adolf von Harnack believed that the kingdom of God is not something to be established in the future, but is now present in the form of the “brotherhood of man,” the infinite value of the individual soul, and the ethic of love. To them, the apocalyptic element in Jesus’s teaching was the “husk” that contained the “kernel” of his real message of love. Hence, the predominant liberal view was that the kingdom of which Jesus spoke was a present ethical kingdom.
Johannes Weiss rejected that view. He wrote in The Preaching of Jesus about the Kingdom of God that Jesus was “thoroughly eschatological, futuristic, and even apocalyptic in his outlook.” According to Weiss, Jesus expected the kingdom to come in the immediate future by a dramatic action of God. Thus, Jesus’s ethical commands (including the Sermon on the Mount) were interim rules in anticipation of the imminent kingdom, not rules of conduct given for all time.
Albert Schweitzer picked up where Weiss left off. He interpreted the whole of Jesus’s preaching as being permeated with a conviction of the approaching kingdom. He called this interpretation a “consistent eschatology.” According to Schweitzer, a future heavenly kingdom was at the base of Jesus’s preaching even from the beginning of his ministry. However, in the end, in Schweitzer’s view, Jesus was traumatized by “the delay of the parousia” and he thus died in despair and disillusionment.
C.H. Dodd gave eschatology its next major reorientation. He believed the kingdom had already arrived, calling his system a ‘realized eschatology.’ According to Dodd, the kingdom is a transcendent order beyond time and space that has broken into history in the mission of Jesus.
The debate over “kingdom future” or “kingdom now” continues to rage. This is true in evangelical circles as well.
Located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee near Tabgha, the Mount of Beatitudes is the traditional site of Jesus’ delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, probably the most famous sermon of all time. Pilgrims have been drawn to this scenic place since at least the 4th century
The “Sermon on the Mount” is recorded in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6. Scripture gives no indication of the exact location of this event, but the Byzantines built a church to commemorate it at the bottom of the hill.
- Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
- Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
- Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
- Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
- Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
- Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
- Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake
(Matt 5:3-11 KJV).
The Holy Scripture tells us that immediately after the baptism Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days.
“And immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And it was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan. And was with the wild beasts and the angels ministered unto him” (Mark 1: 12-13).
This wilderness is identified with a place located in the west of Jericho, 2-3 km from the city, the mountain called Quarantania a very tall mountain with a straight slope like a wall.
The location of this temptation is believed to be in a grotto within the Monastery of Temptation. The word “quarantania” is derived from Latin, meaning “forty days.” The Mount of Temptation is mentioned in the Gospels of Mark (1:12-13); Luke (4:1-13) and Matthew.
In the Gospel according to Matthew (4:1-4) we learn of Jesus’ encounter with Satan on the Mount. Satan tempted Jesus twice on the mount, once he tempted the hungry Jesus to turn stones into bread; Jesus refused and was instead fed by angels. Again Jesus was tempted this time on the mountain top where Satan looked out over the land below and said to Jesus;
All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”
Jesus replied:
”Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him alone shalt thou serve.”
The concept of lent arose from the 40 days and 40 nights Jesus fasted on the Mount of Temptation.
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe,,that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
Moses’ seat – Moses was the great legislator of the Jews. By him the Law was given. The office of explaining that Law among the Jews devolved on the scribes and Pharisees. In the synagogues they sat while expounding the Law, and rose when they read it. By “sitting in the seat of Moses” we are to understand authority to teach the Law; or, as he taught the nation by giving the Law, so they taught it by explaining it.
Jesus also says:
“Take heed and beware of the LEAVEN of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matt.16:6).
“Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the DOCTRINE of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (verses 7-12).
“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore, whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be preached upon the housetops” (Luke 12:1-3).
“And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses SAT to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.”
“And Moses said unto his father in law, ‘Because the people come unto me to INQUIRE OF GOD: When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I DO MAKE THEM KNOW THE STATUTES OF GOD, AND HIS LAWS” (Exodus 18.15-16).
“And when they [the officers] had brought them [the apostles], they set them before the council [the Sanhedrin]: and the high priest asked them, saying, Did not we straitly COMMAND you that ye should not teach in this name? And, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, “We ought to OBEY GOD rather than men” (Acts 5:27-29).
Jeremias 31:22;
“The Lord has created a new thing upon the earth: A woman shall compass a man”.
Mathew 1:18
Mary “was found with child, of the Holy Ghost.”
Jesus took a real human body and soul. Trinity did not become incarnate. God the Son, take on human flesh while still remaining fully God. Mary brought forth that which was of God in her womb.
The hypostatic union is the attempt of finite human minds to grasp the infinite nature of Jesus Christ.
The English adjective hypostatic comes from the Greek word hupostasis. The word only appears four times in the New Testament—maybe most memorably in Hebrews 1:3, where Jesus is said to be
“the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.”
Here the author of Hebrews uses the word in reference to the oneness of God. Both the Father and the Son are of the same “nature.” Jesus is “the exact imprint of his nature.”
In early church discussions, the word hupostasis came to denote not the sameness in the Godhead (God’s one essence) but the distinctness (the three persons).
The hypostatic union is the Christian doctrine that in the one person of Jesus there are presently two distinct natures, the divine and human.
The hypostatic union is the joining of the divine and the human in the one person of Jesus.
Dr. Josep O’Callaghan Martínez, SJ (October 7, 1922 – December 15, 2001) was a Spanish Jesuit Catholic priest, papyrologist and Biblical scholar. He is known for his identification of the 7Q5 papyrus of Qumran with a text of Mark 6, 52-53.
Dr. O’Callaghan became famous for his identification of a small scrap of papyrus discovered in Cave 7 of Qumran named by the editors as “7Q5” (Cave 7 + Qumran + Papyrus 5). It was stated before his identification (and by some since) that there were no texts of the New Testament found in the caves of the Qumran complex. Claims that the caves of the Dead Sea could hold documents of the early Christian communities were held as naive and even absurd.
Dr. O’Callaghan did not set out to look for papyri of the New Testament at Qumran, but his interest was identification of the fragments that the editors could not fully clarify. More than a dozen years after certain scraps were printed, it dawned on O’Callaghan that certain of the clear and identifiable letters on them might be part of the occasional New Testament name for the sea of Galilee, the Sea of Genneseret. Hitherto it had been assumed that such letters were part of the Greek word for “to beget,” yet no one had been able to find any piece of ancient literature which fit with this identification of the letters and the surrounding necessary context of other letters.[3]
The results of his work with the small fragment brought him to the conclusion that 7Q5 could be a fragment of the Gospel of Mark and he published his investigation in 1972 in his work “¿Papiros neotestamentarios en la cueva 7 de Qumrân?” (New Testament Papyri in Cave 7 at Qumran?). The reaction of scholars, especially those committed to the conventional wisdom of how the Bible became formulated, was almost universally against Dr. O’Callaghan. His identification was viewed as an almost impossible claim since the papyrus itself had been dated prior to the identification as having been written no later than 50 CE, much earlier than scholars thought the New Testament had been written. The Catalan scholar’s career was frustrated and he was practically isolated until 1982 when Prof. Carsten Peter Thiede reviewed the research of O’Callaghan. Thiede came to the conclusion that O’Callaghans’ proposals were not illogical and his scientific method was serious and possible. Thiede revived the discussion again in his work “The Earliest Gospel Manuscript?” in 1982. However, even today the majority of papyrus scholars disagree with O’Callaghan’s conclusion, even though a better theory has yet to be put forth by anyone.
Doctorate of Theology (Th.D.) Conferred on Friday, May 27, 2016.
“In Sacred theology, all things are treated from the standpoint of God.”
– Thomas Aquinas –
Thankful for the support of my precious family!
Valentine’s Day, the popular festival of love and romances traces its origin to ancient Rome.
St. Valentine lived in Rome about 250 AD. That was a long, long time ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor by the name of Claudius. Some people called him Claudius the Cruel.
St. Valentine didn’t like Emperor Claudius, and he wasn’t the only one! A lot of people felt the same way. Claudius wanted a big army. He thought men should volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and girlfriends. So, not many men signed up to fight. This made Claudius mad. So do you know what he did? He had a crazy idea that if men were not married, they would not mind joining his army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was really cruel. Valentine thought it was ridiculous! One of his favorite jobs as a priest was to marry people.
Well after Emperor Claudius passed his law, he kept on performing marriage ceremonies – but secretly. He would whisper the words of the ceremony, while listening for soldiers on the steps outside. One night, he did hear footsteps. The couple he was marrying escaped, but he was caught He was thrown in jail and told that his punishment was death. St. Valentine tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what happened? Many young people came to the jail to visit him. They threw flowers and notes up to his window. They wanted him to know that they, too, believed in love. One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit him in his cell. They often sat and talked for hours. She believed he did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and performing marriage ceremonies. On the day he was to die, he left her a note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. He signed it, “Love from your Valentine.”
That note started the custom of exchanging love notes on Valentine’s Day. It was written on the day he died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh — because they know that love can’t be beaten!
Saint Valentine of Rome is a widely recognized third-century Roman saint commemorated on February 14 and associated since the High Middle Ages with a tradition of courtly love
Genesis 26:5
All this will come to pass because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
2 Timothy 2:11-12
The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;
Exodus 20:11
For six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
God tells us in his revealed word that He deliberately took six days and rested for one as a pattern for man—this is where the seven-day week comes from. The seven-day week has no basis for existing except from Scripture. If one believes that the days of creation are long periods of time, then the week becomes meaningless.
Were the days 24 hours in the beginning? Most definitely! “Let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). The linguistic context of Genesis 1 affirms that the creation days were literal
The Bible tells us that Adam was created on the sixth day. If he lived through day six and day seven, and then died when he was 930 years old, and if each of these days was a thousand or a million years, you have major problems!
The Bible says No one was present as observer when life began, and neither model of origins can be reproduced in laboratory experiments. There is much evidence that Creation is a correct understanding of origins.
The belief that Creation took place in six literal days is based primarily on Scripture.
The view that each day of the Genesis Creation account is actually an extremely long period of time—rather than literal days of twenty-four hours—causes problems. The wording of the creation account in the first two chapters of Genesis is best understood as meaning literal days. Such expressions as “day and night,” “evening and morning,” “light and darkness” can hardly be understood as indefinite periods of time.
The integrity of the weekly cycle continues and is an evidence for Creation week being composed of seven literal days. God set aside the seventh day of Creation week as a holy rest day. The Israelites kept the Sabbath in the wilderness and continued to observe in the time of Christ (see Luke 4:16; 23:55, 56) and in the time of Paul (see Acts 17:2).
Genesis Chapter 1 – God begins the creation of the heavens and the earth
1 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 – The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Day 1 – God creates the light
3 – God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 – God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5 – God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day. God separates the waters and the earth and makes it all very fruitful
Day 2 – God creates the sky and the oceans
6 – God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 – God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 – God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
Day 3 – God creates the dry land and vegetation
9 – God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 – God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good. 11 – God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 – The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13 – There was evening and there was morning, a third day. God creates the sun the moon and the stars
Day 4 – God creates the day and the night
14 – God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; 15 – and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 16 – God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 – God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, 18 – and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19 – There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
Day 5 – God creates the sea life and the bird life
20 – God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 21 – God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. 22 – God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 – There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
Day 6 -God creates animal life and man
24 – God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. 25 – God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good. Man is created in the image of God. 26 – God 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 birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 – God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 – God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 – God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 30 – To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so. God’s work of creating everything comes to an end on the sixth day and it is all good. 31 – God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
Chapter 2
Day 7 – God rests from his work on the seventh day
1 – The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 2 – On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3 – God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.
The creation of the heavens, the earth, and man by Yahweh
4 – This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens. 5 – No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground, 6 – but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 – Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Yahweh plants the Garden of Eden
8 – Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 – Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 – A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became the source of four rivers.
11 – The name of the first is Pishon: it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 – and the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and onyx stone are also there. 13 – The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that flows through the whole land of Cush. 14 – The name of the third river is Hiddekel. This is the one which flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
Man is placed in the garden of Eden
15 – Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. God gives the command command that he shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil lest he die 16 – Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 – but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
Adam names all the animals, Yahweh creates the woman from one of man’s ribs and establishes the institution of marriage.
18 – Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 – Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name. 20 – The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 – Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 – Yahweh God made a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 – The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.” 24 – Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh. 25 – The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.
The Story of Creation – Related Bible Verses
Psalm 148 – God is the Creator of all Things
3 – Praise him, sun and moon!Praise him, all you shining stars! 4 – Praise him, you heavens of heavens,You waters that are above the heavens. 5 – Let them praise Yahweh’s name,For he commanded, and they were created. 6 – He has also established them forever and ever.He has made a decree which will not pass away. 7 – Praise Yahweh from the earth,you great sea creatures, and all depths; 8 – lightning and hail, snow and clouds;stormy wind, fulfilling his word; 9 – mountains and all hills;fruit trees and all cedars; 10 – wild animals and all livestock;small creatures and flying birds;
Isaiah 44 – God is the Creator of all Things
24 – Yahweh, your Redeemer,and he who formed you from the womb says:”I am Yahweh, who makes all things;who alone stretches out the heavens;who spreads out the earth by myself;
Acts 14 – God is the Creator of all Things
15 – “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
Acts 17 – God is the Creator of all Things
24 – The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands,
Psalm 8 – God is the Creator of the Heavens, Moon and Stars
3 – When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,the moon and the stars, which you have ordained;
Psalm 136 – God is the Creator of the Sun, Moon, and Stars
7 – To him who made the great lights;for his loving kindness endures forever:v8 – The sun to rule by day;for his loving kindness endures forever;v9 – The moon and stars to rule by night;for his loving kindness endures forever:
Psalm 104 – God is the Creator of the Sea Animals
26 – There the ships go,and leviathan, whom you formed to play there.
John 1 – Jesus is Creator
1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.v….. 10 – He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him.
Ephesians 3 – Jesus is Creator
9 – and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ;
Psalm 100 – The Creation of Man by Yahweh
3 – Know that Yahweh, he is God.It is he who has made us, and we are his.We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Malachi 2 – The Creation of Man by God
10 – Don’t we all have one father? Hasn’t one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Deuteronomy 4 – The Creation of Man by God
32 – For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and from the one end of the sky to the other, whether there has been anything as this great thing is, or has been heard like it?
Genesis 9 – Man was Created in the Image of God
6 – Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.
Ecclesiastes 7 – Man was Created in the Image of God
29 – Behold, I have only found this: that God made man upright; but they search for many schemes.”
Acts 17 – Man was Created in the Image of God
26 – He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings,…. 29 – Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and design of man.
Psalms 33 – Creation by the Word of Faith
6 – By Yahweh’s word, the heavens were made;all their army by the breath of his mouth.
Hebrews 11 – Creation by the Word of Faith
3 – By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.
Psalms 8 – Man Given Dominion over the World
5 – For you have made him a little lower than the angels, Hebrews 2:7 and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 – You make him ruler over the works of your hands.You have put all things under his feet: 7 – All sheep and cattle,yes, and the animals of the field, 8 – The birds of the sky, the fish of the sea,and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
1 Corinthians 15 – Man Given Dominion over the World
27 – For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when he says, “All things are put in subjection”, it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him.
Erick Chepkwony, TH.D 