By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. (Hebrews 11:3 NLT)
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)
The Latin phrase ex nihilo isn’t quite right. God didn’t create something out of nothing, but He created everything out of Himself.
God is not an artist who mixed His paints to apply them to His canvas. He is not a sculptor who chiseled an image out of a block of marble. Nor is He an artisan who fashioned a lump of clay into a beautiful piece of pottery.
He created the materials by His breath. The sound of His voice created all of the visible universe. His voice still reverberates through His creation, keeping everything from galaxies to electrons in their proper places.
“We understand”—perceive with our eyes of faith—that “God said” into existence all that we can see.
We can see our Creator by studying His creation. The more we marvel at the visible universe, the more we will worship the Creator of the universe.
We are born with a certain level of intuition, but we can definitely build a stronger intuition by learning lessons from history. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had about a leader’s intuition + execution.
“It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act of faith to assert that our thoughts have any relation to reality at all. If you are merely a sceptic, you must sooner or later ask yourself the question, ‘Why should anything go right; even observation and deduction? Why should not good logic be as misleading as bad logic? They are both movements in the brain of a bewildered ape?’” —G.K. Chesterton
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who. —Rudyard Kipling
“All the work of man is but the spinning of a righteousness which is undone as quickly as it is spun; but Christ has finished the seamless and spotless robe of His righteousness which is to last for ever.” —Charles Spurgeon
The Institute for Creation Research opens an article about the impact of and recovery from the biblical Flood with this, “In the beginning, God created plants and animals to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:11–13, 20–25). So, when areas are devastated, living things are engineered with the innate ability to rebound and recolonize. This was seen in the rapid recovery of life at Mount St. Helens after the cataclysmic volcanic eruption of May 18, 1980. But conventional scientists seem to be finally recognizing and appreciating the reality of rapid recovery a bit more after studying the life that existed after the supposed Chicxulub impact.”
John Piper addressing the role of spiritual affections in the life of a Christian says, “No machine, no computer, no AI will ever duplicate the spiritual reality of the soul’s enjoyment of God.”
“Ignorance of Scripture is the mother of error. … Many lay aside Scripture as rusty armour (Jeremiah 8:9); they are better read in romances than in St. Paul; they spend many hours inter pectinem et speculum—‘between the comb and the glass’—but their eyes begin to be sore when they look upon a Bible. They who slight the Word written, slight God Himself, whose stamp it bears.” —Thomas Watson
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
I’m going to spoil some of the surprise right up front. We’re going to look at two questions about death, and the answer to the question, “Is that in the Bible?” is “No” for both questions.
Persisting to do unbiblical things is a sin because we are trying to point out why God is wrong and why our opinion is right.
But there is also a danger in pursuing non-biblical things, when we try to give our non-biblical opinion or preferencebiblical weight, and then look down on anyone who doesn’t believe or act like we do. The Bible does tell us tobe peacemakers (Romans 14:13-21).
Statement #17—Cremating a loved one exempts them from heaven. Is that in the Bible?No.
The preferred method in the Old Testament appears to be burial. Sometimes in the ground, but more typically in a cave or man-made crypt. There were exceptions. For instance, the bodies of Saul and Jonathan were cremated (1 Samuel 31:11-13), and King Jehoram could have been cremated, but certainly he wasn’t interred the same way that his father and grandfather were (2 Chronicles 21:1, 4-6, 18-20).
In the New Testament era there was an end-of-life process the Greeks adopted called ossilegium. The Greeks frequently anointed the body with oil and wine and burned it until just the bones were left. The Jews wrapped the dead body in burial shroud and anointed it with spices—as with Lazarus (John 11:38-44) and Jesus (John 19:38-41). About a year after death, the bones would be collected and placed in an ossuary. Most often, multiple family members’ bones would share the same ossuary.
Statement #18—Suicide is an unforgivable sin. Is that in the Bible?No.
We don’t see suicide a lot in Scripture:
Saul died by his own sword—1 Samuel 31:4
Zimri died by self-immolation—1 Kings 16:18
Ahithophel and Judas both hanged themselves—2 Samuel 17:23; Matthew 27:5
But no where does Scripture speak to this form of death as being a reason to exclude that person from Heaven. These deaths do seem like last-ditch, hopeless acts. Because they are the very last act, it seems like these people have utterly rejected God. It has been a misconception for a long time that the way you die determines your eternal home. Consider a scene in Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Hamlet will not kill Claudius while he’s praying and send him to heaven—
And now I’ll do ’t.
⌜He draws his sword.⌝
And so he goes to heaven,
And so am I revenged. That would be scanned:
A villain kills my father, and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To heaven.
Why, this is ⟨hire⟩ and ⟨salary,⟩ not revenge.
He took my father grossly, full of bread,
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May;
And how his audit stands who knows save heaven. …
To take him in the purging of his soul,
When he is fit and seasoned for his passage?
No. …
⌜He sheathes his sword.⌝
When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,
Or in th’ incestuous pleasure of his bed,
At game, a-swearing, or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in ’t—
Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven,
And that his soul may be as damned and black
As hell, whereto it goes.
Here are the truths we see in Scripture:
We are created in God’s image and given a body—Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7.
Yet our body is called a temporary tent—2 Corinthians 5:1-3.
We will be raised either to eternal life or a second and eternal death—Luke 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 15:42-54, 20-21; Revelation 20:11-15.
How we die and how our body is disposed of makes no difference to where we will spend eternity. The only thing that matters is if our name is written in the Book of Life. Our name is written there only if we are covered by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:10, 17-22).
Check out more of the questions we have covered in our Is That In The Bible? series by clicking here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible. Check out the video content in this post by clicking here.
As we rejoin our series asking, “Is that in the Bible?” we have come to statement #16—The lion will lay down with the lamb.
Is that in the Bible?No!
You may be surprised by that because it is one of those phrases repeated so often that people assume it has to be in the Scripture. Even those who don’t have a religious persuasion for their life still accept this phrase as meaning world peace, where former adversaries now live together in harmony.
There are some verses in the prophesies of Isaiah from which this phrase may have originated, like Isaiah 11:6. On the 8th anniversary of the modern independence of the nation of Israel (in April 1956), the British parliament presented a bronze Menorah to the Israeli Knesset. Benno Elkan designed this beautiful piece, modeled after the lampstand in the Holy Place of the Temple. On one of the branches, Benno portrays the prophet Isaiah, and at his feet are images of a lion, a wolf, a lamb, and a small child.
But in the images on this menorah, based on so many Kingdom-anticipating passages throughout the Old Testament, is the hope for which we long. Peace is coming. It is peace purchased by the Prince of Peace and it is a peace that only He can establish and maintain.
To see the peace that will exist in God’s kingdom, we must look back to the beginning of Time. The Book of Isaiah has been called “the Bible within the Bible.” Partly because it is near the middle of the Bible, but partly because its 66 chapters (like the 66 books of the Bible) trace the perfection of God that was marred by sin, the ravages of sin, the redemption that comes only through the Messiah, and His eternal kingdom of peace that is for all who put their faith in Jesus. So today I want us to look at the first book of the Bible, the “Bible within the Bible,” and the last book of the Bible.
God created perfection in the Earth. Part of His plan included man and animals as herbivores (Genesis 1:29-30). At least one of God’s animals could talk (Genesis 3:1). Given the fact that neither Adam nor Eve were distressed by a talking snake, perhaps there was a way for man and animals to navigate their differences.
This encounter with the devil led to sin, which also opened the door for further pain and hardship—self-awareness that brought embarrassment, pain in childbirth, difficulty farming the land, and removal from the Garden of Eden (3:16-19).
Sin continued to ravage (Genesis 6:6). At the time of the Flood, it appears men and animals were still herbivores (vv. 20-21), but that changes after the Flood (9:1-6).
Sin ravages and destroys and enslaves people in their ungodly passions. God does forgive, but many times the consequences of sin still remain—as we witness in our world today.
Remember that after Adam and Eve sinned, they were aware of their nakedness. Their attempt to cover themselves was with what they had dominion over: fig leaves (Genesis 3:7). The very first animal sacrifice was performed by God Himself—an innocent calf or lamb had to shed its blood so that God could cover the shame of sin (v. 21).
Sinful man tries to copy what God did without calling on God Himself, and God sees it for what it is: a sham (Isaiah 65:1-7; Revelation 7:9-10).
Only Jesus can bridge the gulf between sinful man and righteous God (Isaiah 11:1-9; Revelation 5:1-6; 11-13).
“[Jesus] endured death as a lamb; He devoured it as a lion.” —Augustine
(see John 1:29; Revelation 1:18)
We get a small glimpse of the eternal kingdom during the Millennial Reign (Isaiah 65:17-25), but the eternal kingdom is the Reality for the saints of God forever (Isaiah 35:8-10; Revelation 21:1-8, 22:1-5)!
The next time you hear someone long for the day when “the lion will lay down with the lamb,” remind them that the Lion and the Lamb are one in the same. Jesus is BOTH our sacrificial Lamb that died in our place to pay the penalty of our sin AND He is the Lion that devoured death once for all!
There is an eternal Kingdom where peace and joy and wholeness are indescribable and unending. But we only get into this Kingdom by the blood of the Lamb and the power of the Lion!
Check out the previous statement we have discussed in this series by clicking here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Charles Spurgeon said, “The resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of the glorious temple of truth, the keystone of the arch of revelation.”
What we believe about the resurrection gives meaning and purpose to everything else. The resurrection is the defining Truth. In 2 Timothy 2:19 we read two important truths about this foundation: (1) God knows those who truly know Him, and (2) Those who really know Him must unabashedly stand for the Truth.
Words are powerful, they are creative. At the very beginning of Time, God said, “Light” and light existed (Genesis 1:1-3). God’s Word is still creating today (Hebrews 4:12). There are words we need to let go, and there is the Word for which we must stand without wavering or backing down.
In 1 Timothy 1:3-7, Paul essentially says we have two choices: Do we want to promote controversy or do we want to promote God’s work? We have to learn to distinguish what is biblical and what is not.
Biblical things—God’s Word clearly tells us “Yes” (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
Unbiblical things—God’s Word clearly tells us “No” (like: do not murder, do not commit adultery, etc.)
These two are fairly straightforward. As Dr. Donald Stamps wrote, “The Church has the responsibility to safeguard the true and original apostolic doctrines found in Scripture and commit it to others without compromise or corruption.”
What is harder to sort out is:
Extra-biblical things—something in addition to or outside of God’s Word
Non-biblical things—something not specifically addressed in God’s Word
Passages like 1 Timothy 4:1-7 and 2 Timothy 2:14-19 help us sort out biblical and non-biblical things.
Are extra-biblical things wrong? Not necessarily. Paul quoted poets, and even uses an extra-biblical example of Jannes and Jambres [who] opposed Moses (3:8).
Are non-biblical things wrong? Not necessarily. But both extra-biblical and non-biblical things can become wrong when we give these things biblical status (Mark 7:9).
“Church” and “Christian” can completely lose their biblical meaning if we allow unbiblical, extra-biblical, or non-biblical ideas to define them. We must stand firm on God’s Word to give biblical meaning to everything we say and do.
Jesus said, “I will build MY Church.” He’s going to build it His way, not our way. We don’t want to fight the Architect, but neither do we want to fight the erring saint or the scoffing skeptic (2 Timothy 2:22-26).
Let me give you four applications for this:
Do get into God’s Word everyday.
Don’t define the words but let God define His own words.
Do gently challenge those saints who are getting caught up in non-biblical or extra-biblical things.
Don’t quarrel with those who are living an unbiblical lifestyle (Colossians 4:5; Jude 1:22).
You can find all of the other messages in this series called “I will build My Church” by clicking here.
You may also be interested in these posts and videos:
As we mature physically we pay more attention to our physical health. Why is that people who see themselves as spiritually mature think they can do the exact opposite by taking it easy? We must pay more attention, not less.
A worldwide missions movement that was started by five college students while they were sheltering from a storm in a haystack. Appropriately enough, this is remembered as the haystack prayer meeting.
“Intangible falsehood, based upon no authority, is of all things the most difficult to fight.” —G.K. Chesterton
“In his gospel, Luke traces Jesus’ genealogy to Adam. He then says Jesus went into the desert to be tempted by satan, the same spiritual being who tempted Adam thousands of years before. The apostle Paul makes the same comparison in Romans. Adam brought death into the world; Jesus brought life. In fact, Jesus came to save us because of what Adam did. When Paul is in Athens, he explains that all people are descended from one man. When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he says marriage goes back to the first couple. And when Paul talks about roles in the church, He refers to the first temptation.” —From the ‘Is Genesis History?’ reading plan on YouVersion. Check out Luke 3:23-38, 4:1-13; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 19:4.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I opened an email this week and clicked on the link to login in to my auto and homeowner’s insurance account, and I was greeted on their website with this message, “Peace of mind is the best gift you can give yourself this season.” And I said to myself, “How perfect, because we are looking at the next prophesied name for Jesus which was given before He was born in Bethlehem: Prince of Peace.”
Except there’s a huge problem here. Did you see it in that website message? “The best gift you can give yourself.” Quite frankly: I cannot give myself peace! Colossians 1:21 says, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” All of us have sinned and are hopelessly destined for eternal punishment (Romans 3:23, 6:23a).
Thankfully, Romans 6:23 goes on to say “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is what the fourth prophesied title of Jesus foretells (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Prince means a Ruler or Overseer. Peace is the Hebrew word shalom which means completeness, soundness, and contentment. Some have described shalom as there being nothing missing for us to know this ultimate contentment. Many call this the assurance of our covenant relationship with God.
Isaiah uses the word shalom quite a bit, but he uses it here in chapter 9 for the first time in the Book of Isaiah.
Zechariah saw the covenant as being fulfilled before Jesus the Messiah was born. Noticed the past tense words that culminate in light and peace in Luke 1:67-79. Zechariah concludes his prophetic word by noticing two profound transitions:
The First Advent of Jesus made peace with God possible for us (Luke 2:8-14; Hebrews 2:14-15).
Now we can live in peace (Isaiah 26:3, 12; John 16:33) and we can announce “peace on earth” to others (John 20:21; Romans 10:15).
The Second Advent of Jesus will reveal His unending peace that gives us eternal life in Him (Isaiah 52:7-10; Genesis 3:22; Revelation 22:14).
We have the peace of God because of the Prince of Peace! And we have the message of peace to share with those who don’t know the Prince of Peace. I pray that this Advent season we will messengers of peace to all those who are living in darkness and hostility.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Last week we talked about how the title “God” can mean different things to different people. When we are talking about the One True God as He is revealed to us in the Person of Jesus, there is no doubt of Whom we are speaking. The opponents of Christianity knew this too, which is why they tried to get the early saints to not use the name Jesus.
Isaiah 9:6 says that a Child is born and a Son is given, but this Son is given the unusual title of Everlasting Father. Jesus acknowledged this unusualness in this exchange with the Pharisees in Matthew 22:41-45.
“Everlasting” means continuous existence; existing in perpetuity; the Chief by which all other things are ordered and aligned. We see this in Genesis 1:1, where “In the beginning” signifies God started Time but He existed before that moment.
In John 1:1, similar words are used,but here “in the beginning” means if you stand at the moment Time began and were able to look back into the immeasurable eternity that existed before that, God was there. More specifically, the Word of God (Jesus) was there as God. Jesus Himself affirmed this in Revelation 1:8 and 3:14.
Then in 1 John 1:1, the phrase “from the beginning” means that after Time ends, you can look into the infinite eternity that still exists and God is there. Again, Jesus Himself affirms this in Revelation 22:13.
“Father” this is the first word in our biblical Hebrew dictionary. It means father, the head or founder of a family, the protector of the family. Paul says that Jesus fulfills all of these definitions (Colossians 2:9-10, 1:15-22), and the writer of Hebrew opens his epistle with the same thought (Hebrews 1:1-3).
No one on earth has seen God the Father. This makes it difficult to follow Him. Which is why Jesus made His appearing among us (John 1:1, 14, 18).
Paul wanted people to know“the mystery of God, namely, Christ” (Colossians 2:2), and he said that Jesus is the Key that unlocks the treasure-trove of God’s rich love for us. Notice Paul’s progression: teaching the Word (1:25-27) so that we mature (1:28), so that we have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that we may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ (2:2-4).
When Jesus was born, Simeon gave us the same assurance when he saw Jesus and announced that Jesus was the Christ that had been prophesied (Luke 2:25-32), and Jesus Himself told His disciples the exact same thing (John 14:8-9).
Let people see God’s love through your life, all year-round but especially at Christmas. As we said last week, when we talk about Jesus and live for Jesus, we invite others to God, through Jesus, by the Spirit’s illumination.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Jesus made His first appearance as a fully human Man in a stable in Bethlehem. But His Advent—or appearing—had been anticipated for a long time before that.
In fact, one of the darkest chapters in human history takes place shortly after human history began. Mankind sinned and was separated from God because of that sin. The initial separation foretold an eternal separation (Genesis 3:22), but God shines His light of hope in this darkest hour, foretelling the Advent of our rescue (3:15).
Seven hundred years before Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, the setting is still dark and getting darker. Sin is running rampant, God’s people are groping in darkness, and enemies are pressing in from every side.
Out of the darkness, God speaks (Isaiah 8:5-10), giving us a glimpse of the Messiah’s glory. Notice the hope-filled words Immanuel (v. 8) and God with us (v. 10). This darkness is the inevitable result of not gazing on God’s glory (vv. 21-22), and yet there appears another glorious promise in a single word: Nevertheless (9:1-7).
We get a glimpse of Immanuel’s glory in the titles that will describe our Messiah. Let’s look first at Wonderful Counselor.
Wonder can have two definitions:
Something so extraordinary that it is hard for our finite human minds to comprehend—Exodus 15:11; Isaiah 25:1 NLT.
God’s awesome deeds: His works that leave us in absolute awe of His greatness—Jeremiah 32:17 AMPC.
Counselor is someone who gives counsel; not just any counsel, but perfect counsel because He is omniscient (knows it all) and omnipotent (can do it all)—Isaiah 14:26-27; Psalm 139:1-6; Psalm 32:8.
Job got a glimpse of this Awesome Counselor too in Job 42:1-6.
Our First Testament friends only got a glimpse of the Messiah’s glory, but we have the glory revealed to us—Hebrews 1:1-3a; Matthew 1:22-23; John 1:5, 14, 18.
We have His wonderful counsel revealed to us too—Luke 5:20-26; John 7:37-46.
And we look forward to seeing His glory undimmed at His Second Advent—John 1:47-51; Mark 14:61-62.
As we live now between the Advents, we have the joyful privilege and responsibility to proclaim this glory to those still living in darkness—Matthew 28:18; Acts 4:30.
See how the saints proclaimed Christ’s glory, relying on His wonderful counsel in Acts 4:13, 20, 31; 5:12; 6:8, 10; 8:6-8. This is how we are to live too (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).
As you live between the Advents, I pray that the glory of our Wonderful Counselor will become more real to you and that it will shine out of every word you speak and everything you do!
Check out the other posts in this series Jesus Is…here.
Craig T. Owens 