Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
Cutting It Straight
We are called upon to be "rightly dividing the word of truth". The Greek term is one from construction trades of the day; John MacArthur states this means that "means literally to cut straight. It was used of a craftsman cutting a straight line, of a farmer plowing a straight furrow, of a mason setting a straight line of bricks, or of workmen building a straight road. Metaphorically, it was used of carefully performing any task".
A building built with framing that is cut crooked or inaccurately is not only ugly, but can also be unsafe. Myself, I think of bread. Kay will get in a groove where she will make loaves of bread (wheat for me) in her breadmaker, and it's quite good. However, I am just not the best at "cutting it straight" when it comes to the bread. One end is paper thin, and the other is inches thick. If I were to cut bread every day, I would get much better at it!
The same goes with studying the Bible. The more that you study, the more you know. The more you know, the more secure you feel in Jesus. The more you trust Him. The more you love Him, knowing just how much sin is hated by God and how great a span Jesus bridged with His death on the cross.
This week, we are going to start with a study that will span a few weeks on the attributes of God. In studying the attributes of God (applicable to Father, Son and Holy Spirit), you will become much more solid in your faith.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. Psalm 139:1-4 (NKJV)
H. Wayne House, in his Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine (Zondervan) lists twenty three different attributes or characteristics of God. As mentioned yesterday, these not only apply to the Father, but to Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. It's an important thing to know these attributes; by knowing about "how God is", you will trust Him more as we will discover in the next few weeks.
A. H. Strong, in Systematic Theology (Revell) categorized the attributes of God into six categories: Spirituality, Infinity, Perfection, Time and Space, Creation and Moral Beings This week, we will examine Creation.
Strong taught that there are three attributes of God that relate to creation: Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence.
Omniscience means that God is all knowing. God knows everything. Let that sink in for a moment. God knows how to make molecules, atoms, protons, neutrons and so on. He knows the dynamics of all mathematics, of all physical laws, and as we saw last week he literally spoke it all into existence.
In the verse above, we see that God knows everything about us moment by moment. He knows the exact time you got up this morning, what time you will go to bed. He knows every word you say. He knows your very thoughts before you even take action, good or bad.
Sometimes we think that we can "out slick" God. What do I mean by that? Sometimes we want to make a deal with God. "I'll do this, if you'll do that". God knows the intentions of the heart; you can never fool God.
Because of the "out slick" sin that Samuel committed, God called upon Samuel to anoint a new king of Israel. He sent Samuel to the family of Jesse, and Samuel looked at Eliab--who was obviously impressive in appearance--and said "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him (1 Sam 16:6b) What did God say?
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)
One by one he looked at the Jesse's sons but God passed on each one--except David, who was still out with the flocks. And when David came in, God told Samuel "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" (v 12). Why? Because God knew David was a man after His own heart. He knows your heart as well
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me," Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. Psalm 139:7-12 (NKJV)
Omnipresence
Omnipresence means "being everywhere at the same time". I know a lot of people that either outwardly think or by their actions fool themselves into the thought that they can outrun God. They think that if they ignore God, He will go away, He will disappear. I know a young man, for instance, that God has gifted in wonderful ways but he is not living the life God would have him live. He drinks and gets drunk, and has fallen for many other of the world's forbidden fruit. He is no longer active in his church. In short, he is running from God but only in his mind.
You see, God is "everywhere at the same time". The passage from Psalm 139 above indicates this. You can't flee from God. He's in heaven. (Hell referred to the abode of the dead, Sheol). He is in the depths of the sea.
While it is true we cannot out run God, it is just as true that He is with us in our darkest time. He is everywhere at once. Yes, there are times that you may think that God has abandoned you, but He is right there just as much in the dark as in the light.
God is here on earth, He is on the moon, the planet Neptune and in the Andromeda galaxy. All at once. It's mind blowing to think that God knows everything, and because He is everywhere at one time He knows exactly what is going on everywhere at the same time. He is with a man and woman getting married in Waynesburg; He is with the drunk in the gutter in Pittsburgh. He is at a revival in Africa; He is with Christians in prison in China.
In those night hours when you can't sleep, He is there. When you just got that job promotion, He was there during the whole process from application to fruition. God is there to comfort you when you lose a friend or relative to the ravages of cancer. We truly can never say "God, where were you?". God is never absent. God is always there.--JH
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26 (NKJV)
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth! Revelation 19:6 (KJV)
For The Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth!
The Omnipotence of God is that attribute by which He can bring to pass everything which He wills. God's power admits of no bounds or limitations. God's declaration of His intention is the pledge of the thing intended being carried out. "Hath he said, and shall he not do it?" William Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible
Omnipotent means "All powerful". In other words, if God wants to do it, He not only can He but He will. You and I may come up with all sorts of things we say we are going to do, but we end up a few months down the road changing our plans. God never changes His plans. While people may have "good intentions", they may well fall short but if God says He will, you can count on it. God knew from before he laid the foundations of the universe what He was going to do.
Job said in Job 42:2: "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You." God's omnipotence is also shown in the creation of the world, where, as we saw in last weeks devotionals, God spoke the universe into existence (Genesis 1). Jesus Himself showed His Omnipotence in calming the storm on the sea (Mark 4:39).
God orchestrates things in such a way that shows His almighty omnipotence; unbeknownst to Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon and other ancient armies they were used as instruments of punishment to the nation of Israel. Saul's conversion in Acts 9 from a zealous persecutor of Christians to Christian after the Damascus Road incident is another. Even the army of heaven is subject to God (Hebrews 1:14) and can do nothing without the express will of God.
Of particular comfort to us is that Satan cannot do anything to us as Christians without the express consent of God. I know a lot of folks that are afraid of Satan, and some that are afraid that Satan will take away their salvation. While we should have a healthy respect for the power of Satan, we must remember that God will only allow Satan to do to the believer what God wills; the story of Job is proof positive of this (Job 1:12, 2:6) and Simon Peter as well (Luke 22:31-32) when Jesus said that Satan had asked God the Father permission to sift Peter like wheat.
Some folks look at God's attribute of Omnipotence with a sense of fear. Tomorrow, we will look at these "Omni attributes" and see how they should instead be a source of great comfort to the believer!
The Comfort of the "Omni Attributes"
For those of you that have an Apple Iphone or Ipad, did you know that your every move is tracked and recorded--even if you don't want that to happen? Each Iphone and Ipad have written into their operating systems the ability to record your latitude and longitude and the time, and does just that. Sounds like the movie "1984", where "Big Brother" is watching. Kind of creepy, is it not?
God does the same thing. Each and every move we make is watched, recorded and will one day be judged. That is, in a sense, the negative of the doctrine of Omnipresence; only and Omnipotent (ever present) and Omniscient (all knowing) God could do that. While to fellow humans we may "fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time" we never fool God AT ALL. Some folks would view this as a negative, and we all have those moments when we think, do or say things that we should not and yes, it would be to us in a sense. However, a proper understanding and firm belief in the Omni Attributes should spur us on to better living for God.
Now let's look at a few of the very positive things about these Omni Attributes. Contrary to what some folks believe, God does know EVERYTHING. This is comforting, because any problem that you have, God has the answer! While we will develop this thought further, because God knows everything and is in all places at the same time, you can rest assured that all of those times that you were wronged God knows about it. He was there, and He will be there each and every time you are wronged. God's attribute of justice depends upon "Omni Attributes".
Because God is all knowing, and ever present, and all powerful, NOTHING takes God by surprise. If you think about it, all three of these "Omni Attributes" work together and cannot stand apart.
You may be single, and are waiting for the day that God will send you that special someone; here are two thoughts. First, if you are patient and rely on God, He will bring about remarkable circumstances to bring that special someone to you. Your future spouse may be from another country and not even know you right now, but God is above and beyond all of that and can orchestrate it all to bring you together. I know this to be true; my wife and I are from quite different backgrounds, grew up over 40 miles apart and God put us together.
On the other hand, perhaps it is God's design for you to be single. That may sound depressing to you, but since God knows all, is present for all and is all powerful, don't you think that God can give you a life that is more than rewarding? Of course
