Aseity

April 2, 2010

Genesis 1:9-13
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13So the evening and the morning were the third day.

Matthew Henry: “[Observe] 3. That though God, ordinarily, makes use of the agency of second causes, according to their nature, yet he neither needs them nor is tied to them; for, though the precious fruits of the earth are usually brought forth by the influences of the sun and moon…

Deuteronomy 33:14
With the precious fruits of the sun, With the precious produce of the months,

…yet here we find the earth bearing a great abundance of fruit, probable ripe fruit, before the sun and moon were made.

Clay Miller: It is interesting how day 1 correlates with day four with light being created and on day 4 light-bearing objects. Day 2 correlates to day 5 in that the firmament was created and the seas, and day 5 filled the firmament with birds and those seas with life. And day 3 here, God creates land and vegetation, correlating with day 6 in which God fills the land with living creatures.

One of the wonders of God is His self-existence. This is also known as the aseity of God. He has no cause. He has always existed (eternal). He is the only being as such. This is one reason there can be no other God and why no one ever can become a god. Part of the definition of God is His aseity and His eternality.

Being God, He is the First Cause of creation. In creating He established a system in which second causes work to continue reproduction of plants and animals and humanity. He oversees it all in His providence and decrees. This too sets God apart as God. Only He has no need for other causes or laws to create. All of this is created from Himself as the source. So when you look at the waters, the earth, the vegetation, the reproductive systems…remember the Creator!

The Tooth Fairy Is Not Historically Universal :)

March 31, 2010

“The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).

Stephen Charnock: If there were not this sentiment of a Deity, no man would ever have made an image of a piece of wood, worshipped it, prayed to it, and said, “Deliver me, for thou art my God…”They applied a general notion to a particular image. The difference is in the manner, and immediate object of worship, not in the formal ground of worship. The worship sprung from a true principle, though it was not applied to a right object: while they were rational creatures, they could not deface the notion; yet while they were corrupt creatures it was not difficult to apply themselves to a wrong object from a true principle. A blind man knows he hath a way to go as well as one of the clearest sight; but because of his blindness he may miss the way and stumble into a ditch. No man would be imposed upon to take a Bristol stone instead of a diamond, if he did not know that there were such things as diamonds in the world: nor any man spread forth his hands to an idol, if he were altogether without the sense of a Deity. Whether it be a false or a true God men apply to, yet in both, the natural sentiment of a God is evidenced; all their mistakes were grafts inserted in this stock, since they would multiply gods rather than deny a Deity.

Clay Miller: Universally, all cultures worship. This is because there is a notion of a God. Richard Dawkins, when asked, what if he was wrong about there not being a God, arrogantly and condescendingly retorted, “what if there is a tooth fairy?” So in honor of Mr Dawkins, I will use the tooth fairy to make a quick point. There is not a universal notion of a tooth fairy. If there were a universal notion of a tooth fairy, then we probably would have ourselves a tooth fairy. But because the tooth fairy is made up, like the Easter bunny, Santa Claus, etc…it does not have the history of being a universal belief in all places and all times. God is evident, and because He is evident, all cultures of all times have tried to worship some form of deity. Though misapplied, the worship exists everywhere because man has always had the notion of a deity.

The Bible calls us blind in our natures. This is why we know there is a God, yet miss going to Him, but rather fall into idolatry…unless He Himself opens our eyes to see. If we are offered a rock crystal instead of a diamond, we would choose the diamond because we know the value of diamonds. If we did not know the value of diamonds it would not matter to us. Why do we make that choice? We know of diamonds and ideas have consequences. So too, we would choose some sort of worship if we did not have the notion that there was something, Someone, bigger than us. Even the atheist fights the idea of God. He can give reasons why he does it, but he cannot deny he knows of the notion of a deity, nor can anyone with mental capacity to think.

Natural But Still Miraculous

March 28, 2010

Genesis 1:9-13
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13So the evening and the morning were the third day.

Matthew Henry: “[Observe here] 2. That common providence is a continued creation, and in it our Father worketh hitherto. The earth still remains under the efficacy of this command, to bring forth grass, and herbs, and its annual products; and though, being according to the common course of nature, these are not standing miracles, yet they are standing instances of the unwearied power and unexhausted goodness of the world’s great Maker and Master.

Clay Miller: Matthew Henry made me think about nature vs. the miraculous. When all I see around me, (trees, plants, grass, water, light, etc…) was first created, it was all a miracle. It transitioned into natural phenomena, that which we are familiar with, processes we have come to expect and understand. But we should take the time to see it all for what it was originally…a miracle, an evidence of God’s power. We still do that with babies. We still see the miraculous nature of birth many times. But it is everywhere. The wind blowing; The light allowing us to see everything else; the grass we are getting ready to cut because it continues to re-grow; the buds we see on trees, etc…It is all a bunch of original miracles we should stop and consider so as to worship and praise the God who had such power and wisdom to create it all.

Is "Universal Belief" an Argument For or Against God?

March 24, 2010

“The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).

Stephen Charnock: 2. Nor doth the idolatry and multiplicity of gods in the world weaken, but confirm this universal consent. Whatsoever unworthy conceits men have had of God in all nations, or whatsoever degrading representations they have made of him, yet they all concur in this, that there is a Supreme Power to be adored. Though one people worshipped the sun, others the fire--and the Egyptians, gods out of their rivers, gardens, and fields; yet the notion of a Deity existent, who created and governed the world, and conferred daily benefits upon them, was maintained by all, though applied to the stars, and in part to those sordid creatures. All the Dagons of the world establish this truth, and fall down before it. Had not the nations owned the being of a God, they had never offered incense to an idol: had there not been a deep impression of the existence of a Deity, they had never exalted creatures below themselves to the honor of altars: men could not so easily have been deceived by forged deities, if they had not had a notion of a real one. Their fondness to set up others in the place of God, evidenced a natural knowledge that there was One who had a right to be worshipped. If there were not this sentiment of a Deity, no man would ever have made an image of a piece of wood, worshipped it, prayed to it, and said, “Deliver me, for thou art my God…”

Isaiah 44:17
And the rest of it he makes into a god, His carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, Prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"

Clay Miller: This cuts off from the books paragraph. I will finish it in coming days, Lord willing.

I mentioned before how I came across an atheists website and one of his big hang-ups was the fact that there are different gods worshipped everywhere so how could there really be a God at all. That simplifies his argument, I know, but that is his argument in a nutshell. But, as Charnock points out above, this is not proof of no God, but on the contrary, it is the expected consequence of a fallen world that has God written on their hearts. Another thing this atheist thought was some evidence against God, related to this, was that everyone thinks they are right about their god. He calls us delusional because in a world where there are countless gods we have the audacity to think ours is the right one. But two things cross my mind at his argument. One, he tries to pretend his view is not part of the many views of God. His view worships the idea of no God. So in effect it is just another belief against all the others. And he has the audacity to think he is right? Two, this assumes, falsely, that if there is a God, then all people must agree on who this God is. Or, to put it another way, this assumes that there cannot actually be one religion out there who is right, simply because other competing ideas exist. That is foolishness. More Later…

God's World, as in He Owns It

March 23rd 2010
Great to be back and I hope consistently again. We have has some deaths in our lives, and some illness. I am fighting yet another virus yesterday and today. Just a fever and aches. I am determined to get back on track on my studies so Lord willing, here it goes…

Genesis 1:9-13
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13So the evening and the morning were the third day.

Matthew Henry: “Observe here, 1. That not only the earth is the Lord’s, but the fulness thereof, and he is the rightful owner and sovereign disposer, not only of it, but of all its furniture. The earth was emptiness (v. 2), but now, by a word’s speaking, it has become full of God’s riches, and his they are still—his corn and his wine, his wool and his flax…

Hos. 2:9
"Therefore I will return and take away My grain in its time And My new wine in its season, And will take back My wool and My linen, Given to cover her nakedness.

…Though the use of them is allowed to us, the property still remains in him, and to his service and honour they must be used.

Clay Miller: This is the reason we Christians understand ourselves, or should understand ourselves to be stewards here and not owners. Even this body I inhabit is God’s. I am God’s. I am His property. He owns me. He is the Creator God and has a plan and within that plan I live and act and consent, however so unwittingly it may be. This is His portrait, being painted the exact way He wants it and it will always be so. God created me and all of this “stuff” for Himself.

Over the last couple of days much has been said about the new Health Care Plan passed by Congress and signed into law today. Whether you agree or disagree with it, it is part of God’s painting and another major part of His awesome work is how He is leading those who are His to search out Scriptural responses to what we now have as law. This is the time that God takes His brush and strokes beautiful renditions of humility, love, blessedness and service. I oppose the health bill. That is not for this BLOG. But my heart attitude toward it needs to be uniquely Christian because I should understand that this did not happen behind God’s back. This happened because God means for it to…for now at least. Understanding God’s sovereignty should help us, encourage us, and humble us at times we feel attacked. It is all God’s. If He so chooses to let our government fall, or our nation to be defeated, then it will happen. We should battle, but in godliness. And we need to respond biblically so that we can be salt and light in a world that has really been dark all along. More later…

Batting 0% and They Think They Have an Argument

March 16, 2010

“The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).

Stephen Charnock: “…No people so untamed where absolute perfect atheism had gained a footing. No one nation of the world known in the time of the Romans that were without their ceremonies, whereby they signified their devotion to a deity. They had their places of worship, where they made their vows, presented their prayers’ offered their sacrifices, and implored the assistance of what they thought to be a god; and in their distresses run immediately, without any deliberation, to their gods: so that the notion of a deity was as inward and settled in them as their own souls, and, indeed, runs in the blood of mankind. The distempers of the understanding cannot utterly deface it; you shall scarce find the most distracted bedlam, in his raving fits, to deny a God, though he may blaspheme, and fancy himself one.”

Clay Miller: Nowhere in history, geographically, has atheism ruled so that it was taken to its logical conclusion: Untamed lawlessness. If there is no God, there is no absolute morality and every man is a law unto himself. There is no nation on record where atheism reigns so supreme that there is no idea of God. There are devotions to deities everywhere. To some atheists this “proves” God is a made up idea. See my March 10th post for some comments on that mindset. To the contrary, if there is a God, it would be evidenced by a universal acknowledgment of a deity. It is in every man’s heart. No matter how much the atheist hates this, he cannot deny that he too has experience with the idea of God. That is why he dedicates so much time to fighting it. It is why he calls himself a name that has reference to the idea of a deity: Atheist-the belief there is no what? God. More later.

He Provided...and Keeps on Providing Despite Us

March 15, 2010

Genesis 1:9-13
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13So the evening and the morning were the third day.

Matthew Henry: “ II. How the earth was furnished for the maintenance and support of man, v. 11, 12. Present provision was now made, by the immediate products of the upstart earth, which, in obedience to God’s command, was no sooner made than it became fruitful, and brought forth grass for the cattle and herb for the service of man. Provision was likewise made for time to come, by the perpetuating of the several kinds of vegetables, which are numerous, various, and all curious, and every one having its seed in itself after its kind, that, during the continuance of man upon the earth, food might be fetched out of the earth for his use and benefit. Lord, what is man, that he is thus visited and regarded —that such care should be taken, and such provision made, for the support and preservation of those guilty and obnoxious lives which have been a thousand times forfeited!

Clay Miller: So much of our lives are dependent, and though we sin against God, He continues to provide us food and water. God created the vegetation in an instant. It did not take umpteen billion years to evolve it. He displayed His power, and He provided a record of it in Genesis for us to see the display. What is sad is how much of it we miss. Even more sad is how people, instead of seeing God’s greatness and utter otherness from creatures, instead choose to dismiss this as “impossible”…mainly because they cannot do something like it so why should some other being be able to. But God has much to say in so little an account. It was really nothing to Him to create. And His creating was done with much wisdom in its provision for a mega operation He was about to create to inhabit and work the planet.

I love how Genesis 1:1 sort of says “duh” to the discovery of DNA. DNA makes sure that things reproduce “according to its kind”. Long before DNA was discovered, the Bible covered this fact. DNA is a design. It is a system. It is a code. It is another great proof of a Designer. And, like all of nature, it is shouting to the people to seek God in Scripture so you can know who you are, who He is, and what you need to be reconciled to Him, because as you will discover in the Bible, your life is an offense to Him…yet He keeps on giving you breath, life and sustenance. More later.