The Authority & Sufficiency of Scripture: Pt. 11 Sufficient to Answer our Questions.
Good morning...
John 1: 1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
Today I want to look as some important points connected with the sufficiency of scripture in all matters of faith and behavior.
Scripture alone has the answers to life's biggest questions!
The first question that looms large is "How did everything get here?
Our world is a complex planet, interconnected, and incredibly diverse in terms of all plant life and animal life. As I have noted many times, evolution is the default answer given today in answering this big question about origins.
I confess to you that before I was born again, I was a foolish man who believed that evolution was true. But God showed me that He was indeed Creator and Sustainer of all things after I was regenerated and began to read His Word.
If people believe evolution is factual then they most likely dismiss any thought that God exists and that He is the Creator.
Yet, as scripture tells us, Creation cries loudly on behalf of God (Romans 1:18-23). We see all forms of life reproducing life after its kind. We see a fundamental orderliness that underlies all of the observable universe.
We have time measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years based upon natural rhythm and the movement of the sun, moon and stars.
We have incredibly intricate movements like the earth spinning on its axis at 1,100 MPH while orbiting the sun at 67,000 MPH while orbiting the sun which moves in its orbit at 514,000 MPH.
We have observable laws of physics that govern things in motion. We have strong and weak nuclear forces, gravity and many other performing complex interactions with precision. We have light patterns that indicate all planets, moons, stars, even galaxies are "red shifted" meaning they are moving away from us.
This is observed in every direction in space! What could cause such a phenomenon but God who said "Let there be light?" He spoke and there was light that emanated from the epicenter of Creation.
Ask yourself who was present at Creation? The answer is both profound and simple. God was the only one present.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The name "God" in this text is "Elohim" which is plural in form. The use of the Divine name Elohim teaches us that God is plural and yet one. This name implies the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in action at the point of Creation, cooperating in unity.
These 10 words open the Bible and we must believe them or reject them. If these words are true then there are profound ramifications for all of mankind because God created all things for His glory and we are a part of that creation.
The second big question is "How did I get here?"
Genesis 1:26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Mankind got here because God made man from the dust of the earth. Man did not evolve from apes or fish over billions of years. The Godhead created man in a moment of time.
The third big question is "Is everything just a result of random chance or does my life have meaning and purpose?"
Genesis 1:27-30 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
Genesis 2:7-9; 15 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
God commanded man. This means that Adam had the intellectual and moral capacity to understand that God gave him something to do and that he was required to do it. It also means that Adam knew what was right and what was wrong in the moral sense. He was told that he could eat fruit from every tree but one.
Do you begin to see the sufficiency of scripture in all things that relate to what we believe and how we live? Do you see the glory and goodness of God in giving us His authoritative and sufficient Word so that we have a reliable and absolute source of truth?
If we did not have the scriptures from God then we would be foolish people believing that somehow all the intricate complexities of the universe and our own lives are purposeless and meaningless.
What have we learned today?
We learned that God alone created all that exists in a vast display of His power, wisdom and grace.
We learned that God governs all His creation with His power so that all things function in a predictable manner, doing His will.
We learned that man is different from all other forms of animals. We have a soul that enables us to have a relationship with God and to make moral choices.
We learned that God has a purpose for each one of us that includes becoming a worshiper of the One, True God of heaven and earth, and that we find satisfaction in working as we exercise dominion over the earth.
We learned that God made us moral beings in His image who can make choices that honor Him and who can have a relationship with their Creator.
Only the inspired, inerrant, infallible authoritative scriptures from God are sufficient to answer the big questions we have about life. We can praise Jehovah for not leaving us to speculate about it.
Bob
John 1: 1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
Today I want to look as some important points connected with the sufficiency of scripture in all matters of faith and behavior.
Scripture alone has the answers to life's biggest questions!
The first question that looms large is "How did everything get here?
Our world is a complex planet, interconnected, and incredibly diverse in terms of all plant life and animal life. As I have noted many times, evolution is the default answer given today in answering this big question about origins.
I confess to you that before I was born again, I was a foolish man who believed that evolution was true. But God showed me that He was indeed Creator and Sustainer of all things after I was regenerated and began to read His Word.
If people believe evolution is factual then they most likely dismiss any thought that God exists and that He is the Creator.
Yet, as scripture tells us, Creation cries loudly on behalf of God (Romans 1:18-23). We see all forms of life reproducing life after its kind. We see a fundamental orderliness that underlies all of the observable universe.
We have time measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years based upon natural rhythm and the movement of the sun, moon and stars.
We have incredibly intricate movements like the earth spinning on its axis at 1,100 MPH while orbiting the sun at 67,000 MPH while orbiting the sun which moves in its orbit at 514,000 MPH.
We have observable laws of physics that govern things in motion. We have strong and weak nuclear forces, gravity and many other performing complex interactions with precision. We have light patterns that indicate all planets, moons, stars, even galaxies are "red shifted" meaning they are moving away from us.
This is observed in every direction in space! What could cause such a phenomenon but God who said "Let there be light?" He spoke and there was light that emanated from the epicenter of Creation.
Ask yourself who was present at Creation? The answer is both profound and simple. God was the only one present.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The name "God" in this text is "Elohim" which is plural in form. The use of the Divine name Elohim teaches us that God is plural and yet one. This name implies the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in action at the point of Creation, cooperating in unity.
These 10 words open the Bible and we must believe them or reject them. If these words are true then there are profound ramifications for all of mankind because God created all things for His glory and we are a part of that creation.
The second big question is "How did I get here?"
Genesis 1:26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Mankind got here because God made man from the dust of the earth. Man did not evolve from apes or fish over billions of years. The Godhead created man in a moment of time.
The third big question is "Is everything just a result of random chance or does my life have meaning and purpose?"
Genesis 1:27-30 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
- Created in the image of God
- Granted authority to manage creation
Genesis 2:7-9; 15 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
- Man was given a soul in order to have a relationship with God
- Man was given work to do.
- Man was a thinking, moral being.
God commanded man. This means that Adam had the intellectual and moral capacity to understand that God gave him something to do and that he was required to do it. It also means that Adam knew what was right and what was wrong in the moral sense. He was told that he could eat fruit from every tree but one.
Do you begin to see the sufficiency of scripture in all things that relate to what we believe and how we live? Do you see the glory and goodness of God in giving us His authoritative and sufficient Word so that we have a reliable and absolute source of truth?
If we did not have the scriptures from God then we would be foolish people believing that somehow all the intricate complexities of the universe and our own lives are purposeless and meaningless.
What have we learned today?
We learned that God alone created all that exists in a vast display of His power, wisdom and grace.
We learned that God governs all His creation with His power so that all things function in a predictable manner, doing His will.
We learned that man is different from all other forms of animals. We have a soul that enables us to have a relationship with God and to make moral choices.
We learned that God has a purpose for each one of us that includes becoming a worshiper of the One, True God of heaven and earth, and that we find satisfaction in working as we exercise dominion over the earth.
We learned that God made us moral beings in His image who can make choices that honor Him and who can have a relationship with their Creator.
Only the inspired, inerrant, infallible authoritative scriptures from God are sufficient to answer the big questions we have about life. We can praise Jehovah for not leaving us to speculate about it.
Bob
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