Theology is the study of God. God is a being outside of time. Time is a created thing.
The bible starts and God is. Then he begins creation. You see many Theologies wish to place an emphasis on time or base observations upon time.
There is a truth that God reveals himself in time and is aware of the order of revelation. But an over emphasis on time is almost always unhelpful.
You see the nature of God is that he is outside of time. His revelation in time is progressive but he is not. He is not inside time.
In a sense he entered into time as his son Jesus eternally God and Man entered into history and took on human flesh. But you see Jesus is a figure who transcends time. His work breaks down the limits of time.
You see Israel's faith is a forward looking faith that is based on a promise. They are saved by believing in the promise which is Jesus.
You today we are saved by looking back but it is all the same event. Often people wish to get around the fact of Israel being saved by looking forward to the cross.
This or that is how they are saved. You see the reality is always that we are saved by trusting in the promise of God and what he says he will do.
Israel looked forward to a promise of a future event that was described in detail but not easily understood. We look back to an event in history which is described in great detail but easily rejected.
Always we are saved by faith and live by faith and walk by faith. We never get past faith.
Showing posts with label creation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creation. Show all posts
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Friday, May 10, 2013
Possibility of Miracles
There is this strange objection to miracles which seems to have come from Enlightenment philosophy. It runs something like this: miracles are not possible because God is not such a God who would intervene in the natural order of processes in the world.
The first question to this strange objection to miracles is how one can by reason know that God would not subvert the natural order of processes in the world. It is as if God according this errant philosophy is somehow morally obligated to uphold the natural processes or laws of nature by which the world typically runs.
A more detailed response to this philosophy is that God created the natural process. In the beginning there was God. There was no universe or natural processes of nature at the beginning of time.
God create nature and as creature of nature if he wants to step in and alter the process momentarily this is his right. There are parts of scripture where God indicates that he has the right to mold creation as a potter has the right to mold clay, since he is the one who created it.
Of course the best response is simply that God reveals in the bible that he has in many times and places stepped in and altered the natural process of the universe, because it pleased him to do so. I personally am not sure the extent to which God does miracles today.
I believe God does intervene in the natural processes even today when he sees a need. Of course this is difficult to defend on only a scriptural basis, but miracles existed since the beginning of recorded scripture and I see no necessity that the death of Christ ended or prohibited God's work in this way.
The first question to this strange objection to miracles is how one can by reason know that God would not subvert the natural order of processes in the world. It is as if God according this errant philosophy is somehow morally obligated to uphold the natural processes or laws of nature by which the world typically runs.
A more detailed response to this philosophy is that God created the natural process. In the beginning there was God. There was no universe or natural processes of nature at the beginning of time.
God create nature and as creature of nature if he wants to step in and alter the process momentarily this is his right. There are parts of scripture where God indicates that he has the right to mold creation as a potter has the right to mold clay, since he is the one who created it.
Of course the best response is simply that God reveals in the bible that he has in many times and places stepped in and altered the natural process of the universe, because it pleased him to do so. I personally am not sure the extent to which God does miracles today.
I believe God does intervene in the natural processes even today when he sees a need. Of course this is difficult to defend on only a scriptural basis, but miracles existed since the beginning of recorded scripture and I see no necessity that the death of Christ ended or prohibited God's work in this way.
Monday, October 17, 2005
God's Wisdom in Creation
The wisdom of God in creating material things has really struck me lately. We take for granted material things and cannot conceptualize an immaterial world. But, think of before creation. God is a spirit and angles are spirits. It is quite possible that the angles had no concept of what materialness was. And then this new incredibly rich and inexplicably foreign material named matter sprung forth into existence because at God's command. Imagine how they must have marveled at matter and how they must have worshiped the wisdom of God and incredible inspiring it must have been. And then humans are created. Humans are created not fully material and not fully immaterial. We tend to think matter something very ordinary. But, it is something radically inventive indeed! The immaterial has an eternal history in God, but the material is a radically wonderful and inventive creation of God. The material world so intricately created with its many fold wonders and balances and laws all crafted and governed by an infinitely wise God. It is a shame we do not feel more awe overwhelming our souls because of God's wisdom in creation.
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