Saturday, January 11, 2020

Do you really know God?


Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” Psalms 135:6

I ask this question because many people who call themselves “Christian” and “Churches” do not know God. They claim to know God but have no biblical understanding of Him. They, nor their Pastors can properly describe the True God of the bible with a right understanding because they do not know God, nor do they have much knowledge about Him. The bible is a revelation of the Holy Spirit, it is not humanly understood, Paul makes this very clear in his first letter to the church at Corinth. “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:10 – 14 Please understand, I am not being condescending in saying this, but the facts are on my side. There is a very deep gap between the natural person and the spiritual person, one is spiritually discerned and the other is spiritually educated. The bible is a spiritual book, it was inspired by the Holy Spirit to the writers to be understood by spiritually saved people and not to be understood by the natural spiritually discerned person or “the lost”. Paul gave us a great understanding of this “natural/spiritual” thinking in his writing to the church at Corinth. The natural person refuses to believe God as the True God, they refuse to believe they are at His mercy and grace and not at their own understanding and power. People are (because of the fall) at odds with God, they loathe Him in His True Nature and therefore refuse to accept Him as all Sovereign. People can learn anything; people will believe anything except God’s Truth in their natural state. This is the reason there are so many different sorts of denomination’s among people calling themselves “Christian’s” and “Churches” today. I am not saying they do not have a genuine “zeal” for God, but it is not according to spiritual knowledge, as Paul said of his beloved Jewish people. “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” Romans 10:1 - 2 People can and do have a great zeal for God and the worship of God in the natural state, but it is damningly wrong. The Jews thought they were biblically correct when they crucified Jesus Christ, Catholicism and reformers thought they were biblically right when they killed millions of Baptist and other Christians who refused to convert and join them in the “dark ages”. Saul of Tarsus (Paul) thought he was biblically right when he persecuted the church at Jerusalem. “Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” Philippians 3:6 However, all this zeal was done in their natural state, being “spiritually discerned” or not having a spiritual understanding of God and His will.

One must believe in the Sovereignty of God in order to even began a real understanding of God. The bible is full of the fact that God is Sovereign. Here is a great understanding of God’s Sovereignty, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” Isaiah 46:9 - 11 Here is another example of God Sovereignty, “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”  Romans 9:15 The Sovereignty of God is so important because it is the force that saves a lost sinner and one cannot be saved without it. John tells us in his writings, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  John 1:12 – 13 Jesus said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44 However, the wise and prudent among us keep teaching unbiblical terms such as, decisions – choices – turning over new leaf’s – praying prayers – etc. etc. etc. These same people today try to worship God in whom they truly deny in their thinking because they deny God as a Sovereign Being. These very same natural wise and prudent teach that “God cannot change peoples will, because the will is yours” When God says “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him…” The word “draw” means – to drag. Salvation has nothing to do with your will, it has to do with God’s will. God owes people nothing, He did not create mankind to act according to their will. Therefore, how dare people say that God acts only if the creature is willing, just read the bible and you will find that is impossible. Laugh at it if you want, mock it if you please, but you will never prove it wrong in the scriptures.

Folks, it is sad when I talk to people of strong zeal and faith in their belief but being without knowledge. It is sad when they desire to use out-of-context scriptures to prove their false thinking or read into the scriptures something that is not even there. It is sad when they condemn God Sovereignty attempting to prove a lie, but sadly they do. However, the saddest part of it all, is when these very people who attempt to call themselves “Christians and Churches” deny the True God to worship a false, incapable god who is not able to do or is not in control of anything. I will conclude with this thought because nothing I say will change their heart, “Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.” Jeremiah 10:11 - 15