fbpx

Help Needed

This was just submitted to to the Twin Falls Times-News for the Faith Corner column I write for on a regular basis. Look for it on Saturday in the Times-News.


Help Needed
by Paul Thompson

Like most everywhere across the Magic Valley, there are “Help Needed” signs. They are in windows and on sidewalks. Some of the signs post the hourly wage (always above minimum wage), including benefits and starting bonuses.

This is how it is in this temporal day. Man is always in need. Just like there is no shortage of “Help Wanted” signs in the commercial sector there is no shortage of “Help Needed” signs in the inner-man. 

Man always needs help.

He needs help in his marriage. He needs help with his children. He needs help getting along with his neighbor. He needs help putting up with his coworkers. He needs help pushing his car to the gas station when he runs out of gas in the Blue Lakes and Pole Line intersection.

Man was created in such a way as to have a relationship with God and all of His creation. Yet, because of sin, he needs help with how to do so properly so as to glorify God. 

Man needs help, but this is not how it is with God. He needs no help. Ever.

From before the first pages of the Bible to beyond the close of all temporal days, God is never without resources or in need of assistance. God, as He describes Himself in the Bible, is not meeting with a therapist or seeking counsel on how to win friends or influence a generation in need of Him. He’s not needing to be coached on how to be more compassionate or more clear with His commandments. 

This is because God is not man.

Let me encourage the reader to not look for an escape from the day God has ordained but rather when we find ourselves in need of help to turn to the one who is not found lacking. 

God does not need to be reinvented for men to love him, He was not invented.

God does not need to create a new ad campaign so everyone will want to try Him again, He was not created.

God does not need a board meeting of all the brilliant economists to know how to get out of debt, He is all knowing.

God does not attend conferences to learn of new medical discoveries, He is full of wisdom.

God does not look to ally with other nations to help protect His kingdom, He is all powerful.

God does not have a weekly appointment with a therapist to learn skills in how to be more gentle. He is all together different from everything He created. 

So, as you drive around and see all the “Help Needed” signs, let that cause you to meditate on the nature of God and His eternal attributes. Be encouraged that you can trust the One who needs no help, and He is not lacking in any resources to help with all of your needs. 

There is a greater need that we are completely lacking in, bankrupt of righteousness. This is a great kindness of God that he would send His One and Only Begotten Son, Christ Jesus the Lord, to satisfy what man is most incapable of doing. The wrath of God can only be satisfied by the blood of Christ. 

Only the one who needs nothing can do this for you. Repent of your sin, believe the Gospel, be saved.

Religious Liberty

It might be good to think about this God given blessing like our ancestors did. Those who pledged their own lives, their own fortunes, and sacred honor didn’t do that so we would lay it all down on the dusty floor of pagan worship of government.

I agree with my Baptist ancestors here on this matter. They were serious about how to practice their faith with the lamp of Scripture on. These words were penned by my kinsmen of the faith when it costs them something to stand up on their feet like men of God.

Baptist Faith and Message: Article XVII – Religious Liberty

“God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God. The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work. The gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.”

Genesis 1:27; 2:7; Matthew 6:6-7,24; 16:26; 22:21; John 8:36; Acts 4:19-20; Romans 6:1-2; 13:1-7; Galatians 5:1,13; Philippians 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; James 4:12; 1 Peter 2:12-17; 3:11-17; 4:12-19.

The Far Side of the Desert

January 30, 2010 – There are days that have a lasting impact upon body, mind, and soul. There are events that leave permanent marks. No one can see them, but they are there.

Those God ordained days on the far side of the wilderness were physically hard, spiritually complex, and emotionally full of an unexpected path. They were what appeared to be of the reputation ruining kind of days. Yet are still some of the sweetest days in my journey with my God.

This photo was taken just a few moments before we were about to get a first person, seventeen day education of how a Napoleonic judicial system worked. The days to follow would be some of the most revealing of my life. I would learn about how selfish I am. I would learn the lies of worry and anxiety are not easily set aside, they would prove to be worthless friends. I would soon learn who my friends were, I would learn how easily people distance themselves from you when things are not as they seem. I would learn the power of the press and their hunger for a narrative. I would immediately learn that I would need to put into practice everything I believed about God and how critical it was to base it upon His word and not my feelings. Lessons I never want to forget.

Sunday night, February 2, 6:30 p.m. at Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho, Silas, Steve, and I will retell the story of the kindness of God on the far side of the wilderness, a Haitian jail cell.

I Am He

I’ve been preaching through the book of Isaiah for over a year and a half now. I have come to the forty-third chapter and the great news of the unchangeable Gospel is as strong as one can find anywhere in the sacred text of the Holy Bible, the only authoritative word to know God.

In the middle verses of this chapter Isaiah paints a word picture of all the nations gathered together and all peoples are given the opportunity to state their case on who their god is. He instructs those who have given themselves to false or strange gods to declare what their gods have done. He instructs those who are His people to declare what their God has done. He welcomes all to present their case so they might be justified and that their god gets to be fairly presented.

This is not something that the Almighty God is required to do, it is more that those who are blind or deaf to truth can see that their false gods are just that, impostures. It is a kindness from God to extend His mercy to those who have given themselves to the counterfeit.

This fabricated, propped up god, comes in many forms. Perhaps you have given yourself to one of the many pretend gods?

God has been kind to give a witness of Truth. He has given the nations a people who bear His name to advance His glory to all, the church. And of course He has given His only begotten son, Jesus the Christ, as described by the Bible, to stand as a witness of His glory to all nations. In Isaiah forty-three He also even shows his triune nature by revealing to the reader that there is one, and only one, God. He is identified by God as “My Servant” and He declares that “Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me.” (Isaiah 43:10-11)

That one phrase, “I am He”, is not to be missed or passed by so quickly.

In the New Testament when Jesus asked the Roman officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees who they were looking for, they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus answers “I am He.” This alone is not that unusual, unless the reader keeps reading. The New Testament book of John records that Jesus said, “I am He” the Roman offers “drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:5-6).” This is a witness to the nations that this Jesus is unlike all others.

Whatever fake god you have been bowing down to has been exposed for the sham that it is. Only God can have this kind of impact on a people when He bears witness of deity. His eternal deity. Not a man who became God or earned the right to become a god. Not a god who was once a man. No, this eternal deity “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, by emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:6-7)

This coming Lord’s Day I hope you will find yourself willing to examine truth without the fear of what men might say about you. The Magic Valley is blessed with many Bible believing, God fearing churches who will open their Bibles and preach this truth this weekend. Gather in one of those churches and be set free from the bondage of your sin. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, as described by the Bible, and be saved from the idolatry of following a spoof. If you don’t have a church to gather in this weekend then consider gathering with Eastside Baptist Church, 204 Eastland Drive North, Twin Falls, Idaho.

On Monday, September 9, 2019 there is an opportunity to hear what several religions think about the person and nature of God. At 6:30 p.m in the Shields building room 118 on the campus of the College of Southern Idaho there will be an open forum discussion among many different religions about God. Come hear the difference. Learn that the god of Mohamad, the god of Joseph Smith, the god of Humanism, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are entirely different.

Come hear and see.

Why Have A Symposium Concerning the Unborn?

Some would suggest that it is a futile conversation to aim at abolishing abortion. I say, I cannot remain silent on this subject.

Here are a few of the reasons why I’ll be hosting a symposium concerning the unborn for fellow pastors in the Magic Valley.

  • The Bible is clear on this matter.
  • Idaho code agrees with the Bible.

Here are a few more reasons

  • In 2017, 258 persons were murdered in the wombs of women in the city of Twin Falls, Idaho.
  • Since 2008, 1,914 persons have been murdered in the wombs of women in the city of Twin Falls, Idaho.

Created in the Image of God

Following is my “Pastor’s Corner” column scheduled to appear in the Twin Falls Times News on Saturday, April 6, 2019. If they agree to print it, it will be printed the day before a special feature on transgender citizens in the Magic Valley. To my neighbors who identify as a transgender person, you will find the church of the Lord Jesus Christ loves you enough to speak the truth on these matters. All of humanity should live with peace that God speaks into all passions with truth so we might live in greatest joy by glorifying God in obeying Him.

____________________________________

Created in the Image of God
-by Paul Thompson-

As a Bible believing preacher of a local church, I hold to truth held by the authority of the Holy Bible. Meaning everything is up against this plumb-line. The growing confusion in our culture will continue to unravel the fabric of a pleasant and happy society that governs how we live our lives and how society exists when that same society wants to invite ideas foreign to the laws of nature.

When one considers the most basic starting place for a secure and happy estate, the Bible shows that God’s creation is in happy existence when it obeys God. If one chooses to disobey God, then it would be right to conclude that disobedience of God’s created order would invite unhappiness.

The Bible is clear, God created male and female. In humanity, that is all he created.

Think about God’s creation. He created all things and established them.  Day and Night are established. Fish and birds are established. Cattle and insects are established. Humanity is altogether established. The sun is never the moon. Water is never air. Male is never female.

In creation of mankind, the bible clearly describes humanity as male and female. The Bible does not offer another philosophy or path. It is clear that man will want to pervert this truth, but this perversion can not be argued as a biblical truth.

To say that gender no longer matters is to speak against the spoken order of humanity created by God in His image. To speak against the order of God is to say gender no longer matters, the distinctives of male and female are merely socially influenced rather than Holy and unchangeable.

If the sexes were interchangeable or not fixed, this would  place the perception of sinful humanity as superior to Holy Almighty God. This attitude places man as the supreme and not God, who is altogether different.

To suggest that there is a fluid transition of the sexes, depending upon how one feels, is unscientific. One would have to reject the scientific clarity of male and female. If one is a male, he will not need to have hormone therapy to manipulate his scientific DNA. If one is female, she does not need to have her anatomy surgically adjusted to match the female gender.

1 Cor. 6 lablels men behaving/dressing feminine as an abomination. With this conclusion regarding men behaving effeminate, it is accurate to conclude that it is also an abomination for a woman to behave/dress masculine. This encompasses the expression of gender identity through clothing, hairstyle, makeup, mannerisms, or even surgery.

To undergoing “sex reassignment surgery” is actually a statement of rejecting the identity of the birth gender. It is a logical flaw to suggest that the gender one was born with is not the correct gender. To undergo reassignment is to acknowledge the current, reject it, and then assign an altogether different gender.

If a  blind DNA test were done for Bruce Jenner, the science will tell you he is a male; in spite of his claim, dress, mannerisms, and choice of public restroom. He is a man and cannot be anything but a man, ever. To claim otherwise is an abomination against the image of God.

The duty of the believer in the bible is to exegete the text. In other words, the authority of the text governs the conversation. If the bible says that God created humanity male and female we must let the creator instruct the reader. The reader doesn’t have permission to impose his or her feelings above the authority of the text.

The church that claims the bible to be the “word of God” has no other choice but to accept what God has revealed. To reject this authority or equate other books equal to it is to not be Christian.

As it was from the beginning, so it is to this very day.

(For further reference see Genesis 1:28-29; Genesis 2:23-24; Matthew 19: 3-6; Mark 10: 6-9; Ephesians 5:28-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Pastor Paul Thompson is the preaching pastor at Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho. Eastside Baptist Church gathers on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. www.esbcTwinFalls.com You can email Paul at paul@esbcTwinFalls.com

You Have 90 Seconds. What Do You Say?

I was on CrossPolitc a few weeks ago (a completely enjoyable experience). While there I was asked, “You have 90 seconds to speak to Rep. Steven Harris, what do you say?” Rep. Steven Harris is the chairman of the Idaho State Affairs Committee who has been holding the Idaho Abortion Human Rights Act (IAHRA) since it was first introduced by Rep. Heather Scott and Rep. John Green.

I had been trying to get an appointment with Rep. Harris since the IAHRA was introduced. By the grace of God, I was able to get a meeting with Rep. Harris last Tuesday. It was my expectation to have just a few moments so I had been working on fine tuning what I would say if I had 90 seconds with Rep. Harris. (I actually had 1 hour and 15 minutes, but following is my early attempt to speak clearly and articulate.)

Following is what I wrote, I said most of this (and a bit more). It was a pleasure to travel with several men from the Magic Valley

__________________________

We are first and foremost Ambassadors of the reconciliation of Christ. Christ the only begotten son of God, as described by the Bible, stands as a required atonement for sinful people who have broken the law of God, that includes the very matter we are here before you today. Life.

God himself told all of humanity “Do not murder.”

A people have sinned against God. A state has sinned against God. Today, while it is still called today, hear our redeemer, repent of delaying what you claim you hold a true, and allow the gate to be opened to end the murdering babies in the womb.

The Bible describes contrasting conditions of nations. One of splendid comfort, thriving economies, flourishing families, bumper crops, abundant water supply for the coming growing season. Another of a barren wasteland, a day of grave darkness, a land with no moister, a cloud that rains no rain.

I would not want to think of living in either condition without the protection and salvation of Almighty God. Whether the economy is abounding or the crops are failing, God will not abandon His obedient people.

I’m here today to ask you to give the Idaho Abortion Human Rights Act a path for debate.

  • It may die in committee.
  • It may survive a heated debate.
  • It may become a law that claims every child in the blessed womb of women in the state of Idaho is sacred and worthy of defense at all costs.
  • It may get challenged in court
  • It may get defeated and cost Idahoans millions and millions of dollars.
  • It may withstand the scrutiny of supreme court.

We want to assure you we will not abandon our God. We will not abandon our fellow citizens. We will not abandon the child in the womb.

Rep. Harris, rise up today and submit to the Almighty God of the Bible who stands as a righteous judge with indignation against nations who oppose Him. Do not bury the Idaho Abortion Human Rights Act in the rear guard of the winter barracks. Set this bill loose and let it cry out for the babies in the womb.

Rep. Harris, when will someone in our state finally stand up for the unwanted baby? Who will defend them? Who will fight for their rights?

These are Idaho citizen who will never dip their toes in the Clearwater or float the Salmon, they’ll never hear the mountain blue bird sing or hear the roar of the Niagara of the west. These citizens will not have the temporal pleasure of seeing the mighty Sawtooths, breath our fresh air or eat a world famous Idaho potato. Thousands of Idaho citizens will never experience these blessed temporal pleasures.

No nation, no people, no government can withstand the righteous indignation of the Holy God.

You have been appointed by God for this day. You are not responsible for the unpredictable path of how men will respond. You answer to higher authority. May God have mercy upon our land in this day with clouds that rain down righteousness that the fruit of salvation may bear forth and righteousness spring up with it. (Isaiah 45:8)

Will you fear men today, who can kill the body, or will you fear God who can destroy both body and soul?

Rep. Harris, will you be the principled man today and give the children in the womb a path to let the state of Idaho speak for them? Will you print this bill?

_________________________

Rep. Harris: “No, I will not print this bill.”

You have 90 seconds to speak to Rep. Harris, what would you say?

Continue praying. Pray for Rep. Harris. Pray that God will awaken the conscience of the legislative branches of Idaho to not fear men (Planned Parenthood) and introduce legislative language that abolishes abortion in the state of Idaho.

Write Rep. Harris.

email: sharris@house.idaho.gov

snail mail: Rep. Steven Harris
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720-0038

Share this will others.

(All posts are eligible for ongoing editing for spelling and typo)

Just Because a Politician Says Something Doesn’t Make It True

I don’t doubt the sincerity of someone like former president Jimmy Carter. His sincerity is no reliable gauge to know the difference between right and wrong.

This clip from a larger interview at Huffington Post is an example of the kind of damage that can be done by someone who has influence, claiming to be a born again Christian, and makes an opinion about serious things about God that are not based on the Bible. If we are going to make claim on what God is like or what he approves or disapproves of we have only one source of authority to make such claims, and it is not based on opinion.

Church, read your bible when you hear claims like this and conclude your position based on what is reliable and unchanging not a sentiment of emotion that can’t be trusted.

The Problem of Self-Focused Self-Esteem

The Problem of Self-Focused Self-Esteem

In this temporal world the follower of the Lord Jesus the Christ must look beyond all things temporal to find one’s esteem.

This value or esteem we are searching for will either be rooted in the temporal or the eternal. When our esteem is rooted in the ancient sin of Adam, we will always look to a temporal moment to give us value.To the reader who claims to be a follower of Christ according to the Bible, we must look to the sufficient word of God for our value.

If we think of God as one like us, then we will continue to find our esteem in all things like us- temporal. Consider a few things with me. What is God? Who is God?

If our starting point is with the temporal, then we will have no interest in knowing the eternal.

There is only one living God and He is kind to tell us who He is. If ones source of this God is not a reliable source, then one will be satisfied to search for a god other than Yahweh, the God of the Bible. To view God as lesser than eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present; then one will think that god is ever changing and fluid in nature. One will not see all things, peoples, nations, and creation as God’s so long as one keeps self as the most important being in the universe. Self-focused self-esteem is rooted in a sin of pride, selfishness, and/or unbelief.

Consider how God addresses this in Isaiah 13 and Revelation 18.

In Isaiah 13, nearly one hundred and eighty years before Babylon rises to the height of its global influence, Isaiah informed the nation of Judah that Almighty God uses all nations, sets aside all people, ordains all situations, and sanctifies kings and kingdoms for His work. He blesses the good and the evil with rain. He causes famines, plagues, natural disasters, and tyrannical rulers to rise and fall for His glory. To see God as anything less is to see oneself as greater than we are.

One of the greatest sins in our day is to have a low view of God and a too high view of man. Now, God has obviously put a value on life because He created life, but to misplace and put greater value upon something is to cheapen the value of another. One could argue that some in our day have too low a view of man due to how easy it is to get an abortion, but that will be a topic for another day.

When one looks at the proclamation of Isaiah 13 and reads Revelation 18, it is clear that God does indeed know what is best for us.Understanding starts with seeing God for what God is and seeing our sin cravings for what they are.

In Revelation 18, we are told to “come out of Babylon”. By the time Revelation is written, Babylon has gone the way of all nations of the world. Replaced by another nation to be the judgment of God upon people who make claim to follow God but really have created a god for themselves and only follow their sinful desires.

God calls His people to come out of Babylon. The reason He calls us to come out of Babylon is because otherwise we will participate in the sins of Babylon. As long as we stay in the sins of our flesh we will be in the path of the God’s wrath. The sins of Babylon have piled up as high as heaven and God remembers their iniquities. This is the only just thing a righteous God can do, judge those who sin against Him.

This is why the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ is so sweet. God’s wrath justly lands on someone just like me, all of humanity, all who remain in Babylon. Jesus became sin for us so that those repenting and believing have a way out of the city before His wrath comes.

So long as one’s greatest interest is self and feeling at peace in the city of sin, one will not search for truth. If temporal pleasures are chosen over eternal truth, truth will not even be sought.

Today, while it is still called today, call upon the eternal God and be saved. There are churches throughout the Magic Valley who proclaim this truth faithfully. Find one this weekend and be pleased to give glory to God for His kindness and mercy. The kindness of God is what leads us to repentance. This kindness of God is an eternal truth.

Turn from your sin. Turn to Christ and be saved.

 

________________________________
Edited on April 9, 2018 for grammar and spelling

 

 

The Nature of God

NOTE: This is the print version of my defense on the Biblical nature of God at an inter-religious dialog group I belong to. This is a monthly gathering of different religious leaders of different religions intended to have honest dialog about what we believe. Not an exercise of universally ecumenical platitudes of different ways of looking at the same god. This is an honest discussion of what we believe based on our religious texts. For me, this is a place where I have engaged in fair debate of what I believe.

Tonight (March 19, 2018) I have the responsibility to give a discourse on the nature of God contrasted by the Muslim and Mormon gods. It promises to be an exciting exchange. I wish you could be there with me. For now, most of the conversations are closed to the dialog group.

Here is the print version of what I will say:
__________________________________________________

I hold to the historic Baptist confession statements on the nature of God.

To speak of the nature of God, I hold to the sufficiency of the Holy Bible. To say “Holy Bible”, I mean the Old and New Testament only. I receive it as a certain and infallible standard of knowledge of God, faith, salvation, and holiness.

“The light of nature and the works of creation and providence so clearly demonstrate the goodness, wisdom, and power of God that people are left without excuse; however, these demonstrations are not sufficient to give the knowledge of God and his will that is necessary for salvation. Therefore, the Lord was pleased at different times and in various ways to reveal himself and to declare his will to his church [His people]. To preserve and propagate the truth better and to establish and comfort the church with greater certainty against the corruption of the flesh and the malice of Satan and the world, the Lord put this revelation completely in writing. Therefore, the Holy Scriptures are absolutely necessary, because God’s former ways of revealing his will to his people have now ceased.”

2 Timothy 3:15–17; Isaiah 8:20; Luke 16:29, 31; Ephesians 2:20. Romans 1:19–21; Romans 2:14,15; Psalm 19:1–3. Hebrews 1:1. Proverbs 22:19–21; Romans 15:4; 2 Peter 1:19, 20. (1925 New Hampshire Confession)

I hold agreement with confessional statements throughout history that place the Holy Bible as the only reliable authority to know God. All of the Holy Bible was given by inspiration of God to be this authoritative word of God. This is not a position of opinion, this is an exercise of intentional investigation using the rules of logic to defend all opinions of God against this reliable standard.

From the 1689 Second London Confession: (similar to the Westminster Confession)

The Lord our God is one, the only living and true God. He is self-existent and infinite in being and perfection. His essence cannot be understood by anyone but him. He is a perfectly pure spirit. He is invisible and has no body, parts, or changeable emotions. He alone has immortality, dwelling in light that no one can approach. He is unchangeable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, in every way infinite, absolutely holy, perfectly wise, wholly free, completely absolute. He works all things according to the counsel of his own unchangeable and completely righteous will for his own glory. He is most loving, gracious, merciful, and patient. He overflows with goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. He rewards those who seek him diligently. At the same time, he is perfectly just and terrifying in his judgments. He hates all sin and will certainly not clear the guilty.

1 Corinthians 8:4, 6; Deuteronomy 6:4. Jeremiah 10:10; Isaiah 48:12. Exodus 3:14. John 4:24. 1 Timothy 1:17; Deuteronomy 4:15, 16. Malachi 3:6. 1 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:23. Psalm 90:2. Genesis 17:1. Isaiah 6:3. Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 46:10. Proverbs 16:4; Romans 11:36. 13Exodus 34:6, 7; Hebrews 11:6. 14Nehemiah 9:32, 33. 15Psalm 5:5, 6. 16Exodus 34:7; Nahum 1:2, 3.

To start with the authority of the Bible is of importance to me because this is the place that identifies what standard I would use here to define the nature of God as defined by the Bible. If the Bible is true then I must consider what it says, not only about the nature of God but also the nature of other gods. If the Bible is not true then logic would require that I declare the God of the Bible to not be a true god at all. Logic requires that the reader of the Bible accept its claims as true or false. I receive it as true and satisfied to use is to address the nature of God.

My use of the English word “God” is to mean Yahweh. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (arguably not at all the same deity of Islam or Mormonism.)

  • The God of the Bible is defined as one, only one. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 43:10-11, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Jude 4, etc…)
  • The God of the Bible is defined as a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14, An almighty God is not arrogant to be jealous of worship being given to another. Logic would say that the most high is not irrational to make exclusive claims about a loving God. A loving God would want all to worship the true God. A loving God would not love if he shared His glory with any lesser.)
  • The God of the Bible is described as a God with no equal. There is no other. (Isaiah 45:5)
  • The God of the Bible is described as a spirit. (John 4:24)
  • The God of the Bible is described as an eternal God, not having a beginning or an end. (Job 36:26, Isaiah 57:15)
  • The God of the Bible is described as an immutable God. (Malachi 3:6, Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 13:8)
  • The God of the Bible is described as an all knowing God. (Psalm 147:5, 1 John 3:20)
  • The God of the Bible is described as an all present God. (1 Kings 8:27, 1 JOhn 3:24)
  • The God of the Bible is described as a triune being. (see references on Baptist Faith and Message)

James White, of Alpha and Omega Ministries, argues that to speak of the trinity it is necessary to define and distinguish the terms “being” and “person.”

“It would be a contradiction, obviously, to say that there are three beings within one being, or three persons within one person. So what is the difference? We clearly recognize the difference between being and person every day. We recognize what something is, yet we also recognize individuals within a classification. For example, we speak of the “being” of man—human being. A rock has “being”—the being of a rock, as does a cat, a dog, etc. Yet, we also know that there are personal attributes as well. That is, we recognize both “what” and “who” when we talk about a person.”

“The Bible tells us there are three classifications of personal beings—God, man, and angels. What is personality? The ability to have emotion, will, to express oneself. Rocks cannot speak. Cats cannot think of themselves over against others, and, say, work for the common good of “cat kind.” Hence, we are saying that there is one eternal, infinite being of God, shared fully and completely by three persons, Father, Son and Spirit. One what, three who’s.”

NOTE: We are not saying that the Father is the Son, or the Son the Spirit, or the Spirit the Father. It is very common for people to misunderstand the doctrine as to mean that we are saying Jesus is the Father. The doctrine of the Trinity does not in any way say this!

The three Biblical doctrines that flow directly into the river that is the Trinity are as follows:

1) There is one and only one God, eternal, immutable.

2) There are three eternal Persons described in Scripture – the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. These Persons are never identified with one another – that is, they are carefully differentiated as Persons.

3) The Father, the Son, and the Spirit, are identified as being fully deity—that is, the Bible teaches the Deity of Christ and the Deity of the Holy Spirit.

The most critical claims of Jesus are of interest in the Biblical claims of who God is. If We get Jesus wrong we get everything wrong.

For Jesus to say, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) one has to search who this Jesus is.

His nature, according to the Bible, is eternal. Meaning; not created, not an offspring, not a representation of, not another god, not simply a view of God.

His nature, and Biblical claims, demand that we view him as eternal God.

God is not an unknown, unsearchable essence. God is not a higher reality of humanity. God is not many. God is not human. God was never less than He currently is and He will never be greater than he is (if this were possible he would not be God to begin with).

What does it mean to say “Jesus is God incarnate” or “Jesus is God in the flesh”?
This is a most important question. It is not to say that God ever stopped being God. It is not to say that this is when Jesus became a god. God the son, Jesus, never gave up being God and he never “became” God. This simply means that in order for God to be in the flesh, he would need to be born with flesh, incarnate. Not by natural means. If by sexual intercourse, then he would not be of divine nature but a fleshly nature. This would have to be done by supernatural means. A supernatural work of God, ruling over His creation and entering His creation to redeem humanity.

This is intended to be a starting place for a longer and larger conversation on the nature of God.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me for more discussion. Paul Thompson (208) 410-2529 or idahopaul@gmail.com

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8) Meaning, we need God to tell us who He is if we are to accurately know who He is. Otherwise we will create a god in our own image and not know Him at all.

Primary Sources:
Psalm 50
1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken,
And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God has shone forth.
3 May our God come and not keep silence;
Fire devours before Him,
And it is very tempestuous around Him.
4 He summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
5 “Gather My godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is judge. Selah.

7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you;
I am God, your God.
8 “I do not reprove you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
9 “I shall take no young bull out of your house
Nor male goats out of your folds.
10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
11 “I know every bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is Mine.
12 “If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the world is Mine, and all it contains.
13 “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And pay your vows to the Most High;
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right have you to tell of My statutes
And to take My covenant in your mouth?
17 “For you hate discipline,
And you cast My words behind you.
18 “When you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
And you associate with adulterers.
19 “You let your mouth loose in evil
And your tongue frames deceit.
20 “You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 “These things you have done and I kept silence;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.

22 “Now consider this, you who forget God,
Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.
23 “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who orders his way aright
I shall show the salvation of God.”

Baptist Faith and Message
_________________________
God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in his attitude toward all men.

Gen. 1:1; 2:7; Ex. 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Levit. 22:2; Deut. 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chron. 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isa. 43:3,15; 64:8; Jer. 10:10; 17:13; Matt. 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Rom. 8:14-15; 1 Cor. 8:6; Gal. 4:6; Ephes. 4:6; Col. 1:15; 1 Tim. 1:17; Heb. 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.

God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and necessities of human nature and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, partaking of the nature of God and of man, and in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

Gen. 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isa. 7:14; 53; Matt. 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Rom. 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; 8:9; Gal. 4:4-5; Ephes. 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thess. 4:14-18; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Heb. 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Rev. 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.

God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

Gen. 1:2; Judg. 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isa. 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matt. 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Rom. 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Cor. 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11; Gal. 4:6; Ephes. 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thess. 5:19; 1 Tim. 3:16; 4:1; 2 Tim. 1:14; 3:16; Heb. 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Rev. 1:10; 22:17.

The Apostles’ Creed: 140 A.D.
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The Holy catholic [meaning, church throughout time and in all places] Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.

The Nicene Creed: 325 A.D.
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe one holy catholic [meaning, church throughout time and in all places] and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Follow

Get every new post on this blog delivered to your Inbox.

Join other followers: