The Omniscient Omnipotent God
Most people I know do not put a great deal of thought into an all knowing and all powerful divine being.
Since God is omniscient and omnipotent there are some things we must consider.
Before anything could have been God already had all knowledge and all power.
That brings us to the conclusion that nothing could exist that did not appear by Him, through Him or for Him.
Colossians 1:15-17
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else,and he holds all creation together.
According to this passage and the reality of an all powerful and all knowing God, evolution is just not possible.
The theory of evolution is built on the idea that new information is continually being introduced into the realm of life. This is impossible with an all knowing Creator.
All knowledge existed before anything ever came into existence.
We as created beings are continually discovering that which is already known by the Creator. Nothing really evolves but we gain knowledge of that which already is.
We believe that knowledge stair-steps upon that which we already know. You can’t know “B” until you understand “A”. This is not true because “B” is already known by the One who knows all things. We must process that which is already known.
There is no new knowledge. There is no new power. There is not really change as we understand it.
We are always changing in accordance with our newly discovered knowledge but that which we discover is not new but it has always been.
Solomon was the one who told us that there is nothing new under the sun. He said this based upon his knowledge and wisdom of the one true God.
Solomon knew that God was all knowing and all powerful and nothing exists that that He didn’t create and nothing is that He doesn’t sustain.
God can’t change because change is based upon new knowledge or understanding. What can an all knowing being learn?
Since God cannot learn something new there is no ability for Him to change because change is based upon something new being introduced into the present situation.
We change as we discover more and more of God’s truth or that which He already knows. Our so called evolution is a movement based upon our acquisition of new knowledge to us.
We are always moving toward God or away from God. We move toward God when we allow God to reveal His truth to us. We move away from God when we accept ideas that are opposed to God’s truth. The more we line up with God the more clearly we see truth. The less we line up with God the blinder we become to the truth of God.
So, I hope you can see that we should be continually changing, growing or I guess you could say evolving into a greater understanding of God through the knowledge and understanding that comes from the one who knows all.
Hebrews 1:1-4
Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.
The all powerful God sustains all things. The all knowing God knows all things. God has revealed Himself to us through the Word. The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us. And yet we don’t want to come to Christ to receive all the knowledge and understanding that God will make available to us.
John 1:1-14
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
A human is reborn into a new creature when he/she comes to believe God through Christ Jesus. Most people refuse to believe because they are not willing to accept that God is who He claims he is. Due to this the human race is blind to the truth and continually loses out on the knowledge and wisdom that is available to them through a relationship with the omniscient, omnipotent God of all.
1 Corinthians 2:13-26
13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. 14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
If you would like to expand your knowledge of all things it’s time you come to the truth. God promises to reveal Himself to you if you will come to Him by faith in Christ Jesus.
Deception
Satan’s greatest deception used on human beings is salvation aside from Christ.
The whole world has been engulfed with this deep dark deception. “You can be saved without Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:1-6
Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.
3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
The most enlightened people in our world today are actually lost in the dark. They think, reason and believe that their human efforts and secret wisdom is going to gain them something that only comes from Christ.
They may look good, act properly, say great things but without Christ their destiny is separation from God and His Kingdom.
Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, the only life and you cannot come to the Father except through Him. To try to gain God in any other way is a deception. Satan has blinded you with his greatest tool, DECEPTION!
John 2:12-14
12 I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.
13 I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with the evil one.
14 I have written to you who are God’s children because you know the Father.
I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. God’s word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one.
And I am writing to you who are deceived because you do not know Christ and you believe you are right with God.
This is a deception! Outside of Jesus Christ you are destined for hell. I am writing that you may know the truth and come out of the darkness and into the TRUE LIGHT!
Only Jesus Saves!
The God Switch
Just flip the switch to defy reality.
Although this is the way people want God to work for them, it is not the way God operates.
I heard a lady a few days back say, “I’m praying that God will get me out of this.”
You have probably prayed this type of a prayer before. So, let’s look at the lady’s situation.
She had been arrested on drug charges as well as child endangerment. She had been in a fight with her boy friend that led to the discharge of a firearm. Now that she was in custody she was calling on God to defy reality and get her out of the mess she has worked hard to get into.
I have heard more than one person ask me to pray that they don’t have to go to jail. I have had people ask me to pray that God would get them out of jail. I have had people ask that I pray for them to have all kinds of self inflicted burdens taken away from them.
GOD DOESN’T WORK THIS WAY!
Many times jail is the best place for people who are destroy themselves. Sometimes it takes a sentencing to wake someone up to their own reality. Most self inflicted burdens get so heavy that it breaks the one carrying the burden.
This is how God works.
God delivers us from sin.
God allows the consequences of sin to break us to a point that we will repent and turn from sin to seek Him and His way of life for us.
Most people, caught up in some of the earlier mentioned activities, are not repentant. They do not have an inner, God directed, sorrow for their sin. They feel lousy that they have been caught and are going to be punished. This is not repentance.
Those who feel bad about being caught are not going to change their way of life. They are just going to make minor adjustments to satisfy the system till they can get back to their true desires, all the while, praying that God will deliver them from their consequences.
The God switch doesn’t work like this.
God doesn’t defy reality. God uses reality to transform people. Reality has a way of waking people up to their true condition. The problem most have is they want to defy reality. They want to blame others. They want to justify their activity. This is not the way of repentance.
Repentance is not flipping the God switch to save self. Repentance is flipping the self switch over to God.
Flipping the self switch off happens when a person realizes that as long as self has the power sin is in control.
If you want out of your consequences turn the self switch to off and quit gaining more consequences. Then turn the God switch on and allow the Lord to lead you through and out of your present situation.
Most of the time, God delivers people through the fire not from the fire. The fire is a refining place. The fire can actually be good for us if we allow it to burn off the sin that so easily entangles our life.
Don’t go to God for a quick fix for your many years of sin. Go to God to transform your life from sinful to holy. Only then will you be able to endure the consequences you have earned while defying God.
Religion or Relationship
How do you relate or communicate with someone?
We use words. We write them or speak them but to really know someone you must communicate with them and our way of communication is via words.
So, if God desires to communicate with us humans, wouldn’t He use words?
There are three forms of religion in our world.
One is the worship of a force. This force is the energy or power that runs the world. If you could get a hold of or tap into the force you would have it made. This is the basic element of New Age/Eastern reasoning. If I can attain or gain the power I can manipulate my own realm of existence.
Two is the law. If you knew all the rules regulations and requirements and followed them perfectly you would have it made. In Judaism/Islam the idea is we can gain the favor of God or the presence of God if we are just obedient enough. I am right with God as long as I do what I am supposed to do.
The third is knowledge. If you only knew and understood how everything worked you would have it made. Gnosticism is the idea that knowledge is power. The thing about knowledge is we are only discovering what God already knows.
As you can see, by way of these three religions, people desire elements of truth but not all the truth.
Just because you tap into power doesn’t mean you know how to use it. Just because you have knowledge doesn’t mean you have God’s presence.
Just because you follow the laws and doctrines doesn’t mean you have any power.
2 Timothy 3:5a says, having a form of godliness but denying its power.
How can a person have it all? What I mean is, how can we tap the power of God, receive the knowledge of God and be in the presence of God all at the same time.
God comes to us not as a religion but as a person. He has given us His Word. He communicates with us by way of His Spirit. His Son, The Word, became flesh and dwelt amongst us so that we could relate with Him on a personal level.
2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”
God is all powerful. God is all knowing. God is always present. In His attributes He is the power the New Age is seeking. His presence fulfills the Law the Jews and Muslims are seeking to follow. His knowledge is what the Gnostics are trying to discover.
God says come to me in a relationship through my Son and you will see the light, have the knowledge, and receive the glory I have for you. The power, the presence and the knowledge is found in the face of Jesus Christ.
The reason most people deny Christ and chase the many ways of religion is self-centered. I have the power. I have the knowledge. I am good enough to attain God.
God desires that we come to Him. We must, though, come on His terms.
When we come to Him through His Son, the way He has made for us to come, it shows our humility. We respect His sovereignty. We submit to Him as Lord, Master, King and Ruler. We submit to His authority and through this He begins His work in us.
He reveals to us the truth. He expands our knowledge. He empowers us to live in accordance with His ways. He empowers us to do the works He has designated for us to accomplish.
In this relationship God is head yet He communicates with us as friends. He allows us to know Him and His ways. We can communicate with Him and gain that which we tried to steal through the ways of religion. It’s stealing because we are taking it for our own use not allowing God to give it to us for our works of service.
John 10:1 says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!”
If you desire to know the mind of God you must come to Christ. For through Him God reveals to us all truth. Christ is the Word by which God relates to us.
All religion is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Aside from Christ you are missing the truth.
Galatians Chapter 3 Conclusion
Galatians 3:23-29
23 Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.
24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
The promise is ours when we believe. When we trust in God for our forgiveness, redemption and salvation, He, by way of His Holy Spirit, begins a new work in us. We are no longer the same. We have become new creations in Christ. We are humans that have been reborn into children of God. This is a miraculous transformation preformed by a Holy God upon those who will come to Him by faith.
The reward is priceless yet we do not come for what we receive but we answer God’s call upon our life.
Abraham was called by God. He did not know what was in store but he believed God and followed by faith. Abraham’s faith was his righteousness. It was not Abraham’s ability to follow the law because the law had not yet been given. God revealed Himself to Abraham and Abraham followed God by faith.
Are you today following God by faith or trying to earn something from God by working for it?
Faith is dangerous. It could cost you everything including yourself. But the reward is a relationship with God.
If you are just trying to be good enough to be acceptable, if you following religious rules and structures to gain something, if you are doing for the purpose of attaining something from God, IT IS NOT FAITH.
Faith is, believing God and walking with Him in a relationship allowing Him to reveal His purpose to you. Faith is an open ended even mysterious journey. Faith is, trusting God and allowing Him to lead your life.
Christianity is not a religion to follow. It is a life lived by faith relating to God personally for what He desires not for what I want.
Are you ready to live by faith?
More Substance For Your Thought Process
Galatians 3:15-18
15 Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 16 God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.
If you could earn favor with God by following the law, Christ would not have had to die. We could have become right with God by way of a religious discipline. This would have eliminated the promise. We wouldn’t have to wait on God we could get it for our self.
Galatians 3:19-22
19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.
21 Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
Doing and believing are not the same thing. Living by faith is following God by way of a personal relationship. You are allowing God to show you and lead you in your life.
Remember what God told Abraham? When it was time to go, God said, “I will show you.” When it was time to sacrifice, God said, “I will show you where.” By faith Abraham followed the Lord’s instructions. Due to his obedient faith God fulfilled the promise.
When we follow by faith the promise will be revealed to us and God will fulfill His promise. We don’t earn it. We trust the Lord following Him in a loving relationship allowing God to fulfill His promise to us.
Keep on Thinking!
Galatians 3:6-9
6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would declare the Gentiles to be righteous because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
This is such a major part of understanding true Christianity.
Christianity has been made into a religion. True Christianity is not a religion but it is a way of life. Christianity is understanding the truth of God. It’s living with knowledge of the way things really are.
God is and He calls us to himself through His Son Jesus Christ. Once we come to Christ we become a new creation. We are no longer Jews or Gentiles but Christians. The recreated human lives now by faith. Before the recreation we live by religious discipline or by self-service.
Faith is living in relationship with God. It’s living according to your new found knowledge. It’s living by way of the Holy Spirit and allowing God to show you how things are really working. God will reveal to us what is really going on if we will trust Him by faith.
Galatians 3:10-14
10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”
13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
You cannot receive the Holy Spirit by works. Your works go against the holy nature of God. We do out of desire. We desire to gain for self. Once we desire sin is at work within us.
People get involved in religion to gain a position with God. God desires that we come to Him and allow Him to use us for His purpose. When we come by faith we receive the promise. We did not attain it by human effort. Actually we had to deny our humanity to trust in God. We die to self and allow God to lead us, guide us, direst us and we even allow Him to give us our desires.
The Christian is no longer like the normal human being. The Christian has been reborn into a child of God. They relate first with God and then with the world around them. The natural human relates first with the world and then seeks God for self purposes.
Abraham looked to God to lead his life. Abraham sometimes fell back into self mode but always returned to God.
The normal human is always in self mode looking to God to give them power for self purposes. To deny self is to allow God possession of your person for His own good. You are now walking by faith and no longer by sight.
Think People! Think!
Galatians 3:1-5
Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
One of the most difficult things for the religionist to understand is serving the law does not save. Following the laws, rules, requirements and ceremonies dose not make you right with God.
When you get to heaven and give your resume’ to the Lord he is going to say, “You called me Lord but I never knew you.”
To believe in Jesus Christ, to walk by faith in Jesus Christ, to follow the person of Jesus Christ is not the same a joining a church and following all their requirements.
The church cannot save! The synagogue cannot save. The law shows us our deficiency but cannot make us right. Following the law, disciplining yourself to rules and regulations, doing the work of religion, or completing all the ceremonies does not make you right with God.
We have a tendency to put the cart before the horse. If I do all of this religious stuff God will accept me. THIS IS A LIE! This is how cults are formed. This is how religious orders control people. This is not what Jesus came to offer.
Jesus offers us freedom. Once we come to God, by the grace he bestowed upon us through Christ, we begin a walk of faith. Our walk of faith should lead us to baptism, participating in communion, congregating together with fellow believers, encouraging one another in the faith and corporately worshiping or Lord. Doing any of this in advance of belief will not save anyone.
John 3:18
There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
If you believe doing the works of the church will save you, you have been deceived, bewitched, tricked and even fooled into thinking you can earn favor with God. Only by God’s grace through your faith in His Son Jesus Christ will you be saved.
There is no other way! This is the truth! You cannot get to God without going through Jesus Christ. So quit trying and start living out your belief in true obedience to the person of God, Jesus Christ.
