Understanding the Gospel – Part 2
The first feature of the Gospel that we must grasp a hold of is the absolute and supreme Authority of God. Everything in this universe finds its proper place in relationship to GOD. If we are to see the picture clearly it must fit within the frame. “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36) We exist purely because He willed it to be so: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure (or, because you desired) they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:11) We were brought into life for God’s purposes; we continue to live here and now for God’s purposes; and one day we will return back to God for his purposes.
Authority by definition is, “the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.” The Bible is explicitly clear that the world and everything in it is under the complete and total rule of God. “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1) The universe (including earth) is all in God’s jurisdiction or domain. He is the Lord, not only over the land, but also over all the souls. “Behold, all souls are mine…the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4). Jesus’ authority extends, “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” (Ephesians 1:21) God owns, rules and controls all lands, souls, spirits, governments, plans, powers, etc.
AUTHOR
Related to the idea of “Author-ity” is the word Author. An author is an originator or creator of something, especially a plan or idea. God is the ultimate Author of everything that exists. Everything in this life first existed in the mind of God before it came to be a reality in history. If we could imagine the totality of this world from beginning to end as a giant book, God wrote the whole thing before it was put to the press. The characters and events of the story are not determined by themselves. The author does not ask permission of his characters to make them the way they are. “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” (Romans 9:20-21) The Bible is plain that God has endowed man with a will, and that man is totally responsible and accountable for all of his decisions, but in an ultimate, overarching sense man can do nothing to change the will of God. Whether he is directly making it happen (earthquake) or allowing it to happen (bullying), history (His-story) is reading just as He wrote it. “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35).
We find ourselves in quite a dilemma here: God has the absolute “power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience,” and we have to make decisions every day that we will be held responsible and accountable for. There are two ways to respond to this: surrender or resist. But more about that in a little bit. Let’s meditate a little more on how central God is to everything that exists.
CREATOR
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) How do we know that there is a Creator? Because there is a creation! Every building has a builder. When we see a building, we do not question how it got there. Most times we do not even question why it is there, because it is self evident. You drive by and see a playscape in a local park. How did it get there and why is it there? We already know the answers.
Why do we even begin to question the creation of this world? We know how it got here: “The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.” (Romans 1:20) The Bible also gives us the answer to why mankind so desires to question God as our Creator. It says that men “suppress the truth in their unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18) They try to smother their conscience so that they can enjoy their sin. Creation points to a Creator; a conscience points to a Moral Creator. We are beings with a con-science (con–with, science–knowledge). The only reasonable explanation is that a Being with-knowledge put us here. A Being who cares more carefully about right and wrong, purpose, meaning, and stuff like that.
Fallen mankind needs to find out a way to vanquish God if he is going to be the master of his own destiny. The problem is our eraser ain’t big enough. We are trying to press an impenetrable beach ball to the bottom of the ocean and expect it to stay. We can’t even swim down that far; and even if we could the ball would rise to the top before we ourselves surfaced. We are not free to do whatever we want and we know it.
We must be humbled before God and surrender to his will. Otherwise we become fools. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:21-22) “The fool hath said in his heart, ‘No God’.” (Psalm 14:1).
God remains our Creator. He gets to make the Rules. Need help understanding how to play a new board game? Consult the rule book included with the game which was written by the creators. Need help understanding life? Consult God’s Book (The Bible) and find the answers. Without turning to God we assemble our lives with a bunch of pieces still left over, much of the hardware in the wrong place, and “Oh, no…we assembled it upside down!”
PROGENITOR
Progenitor: A person from which a person originates; a parent.
Should children obey their parents, or should parents obey their children? Come on, I know you know the answer. The important word here is “should.” We know many children don’t obey their parents, but they should. How sweet it is when children do cheerfully submit to their parents! (The assumption here is of course with normal, loving relationships) The children come from the parent, not the other way around. The child is an extension of the parents’ very nature. A child does not know the responsibility that a parent carries. The parent loves, feeds, protects, guards, thinks about the child, etc. It is proper and right and godly for children to recognize their place.
God is our universal Progenitor.* “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.” (Acts 17:24-29) This passage also tells us why God made everything and made it the way he did, “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:26-28).
SURRENDER
What’s the point? Whether we see God as the Author of history, Creator of the world, or the Progenitor of life, the point remains the same – our working properly in this life is inextricably tied to GOD. We did not decide to be born, but here we are. We did not decide the most basic, fundamental things about ourselves (gender, personality, family, nationality, social status, etc.) but here we are. We didn’t request a rational mind and will, but, Oh, do we love to use it! What can we do, but yield ourselves to God? “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea…If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” (Psalms 139:7-9,11-12) No matter where we go, God is not only there, but is in Control there, and we remain accountable. One says, “I will end my life, so I can get out of this!” But suicide will only escort you to the unveiled, naked Face of God, who is a consuming fire. Suicide is the worst option for avoiding God.
What is the best option?
Surrender to His Supremacy. Be a loyal subject. Acknowledge your role in His-Story. Sit comfortably on his divine Knee as an obedient child. Play by His rules. Do what David did, “When thou sadist, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Yahweh, will I seek.” (Psalm 27:8) Or even better yet, follow our Chief example, the Lord Jesus Christ! “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6:38) Also Hebrews 10:7, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”
Our prayers and our posture must be, “Not my will, but thine be done.” It is only then, as we are surrendered to the supreme wisdom and free decision-making of God, that we are in a position to rightly understand the Gospel.
*”God is our universal Progenitor” – This is meant only in the sense that everyone has been created by God. Not everyone born into the world are children of God. We must be Born-Again to become to children of God (John 1 & 3)
Brother Lee 