Applicaition

• [[Deism]] is false
• Assurance of God's continual love and provision for all of our needs
• His is not distant or uninvolved in my life. I can have peace through trust in Him, no matter what I face
• Makes scientific study possible, because we can trust that things act in an orderly manner

Preservation

God's protection and provision for His creation.

Preserve the properties of creation.

Preservation of Humanity

• Genesis, Joseph and his family during the famine
• Exodus, wilderness provision of manna and water
• Exodus to Malachi, concering Israel
• Daniel in the lion's den
• Three men in the fiery furnace
• Jesus' words - Matt. 6:25-33; 10:28-31
• Care of believers - Romans 8:28-39

Importance of Our Human Actions

• We are responsible for our actions
• Our actions have real effects
  • Prayer
• We must act!
• Do not be afarid but trust in God
• Be Thankful for all good things that happen
• there is no such things as "luck" or "chance"

Preservation of Creation

Neh. 9:6; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3;

Ps. 104:10-23, 27-31; Acts 14:17

Why Study it?

• Relation to other doctrines
  • Nature and will of God (Rom. 1:19-20)
  • Physical world is not inherently evil; creation is good (Gen. 1)
  • Differentiates Christianity from other religion like Buddhism and Hinduism, which maintain the eternal existence of the universe
  • Dialogue between Christianity and natural science. 'What does the Bible say about the age of the earth? Evolution?'
• Important to the church
  • Apostle's Creed States 'I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth'
• Bible Place Great Importance on it
  • (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-3, Psalm 102:25-27)

Lecture 12 Creation of God

[!bible]+ Revelation 4:11 - ESV ¹¹ “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

4 Important Truth about Creation

Creation Ex Nihilo

• Creation out of nothing
• Scripture
  • In passing of a "begining" of the world (Matt. 24:21; Mk. 10:6; 2 Pet. 3:4; Mk. 13:9; Heb. 1:10; Eph. 1:4)
  • Stringly implying ex nihilo (Heb. 11:3; Rom. 4:17; 2 Cor. 4:6)

Implication

• God freely chooses to create
• By His will He can create; His has great power
• Creation is not out of Him; He is distinct from creation which is contra [[Pantheism]] and [[Panentheism]]

Creation is the Work of the Triune God

• OT, God Yahweh creates (Ps. 96:5; Isaiah 37:16)
• NT, the Father creates (1 Cor. 8:6); He is the source of creation
• The Son is involved as the agent of creation (Heb. 1:10; John 1:3; Col 1:15-17)
• The Spirit is also involved (Gen. 1:2, Job 33:4, Psalm 104:30)
• Creation is from the Father through te Son by the Spirit, e.g. architect, contractor, worker

Purpose of creation is God's glory

[!bible]+ Psalm 19:1 - ESV ¹ The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

[!bible]+ Revelation 4:11 - ESV ¹¹ “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

God Created All Things

• God created all things - Nothing that existed has its orgin in anything other than God
  • Gen 1:1, 'heaven and earth' means eevrything
    • John 1:3; Acts 4:24; Rev 10:6; Colossians 1:16; Acts 17:24 (all things in it)
  • All things owe their existence to God; therefore, we are not autonomous but dependent on Him

Creation, Bible and Science

Historically

• Before 1600
  • Foremost authority in the west was the Bible and the Church
  • Started to change with the rise of modern science -> Renaissance Period in the 1400-1600
• By the end of the Enlightenment (1800) science became the chief authority in the natural world
• By the 20th century, science become the authority over all things
  • trusted to deliever truth and help society to progress
  • Included behavioral sciences
  • Dominant paradigm in science is naturalistic neo-Darwinism, which excludes creationist interpretation of beginings.

Today

• Some Christian say that Bible has some to say about scientific matters (origin of universe, life)
• Some say that it only talks about religions matters

Providence

God working in the present time

Scripture Analysis

OT

In OT the word Yatsar, and ya'ats are used for plan, purpose, determination

• Psalm 139:1
• Isaiah 45:11
• isaiah 14:24, 26, 27
• Proverb 16:9
• Isaiah 46:10
• Proverb 19:21
• Jeremiah 23:20

God is also sovereign over evil, sin and Hell

• Genesis 50:19-20
• Deut 32:39
• Lam. 3:39Job 2:10
• Isaiah 45:7
• Prov 16:4

NT

In OT the word proorize, prothesis, prostasso is used

Ephesians 1:11 - all things Acts 17:25 - nations Ephesians 1:5, 10-13, 3:1; Romans 8:28; Romans 9-11. Redemption Plan Galatians 3:8; 4:4-5; Acts 2:23, Redemption through Christ

[[The Plan of God]]

Eternal Decree

Prayer

If God's sovereign over His plans what use are my prayers?

• Scripture teach that:

  • God is sovereign in all that happens (Rom. 8:28)
  • We are to pray, and prayer has value (James 5:16)
    • God wills both ends and the means
    • God heals because people came to Him in faith and prayer, e.g. Jesus in mark's Gospel
    • People confess faith because people prayed for them and preached to them (rom. 10:17)

• What is the prime purpose of prayer?

  • Creating in us a right attitude with respect to God's will
  • Aligning our will to God's

There are un answer question for both sidies.

Calvinist are left with the unanswered question:

• How can God cause us to choose something willingly
• How can God ordained that we do evil willingly, and yet God not be blamed for evil Though these seems to glorify God in His greatness and wisdom

Armaniam:

• God's knowledge of the future
• Why he would allow evil if its not his will
• Whether He will certainly triumph over evil

These diminish God, and makes man greater (able to choose apart from God)

Foreordained

For creation and history

Arminianism

God sees what moral agent will do and then decide (Roman 8:29)

God's decree is conditioned upon human decision.

However, we have example of God's plan working without foreknowledge (Romans 9:11-24; John 15:16)

Predestined

• In context of moral agents
• For election or retrobation

Two Views

Calvinism

God will human decision in someway.

God's plan is unconditional and human decision is consequence of God's decree.

[[Erickson's Moderate Calvinism]]

Characteristics

• Efficacious and unchangeable (Psalm 33:11; John 6)
• Eternal (2 Timothy 1:9-10)
• Freely Decreed(Ephesian 1:5, 10-12; Isaiah 40:13-14)
• For His Glory (Isaiah 48:11, Ephesians 1:5,6,14; Romans 16:25-27)
• All inclusive (Ephesians 1:11)

Theological Meaning of the Biblical Doctrine of Creation

1. All things derive their existence from God
   • Excludes [[Dualism]] (New Age, [[Hinduism]], Star Wars)
   • There is no ultimate reality other than God
2. Original Creation is unique
   • Humans fashion from existent materials but God from nothing
   • God is only bound by His will and nature
3. Creation is not intrinsically Evil
   • God made everything originally good (Gen. 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31)
   • Matter is not evil, contra [[Dualism]] and [[Gnosticism]]
4. The Incarnation of the Son of God
   • Because God created all physical things to be good, it helps us understand the Incarnation, contra [[Docetism]] (dualism)
5. Restrains us from Asceticism
   • In the medieval church there was a tendency toward [[Asceticism]]
   • since creation is good, spirituality involves our bodies as well as our souls
6. All creation is finite and dependent on God
   • Therefore, we must reject [[Pantheism]], [[Panentheism]], [[Monism]]
7. Ecology
   • We are to treat creation as God does and wills, and so care for His creation
8. Only God is to be worshipped
   • Nature is not to be worshipped in anyway (Ex. 20:2-3)

Christian Response

• Two types of evil and
  • Natural evil (hurricanes, earthquakes, disease)
  • Moral evil caused by humans (war, murder, adultery, salvery, theft)
• two form of the problem
  • Religious (existential, experiential)
  • Intellectual (theological)

The frst thing is to realize and admit that we will never have a total solution to the problem of evil this side of heaven.

Freewill Defence

1. We know only this (actual) world
2. We can think of other possible world (inlcudings ones with less evil), but not all possible world, because we are finite
3. God (who is infinite) knows all possible worlds
4. This world is not (at this time) the best of all possible worldss (even that we can think of)
5. When we stand in our Lord's presence and enter eternity, the Bible says we will be in the best of all possible world (Rev. 21-22)
6. There, although this is not (now) the best of all possible worlds, a world of man's free choice (even to do evil) is the best way to achieve the best of all possible worlds.

Philosophical answer to the Intellectual/Deductive Problem

[[Alvin Platinga]]'s answer

1. God exists, is omnipotent, omnisicent, omni-benovolent and created the world
2. God created a world that now contains evil and had a good reason for doing so.
3. Therefore the world contains evil

9 Foundational Biblical Considerations

1. God is sovereign
   • Will never be able to fully comprehend the ways of God, or the reason for evil in this world (Deut. 29:29; Job 38-42; Is 55:8-9)
   • But we know that His purpose is just and good (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 100:5)
   • Some of his purpors for evil has been revealed:
     • Suffering makes people trust and depend on Him (2 Cor. 12:7-10)
     • Suffering makes us like hi Son preparing us to be with Him (James 1:2-4; 2 Cor. 4:7-12; Heb. 12:5-10; 1 Pet. 1:6-7; Rom. 5:3-5, 8:28)
     • Suffering enables us to comfort other who suffer (2 Cor. 1:3-7)
     • Suffering is used to bring people to see God (John 9; [[Gaderene Demoniac]])
2. God is all Loving
   1. He sent His Son to deliver humans from evil (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9, 10)
3. God is all powerful
   1. He has, is, and will overcome evil through His Son (1 Cor. 15:23-27; Revelation 1-21)
4. God is all wise
   1. By His plan we experience His grace, wisdom, and mercy in ways we never would have, if sufering had not entered into this world (Ephesians 2:7; 3:9-11; Ps. 32; Ps. 103).
5. God is just
   1. Though we do not always see justice in our world, God will bring about justice in all things in the end (Rev. 15:3-4; Psalm 73)
   2. Life here has injustice, and those who do not directly deserve sufering, humanly speaking, experience it. However, God will deal with these injustices in the life to come. Remember we all must appear before the judgement seat of Christ. Without the hereafter there is no fnal resolution to injustice (Ps. 37; 73; Habb. 1-3; Rom. 12:19-20; Rev. 6:9-11; 11:17-18; 19:2; 20:11-15).
6. God is holy
   • God hates all evil because He is holy. Evil is a result of Satan’s and human rebellion. Humans will bear the consequences of their rebellious choices against a holy God.
   • His hatred toward sin and rebellion is death and corruption both natural evil (Rom 8:19-23) and moral evil (Genesis 2,3; Eph 2:1-3; Eph 4:17-19; Rom. 1:18- 32).
7. God's Glory and Our Good
   • All that takes place in God’s creation is for His glory (John 9; Romans 9:17; 11:33-36), as well as our good (Rom. 8:28; Mark 10:29-31).
8. Evil will be Destroyed
   • God as all-powerful and good will destroy evil in the end (Revelation 1-21).
9. God's Son
   1. God’s Son also sufered the maximum of evil on the cross. God, therefore, knows our sufering and has entered into it with us (Isa 53).

“God, as sovereign Lord, is the standard of his own actions, He is not subject to human judgment; on the contrary, our judgment is subject to his word. Once we are thus clear on our epistemological situation, we can be assured, despite our questions, of God’s good character, for on that matter the Word of God is clear” (Frame, Apologetics, 178).

Implication of the Doctrin of Creation for the Christian

• God loves His creation, so should we
• We can create for GOd's glory - art, genetics?
• Because it's God's creation, there's order, pattern and purpose to the universe which makes scientific study possible
• We cannot hold to naturalistic evolution
• Only God is self-sufficient, infinite and independent. All else is contingent and dependent on Him

What is the purpose of the bible

• Reveal how to have a relationsip with God through the person and work of Jesus Christ
• What the bible write about on History, geography, science is true, but not in a technical sence but more in a phenomenological sence.

Age of the Earth?

• Three Views
  • [[Evolutionary Creationism]]
  • [[Progressive Creationism]]
  • [[Young Earth Creationism]]
• Theories Dealing with the Age of the Earth
  • Gap Theory - Scofield Bible
  • Flood Theory - earth looks old because of the flood
  • Ideal time theory - appearance of age
  • Age-day theory - "yom" can mean long period of time
  • Pictorial day (literary frameowrk) logical, not chronological

The Problem of Evil

If God is good and omnipotent, then why does evil exists? Conclusion:

1. He does not exist
2. He is good but not all powerful
3. he is all powerful but not good

None of which are biblical

[!NOTE] The Prof's Opinion The six day of creation is the historical position of the church but is not definitive.

Genesis is polemical and artisitcally deisgned.

Be wary of science as our authority of origins (see Byl, Go and Godmos)

For a defence of [[Young Earth Creationism]] see Fienberg, No One Like Him

Should Christians Seek Miracles Today?

• Depends on the purpose

  • For selish gain? (Acts 8:21-22)
  • For entertainment? (Luke 23:8)
  • For proof? (Matt. 16:1-4)

• 1 Cor 1:22-24

  • Signs and wonder do not save people
  • but they can:
    • confirm the truthfulness of God's message

Purpose of Miracles

• To glorify God (John 9)
• to establish the supernatural basis of the revelation given (Hb. 2:4)
• To declare in history (Luke 5:24), the in-breaking of the new era of Christ (Matt. 8:14-17)
• To meet human needs (Matt. 9:35-36)
• Remove hinderance to ministries (Phil. 2:25-30)

Moral Evil as a result of orignal sin

• Gen 3 caused separation from God -> moral dpravity.
• Sin affected our desires and action, attitudes and relationships.
• Now controlled by self-centredness and sinful attitudes

God as the Victim of Evil

• Sin is hurtful and paintful to God (Gen. 6:6)
• God allowed evil even when He knew His Son would have to live with sinful humans and die for those humans. God does deal with evil in His Son (2 Cor. 5:21).

Specific Evil as a Result of Specific Sins

• Our actions have consequences
• We are responsible for our specific sins, not God.

Philosophial answer to the existential and experiential problem

[[Theodicy|Theodicies]]

1. Free will
2. Natural Law
3. Soul Making

• Natural order of creation
  • Water and fire can result in both good or evil, life or death,. Pain signals danger or warns us

Reevalutaion of what constitues as good and evil -- Greater Good

• Conforminity to Christ is the greater good (Rom 8:28-29)
• Short term pain for greater good (Rom. 8:18; 1 Pet. 1:6-7; James 1:2-4)
• My pain for the greater good of others.

Conclusion: an action is good because God has willed it for a greater good

Evil in general as a result of Original sin and Satan

• Oroginal sin caused falleness and death of all creation. Evil came by Satan (Gen 3; Job)
• Natural evil (Luke 13:1-5; John 9:1)
• Evil is a result of human disobedience to God.

Other Possible Solution to the Problem of Evil

1. Dualism
   1. Evil is real. A never ending struggle between good and evil
2. Illusionism
   1. Evil is not real (eg. Vedanta Hinduism). The world and the appearance of evil is maya, an illusion
3. Finitism
   1. God is trying to overcome evil, but He is unable to. God is good but not all powerful
   2. eg. Dualism of Zorastrainism, Harold Kushner, When Bad things happen to Good People
4. Transmoralism
   1. God is all-powerful but his goodness is not what we define as good. God transcends morality.
   2. Eg. in Hindu Upanishads some of the gods are actively malevolent.
   3. God is accountable to no one, God's character defines what is meant by good.
5. Impossibilism
   1. Evil is real God created the world freely along with creature with freedom
   2. God does not know the future action of humans. Therefore, evil is possible through human freedom.
   3. eg. Process Theism or Open Theism
6. Realism
   1. Evil is real. Christ has come to defeat evil judicially, and God will defeat it practically in the future.

Norman Geisler's Restrivticve Definitoin of Miracles

• As an attempt to say that miracles no longer exists after the apostles (Ceased)

1. Always successful
2. immediate
3. no relapses
4. give confirmation of GOd's messenger

• What about when Jesus healed the blind man in two stages? (Mark 8:24-25)
  • If God worked in two stages here why couldn't He work in multiple stage now?
• What about the time Paul didn't health Epaphoroditus? (Phil. 2:27)
• What about when the disciples weren't able to heal the possed boy (Matt. 17:14-21)
  • Not because they 'forgot' but because of their little faith (Matt 17:20)

Heb 2:3-4

• Argues that miracles come to those who have heard Christ first hand

• Those who haerd Christ is not limited to apostles

• does not say if the Gospel will be confirmed by others who did not perform miracles

• Confirmed not just by "sign and wonders" but also by gift of the holy spirit

Examples

• God controls nature (Ps. 135:5-7; Job 9:5-9; 37:1f; Ps. 147:8-15; Moses - ten plagues).
• God controls animal creation (Ps. 104:21-29)
• God controls human history (Dan. 25; Esther; Acts 17:26)
• God controls human lives (Prov. 16:9, 33; Prov. 21:1; 19:21; 1 Sam. 2:6-7; Gal. 1:15-16; Ps. 31:14-15; Ezra 7:27)
• God controls all things (Psalm 103:19-22)
• He controls even sinful actions (Acts 2:23; Gen. 50:20)

Were Miracles Restricted to Apostles?

• There are unusually concentrated amount of miracles performed by the Apostles but there were also account of miracles performed by others (1 Cor. 12:10, 4-11; Gal. 3:5)
• "Sign of an Apostle" (2 Cor 12:12)
  • Paul was talking about "false apostles" and genuine Christians. Not distinguishing himself from other Christians
  • "sign of an apostle" was done with "signs and wonders and mighty works".
    • "Sign of an apostle" not refering to miracles
    • but rather things that proved him to be an apostle
      • Selflessness, generousity, true knowledge of the Gospel, suffering and hardship endured for Christ etc.
  • in all patience, miracles don't happen show but fast
• Miracles performed by non-apostles
  • Stephen (Acts 6:8), Philip (Acts 8:6-7), Chrisitan in Galatia (Gal 3:5), 1 Cor 12, etc..

Micracles

How do miracles fit into God's providence?

What is a miracle?

• Less common activity of God that arouses people's wonder and awe, and bears wittness to Himself.
  • Not just a breaking of natural laws, because God can use natural law to do miracles
• The Bible uses the words "sign and wonders and mighty works" to describe miracles

relationship between miracles and natural law?

• Three views
  1. Miracles are unknown natural laws
  2. Miracles breaks the laws of nature (2 Kings 6:6)
  3. Miracles are God's action that He wills into existence which appears like miracles. But natural laws are also work of God that he continually upholds.

Philosopher Jerry Gill agrees with the 3rd view

• The third view, is the view commonly held by the Judea-Christian Scriptures.
  • The bible sees God as active in all events.
• The notion of miracle as violation of the natural law is a modern concept

Scientist Richard Bube also agree with the 3rd view

False Miracles

1. Power of God is greater than the power of Satan
2. False miracle are identity by the denial of the Gospel

God's Providence - God's Continual Work

• God preserves and directs His creation
• Preserve to existence, and direct to its purpose

[!DEFINE] Providence Comes from Latin providentia which means "to foresee" or "to superintend"

Has the idea of making preparation for the future

This means that things do not happen by chance by are continuously direted by God (contra evolution)

Sinful Action?

• God is not the author of sin (James 1:14)
• But He controls them by:
  • Permitting them (Acts 14:16; Rom. 1:24-26)
  • Using them (Gen. 50:20; Gen 45:8)
  • Preventing them (Matt. 6:12-13; Gen. 20:6; Psalm 19:13)
  • Limiting them (Job 1:12; 2:6)

Governance

All of God's plan is fulfilled in the universe. God is fulfilling His plan in history and in His creation.

Bigger Picture, and overarching soveregnty over creation

Gen 50:4, what you mean for evil God meant for good

God's moral will vs secret wil

Regaring God's Government

• Over all creation (Rom. 8:28)
• Over all people, believer and unbeliever (Matt. 5:45)
• For good (Psalm 100)
• Especially for His people (Rom. 8:28; John 10:aff; Ps. 100)
• Includes our active involvment. Co-labourers with Christ (Isa. 45)
• God is sovereign, and answerable to Him alone. Often we will be left in the dark about what He is doing (Job)
• Don't be too ready to read God's providence in every historical event, e.g. Eschatology, Germany

• Inanimate creation: Weather, natural disasters
• Animals: feeds them
• Random or Chance Events: coin toss
• Events are fully caused by God (primary cause), and fully caused by the creature (secondary cause) as well
• The affair of nations
• All aspect of our lives

Concurrence

God cooperates with creation to direct them

God's moment to moment action with creation

Evil

• God is not directly involved indoing of evil, but that He bring it about through the willing action of moral agents.
• Scripture never blames God for evil, and God never takes pleasure in evil and is never pleased with evil done by people

Our choices are real and significant

A play written by Shakespear

• MacBech kills King Duncan
• Primary (Shakespear), secondary (MacBeth)
• Limitation of the anology: MacBech is not a reason person and has no real choice in the play
• God's wisdom and power, made us real peoples who make real willing choices

Pharhoah's hardening of his own heart, and God's hardening of Pharoah's heart

• God uses all things to fulfills His purpose even evil
• God never does evil, and should not be blamed for evil
• God rightfuly blames and judges moreal creatures for the evil they do
• Evil is real, and we should never do evil for it hurts us and others
• We don't know how God's sovereignty and human responsiblity fit together

"Free"

• What do people mean by free will?
  • not influence by others?
  • free to do good? apart from God's grace?
  • free from God's control?
  • free to make moral choices?