Study of God

I. Philosophical Arguments for the Existence of God.

      A. The Argument from Motion.

            1. Anything that is moved is moved by some other thing.

            2. To move is nothing else but drawing something from potentiality to     actuality.

            3. Nothing can be brought from potentiality into actuality except by     something that is itself in actuality.

            4. It is impossible that something can in the same manner be both moving    and unmoved.

            5. This establishes a series of movers which are themselves moved.

            6. There must be a first source of movement or there would be no      movement at all.

            7. The first source of movement which is moved by nothing else is God     ACT 17:25; ACT 17:28; COL 1:17.

      B. The Argument from Efficient Causes.

            1. Experience confirms an order of efficient causes.

            2. Nothing can be the cause of itself for that would imply that it was prior    to itself.

            3. An indefinite series of efficient causes would result in no first cause     and no last effect.

            4. There must be a first, uncaused Cause, i.e., God. JER 10:16.

      C. The Argument from Possible and Necessary Existence.

            1. Some existences are possible and not necessary, i.e., they may or may     not exist.

            2. There must be necessary existence or there could be no ground for     possible existence.

            3. If there are necessary existences, there must be a necessary existence     which is necessary in itself and does not derive the necessity of its     existence from another necessary existence otherwise there is infinite     regression.

            4. There must be something that is necessary per se, i.e., God. 

                  EXO 3:14.

      D. The Argument from Degree of Quality or Value.

            1. We conceive of things as being more or less good, true, and excellent.

            2. "More" or "less" is decided upon the degree of approach to the     greatest.

            3. There is, therefore, something that is most good, true, and excellent     i.e., God.

      E. The Argument from the Guidance of Things.

            I. Some things that have no power of knowing work for ends as manifest    by their constantly, or at least frequently, working in the same way for    the attainment of what is best.

            2. Things that have no power of knowing do not tend towards an end     unless they are directed by some being which has knowledge.

            3. The observation of working for ends supports the idea of a guiding      intelligence, i.e., God. ISA 46:10 c/w EPH 1:11.

 F. The Argument from the Idea of God.

            1. Even the fool who says there is no God has the idea of God, otherwise    he could not deny His existence. PSA 14:1.

            2. The idea of God is the idea of that than which no greater can be     conceived.

            3. The idea cannot be in the understanding alone, for if this were the case,    it could not be the idea of that than which there can be nothing greater.

            4. The idea of a being who exists is greater than the idea of a being who     does not exist.

            5. Therefore, the idea of the greatest conceivable implies the existence of    the greatest conceivable.

            6. Men cannot originate the idea of an infinite and perfect being since     they themselves are finite and imperfect. The idea of such a being     implies that such a being exists as the source of the idea.

            7. For someone to affirm that there is no God, he must claim that he has

                  knowledge of all things, places, experiences and possibilities so as to     eliminate the possibility of God. Since he cannot do this, God remains

                  a possibility and since God is a possibility, it is impossible to declare     His existence an impossibility.

      G. The Argument from Values in General.

            1. Truth, goodness, and beauty are real in our experiences.

            2. The fact that we recognize degrees of truth, goodness, and beauty     suggests that we presuppose an absolute standard to which these values    approach.

            3. If it is absolutely true that there is no absolute truth then there is     absolute truth.

            4. We cannot suppose that in the end these values oppose one another; the    ultimate values must form a unity or a supreme value, i.e., God.

      H. The Argument from Religious Experience.

            1. The fact that men have generally believed in the divine suggests that     the idea of God is innate in the human mind. ROM 1:19.

            2. If we base our knowledge of the universe on experience, religious     experience has a claim to be included.

II. The Proof of God from the Creation.

      A. The eternal power and Godhead of God are CLEARLY displayed in the    creation. ROM 1:10-25; PSA 19:1.

      B. There are four possibilities to explain the existence of the universe.

            1.  The universe spontaneously emerged from nothing. Nothing does     NOT produce anything.

            2. The universe is eternal. This is refuted by the law of entropy; all things    are wearing out. PSA 102:25-26.

            3. The universe does not exist. This is insanity: the inability to recognize

                  and cope with reality.

            4. A force greater than the universe brought it into being. In other words,    "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (GEN 1:1).

      C. In the face of such evidence, only a fool would deny there is a God. 

            PSA 14:1.

III. The Necessity of the Divine Revelation.

      A. Comparatively little can be known of a person by merely examining a    product that he has made. So is it with God; only a little can be known of    Him by studying His creation. JOB 11:7-9.

      B. Man is an intelligent creature with the ability to think, feel, and decide.

            1. Why is he here? What is his purpose?

            2. Man's purpose can only by known if God communicates it to his     intellect.

      C. God made man able to communicate.

            1. God, the Cause, must also be able to communicate.

            2. Since God is the most important fact with which a creature can deal, it    stands to reason that God would communicate to man.

      D. For every observable need a provision has been made. ACT 14:17.

            1. For example, there is food for hunger, drink for thirst, caring parents     for helpless children, etc. 

            2. It stands to reason that God would provide for man's need to know his    Maker and his Maker's will for him.

      E. Any good earthly father would communicate with his offspring. Would God   be less good?

      F. Being man's Creator, God is man's Master with a right to his service.

            1. Service implies an expressed rule.

            2. If it is just for men to express rules to their servants so that they might    be served, would God be less just?

      G. Experience confirms that God's revelation in nature is inadequate to

            communicate God's will to man. 

            1. Discerning the will of God from nature is the basis of sensual idolatry,

                  superstition, fear and destructive behavior.

            2. Discerning the will of God from nature is also the basis of such things

                  as utopian ruthlessness in society (the Beehive Paradigm). 

      H. Personal experience confirms that a relationship with God is deeply laid in    His word; men relate to God through His revelation of Himself.

      I. The foregoing points argue for the necessity of a divine revelation of God    beyond that which is made in the creation itself.

IV. The Nature of God's Revelation.

      A. God speaks and His word is perceived as such. 1SA 3:1-14.

      B. Scripture claims to be God speaking to men.

            GEN 12:3 c/w GAL 3:8; EXO 9:13-16 c/w ROM 9:17; 2CO 13:2-3.

V. The Evidence that the Scriptures Are the Divine Revelation.

      A. The Prophetic Accuracy of Scripture. 

            ISA 41:21-23; DEU 18:20-22; JER 28.9.

      B. The Confirming Signs. EXO 4:1-9; HEB 2:3-4.

      C. The Internal Agreement of the Various writers Spanning Some 1500 Years    DEU 13.1-4; ROM 12:6; 2PE 1:20-21.

      D. The Historical Accuracy.

      E. The Scientific Accuracy.

      F. The Witness of the Spirit Within a Regenerate Person. 

            1JO 5:10; 1CO 2:11-12; JOH 8:47. 

VI. The Nature of God as Revealed in the Scriptures.

      A. God is a Spirit. JOH 4:24.

      B. God is eternal. 1TI 1:17; DEU 33:27; PSA 90:2.

      C. God is invisible. 1TI 1:17.

      D. God is immorta1; He cannot die. 1TI 1:17.

      E. God is almighty. GEN 17:1; GEN 18:14; MAR 10:27.

      F. God is omniscient; He knows everything. 

            JOB 37:16; PSA 139:1-6; PSA 147:5; HEB 4:13.

      G. God is omnipresent; He is everywhere. PSA 139:7-10; JER 23:24.

      H. God is sovereign. 1CH 29.11-12; DAN 4:35.

      I. God is immutable; He cannot change. 

            MAL 3:6; JAM 1:17; PSA 102:25-27.

      J. God is holy, just, and right; He is without iniquity.

            DEU 32:4; 1SA 2:2; 1JO 1:5.

      K. God is jealous. EXO 34:14; ISA 42:8.

      L. God is true. JOH 7:28; TIT 1:2; HEB 6:18.

      M. God is faithful. DEU 7:9; 2TI 2:13.

      N. God is good. PSA 100:5; PSA 145:9; ROM 2:4.

      0. God is merciful. PSA 103:8, PSA 103:17; MIC 7:18.

      P. God is gracious. PSA 145:8.

      Q. God is longsuffering. ROM 2:4; ROM 9:22; 1PE 3:20.

      R. God is love. 1JO 4:8; PSA 11:7.

VII. The Works of God as Revealed in the Scriptures.

      A. Creation. GEN 1; REV 4:11; COL 1:16; HEB 11:3.

      B. Support of the Creation. NEH 9:6; COL 1:17; HEB 1:3; 2PE 3:7.

      C. Lawgiver. ISA 33:22; JAM 4:12.

      D. Judgement. PSA 98:9; 11:4-6; ROM 2:5; ACT 17:31.

      E. Salvation. 2TI 1:9; ISA 43:11.

VIII. This God:

      A. loves His people. 1JO 4:9-11.

      B. covenants for His people. HEB 8:10-13; 2SA 23:5.

      C. cares for His people. 1PE 5:7.

IX. God's People May Securely Trust Such a God as Scripture Reveals.

      1PE 4:19; ISA 40:25-31.

X. This God Must Be Worshipped. PSA 96.