Introduction - The Essence of God

Video

Summary

In this lesson, we are going to be kicking off our new study of BB1: Theology on Ichthys by starting to discuss the Essence of God. We’ll talk about how God is being (Exodus 3:14-15), as well as exactly what essence means as a concept.

Timestamps

0:000:00 - Intro and outline
01:0601:06 - The essence of God is being. He is the Great I AM
11:4311:43 - The resplendence of God: light and glory
 13:2413:24 - Q: 1 Timothy 6:16 talks about God’s unapproachable light. It also says God alone possess immortality. What does that latter statement mean?
 25:0125:01 - Q: We say God dwells in this unapproachable light that no one has seen nor ever can see. What then of cases in scripture where people seem to have “seen God?”
 35:5235:52 - Comment: God’s glory as it relates to “every knee will bow, and every tongue confess”
49:1649:16 - Essence, nature, character… ???
59:0959:09 - Summary and outro

Content

(Derived from https://ichthys.com/1Theo.htm)

The essence of God is being. He is the Great I AM

The essence of something is what it really is. “Essence” and “being” are precise synonyms.

God tells us who He is in Exodus 3:14-15.

If you’ve ever thought about the question “Well, if the universe exists because God made it, then why does God exist? Did something or someone likewise make God?” then the answer is no—God exists simply because God is being.

Unbelievers scoff at that logic, but it is what the Bible says.

The resplendence of God: light and glory

Loosely speaking, light captures the sense that God is sublime and unapproachable (compare squinting at the sun, being blinded by it), while glory represents the side that shines forth visibly to mankind.

God’s glory is most directly revealed to mankind through His Son, Jesus Christ. As Hebrews 1:1-3 makes clear.

Q: 1 Timothy 6:16 talks about God’s unapproachable light. It also says God alone possess immortality. What does that latter statement mean?

When 1 Timothy 6:16 says that only God possess immortality, what about the fact that both humans and angels have eternal existence?

Is it that God owns immortality, but that he gives it to us creatures such that we too now possess it (some to eternal life, and some to eternal death, based upon that which we choose)? Is this another aspect of God’s Uniqueness?

Q: We say God dwells in this unapproachable light that no one has seen nor ever can see. What then of cases in scripture where people seem to have “seen God?”

Did Moses not see this light upon Mount Sinai? What about the Apostles present on the mount of transfiguration? What about Paul on the road to Damascus? What about John in His visions of God, recorded in Revelation?

Comment: God’s glory as it relates to “every knee will bow, and every tongue confess”

The visible form of this glory was veiled in Christ’s first advent to make the choice for Him genuine. The glory was, however, revealed in His words and works.

Compare: “Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess.” That is not now, but eventually.

Essence, nature, character… ???

If you’ve ever been confused about what the difference between nature and essence is (and we may as well throw form and substance in the mix as well), you are in good company. Philosophers have been arguing about these things for a very long time (compare Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, and others).

Arguments usually seem to hinge on how “inherent” something is to an object. For example, a triangle must have three sides, otherwise it is no longer a triangle. Things that are “essential” (compare the word essence!) are things without which the object is not whatever we are saying it is.

Compare this link: https://chrismlegg.com/2018/06/19/what-do-essence-and-nature-mean-a-simple-explanation/

So, on our topic, must God be infinite and perfect in character to be God? Are these essential characteristics of God?

It is my opinion that wandering too far in this direction rapidly leads one to theosophy (in the negative sense). God is infinite and perfect in character. So what were we arguing about again?

If someone were to whine that I am question-dodging and not defining terms, I would say that God’s nature deals with His infinite abilities, God’s character deals with His moral perfection, and both are fundamental parts of who He is as God.

Video/audio transcript

0:000:00 - all right guys so we are picking up here today in early July 2023 and we are
0:050:05 - kicking off a new study here in the Bible basic series on ichus and so we had previously gone through part 6A
0:130:13 - talking about the study of the Christian walk and we are now here picking up at the very beginning of the Bible basic
0:190:19 - Series going over theology so the study of God and in our first lesson here
0:250:25 - today we’re going to be picking up uh introducing the the concept of the essence of God and so here’s the things
0:310:31 - that we are going to be talking about here uh in this first one we’re going to be talking about how God is being he is
0:380:38 - The Great I Am we have this verse in Exodus chapter 3 where he tells Moses
0:430:43 - who he is his identity his Essence we’re going to be talking about the resplendence of God and what that means
0:500:50 - in terms of light and glory and then we’re also going to talk a little bit about the difference between Essence and
0:560:56 - nature you may have also heard the words form and substance character what are these things you know these
1:021:02 - Concepts that philosophers talk about so we’ll spend a little bit of time there as
1:081:08 - well all right so the first thing that we are going to be talking about is the
1:141:14 - essence of God specifically how God is being he is The Great I Am and so the
1:201:20 - essence of something is what it really is Essence and being are precise synonyms they come from this Greek
1:271:27 - participle UIA um there’s one in Latin is well very similar so Essence and being are essentially precise synonyms
1:341:34 - now this is the passage here in Exodus chapter 3 where God tells us who he is
1:401:40 - um so I’m just going to go ahead and read this uh God said to Moses I am who
1:461:46 - I am and he said thus you shall say to the sons of Israel I am has sent me to
1:511:51 - you God furthermore said to Moses thus you shall say to the sons of Israel the
1:571:57 - Lord the god of your fathers the god of Abraham the god of Isaac and the god of Jacob has sent me to you this is my name
2:042:04 - forever and this is my Memorial name to all generations and so in the Hebrew this
2:102:10 - word is actually it’s got this really jargony technical name called the tetr Graton it means four letters in Greek
2:162:16 - that’s what the Greek word taton means um but it’s this unpronouncable name of
2:232:23 - God that’s how the Hebrews viewed it the holy name of God’s real identity and uh
2:302:30 - the the translates sometimes you may see it in English as Yahweh um you know the
2:352:35 - the four letters here um but that gets to the idea of being in Hebrew as well
2:422:42 - and so that’s where this I am comes from and so this is who God says he is this
2:472:47 - is the fundamental essence of God is caught up in this idea of existence and
2:542:54 - so moving on down a bit here in the first thing we’re going to talk about if you’ve ever thought about the question
3:003:00 - of well if the universe exists because God made it that’s what the Bible says
3:053:05 - well then why does God exist did something or someone likewise make god well the answer to that is no God exists
3:123:12 - simply because God is being God is existence so unbelievers kind of scoff
3:173:17 - at this but it is more or less what the Bible actually says all right aie so you
3:233:23 - had something else you wanted to say about God being The Great I Am okay yeah um I think uh the thing I’m
3:333:33 - particularly interested in is what unbelievers say about that when you argue you know um that the there the
3:413:41 - question who created God or where did God come from or where was God and all of that is actually nonsense um
3:493:49 - the the reason that that question is nonsense is just like you said that God
3:553:55 - is being right he is the is that which just is the I am what I am I am what I
4:054:05 - will be or I will be what I am however you you you you skew it the idea is this
4:114:11 - that I I am that which just is so the main thing I want to raise about that
4:174:17 - because of my um apologetic bent whenever I engage in these matters is
4:234:23 - this that there is there is in the very existence of anything the demand for
4:294:29 - something that has always existed and never had a beginning or an end that is
4:354:35 - a fundamental requirement for anything to exist if something has not always
4:414:41 - existed then nothing should exist this is exactly why currently in
4:484:48 - physics um those who have been who who are still holding on to the theory of
4:534:53 - the Big Bang are are trying to make the word nothing mean something other than
5:005:00 - nothing they’re insisting that nothing is not nothing that nothing is a
5:055:05 - compressed very weird they they get very esoteric with the definition of nothing
5:115:11 - and they they’ve been banding it around in in the halls of physics for a few years now at least that I know of
5:195:19 - everybody knows that in order to have everything that is you have to begin with something you have to so this is
5:285:28 - another reason why for us Christians the burden of proof that God exists is never on us because everything demands that he
5:355:35 - should exist it is either you have God or you have the universe and the
5:415:41 - universe is manifestly not God because the universe experiences change it
5:485:48 - transforms and that requires that something is acting upon it that is how
5:555:55 - change happens change is is is things that are are stable in nature do not
6:016:01 - change and that is why God is the is the is that’s another aspect of God being
6:076:07 - the is it means he never changes nothing can act on him and transform him in any
6:136:13 - way and nothing can compromise the quality of his
6:196:19 - existence but God can act on everything he can Will things into existence that’s
6:246:24 - actually how he created you know everything that is and can I for a a um
6:316:31 - the point that we’re making here is great um one of the other reasons why it just makes sense for us to speak of
6:376:37 - existence qu existence for us as humans is because we exist only within you know
6:436:43 - four dimensions right space and matter and time we are bound by them and our
6:496:49 - conception of existence is fundamentally linked to these properties which God is not bound by and so this is one reason
6:576:57 - why it can be difficult for us to talk with atheists or even agnostic people about this is just we we aren’t starting
7:047:04 - from the same ideas of what existence even is because when they talk about something existing before time what does
7:117:11 - existing before time even mean like we as humans have a very bad understanding
7:177:17 - of this because we are limited by SpaceTime um another thing just bouncing off points you brought up um this comes
7:247:24 - up in philosophy some of the arguments for God’s existence I personally I’ve always been more like well God exists
7:307:30 - because the Bible says he does and we trust the Bible and we take it on faith it’s a presupposition but philosophers
7:357:35 - do argue about this um there’s one particular argument that goes something about the need for an uncaused cause
7:427:42 - right the prime mover believe that’s what Aristotle calls it um the uncaused cause it is logically necessary if
7:517:51 - everything in the universe is this chain of cause and effect something has to set it off to begin with and like Audi said
7:567:56 - it can’t be the big bang because right now I don’t want to be mean but my understanding of the physics is that
8:028:02 - right now they say that before there was time and space and matter there was like a point charge of energy and the
8:078:07 - fundamental problem with this is that the point charge of energy is still not nothing so um that’s just me riffing on
8:148:14 - all the things you brought up um very good points here yeah yeah so I I want to say finally
8:228:22 - just to wrap up that the reason I’ve actually gone into this is not because I know that a lot of Christians really
8:288:28 - generally don’t want to deal with philosophy and all of that because they feel like it it goes against faith in
8:348:34 - some way um but that’s not the point I’m not even interested in addressing that specifically the reason I’m raising it
8:408:40 - is this to show that there is a reason that the Bible says first the fool says
8:488:48 - in his heart that there is no God second that everything that exists is Testament
8:548:54 - it’s a testament of God’s existence that’s Psalm 19: 1-6 and Revelation um sorry Romans
9:019:01 - 1:20 the Bible States it as an incontrovertible fact that the bare
9:079:07 - existence of of the universe as we see it is absolute incontrovertible proof of
9:159:15 - God’s existence there is in other words you have to deny reality to deny God’s
9:219:21 - existence because however you skew It Whatever argument you make you either
9:289:28 - end up with something that always has been and therefore brought everything else that exists about or you end up
9:369:36 - where you assume that something that obviously cannot always have been is that which has always been so you can’t
9:439:43 - really get away from the core definition of what God is that which always is yeah
9:509:50 - you can’t get away from it so you either accept that that definition belongs to
9:559:55 - the god that we find in the Bible or you ascribe it to the universe that you exist in or even ascribe it to yourself
10:0110:01 - if you’re willing to go so far as to be a solipsist you will always ascribe that quality to something which means you
10:0810:08 - cannot get away from deity in any philosophy that any human being has ever come up with so I will say there a
10:1610:16 - branch of neoplatonic philosophers I wrote a paper on one of them in college there’s this guy named platinus um and
10:2210:22 - so some of the neoplatonic folks they called for all intents and purposes what they called God we believe as is the
10:2810:28 - Christian God and they they they had a similar concept again these are pagans not believing in judeo-christian God but
10:3510:35 - they had the same problems with existence and the uncaused cause and all of this they conceptualized something
10:4210:42 - and they didn’t Define it the same but it’s logically necessary is what we’re saying
10:4810:48 - um and to tie this up perhaps a little bit this is why us grasping that God is
10:5510:55 - existence God is being it is his nature is kind of a core fundamental part of us
11:0211:02 - understanding who God really is um so it’s not minor maybe it seems kind of hard to wrap our heads around and it
11:0711:07 - will be for us as finite human beings but it’s important in Understanding God’s kind of separateness from the
11:1411:14 - universe he transcends it in a way that we can’t perfectly understand but it’s really important for us to kind of get
11:2111:21 - that sense of how big God is and how separate he is from everything that has been created um he is the Creator and so
11:2911:29 - how can he possibly be bound by his own creation that’s the idea here yeah yeah okay that’s so I think
11:3811:38 - that’s where we’ll stop this point and we’ll about to pick up with the second
11:4611:46 - one okay all right so the next point that we’re going to be talking about is we
11:5211:52 - are going to be talking about the idea of the resplendence of God and this is a manifestation of his essence of his
11:5911:59 - nature um and so uh the study on ikus here I know I pulled things out into
12:0412:04 - slides but this is coming directly from the study talks about light and Glory so loosely speaking light captures the
12:1112:11 - sense that God is Sublime and unapproachable and so you might compare squinting at the Sun and being blinded
12:1712:17 - by it you can’t really see it while Glory represents this the side that shines forth visibly to mankind so we
12:2412:24 - see the glory the effects of God’s of God’s existence and his work working in the world glory is what we can see uh in
12:3212:32 - the metaphor here light is sort of what we can’t see the unapproachable of God um and so there’s this verse here in
12:3912:39 - Hebrews chapter 1 um the Bible is very clear that uh the way in which God has
12:4512:45 - manifested his glory most kind of visibly in the world is by speaking through his son so this is picking up
12:5112:51 - right at the beginning of Hebrews chapter 1 it says God after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets
12:5712:57 - in many portions and in many many ways in these last days has spoken to us in his son whom he appointed heir of all
13:0413:04 - things through whom he also made the world so Jesus Christ is God’s primary
13:1013:10 - message to humankind the primary manifestation of his glory um now we’re
13:1613:16 - not going to get into verse three here uh interesting tangent perhaps but the idea is that Jesus Christ represents
13:2313:23 - God’s glory most directly revealed to mankind um so before I kick us off and
13:2813:28 - we start doing questions here um Lisa had brought up this quote here from 1
13:3413:34 - Timothy 6: 16 um and so I should probably actually go find that I think I
13:3913:39 - have it pulled up over here um so 1 Timothy 6:16 and this is a quote from or
13:4513:45 - one of the verses that Dr duil uses in the ikas study um talking about the unapproachable light it says uh God who
13:5313:53 - alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light whom no one has seen or can see to him be honor and
13:5913:59 - eternal Dominion amen so the question here was what does it mean for God Alone
14:0614:06 - to have immortality given that both Angel and human will have kind of
14:1214:12 - Eternal existence um so this is one of those places um where this is an English
14:1814:18 - problem it’s not a problem in Greek so the Greek word here um you can see the Greek is up here for 1 Timothy
14:2514:25 - 6:16 um is this one right here see the begin with an alpha and then a Theta right so athanasia is the word here and
14:3314:33 - it means more literally translated it means like not dying undying and so the
14:4114:41 - way in which God is different from us is human beings experience death God being
14:4614:46 - separate from SpaceTime God does not die God is unchanging as we’ve just talked about because God is being God is life
14:5414:54 - that’s one of the other things we’ll get to and so this word isn’t immortality in the sense of Eternal existence as it is
15:0215:02 - lack of dying if that makes sense that’s kind of a separate concept so um I don’t
15:1015:10 - know if that question and that answer makes sense but that is one place where we could start
15:1515:15 - here okay yeah um I want to see that quote again God
15:2215:22 - Alone possesses immortality okay so the first here in uh
15:2715:27 - 1 Timothy chapter 6 yeah yeah okay okay so
15:3415:34 - uh I think I think uh you you you captured it quite well we don’t possess
15:4215:42 - immortality we in the sense of owning it God owns it it’s
15:4815:48 - his and he shared it with us um when we read Ecclesiastes he says that he has
15:5415:54 - set eternity in our hearts and then in another place few verses after that he before that it actually said that um
16:0216:02 - everything that God does lasts forever which which kind of proves that he owns
16:0816:08 - immortality um there are those who might argue on the basis of this passage uh
16:1416:14 - First Timothy that this is why they believe that um unless God actually
16:2116:21 - gives you life you won’t live forever so those who will not be with God in
16:2716:27 - eternity will die and that’s it they’ll be gone from existence but that flies in the face of
16:3416:34 - what Ecclesiastes says which is that everything that God makes lasts forever and that thing that very statement from
16:4216:42 - Ecclesiastes actually explains what we are asking about how is he the only one
16:4816:48 - who possesses immortality it’s because it’s his he is that which is everything
16:5516:55 - else derives its aess from him MH so
17:0017:00 - when he makes things and imbus them by the quality of just making them that’s
17:0617:06 - just how God is the things he he he builds the things he makes are just like that they exist
17:1217:12 - Forever by D of the fact that he is the one who makes them they are Immortal in
17:2017:20 - that sense that’s one way to to appreciate the the question of who possesses immortality it’s that he
17:2617:26 - possess it’s his and uh he gives it to wh whomever he pleases now um can I cut
17:3217:32 - in with something here as well so I I kind of made the point that this word is getting at lack of death and so that
17:4017:40 - kind of begs the question of well which kind of death if you are familiar with some of ichus teachings you’ll know that
17:4617:46 - ichus generally speaks of three types of death so when the serpent tempts Eve in
17:5117:51 - Genesis chapter 3 um the serpent says if you eat of the tree you will surely die
17:5617:56 - and that verse if you don’t if you’re not careful in your hermeneutics when you interpret it well you know eve took
18:0318:03 - a bite and she didn’t immediately get struck by a bolt from heaven for example so that statement was true with regards
18:0818:08 - to physical death so there’s kind of physical death and then there’s spiritual death which we Define a
18:1418:14 - separation from God and then there’s what we call the second or Eternal death which is life in the Lake of Fire after
18:2118:21 - we die right and what a he was getting at is well when you die physically that is the destination for
18:2718:27 - those who do not believe it is an eternal state of of existence and so you
18:3218:32 - might also note that Jesus Christ died physically right but the death in view
18:3818:38 - here is more complicated than just physical death right that’s not the only thing in view when we say that God is um
18:4418:44 - you know described by this word athanasia right that God does not taste death well
18:5018:50 - God is life right Jesus Christ was never separated from the father in what we
18:5518:55 - would term a spiritual sense and of course any eternity he’s not going to the lake of fire and so it’s more than
19:0119:01 - just physical death that is in view here it’s the whole shebang the whole Spectrum all three classifications of
19:0719:07 - death because God is life fundamentally and he can’t like uh what’s the right
19:1319:13 - word like uh reject himself right how could God die of God his life right it’s
19:1819:18 - just a nonsensical concept yeah now the the reason that I
19:2319:23 - started from where I started is just to make sure that um we capture the the the
19:2919:29 - owning of immortality part the other side of things is what you’re talking about where the Death part comes in but
19:3619:36 - death was actually just like you said I think I want to put a fine point on it
19:4119:41 - in this way that death is the it is a
19:4719:47 - description of our relationship to God in a particular state so physical death
19:5419:54 - was not supposed to be a thing that was not how things were supposed to go
19:5919:59 - although of course in God’s plan he knew what would happen and had written it in
20:0520:05 - So Physical death the ending of experience in this physical
20:1320:13 - body was the consequence of going contrary to God
20:1920:19 - which of course is like well if you cease drinking from the Fountain of Life then obviously you start to die so
20:2920:29 - when Adam and Eve’s relationship with God was cut off the next thing that happened was we’re not going to allow
20:3520:35 - them access to the Tree of Life which they if they continue to eat they will exist forever right that was a very um
20:4520:45 - uh dramatic or graphic way of demonstrating what had happened spiritually which meant if they were no
20:5320:53 - longer taking their cue from God then they could no longer be
20:5920:59 - living so in that sense that that deathlessness comes into play which also
21:0721:07 - derives its meaning from the fact that God owns immortality nothing else
21:1221:12 - possesses it except that he gives it to that thing and that’s the point that because God created things they last
21:2021:20 - forever I I’ll try to demonstrate first of all we know from the scriptures that
21:2621:26 - even if you’re an unbeliever you are going to be resurrected your Resurrection is not
21:3221:32 - going to be the same as the res the resurrection of a Believer but you’re going to be resurrected in a body that
21:3821:38 - is suited for Eternal condemnation there is no going out of existence forever for anybody because
21:4521:45 - nobody was designed to go out of existence we have also in second Peter
21:5121:51 - chapter 3 that everything we see the entire universe we see is going to be
21:5621:56 - burned up and removed out of the way and yet we have cause to understand that
22:0422:04 - that is not necessarily meaning that these things will cease to exist they
22:0922:09 - simply will not exist for the purpose for which they had originally been made
22:1522:15 - this is a a a universe that is Tainted with sin and for that reason it’s going to be sort of rolled away removed from
22:2322:23 - its place and replaced with something better and that’s actually why we think
22:2822:28 - about the new universe as a resurrection of God’s creation rather than rather than like he
22:3722:37 - he deleted something entirely and put something else in its place in that sense so the what we’re getting at is
22:4422:44 - God owns immortality and by by D of the fact that
22:5022:50 - he does everything he creates is it it has it built into it in the sense that
22:5722:57 - things possess the ability to exist forever not necessarily in the way that they God
23:0423:04 - would have wanted them to but in the way that they have come to be used so um the
23:0923:09 - deathlessness side of things makes absolute sense too when we start to think of the relationship of things to
23:1523:15 - God that means he owns immortality if you turn against him then how can you
23:2223:22 - actually participate in his immortality in that sense you are cut off from his life in some way it does not mean that
23:2923:29 - you will cease to exist forever the unbeliever will still be in the Lake of Fire forever he still exists he has some
23:3623:36 - form of immortality but he is cut off from the life that is God the fullness of life that is God the beauty of life
23:4323:43 - that is God everything because all the there is nothing about goodness or or or
23:4923:49 - life or beauty that is external to God you don’t find those things outside of God it’s
23:5523:55 - like uh when people say that um it’s something that I believe Proverbs talks about that um stolen stolen bread is
24:0324:03 - sweet stolen waters are sweet and the Bible says they end up as gravel in the
24:0824:08 - mouth that’s true some people take pleasure in doing the wrong thing but
24:1424:14 - yes that’s a warping of our nature but in fact true pleasure is with God that’s
24:2224:22 - where it is so when God removes all that is actually him from a particular
24:2724:27 - situation you have a husk of an existence there’s immortality there but it isely immortality it’s like yeah so
24:3724:37 - that’s where the deathlessness side of things comes from but the reason I started from where I started is to make
24:4224:42 - sure that we understand that what what Paul is saying to Timothy here is
24:4824:48 - because God himself owns this thing that’s why we are close to him he owns
24:5624:56 - it none of us can get it from anywhere else immortality is what God is
25:0125:01 - about that’s his is to speak next thing probably I think we have covered this
25:0825:08 - one pretty well although of course if anyone wants to ask more questions to clarify things that AI not have said
25:1425:14 - feel free um the next one that we were going to talk about was the idea of the
25:1925:19 - unapproachable light and so we said light represents the unapproachable sort of in the metaphor here and glory is the
25:2625:26 - visible form of the presence of God that takes place in the world and so the question is well
25:3425:34 - what about people like Moses on Mount Si the Mount of transfiguration Paul on the
25:4025:40 - road to Damascus John in his Visions did these people see God right um there’s
25:4625:46 - another verse kind of appropo here um that talks about how no one can see God and live if you guys are recalling I
25:5425:54 - don’t remember exactly where that verse is I I know it’s somewhere in the old test Testament um but well when Moses
26:0026:00 - was receiving the tablets of the law and he came back and his face was shining
26:0526:05 - and I think that comes up in like second Corinthians somewhere Paul talks about us being MIRS reflecting Glory from
26:1226:12 - glory to glory uh it’s a Greek idiom I don’t want to get off topic but this idea of light and did these people
26:2026:20 - actually see God well if no one can see God and live well did they see God and uh if the light is truly unapproachable
26:2626:26 - did they approach the that sort of question um and I’ll see what AI thinks but to me I think this comes straight
26:3326:33 - down to the idea of christophanies um so this idea theophany uh you know it’s a
26:4126:41 - technical jargon way of saying you know the god coming uh to Earth theophany is
26:4626:46 - a seeing of of God and christophany is a seeing of Jesus Christ and so there is
26:5226:52 - the idea of the like definite article the angel of the Lord in the Old
26:5826:58 - Testament and that is actually a pre-incarnate Jesus Christ that is the second person of the Trinity the son the
27:0527:05 - agent the one who created the universe um so if the father’s the architect the son’s the agent and the spirit is the
27:1227:12 - empowerer so to speak and we’ll get to the Trinity and the roles they adopt a bit later in this study well these
27:1827:18 - instances of people seeing and interacting with God in the Old Testament were interactions with the son
27:2627:26 - christophanies um and the sort of veil of separation between the third heaven
27:3227:32 - and the universe which is presently tainted by sin uh is to keep the presence of the father distinctly
27:3927:39 - separate and there’s some symbolism in The Temple of the holy of holies also separated by a curtain that’s kind of
27:4527:45 - the idea of God’s holiness cannot be be in the presence of man without destroying the sin um so aie do you want
27:5327:53 - to Riff on anything I’ve said here about this question of what about these people who saw light or saw God but yet did not
28:0028:00 - die you’ve you’ve really captured it I’m just going to unravel it a little bit more um so uh like you said it was a
28:0828:08 - christophany and uh it’s important to remember I mean there are people who of course would argue that we we claim that
28:1428:14 - Jesus Christ is God so what does that have to do with anything because we’re still talking about seeing God and we do
28:2228:22 - know that where was that it was in John where where John said that they saw the
28:2928:29 - god of Israel and ate and drank with him you know so it’s like did they see did
28:3528:35 - they not see what which one is it and the Bible is this is where the the question of the Trinity begins to you
28:4228:42 - know creep up um exes holds and it is actually something I’m very persuaded is
28:4928:49 - actually true true as well that um uh the father presents as the face of the
28:5528:55 - trinity in other words words he plays the role of the godhead the role of God
29:0229:02 - in the Trinity so Creation in in in the way they and the
29:0929:09 - roles of course overlaps overlap with each other the way that the the Trinity self assigned roles to themselves is
29:1729:17 - that the father is actually the represent the representation of the deity of the Trinity to
29:2429:24 - Creation so the TR the the father stays aloof from sinful creation does not
29:3229:32 - interact with sinful creation and maintains a barrier of separation from
29:3829:38 - sinful creation that’s why we talk about God being in the third heaven and not being on Earth even though we know as we
29:4629:46 - will soon discuss that God is everywhere so if God is everywhere why do we say
29:5229:52 - he’s in the third heaven it’s because the the father himself who is the represent of the deity of the of the
30:0030:00 - Trinity is maintaining a perceptible separation from sinful
30:0730:07 - creation but the holy spirit is currently right here on Earth he’s living in believers who are sinful he is
30:1430:14 - working in a world that is sinful he is restraining evil in a wicked world is
30:2030:20 - that in any way violating anything the Bible says now I would I would make a
30:2630:26 - point in and say whenever we see these things we don’t think the way that a
30:3230:32 - Believer should should go about it is not to think what is wrong here and rather to think what am I not
30:3930:39 - understanding here so the holy spirit is in a sinful world the lord Jesus came
30:4730:47 - and he lived in the world died on the cross was raised from the dead and after
30:5530:55 - after he ascended into heaven heos is ended which meant his human nature and
31:0131:01 - his divine nature were perfectly United in each other so when you consider all
31:0831:08 - of that when you take all of that into consideration you we we come to understand that when the Bible says no
31:1431:14 - man may see my face and let that’s in Exodus 33:20 by the way no man may see my face and and live you cannot see my
31:2231:22 - face for no man may see me and live that’s how um the Lord said it what was
31:2831:28 - being said is you are not permitted to see the representation of the deity of
31:3431:34 - the Trinity that’s why the father is the face of the Trinity but then he told
31:3931:39 - Abraham he told Moses sorry um I will put you in a c and when I have passed by
31:4431:44 - and and place my hand on you so that you do not see my face but when I have passed by I will let I will let you see
31:5031:50 - my back right so that’s that that one was interesting because in fact
31:5731:57 - it would seem that the Lord Jesus would be this back so to speak because he is
32:0332:03 - the one who is facing creation remember that he was someone was walking in the Garden of Eden and the Bible said it was
32:1032:10 - the Lord God with Adam and Eve and just as we have what as we have said the
32:1632:16 - Bible records that they saw the god of Israel and ate and drank that’s what the Bible actually records that this was
32:2232:22 - referring to the 70 elders of Israel so all of these things tell that they saw somebody that was part of the
32:3032:30 - Trinity but there’s someone they were not permitted to get in any contact with and that was the father we will see this
32:3732:37 - playing out again when we talk about um the third heaven and uh Paradise when uh
32:4432:44 - Believers before the cross would die they couldn’t go into the third heaven but they were in some place that was
32:5032:50 - actually pleasurable that was delightful it was like a Garden of Eden of it Stone
32:5632:56 - it was Paradise Jesus called it paradise and he also called it Abraham’s bosom it’s the place from where Samuel
33:0333:03 - ascended when Saul um went to a a a uh a
33:1033:10 - medium and asked to have him raised up to speak with him that’s the same place
33:1533:15 - that um Abraham was found it’s the same place that uh Lazarus as the poor man
33:2133:21 - the poor believer was also found it’s the same place that Jesus went to after he he died on the cross and the reason
33:2933:29 - for this this separation was because sinful man may not enter the presence of
33:3533:35 - the father even though they had communion with the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit fell on many prophets even before Jesus
33:4233:42 - went to the cross and Jesus himself came and ate and drank and interacted with
33:4933:49 - his disciples even though he was also God but the father nobody ever saw him
33:5533:55 - that’s also the testimony of John no nobody ever saw him except the son that’s what he said so when when we
34:0234:02 - think about these things that God dwells in unapproachable light and all of that we are supposed to understand the
34:0834:08 - separation that exists between the father as a representation of the deity of the Trinity and sinful creation but
34:1734:17 - this is why we look forward to Resurrection that’s why we look forward to the putting off of this body because
34:2334:23 - when we put off this body of sin there is no especially because Jesus has now died on the cross for us there is no
34:2934:29 - longer any reason we cannot enter into the presence of the father so that’s yeah I will say the the powerfulness of
34:3734:37 - us not actually being able to commune with God in the third heaven is any believers who died until after the cross
34:4434:44 - it makes sense when you think of things in terms of justification um before the
34:4934:49 - cross people were saved essentially on credit looking forward towards Christ sacrifice so all human beings from Adam
34:5534:55 - to the last person who who ever lived will be saved on account of their sin being paid for by Christ but the cross
35:0235:02 - is you know thousands of years into human history so what about all the people before the cross well they were
35:0835:08 - in this place that AI described but they could actually be in the presence of the father after Christ’s Resurrection
35:1535:15 - because the resurrection represents God’s acceptance of Christ’s payment for our sins so after that point in a manner
35:2135:21 - of speaking God didn’t see those people anymore he saw them through the blood of Jesus Christ and that’s why they could
35:2735:27 - be in the presence of the father um because no longer was their sin tainting them because they’d been covered in the
35:3435:34 - blood of Christ now also of course uh in the new heavens and the new Earth the father will come and live among us so
35:4135:41 - it’s not just going to be um the son Among Us and the Holy Spirit indwelling us but we will be in the presence of the
35:4735:47 - father but that’s only in the new heavens and the new earth once sin has be been completely
35:5335:53 - eradicated right so yeah um one other uh comment we had here on light and Glory
35:5935:59 - um to go over was uh this one here about how the visible form of Christ’s Glory
36:0536:05 - was veiled in his first Advent to make the choice for him genuine um so the glory was revealed in his works and his
36:1236:12 - words some of the signs he did definitely manifesting the glory of the almighty um but by way of contrast when
36:2036:20 - Jesus Christ comes again I believe it’s in uh let me let me check myself on this whoops um I think it’s in Revelation
36:2736:27 - chapter 19 um Revelation 19 is talking about the second coming of Christ um and
36:3436:34 - when he comes the second time uh let me see if I’m
36:4136:41 - right am I right maybe I’m not yeah here he comes coming on a horse horse right
36:4736:47 - um so when Jesus Christ comes again you know defeating the armies of the Antichrist and Armageddon um and then
36:5336:53 - judgment commences you know the the day of judgment so uh that Paradigm in scripture the day of the Lord Paradigm
37:0037:00 - if you’re familiar with how Dr lugan Bill explains this in terms of Prophecy uh well on that day um then every knee
37:0737:07 - will bow and every tongue will confess that’s a quote I believe it’s from Timothy Thessalonians I can I can look
37:1437:14 - up the exact ver every KN every knee well that’s that’s in Philippians
37:1937:19 - chapter two Philippians yeah okay you’re right Philippians 21-1 but that happens on the day of the Lord Paradigm um in
37:2637:26 - ology this is the point in which yeah the veil comes off and we behold Christ’s Glory as it is and at that
37:3337:33 - point even unbelievers will not by their own will but because it is they can’t deny it
37:4137:41 - right you know God allows human Hardness of Heart to persist but they cannot deny the glory of God when he comes in this
37:4737:47 - manner um so they too will bow and their tongues will confess the glory of God because it will be manifest it will be
37:5537:55 - something that you can’t Harden your eyes to um and that will only happen at
38:0038:00 - that point in time um until now God lets Humanity persist in Hardness of Heart
38:0638:06 - but that will not be the case at that point in time yeah in in fact I I want to point
38:1538:15 - out that okay this is an an argument I used to make a few years ago I when
38:2138:21 - people would say why doesn’t God just show me himself why do a lot of atheists would argue
38:2738:27 - why does God need me why does God need you the Christian to argue for his existence so that I can believe why
38:3438:34 - doesn’t he just show me himself so one very strong reason for
38:3938:39 - this is actually that the same thing that we started with the isness of God the God is Ultimate Reality that is to
38:4938:49 - say when you think about math for example math is um
38:5738:57 - an a way to reason abstractly about the physical world
39:0339:03 - so you can talk all you want about x’s and y’s and calculus and
39:0939:09 - whatnot it doesn’t really mean it doesn’t it doesn’t it doesn’t do much
39:1439:14 - until you actually start to bring those things to bear on physical systems that you interact with and that’s the whole
39:2239:22 - point math gives you a way of seeing those things mentally so that you can
39:2839:28 - act on them physically a lot of the things about life as we see them is similar to math
39:3539:35 - in that sense but God is the Ultimate Reality if anyone of us were to see God
39:4239:42 - with his glory unveiled that is himself naked as as it can
39:4839:48 - get we would fail to be able to resist his will that’s just how that
39:5639:56 - it’s like when the Sun rises and the Darkness recedes and all Shadows flee
40:0440:04 - that’s exactly what happens when the glory of God is unveiled this is also
40:1040:10 - something I should have mentioned when I was talking about the unapproachable light issue that God veils himself in
40:1740:17 - his interactions with with um with creation such that even even though the
40:2240:22 - people of old were largely interacting with Jesus Christ himself he’s Glory as deity was still veiled which is again to
40:2940:29 - tell to remind us that it is the father who plays the role of the deity of the representation of the deity of the
40:3540:35 - Trinity the other two the the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit Veil their own Glory
40:4140:41 - tremendously we have to understand that it’s like with the father he is the one who does not Veil it in that sense so if
40:5040:50 - we were to walk into the presence of the father in sin we we would really die but
40:5640:56 - we can interact with the son we can interact with the holy spirit because they have given us it’s like the Holy
41:0241:02 - Spirit actually living in a human being in in a Believer sorry okay so um it’s like the
41:0941:09 - Holy Spirit actually living in a Believer and um in that same believer he
41:1441:14 - would be speaking and the believer can ignore what he is saying the miracle of that is sometimes beyond our ability to
41:2141:21 - even perceive it’s impossible to resist God
41:2741:27 - when God himself has decided that he will not be resisted can I can I read this verse from Isaiah 53 I just man
41:3441:34 - this hit me when you were talking here um this is talking now Isaiah 53 is the prophecy of the suffering servant which
41:4041:40 - we now know to be Jesus Christ but just listen to this for a second in terms of the veiled Majesty of God right so this
41:4741:47 - is speaking of Jesus Christ as the suffering servant it says verse two he grew up before him like a tender shoot
41:5341:53 - and like a root out of dry ground he had no stately form or Majesty to attract us
41:5841:58 - no beauty that we should desire him he was despised and rejected by Men A Man of Sorrows acquainted with grief like
42:0542:05 - one from whom men hide their faces he was despised and we esteemed him
42:1142:11 - not just just no stately former Majesty to attract this right this is why it’s
42:1642:16 - always been about faith for us because we G it’s not like Jesus Christ came and
42:2342:23 - you know he was like a a Standing Tall among men you know with beauty outshining the rest and abilities So
42:3242:32 - Glorious that people had to fall down before him right um you get some of this in fiction when people are talking about
42:3842:38 - the Majesty of Kings you know Emperors maybe I maybe it depends on culture a bit because you know in the Far East
42:4442:44 - some of them actually worship their Emperors as Gods but you know this idea of Regal Majesty that just people find
42:5242:52 - irresistible yeah Jesus when in during the Incarnation Jesus did not have that
42:5842:58 - and so when you think about those that followed him and were willing to die for him they belied who he was in his kosis
43:0643:06 - um his Veil deity not because Jesus was so exceptional as a human being um yeah
43:1443:14 - yeah so that’s that’s the thing the the the matter of of the glory of the Lord
43:2243:22 - and this is one thing that actually struck me in uh the way that EX presented that God is light so if we
43:2943:29 - were to actually speak of God in terms of substance that is what he is made of
43:3443:34 - of course that that we should remember that that’s nonsensical language to speak there is no God is made of
43:3943:39 - anything but he would be light that would be the definition of him and think
43:4543:45 - about this when Jesus returns the Bible speaks of him as rising like the sun and
43:5143:51 - when we go to Zechariah 14 and it talks about how the moment of his of his is returned to the Earth will be it says at
43:5843:58 - that time will be neither day nor night the reason for this is that it’s actually in the middle of the day when
44:0444:04 - it should be light out it would be dark like it’s midnight and then he rises and
44:1144:11 - when he rises the Brilliance of his Rising is far brighter than anything
44:1744:17 - anyone has ever seen of the sun now think about Jesus Christ being the Morning Star too right exactly the
44:2544:25 - Morning Star yes and this this is yeah this is the glory of his deity we’re talking about
44:3244:32 - the glory we’re talking about is visibly resplendant its light beaming through
44:4044:40 - and this is actually what God is actually promising to every believer and it is the angels are already
44:4644:46 - experiencing it at the moment and departed Believers are experiencing it too he shares That Glory with
44:5244:52 - us that we too will shine like Stars this is what Daniel says or the angel
44:5744:57 - told Daniel in Daniel chapter 12 that they will shine like stars in their father’s Kingdom so we are to understand
45:0545:05 - that if we were to speak of God in terms of substance what he is made of again remembering that he is not made of
45:1245:12 - anything but the substance of his deity is light and glory is the is The Shining
45:1845:18 - forth of that light yeah and so that that is also to tell us how incredibly
45:2445:24 - amazing and and Powerful f it is that that light could walk among men and not be seen as light I mean how about how
45:3145:31 - about John chapter one right and yeah the light walked among the darkness and the Darkness did not recognize it right
45:3845:38 - um yes exactly exactly yeah yeah so that’s that’s what I would say to to
45:4545:45 - that yeah I just wanted to bring up the um the first U day of creation when
45:5145:51 - there was no sun but there was light y yeah in that case I would always be care
45:5745:57 - I would try to remind people that God God does not need to be the light himself he can create light without
46:0246:02 - actually you know um having his son shining it through and there’s a
46:0846:08 - difference between created light and the light that is actually God that’s that’s something we see creation but Lisa’s
46:1546:15 - Point’s actually very interesting too uh not to get too far a few because we could get very off topic here but why was the universe dark right what we’re
46:2246:22 - talking about is one of the strongest inferential Arguments for or uh Genesis
46:2746:27 - being Recreation you know that teaching of the Gap theory on nius is because if God is a being of light as we’re saying
46:3446:34 - it’s a substance you know waving our hand at what that means precisely but if God is light then why was the universe
46:4246:42 - dark it doesn’t make sense unless the universe had been judged before um now I
46:4746:47 - want to close this out I we’ve been on this man we have hit this one hard I am glad though this has been good stuff I
46:5346:53 - want to read this passage here from or second second Corinthians chapter 3 so we are on this topic of light and glory
47:0047:00 - and specifically this idea of bailing and what it means for us as Believers too so this is talking about the New
47:0647:06 - Covenant picking up in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 7 so I’m just go ahead and read from verse 7 through Verse 18 I
47:1347:13 - think it’s all pretty relevant here as you guys will see and I think that’s where we’ll close this section so we can actually get through the third one in
47:1947:19 - this video um but all very appropo to our discussion of Glory here so 2
47:2647:26 - Corinthians chapter 3 picking up at verse 7 says now if the ministry that brought death which was engraved in
47:3247:32 - letters on Stone came with Glory so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its
47:3847:38 - Glory transitory though it was will not the ministry of the spirit be even more
47:4347:43 - glorious if the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious how much more glorious is the ministry that brings
47:4947:49 - righteousness for what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with The surpassing Glory and if what was
47:5647:56 - transitory came with Glory how much greater is the glory of that which lasts
48:0148:01 - therefore since we have such a hope we are very bold we are not like Moses who would put a veil over his face to
48:0848:08 - prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away but their minds were made dull for to this day the
48:1548:15 - same Veil remains when the old Covenant is read it has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away even to
48:2248:22 - this day when Moses is read a veil covers their heart s but whenever anyone turns to the Lord the veil is taken away
48:3048:30 - now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom and we all who with unveiled faces
48:3748:37 - contemplate the Lord’s Glory are being transformed into his image with ever increasing Glory which comes from the
48:4348:43 - Lord who is the spirit amen right um so we are being transformed to reflect
48:5048:50 - God’s glory we are reflectors of God’s glory right through the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit now I think
48:5748:57 - there is one more thing so we’re going to pause for a second and see if there’s one more thing to talk about and then we’ll finish off this section here all
49:0449:04 - right well I think we decided that actually we talked a good bit about this topic so with this we’re going to go
49:1149:11 - ahead and move on to the next thing here talking about the essence and nature of
49:1949:19 - God all right so when we talk about some of these terms like Essence and nature
49:2549:25 - and character and if you’ve ever read any philosophy you might have also come across form and
49:3049:30 - substance um well what are these things what’s the difference between them and do we need to care about the fact that
49:3749:37 - throughout history many philosophers and theologians who dabble in philosophy like Thomas aquinus is a famous one they
49:4449:44 - argue about these things also comes up a lot in uh Catholic and Orthodox theology
49:4949:49 - where they talk about uh the son being eternally begotten of the father in this
49:5549:55 - Spirit eternally proceeding from the father and all of these other things that they talk about in terms of ontology I don’t really want us to go
50:0250:02 - there because I feel like we get a bit off topic but um we’re just going to talk a little bit about what does it
50:0850:08 - mean for something to be essential you know what is an essential characteristic of something um and so when you ask the
50:1550:15 - question about well what’s the difference between nature and Essence right uh debate that people have had for
50:2050:20 - a long time or substance or form or these other things arguments usually seem to hinge on how quote unquote
50:2750:27 - inherent something is to an object so for example a triangle must have three sides otherwise it’s no longer a
50:3350:33 - triangle so things that are essential and here this kind of blew my mind when I saw it if you compare the word essence
50:4050:40 - to essential right essential things are things that you have to have that compose the essence of something right
50:4650:46 - they have the same root coming from that Greek word here and so essential things
50:5250:52 - are things without which an object is not whatever we are saying so if you want to use a fany jargony word that
50:5850:58 - would be ontologically speaking right in terms of Something’s existence if it does not have the essential properties
51:0451:04 - the essential characteristics it is not the thing that we are talking about so there’s this blink here um I certainly
51:1151:11 - don’t know very much about this website I was just coming up with an example and I thought this page did a decent job um
51:1651:16 - you know this guy saying he’s not a philosopher Etc um but he’s using the example of circles right so if you draw
51:2351:23 - a circle over here like this one if you draw one on the other side of a page still a circle right location is what
51:3051:30 - we’re going to call an accidental trait of a circle right it’s not something that where if you change the location
51:3651:36 - something ceases to become a circle now if you draw one that’s blue right color is also not an essential trait of a
51:4251:42 - circle because you can have circles that are different colors and they’re all still circles right um so circles can have a lot of different accidental
51:4851:48 - traits but if you take this object right here this is not a circle right a circle
51:5551:55 - with four Four Corners can you have a circle with Corners no now you don’t have a circle anymore you have a square
52:0052:00 - because round is an essential trait of a circle so I don’t want to overly belabor the point I don’t want to stick it off
52:0652:06 - in the weeds of philosophy but we’re just talking a little bit about well what does it mean for something to have essential characteristics what is
52:1352:13 - Essence that sort of thing now where this kind of comes more on topic for us is when people argue about is God’s
52:2152:21 - infinity and his perfect character are these essential characteristics of God that is God not be God if he didn’t have
52:2852:28 - these characteristics now I’m mostly introducing this because people argue about this my opinion is that wandering
52:3552:35 - too far in this direction rapidly leads one to something called theosophy which is usually kind of a pejorative way of
52:4152:41 - saying you’re off in the philosophical Weeds about something in theology when you should just accept what the Bible says and move on right so God is
52:4952:49 - infinite and god is perfect in character so why are we arguing about this stuff right does it matter what does it mean
52:5652:56 - if this is an essential characteristic of God or not right I think a lot of the times people get off in the Weeds about this and it doesn’t do much productive
53:0353:03 - that’s my n equals one opinion here now if someone in this were to wh that I’m kind of question dodging and I’m not
53:0853:08 - defining my terms I’m just using things I would say that God’s nature deals with
53:1353:13 - his infinite abilities and God’s character deals with his moral perfection and both are fundamental
53:1953:19 - parts of who he is as God um I don’t know if that would uh
53:2553:25 - you know if that would satisfy all potential critics and I’m quite frankly not all that interested in satisfying
53:3153:31 - potential critics here we are talking about who God really is not whether it conforms to a specific philosophical
53:3853:38 - framework or you know a definition of terms as this philosopher this
53:4353:43 - philosopher say Plato or Kant or whoever else uses these terms we’re interested about who God really is and that is kind
53:4953:49 - of what’s governing in our conversation here so um I’m sorry that’s maybe a little bit unsatisfying I’m more raising
53:5553:55 - this to say we’re not going to go too far into some of the philosophical weeds
54:0154:01 - here we’re going to keep it at the surface level about who God really is what his abilities are what that says
54:0654:06 - about his nature and his moral perfection in his character um so nature his infinite nature and his perfect
54:1254:12 - character those are the uh the next lessons that we’re actually going to do um but I’m just kind of opening up that
54:1854:18 - that’s what we care about when we talk about the essence of God we don’t have to twist ourselves into pretzels trying
54:2454:24 - to satisfy secular philosophers because what we’re interested in is who God is not necessarily the philosophical
54:3154:31 - specifics and the technical terms and well how does this interact with Plato’s conception of the forms or whatever
54:3654:36 - right we don’t need to go there because it’s not really useful for enhancing our understanding of God does that make
54:4254:42 - sense a do you have more to say here yeah I’ll just say that um one problem
54:4854:48 - with people like aquinus and all the others was was that they were doing philosophy they weren’t you know
54:5554:55 - particularly engaging in Bible study they were trying to
55:0055:00 - understand the scriptures they were trying to philosophize about God that’s a different thing Al
55:0655:06 - together there is very much because the human mind is naturally arrogant um
55:1255:12 - there’s always so much we think we can we can we can break God we can figure him out and all of that but what we do
55:1955:19 - here is Bible study we’re trying to to you know um understand what the Bible
55:2655:26 - says about God so we will be seeking to understand what the Bible says about
55:3255:32 - God’s Essence and as far as that goes we’re not talking about essential characteristics we’re talking about what
55:4155:41 - God is and that is this we’ve already talked about a big part of that that
55:4755:47 - what God is at his core what and here’s the thing I I often like to use the term
55:5355:53 - deity to to make sure that everyone understands that I’m not talking about the identity of the person that has that
56:0156:01 - quality of deity I’m talking about the quality itself so what makes deity deity is what
56:0956:09 - we’re talking about on the one hand which we have already talked about it’s the fact that deity is the is it it
56:1656:16 - never began to exist it will never cease to exist now that very word that very I
56:2456:24 - will be what I am I am what I am I I am what I will be all of these things they
56:3256:32 - refer to the to the both the independent existence that is the self-existence of
56:3856:38 - that which possesses deity and also speaks to a lot of there there are implications that is what I
56:4456:44 - mean there are there are implications of this self-existence if something self exists
56:5156:51 - it will necessarily possess certain qualities those qualities that it possesses are
56:5756:57 - what we are going to discuss and we’re not talking about it from a philos philosophical standpoint what we’re saying um is this what it is is must it
57:0657:06 - be so couldn’t it be no what we’re talking about is what the scriptures actually say about be that’s it I agree
57:1357:13 - and I will say that as an occupational hazard I have read a fair bit of philosophy I was a Classics major I
57:1957:19 - enjoyed it for my part kept in its proper place but I have bumped into problems time starting to question
57:2657:26 - things about the mechanics of something or trying to fit it in a framework where I’ve pestered Dr lugan with questions
57:3357:33 - and eventually he more or less tells me okay this thing that you’re trying to do you’re starting with this framework over
57:4157:41 - here rather than starting with the Bible I mean he says it way nicer than that but more or less our responsibility as
57:4757:47 - Christians as Believers is we need to start with the Bible we need to strive to understand and interpret the Bible we
57:5357:53 - don’t start with a phrase fror and then try to like fit the Bible into that right like that’s going about it backwards right um this Probably sounds
58:0158:01 - like well okay Stephen of course but it’s actually a lot easier than you think to kind of fall into a pattern of
58:0758:07 - thought where you get hung up on things that you would never get from the Bible
58:1358:13 - if you just read the Bible try to understand the Bible make sense of the Bible it’s because you’re starting
58:1858:18 - somewhere else right and that’s when you get off in the Weeds about things and so I just wanted to emphasize this point up
58:2458:24 - front that what we are talking about in all of this is who God is who the Bible
58:2958:29 - says God is right and what that means and his his characteristics his abilities um speaking as deity right
58:3658:36 - that’s as Audi said rather than getting caught up in all of these pointless debates where we’re not even really
58:4258:42 - arguing about what the Bible says anymore now we’re just I don’t even know what we’re talking about right um so
58:4758:47 - yeah we’re not going to do that and according to some people that will mean that we didn’t quote unquote do a thorough job or whatever but whatever
58:5458:54 - because we’re starting with the Bible we’re going to stick with the Bible and we’re going to talk about what the Bible has to say in terms of God’s
59:0059:00 - characteristics um both in his infinity and his moral perfection and that is all
59:0559:05 - we’re going to talk about because that’s all that should matter to us
59:1159:11 - um all right so that brings to a close this first uh lesson that we’ve done
59:1759:17 - here so we started out talking about how God is being he is The Great I Am uh the
59:2359:23 - one who is or sorry who was and is and is to come the almighty right God is separate God is existence and we talked
59:3159:31 - about some of the implications of that for what it means to be a self-existing being um right God is the uncaused cause
59:3859:38 - that comes up in these things that philosoph Phil philosophers argue about but from our perspective what we care
59:4459:44 - about is that this is who God tells us he is God exists independent from the universe has always existed and his
59:5159:51 - existence is not in any way conditional upon creation and then we talked some uh
59:5659:56 - a good bit actually about light and Glory light as the idea of God being
1:00:011:00:01 - unapproachable AI articulated uh that the father is the face the the
1:00:071:00:07 - representational deity if you will in the Trinity and we talked some about christophanies in the Old Testament and
1:00:131:00:13 - how these things interact with the veiled glory of God and how there will come a time on that uh that great day of
1:00:201:00:20 - days so the day of the Lord Paradigm in interpretation when that will be removed
1:00:251:00:25 - and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess so talking about light and Glory as manifestations of God’s uh
1:00:321:00:32 - Essence his identity his deity and then finally we closed here kind of talking a little bit about how we’re going to be
1:00:381:00:38 - focusing our approach on scripture what the Bible says and so there are some terms thrown about here in terms of
1:00:451:00:45 - ontology uh that kind of get off in the weeds of philosophy um and so we are going to try to concern ourselves with
1:00:521:00:52 - what the Bible says and how the Bible Des describes God in terms of his characteristics and his Essence and only
1:00:591:00:59 - concern oursel with that and so this was how we kind of introduced oursel uh easing into this study here in Bible
1:01:061:01:06 - basics part one uh the study of God and in coming lessons we will be talking about God’s infinite nature and also
1:01:141:01:14 - God’s moral perfection uh God’s perfect character so those are the things that we will pick up with next