The Omnipotence of God

The teaching of the Bible is that God is omnipotent. For instance, the Bible says, “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Rev. 19:6). The word “Omnipotent” comes from the Greek word παντοκράτωρ, meaning the “all-ruling, or absolute and universal sovereign.” This word is also translated as “almighty” (II Cor. 6:18; Rev. 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 16:14; 19:15; 21:22). God is totally sovereign over His creation. He is all-powerful. In the Old Testament, God is El Shaddai, the Almighty. God has all power and might. But what does this mean exactly?

The truly magnificent power of God can be shown in the many expressions of that power in Scripture. The most obvious example is the creation. God merely spoke the universe (all matter, space, time) into existence. God said, “Let it be,” and it was (Gen. 1 passim; Psalm 18:5). When we consider what modern science tells us about the size of the universe and the nature of our world, it truly boggles the mind that all this could come into existence merely at God’s command. I suggest you go to YouTube and do a search on the size of the universe to fully understand the extent of this power. Furthermore, He upholds all things by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3). He never tires but has endless energy because the Creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not, neither is He weary (Is. 40:28).

Just as God created the universe and holds it all together still, He will also bring it to a conclusion one day. All the dead that have ever lived will be brought back to life in the resurrection. Every molecule, every atom, every thought, everything that makes up all people will be brought back and reassembled at the resurrection when all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and come forth – they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:28-29). Such is God’s power. And just as easily as He created all things, so all things will be dissolved (II Pet. 3:8-12).

In the Old Testament, God’s power is manifested in so many ways. God destroyed the earth with a universal flood (Gen. 6-9). He confounded the speech of man and scattered man abroad over the face of the earth (Gen. 11). He enabled Abram and Sarai to have a son even though they were past the age of childbearing (Gen. 21; Rom. 4:17-22). He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities of the plain with fire and brimstone from heaven (Gen. 19). Jacob wrestled with the Angel of the Lord (Gen. 32). God sent dreams to Pharaoh, and Joseph was allowed to interpret them (Gen. 40). God delivered the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage with ten mighty plagues (Ex. 7-11). He parted the Red Sea so that the children of Israel walked through on dry ground and destroyed the Egyptian army by collapsing the walls of water that stood on either side of them (Ex. 14). Likewise, He parted the Jordan so that the children of Israel could pass over to the promised land (Josh. 3-4). He caused the sun and moon to stand still (Josh. 10). Many were raised from the dead (e.g., I Kings 17). Oil was miraculously multiplied (II Kings 4). Elijah departed in a chariot of fire (II Kings 2). And on and on the list could go.

In the New Testament, God’s power is demonstrated in the miraculous, virgin birth of the Son of God (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1). God sent a star to show the way to where Jesus was born (Matt. 2). John’s birth was beyond the childbearing years of Elizabeth and Zacharias (Luke 1). The miracles which Jesus performed showed that He had power over nature (striking the fig tree dead, turning water into wine, walking on water, and calming the storm), over healing the sick (restoring a withered arm, restoring vision and hearing and speech, healing palsy, and various other diseases), over casting out demons, and over life and death (raising the dead). Of course, the greatest of these miracles is His own resurrection, proving His claim to be the Messiah, the Son of the Living God (Rom. 1:4).

Of course, the Bible goes further than just showing examples of His power. The Bible makes specific claims about the power of God. God is girded with power (Psalm 65:6). God’s power is not just limited to what we can imagine, for He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). His power is eternal (Rom. 1:20), and in Jehovah is everlasting strength (Is. 26:4). God can do whatever pleases Him (as it is consistent with His own nature – Psalm 115:3). What He says will be done; it will be accomplished as He pleases (Is. 55:11). All other power is dependent on His power, for there is no power but of God and the powers that be are ordained of God (Romans 13:1). He does whatever He wills, and no one can stop Him (Dan. 4:35).

But the Scriptures are even more explicit. God asked this rhetorical question of Abraham: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14). The answer is clear and obvious: Nothing is too hard for the Lord. There is no limit to His power. He asked Jeremiah the same question (Jer. 32:27), and Jeremiah expressly states that there is nothing too hard for the Lord (Jer. 32:17). The synoptic Gospel accounts all affirm God’s omnipotence. Jesus expressly stated that with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:6; Mark 10:27), while Luke expresses it from the negative: “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). God is omnipotent, all-powerful (Rev. 19:6).

We must point out that God is not merely more powerful than all others; He is all-powerful. It’s not the case that He can do merely many great things that others cannot do, but that there is no end to His power. His power is limitless. Just as His knowledge is limitless, His power is without limit. The difference between omniscience and omnipotence is only that omniscience must always be exercised to be knowledge (you can’t know something but not know it), while omnipotence does not have to be exercised to be power. For instance, a man may be able to power lift three hundred pounds, but he doesn’t always have to be lifting three hundred pounds to have that power. But a man cannot know “X” and then not know it and still be said to have that knowledge.

The God of the Bible is truly all-powerful. He is omnipotent. Next installment, we will discuss some questions that are raised by some with regard to the omnipotence of God.

Eric L. Padgett

Does God’s Foreknowledge Preclude Man’s Free Will?

There is a question that some people raise when they consider God’s omniscience. The question is this: If God knows everything I am going to do, then am I really free to act independently? If God knows a thing is going to happen, He can’t be wrong about it. If He is wrong, then He is not omniscient, and not God. But if He isn’t wrong about it, then I could never do anything differently than what God already knows. But if I can’t do any differently, then am I really free? This is the question that is often thrown up either as an argument against God’s existence, or against man’s freedom. Let’s consider this question: Does God’s foreknowledge preclude man’s free will?

The Bible clearly teaches man has free will. Many scriptures could be adduced which demonstrate that man has the freedom to either obey or disregard God’s will. For instance, Joshua charged the children of Israel, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Josh. 24:15). Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16). Upon hearing Jesus’ teaching, “the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him” (Luke 7:30). On and on the list could go. Each example shows that the scriptures teach that man has a real choice of various and sundry options.

As we have already discussed previously, the Bible also clearly teaches that God’s knowledge is infinite (Psalm 147:5). God knows the secrets of men and the thoughts of their hearts (Psalms 44:21; 94:11). The thrust of Psalms 139 is that there is nothing that God does not know. Job finally was made to understand that no thought can be withheld from God (Job 42:2). There is no searching of God’s understanding (Is. 40:28). God knows what things we have need of even before we ask (Matt. 6:8). He searches all hearts and understands all imaginations of the thoughts (I Chron. 28:9). The Lord asks, “Can any hide himself that I cannot see?” (Jer. 23:24). He knows all of His works from the beginning of the world (Acts 15:18). And God even declares “the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isa. 46:10).

The thrust of the Bible teaching regarding God’s knowledge is that there is not one thing that is unknown to God. All things are open and naked before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do (Heb. 4:13).

“It is true that the Scripture makes use of anthropomorphic forms of expression as regards the way in which God obtains knowledge (Genesis 3:8), and sometimes even represents Him as if He did not know certain things (Genesis 11:5; Genesis 18:21); nevertheless the constant representation of the Scripture is that God knows everything. This perfect knowledge of God, moreover, is not merely a knowledge which is practically unlimited for all religious purposes, but is omniscience in the strictest sense of the term” (ISBE).

Now, those who hold that there is a conflict between God’s omniscience and human free will often argue in the following fashion. The following quote is from a discussion I had been in years ago:

“If God knows that when I leave the house for Wednesday evening Bible study, that at exactly 5:58 PM CDT (running late, as usual!), at the intersection of NW 42nd and MacArthur, a car will run the red light, strike our car as I turn onto MacArthur, and I will be killed, then it will occur. I have no choice in the matter. No matter what I do, it will happen. It may appear that I chose, but that event is determined to occur regardless of what I decide. I will only choose the courses of action that will allow that event to happen. It doesn’t matter that I never drive to church through that intersection, or that I usually go an hour later, or that I actually decided to get around on time for a change. My freedom is dissolved into God’s foreknowledge. Human freedom is only the illusion of freedom.”

Please notice these statements: “I have no choice in the matter. No matter what I do, it will happen…that event is determined to occur regardless of what I decide…It doesn’t matter that I never drive to church through that intersection, or that I usually go an hour later, or that I actually decided to get around on time for a change. My freedom is dissolved into God’s foreknowledge.”

The problem with such a position is that it assumes that which it is trying to prove–namely, that if God foreknows a thing, then there is no free will. This can be seen when one understands that the event happens not “no matter what I do,” but precisely because it is what I decided to do! In other words, it happens not because God foreknows it, but God foreknows it because it is what happened. In the sense that man cannot do two different things at the same time in the same way, man has to choose one course of action. He is free to choose out of the many, if not infinite, number of possibilities, but he can only choose one. When his choice is made, God knows that choice. In the sense that man can not do more than one thing, and God knows what that thing is we have chosen freely to do, then man must do that which he has chosen.

When the man above says he couldn’t have left thirty minutes later, he is correct if by that he means, when he left at time t, he could not also have left at time t1. But if he means that he had no other options, or that he could not have exercised any other option, he is mistaken. If the man had chosen to leave at time t1 or time t2, t3, etc., then that is what God would have known. God’s knowledge of the event is posteriori, but not with respect to point of time. God is outside of time and sees all that happens even more clearly than we see the present or the past.

It begs the question to say that event “x” will happen “no matter we do” because the question is does God’s foreknowledge negate my free will (“what I do”). It begs the questions to say, as in the above quote, “I will only choose the courses of action that will allow that event to happen.” Rather, that event will happen, because he has chosen those courses of action. It begs the question to say that God knows something even though I have never acted in such a way, because you must have acted in that way for God to know it. As we discussed in our last post, it is not a limitation of God’s knowledge to say that He does not know things that are not so. What happens as a result of my actions are the result of my own free will choices. God knows about it precisely because it is what I choose to do.

Perhaps an easy way to understand this is to think of our knowledge of the past. I know what I did yesterday. I know I preached two sermons and taught a Bible class. Does my knowledge of these facts mean I was not free in my actions? Of course not. I know now what I freely chose to do then. My knowledge does not remove my free will. In the same way, God sees all time, past present and future, not only in my life, but in all lives and all things everywhere in the same way I see and know the past. The choices are free, but God knows my choices and yours.

In addition to the point just made, those who argue that when God knows something is going to happen it removes man’s ability to freely choose, have another problem. These same people do not deny that God knows an act when it happens. As seen above, the Bible clearly teaches this about God’s knowledge if it teaches anything at all. But this means that, since when God knows man’s actions man ceases to be free, then when the act is being done, man no longer has free will. This means that man is only free as long as he doesn’t do anything! Pshaw! This is absurd.

So, no, God’s foreknowledge of my actions, does not preclude my human, free will, which He gave me in the first place.

Eric L. Padgett

Omniscience of God

The Scriptures are very clear that God’s knowledge is not limited. This fact is expressed in a number of ways. The different facets of God’s particular knowledge are described in some detail throughout scripture. For instance, God knows the number of hairs on our head (Matt. 10:30; Luke 12: 7). He knows when a sparrow falls to the earth or is sold. He remembers them all (Luke 12:6; Matt. 10:29). He knows all the fowls of the mountain and the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10,11). God knows the number of the stars and calls them all by name (Psalm 147:4). God knows all our deeds and thoughts because we will be judged by those things in the Day of Judgment (Rev. 20:12-15). He knows our best kept secrets (Rom. 2:16).

David describes God’s intimate knowledge of every human being:

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them (Psalm 139:1-16).

The Scriptures especially make note of the fact that while man can only judge by the outward appearance, God knows the very heart of man. “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (I Samuel 16:7). Again, “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins” (Jer. 17:10). And again, “Thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men” (I Kings 8:39). There is no thought that we can hide from God. “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13).

Job said at the conclusion of his interview with the Lord that “no thought can be withholden from Thee” (Job. 42:2). No thought is beyond God’s knowledge. There is not a single thing that God does not already know. God looks to the end of the earth and sees under the whole heaven (Job 28:24). While men are limited in their knowledge to the here and now in a very limited scope with which their lives come into contact, and, maybe, a few things about the past, God sees all time (our past, present and future) more clearly than we see what is presently before us. John affirmed by inspiration, “God knows all things” ( I John 3:20). He knows all things because He is everywhere, in some sense (Jer. 23:24).

This means, first of all, that God knows the truth value of every precisely stated proposition. God knows the truth value of the statement that “Eric L. Padgett (me) was born with six fingers.” It’s impossible for God to know this is true because it is false. God only knows the truth. But this should not be considered a limitation on God’s knowledge for He knows the truth value of the statement is false. It would be a limitation of God to say that He knows something as true when, indeed, it was false. So, God knows the truth value of every precisely stated proposition and God knows all propositions and there are endless propositions.

It is also the case that God does not have to learn the truth value of any given proposition. God knows immediately and ultimately every thing. God’s mind is infinite in its grasp. It does not need to learn or come up to speed on anything. There is no “Aha! moment” for God. Nothing surprises Him, nothing catches Him off guard. As Isaiah teaches (40:13,14) “Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?” These are rhetorical questions and the answer is obvious: No one has taught God. He needs no teacher. He already knows.

Finally, God’s omniscience also means that His knowledge knows no bounds. There is not a limited body of knowledge that God knows or has grasped. His knowledge is limitless, endless. He is infinite in every attribute, including His knowledge. Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering (Job 26:6). God’s knowledge extends to the height of heaven and to the depths of hell (Psalm 139:8). There is no searching of His understanding (Is. 40:28). “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33). God’s understanding is simply infinite (Psalm 147:5)!

It is simply impossible for finite minds such as ours to grasp infinite Mind and Knowledge. David was correct when he said, “It is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” (Psalm 139:6). While we may not be able to comprehend it, we can at least appreciate it and be humbled by it.

Eric L. Padgett

Why Isn’t Belief Universal?

Some people may ask, If the existence of God is so manifest, why do so many people not believe in Him? If the glory of God is declared by the very heavens, why isn’t belief in God equally universal? If no one is going to be able to claim ignorance at the judgment, then how are they able to claim ignorance now? At first, these may seem like legitimate questions. But let’s consider a couple of points in response.

First, the Bible teaches that God created man with free will. God gave a command, but said there are consequences to disobeying those commands. That implies that man has the ability to disobey God’s commands. Indeed, there has to be the ability for man to reject God, or man is nothing more than a robot. A robot will do whatever you command it to do, but a robot doesn’t love or care or empathize, a robot just does as it is programmed. Not even artificial intelligence can supply the emotional basis needed.

I asked ChatGPT: Is ChatGPT or any other ai sentient?


ChatGPT said: “No, neither ChatGPT nor any other AI is sentient. AI, including me, operates based on algorithms, data, and statistical models. While I can generate human-like responses, understand context, and even mimic emotions, I don’t have consciousness, self-awareness, feelings, or independent thought. Sentience requires subjective experience and self-awareness, which AI does not have. AI can process and analyze information efficiently, but it doesn’t ‘understand’ or ‘feel’ in the way humans do.”

Then I asked, “Maybe ChatGPT just isn’t as advanced as other ai?” It responded this way:

“Even the most advanced AI today, including cutting-edge models beyond ChatGPT, are not sentient. AI can simulate intelligence and conversation very convincingly, but at the end of the day, it’s still just a complex system of pattern recognition, probability, and computation.

No AI—whether from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, or any other research lab—has true self-awareness, emotions, or independent thought. AI can analyze and predict based on data, but it doesn’t experience anything.

That being said, AI is advancing rapidly, and discussions about artificial general intelligence (AGI) and consciousness in machines are ongoing. But as of now, no AI is anywhere close to actual sentience.”

I would argue that regardless of the time given, or the computational power available, or imaginative algorithms employed, no ai could ever reach sentience or free will because its not a matter of quantity but of quality. No amount of inanimate matter will ever achieve animate status just by adding more inanimate matter. No amount of non-sentient computing power could ever reach sentience just by adding more non-sentient computing power. Its not a matter of quantity but quality.

So man has free will, something neither a computer nor algorithm can ever have. One of the reasons men can reject the evidence for God, is because man was created with the ability to chose based on his own, volitional interests.

In the second place, just because a thing is obvious, doesn’t mean everyone wants it to be true or that everyone will fall in line with the truth. People often have ulterior motives for their actions, sometimes motives that they don’t even fully understand. On the other hand, sometimes people are fully aware of their reasons for denying the obvious.

A person who is given bad news might not want to accept it. A person who is given good news might not accept it, at first. The Psalmist said, “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us” (Psalm 2:1-3). These verses depict man consciously trying to break away from the bonds that tie him to God, only it’s a vain and futile attempt. The Psalm was fulfilled violently and particularly in the rejection and crucifixion of Christ by the Jews and Gentiles (Acts 4:23-30). There is no clearer example of men rejecting God than in the rejection of Messiah.

The truth is, it comes down to a person’s heart. If a person is not honest with themselves, they will allow themselves to believe anything they want. The Lord’s parable of the sower teaches us that truth itself is not enough. If truth is seen as a seed, truth requires good soil before it can bring forth fruit. The good soil for truth is an honest and good heart. Many people do not have an honest and good heart and, for various reasons, the truth produces no fruit in them. The evidence of God’s existence, though obvious to all, requires an honest and good heart to admit it is true.

The following is a short list of quotes from men who did not believe in God and admitted that they didn’t want to believe and acknowledged that their rejection of God was influenced by personal, moral, or existential concerns rather than purely intellectual reasoning.

“I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; and consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics. He is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do. For myself, as no doubt for most of my friends, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom. The supporters of this system claimed that it embodied the meaning – the Christian meaning, they insisted – of the world. There was one admirably simple method of confuting these people and justifying ourselves in our erotic revolt: we would deny that the world had any meaning whatever.”

–Aldous Huxley, Ends and Means

“We desired liberation; and we had a suspicion that the things to which we wanted to be liberated had no meaning. Still, we wanted to be free to do as we pleased.” – Aldous Huxley (another relevant passage from Ends and Means)

Again, he links his disbelief to a desire for personal freedom.

“The sense of spiritual relief which comes from rejecting the idea of God as a superhuman being is enormous.” – Julian Huxley (Aldous Huxley’s brother, biologist and humanist)

Like his brother, Julian Huxley saw disbelief as a form of liberation from religious and moral constraints.

“We deny God; in denying God we deny accountability: only by doing that do we redeem the world.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche saw belief in God as tied to moral accountability, and rejecting God meant rejecting imposed moral structures.

“I want atheism to be true… It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and naturally hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.” – Thomas Nagel (philosopher and atheist)

Nagel openly admitted that his atheism was not just about reason but also about personal preference.

And so many people reject God simply because they don’t want there to be a God. They don’t want to be burdened by any moral constraints. They don’t want to be responsible to God. They don’t want there to be a moral accountability that reaches into eternity.

There are many other reasons people reject the idea of God but it is clear that just because the evidence for the existence of God is available, it does not mean that all men will acknowledge it. But whether or not we accept it, it is still true and all men will eventually acknowledge it (Phil. 2:11; Rev. 2012-15). That is why the fool has said in his heart there is no God (Psalm 19:1).

Eric L. Padgett

God. Where To Begin?

God.

Where do you begin a discussion about God? Where does it end? No matter what the topic or where you start, you will never be able to exhaust it as it relates to God because He is infinite in all of His attributes. Pick any attribute of God and you can only exhaust your own limited knowledge of the subject, never the extent of God’s nature. So no matter what is said or written, it is never, really enough. But there is no subject with such depth, with such weight, no subject that more piques the interests the inquisitive, human mind, than the subject of the infinite, omniscient, omnipotent Most, High God that inhabits eternity! That is why I want to talk about God.

The first thing I would point out is that there is no man, woman or child, no nation, country or tribe, no culture, creed or community, no tongue, dialect or speech that cannot know that God exists. The Psalmist plainly said:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1).

Observe that this text doesn’t say that the Bible says that the heavens declare God’s glory (though that is true, as well), it says that the heavens tell us this. When an honest, thoughtful and unbiased mind looks at the heavens, it is compelled to consider that this wondrous universe is the product of design and causation. I urge you to go check out one of the many videos on Youtube regarding the immensity of the universe and ask yourself if it is reasonable to believe that this “just happened.” The fact of the universe compels us to believe in a Creator. One could look inwardly and know the same thing, as well (cf. Psalm139:14). No matter the scale, the arguments from Causation, Design and Morality cannot be successfully denied or refuted. There are logical, formal arguments for these three important ideas, but we’ll leave these to another time.

Next, the inspired Psalmist says:

“Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:2-4).

Every day the heavens declare the glory of God in an unuttered speech that can be understood by every sound, human mind and night after night the knowledge of the glory of God is shown the world over under every starry sky. Every human speech and language understands this powerful declaration and every tribe and community hears and understand this unspoken tongue. These words declaring God’s glory have gone out through all the earth unto the ends of the world. No one can stop their ears to the message and no one can so close his eyes as to not see the glory of God. The sun and the moon and the stars all sing forth the praises of the Almighty (Psalm 148:3,4). Even ancient Pythagoras spoke of the “music of the spheres” and Maltbie D. Babcock captured the idea in his Hymn, This Is My Father’s World.

“This is my Father’s world,
And to my list’ning ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas—
His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father’s world:
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker’s praise.”

Again, the Psalmist said:

“In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof “ (Psalm 19:5,6).

The whole universe over, the glory of God is shown. No place escapes this universal declaration of His existence, power and praise.

Now, the apostle Paul added that, that “which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shown it unto them” (Rom. 1:19). The “them” are those who receive the “wrath of God” because they do not obey Him. He says that they are without excuse (v. 20) because God hath shown certain things to them. What things has God shown them and us? “Even His eternal power and Godhead”(Rom. 1:20). Thus, Paul says that we may know these five things from the declaration of the heavens: 1) that there is a God, 2) that God is a Person, 3) that God is eternal, 4) that God is powerful, and 5) that there are certain attributes that make up His character, His Godhead (Godhood).

We can add to this list two other important attributes, namely that 1) Nature is an intentional witness to a Creator and 2) that that Creator is good. Paul said to the Lystrans,“Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17). Again, Paul did not say that this was learned from written revelation, though that is also true. Rather, Paul said the rain and fruitful seasons and food and gladness themselves were a witness to the fact that there is a God and He is good. It was intentionally designed to be a witness to Himself.

This in no way should suggest to us that the witness of Nature is all we need to know about God. It only reveals the vaguest of outlines of His Majesty. But it is enough to cause us to seek Him further because He is not far from every one of us (Acts 17:27). It is enough to remove every excuse from every individual attempting to justify their rejection of His existence and sovereignty. No man will be able to raise his fist at God at judgment and justifiably say, “But I didn’t know…” The revelation of God in nature should drive our inquiring minds to come to know this Creator more intimately so that we can understand who we are and what we may become.

This is as good a place as any to stop for the moment in our inquiry into the Divine. But it will be only a momentary pause.

Eric L. Padgett

“O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds, Thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. When through the woods, and forest glades I wander, And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees. When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur, And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze. Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art, how great Thou art.”

They Neither Marry Nor Are Given In Marriage

Do angels procreate? That is the question before us. It’s a question with which I wouldn’t normally bother, but there are certain doctrines advocated by men that rely upon this belief. There are some questions to which the Bible doesn’t give us all the answers. The secret things belong to the Lord (Deut. 29:29). But we can deduce certain conclusions from the facts we are given. That’s what this short article is about.

The Jewish leaders had come into conflict with the Lord on many occasions. The Sadducees denied the Old Testament doctrine of the resurrection (Job 14:7-15; 19:25-27; Dan.12:2,3). They concocted a scenario which they thought would place Jesus in a doctrinal bind which would support their position. I suspect they had used this on other occasions in their discussions with the Pharisees, though I couldn’t prove it. They argued that if a woman had a husband and he died without offspring, then her husband’s brother would come and marry her to raise up a son, all according to the Mosaic Law (Deut. 25:5-10), but he died before producing offspring, and that this happened seven times. Therefore, they asked whose wife would she be in the resurrection, since all seven had married her. They thought that they could show the absurdity of the resurrection by showing a case where it would be hard for the doctrine of the resurrection to deal fairly with it. They must have thought themselves very clever.

Jesus’ answer totally took them off their game. He said unto them, “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:29,30). The statement under consideration here is that “the angels neither marry nor are given in marriage.” What does it mean that the angels “neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Matt. 22:30)? Some people would say you can’t extrapolate from this anything, especially that angels did not procreate. In fact, some argue that angels, albeit fallen angels, have mated with humans in the past. According to the theory, these were the “sons of God”of Genesis six, who, in mating with humans, “the daughters of men,” produced a race of giants, or Nephilim. There is a whole mythology that has developed around this idea that has no basis in scripture.

The statement that angels do not marry was in response to the scenario the Sadducees had given. Levirate marriage, to which the Sadducees were referring, was a real, legitimate practice (Deut. 25:5-10). The purpose of levirate marriage was to produce an offspring for a deceased brother, that “his name be not put out of Israel” (Deut. 25:6). It is noteworthy that in Luke’s account of this incident he records that Jesus also said,”neither can they die anymore” (Luke 20:36). What does death have to do with this scenario? Why would He introduce this now? Well, it was death that necessitated the remarrying in the first place, because each husband died before he could produce an offspring. The reason for each successive marriage was to produce offspring.

Indeed, the purpose of marriage from the beginning was for man to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:27,28; 2:18-25). This does not deny other, personal reasons for marriage (I Cor. 7:1-5). But God created the angels (Psalm 148:1-5) and their numbers are innumerable (Heb. 12:22; cf. Rev. 5:11). There is no need for angels to be able to reproduce because they do not die and their numbers are not diminished. Marriage is something we chose to do. Death and birth are things that happens to those that are subject to them. The natural portion of marriage is to procreate, to fulfill Gods command to replenish the earth. Jesus brings in birth and death in His response.

Furthermore, angels also are not the subjects of salvation (I Pet. 1:9-12; cf. Exodus 25:20; cf. Numbers 7:89; 1 Kings 8:7,8; Hebrews 9:5), so there is no need for more angels to be produced. Every human being that is produced, however, is another opportunity for a soul’s salvation. Hence, the command to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28).

So when Jesus stated that angels do not marry nor are they given in marriage, He wasn’t merely observing that angels do not engage in some social, marital convention, He was speaking to the very nature of angels themselves. They do not produce more offspring. It is not in their created nature. And in heaven, those that attain the resurrection will be equal to the angels in this respect (Luke 20:36).

Additionally, there is a principle in the Bible that things reproduce after their own kind (Gen. 1:9-14; 20-25). Angels are created beings in the spiritual realm (Heb. 1:14). They dwell in the presence of God in heaven (Rev. 5:1,5), where no flesh and blood can enter (I Cor 15:50). Human beings are flesh and blood and bone (Gen. 2:23). The different nature creates a divide between them that cannot be breached (Psalm 8:5; Heb. 2:5-10,14-18).

Finally, the assumption is made that the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 is a reference to angels. However, while the expression “sons of God” can refer to angels (Job 1:6,7), it is most often a reference to God’s people (Ex. 4:22; Deut. 14:1; John 1:12; I John 3: 3,4). The sons of God in Genesis six were the righteous descendants of Seth, while the daughters of men were the ungodly line of Cain.

While there may be many questions we cannot answer, the best we can tell from the scriptures and reason, is that angels do not procreate.

Eric L. Padgett

The Adventure of the Bible

It has been said many times that the Bible is library of books, not merely a single volume. This is true. But it is also more than a library of books. It is a library of adventure, of drama, of tragedy and mystery, of love and war, of heroism and villainy, of literature and laws, it is a library of miracles and science and philosophy and more. And all of these elements, stretched out over a period of fifteen hundred years across three continents were written by over forty individuals in three languages. All of these elements are intricately woven together in the most marvelous fashion to tell the Greatest Story Ever Told.

In the Bible we have some of the greatest adventure stories ever told. Here we have the story of Abraham, who traveled from his home in Ur of the Chaldees, to his God appointed home in Canaan. Also, the story of righteous Noah, who was chosen by God to save the world from total destruction and his year long odyssey in the ark. Then there is the story of Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage to the land of promise and Joshua’s equally exciting conquering of the promised land. We could tell of Jonah’s reluctance to preach to Nineveh and his unusual adventure in the belly of the great fish. Daniel in the lion’s den and the Hebrew children. The story of Ruth is as compelling as any in the Bible and in the New Testament, we have the apostle Paul’s evangelistic tours and his trials in preaching the gospel.

For unparalleled drama we have the jealous treachery of Cain against his innocent, unsuspecting brother Abel. The challenges that face Moses as he led the children of Israel through the wilderness and the deliverance of the Ten commandments, keep your attention from start to finish. The timeless story of courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds is the story of David and Goliath and David’s relationship with king Saul is drama at its best, and historically true at the same time. In the New Testament, the birth of Christ is one of the most well known, most compelling historical narratives in the world and Jesus’ parables are powerful stories illustrating moral and spiritual truths.

As for treachery, the Bible records it. Joab, in pretense of greeting Amasa, a rival general, while embracing him, smote him under the fifth rib, causing his guts to spill out on the ground. The Bible is, at times, very graphic in its reporting of history. Another vile act of treachery was Joseph’s brothers, at first intent on killing him, then settling on selling him into slavery. In another instance, Ehud, a champion of Israel, visits the obese king of Moab, Eglon, under the pretense of bringing him a gift, and stabs him and escapes through the porch. And in the New Testament, we can’t forget those who plotted to kill the apostle Paul. But even more than this, the notorious treachery of Judas, who betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver.

Tragedy is abundant in the biblical narrative. Think for instance of the House of Saul. Saul literally stood head and shoulder above all others in Israel. He was a reluctant leader but showed great promise. Yet, he always managed to do the wrong thing and in the end he was rejected because he had rejected the word of the Lord. Then, of course, you can’t overlook the tragedy and triumph of Job. He lost everything in his life that meant anything to him except his faith in God and God rewarded him with more than he ever had.

The Bible is full of mystery also. Maybe not the kind the world generally thinks of, but it contains some of the greatest mysteries the world has ever known. There is the mystery of life: God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. There are the Theophanies of the Old Testament. We think we know it all. But God says: “Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me” (Job 40:7). There is the mystery of the incarnation where God came down clothed in humanity (I Tim. 3:16). And then the resurrection of Christ and our own future resurrection. There are many things we can know, but the secret things belong to the Lord (Deut. 29:29).

There are accounts of love. The love of Abraham for Sarah, Isaac for Rebecca, Jacob for Rachael, Ruth for Boaz, David for Bathsheba, and the tragic love of Samson for Delilah. The Song of Solomon is a wonderful poem of love and it portrays the Lord’s love for His bride, the church. On the other side, there are stories of warfare. The great Battle of Jericho, the Battle f Ai, the conquest of Hazor, of the Southern Confederacy against the Northern Alliance in the Vale of Siddim, Gideon and the Midianites, the constant wars between Israel and the Canaanites, the Battle of Gibeah, the Civil War of Israel, and the battle against Assyria and Babylon.

There are accounts of heroism. Noah, who walked with God and built an ark to save his family and animals from the flood. Abraham, who had a covenant with God and was willing to sacrifice his own son, Isaac. Jacob, who became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Mordecai, who saved his people from a plot to destroy them. Joseph, who forgave his brothers and saved his family from famine. There is also David and Moses and Caleb and Joshua. There were female heroes in the Bible like Deborah and Dorcas and Esther and Mary.

There are villains in the Bible aplenty. Few can match the villainy of Ahab and Jezebel. There is Nimrod, the self-proclaimed “mighty hunter before the Lord.” There is wicked Haman who tried to enact genocide of the descendants of Abraham. Absalom who turned against his own father, king David, and conspired to take over the kingdom. Athaliah, the Herods and Judas surely finds a place in the Hall of Villainy. But, of course, there is that old serpent, the devil who tops out the list.

There is great literature in the Bible. There is history, poetry, law, letters and prophecy. The Bible contains matchless poetry like the 23rd Psalm, Job and the Song of Solomon. Paul’s discourse on love is beyond compare. The Lord’s Sermon on the Mount cannot be matched. The Ten Commandments are the greatest set of laws the world has known but Jesus’ Golden Rule sums up the most powerful principle of human relationships possible. There are miracles, philosophy and science in the Bible and much, much more.

All of these stories, all of these elements, are interwoven into the most beautiful composition ever conceived. It reveals little by little, piece by piece the grandest scheme of the greatest Story Ever Told. It is the story of redemption and salvation and forgiveness. It is a story of grace and mercy. But it is a story of obedience and submission. It is the only story of hope and victory. That is the adventure of the Bible.

Eric L. Padgett

On That One, Little Hill

Golgotha. The place of the Skull. Calvary. These terms all refer to one place, the place where Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. No other place in all the world bears so much meaning, has so great an importance to so many people worldwide as this one, small, “low, rounded, bore hill.” It is celebrated in song, painted by artists, studied by historians and geologists, and it marks a changing point in the history of man. It bore on its summit the symbol of the greatest contrasts in life, love and hate. It demonstrates the vast chasm between God and man, and also bridges that chasm. It symbolizes the greatest love ever known, God’s love, and it points to the best and the worst in man.

The hill of calvary, and on it, the old, rugged cross, marks the cruellest kind of cruelty of man to man. The cross was one of the most ruthless inventions of death that man ever devised. It was an agonizing, humiliating and slow sort of death, meant to exact the greatest amount of suffering. “Death ultimately occurred through a combination of constrained blood circulation, organ failure, and asphyxiation as the body strained under its own weight. It could be hastened by shattering the legs (crurifragium) with an iron club, which prevented them from supporting the body’s weight and made inhalation more difficult, accelerating both asphyxiation and shock.” (here). Under the Romans, the crucifixion itself was often preceded by a severe scourging, leaving the flesh hanging from the body in bloody clumps.

The victims were attached to the cross by both ropes and nails. “We have evidence of the use of nails from several sources. These were 13-18 cm (5-7 in) long tapered iron spikes. The application of the nails varied. Seneca reported that some were hung upside down, or with arms stretched out on either side. Josephus reported seeing crucifixion victims at the siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) where the soldiers positioned them in various poses to amuse themselves out of anger and hatred. Some people collected the nails as magical amulets.” (here) When you play with the death of others for your own amusement, you have surely sunk to the lowest moral depths of depravity possible.

The Romans who administered this horror were well practiced. They were experts in the field of torture and death. They and the Jews who delivered Jesus to be crucified were the worst that humanity had to offer. As cruel, and sometimes as barbaric, as the Romans were, it was the Jewish leaders who demonstrated the greater depravity. Jesus said they had the greater sin because they delivered Jesus to the Romans (John 19:11). Envy, hatred, pride, money and power were their motivations. Jesus had many confrontations with the Jewish priests, lawyers and scribes all of His ministry and they constantly sought to discredit or destroy Him. While Jesus had confronted sinners of all types, His especial condemnation was kept for the lawyers, priests and scribes who knew the law and should have been the first to acclaim Him as Saviour.

The cross is one of the ugliest ideas in human history. It peels back the thin veneer of civility and exposes the dark state of some men’s souls. That one cross that was situated atop the little hill called Golgotha, the place of the Skull and, there, upon its peak, was also a man of sublime purity. Not a single foul word proceeded from His lips. His actions were ever selfless and kind. He did no evil to any man. The kindest words of love ever spoken were uttered by this man who hung mercilessly from that rough hewn cross on its summit: “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). These simple, beautiful words were spoken with a face and body dripping with blood drawn by the hateful blows of His enemies. His hair was matted with sweat and blood and His head was crowned with thorns that pierced his scalp. His flesh was shredded from a fierce whipping. His hands and feet were secured to the hardened wood by spikes that punctured his throbbing body. And yet in His agony, in all His misery, He prayed for His persecutors’ forgiveness. What a contrast between love and hate, between God and man.

God’s love versus man’s hate atop the place of the skull. It was not really a competition, at all. There is no comparison to the everlasting love of God (Jer. 31:3). God’s love sought, and still seeks, the reconciliation of all mankind back to Himself. Many battles have been fought over such small pieces of ground to gain the advantage over the enemy, to gain the higher ground. God always possesses the higher ground but He gave His Son to die that we might gain the victory. And great victories were won on that hill.

It was on this hill that the church was purchased with Jesus’ blood (Acts 20:28). It was on this hill that those under the law were redeemed from the law (Gal 4:5). It was on this hill that the Old Law was taken out of the way (Col. 2:14). It was on this hill that the Saviour laid down His life to save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). It was on this hill that transgression was finished (Dan. 9:24). It was on this hill that an end of sin was made (Dan. 9:24). It was on this hill that reconciliation for iniquity was made (Dan. 9:24). It was on this hill that everlasting righteousness was brought in (Dan. 9:24). It was on this hill the ransom was paid (I Tim. 2:6). It was on this hill that redemption through His blood was obtained (Eph. 1:7). It was on this hill that both Jew and Gentile were reconciled back to God (Eph. 2:16).

All on that one, little hill.

Eric L. Padgett

The Name of God

A name is both a very personal and a very powerful thing. If you don’t think so, call someone a Judas, a Benedict Arnold or a Jezebel and see what happens. In the Bible, names were not only descriptive of the character of a person, but they were sometimes prophetic. Abram’s name, for instance, was changed to Abraham because he became the father of many nations (cf. Gen. 17:5). The second Person of the Godhead became a man and took the name Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). Names mean things and meanings are important. If a man’s name is important, what about God’s name?

When God spoke to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they did not know God by His name “Jehovah.” God told Moses, “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them” (Exodus 6:3). Jehovah means “self existing one.” Earlier, Moses had asked God at the burning bush, when the Lord called him to lead His people, what will I say when they ask “What is His name? What shall I say unto them?” (Ex. 3:13). “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:14).

I Am that I Am expresses the idea that God exists because He exists. His existence is not dependent upon an outside influence, as is ours. God has always been and will always be. From everlasting to everlasting He is God (Micah 5:2; Psalm 90:2). “And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33). “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding” (Isaiah 40:28). The high and lofty One inhabits eternity (Is. 57:15). He is eternal (Deut. 33:27; Rom. 1:20; I Tim. 1:17).

Both the name Jehovah and the expression “I Am” have relevance to Jesus. When John quoted Isaiah 6, regarding the Holy God (Isaiah 6:3), he applied that quote to Jesus. He wrote, “These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him” (John 12:41). John was writing of Jesus in this context. But the passage in Isaiah spoke of the LORD, or Jehovah. So in this text Jesus is equated with Jehovah of the Old Testament.

Again, when the guards came to the garden to take Jesus, He identified Himself. He said “I am” (John 18:5). “As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground” (John 18:6). His self-identification with I Am, was so powerful, it drove all those present, including the intimidating Temple Guard, back to the ground. In this account Jesus identifies Himself with the Great I Am of the Old Testament. It is a powerful name.

And it is a holy name. It is set apart from all names. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Jehovah of Hosts (Isaiah 6:3). His name is not to be profaned (Lev. 18:21; 19:12; 20:3; 21:6) or taken in vain (Ex. 20:7; Deut. 5:11). The priests were not to profane the worship of God because they were to minister in the name of the Lord (Lev. 21:23; 22:2; Deut. 18:5; 21:5). Holy and Reverend is His name (Psalm 111:9). As Christians, we are called by the name of the Lord and are not to bring shame to that name (Acts 17:11; I Pet. 4:12-16).

A name stands for the person behind it. One can either have a good name (Prov 22:1) or a bad name (Deut. 22:14). The Lord proclaimed His own name before Moses (Ex. 33:19). In proclaiming His name, he proclaimed His goodness and holiness.

And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped (Exodus 34:5-8).

The name of God is not to be taken lightly. God will not hold him guiltless that takes His name of vain (Ex. 20:7).

Eric L. Padgett

Read The Bible Through This Year

Bible study is not just reading the Bible. Bible study is much more. In effective Bible study, you must study the whole literary landscape associated with the particular passage under study. This involves understanding the immediate and greater contexts. It involves understanding who is doing the writing and for whom it is written. We must understand the kind of literature and the purpose of the writing. It involves understanding why this particular work was written. The historical context is important and lexical definitions can play a very important role. There is much, much more. I only mean to point out that Bible study is very much a matter of work, it is an intellectual endeavor that far too many people pass over lightly.

Again, Bible study is not just reading the Bible. However, that doesn’t mean that reading the Bible isn’t important in and of itself. Reading the Bible daily, or consistently, apart from studying the Bible, is important because it lays the foundation of good Bible study. First, reading the Bible regularly provides one with a host of wonderful and powerful stories to delve into and that help establish doctrinal truths. The Bible is full of historical accounts of God’s people that help to establish the importance of things like faith and trust. Paul said that whatsoever things that were written afore time were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope (Rom. 15:4).

Reading the Bible also facilitates memory. By reading these stories over and over again, they stick in our memory. Key phrases will stick in our minds and will readily come to the forefront as we face daily obstacles to living the Christian life. “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11). Memorizing God’s word is not just the responsibility of the preacher, it is the responsibility of every faithful chid of God.

Reading the Bible is also exciting. There are no better stories in all the world than in the Bible. The Creation, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, Abraham, Joseph, David, Peter and Paul, and the list goes on and on. These stories touch on themes that address every aspect of our lives and nature. They are universal stories that address human nature and man’s place in the world. He who has these stories at his mental disposal has not only a much richer knowledge of God’s word, but a much richer understanding of life.

For these reasons and more I encourage you to read the Bible through this year. In our weekly newsletter, we have a plan to read the Bible through and there is always also in the newsletter a question associated with the text. If you chose not to use the plan in the newsletter, I still encourage you to read the Bible through. You will not regret it

In Christ and for the Faith,
Eric