Lesson 6 December 21, 2003
Observations:
1. So what has happened between the creation in 1:1 and the results of judgment seen in 1:2?
2. The only thing from Scripture that fits I believe is the fall of Satan and a subsequent judgment of the earth which was a part of his abode at the time. This is the beginning of the angelic conflict!
3. There is a time lag between 1:1 and 1:3 with 1:2 giving us the circumstances related to the earth during that time.
4. However long this time frame is, one thing you can count on, this interval is not there to allow for, in any way, the millions or billions of years that scientists, geologist and even some theologians want to inject to account in some way for evolution.
5. At the fall of Satan and the subsequent choice of a third of the angels God judged the earth which implies that it was his domain, habitation at the time.
6. The sentence was pronounced but the execution of the sentence was not carried out then and still has not been executed.
7. The big question then is why the delay? What is the reason? Human history is the time of Satan's appeal of his sentence by God.
8. The original creation was not created in the state or condition that we find in 1:2. Isa 45:18
9. The term tohu deals with the topography, it was formless, a waste land.
10. The term bohu a void, deals with the issue of habitability.
Ø WHO IS INVOLVED? The Players
1. GOD AND HIS ESSENCE:
A. Must recognize that man is truly limited when contemplating the Essence of God.
1. It is the problem of the finite trying to fully comprehend the Infinite.
2. In our mortal bodies, it simply cannot be done.
1 Cor
B. Now man is limited to God's revelation of Himself in the Canon and in Nature.
1 Cor.
C. God is One in Essence and Three in Personality and Function.
Gen
D. God through grace provides a perfect habitat for man; Gen 1 & 2
E. His Manifestations, that is, His provision and revelation to His creatures are a result of His attributes, who He is.
F. There are two categories of Divine Attributes: Absolute and Relative.
(Relative - not in a sense of changeable):
1. Absolute: Those characteristics that belong to God alone.
- The Absolute Attributes require no object. [self-contained]
- There is no illustration to be found in man.
2. Analogous: These are characteristics that can be illustrated in man, that is they find an analogy in man. i.e. love
The various perfections of God are not component parts of God. Each describes His total being.
G. Absolute Attribute 1 - His Spirituality:
1. God is Immaterial and Invisible; Jn
2. But He can choose to manifest His Essence at any time or place and even at different places at the same time.
3. Man is from God and is both
Material and Immaterial. 2 Cor
4. God is Life. 1 Ths 1:9 = a living and
true God ; Jer
5. This Life has no beginning or end. Jn 1:1; Heb 1:12