Christian Ultra Libertarians for Truth

Welcome to the classroom of Christian Ultra Libertarians for Truth.

Let’s pray. Hear the word of God. And sit in silence to prepare ourselves to learn.

SONG Therefore by the Deeds of the Law.

PRAYER

Understanding the Old Testament

Our approach to the Old Testament is going to be a little different from most approaches people take as my intention all the way through is to focus on the content AS IT applies to us as believing Christians and not an exhaustive journey through the material history of the Nation of Israel. So, while we will touch on the surrounding historical circumstances of the Nation – its lands, wars, captivities and established tribes – I am far more interested in the PRINCIPLES God offers us through their recorded experiences.

And so we begin. Moses is led to take whatever writing stylus and tablet or papyrus and write a summary history of the beginning in Genesis, and the words he writes, looking back some 3 to seven thousand years is:

Genesis 1:1

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

It has been said that if a person can accept these ten words then accepting the rest of the Tanakh is easy. I say all we need to believe is the first four words – In the beginning God.

The Scope of Creation

In the beginning of what? Ostensibly, Moses appears to be describing the beginning of all things that have to do with material Man in a material world. Does it describe the beginning of all things – not so sure. First, there was God before this beginning and so Moses does not seem to be attempting to describe the beginning of Him and whatever habitations wherein He resides. Just the beginning of everything that relates to us.

Some see this differently and believe that the heavens described here (meaning God’s eternal realm) is included. I’m not so sure as the Hebrew word for heaven speaks plainly to sky, clouds, and potentially deeper space – but not necessarily.

It seems reasonable that what Moses describes here is our galaxy and not the expanse of space – but I could be wrong. If it is the galaxy perhaps Moses begins post big-bang, which I suggest (IF it’s a reality) is God-authored. Whether just the physical realm with which we have to do, with God stepping in and creating and Moses giving us a summary of this beginning, or the beginning of all things related to heaven and earth, I see God at the beginning of all things, and authoring or originating them in a very specific way – through His non-anthropomorphic mouth.

Meaning He speaks and/or breathes all things into existence. So, Moses begins with, “In the beginning God (the one involved) created (he will tell us how) heaven and earth (with some debate on scope here).

Creation Debate

Now, if someone named Sam Smith was to step forward in the desert and create from scratch a hotel resort, we might say something like, "Years ago, Sam Smith stepped on this arid land and created what you see before us today." That is how we would say it. But we would know that in reality Sam Smith had the vision and while he might have swung a hammer he more importantly gave the orders and did not personally install the electricity and plumbing and the light switches and the bathtubs.

And so we come to another debate – through what means or approach did God create the heavens and the earth?

So let’s talk about what we do know from scripture:

By the time we get to verse 3 Moses will start saying: “And God said, let there be this or that (light in the case of verse three), “ and there was light.

So, from this people say, “God spoke all things into existence.” I believe this. I believe that God speaks things to life from a state of non-life. I believe we can understand this in the extreme sense of Him speaking for something to appear and it appears out of nothing, or that he speaks and things take on life, sort of like an inactive army sitting on the ground and a general speaking and they rise up and march.

What I am saying is there is debate on whether God spoke things into existence in this account of Moses or if he spoke inert things into life and action. What we do know is He created heaven and earth. And that he said things, and they happened. Everything else remains somewhat of a mystery except for a few insights.

The Motive Behind Creation

Know the motive behind creating all things, from Revelation 4:11 where John writes:

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The Greek word translated pleasure is interesting because it is thelema, which means his discretion, his choice, inclination, desired will. Now listen, that is a very different word from boolema, which means his motive was to command and determine things. Knowing this, we can see that from the start, the mind of God was open, good, and not despotically commanding. He was operating in goodwill, not determined and forcible will, but out of love and good inclination. And from this position, He created all things (including us).

The Creative Hand of God

The Psalmist added to the wonderment of His creative hand in making us when he said:

Psalm 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Again reiterating God’s hand in the creation, the Psalmist writes:

Ps 89:11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

The word for founded here means to set, settle, arrange, as in to sit down in counsel and set things in order. We also hear through scripture that His wisdom played a huge role in the creation of things and in it His mercy is manifest as Psalm 136 says the following:

Psalm 136:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.
5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.
6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:
9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

The Role of Wisdom and Mercy

Not only was he mindful, wise, and willing in the creation of heaven and earth, this attitude was behind all that in them is, as Psalm 146:6 says:

Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:

We will soon read about some of the specific items included in his creation, including that of human beings as Isaiah 44:24 says:

Isaiah 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

Jeremiah speaks more poetically about the power and majesty of God referenced in this first verse of Genesis, saying:

Jeremiah 10:12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
13 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

And then Zechariah gets even more specific, saying:

Zechariah 12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

Paul and Barnabas, in Acts 14 ran among the people and reiterated all I have just said, saying:

Acts 14:15 Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

So, all through the biblical narrative, we have affirmed that God created the Heaven and earth and all things that in them are. This fact is summarized in the first line Moses pens here for us:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

We have some insights into the attitude and attributes by which God did this creating, and His motive behind it all – it pleased Him, and He set.

The Creation in Scripture

Things forward by his wisdom, and power, mercifully forming all things.

I want you to notice the word choice that we have here in scripture that describes the actual creation – they are repeated in terms like: Spreadeth, maketh, layeth, stretcheth, and formeth. We will speak more about whether He was creating everything ex nihilo relative to our heavens and earth (which means out of nothing) when we get to verse two or whether he was giving and breathing life into dead materials, but what we can say, definitively, is He was making, forming, stretching and laying all things in heaven and in earth OUT by command. By the Words of His mouth.

Creation by the Word of God

Psalm 33:6 informs us that all things were created by his mouths words and breath when it says:

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

The writer of Hebrews wrote:

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

And then we have, of course, the most revealing insights into this beginning period Moses speaks to through the Gospel of John, which opens up with:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Christ's Role in Creation

In my estimation, we can best understand both the creation and the nature of Christ and his participation in the creation when we read Paul’s words in Colossians 1:14-17 where he says, speaking of Jesus Christ:

14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

And here we are given even more insight to this first line of Moses – it all relates to Him, the very word, the logos, of God.

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

And so, we have some thinking and assessing to do with all of this information as we try to get our arms around the first ten words of the Hebrew Bible. The views are broad as some say God created all things from nothing, knowing the outcome before anything was made, and predetermining the outcomes before creating or organizing them.

Some say that God assigned the pre-existent Jesus person to go forward at His command and arrange and set all things that already existed in motion and therefore God created all things by His Son. Some reject the first line all together, and others amalgamate dozens of other views into the whole compilation to give themselves a narrative.

I want to go to the white board and use the first verse of Moses in Genesis and the First verses of John in His Gospel, to offer my understanding of the creation.

Understanding "In the Beginning"

The Old Testament Verse by VerseTGNN’s Bible teaching series—book-by-book, through the lens of fulfillment and spiritual liberty.
Genesis 1:1
February 13th 2022

WHEN (AND WHO)

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning,

God

Created the heavens and the earth.

WHEN (AND WHO)

John 1:1 In the beginning

(was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God.)

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

From this, we can see that the time was the beginning. The who is God – fully God. Who is described as the Word, who was with God, was God, and was in the beginning with God. And that, all things were made by created, spread forth and out by whom John describes as the Word that was with God, was God, and was in the beginning with God.

From all of this, we know from Moses that:

God

The Preincarnate Word and the Nature of God

was in the beginning.

And from John that The Word was in the beginning. And that His word was with God His word was God And His word was (again) in the beginning with God.

And from Moses that God created the heavens and the earth. And from John that it was in and through this Word that all things were created and without (his word) was not anything made that was made. And from Paul we learn that the word John speaks about was Jesus who “created all things and whom all things were created for.”

This leaves us with the following to decide – was the preincarnate Word (who was with God and was God and created all things) a separate and distinct eternal Son that God assigned the creative labors to do with His mouth OR was the preincarnate Word (that was with God and that was God that created all things) the very words, logos, spoken words of the One God) who then took on flesh and became God’s only begotten Son?

The Trinitarian Perspective

Our Trinitarian friends believe that the Man called Jesus on earth was a co-equal, co-eternal person who, with the Holy Spirit and with the Father, make up the one God. In this case, I get it, and see how they could come to this view based on this information alone because the wording of John 1:1-3.

That being said, I am of the personal view (for whatever its worth and which I see as being supported by all scripture including John 1:1-3) that God is described as one, the Father, who said or spoke His incomprehensible words of power, mercy, wisdom and order, that those very words coming that came from the living God are not like our words but are actually LIVING, and that at the incarnation of Jesus these His Living Words were made flesh and dwelled among us.

In this way God still created all things by His Word, in this way the Word was with Him in the Beginning, in this Way the Words were God, and the Man Jesus was certainly God with us . . . and in this way, we understand the mortal life the living Word of God experienced in flesh that died but was then deified.

Showing that both words and breath pass forth from the mouth of God, remember again that Psalm 33:6 says

6 By the word of the YHWH were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Expression of God: Words and Spirit

One God speaking (WORDS) and breathing (SPIRIT PNEUMA) in the creation. That pretty much shows Him expressing Himself in three ways, but I remain unconvinced that each of those ways form separate and distinct persons with their own distinct personalities and traits. I tend to see one being, getting things done through two incomprehensible, powerful, and life-giving expressions called words and spirit.

I’m not sure I can do anything but argue my points so I step back and leave it as a mere speculation for you to consider.

One more point to discuss – the word used here for God is Elohim – which is not a name for God but a title for God and refers to a supreme being, magistrate or judge. It is plural, but is more emphatic when the article (the) is placed before it.

Because Elohim is plural we automatically believe that is describes either a plurality of Gods (which is utterly unbiblical and wholly appalling to a Jew) and/or a plurality within the persons that make up the one true God (which some Trinitarians try to suggest).

These views are the result of rudimentary understanding of the Tanakh, Judaism and the term Elohim itself. I want to try and clear this up now. And I’ll begin by giving you some things to consider.

First of all, we see the identical word Elohim referring to Moses himself, when God says in Exodus 7:1:

“See, I have made thee a god (Elohim) to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.”

Is there a plurality of persons in Moses? Is Moses a Trinity of three distinct, co-eternal, co-equal and separate persons in one man? No, but listen – Moses represented a very powerful God to Pharoah, and manifested this power in a number of different ways. This made him a god (lowercase g) of incomprehensible powers – a god of the rivers, a god of the flies, a god of life and deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God.. To a pagan mind like pharaoh there were many god’s –

The Usage of Elohim in Hebrew Scripture

Some over land, some over sea, some over frogs etc. Here Moses is called the plural Elohim because to Pharaoh he represented the many POWERS of all the gods. So even God referred to Moses as Elohim. Secondly, we will see that when we get to the far more frequently used name for God (Jehovah) in the Tanakh, it isn’t EVER plural? Because as a personal name God is not a plural – He is ONE and only One – as reiterated in the majority of the Old Testament. Now, in the beginning of the Hebrew Bible, Moses is writing. And Moses is literally and actually writing after having come out from years of pagan thought and practice among the Egyptians – and the one thing pagans are is worshippers of MANY God’s and not just one.

So, the word Elohim possesses a plural intensive syntax and is singular in meaning. In Hebrew, the suffix ?? (im), mainly indicates a masculine plural. However, with Elohim, the construction is grammatically singular, (i.e. it governs a singular verb or adjective) when referring to the God of Israel, but grammatically plural elohim (i.e. taking a plural verb or adjective) when used of pagan divinities (which we see in Psalm 96:5 and 97:7). According to Jewish Scholar Tovin, this linguistic pattern is well known and widely used throughout the Jewish Scriptures. For example, many of us are familiar with the Hebrew word ?????? (Chayim – hi-eem), meaning “life.” Notice that this word contains the identical plural suffix “im," that is used in Elohim, yet it repeatedly means “life”, in the singular, throughout the Bible.

Singular Usage of Elohim

Finally, the fact that the name of God, Elohim, does not in any way imply a plurality in the godhead is well known and widely recognized even among Trinitarian scholars. For example, in the New International Version Study Bible (NIV), it reads of Genesis 1:1: God created. The Hebrew noun Elohim is plural but the verb is singular, a normal usage in the OT when reference is to the one true God. This use of the plural expresses intensification rather than number and has been called the plural of majesty, or of potentiality. (New International Version Study Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985, p. 6.)

It’s important to note that the personal pronoun singular name of God throughout scripture is used three times more than Elohim and is first used in conjunction with YEHOVAH in the 2nd chapter of Genesis, translated Lord. So Genesis, which tells the story of creation, and of the One God doing the creating, has Moses writing of a God not yet introduced as the one true and personal God YHWH. So all through Genesis, Moses employs the term Elohim to describe him, and that description is to say, “this is the God of all POWERS and MIGHT.”

The Many Names of the Almighty

There is a fundamental principal regarding the many names of the Almighty as they appear in the Torah – they are exalted descriptions of the God of Israel. The name Elohim, which is not an exception to this rule, comes from the Hebrew root el, which means “might” or “power.” This common root appears in a variety of words throughout the Jewish Scriptures. For example, we find this word used in the famous opening words to Psalm 29,

“Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty. Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength” (Psalm 29:1)

To a Jew this chapter is well known because this Psalm is joyously sung in every synagogue as the Torah scroll is returned into the ark following a congregational reading.

Why is this important? Again, the pagan mind ascribed a separate and distinct god for each of the powers in the world which it observed, and on whom it depended. The nations gazed upon the life-giving and perplexing energy emanating from the sun and the rain, and they worshiped the many gods who they believed controlled these forces. They craved an abundant harvest and boundless fertility, and they venerated each god who they believed governed each of these abodes. The ancients were mystified by the powers which sustained them and awestruck by the forces that terrified them like thunderstorms and lightning and earthquakes and tornados.

So, they venerated each god with elaborate rituals and oftentimes gruesome rites in order to “appease them all.” Through Moses the Torah conveys a radically different message for mankind. All the life-sustaining forces in the universe, all the various powers that could be observed, emanated from the One Master of the world.

The Creator and His Creation

One Creator of the universe – the Lord of Hosts is His name and not many different gods. And this grand message of power is contained in the word, Elohim. All the forces of the world emerged from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore, the God of Israel alone – Elohim – is worthy of our worship and devotion. And it is for this reason that the Torah employs the word Elohim almost exclusively as the name of God throughout the first two chapters of Genesis because it is in these opening passages of the Book of Genesis that the Almighty is using all the powers and forces to create the universe.

To the Nation of Israel (just consult with any genuine Jewish scholar) to whom God revealed Himself at the foot of Mount Sinai and gave His personal name, there is no plurality of persons in the godhead. No fact could be more firmly established and reiterated in all of their sacred literature – both canonical and rabbinical.

Understanding Genesis

So back to Moses first line, In the beginning God . . . Not the first ten words, just the first four. If a person can accept the first four words of the Bible with all their heart, they have a heart for Him – and the rest of the story that unfold thereafter becomes easy to receive. I believe this, and because I believe this, I see God as overwhelmingly transcendent when compared to mortals and incomprehensible relative to His capacities as creator, governor and living loving God. Let’s read what Moses says next in verse 2 as might help us understand better what “created heaven and earth” really means.

From verse one it appears that God created FIRST (the heavens) as it is listed first and then the earth, which is listed second. This makes sense and gives us an immediate order doesn’t it – first a heavenly realm and then an earthly. And again, this appears to speak to the order of created things because now Moses describes the earth (which was ostensibly created in verse 1).

The Order of Creation

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Now, because Moses mentions the earth in the first verse we could make the assumption that that earth was as described when God showed up to “create” it. In other words, some people see God as having shown up and looked upon the expanding death materials in the universe and decided to form them and give them life. If this is the case, then Moses is speaking in verse 2 of the inert earth materials that God came to create. I tend to see the flow being that God created the heavens and the earth and once he did that then (verse 2) “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

And in this we will wrap our time up today – that God chose to create, that creation is of Him and is manifested by His unimaginable power for he speaks – and it is. One thing to consider is that while we certainly focus on our spiritual selves growing and abiding in this world, Genesis begins with material creation and the rest of the Bible plays out – here – in this material realm. If we move out to the last book of the Bible, the Kingdom of GodGod’s spiritual reign—fulfilled and present, not political or future. comes down, and abides here.

I am saying this because material life is a super important place to God and therefore to us. He created it and us materially, and provided for us a place, a home and an opportunity to learn to govern our material selves by His spirit for a reason. And while I am prone to emphasize the spiritual maturity we all are free to develop with the living God, we cannot escape the fact that the developing goes on here – now – and in the environment God created for each of us. This life is a gift – given us by our very maker in material form. His attention to this realm was just as dedicated as His attention to our spiritual potentialities through His Son. And sometimes I think we overlook this – I certainly do. And when we overlook it we tend to dismiss the importance of respecting God’s handiwork, and this world.

Existence in a Material World

So is to miss an important element in all that God has done and we would be wise to always include the fact that human beings were created to exist in a material world, to love and care for it, and to learn to exist in our specially crafted environs as good citizens and responsible tenets.

Queries and Reflections

Questions/Comments
Prayers