Monthly Archives: April 2011

Where Did It All Come From?

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Index of Lessons in the Westminster Shorter Catechism

Where Did It All Come From?

Video (Part 1) presentation of this lesson
Video (Part 2) presentation of this lesson
Video (Part 3) presentation of this lesson
(Westminster Shorter Catechism Q: 9-10)
by Bob Burridge ©2011

We live in and are a part of an amazing universe.


It was all created by God. Every part of it is declaring the Creator’s glory and power all the time.

God’s Creation holds mysteries that have intrigued humans ever since God put us here. It is so vast that we have only seen a tiny part of all he made. Yet, what we see is awesome and beyond our comprehension.

Distant things in our universe totally unknown a century ago have been declaring God’s glory for eons.

Though Pluto was demoted from planet to plutoid, another category became available for classifying the diverse objects that fill our solar system. Eris was added to that group along with Makemake and Ceres. We’ve observed volcanoes erupting on the planet Mercury, ice on Mars, and distant white dwarf stars that are changing our understanding of how stars mature.

We have learned to take the rocks and minerals in God’s world and make amazing things out of them. They rage from tiny computer chips that power our telephones, game machines and home computers, to huge bridges, buildings, and orbiting space stations.

We’ve mapped the detailed chemical structure of DNA molecules that code the human body. With electron microscopes we can see the detailed structures of disease organisms. We can even watch the heat and electrical flow in a living human brain as it thinks, and monitor the flow of blood through a beating human heart.

There are many things we haven’t seen yet, and many of them we will probably never see. Yet they are there evidencing God’s glory in wonders beyond our present comprehension.

Science tries to observe things carefully and measurably. Then it develops mathematical models to predict how things are expected to behave under different circumstances. The work of real science simply observes, measures, fits things together, and tests its predictions, so it can’t possibly conflict with what the Bible teaches.

However, science is often confused with things people assume about God’s universe. Some who don’t want to believe that God created it all out of nothing are forced to come up with evolutionary theories that make it all an accident, the result of irregularities in whatever came before our physical universe. That is why evolutionary theory is more a philosophy than what we properly call science.

Of course there are many different views of evolutionism, and there are many different views about creationism. If you’re interested in a detailed study of the different views of Creation you can go to our Genevan Institute web site to read some articles in our Commentary on the Westminster Confession about that in the unit about God’s decree of creation. Though there is room for theories, the Christian must keep them within the boundaries of the basic facts God gives us in his written word.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Questions 9 and 10, deal with God’s work of Creation. It summarizes the basic Bible facts this way:

Question 9: What is the work of creation?
Answer: The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.

The most basic fact is that God made everything.


The first two verses of Genesis say, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

Without arguments or debate, the plain fact is undeniable: God made everything. The word for God here is the Hebrew majestic plural Elohim (אלהים). The God of Scripture is one God, amazing and supremely wonderful.
He exists eternally in three persons.

All three persons of the Trinity were involved in the work of creation.
God the Father worked in creation. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 8:6. “… there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; …”

God the Son also worked in creation. John 1:3 describes Jesus as the Word. It says, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

Colossians 1:16-17 is talking about Jesus when it says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

God the Holy Spirit worked in creation too. Genesis 1:2 tells us that in creation, “the Spirit of God was hovering over … the waters.” In Job 26:13 it says, “By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; …”

These three persons, the One True God, created everything out of nothing.
When we make something, a table, a fence, a radio, a table decoration, or a meal, we first need to get the raw materials we need to make it. If it is a piece of furniture or a tree house, you need the lumber and hardware. If it is a good hamburger you need beef, a bun, and whatever condiments you like on it.

However, what did God start with when he made this universe? What ingredients did he have? That’s the amazing thing — he had nothing outside of himself.

Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.”

God had his eternal intention and his infinite power — nothing more. He made all things, visible and invisible, out of nothing.

The first thing God made was light. He simply willed it into existence. Genesis 1:3-5 says, “Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”

God’s creation was organized into work done in the space of six days.
He laid out the cosmos in an orderly way to display his glory. The writers of the confession, regardless of their personal beliefs, used very simple wording here to stay faithful to scripture. The Hebrew word translated here as “day”, is used in many ways in the Bible. In Genesis 1 it seems to refer to specific normal 24-hour days of some sort. In other biblical references to creation the word allows for a less precise measurement of time. The King James Version and almost all other translations sometimes translate the same Hebrew word yom (יום) as “era, years, time” and other such words.

There have been many ideas about the age of the earth and universe. Many who firmly believe the Bible to be the infallible and inerrant word of God hold to different interpretations about how long the days of creation were. Genesis 1 is very difficult to put on an absolute time-line.

One group of interpretations is that it refers to six 24-hour days.

  • Some see the days as happening one right after the other, a total of 144 hours.
  • Some believe the 24-hour days are separated by long ages maybe billions of years long.
  • Some see the days as referring to an actual 24-hour day at the end of each creation period. On a specific day, God named or inspected what he made and pronounced it to be “good”.

Others don’t think it means that the days were 24 hours long at all.

  • Some think the word day there refers to long periods of time.
  • Some believe they were just figurative descriptions with no indication of time at all.

Could God have done it all in 144 hours? Of course he could have. The real question is not about what he could have done, but how long did he actually decide to take? The Bible doesn’t directly answer that question.

We need to be very cautious when we deal with matters not addressed in God’s word. We need to content ourselves with what’s directly stated. or what can be determined by necessary deduction from Scripture. Beyond that we get into areas of dangerous speculation.

The clear teaching here is that God made all things in an orderly way. Then God stopped creating and established the Sabbath Day. It is a day for us to stop the work we do on the other six days of the week. On that day, we should remember what God did in making all things by the word of his power to carry out his eternal plan and to reveal his glory.

After each stage of Creation, God announced that all he made was very good.
That is the repeated pattern after he made each group of things. God saw all he made and said it was “good”.

The word for “good” there is “tov” (תוב). It means that each group of things he made exactly fulfilled all he intended for it to be and to do. The result is an intricate and complex display of God’s power and glory. There is a uniformity in the design, pattern, and behavior of all the things God made.

Psalm 19:1-2 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.”

In Romans 1:20 Paul tells us that God’s invisible attributes, his eternal power, and the nature of his Godhead are clearly seen in the things he created. They so clearly reveal him, that it leaves the unbeliever without excuse for failing to give him the glory for all he made and has done.

Very specially, God made us humans.

The Bible teaches that God created man, male and female.


Adam was made from the “dust of the earth”. That means from the elements found in God’s physical creation: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, iron and many other basic elements. He was not made from “lower life forms” or from any other already living things.

Eve was made from the genetic material of Adam. Some translations say from “his side”. But it’s not such a precise term in the inspired Hebrew text. The fact is, all humans come from that one act of creation by God.

God’s word says he made us in his own image.


The next part of the catechism question clarifies what this means:

Question 10: How did God create man?
Answer: God created man, male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.

We were made with the ability to know things as God reveals them in nature, by providence, through his word, and in our conscience. We were made without rebellion in our hearts. There was no sin in either Adam or Eve when he made them. They were personally innocent, righteous, and holy.

Of course that changed when the first humans fell into sin. Adam represented us all. In Adam we lost our righteousness, and our ability to gain it back by our own efforts. So in Christ the Messiah we gain it back by being clothed in his righteousness.

This is the gospel, the good news you possess to tell your neighbors, those you meet every day. The damaged image of God in the lost troubled heart can be repaired by faith in him. We add nothing to that faith. It is by God’s grace and power that we come to him.

The same God who displays his power all around us can transform us. Psychology, medicine, social activism, politics, financial comfort miserably fail when divorced from the power of the gospel. They might make us feel more comfortable in our sin, but they cannot change our hearts. But a sincere faith in the Living Savior can and does.

And when God made us, he gave us dominion over the creatures.


This is our human duty and privilege. We are commanded to responsibly use what God put here to sustain us, and to improve circumstances in our communities and homes.

Today this duty is horribly distorted and challenged. Some abandon every concern for using God’s resources responsibly. They waste food, leave discarded trash around, and kill for sport rather than for food. They compromise the safety of others for their own selfish advancement.

Others go to the opposite extreme. They raise creation up over humanity. They would rather see humans suffer than to make use of what God provided. They put humans who were created in God’s image on the same level as creatures here for their provisions. They can’t be consistent with their evolutionary assumptions. While they protect snails and quails, they without hesitation know they need to fight to the death against bacteria and viruses. They often ignorantly use up natural resources faster than most while saying they are saving the earth. They ignore real science while choosing only the measurements that support their cause.

We are neither to abuse nor to abandon our responsibility. God commanded us to represent his dominion over the earth, and over all he put on it.

We have a mandate as the special creatures God made us to be.


We are here to appreciate his revealed glory in all of creation. We need to take time to appreciate its intricate wonder and complexity. We need to remind others about who made it all, and why he made it.

We are assigned the job of caring for creation as those charged with dominion over it. We are to use it wisely for our provisions, while respecting the needs of others around us. We are to worship the Creator at all times, day and night, as we consider its majestic wonder, and while we live in the humble service of the Savior, the one who died in our place to enable us to see the truth and the glory of it all.

Don’t let any day, specially any Sabbath Day, slip by without filling it with worshipful prayer and appreciation for all God made, and with humble thanks that he made you and those you love.

(The Bible quotations in this lesson are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.)

No Exceptions

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No Exceptions

by Bob Burridge ©2011

Humans were created without an inclination to do evil. Adam and Eve were holy and free. Their freedom didn’t mean that God had no plan or idea what would happen. Their Creator was not open for suggestions about an uncertain future which in any way was dependent upon them. Eden was not a cosmic moral experiment. God is sovereign eternally. By “free” we mean that man had no built in pull toward evil. He had the moral ability both to do good and to sin.

In the fall, all humans lost that freedom and
became corrupted, inclined toward evil.

Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

At that moment in Eden, when Adam represented us all in the first sin, humanity became depraved. Sin brought death and bondage. There was no more ability to do good. The chains of corruption were firmly fixed upon us all. Fallen humans were cut off from the Creator, the source of truth and life. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1 saying that we were all, “… dead in trespasses and sins”

Sin alienates us all from God. The guilt that comes from it deserves eternal judgment, eternal separation from the Creator. Romans 6:23 says, “the wages of sin is death.”

This corruption, or “depravity”, is inherited by all humans. In Romans 5:12 Paul wrote, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

Just how seriously damaged are we from our inherited corruption?

We say this depravity is “total” because every part of the person is involved. Fallen humans are unable to do any spiritual good. Humans are corrupted to the core of their soul. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:20, “For there is not a just man on earth who does good  And does not sin.” The Apostle Paul references that verse, and quotes from Psalm 14:1-3 in his letter to the Romans. There he tells how complete our depravity is from the time of our conception. The classic passage of Romans 3:10-12 says, “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.’ ”

No one, aside from God’s grace, has the ability either to believe or to repent. Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” In 1 Corinthians 2:14 the Apostle Paul wrote, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

No one can change his own basic nature. To do that he would have to go against what he already is. He can’t even understand the real problem, much less understand and trust in the solution. As far back as the time of the prophets, Jeremiah 13:23 said, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.”

Fallen humans hate the fact that they need God’s grace in order to do what is truly good. Once confronted with this biblical teaching, it either converts them, or condemns them. Those not renewed by a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit will be offended. They will refuse to admit their lost condition. Their negative response further exposes the corruption they are so quick to deny.

The denial of man’s total depravity is at the root
of all non-christian thought and values.

The philosopher Rousseau proposed the idea of the “Noble Savage”. He was born in Calvin’s Geneva in 1712 (about 200 years after John Calvin). Rousseau came to hate the principles of God which were revealed in Scripture. Instead of total depravity, he taught the natural goodness of humanity. To him civilization was a mistake. It gets in our way. He thought that if we could just get rid of rules and cultural traditions, we would see mankind at his best.

The Frenchman Robespierre believed strongly in the teachings of Rousseau. He believed that man will prove his natural goodness if he was only allowed to be really free. He believed this theory could liberate the people of France.

He and his followers finally came to power. He had his opportunity to put his beliefs into practice. We call this period of France’s history the “Reign of Terror”. It lasted for a little over a year beginning in 1793. When it was over more than 20,000 Frenchmen had been killed in a horrible blood-bath by the “good men” of Robespierre. Included among those massacred were many clergymen who dared to doubt that man was naturally good.

How did he justify his use of terrorism and violence in proving that humanity is basically good? He explained it this way, “We must annihilate the enemies of the republic at home and abroad, or else we shall perish… in time of revolution a democratic government must rely on virtue and terror… Terror is nothing but justice; swift, severe and inflexible; it is an emanation of virtue …”

A couple generations later there was the French artist Gauguin. He also believed in Rousseau’s idea that man is basically good. He left civilization to live with the “Noble Savage” in Tahiti. The Tahitians lived without civil laws and restrictions. He was certain he would find an ideal society where there was unhindered human kindness and goodness. However, Gauguin was disillusioned with what he found in Tahiti. After painting a Tahitian scene, showing that what he found was not noble, he committed suicide.

History confirms what God reveals about man in the Bible. Humans are all fallen creature. We are totally depraved and live under the shadow of eternal damnation.

These are hard teachings. Jesus admitted this to the disciples in John 6. Some had stopped following him because of his teachings. In John 6:60 it says, “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’ ”

So Jesus repeated that same thing he had said earlier in verse 44. In John 6:65 Jesus said, “… Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

Our total depravity provides the barrier
that reveals the power of God’s grace.

In contrast with our being dead in sin, Paul said in Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”

Since salvation is totally a work of grace, and since it is entirely granted by an all sovereign and all powerful God, there can be no uncertainty about our salvation when we truly believe in Christ’s work as our only hope. Our confidence is never dependent upon our works or knowledge. The price demanded by our offenses against God was fully paid for on the cross of Calvary long ago by Jesus.

(The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.)

A Servant’s Perspective

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A Servant’s Perspective

Studies In Paul’s Letter to the Romans
by Bob Burridge ©2011

Lesson 02: Romans 1:1

The first words of the book of Romans tell us a lot about its author, and they reflect its main themes.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

This first verse shows us that the author saw himself as belonging to his Master, Jesus Christ, and that he was called to serve as an Apostle promoting the good message God had made known.

The message is summarized in this book of Romans in three main themes:
1. We are restored to fellowship with God only by what Jesus Christ accomplished.
2. Those restored to fellowship with God always show changed lives.
3. Lives changed by God ought to effect the society in which they live.

Living by these principles is neither common, nor valued in our world. Instead of seeing our hope and purpose centered in Christ, we are faced everyday with self-centered attitudes that are poisoning our society. Instead of asking what is right and what is true, people are asking what will further their own personal interests.

The idol of “Self” has become the god of our modern culture. Ego has become the center of our attention and concerns. Moral law has been re-written to justify anything that promotes a person’s self interests. Even much of our worship has been turned into entertainment to gratifying the god of self.

We live in an era where things are badly out of order. The idea of man being created and redeemed to serve God, who is truly his Lord, is not well liked, nor has it ever been truly popular. Individuals, homes, schools, businesses, churches, and governments don’t like to admit that there might be absolute standards they must obey. God is usually re-defined in some way that limits his authority over us. Even our duties to others are modified so that they will mostly benefit the doer.

One of the things most people try to avoid is being in the position of a servant. How different is Paul’s attitude as he begins this letter to the Roman believers.

Romans 1 begins …

Romans 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

The author of this book is the Apostle Paul.


We know from the rest of Scripture that he was born Saul of Tarsus. He was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin and a citizen of the Roman Empire. As a very gifted student of the Hebrew Scriptures he went to study in Jerusalem. His teacher was Gamaliel, one of the most celebrated rabbis of that era. Even today Rabbi Gamaliel is quoted and honored among the Jews. As a strongly committed Pharisee Saul lashed out at the Christians. He saw them as a new sect that threatened the traditions of the rabbis.

Saul’s life changed dramatically. As he traveled to Damascus, fully authorized by the high priest to hunt down and arrest Christians, the risen Christ stopped him, set him free from his bondage to sin. Jesus put faith into Saul’s heart enabling him to trust in the work of Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Soon Saul was promoting the Christian faith. He told the gentiles about the ancient promises and principles of God’s word. He explained to both Jews and gentilesthat Jesus was the Messiah promised ages ago in Scripture. In his travels outside the Jewish communities, Saul became known by the Greek name, Paul.

While on his third missionary journey he wrote his letter to the Romans. Paul had not been able to get to Rome in person. So he wrote this letter to tell them what he would have taught if he had come in person. Romans comprehends and summarizes the basics of the Christian faith.

Paul considered himself a “servant” of Jesus Christ

Romans 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

Paul used this unpopular idea of servant to summarize his relationship with Christ. We need to know what he meant.

In the Roman culture slavery had become very abusive. The Greek word used for bond slaves was doulos (δοθλος) which is the word Paul uses here. In Rome slavery had become ownership of the servant. They were forced into service against their will and often treated abusively. Even today we think of slaves as people who are demeaned and mistreated.

However, that would not be how a Jew of Paul’s training would use the word. Nor does that oppressive idea fit with what Paul is saying about his relationship with Christ.

In his law, God had explained what his people ought think about being servants. Back then, People weren’t hired with contracts and pay-scales in the way they are today. To work, they willingly bound themselves to a master to work faithfully expecting fair wages. Debtors could work their way out of obligations by working as servants. Law breakers not guilty of capitol crimes had to work to pay off those they victimized. There were no jails or prisons in God’s law.

Unlike the pagan nations, God’s people were to treat those who work for them with respect. The biblical idea of slavery should not bring up the cruelty and racial bondage we usually think of. Ownership of a human, or the sale of a human, was a serious crime in God’s law. Slavery could not be forced upon anyone unless it was to pay off debt from a crime. Slaves were never to be mistreated and had to be released after a set period of time. Abuses are not inherent in the idea of servitude according to God’s law.

There is a sense in which all believers are to be servants of Christ. Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers saying, “And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Corinthians 3:23), “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:1-20).

In his letter to the Ephesians Paul called believers “… bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Ephesians 6:6). In 1 Peter 2:16 Peter told believers to act, “… as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.” Later in this book of Romans Paul develops that theme even more as he applies it to Christians.

Certainly a Christian’s relationship with Jesus Christ can’t be compared with pagan slavery. Paul was not abused or forced into service against his will. He found love, not abuse, from his master. Paul became a most willing servant of Christ. His hardened will was changed by the Holy Spirit who gave him spiritual life.

But he did consider himself as a purchased possession of his loving Lord. That’s what makes human ownership of another human so wicked and immoral. People belong to their Creator, not to other creatures. Believers belong to their Redeemer, therefore it is wrong for men to possess other men.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

1 Corinthians 7:22-23, “For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”

In the Old Testament godly men were often called “servants of Jehovah” ‘eved YHVH (עבד יהוה). This title was used of Abraham, Jeremiah, Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah and many others. The Messiah himself is called a servant in the great passages of Isaiah (49:1-7, 52:13, 53:11).

Paul was glad to be under the mastery of Jesus Christ. This duty and devotion to his loving master is the first thing he mentions in describing himself to the Roman readers.

Jesus told his followers they would be better to be servants than masters in his kingdom. Luke 22:25-27 reads, “And He said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called “benefactors.” But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.’ ”

This is how we ought to see our work for Christ. We ought to think of ourselves as servants, purchased by our Lord’s own death in our place, so that we can do the work of the one who loves us so. We ought to love being the subjects of the King of kings.

Paul understood his service to be in the office of an Apostle

Romans 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

When the church of God entered a new era after the death of Christ, officers were appointed. Titles were needed to identify these offices. Words that already existed were used.

The church was to be governed and instructed by Elders. The Greek word for Elder is presbuteros (πρεσβυτερος). It literally means someone who is older or wiser. This word was already used in Israel as a special title for the spiritual office of teacher and overseer.

The church was to be served by Deacons. The Greek word deakonos (δεακονος) literally means someone who serves. In the general sense anyone who serves could be called a deacon. When the Jewish office of Levite ended with the finished work of Christ, there was a need for a new office to carry out the daily administrations of God’s church. A new office of service was created by God’s direct command. The ordained deacons were to care for the needy, maintain the place of worship, and act as daily administrators of the church’s resources.

And the church was to be established and set on its course by Apostles. The Greek word Paul uses is apostolos (αποστολος) which means “someone sent forth with an assignment.” As a general term “an apostle” is anyone sent out with an assigned duty. In New Testament times cargo vessels were called “apostolic boats”, boats sent on a mission. In that general sense, all believers sent out to serve God may be called apostles. In a more specialized way certain men sent out on special missions were “apostles.” The word is applied to Barnabas, Apollos, Timothy and others. But there was a very specialized use of the word for a limited number of men chosen by Christ. The office of Apostle applied only to the original 12 chosen by Christ, to Matthias chosen to replace Judas, and to Paul, who was specially chosen by Christ.

All holding the office of Apostle met these qualifications:

  • They were directly chosen and called by Jesus Christ. (John 6:70, 13:18, 15:16,19, Luke 6:13, Acts 1:24-26, Galatians 1:1,6)
  • They were eye-witnesses to Christ, his teachings, and his resurrection. (Acts 1:8,21,22, 1 Corinthians 9:1, 15:8, Galatians 1:11-12, Ephesians 3:2-8, 1 John 1:1-3)
  • Their calling was affirmed by special supernatural signs and miracles. (Matthew 10:1,8, Acts 2:43 3:2, 5:12-16, Romans 15:18,19, 1 Corinthians 9:2, 2 Corinthians 12:12, Galatians 2:8)

This means that the office of Apostle could not continue past the first century. Unlike the other church offices described in the New Testament, no qualifications were stated by which new Apostles were to be chosen by the church.

Due to that direct calling by Christ, they had a unique authority. They ordained elders to rule in the newly established churches. They had direct revelation and instruction from Jesus Christ. They uniquely explained the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ. They laid the foundation of the church upon which later generations were to build.

Paul was to serve as an Apostle. He was called to that office directly by the risen Christ.

Paul was set apart to promote the good news God had revealed.

Romans 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

Some times men are set apart by the church for special assignments such as being missionaries, ministers, Sunday school teachers, elders, deacons, heads of committees. Paul and Barnabas were set apart for the first missionary journey in Acts 13:2. The setting aside Paul refers to here was his special call to explain the gospel. It was his calling to make known the saving work of Christ. This is why he gave up his comfortable life as a respected rabbi. This is why he spent the time and effort to write this well planned out 16 chapter book to Rome.

In a similar way we are all are called to obey God and to tell others about the gospel of Christ. We are not all set apart in the special way Paul was. However, when God gives us a duty in any area of life we must let nothing else interfere with it. We must carry it out as if we were given over to be bond-servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We each have divine callings in our lives too.


We must be devoted to each of our duties as servants of Christ. Some of you are called of God and gifted to be engineers, machinists, mechanics, sales representatives, managers, designers, students, teachers, home makers, husbands, mothers or fathers … many things.

The ways of our Master must be carried out in every assignment given to us by God

  • We have a duty toward ourselves to maintain a personal walk of devotion to Christ. Every day we need to learn more about his word, talk with him in prayer, encourage his people, obey his moral principles, and hope in his promises.
  • We have a duty to our family to be a good spouse, child, parent and family member.
  • We have a duty to our church, the spiritual family. There we must be faithful in worship, fellowship, and in promoting its work and ministries.
  • We have a duty to our calling at work to bring forth our provisions from our labor, and to do that faithfully.
  • We have a duty to society to help and encourage others in our community.

We are to carry out each duty as bond-slaves of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must honor him as our master and do all things within the boundaries of his standards.

The world sees these areas of life only in how they bring personal gratification. To our fallen souls, all work and relationships are to satisfy our own feelings and desires. God is seen only as one of the ways for getting what we want as individuals. Ego becomes god, and self-gratification becomes the standard for all judgments and decisions. When seen this way our order of priority is confused. Our personal lives, families, worship, work and society become twisted and wounded.

As Paul shows us here, to be what God has made us to be and redeemed us to be we need to fulfill our callings as those who are bond-servants of Jesus Christ.

The tragic myth of the world is the belief that freedom is found in serving one’s self privately, in the home, in church, on the job, in the workplace, and in society. Proverbs 16:25 warns us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”

The most frustrating and oppressive servitude is to live as if you were free from God. The most satisfying freedom, is to be a devoted servant of Christ.

When we serve our Lord Jesus Christ in each duty he gives us, remaining within his boundaries, giving him recognition for every ability and blessing, we begin to discover the wonderful blessing of what God can make of our lives.

(The Bible quotations in this lesson are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Back to the Index of Studies In Paul’s Letter to the Romans

God’s Perfect Plan

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Index of Lessons in the Westminster Shorter Catechism

God’s Perfect Plan

Video presentation of this lesson
(Westminster Shorter Catechism Q:7-8)
by Bob Burridge ©2011

God is greater than anything any of us can comprehend. What we experience in our day-to-day lives is the discovering of his prefect and eternal plan.

Since God is so much more than we can know, there are things that happen which we cannot possibly explain. In our fallen condition people try to explain things anyway. They add their foolish guesses and theories. They either reject the parts of God’s word they don’t like, or they try to explain them away by adding things from their own imaginations. This generates the confusion about God which is common today.

The Naturalist tries to explain what happens in our world by imagining that Nature itself is the mother of us all. To deal with what they would like reality to be, they deify everything, but that really means they deify nothing. If everything is God, then he isn’t anything more than everything else.

They use different versions of Evolution Theory to explain where we came from. This makes humans to be no more important than dust, rocks, beetles, or bacteria. To the Naturalist there is no plan, no certainty, no hope for the future. This lets them reject the idea that there are things that are really sinful or wrong. They condemn only what stands in the way of their personal peace and prosperity.

The Fatalist believes that everything that happens is inevitable. The religious fatalist imagines some kind of god or universal power moving all things along, but it’s all impersonal. We’re just actors following a script. Our thoughts and circumstances move us to do what’s been written out for us.

The material fatalist believes that the forces of nature and chance can only go one way. We do what the chemicals in our brains get stimulated to do by our circumstances. Our lives are simply a play written by impersonal cosmic forces.

In both types of fatalism life is meaningless. There is no morality or evil, just our wrong ideas about it all. There can be no personal responsibility. Human feelings are just hormonal reactions. There is no reason to sorrow or to be glad, except as it effects us personally.

As one Fatalist once put it, man is like a water-beetle caught in a torrent of water. He may struggle, or he may let himself be swept along in peace simply accepting his doom.

Others see God as a powerful being who’s there to the help us, but who doesn’t control everything. To them, God is big, but he is not infinite. They limit God by imagining that human choices are beyond his control. To them he is like a superhero, or the pagan deities of ancient Greece and Rome. They imagine that if we all pray hard enough, God will change his plan to grant our wishes. They must think that their wisdom about what should happen is better than God’s wisdom.

God hasn’t left us to wonder and guess about his plan with such foolish theories. In his revealed word, preserved for us in the Bible, he tells us what we need to know about his plan and our responsibilities. There God assures us that he decrees all things and isn’t surprised by anything. It also tells us that we are real persons, responsible for our own thoughts and actions.

This all fits together once we understand how God explains it. We need to let the Bible speak for itself. There is great comfort for those who trust in the True God. We can rest confidently in the things the way they really are, instead of just how we guess them to be.

In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 7 and 8 summarize what the Bible says about God’s control of all things.

Question 7. What are the decrees of God?
Answer. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

Question 8. How doth God execute his decrees?
Answer. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

First: It reminds us that God’s plan is eternal.


If God’s plan is eternal, then it had no beginning. There was never a time before his plan was formed. It’s always been there in his mind. From all eternity God’s intent and all that carries it out was complete and perfect. Psalm 33:11 says, “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.”

That is hard for us to understand. Our plans all have a time when they are formed in our minds. We gather the information we need. We think about it. Only then a plan emerges.

With God, his plan has always been there in its complete and unchangeable form. There’s no information he didn’t always know. He didn’t need to do research to get the facts. He didn’t need to make up contingency plans. There’s no need for a “Plan B”. As we’ve seen in our earlier study, God is eternal and unchangeable. There was never a time when any part of God’s plan was uncertain or incomplete.

Before anything was created, God knew all things as they would ever be. He designed everything to show his glory in the best way possible.

Second: God’s plan is the expression of his own will.


God’s decrees are his own eternal and unchanging intentions. Revelation 4:11 says, “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.”

His plan wasn’t formed by advice or input from anything or anyone other than himself. Since the Bible says he knew all things before the foundation of the earth, nothing else existed when his plan was already and eternally fully formed. He has always known all things as they are and will ever be.

Some try to get around this by using Bible verses about God’s foreknowledge. They imagine God basing his plan upon what he saw would happen in the future. That can’t possibly be what those verses are talking about. It makes no sense to think that that the Eternal, Unchangeable God looked ahead to see what his creatures would do if he didn’t decree their actions, then decreed them from all eternity. So his decree was for what would happen if he didn’t decree it. The mind that wants to be independent of a Sovereign God can accept such self-contradictory ideas.

The word foreknowledge simply tells us that God knows with certainty before hand exactly how his plan will unfold. The Westminster Confession of Faith chapter 3, section 2 explains this when it says, “Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions, yet hath he not decreed anything because he foresaw it as future, …”

God doesn’t decide what to do based on what we would do. The Creator isn’t the slave of the creatures who make up history as they decide things. The Bible says it’s the other way around: Those who move history are moved by God. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.”

As Jesus taught us, even our prayers are to be presented humbly. We say, “Thy will be done …” We do not say, “God, you have your plan, but please abandon it and do it my way. It’s better.”

Third: The purpose of God’s decree is to promote his own glory.


That’s the continuing purpose of all Creation in Psalm 19:1-2, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.”

We looked at this more closely in our study of Catechism Question 1. As part of God’s creation we are each here “to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”

The Apostle Peter gave a warning to those who teach God’s word. In his First Peter 4:11 he wrote, ” … that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, …”

Our prime duty here on earth is to carry out this purpose of our Creator. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 we’re told, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Fourth: All of God’s plan, every part of it, is certain to come to pass.


God foreordained whatever comes to pass. We don’t say he Predestined it, because that word has to do with the destiny of our souls. Foreordination has to do with everything. There is nothing God didn’t include in his plan.

God’s perfect plans and infinite power come together to ensure us that all God determined to happen comes to pass exactly as he intended it. Since God is infinitely powerful, he is able to make all that he plans happen just as he wants. Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”

He is able to do whatever he decrees will happen. And that’s exactly what he does. This absolute sovereignty of God is one of the most clear and repeated teachings of the Bible.

Psalm 115:3, “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”

Psalm 135:6, “Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.”

Job 42:1-2, “… I know that Thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.”

There is nothing that can ever or will ever change or ruin God’s perfect plan for the ages. It is hard to understand the idea of a perfect and eternal plan that never changes. This is a high mystery to us finite and imperfect creatures. We can rarely accomplish our simplest of plans without having to make adjustments. With God, all he purposes to do — comes to pass without fail or amendment.

God’s decrees include everything. There is nothing in all of God’s universe that is independent from his decrees. Nothing surprises him and nothing is left out. He made all things to merge together precisely to declare his glory. Everything that takes place has been decreed by God for all eternity.

As time goes on our plans often change. We can’t possibly know in advance all the things that could derail our plans. We can’t anticipate human errors, circumstances, or natural disasters that might get in the way. We get new information and often have to admit that something can’t be done as we hoped.

Our information, and the way we make our decisions, are always imperfect and limited. We do the best we can to reduce the imperfections while knowing we can’t eliminate them all.

We need to keep in mind that knowing that God’s plan is certain isn’t the same as Fatalism. The Reformers, including John Calvin, made it clear that what the Bible teaches is nothing like Fatalism. Critics of the Bible often make the mistake of not understanding the difference.

We were created in God’s image as persons, not as machines. We act, and think, and choose. We alone are responsible for our sins. Even the good we do, our faith, repentance, and obedience are the work of God’s grace in us. He provides our abilities and opportunities. He gives life to our fallen hearts, turns us by his Holy Spirit, and gives us a new nature that impels us to want to do what he says is good.

Yet when God works in us by his grace, we come as persons made willing by Christ. We don’t repent and believe as machines or as rebels screaming and kicking against his redeeming love.

It is a wicked thing to believe that the loving work of our Sovereign God is just natural forces at work blindly.

One of the hardest things to understand
is the existence of evil in God’s perfect plan.


God did not create sin. It is not a created thing. Sin and evil do not exist on their own. They are not entities floating around somewhere in the universe. They only exist as attitudes or actions in created persons.

Sin is doing what God forbids, or failing to do what he commands. It is pure non-sense to say that God is the cause of anything against his own will and intention. Sin is not caused by God, and we should never blame him for it.

When the Bible says God caused “evil” there is a translation problem related to older forms of English. The Hebrew word translated as “evil” in some passages in the old King James Version is the Hebrew word רע (ra’) which means calamity or disaster. Sin, or moral evil uses the Hebrew word חטא (khatah) which is not said to be caused by God.

Obviously God’s plan allowed or permitted evil to exist. This is the way the Bible puts it in passages like Acts 14:16, God, “… in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways.”

God allowing sin, does not make it to be good. God may decree evil, and even restrain it at times, but he is never the one who causes it. In Genesis 20:6 we see that God restrained Abimelech from sinning with Abraham’s wife Sarah. There it says, “… I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.”

When the sons of Jacob sold Joseph into slavery, it was their evil, but God had a purpose in it. In Genesis 50:20 Joseph explained how God fit into what they did. “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, …” Evil condemns the rebel, but God employs it to reveal more of his glorious perfections.

One of the clearest passages that helps us understand this difficult concept is Acts 2:23. It talks about the crucifying of Jesus, which was obviously both a wicked thing and something God planned from all eternity to redeem his people. Acts 2:23 speaks of Jesus, “… being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;”

On the one hand it says the crucifying of Jesus was decreed by God as part of his plan. He foresaw it as something he meant to happen. On the other hand, this verse clearly shows that it was a lawless and wicked thing to do. It leaves those who did this responsible for what they did. They did it willingly, not as machines, or as mere actors forced to play out a script.

God uses the evil he permits men to do, so that it furthers his plan. He has a purpose in those who are left in their sins, and in those who are saved by Christ. Romans 9:22-23 is very clear when it says, “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,”

So evil is part of God’s plan, but it is caused by the willing rebellion of fallen persons. They sin because they want to, not because they are forced to do something they do not want to do.

Fifth: God puts his decree into action for us to see
by his works of creation and providence


In Creation God made everything he wanted to put into his universe and into our world. Everything God made serves a purpose — together they display his glory: Psalm 19 begins, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.” Colossians 1:16 tells us that all things were created for God’s purposes.

All we see, all we use, all we are — everything is part of the revealing of his plan day-by-day. By his providence God directs all things toward his perfect purpose. What we call laws of science are really the principles God embedded in what he made. Colossians 1:17 says, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

The events of history, even those done in hatred toward God, turn out to further his plan. Even the deceit of Adam and Eve by Satan in Eden was use by God. The greatest attack became the greatest story ever told.

God uses sin to reveal his justice, to show us how much we need our Redeemer, to display a love so great that the greatest gift was given to overcome the worst rebellion.

The things that happen to you every day are there for the same reason: to display God’s glory. The beautiful sunrise, the friends and family who are there to comfort and love us, the children and elderly who need us to care for them, the opportunities we have to worship, they should all stir us to see God’s hand at work in and through his redeemed people. We have opportunities to practice the presence of Christ in our hearts when faced with flat tires, rude people who show disrespect for us, pathogens that make us sick, homework, bills, taxes, manipulations of politicians, and devastating storms.

The decrees of God are a great comfort to God’s people.


Nothing is out of control. Everything fits into God’s holy purpose and glorious plan. As Paul tells us in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

This is the symphony of God’s World made known to us in God’s Word, and made knowable to us undeserving sinners by God’s Redeeming Grace in Christ.

God’s promise is that he knows what he’s doing, even though we don’t yet understand it all. He is truly Lord over all things and over all the beings he made. That’s why even in a time of horrible tragedy and suffering, Job had the courage to say in Job 13:15, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him…”

This is the assurance we can give to our children, and can draw upon ourselves when we face the unknown. It is our comfort as we go to bed at night, and wake up to a new day in the morning. We pray to God as David did in Psalm 3:5-6, “i lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people Who have set themselves against me round about.”

This is not just a useless intellectual exercise about large scale movements of history. It means that everything that happens day-by-day in each of our lives is the unfolding of God’s perfect plan.

Our duty is to look for our opportunities for obedience in every situation that comes along. Are you sick? Have you been in an accident? Maybe you received a good promotion at work, or your car has broken down again. Perhaps someone broke into your house and took your things. Whether you are blessed or attacked, surprised or bored: in all things you are moving through God’s plan as it unfolds.

The Bible tells us about God’s power and decrees so we can know we are safe all the time, and so we can honor him through it all. This gives us a different perspective. It is as if the lights were turned on to get rid of the darkness.

Whether you rest beside the still waters, or walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the Shepherd who made all things and who upholds all things is there with you. He is not only on the path with you, he made the path, and he made you.

Trust him, even when things happen that can’t seem to be good in your limited understanding, specially then. See each challenge as your orders of the day. Learn to move dynamically, responding to what happens with godly obedience. Rest with childlike confidence in the promises of God which cannot fail.

(The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

The State of Evangelicalism Today

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The State of Evangelicalism Today

(based upon our April 14, 2011 webcast)
by Bob Burridge ©2011

Many churches and individuals identify themselves as being “Evangelical”. This is a good term that has an important historical meaning. In time, good words are often used in ways that become detached from their original meanings. What does being an Evangelical mean today?

The word “evangelical” is an adjective from the word “evangel.” It comes from the Greek root word euangelion (ευαγγελιον). It is a compound word which combines ευ, a prefix meaning “good”, with angelia (αγγελια), a word meaning “message”. The related word for “messenger” is angelos (αγγελος). In the language of that time any messenger, both military and civilian, was called “angelos”, an “angel”. The same word was used for those spirit beings who were the messengers of God.

This compound word, “evangel” means “good message”. It is the message that God and lost sinners are reconciled by grace through the atonement of Jesus Christ. The message is “good” because it restores the lost to God’s eternal blessing and fellowship.

An “evangelical” person promotes
God’s good message of redeeming grace.

Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

The word “gospel” in that verse is the word “evangel” (ευαγγελιον).

There is an historical and theological meaning for the word Evangelical.


The Christian churches which believe that the lost need redemption are divided into two camps. The Sacerdotalists believe that God works mediately through the church which administers salvation through the sacraments. In contrast, the Evangelicals believe that God works immediately upon the individual to forgive and to restore him through the proclaiming of the gospel.

The historical dedication of Evangelicals to biblical principles has eroded.


1. Many now play down the importance of biblical doctrine
There is a tragic lack of concern about what the Bible actually says in many churches claiming to be “Evangelical.”

In a series of articles about the state of 21st Century Evangelicalism, Dr. Paul Elliott of Teaching the Word Ministries quoted from a survey reported in Christianity Today. The survey was based upon work done by Barna Research. Dr. Elliott’s article points out the following responses from young people in Evangelical churches:

  • 80% could not place Moses, Adam, David, Solomon, and Abraham in chronological order.
  • 85% could not place the major events of the earthly life of Jesus in chronological order.
  • 80% did not know to look in the book of Acts for the account of Paul’s missionary journeys.
  • 40% did not know where to find the Ten Commandments.
  • 67% did not know where to find the Sermon on the Mount.

In a similar survey of adults who call themselves Bible-believing Christians in America today, less than one adult in six said that he reads the Bible regularly. 35% of the adults surveyed said they never read the Bible at all.

Dr. Elliott said, “The church unplugged becomes the church uncertain about Biblical truth. And the church uncertain becomes the church that doesn’t really care how its people live.”

He then quoted from a Barna Research survey conducted in 2001 to show the following statistics:

  • 37% of adults in Evangelical churches do not believe the Bible is totally accurate.
  • 45% do not believe Jesus Christ was sinless.
  • 52% do not believe Satan is real.
  • 57% do not believe that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
  • 57% believe that good works play a part in gaining eternal life.
  • A similar number of Evangelical adults believe that other religions are “valid ways to God.”

2. Many in these churches show a lack of biblical morals.
In another Barna survey, less than 10% of adults in Evangelical churches cite the Bible as the primary basis of their worldview and behavior. Dr. Elliott reported that according to a 2008 survey by Pew Forum, 19% of those who are living with a partner outside of marriage identify themselves as Evangelical Christians.

Dr. Elliott referenced the book Willow Creek Seeker Services: Evaluating a New Way of Doing Church (the Purpose-Driven Church). It said that although 91% of its people stated that their highest value in life is having a deep personal relationship with God, 25% of the church’s singles, 38% of its single parents, and 41% of its divorced members “admitted to having illicit sexual relationships in the last 6 months.”

Dr. Elliott then concluded, “… systematic, expository Bible preaching has given way to motivational lectures where the Bible is rarely mentioned, much less really studied. The singing of Bible-based, doctrinally-rich, instructive hymns has given way to the use of repetitious, cliché-filled songs and choruses.” … “Many of these churches base their programs and policies on the latest fad how-to books rather than on the Bible. They model their services on the practices of television mega-churches rather than on the principles given by the Holy God who is the only legitimate object of worship, in His Word.”

Restoring the Good News to Evangelicalism:


Though the state of 21st Century Evangelicalism is clearly unhealthy, there is great hope. God’s word is powerful because of it’s source. God promises to transform the hearts of his people when they learn his word, pray for his direction, worship him as they ought, and encourage one another as a spiritual family.

There are things we can do to turn the tide of an eroding understanding of the gospel.
1. We need to restore the focus of the gospel to reconciliation with God and restoration to godliness, rather than just proclaiming a rescue from perdition.

2. We can also encourage our pastors and teachers to restore worship sermons to themes derived from the exposition of Scripture, rather than from popular motivational topics.

Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ ”

References:
Dr. Elliott’s helpful articles were found on the web at the following locations:
Part 1, The Greatest Story Never Read? By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
http://www.teachingtheword.org/articles_view.asp?articleid=67176

Part 2, What Do 21st Century Evangelicals Believe? By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
http://www.teachingtheword.org/articles_view.asp?columnid=5449&articleid=69330

The surveys come from:
Barna Research (http://www.barna.org/)
Bible Literacy Center (http://www.centerforbibleengagement.org/)
The Pew Forum (http://religions.pewforum.org/)

Romans: A Letter of Hope

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A Letter of Hope

Studies In Paul’s Letter to the Romans
by Bob Burridge ©2011

Lesson 01: Romans 1:17

We live in a world abundantly supplied with broken things. We deal with broken appliances, cars, dishes, toys, air-conditioners, computers, and about everything else except the things we hope would break so we would have a good excuse to get rid of them. Our world is also filled with broken promises, broken trust, broken relationships, broken systems of education and health-care, broken dreams, and broken hearts.

In its brokenness, the world has become immoral, self-centered, impatient, violent, and cruel. The things that should stir people to action are lost in a deep bog of apathy. In man’s desperate search for hope and solutions he only ends up breaking things more.

The reason why we can’t simply patch things up is much deeper. Man can’t repair society, or his relationships with people, or his broken attitude toward himself, until first his relationship with God is repaired.

Here’s the problem: if our relationship with God is broken as seriously as the Bible tells us it is, how can we know how to go about the repair process?

With his broken understanding of himself, and of God, and of the universe he lives in, man turns to all sorts of inventive ideas to make the problem seem better for the time. He invents religions and rituals. He holds rallies and gets stirred up into emotional frenzies. He makes strict rules, and creates support groups. Or he just indulges his own urges, and blends into the crumbling mess around him hiding his head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich. Sometimes — he tries all these contradictory things at once.

There is a better way. God in his written word has given us a reasonable and sound accounting of what is true and of what is right. However, the Bible is a complex set of 66 books which can be misunderstood when we approach them with our preconceived notions and with a severely broken comprehension.

Wouldn’t it seem reasonable that God in his infinite wisdom, in his marvelous grace, and in his astounding desire to make himself known would give us a comprehensive book to summarize the basics for us, and help us build a structure for understanding? Wouldn’t it seem reasonable that God would tell us clearly how our relationship with him can be repaired? how our relationship with others, and with the world as a whole, can be fixed?

God has done just that. He has given us the book of Romans.

The great reformer Martin Luther called Romans “the chief book of the New Testament.” The Genevan Scholar John Calvin wrote, “When anyone understands this epistle, he has a passage opened to him to the understanding of the whole of Scriptures.” A more recent writer, James I. Packer, said, “There is one book in the New Testament which links up with almost everything that the Bible contains: that is the Epistle to the Romans.”

The celebrated British scholar Robert Haldane wrote, “In the New Testament, the Epistle to the Romans is entitled to peculiar regard. It is the only part of Scripture which contains a detailed and systematic exhibition of the doctrines of Christianity.”

I consider Paul’s letter to the Romans to be the one book the mastery of which gives a solid framework for organizing God’s whole revelation. Romans comprehends and summarizes the basics of the Christian faith. Though Paul’s letter to the Romans has been studied many times, it is always helpful to sit at the feet of the Apostle Paul to study this epistle again. It is good to keep the basics fresh in our minds, and to review the answers to our common problems.

Make this studies in Romans a project for thought throughout the week after each study. Read the passage over several times. Think about the lesson it teaches. Pray that God will help you put its principles into practice in your own life every day.

This first lesson is an overview of the territory ahead. Before I go on a trip I like to sit down with a map and look over the route I’m going to take. I like to estimate how I’m going to divide the trip into sections so I can plan where to stop at night. I like to know what kinds of things we will be passing so I won’t miss things I wish I’d known about as I breezed by.

We know that the Apostle Paul traveled to many cities explaining to the Jews that the Messiah promised ages ago had come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He explained to the gentiles what that promise of Messiah was so that they too could understand his important message.

Paul had not been able to get to Rome just yet. So he wrote this letter to tell them what he would have taught if he had come in person. This is a letter summarizing the Apostolic message by the Apostle Paul himself!

Its main theme is found in Romans 1:14-17

“I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ “

Paul took his text from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk. This ancient prophet wanted an explanation for why things we so confusing to him as he tried to live in his broken world ages ago. God’s answer then, as it was to Paul hundreds of years later, and as it is to us today, is that the person who is right with God will live his life trusting in what God has made known. It is more important to know what to do and to believe, than to understand philosophically why things are as they are.

The old expression “the just shall live by faith” is one of the old translations of this verse. God was drawing a contrast for Habakkuk. Those who are self-important, the proud, have a sick soul that is guilty and condemned before God. Those who are right with God, those justified, show their trust in God by living “faithfully.”

They live by trusting in what God has made known. They know that if God has not spoken it, then we can’t know about it with certainty. The children of God will content themselves with what God has said in his word.

Living by faith does not mean living blindly or believing something without evidence. It means trusting without reservation in all that God has made known, and specifically in trusting in God’s provision for sin that makes us into his children.

Paul develops his theme in two parts.


The first part of the book shows how our broken relationship with God is repaired. Jesus is presented as the Messiah that God promised to his fallen race from the beginning. We will see in the study of Romans how that promise comes to individuals, how it sets them free from bondage to sin and its guilt. We will see that there is power in the risen Savior that enables God’s people to overcome the depressions and frustrations of living as broken people in a broken world.

The second part of the book shows how our broken relationship with others is repaired, and how we should therefore live with our neighbors on this fallen planet. By the principles revealed in God’s word redeemed people can learn how to repair their lives, their homes, their churches, their workplaces, and their communities.

This is wonderful good news for us broken people in this broken world. Though we may not be able to explain everything, we can be victorious, and turn things around. No matter how bad things are now, no matter what has gone on in the past, there is hope and assurance in the truth of a Sovereign Lord whose promises can not fail.

The teachings of the Apostle in Romans show us ….

  • how to personally overcome guilt and depression
  • how to appreciate the world around us in a healthy way
  • how to make real changes in our lives
  • how to improve our friendships, and our community
  • how to develop a God-based view of politics, work, evangelism and worship.
  • how to find a balance between tolerance and compromise

God has provided, through Christ, the remedy the world needs. With all the confusion, superstition and doubt that collide in the forum of public debate today, the message of this book is urgently needed.

A century ago Robert Haldane wrote of this world saying, “The spirit of speculation and of novelty which is now abroad, loudly calls upon Christians to give earnest heed to the truths inculcated in the Epistle to the Romans.” (p.3)

There are speculators and innovators today, many of whom even quote the Bible, who have little understanding of the basic principles of Scripture. They dare to guide us as experts, teach our children, and run our governments. People continue to follow this advice that has caused tragic confusion and pain.

Ideas that contradict God’s truth are not just personal opinions that ought to be equally considered. They are closing in on our society to strangle out its last breath.

A person does not need an academic degree in all the disciplines of knowledge to recognize the error and the dangers in the foolish advice that surrounds us, and to learn a far better way. All one needs is a solid grounding in God’s principles as revealed in Scripture. Falsehood is stripped of its mask when it is laid against the basic principles God has given us.

There is no better way to organize our obedience than to know well the book of Romans. We are wise to covenant together to learn this book. To study it carefully, to trust in its certainty, and to conform to its teachings.

Here in this book is the most complete presentation of what we need to know to repair our relationships with God, with one another, with the world we live in, and with ourselves.

(The Bible quotations in this lesson are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Back to the Index of Studies In Paul’s Letter to the Romans

Living Beacons

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Living Beacons

by Bob Burridge ©2011

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16,

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Notice Jesus didn’t say that his listeners should become light for the world. He told them that they, as citizens of God’s Kingdom, are in fact already the light of the world.

Light has many meanings in Scripture. It is used to symbolize God’s true knowledge, goodness, truth, righteousness, joy, gladness, blessing, and so on. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” Jn 8:12. John called Jesus “the true light … coming into the world” (Jn 1:9)

In this verse Jesus calls his followers the light of the world. We are not light all by ourselves. Our light comes from Jesus Christ. We have often been compared with the moon. The moon gives off a lot of light, but it is only reflecting the sun’s light. All by itself the moon would be very dark.

God made light and all the things that produce it in our universe. In recent history we have started to realize something of the amazingly mysterious mechanisms that cause light to be given off. For example, atoms can give off light when they are heated. According to the model we use to study this, the electrons absorb energy and “jump up” away from the nucleus into higher energy levels away from the nucleus. When they are in this “energized” state we say they are “excited”. Eventually an electron will drop back to its ground state and give up that extra energy by emitting a packet of light.

When we become energized by the power of the gospel at work in us, we become in a sense “excited” about what God by grace has done for us. Just as an excited electron must emit light, so must the citizens of God’s Kingdom emit the light that energizes his life. When we are truly his, and believe without reservation every promise God has given us, how can we not be excited to radiance by God’s indwelling grace? God put us here to promote his glory in the world. We do it by living the way he created us to live.

Lights are lit to be seen. We who are redeemed by Christ are like a city set on a hill. It will be clearly visible to everyone. God doesn’t save us to hide us away to live under-cover lives. He places us on a hill for all to see. We are redeemed to shine for Christ. The Bible says so. To refuse this calling is moral rebellion against the Lord.

Lamps are not lit to be hidden under a basket. That would not make sense. Lamps were put on a lampstand, a high pillar, beam, or shelf where they could light up a room at night.

We are to shine before men. They should see the good works God produces in us, and give him the glory for it. The fruits of Christ at work in us should be made visible.

For example: the characteristics of the beatitudes which Jesus had just finished listing (verses 3-12) should show our redeemed condition to all those observing our lives.

    Those transformed by grace by the work of the Savior …

  • are poor in spirit. They understand their spiritual need and dependence upon God.
  • mourn over their sin – for its offense against God.
  • have a gentle spirit.
  • hunger and thirst for righteousness above everything else in life.
  • are merciful – reflecting God’s mercy to others.
  • have purity of heart before God.
  • make peace among God’s people.
  • are willing to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

These characteristics demonstrate God at work in us. This is light that ought to shine from lives touched by grace. Romans 2:19 says that Christians are “a light to those who are in darkness.”

The light that shines from our lives should not direct people to our own abilities and accomplishments, but to our Creator and Redeemer. Our works are not for our own honor and glory. It would be the worst kind of thievery to take credit for God’s work.

We should shine our light to improve the world we live in. However we need to keep in mind that it’s not the behaviors that change the world. It’s what causes those behaviors, the work of our powerful God.

The darkness of sin has infected the world’s politics, economics, education, law enforcement, security and morality. These will only be improved when the hearts of individuals are changed by the gospel of grace.

Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote, “the great hope for society today is in an increasing number of individual Christians.”

One of the main themes of Scripture is the presence of God’s Kingdom. The presence of the Kingdom can make a difference in our world. Even imperfect Christians, when their faith is acted upon, can have a positive influence upon this corrupt world.

We are to work to maintain the world, and to use its resources to provide for our daily needs. We are to worship, honor, and obey God in all our thoughts, words, and works. We are to trust in him as our Creator, Redeemer, Provider, Father, and King. God also calls those redeemed by grace to represent him to others.

Our problem isn’t going to be solved by passing more laws. Things will only improve by changing the hearts of those who crave to do what is wrong. Our problem isn’t the abundance of guns, drugs, TV’s, video games, or rock stars. It’s too little hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and too much trying to satisfy our needs in ways God forbids.

The pessimism we see so prevalent today, both outside the church and within it, comes from a tragic failure to believe God’s promises. The gospel is the power of God to salvation (Romans 1:16). Our Savior can take a heart of stone and replace it with a new heart. The gospel can take haters of God, and transform them into his children.

The solution for dispelling the darkness in our world is not found by cursing the darkness, or by trying to push it out, or by passing laws against it. It is not found by setting out on a hopeless quest for the perfect leader, political party, or budget. It is found in letting the light of Christ show brightly in your life. We must be emitters of God’s light to the world in which we live.

The light that should be shining in us is more than just the words of the gospel message. It includes our actions, God-honoring lives that people can see.

Many of the good things we do are done privately, but others should see the evidence of our Christian faith in our lives. They should see a different attitude than the world has, different standards and goals. We should not measure success by how popular, good looking, smart, or rich we can be, but by how faithfully we value God and his ways.

Our friends aren’t chosen by how much fun we have with them, or by how they can benefit us, but by our concern for them in the Lord, and how we can together grow to be like Christ.

The purpose of godliness isn’t to make people envy you, or look up to you. It’s to direct them to the glory of God, your Heavenly Father. This means that good deeds done very humbly should be connected with a clear testimony to God’s love and power in your life. They should know by your conversation and obedience that the Lord is your strength, enabler, and hope.

In Matthew 6 we see the danger and hypocrisy of fasting done for personal glory. Our light that shines is not supposed to be a show of piety that exalts us, but a humility and dedication to our responsibilities that proves the power that Christ can have in the redeemed heart of a sinner.

When we behave in a way that is self-absorbed, rude, or greedy we are showing that our Christianity is just a set of beliefs which have no connection with a power able to transform us. We need to be thinking all through every day about how we might let our light direct people to Christ.

When we humbly serve God, take care of our responsibilities well, worship faithfully, do our best to show love and kindness to others, and give God all the glory, that’s when we shine with the gospel light and others will be shown the goodness of our Heavenly Father.

Proverbs 4:18, “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”

(The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

An Offer That Can’t Be Refused

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An Offer That Can’t Be Refused

a study in Ephesians 2:8-9
by Bob Burridge ©2011

People generally like to be commended for the good things they do. We live in a rewards based culture where praises and prizes are lavished upon the best movies, the best songs, the best dressed, the most likely to succeed, the fastest, the most popular, and the first to set some record.

When “good” is measured by popularity or majority preferences it’s easy for those to be good who we see meeting those standards. A good singer is one who gets the most votes on “American Idol”, sells the most music tracks, or charges the most for seats at concerts.

Good can easily become very subjective and divorced from any absolute standard to which we are all to conform. Moral good becomes giving to the poor, helping the handicapped, contributing to hospitals, or being kind to our neighbors. While these certainly can be good things, they can also be manipulative and self-serving if done with the wrong motives.

It’s generally agreed that we should do good things in life. It’s not as easy to define what things are really “good” by these mere appearance based standards. Even those who do what they admit is “bad” do it for some result they think is “good” by whatever standard they use for measuring things morally. A thief might think it’s good when he gets away with a robbery because he gets money.

People often believe that what they are doing is truly good. They even believe that the good they do is a great personal accomplishment. Individuals want to take credit for the things they do which they think are good. The problem is that in our fallen estate, the effects of our inherited sin nature distort our ability to see things as they really are. This disables us from understanding spiritual truths and from doing good as God sees it.

Even religion is distorted to where mere belief in some kind of God is thought to be a good thing. Religion is promoted where God has to wait for us to allow him to do good in our lives, and where we get the credit for doing it. The Bible is very clear that in our fallen condition, we can’t do any good thing. Our motives are stained with sin, and are not focused on giving God the glory he deserves.

Romans 3:10-12, “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

The greatest good is for us to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. We are here to honor our Creator, to promote his glory and to enjoy his blessings responsibly and thankfully.

The greatest good thing we can do is to be reconciled with our Creator by the grace that sent Jesus as the Messiah. Even that is a work of God, not of our own fallen nature.

Ephesians 2:8-9 are classic verses that explain God’s grace as the cause of our salvation.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: It is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

All people are challenged by the gospel to repent of sin, believe in Christ as Savior, and to do good. However, they can’t respond in these truly good ways because of their total inability to do what is really good in God’s sight.

The outward call of the gospel sometimes comes to those not enabled to believe. They will refuse God’s salvation because they aren’t able to understand it properly or to trust in it sincerely.

There is also God’s inward call described in the Bible. This is the call of the Holy Spirit which applies the work of Christ and regenerates the soul. This can’t be resisted because it inclines the heart to irresistibly come to Christ. It makes the redeemed grieve for their sins and repent. It makes them trust in the work of Jesus Christ alone as the way of forgiveness and salvation. and it makes them begin the process of sanctification, of growing in obedience to God. It is this offer, where the soul is transformed, that is an offer that can’t be refused.

Ephesians 2:8-9 makes this very clear. Being saved from our lost condition is by God’s grace through faith.

Grace is the undeserved favor of God to redeem the unworthy. That is the cause of salvation. It is that “by which” we are saved from our lost condition of separation from fellowship with the God who made us. The foundation of that grace toward the lost is the work of Jesus Christ who satisfied justice in the place of those he loved from all eternity. Earlier in this same Epistle (Ephesians 1:3-7) this foundation was laid out very clearly.

Faith is the means God uses by which grace works in the heart. He puts that certain knowledge, that trust, in our hearts which causes us to rely upon the gospel promise as our only hope. This work in us is done “by grace” but “through faith.” In our lost condition we are not able to trust what is true, or even to know what really is true. A true faith in God’s promises is impossible until the work of grace has already changed the lost heart to give it life.

Faith and the good works that flow from conversion to Christ are never initiated by us independently from God. They are God’s gifts. Until God gives that gift, there will be no true repentance, faith, or obedience.

When we come to Christ there is nothing to brag about. It is not our work, it is God’s work entirely. Even our faith is God’s gift. To put faith first and grace second turns this verse around. Faith is never the action of a fallen heart that then causes or allows God to work by grace. If grace is earned or deserved by us, it is not grace.

This is a very good message. Our salvation does not depend upon our doing enough, or of our doing something in the exact right way. There is no test or minimal standard for God’s work in saving us. It is by his love, not by our permission and human wisdom, that we are transformed into children of God.

What’s more, if we never deserved it to begin with, we can do nothing to lose it once we really have it. God’s forgiveness and perseverance with his children is our eternal hope and encouragement through all our stumbles and failures. We imperfect creatures, redeemed by grace through faith, are secure in the hands of our Sovereign God.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

Loved By the Triune God

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Index of Lessons in the Westminster Shorter Catechism

Loved By the Triune God

Video presentation of this lesson
(Westminster Shorter Catechism Q:5-6)
by Bob Burridge ©2014

One of the most comforting things God tells us in his word, is that he not only made and rules over all things, but also that he dearly loves those he gathers to himself as his eternal family. In contrast with that, the most troubling fact in God’s word is that some in the world he made became his enemies. There was a very ancient rebellion in heaven, and it moved to earth were humanity was infected.

Since that time man’s ideas about God have been horribly confused and distorted. Pagan deities range from vague cosmic forces to comic book super-hero gods. In Ancient Greece and Rome, new god’s were conceived by adulterous super-gods. There were battles for supremacy, jealousies, and divine deceit. They were modeled after the image of fallen humanity.

The God revealed in the Bible is totally different. Since the Creator is obviously totally different from his creation, and since he is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in all his attributes as a Triune being, we should expect that our Heavenly Father would be difficult to describe. We are finite, temporal, and changeable in all our attributes. There is nothing in all of creation that is by its nature just like God.

One of the hardest concepts to grasp,
is that God exists eternally as a Trinity.

This is one of the teachings of the Bible that is admittedly not easy to understand. Attempts to compare the Trinity with things we’re familiar with will always confuse the issue. The Bible never gives us a direct comparison of the Trinity with created things. We should not do that either. We should not expect God’s basic nature to fit into our limited minds and human experience.

It s not that the truth of the Trinity is unclear in Scripture. It is one of the most universal doctrines of Christianity. Virtually all who call themselves Christian believe there is One God in Three Persons. It is the central issue in the Creeds that came from early church councils. There can’t be any doubt that the Bible teaches this basic fact. Not all understand it the same way though. Our fallen nature is inclined to confuse what God is by mixing it with non-biblical assumptions.

The idea of the Trinity was not invented by the early church councils. They met to correct serious errors about God’ nature, and to replace them with what the Bible actually teaches. The realty of the Trinity is drawn from Scripture only.

The Redeemed are saved by the work of Jesus Christ who is God the Son, and are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught us to pray to God our Father who lives eternally in heaven. We pray through Jesus to the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. We call upon God the Son to save us, and to intercede for us to the Father. We ask the Holy Spirit to fill us to make us able to do what God calls us to do. These are daily concerns so we ought to know the nature of the One to whom we’re praying, and in whom we are placing our trust.

Knowing what God is, is important not only to theologians, Elders and Pastors, but to every believer who prays, and rests in his faithfulness, forgiveness and promises. What’s more, it is exciting to learn about the One who made us and everything else, and to be assured that we are loved by this Triune Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it in very simple and plain language.

Question 5. Are there more Gods than one?
Answer. There is but one only, the living and true God.

Question 6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
Answer. There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

First, it’s clear that there is only one God.

One of the oldest and most basic creeds of the Bible is found in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”

Sometimes this verse is called the Shma’ because that’s the Hebrew word that begins this verse. Shma’ (שׁמע) means “hear what comes next”. It is like our modern expression, “Listen up!” This word draws our attention to what follows. It marks it as a very important fact. The word LORD in this verse is the Hebrew word for “Jehovah”, YHVH (יהוה) It says, “Jehovah is One”. He is singular, the only God who ever could be.

The First Commandment is found in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

There are many other places where this is directly stated in the Bible. It is hardly a truth that needs defense. No matter what people might personally believe, the Scriptures are clear that there is only one God. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all that is. He is the living and true God. Nothing could be more clear.

The idea of the Trinity does not teach that there are “three gods”.

Second, it’s clear that God eternally exists as three persons.

This doesn’t mean that God is three different people as if they meet as a committee. The word “person” has a very technical meaning here.

Also, it’s not that God just shows himself in three different ways at times, as if sometimes he acts like a Father, sometimes as a Son and other times as a Spirit. There is a separation that is different than anything else in the whole created universe.

There is no single verse in the Bible that states this fact of the Trinity. Some uninformed defenders of this doctrine sadly point to 1 John 5:7 as a proof text for the Trinity. The old King James Version has, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

This verse was never used as a proof text of the Trinity by the early church councils. The Trinitarian part of that verse was added much later when a note in the margin of a Latin Bible was copied and translated into the later Greek text. It is not there in any of our ancient Greek texts.

If the Bible is taken as one unified word of God, it becomes very plain and obvious. There is One God only, but the one called the Father, the one called the Son, and the one called the Holy Spirit are each described as having all the attributes of this one true God.

First, God eternally exists as the Father.

Not many have questioned that the title of “Father” is appropriate for God. The Bible often uses this word to describe his care for his children. God oversees all of his creation as a father does over his own household. God is Father over all as the Creator and as Sovereign Head, but he’s specially the Spiritual Father to all who are redeemed in Christ. We’re called his children because, by grace, he made us part of his covenant family. Jesus prayed to him as his Father in the prayers recorded for us in Scripture.

God also exists eternally as the Son.

It is tragic that many focus so much on the human side of Jesus that they lose the wonder of his eternal deity. Our Savior was fully a human, but he is always also fully God.

John 1 tells us that he is not a created being. He is the Creator, the one who made all things. He tells us that the Son is eternal, and has been with the Father forever. This means his sonship has nothing to do with his being fathered by God in the sense of having a beginning. It has to do only with the mysterious relationship the persons of the Trinity share. Colossians 1:16 says this about Jesus, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Jesus showed submission to the Father’s will, which was never different than his own desires. Submission doesn’t mean he’s inferior to the Father. This is true even in human families as God set them up. The wife may be subject to her husband, but is never said to be inferior to him. Husbands, wives and all Christians are to be in subjection one to another (Ephesians 5:21). And the children are to be in subjection to their parents, but they’re never inferior to them. Jesus as a human child was subject to his parents as Luke 2:51 tells us, but he was never inferior to them.

We sometimes get the distorted idea that just because someone is given the responsibility of leadership, he is better than those he leads. Nothing could be further from the Biblical picture of headship, even within the Trinity.

Not only is God the Son the eternal Creator, who is in every way truly and fully God, he is also directly identified with the covenant name of God, Jehovah ( יְהוָ֥ה ). Joel 2:32 tells us that whoever calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved. Acts 2:21 applies this verse directly to Jesus, and in Acts 4:12 it says that there is no other name by which we’re saved but Jesus.

In Isaiah 43:10 we’re told ” ‘you are my witnesses,’ declares Jehovah”, and in Acts 1:8 it says that we are to be witnesses of Jesus to all the world.

John the baptist is said in John 1:23 to fulfill Isaiah 40:3 as he prepared the way for Jesus. In that verse in Isaiah it says he (John) would prepare the way for Jehovah.

Isaiah 43:11 says there is no Savior besides Jehovah. In Acts 4:12 it says that salvation only comes by Jesus Christ who is often called our Savior.

There are many other references just like these. What is represented by the name Jehovah is also represented by the name Jesus. He is revealed in the Bible as the eternal God, the Creator, and the only Savior.

Jesus does things that only God can do. Many times during his earthly ministry, Jesus forgave individuals for their sins. He performed miracles and cast out demons by his own authority. We are told to pray to him and through him to God the Father.

Many verses directly tell us that Jesus Christ is the one true God. Jesus was called “Immanuel” in Matthew 1:23. The quote is from Isaiah 7:14. “Immanu-El” (עמנו אל) is a Hebrew expression which means, “God with us”.

John 1 refers to Jesus as the Word, and tells us that “the word was God.”

Jesus made it clear too, that he is nothing less than the Eternal God who made all things. Just before his arrest, He prayed to the Father in John 17:5 saying, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

There can be no doubt. The one we love as our Savior and Good Shepherd, is the one eternal God, the Sovereign Creator of all that is.

The Holy Spirit is also fully God.

Genesis 1 tells us that the Spirit of God moved upon the waters during the world’s creation. Several places in the New Testament refer to God the Holy Spirit having been active all through time.

When the Apostle Paul explained his mission in Rome, he quoted Isaiah 6 and said in Acts 28:25, “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers.” Since it was God who spoke through the prophets, the Holy Spirit is obviously God.

Lying to the Holy Spirit was called lying to God in Acts 5:3-4.

Titus 3:5 calls our regeneration to life the “renewing by the Holy Spirit.” In other passages he is also clearly the one who renews the fallen human heart.

Since the Holy Spirit does what only God can do, he is part of the eternal Trinity, and He lives within the heart of every believer as the eternal Creator and Lord.

There are many passages that bring all three persons
of the Trinity together as the One God.

In John 15:26 Jesus our great Savior promised, “… when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”

Together the three persons share in: creation, preservation, regeneration, judgment, revelation, ancient miracles, and the divine ministry to the saints. They all receive worship, honor and glory. Individually they each communicate with one another and reveal one another to man. They all play an important part in restoring us to eternal life in the home of the Lord, and in encouraging us while we live here on the earth.

This high mystery of the Doctrine of the Trinity is a living encouragement
to all creation, and to us who are his children by grace.

The Savior who redeemed us, who intercedes for us, is actually God. The Holy Spirit who is sent to live in our hearts and to guide us in our beliefs and choices is not just a powerful angel or comforting concept. He is fully God. And of course we can each speak directly to God as our own Father.

In the vanity of human religion confused since Eden, God is little more than some far off ethereal concept, or a super-human deity confined to struggles on some Mount Olympus. But to we who are redeemed he is the Living God, Creator and Lord over all things. By his unfathomable love and grace, we are his children.

There’s no desire so strong in the heart of any creature, material or spiritual, that can hinder or change in any way the will of the Father. There’s no evil that can attack us which isn’t already conquered by the victory of Christ. There is no trouble, lie, or doubt that can infest our souls that isn’t overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in our hearts.

No power on all the earth or in the space of the universe around us is greater than or even equal with the infinite power of our Triune God.

(Note: The Bible quotations in this article are from the New King James Bible unless otherwise noted.)

summary:
“There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.” (WSC 6)