Hope Chapel
  • Home
  • Blog
    • Sermon Videos
    • Parents Corner
    • CREW Blog
  • About
    • Children's Ministries
    • Youth Ministries
    • Connected Organizations
  • Calendar
  • Donate
  • Contact
    • Join Our Newsletter
  • Blog

Hope Chapel Blog

Learning and living the Way of Jesus!

In The Beginning Part 1

7/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture

HOPE CHAPEL Sunday Service Notes

Teaching Series: “In the Beginning: Genesis 1-3"
Today’s Topic: “Week 1: G O D”
At the offset, I want to tell you that we are going to discuss some of what we know of God, but we will never fully know God.  As His created beings, we do not possess the capacity to comprehend God in His fullness (we don’t even understand our own bodies!); He has revealed some aspects of His being which we will examine today–and even in that, much is still too difficult for us to wrap our minds around!  This is why faith is required.  We can know what we know, and must have faith in God’s Word for the rest
Our denomination, the EMCC has a statement of faith that I want to read to you:
From the EMCC Faith and Practice (2013 - retrieved from
https://www.emcc.ca/files/emccadmin/Resource%20Documents/PositionPapers/articles_of_faith_and_practice.pdf

ABOUT GOD
“We believe in the one true, living and holy God who is a self-existent, eternal, personal Spirit eternally existent as a trinity of three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These persons are distinct but inseparable, one in essence, power, and glory. God is the transcendent and immanent Creator, Sustainer and Ruler of all things visible and invisible.”

If a lot of that went over your head, you’re not alone.  Today, we’re going to flesh this statement out somewhat, but first we need to read some Scripture passages upon which this statement is based.  [I will be seeking volunteers to read individual passages as part of our time together.]

Supporting Scripture Passages
  • Genesis 1:1-2 - “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
  • Isaiah 44:6-8 - “This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.  Who is like me?  Let him step forward and prove to you his power.  Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future.  Do not tremble; do not be afraid.  Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago?  You are my witnesses—is there any other God?  No! There is no other Rock—not one!”
  • John 1:1-3 - “In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.”
  • John 1:14 - “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”
  • I Corinthians 2:9-12 - “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”  But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.  And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
  • Colossians 1:15-16 - “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see--such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.  Everything was created through him and for him.”
  • Colossians 2:9 - “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.”
  • Hebrews 1:3 - “ The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.”

The Bible begins with this statement, “In the beginning GOD created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).  This first sentence tells us that the Bible is GOD’s story.  So, the logical place to begin our study series is with Him.  What do we know about God?  What do these Scriptures tell us?

  1) GOD is ‘self existent’ and ‘eternal’ - ‘In the beginning’ does not refer to God’s beginning, but rather to the beginning of the world and universe that we know.  God was not created and He has always been–He is not a created being.  We have been promised an eternity in heaven with Him, but whereas we each have a definite ‘beginning’ point, God does not–He has always been and will always be.

  2) GOD is not an ‘it’ or a ‘thing’ but a personal Spirit - Aside from Jesus’ coming to earth as a baby–as both God and man–God is entirely without a body.  There are times in the Old Testament that tell us God appeared as a man–to Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samson’s mother and others.  We call these appearances ‘epiphanes.’  So why do we refer to God as ‘He?’  Because God is personal and is not an ‘it.’  As the Creator of all, Jesus instructed His disciples to pray to ‘our Father in heaven,’ but we must not confuse that to mean He has a body and /or is male.  When God created people, He created male and female in His own image.  We bear God’s image, not in our physical bodies, but in our oneness and shared Spirit.

  3) GOD is eternally existent as a trinity of three persons–Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  One of the most difficult concepts for us to grasp is the trinity.  The word ‘trinity’ does not appear in the Bible, though it is clear through various verses that ‘trinity’ is an appropriate descriptor for God.  God as three persons has always existed–throughout the Bible, each is mentioned at ‘the beginning’ of Creation and each took part.  But how to understand the trinity...?  

We could think of God like an egg–three parts (shell, white and yolk) that make up one (egg); however, remove one element of an egg and you no longer have an egg–the shell is not an egg, the white is not an egg, just as the yolk alone is not an egg.  The Father, however, is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Spirit is also God (though not three gods).

We could think of God like a pie cut into three pieces, but as soon as you remove a slice, you have less pie.  You can never have less God.

The best illustration that I have come upon is that of water.  Water can manifest itself in three different states–solid ice, liquid, or water vapour.  No matter what state water is in, its molecular structure doesn’t change...it will always be two hydrogen atoms for every one oxygen atom.  The amount of water we have on our planet never changes either–the amount found in each state can fluctuate, but we will never gain or lose the amount of water we have.  

While it’s not a perfect illustration to explain how a being such as God can exist as three persons in one, it does open up our ability to grasp a little more of how the trinity is possible.  “The three persons of God are distinct but inseparable, one in essence, power, and glory.”  Distinguishable, yet One.

  4) GOD is both ‘transcendent’ and ‘immanent’ - He is not bound to the confines of the Created universe, yet He chooses to be present–He is simultaneously outside of Creation, but is constantly working within it as our Creator and Sustainer.  For example, He exists outside of time–He can see the past, present and future as one eternal ‘now’–and yet at the same time has the ability, and has promised, to walk alongside us on a day by day basis.

  5) GOD is the Ruler of all–both visible and invisible - Nothing is outside of God’s control.  Everything that has been created, was created by God and for God.  Does that mean that God created sin?  No...but He did allow for it’s existence.  We will discuss that topic during this series on a later date.

  6) GOD is the source of all good things - Just as apples are only found on an apple tree, goodness is only found in God.  God is love.  God is joy.  God is peace...

Summary:
God is so very difficult to understand because He is a being like no other, however, He remains knowable...
  • not created, but self-existent
  • eternal, with no end...or beginning
  • Spirit, having no physical body (until Jesus’ incarnation of course)
  • trinity, three persons in one–distinguishable, yet indivisible
  • transcendent, meaning that He is omniscient–He knows everything
  • immanent, He is omnipresent–He is everywhere
  • Creator of all things, and therefore omnipotent–He is all powerful
  • He isn’t just good, God is the source of all that is good

Next week: “GOD...created the heavens and the earth!”
0 Comments

    Pastor Jane 

    First licensed for pastoral ministry in 1994, Pastor Jane Peck has served in camp and church ministries in three denominations, five provinces and in a variety of roles.  Her most recent position is that of Pastor at Hope Chapel which she began in 2020.  She is excited to see what God can and will do in the days to come!

    Archives

    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020

    Categories

    All
    Addiction
    Agape Love
    Angels
    Armour Of God
    Correction
    Creation
    Devotionals
    Disappointment
    Discipleship
    Faith
    Fear
    Filling Up
    Forgiveness
    Generosity
    Gifts Of The Spirit
    Gospel
    Holy Spirit
    Honour
    Humility
    Idolatry
    Jesus
    Justice
    Lent
    Love
    Meditations
    Mental Health
    Mercy
    News And Updates
    Patience
    Peace
    Prayer
    Prayer Emphasis Week
    Pride
    Protection
    Redemption
    Rejection
    Rejoicing
    Relationships
    Repentance
    Revelations
    Self Worth
    Series: Be Different
    Series: Doing Life With Jesus
    Series: In The Beginning
    Series: “Our Family Tree Through The Bible In 2021"
    Series: The Bible Jesus' Story
    Servanthood
    Sin
    Suffering
    Sunday Notes
    Thanksgiving
    The Great Commission
    The Trinity
    The Word
    Wisdom
    Worship

    More Blogs

    Parents Corner
    CREW Blog
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Blog
    • Sermon Videos
    • Parents Corner
    • CREW Blog
  • About
    • Children's Ministries
    • Youth Ministries
    • Connected Organizations
  • Calendar
  • Donate
  • Contact
    • Join Our Newsletter
  • Blog