His Glory Clearly Seen!
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1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
1 Hallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly armies.
3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He set them in position forever and ever; he gave an order that will never pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, all sea monsters and ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and cloud, stormy wind that executes his command,
9 mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle, creatures that crawl and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth,
12 young men as well as young women, old and young together.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted. His majesty covers heaven and earth.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people, resulting in praise to all his faithful ones, to the Israelites, the people close to him. Hallelujah!
Praise Him!!! Praise Him Saints.
Can you imagine us on this little speck of a planet looking up to God and telling him we know better than him about how to run our own lives and right at the time we are saying this God is mananging the the whole universe down to the subatomic level, and managing chemicals, gases, and energies that we cannot even see so that we can have life. That leads me to Psalm 8:1-4
1 Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your name throughout the earth! You have covered the heavens with your majesty.
2 From the mouths of infants and nursing babies, you have established a stronghold on account of your adversaries in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I observe your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place,
4 what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him?
19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
I. The Creation of God clearly seen
I. The Creation of God clearly seen
19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
General revelation, or natural revelation,[1] is a concept in Christian theology that refers to God's revelation as it is 'made to all men everywhere',[1] which is discovered through natural means, such as observations of nature (the physical universe), philosophy and reasoning. Christian theologians use the term to describe the knowledge of God purported to be plainly available to all of humanity. General revelation is usually understood to pertain to outward temporal events that are experienced within the world or the physical universe. The definition may be extended to include human conscience or providence (or providential history).
Romans Explanation of the Text
Paul implies by this statement that human beings cannot know everything about God. They can only know as much about him as God allows them to know, but he has allowed all human beings to know enough to hold them responsible for worshiping him and treating one another justly……
(EXP)(19) Paul makes a declarative statement in this verse. God has not hidden himself from us. God has made his presence clear through what we can observe. Paul then tells us in (20) what specifically God has made clear to us.
Why does Paul tell us it’s clear?
The most certain and universal of all scientific principles is that of causality, or the law of cause and effect. The implications of this principle have been fought vigorously in the theological and philosophical disciplines, but there is no question of its universal acceptance in the world of experimental science, as well as in ordinary experience.
For every effect there must be an efficient cause. There may be one cause that causes many different effects. But there is nothing that happens that was not caused by another cause.
The law of non-contradiction, a fundamental principle in logic, states that a statement and its negation cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense. In simpler terms, something cannot be both true and false simultaneously. Examples: I cannot be in Detroit and Atlanta at the same time and in the same sense. I cannot be at church and at home at 11:55am.
Aristotle's perspective: Aristotle, a key figure in the development of logic, stated that "one cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time
Now both of these laws are intrinsic to us meaning we know this instinctively. Even children understand both of these laws.
The Law of cause and effect is how children learn how to grab things, walk, and functions.
Even children understand at a base level something cannot be in two places at the same time.
Evolution tells us that the universe lives within a closed system whereby which everything necessary for it’s function is inside the system.
Biblical Creation states our system is open to meaning it is contingent. And it’s because of these two laws. Something outside of the universe had to create the universe. Because the universe cannot create itself because it needs an efficient cause outside of itself.
The Kalam Cosmological Argument state:
Everything the began to exist has a cause
The Universe began to exist
Conclusion: The Universe has a cause!
The leads to this natural question if everything has a cause then what caused God? By definition whatever caused God must be greater than God!
God is uncaused cause or first cause because he transcends the universe. He is unbound by the laws of physics. He is eternal and uncreated. He just is! The Laws of Non-Contradiction do not hinder him because he is omnipresent.
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away.
3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord.
5 You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me.
6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits,
10 even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to m
We also this at the resurrection of Christ. In John 2:19
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.”
Jesus tells the Pharisees the he will let them Destroy this temple(his body) and in three days he will raise it up. For us that would be impossible because it would violate the law of non-contradiction. Something can’t be both dead and living at the same time. But Our Lord is not bound by these laws. He ain’t cut the same.
(20) “For his invisible attributes” Because God exist in the supernatural world for which we don’t have eyes to observe he has left us nuggets of information and data points to draw inferences or conclusion based on what we see. Paul gives us two of God’s qualities that are clearly seen through what we can see, test and observe.
Eternal Power-Rather than just power which other supernatural beings have Paul says “Eternal Power” inexhaustible power. From creation itself Paul says we ought to be able to draw and observable conclusion. Whoever created all of this and sustain it must have inexhaustible power. Also if his power is Eternal then he must also be Eternal. This is critical because it tells us that God is bound by the of physics that all of creation is bound by. That which is Eternal without any start date or end date works in the system but also sits outside the system. David makes this clear in Psalm 86:8-10 when one imagine the level of care and power that it takes to manage the cosmos you can only say one thing we serve an “assume God”
8 Lord, there is no one like you among the gods, and there are no works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made will come and bow down before you, Lord, and will honor your name.
10 For you are great and perform wonders; you alone are God.
Divine Nature-Paul says be observing creation we can see the goodness of God. In contradiction to skeptics who observe the world and ask question like “if God exist why is there destruction” we look and see his goodness rather than his wrath or anger. Paul is going back to Genesis with this statement. Notice what Moses say in Genesis 1:4
4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
10 God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of the water he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
12 The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
18 to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.
21 So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged creature according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
25 So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
29 God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you,
30 for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.
20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.
(20) Although sin has marred or deface all of these things God calls good. All of these things still exist and we are able to benefit from them. So even in a defaced state we should still be able to praise God and acknowledge his “divine nature” from these things. We ought to be to surmise the eternal God must care for humanity in that he provides for his children and even for those who are not his children.
And if he wanted to he could simple bless his children and turn out the lights for everyone else. During the Exodus several of the plagues only effected the Egyptian while the Israelites were living right among them.
But God in his mercy leaves the celestial night light on(moon) every night and the Sun every day for all people to benefit from Matthew tells us about this good God in Matthew 5:43-45
43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Jesus tells us that our treatment of our neighbor even those who are enemies should not be any less than what he does for them. He tells us his sun rises on them and his rain waters their crops in the same way it does for us.
This scripture also provides a level of accountability to all people. Notice this last clause in (20)
(EXP)(20) “as a result they are without excuse”
As a result of what?
This is conclusive conjunction. Paul says based on the previous data given in the previous verse No one will be able to hold of charge of unfairness to God, because he has given us multiply layers of data to evaluate to understand basic things about him.
At church we try to communicate in threes. We put information on the website, We announce information at church, and we send out robocalls. We do this out of love because we don’t want to leave anyone out, but we also do it to eliminate any excuses from folks who no matter how many places you tell people about an event they will always say “I didn’t know”
God in his grace has left of a plethora of data points, and nuggets to see his handiwork. We simple need to observe them.
When we are able to acknowledge God in general revelation God will send special revelation.
Pastor what do you mean?
The Nation of Rome was very religious. They believe in the gods. The recognize the supernatural world, so God send them special revelation. Special Revelation is when God gets more specific and tells you what you must do to be saved. This book(Romans) is proof of that it is a book written to Roman Christian who have accept God’s special revelation.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Open the Doors of the Church
