Man and God

Psalm 8:1–9 (ESV)

1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Sermon 1:

Introduction: The Knowledge of God and Self

“Who am I?” This is a question that, at one point or another, you have all asked. If you haven’t, you soon will. It is a question that is common to all human beings. It is a puzzling question. If you begin to look for an answer, you are sure to find many.

Some will say you are who you desire to be. You can shape what is outside of you to fit your whims and wants. Some will say that you are nothing but a product of chance. Thus, who you are matters little. You are, and someday you won’t be anymore. Others will say you are merely a part of the greater whole of existence. Your purpose is to be absorbed into the oneness of the universe. Yes, some of the answers given are depressing, dumbfounding, dumb, and dangerous.

In one of Plato’s dialogues, Socrates suggests that wisdom is knowing yourself. John Calvin agrees in part but adds an important detail. “True and sound wisdom,” says Calvin, “consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” Calvin, correctly notes that true knowledge of ourselves cannot come unless we know the God who made us. Thus, true wisdom doesn’t begin with the question of who we are but who God is. As Solomon says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10).

So then, we begin our sermons this week not with the question: “What is man?” Nor do we start with the question of “Who am I?” For though the Psalm that we read at the beginning does pose the question of “What is man that you are mindful of him?” it is directed towards and answered by contemplating God, whose name is majestic (Psalm 8:1, 4, 9). So, taking our cue from David, we begin with the most essential subject by asking, “Who is God?”

The big idea for this sermon is you must know God. I will show the ways through which you come to know God and what you will come to know of God if you utilize them.

First, you must know God through His Two Books (Psalm 19).

The third answer in the Baptist Catechism states: “The light of nature in man and works of God, plainly declare, there is a God; but his word and Spirit only do it fully and effectually for the salvation of sinners.” The catechism is reflecting what is demonstrably true by logical argument and explicitly stated in Scripture. There are two books, one literal and one metaphorical, by which you can come to know God. These two books are God’s works and Word.

Moreover, the light of nature or reason helps us come to know God through His two books. We can make observations and draw out conclusions from those observations. We can create and follow arguments to their conclusions. God has created us with a sense of what is orderly and what is not. Only a “fool says in his heart there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). We can know truths and from those truths infer other truths. The practice of science, mathematics, and law, among other things, rightly assumes humans can reason. The postmodern attempt to deny rationality by rational argument is self-contradictory. You have senses and a mind by which you can come to know many things, including that there is a God who made all things and that you are not Him. Now let us consider God’s two books.

To begin with, you must know God through His works (Psalm 19:1-6).

David says, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). Paul says that the unconverted cannot plead ignorance of God. “For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in things that have been made” (Romans 1:19-20). This fact is further evidenced by the fact that there is a transcendent and pervasive law common to and known by all men. Paul writes,

For when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts even accuses them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus (Romans 2:14-16).

The law on man’s heart that shows itself in the moral judgments and laws made by men and civilizations throughout time is a creation evidence of God’s existence and holiness. These standards of morality, these laws, came from somewhere, namely a lawgiver. The same can be said with scientific laws drawn from observing phenomena. Laws are given by lawgivers. That lawgiver is God, who made man with morality and created the universe with regularity and order.

The universe is not eternal. It has a beginning. Everything that has a beginning has a cause. Nothing cannot become something. The cause of all that has a beginning is God. This God, unlike the universe, is eternal, self-existing, incomprehensible to all outside of Himself, and unchangeable. More on this later. The first book by which we come to know God is His works. Though His works, including natural law, does tell us God exists and tells us some things about God, they leave us condemned as sinners. They cannot give a saving knowledge of God. This is where the second book, God’s Word, comes to our aid.

Next, you must know God through His Word (Psalm 19:7-11).

After singing that creation declares the glory of God, David proclaims that Scripture reveals more to and effects change in those who receive it by faith,

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19:7-11).

Paul reminds his child in the faith, Timothy, that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Just before that, Paul says how “the sacred writings... are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ” (2 Timothy 3:15). Jesus in John says, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3) The Scriptures are the road to God and the One whom He sent, resulting in salvation and eternal life.

The Scriptures are nothing less or more than the Old and New Testaments. Within their pages, you find God’s saving self-disclosure to His image bears. In them, are words penned by men “as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

Both creation and Scripture disclose God to those who take the time to understand them. They are both God’s books and will never contradict one another. That said, Scripture will more clearly and expansively make known God, His Salvation, and His will. Next, we consider what these two books say you must know about the God who speaks through them.

For now I make two applications:

1. You must know God and worship Him by admiring His works

2. You must know God and worship Him by trusting His Word

Sermon 2: Psalm 89:5-18

You must know God’s unity.

Consider two rhetorical questions put forward the Psalmists. He writes, “For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?” (Psalm 89:5-7). The answer to these questions is no one. There are none in the skies which can be compared to the Lord. There is no heavenly being like Him. None are a god like Him to be greatly feared in the counsel of the holy ones or are awesome above all who are around Him. The God who speaks through His works and Word is a God unparalleled. Even the greatest of creatures are not on God’s level or even close enough to be compared to Him in His infinite greatness. I have said you must know God’s unity.

To assist you, I will survey and summarize the biblical teaching of God and His attributes. This survey will give you a taste of the incomparable greatness of God. In turn, you will be better equipped to view mankind, including yourself, with greater accuracy.

You must know God’s unity, which means there is only one.

God’s works and works are clear that there is only one God. There can only be one who made all things, sustains all things, and govern all things. There is only one beginning, and end of all that exists. Moses writes, “Here O Israel, The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Also, Yahweh demands exclusive worship because He alone is God (Deuteronomy 5:6-10).

Moreover, Isaiah records, “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts, ‘I am the first and I am the last, besides me, there is no God’” (Isaiah 44:6). Idols and false gods are nothing and can do nothing (Isaiah 41:21-29; Psalm 115:4-8; 135:15-17). Jesus clearly agrees when He is asked what the greatest commandment is. He answers, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:29-30).

You must know God's unity, which is incomprehensible.

To say God is incomprehensible is to say that we as limited creatures cannot know Him exhaustively or fully. This should be rather obvious because He is incomparable, as the Psalmists said early. That which cannot be compared to anything created cannot be fully understood by any created thing. Thus, we can know God truly, but we cannot know God fully. What we can know is what He has disclosed in His works and Word. However, even the human language of His Word or that I am using now cannot contain God.

He is self-existent.

To say God is self-existent is to state that God is and never was not. The personal name of God implies this attribute. God tells Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). God is period. He depends on nothing. His fire, His life, does not even use the bush for fuel (Exodus 3:2). The Father and the Son, and by implication the Spirit, have “life in” themselves according to Jesus (John 5:26).

He is simple.

To say God is simple is to say that He is not made of parts. The attributes of God are not to be thought of as Lego blocks that build into the One God. God is His attributes. Though we say attributes in the plural, the one undivided essence of God is more like a singular light when it hits a prism of creation and refracts an array of colors. If God had parts, He would be dependent upon them for His existence. But God depends on nothing. Therefore, He has no parts. He is absolutely one in His being. He is the “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14).

He is eternal.

To say God is eternal is to say that He has no beginning or end. He is and never was not, and He always will be. He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, and the first and the last (Revelation 1:8; Isaiah 44:6). As Moses writes, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2).

He is immense.

To say God is immense is to say He is not limited to space or is not able to be measured. David expresses this when He writes, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7). Solomon agrees when He says, “But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?” (2 Chronicles 2:6).

He is immutable.

To say God is immutable is to say that He does not change. He is always who He is. Creatures cannot change Him. Creatures change, but He does not. God, Himself says, “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6). James states, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

He is infinite.

To say God is infinite is to say that God has no limit. Job’s friend Zophar, though wrong about a lot, is undoubtedly correct when he says, “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea” (Job 11:7-9).

You must know God's unity, which is relational.

He is the creator of all.

To say God is the Creator of all is to say that all things outside of God were made by Him. Moses records, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The remainder of Genesis chapter one details God’s forming of the world and filling it. Paul, while discussing eating food sacrificed idols to the Corinthian church, says, “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:5–6).

He is the sustainer of all.

To say God is the sustainer of all is to say that He upholds all that He has made, and apart from Him, they would no longer exist. Speaking specifically of God the Son, Hebrews proclaims, “[He] upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus encouraging His disciples to not fear man reminds them, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:29–30).

He is the sovereign ruler of all.

To say God is the sovereign ruler of all is to say that He governs or guides all that He has made to His perfect, just, and good ends. As King David sings, “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). In the wake of God’s challenge, Job confesses, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).

He is good.

To say that God is good is to say that He is that which is most desirable, and in Him, there is nothing bad, by Him, there is no wrong done, and His ends for all His acts are beautiful, lovely, and perfect. The Psalmist proclaims of God, “You are good and do good” (Psalm 119:68). We shall see that God’s goodness is also paralleled with His mercifulness and justice.

He is merciful.

To say God is merciful is to say that He helps the helpless and saves the helpless. David sings of God’s goodness and mercy, saying, “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made” (Psalm 145:9). Or consider what Jeremiah says amid great sorrow over the destruction of Jerusalem: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lamentations 3:22–24). God’s mercy is dispensed not based on anything other than His own free and perfect will (Exodus 33:19).

He is just.

To say God is just is to say that God gives to His creatures what they deserve in either grace or punishment. David affirms God’s goodness and justice when he says, “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way” (Psalm 25:8). Moses concurs when he writes, “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4). God remains just in both condemning some according to their sin and pardoning others according to Jesus’ imputed righteousness (Romans 3:21-26; 6:23).

You must know God unity, which is perfect.

He is holy.

To say God is holy is to say that God is transcendent and distinctly other from all that He has made. Samuel’s mother, Hannah agrees when she prays, “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:2). According to Peter by the power of Christ, we are to reflect the transcendent otherness of our God in a creaturely way. Put more simply, the Lord says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16; Leviticus 11:44).

He is wise.

To say that God is wise is to say that God “understands all things understandable.” The Psalmist says, “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:5). David reflects on the fact that there is no escaping God’s knowledge. Our thoughts, path, lying down, words, past, and future do not allude His knowledge (Psalm 139:2-6).

He is free.

To say that God is free is to say that He wills and does all things without necessity but freely. Put differently, nothing forces God’s hand. The Psalms make this plain. One states, “Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in seas and all deeps” (Psalm 135:6). Another one declares, “Our God is in the heavens; and does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

He is all-powerful.

To say God is all-powerful is to say that God has all power to do what He in His infinite wisdom wills. The texts referenced moments ago are enough to prove this notion. Nothing can stand against God from accomplishing His good and perfect will. For this reason, we may cleave to the promise of Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

We with the books of God’s works and word must confess that the One God is incomprehensible, self-existent, simple, eternal, immense, immutable, infinite, the Creator of all things, the sustainer of all things, the sovereign ruler of all things, good, merciful, just, holy, wise, free, and all-powerful. In sum, He is incomparable. We must understand this truth, for we are one of His creatures, and our true nature can only be seen in the radiance of His incomparable perfections.

It is worth noting what will be expounded in the next sermon, namely the one God is three co-equal and co-eternal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three are the same in essence and equal in power and glory.

What shall you do when you face the Triune God who is incomprehensible , relational, and perfect? What shall you do when you come to recognize God’s manifold perfections?

1. You must know God and worship Him exclusively.

2. You must know God and worship Him repentantly.

3. You must know God and worship Him Christo-centricly.

Sermon 3:

Third, you must know God’s Trinity.

There is one and only one God. This One God is three co-equal and co-eternal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons possess the One and common undivided divine nature. They are distinct from each other through the ways in which they relate to each other.

The Father eternally begets the Son and eternally spirates the Spirit. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father and eternally spiriates the Spirit. The Spirit is eternally spiriated by the Father through the Son.

The Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God. The Father is neither the Son nor the Spirit. The Son is neither the Father nor the Spirit. The Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son. The one true God is the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit; these three are the same in essence and equal in power and glory.

To prove the doctrine of the Trinity, one has to show that Scripture teaches 1) There is only one God, 2) the Father is God and distinct from the Son and the Spirit, 3) the Son is God and distinct from the Father and the Spirit, 4) the Spirit is God and distinct from the Father and the Son, and 5) each person is truly and equally one God. You have observed the truth of the first proposition already. Now let us consider the other 4.

The Father is God and distinct from the Son and the Spirt.

Like the proposition of there being only one God, this premise is easily proved and affirmed by most who hold the Bible as divine revelation. That being said, the Father as the first member of the Trinity is distinguished from the Son on many occasions (John 1:4, 18; 5:17-26; 8:54; 14:12, 13). The Father is portrayed as the source of God’s works in creation, providence, and redemption (1 Cor 8:6; Eph 2:9; Ps 2:7-9; 40:6-9; Isa 53:10; Matt 12:32; Eph 1:3-6). He works through the mediation of the Son and the execution of the Holy Spirit. The Father eternally sends, generates, or begets the Son, and the Spirit eternally proceeds or is spiriated from Him and the Son. The Father is God, and so is the Son.

The Son is God and distinct from the Father and the Spirit.

John’s prologue declares the reality that God the Son is both God and yet, distinct from the Father. The Word is said to be God and yet with God (Jn 1:1), and then John declares this Word is the One who became flesh and dwelt among us as the only begotten Son from the Father (Jn 1:14). The Word was in the beginning and, therefore, before it (Jn 1:1a, 2). It is through Christ that all that exists came (Jn 1:3; Col 1:16). Jesus elsewhere equates Himself with the “I am” that Moses encountered in the burning bush, which is how His audience interpreted His words (8:57-58). Thomas calls the resurrected Jesus Lord and God (Jn 20:28). Also, Jesus accepts the worship without reservation (Matt 28:17).

As for His distinction from the Father, Jesus prayed, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (Jn 17:5 ESV). Only individual persons can share glory and give glory to another. He does not pray to His own person to give Himself the glory that His person has. God the Son is God. He is not the Father. Jesus likewise distinguishes himself from the Spirit (Jn 14:15-31). God the Father and God the Son are God, yet they are distinguished from one another in how they relate to each other and the world. The last member of the Trinity also is God and distinct from the Father and the Son.

The Spirit is God and distinct from the Father and the Son.

Luke records the events of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Peter asserts in this passage that Ananias and Sapphira have lied to the Holy Spirit (v. 3) and, in doing so, they lied to God (v. 4). This passage is a clear demonstration of the Spirit’s personality—He can be lied to—and His divinity—lying to Him is lying to God. Michael Horton highlights several biblical evidences pertaining to the divinity and personality of the Spirit: He is identified with the divine name (Ex 31:3; Ac 5:3-4; 1 Cor 3:16; 2 Pet 1:21), ascribed divine attributes (Ps 139:7-10; Is 40:13-14; 1 Cor 2:10-11), divine works (Gen 1:2; Job 26:13; 33:4; Ps 104:30; Jn 3:5-6; Tit 3:5; Rom 8:11), and coupled with the other members of the Trinity (Matt 28:19; Rom 9:1; 2 Cor 13:14). All three persons are presented as actors and not mask, who act simultaneously and inseparably (Luke 1:35; Matt 3:16-17).

It should be noted that in saying the persons are distinct from one another, we are not claiming that the members of the Trinity exist or operate in a divided fashion. The Father works through the Son and by the Spirit in both creation (Genesis 1:1, 2; John 1:1-4) and salvation (Ephesians 1:4-14). We may assume this is God’s ordinary mode of operation. As God the Father eternally generates God the Son (Jn 1:1; 3:16; 5:20; 14:11; 17;21; 10:38; Heb 1:3; Ps 2:7) and God the Father and God Son eternally spiriate God the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:26; 15:26), so God the Father works through God the Son by the Holy Spirit. Now, the equality of the said persons must also be demonstrated from Scripture to prove the traditional understanding of the Trinity.

Each person is truly and equally God.

All that has been said before necessitates this claim. Further support is found by the fact that each member is to be worshiped and possesses divine attributes. However, a clear Scriptural affirmation of this claim is found in the baptismal formula. Here what Jesus asserts in the great commission promotes the unity of God— “name” is in the singular—and the plurality of equal persons—the single name is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19). The confession of one God who exists eternally as three co-equal and co-eternal persons is the best synthesis and formulation of the Biblical data. To differ on this doctrine is to divert from the Biblical faith into a form of idolatry.

Conclusion: You must come to know God and Worship Him

Though the question we all ask or will ask is, “Who am I?” The question we should ask first is, “Who is God?” As Calvin said, “[T]rue and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” As Solomon declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10). To know what man is, we must know the God whose name is excellent (Psalm 8:1, 4, 9). I have charged you this sermon, saying, you must know God through His two books: His works and word, you must know God’s Unity, you must know God’s Trinity. Now that you have been introduced to the one true and triune God, we may move to answer the question of what man is for the remainder of the week. But before I end, heed these two applications.

1. You must worship God exclusively.

There is only one God. To worship another is not only dumb but dangerous. It is to go against supreme being and maker of all things. It is going against only one who is worthy of devotion and praise. It is to exchange God for a creature, to value a piece of pottery over the One who made it. Therefore, do not give in to the Spirit of the age. Do not worship any but the Holy Three in One: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

2. You must worship God exactly.

Not only shall you worship this God exclusively, you must worship Him exactly as He has revealed in His two books: creation and Scripture. Scripture, of course, is to take the priority, as it gives us what we must know to know God savingly and worship Him pleasingly. In it, we find that we are creatures and sinners. That between God and us is a chasm which we cannot venture across. However, in it, we also are told that the triune God who made us bridged that infinite chasm. God the Father through God, the Son by the Holy Spirit, accomplished the redemption of a chosen people.

God the Son sent by the Father in the power of the Spirit assumed a human nature by being born of a virgin and named Jesus in accord with their one perfect and wise will. He obeyed the covenant of works given Him, living in perfect righteousness and dying substitutionally for all whom the Father promised to give Him. Death did not hold Him. For in keeping the covenant, He satisfied the demands of God and reached the glory Adam, and we fell short of. The Father rose Him by the Spirit. He sat Him at His right hand. The Father and Son sent the Spirit to gather the people promised to the Son by the Father. One day He will return, raise His people from the dead, destroy His enemies, and make all things new. His people will not perish but partake of eternal life and enjoy perfect communion with the triune God on the new earth.

Are you among the people God the Father has given to the Son? If your uncertain, I call you to trust in God the Son incarnate, Jesus Christ. Trust in person and work for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He will make you into a worshiper of the one true God, who worships Him in Spirit and Truth. In short to you must know God, and it is only through knowing God the Son incarnate by faith that you come to know God the Holy Trinity as your God.