He rested...then got back to work!

“In the Beginning God created . . .” The second thing that should be noted about Genesis 1:1 is that “created” is an action verb.  God is at work (Genesis 2:2) to bring about creation.  This picture should work against those who like to say unbiblical thinks such as, “God spoke everything into existence.”  The rhythm of this first chapter is certainly that God declared what should be, and then God worked to make or create the thing(s) conceived.  God in labor, so to speak.  Of course, this modus operandi is important to us in understanding salvation.  God certainly conceives – then He executes His plan to provide salvation (Jesus is salvation) to all the world (Mark 15:34).  Notice that at the point of launching new creation, Jesus, my God, Calls out twice to Eloi = my God.

God of relationships.

“In the beginning God created . . .” One thing that is very important to notice here in Genesis 1:1 is that the translators are using the name “God” for the Hebrew name “Elohim”.  Elohim is plural.  Elohim is not the same as the mysterious name of God, Jehovah (or Yahweh . . . Yahweh is not mentioned until Genesis 2:4) that is related to His eternal nature.  Elohim is, first and foremost, a relational name; God relates to Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  He then relates to His creation as maker, personally involved in the outcome and not merely speaking from a distant throne.  The first picture of God then, is certainly not of some abstract fireball of pristine existence from Greek philosophy, but of a maker, or gardener, or husbandman.  He lives a life of loving and making.

Pain of new creation.

The heart cry of Jesus that is translated “why have you forsaken me” is prophesied in Psalm 22:1.  The picture is clear:  A person who is in dire straits and can bring no help in spite of a desperate outcry.  It is certainly a common human condition and the need for relief is real.  The danger of stating that the Father turned His pristine back on His son is that it opens the way for satanic doctrines that denounce the true divinity of Jesus.  If the real God is in sparkling clean heaven while the “almost” God is suffering under sin then the doctrine of the trinity is threatened by the anti-anthropomorphic lies of Greek philosophy. These lies become a springboard for those who claim a pre-destination that precludes the cross. The CROSS...the place to enter into the new creation that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have been diligently working to provide since Adam and Eve had figs for breakfast one fatal morning.

Can't go wrong wearing white.

 

Revelation 3:5   He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white clothing; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Jesus is speaking to one of the seven churches and some of the people in that church (Sardis) qualify to be clothed in white.  However, it seems to me that it is incumbent upon those who are deceived by a false doctrine of Perseverance of THE Saints (i.e., preselected humans injected with “saving faith” in exclusion of the cross of Jesus Christ) to explain how it is possible for anyone with his name written in the book of Life to have it blotted out.  The parallel to this threat is the threat of having the candlestick (KJV) removed from the Ephesus church (Revelation 2:5).  Is Jesus speaking hyperbolically here? Is the Lord making an exaggeration that He has no intention (or, in the Calvinist economy, capacity) to execute.  Does Jesus ever exaggerate in the Gospels?  Of course not…and there is no reason to believe He would do so here.  The only conclusion possible is that there are those who can be blotted out of life’s book…whatever horrifying truth is being pictured by the word “blot” (Deuteronomy 29:18-20,  Exodus 32:32-33).  Conversely, the offer stands for those who would choose to walk in white, that they hold on to their ability to side with Jesus against the devil and all he claims…even though it means death (Matthew 16:24).

Greater than Abraham.

Much dramatic preaching has been done that tries to give a picture of God the Father turning His back on His Son because He could not look upon sin.  This is a dangerous and unbiblical notion that degrades the true gospel message and bolsters cults.  Jesus claims to do what He sees His Father doing (John 8:29, 10:30, 10:38, 14:10, 16:32) and that the Father always stays with Him.  The problem is that many have worked to develop a picture of a God who is distant and pure and shocked at sin. This God turns away from His son who has become sin (II Corinthians 5:21) because the flame of HIS eternal fire might be tainted… an idea derived from Greek mythology and bad Hollywood.  The darkness at noon (Matthew 27:45) was the work of the Father to defeat the final malevolent thrust of the devil through the Jewish leaders.  They had to be driven home in confusion about what day it was – darkness signaled the beginning of a Sabbath.  The Father stays with the Son throughout it all – otherwise, Abraham becomes a greater father than our God (Genesis 22).