Day 25

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…a most pure Spirit…”

Scripture Lookup

John 4:24.

Reflection

The idea of a “spirit” is a hard one to pin down. Probably due to the influence of Halloween, fairy tales and ghost stories, an ephemeral, gauzy white floating substance is what comes to mind when I hear the term. Of course, the word “spirit” is also used to describe a sentiment, like the “Christmas spirit” or saying “He’s got a fighting spirit.” But what does it mean for God to be Spirit?

Unlike a ghost, God is no blurry substance. He has no substance at all in the sense of created matter. He is “a most pure Spirit”, which rules out the idea of anything that is not spirit being part of God. Stephen Charnock explained it thus in his work The Existence and Attributes of God:

If we grant that God is, we must necessarily grant that he cannot be corporeal, because a body is of an imperfect nature. It will appear incredible to any that acknowledge God the first Being and Creator of all things, that he should be a massy, heavy body, and have eyes and ears, feet and hands, as we have.

If God were to be anything but spirit, He would be constrained by the laws of nature and physics. If you think back to your physics classes in high school, you might remember that “a body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion unless it is acted upon by an external force.” Not so with God! Nothing outside of God can change Him.

God is also more than a sentiment. While we may describe our feelings as “spirits”, they are fleeting. God is a “most pure Spirit”, whose purity demonstrates a permanence and majesty to His existence. God is most excellent: He is, therefore, not lightweight and shallow. To quote Charnock again,

God is a most spiritual Spirit, more spiritual than all angels, all souls…. As he exceeds all in the nature of being, so he exceeds all in the nature of spirit…

God is a most pure Spirit. And that should lead us to praise Him.

Question to Consider

• Why is God being a “most pure Spirit” important?

Day 23

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…whose subsistence is in and of himself,…”

Scripture Lookup

Jeremiah 10: 10.

Isaiah 48:12.

Reflection

God is not Tinkerbell.

In the play version of  Peter Pan, the fairy Tinkerbell is on the brink of death. Peter beseeches the audience to demonstrate their belief in fairies by clapping. Tinkerbell the fairy is thus saved and energized to continue her escapades with Peter. A fairy’s existence, you see, depends upon the faith that people have in her.

As the Baptist Confession states, God is completely self-sufficient. He exists apart from anything else, and He is self-sustaining. Nothing outside of God caused Him to be. Theologians use the term “aseity” (ah-SAY-it-ee) to describe this principal attribute of God.

Oftentimes, though, people think that God needs us. Modern evangelism caters to our desire for importance by painting a picture of a God desperate for a relationship with mankind. Such a god is false and doesn’t exist. God does not wring His hands hoping that humans will fellowship with Him! Because He is God, He is perfect, and as such has no need of anything outside Himself! When we ponder that, the fact that He has chosen a people for Himself appears so much more glorious, because God really didn’t have to do that. We are so completely dependent upon Him for life and breath and being, and He is completely independent of every single thing in the universe.

For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. -Isaiah 55:8 (NASB)

God doesn’t need you. And that is a wonderful thing.

Question to Consider

• Have you ever thought that God needed something outside of Himself?

Day 22

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“The Lord our God is but one only living, and true God;…”

Scripture Lookup

1 Corinthians 8: 4,6.

Deuteronomy 6:4.

Reflection

There is only one God. Have you ever stopped to think about what that actually means? He is unique. There is nothing else in the entire universe like Him. Look at what Scripture says:

There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to your help, and through the skies to His majesty. -Deuteronomy 33:26

For this reason You are great, O Lord GOD, for there is none like you, and there is no God besides You…-2 Samuel 7:22

There is none like You, O LORD; You are great, and great is Your name in might. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed, it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. -Jeremiah 10:6,7

Nothing else in the world can compare. He is the only God that exists.

Many have had their own notions of what God is, or even that there are many gods. Some just like to think of a Higher Power; most would rather not think about a god at all. However Scripture declares emphatically that God exists, and He is the only One that does.

This is the God that we worship.

Question to Consider

• Have you ever praised God for His being the only true and living God?

Day 21

Of The Holy Scriptures

Chapter 1, Paragraph 10.

“The supreme judge by which all controversies of Religion are to be determined, and all Decrees of Councils, opinions of ancient Writers, Doctrines of men, and private Spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Scripture delivered by the Spirit, into which Scripture so delivered, our faith is finally resolved.”

Scripture Lookup

Matthew 22:29,31,32. To what does Jesus appeal in answering the Sadducees?

Ephesians 2:20. What is the foundation of God’s household?

Acts 28:23. From what does Paul argue?

Reflection

Scripture is the standard by which we measure everything else. There will be times when people say things they claim are in agreement with the Bible, and those statements might very well be. Yet men and women do not have the final say: Scripture does.

When a popular preacher says you can have material success if you just have enough faith, what does Scripture say?

When society tells you that certain behaviors are permitted because they are just different ways of loving someone, what does Scripture say?

When those with degrees and credentials give reasons for why people do what they do, what does Scripture say?

Who has the final word? The Word.

Question to Consider

• Are you letting Scripture be the “supreme judge” ?

Day 20

Of The Holy Scriptures

Chapter 1, Paragraph 9.

“The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: And therefore when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold but one), it must be searched by other places that speak more clearly.”

Scripture Lookup

2 Peter 1:20, 21.

Acts 15: 15,16.

Reflection

There is a story told of blind men who want to know what an elephant is like. They finally get to touch an elephant, but since they are at different parts of the large animal, their impression of what an elephant is like varies greatly. One thinks an elephant is like a fan, one insists it is a tree; yet another claims it is like a snake. The moral is that while the blind men differ in their views, they are all still right.

Scripture is not like the proverbial elephant the blind men are touching. (Unsurprisingly, that tale comes from eastern religions.) Christians know that truth is not relative. Yet you wouldn’t know it if you’ve ever heard in a Bible study,”What does this passage mean to you?” While it may be a popular question to ask, it is nonetheless the wrong question. Instead, one should ask, “What does this passage mean in light of Scripture?”

There are not many meanings of a passage, but one. Scripture determines that one meaning. This is commonly known as “Scripture interprets Scripture.” When attempting to understand a passage, one must look at the context of the passage, and then compare the text to the rest of Scripture, especially to those parts that are clearer. The wholly inspired commentary on the Old Testament is the New Testament. This rule of interpretation supports the belief that Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience. If we believe that, then may our actions when we study the Bible match that belief.

Question to Consider

• Do you let Scripture to be the final interpreter of Scripture, or your own interpretation?

Day 19

Of The Holy Scriptures

Chapter 1, Paragraph 8.

“…that the Word of God dwelling plentifully in all, they may worship him in an acceptable manner, and through patience and comfort of the Scriptures may have hope.”

Scripture Lookup

Colossians 3:16. What word describes “dwell” in the passage?

Reflection

The Spirit breathes upon the Word,

and brings the truth to sight;

precepts and promises afford

a sanctifying light.                                             -William Cowper

This last section of paragraph 8 in the Confession leads me to praise. Picture it: God’s people, indwelt richly with His Word, worshiping with one accord as the Scriptures have set forth, buoyed by the hope found in the Bible. What a blissful scene!

When God’s people have the Scriptures, read the Scriptures, and meditate upon the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit guides the Christian into the truth of the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to convict, teach, and train in righteousness. When the Word of Christ dwells in us richly, we are filled with the Spirit. Compare Ephesians 5:18-20 with Colossians 3:16. Note the similarities. Carol Ruvolo writes in A Book Like No Other,

This simple observation [the similarities between the two passages] leads us to the conclusion that being filled with the Spirit produces exactly the same results as does letting the Word richly dwell within you. They produce the same results because they work together – inseparably.

These are not just some old letters on a page –  they are the living Word!

Since other special revelation from God has ceased, Scripture is essential for knowing how to worship Him. If we choose to worship Him using a method not prescribed by Scripture, we are merely guessing at whether that worship is acceptable to Him. Worship that follows the parameters set forth in the Bible, however, is known to be pleasing to Him because He is the one who set forth those parameters!

We may trust Scripture fully due to the trustworthiness of its Author. Since Scripture is sufficient, certain, and infallible, we can be comforted in its reliability and steadfastness. Praise God for His Word!

Questions to Consider

• Do you desire to have the Word of God dwell in you richly?
• Do you find the Scriptures give you hope?

Day 18

Of The Holy Scriptures

Chapter 1, Paragraph 8.

“…therefore they are to be translated into the vulgar language of every Nation, unto which they come…”

Scripture Lookup

1 Corinthians 14:6,9,11,12,24,28. Is it profitable to have tongues without an interpreter?

Reflection

Chances are ancient Hebrew and Greek are not your native languages.

So in order to know what Old Testament prophecy says concerning Christ, and to know that the New Testament gives account to how Jesus fulfills those prophecies, you have two choices:

1: become proficient in ancient Hebrew and Koine Greek, or

2: read a translated version of the Scriptures.

Most probably you read a translated version.

We have so many different translations of the Bible nowadays that it seems a no-brainer that the Scriptures should be made available in various languages. Yet this was not always the case. Latin was the only permissible language for Scripture according to the Roman Catholic church during the Middle Ages. When John Wycliffe started a translation of the Bible into the English spoken at the time, it was considered heretical. One Catholic wrote:

And Wyclif, by thus translating the Bible, made it the property of the masses and common to all and more open to the laity, even women who were able to read… And so the pearl of the Gospel is thrown unto swine and trodden underfoot…(emphasis added)

It is important to note that the call of the Confession to translate the Scriptures into the “vulgar language of every Nation” is not calling to debase the Scriptures in any way. The word “vulgar” at that time meant common, rather than carrying the connotation of base and unwholesome speech that it does today. Translating Scripture should make the meaning of the text as clear as possible while striving to lose as little of the literal word-for-word construct as possible. Not an easy task!

Scripture is truly a treasure to be shared among God’s people. We can be thankful for those who have used their gifts to bring it into a language we can understand.

Questions to Consider

• Have you ever thanked God for the translators of your Bible?
• Are you praying for those working to translate the Bible in other languages?

Day 15

Of The Holy Scriptures

Chapter 1, Paragraph 8.

“…and search them…”

Scripture Lookup

John 5:39. What is one reason to search the Scriptures?

Reflection

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so…

Can you prove from the Scriptures that Jesus loves you?

Do you know how to show someone Biblical evidence that Jesus is God?

Where is the book of Nahum in your Bible? And what does it talk about?

While reading your Bible is important and good, we should be more than mere acquaintances with it.You don’t scroll Scripture like a Facebook feed, and Bible study should not be like rushing through a put-off homework assignment due the next day. Instead, we are to consider Scripture like a close friend. Take the time to know it, be familiar with it, and look forward to spending time with it.

When we take time to know Scripture more thoroughly, we are more likely to resist doctrinal error. When an unbeliever tells you to “judge not”, you can challenge them on that, since you know the context of the passage. When a Jehovah’s Witness claims that Jesus isn’t God, you know where to take them to prove otherwise. And when you read conflicting theological views, you can go to the Scriptures to determine which view is Biblical.

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

-Acts 17:10,11 (NASB, emphasis added)

Questions to Consider

• Have you been rushing through your Scripture reading?
• Do you take time to truly study the Scriptures?