What is the first truth that the
Bible teaches? Well, what are the first words of the Bible?
Genesis 1:1 – In the
beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
·There was a beginning
·God was before the beginning
·God created the beginning
These are the first truths that
the Bible declares. And they are all so vital and valuable and connected. And
they are echoed and expanded upon by John 1:1, using similar language.
John 1:1 – In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
·The Word was also before the beginning
·The Word is distinct from God
·But the Word is also God
Genesis 1:1 tells us that there
is one God, one creator, who was before the beginning. But we see a fuller
picture of this one God in John 1:1. We see a distinction as to persons but not
a separation of those persons. In other words, the Word, who we know as Jesus,
he is a distinct person from God, but he is also God. So, here we have God the
Father and God the Son.
John 1:2 says – He was in the
beginning with God. Here, we see the Son, the Word, Jesus, was with
God the Father in the beginning. We know that this Word, who was and is God,
and who was there at the beginning, also created when we see John 1:3. It says
– All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made
that was made.
Jesus is not a created being. He
is uncreated. He is God. As Jesus says in Revelation 1:8 – “I am the Alpha
and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the
Almighty.”
So, when Genesis 1:1 says God
created, it means both God the Father and God the Son created. And we know that
this Word is God the Son because we see it in John 1:14, which says – And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as
of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. As
John 1:18 says – No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the
Father's side, he has made him known. God the Father and God the Son,
both eternal, and both the Creator, are both God, of the same essence, but
distinct from one another.
And then we see a third person
who is God, who was also with God in the beginning, and who also was involved
in creation. Genesis 1:2 says – The earth was without form and void, and
darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over
the face of the waters. And then you see the events of creation unfold
in vs.3 and following. So, this “Spirit of God” is also God. And God the
Spirit is Creator. And we know God the Spirit is involved in the ongoing
maintenance of creation. As Psalm 104:30 says – When you send forth your
Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.
Now, you might think that this “Spirit
of God” is not a distinct person. But Jesus, the Son of God, the Word who
is also God, he calls the Spirit a person, who is still God, but who is
distinct from both the Father and the Son. In John 14:26, Jesus says – But
the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, he will teach you all things and bring to your
remembrance all that I have said to you. You see all three, Father,
Son, and Spirit in this verse, presented as distinct persons.
In John 15:26, Jesus says – …the
Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he
will bear witness about me. Once again, you see all three,
Father, Son, and Spirit, presented as distinct persons.
Romans 8:26 says – Likewise
the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we
ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with
groanings too deep for words. The Holy Spirit feels you, he prays for
you, better than you can pray for yourself. He is a person, a person who was
there before the beginning, a Creator, a person who is God.
So now, if Father, Son, and
Spirit were before the beginning, and all are Creator, and all are God, but
there is only one God, then what is the answer to all this? The answer is that
God is one in essence, but three in person. This is what we call the Trinity,
or Triunity of God. In a very real sense, the Trinity is the very first truth
to know about God. It is the first truth of the Bible.
Romans 12:2 says – Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that
by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable
and perfect.
This text is pointing to your
need for the word of God in your life. The Bible is the means of renewing your
mind, changing what you think, how you think, how you process life, and how you
make decisions.
But there is an issue, right here
in this text.
As the text clearly says, being
transformed by the renewal of your mind is the way to avoid being conformed to
this world. And that is the issue. Transformation requires both positive and
negative actions. In other words, you need to get the word of God working in
your life, but part of that includes putting off those old patterns of life. Putting
off the world, and putting on the word. These things work together, in concert
with each other. Renewal is meant to be replacement.
What about you, though? Do you
feel as if the word isn’t working for you? Is there a reason? Well, let me talk
about one sure way that hinders the word of God in your life. There are others,
but this is the big problem for most people.
The problem for most people is
that they aren’t getting enough word. More precisely, they aren’t letting the
word get into every part of their lives. Stay with me, this may not be what you
think. In growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ, there will be other issues to
address, but this issue must be addressed. You need to be immersed, marinated,
saturated, in other words, fully engaged with the word of God. This is the only
way that you will be renewed in your mind to such a degree that you are
transformed in every area and arena of your practical life. Perhaps you’ve been
dipped in it, maybe bathed a little in it, or even some parts of your life are full
of the word of God. But again, you need to be immersed, marinated, saturated in
the Scriptures. In other words, you need to be dunked in it, rolled around in
it, and so well soaked that you are permeated with the word of God.
Now I’m getting at something here
that may seem like you’ve heard it all before, but maybe you really haven’t. I
don’t want to make you feel guilty, I want to show you how to grow. I want you
to feel good, and hopeful, and confident that there is a clear path and
definite plan for you to start getting the word to really have an effect in your
life.
Sometimes
people might not realize how little space they leave for the word in their
lives. People are immersed in the culture, they marinate their minds with
social media, and they are saturated with virtual reality, with politics, with
any number of other things. That’s what’s having the most effect on them. The
word of God is crowded out, or placed in a “Sunday morning and hopefully for
less than 30 minutes” space. And maybe just every other week or so. You might
think you’ve got to have your alone time, your family time, or whatever. I’m
not trying to begrudge you that. And I’ll talk about your time in a minute. The
point is that instead of the word saturating every part of your life, it is
compartmentalized for when you think you need it. It is as if you expect that
since the word of God is divine that it will replace your discipline. It will
not.
Romans 12:2 comes on the heels of
Romans 12:1, which says – I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the
mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. When you put
Romans 12:1-2 together, it tells you that you need to sacrifice some of those
things you might like to do for the most important thing you need to do. There
is your answer. You have to give up some things, sacrifice them, to make time,
in order to get the word working in your life so you won’t be fit into the
pattern of this world and you’ll be able to live out the will of God in your
experience.
You don’t need more time; you
need to better use your time. To replace your time. To make time. You see, I’m
not saying that you just need to add more and more Bible to your routine. I’m saying
that you need to change your routine. I don’t want you to wear yourself out. I
want you to wise yourself up. Replace time in the world with time in the word.
That will always work.
You can fool me, but you can’t
fool God, and please, don’t fool yourself. You don’t get to shortcut the
process of permeation. Your lack will catch up to you. Yes, you should memorize
verses of Scripture. But you don’t get to just memorize some verses and then
think you can just whip them out like some “pocket Jesus” for those times you
need extra help.
A lot of people can know a lot of
Bible but still have only a little of the word working in their life. They
treat God’s word like a college course that they just need to get through in
order to graduate. But the word of God working in your life is a lifetime
journey. It’s not a side issue.
