D. Scott Meadows

LECTURE 3: ON THE EXISTENCE OF GOD (ANALYSIS of WLC A2)

The first thing we must do to appreciate the magnificence of WLC A2 as a defense of God’s existence is to know both what it says and what it means by what it says, and then its biblical support. All this will require intense thinking on our part, because it involves many propositional statements and the application of grammar and logic for interpretation and explanation. The greatest commandment in all of Scripture calls you to love God with all your mind and all your strength (Mark 12.30). That means you must apply all your mental might to know God and His truth. This kind of love is “more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12.33).

Now let us analyze WLC, Answer 2, first, without Scripture proofs. Two major parts are separated by a semicolon:

The very light of nature in man, and the works of God, declare plainly that there is a God; but his word and Spirit only do sufficiently and effectually reveal him unto men for their salvation.

It appears that there is a God in two fundamental ways: first, there is a plain declaration, and second, there is a saving revelation.

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D. Scott Meadows

Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC)
Question 2. How doth it appear that there is a God?

Answer. The very light of nature in man, and the works of God, declare plainly that there is a God; [Rom 1.19-20; Psa 19.1-3; Acts 17.28] but his word and Spirit only do sufficiently and effectually reveal him unto men for their salvation. [1 Cor 2.9-10; 2 Tim 3.15-17; Isa 59.21]

WLC #2 instructs us that God’s real existence is apparent. That much is intimated by the question, “How doth it appear that there is a God?” This is tantamount to asserting, “It does appear that there is a God.” The only question is how. How does God manifest His existence to us?

The word “appear” in this context is an example of figurative language, because God by nature is invisible (1 Tim 1.17; John 1.18).

No one has ever seen God, John writes, as if to remind his readers not only of a commonplace of judaism, but also of the fact that in the episode where Moses saw the Lord’s glory (Exod 33-34), to which allusion has just been made (1.14), Moses himself was not allowed to see God (Exod 33.20). . . . The fact remains that the consistent Old Testament assumption is that God cannot be seen, or, more precisely, that for a sinful human being to see Him would bring death. . . . Apparent exceptions are always qualified in some way.¹

The modern axiom, “seeing is believing,” thinks it is warranted, then, to doubt His existence, but the axiom itself, while expressing a truism, is badly applied in the realm of theology. Essentially, it simply acknowledges that sometimes we remain skeptical about the truth of an assertion until we behold the evidence for it with our own eyes.

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D. Scott Meadows
LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION

The foundation of our entire Christian faith consists of two great and interrelated truths: the existence of God and the existence of His Word. God is, and God has spoken. More specifically, the God who really exists has actually spoken words to men, and these are only preserved in the Holy Bible. Once these truths are received, the theology and practice of the Christian faith flow from an intellectual and spiritual apprehension of what the Bible teaches.

Hence the Christian faith’s enemies often insinuate doubts or openly attack God’s existence and the divine authority of Scripture. Atheism and agnosticism have many adherents today, and among theists, including professing Christians, relatively few hold to a high view of the Bible as infallible, inerrant, and sufficient Word of God. Many if not most of false religion in this world either attacks the existence of the true God, or feigns loyalty to Him while undermining the authority of His Word. if they would repent of their skepticism toward the God of the Scriptures and the Scriptures of God, they would have taken giant strides toward Christian orthodoxy. Therefore, real Christians must be ready to defend the biblical faith on these two great battlegrounds, if they would defend the faith at all.

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Dr. Robert P. Martin

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11).

Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language defines joy as “a very glad feeling.” That is not very helpful, because it is so incomplete a definition of joy that it little serves our need. The Oxford English Dictionary is better. It defines joy as “a vivid emotion of pleasure arising from a sense of well-being or satisfaction; the feeling or state of being highly pleased or delighted.” In that definition, the emotion of joy (Webster’s “very glad feeling”) is traced to a source, i.e., to “a sense of well-being or satisfaction.” Webster’s 7th New Collegiate Dictionary is even more helpful. It defines joy as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” This definition is helpful, because it traces joy not just to a present satisfaction with what one possesses, but also to “the prospect of possessing what one desires.” As we will see, these ideas are helpful to understanding the joy that is distinctively Christian.

The Greek word χαρὰ is used twice in vs. 11. It is derived from the verb χαίρω which means “to rejoice.” These words are used in the New Testament to express the doctrine of Christian joy. And they are used to speak not only of the joy that arises because of our present possession of God’s blessings but also of the joy that comes from a well-grounded hope of possessing (in the future) all that God has promised to us in his word.

Of course, the New Testament connects Christian joy to specific truths and to specific things that are experienced by the Christian. Here I will make no attempt at comprehensiveness. What follows is merely suggestive, as I take up only a few things. There is, of course, much more that may be said on the theme of Christian joy. I invite the reader to use a concordance to search out words like joy and joyful, rejoice and rejoicing, glad and gladness, etc. By paying close attention to the connection that these words have to other biblical themes, you will be blessed richly by such a study. In what follows, however, in order to see what is central to our present concern, notice how certain things are illustrated in Christ’s own experience of joy!

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Dr. Robert P. Martin

The Loving Exhortation (John 15:9)

“Abide in my love”

It is important that we begin our consideration of these words by noting what they do not mean. When Jesus says in the next verse, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love” (15:10), he is not saying, “You must do certain things in order to enter into my love.” He loved us before the world began. This love stands behind our predestination to the adoption as sons (cf., Eph. 1:4-5). Also, Jesus is not saying that we must do certain things in order to warrant his ongoing love for us, i.e., things apart from which his love for us will diminish or perhaps cease altogether. Having loved us with an eternal love, having committed himself to do everything that is necessary to our ultimately being glorified with him, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of Christ (cf., Rom. 8:28-39).

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Dr. Robert P. Martin

“That your joy may be full” (John 15:11)

At 15:9-11, Jesus continues with the subject of abiding in himself; and again he refers his disciples to his own example (cf., 13:34). The train of thought in these verses, as we move from one statement to the next, is such that one grand theme follows closely after another. There is, however, a unity of concern throughout the whole text, in which Jesus traces from its divine and eternal fountainhead a freely flowing blessing that is promised to all who abide in him.

The Divine and Eternal Fountainhead (John 15:9)

“As the Father loved me, I also have loved you”

Long before Jesus the Messiah came, his Father had said through Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights (or, is pleased)”¹ (Isa. 42:1). Matthew, citing this text as fulfilled in Jesus, paraphrases it this way: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased” (Matt. 12:18). The heart of these statements is the same, the differences between them notwithstanding. The Son is the object of the Father’s “delight.” He is his “beloved,” his “chosen one,” in whom his soul is “well pleased.” Twice during Christ’s earthy ministry, direct revelation of his Father’s love for him was expressed from heaven through his Father’s speaking with an audible voice. At his baptism, as he enters upon his public ministry, the Father dramatically confirms his love to him: “You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). And at his transfiguration, as Jesus neared Calvary, the Father again speaks from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 17:5).

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Paul Christianson

Paul Christianson has a graduate degree in Ancient History.

Modernism, or theological liberalism, has had a tremendous impact on twentieth century Christianity, and often in such a subtle manner, that even evangelical Christians often fall prey to its influences. So pervasive is this apostasy and so attractive is its call, that even the bastions of conservative Christian thought have been touched, oftentimes falling into an insipid neutrality, refusing to take the offensive against this form of unbelief. Several quarters view such unbelief as the twentieth century’s main contribution to the history of heresy!

We who are often disturbed by modernism can take hope in the solid research of conservative scholars whom God is raising up to meet this crisis. God’s Word remains, as always, inspired and infallible in the truth it conveys to mankind, past, present, and future. No scholar, whether liberal or evangelical, can add or detract from the Word of God. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Is. 40:8). Scholarship remains only a tool to facilitate a better understanding of God’s Word, not an entity unto itself. Like any human work or invention it can be used for the glory of God, and as a help to fellow believers, or become a hindrance to understanding, and as such an instrument of Satan.

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Dr. Robert P. Martin

“My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away; and every branch that bears fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (15:1,2).

Having seen in some measure the relation of the vine and the branches, we will now consider the Father’s role as vinedresser. This part of our Lord’s imagery often is overlooked; however, it is important that we understand the role that the Father plays in our lives as Christians. As Carson says, “Although the Son’s role is central in these verses, the Father’s is not mere background: he trims and prunes the branches.”¹

Our Lord here likens his Father to a vinedresser. The word γεωργός properly means “farmer.” In the present setting, the translation “vinedresser” conveys the correct idea. The context in which γεωργός is used often tells us much about the person in view. In some cases, the farmer is a servant who labors for the landowner (cf., Jer. 52:16, LXX). In other cases, the farmer leases the land from the landowner, usually for a share of the produce (cf., Matt. 21:23). Neither of these images fits the case here. In still other cases, the farmer is the landowner, who works the land and receives all its fruits for his own use (cf., Gen. 9:20, LXX). This is closer to the image here, although the “revenue” produced by the fruitfulness of the branches to some degree returns to them, i.e., in the case that our Lord here has in view, blessedness also comes to the branches (his disciples) as the result of the vinedresser’s labors.

The church (the true Israel) is Jehovah’s vineyard. His Son is the vine, his disciples are the branches; but the Father is the vineyard’s owner and the vinedresser, whose diligent labors promote its optimum fruitfulness. This image of the Father is plainly suggestive of the vital role that he has in Christ’s thinking about the church and the individual disciples that comprise it.

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Dr. Robert P. Martin¹

All that Jesus says in the final hours before his arrest (John 13-17) is designed to equip his disciples to fulfill their mission after his departure. Among the things that he addresses is the critical importance of on-going communion with himself. At the heart of his instruction is the remarkable declaration that they will be totally dependant on him for the doing of anything good. In order to convey this truth in a way that will be memorable, the Lord uses the image of a vine and its branches.

1. The Familiar Image

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. . . .
I am the vine, you are the branches” (15:1,5).

As on so many occasions, Jesus here uses an image drawn from daily life. The Bible uses the imagery of a vine and its branches to illustrate the relation between God and his people Israel. Here Jesus uses this imagery to illustrate his (and his Father’s) relation to his disciples, who are the true Israel, i.e., the Israel of the New Covenant. There are three parts to this image–the vine, the branches, and the vinedresser. Each has a vital role to play. Later we will consider the role of the Father as the vinedresser. Now we focus on the relation of the vine (Christ) and the branches (his disciples).

There are many things about vines that I do not know, complexities of biochemistry that perhaps even mystify the experts. But an expert’s knowledge of such things is not necessary to understanding our Lord’s use of this image. The analogy is simple, and the lessons are meant to be virtually self-evident.

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Prepared and compiled by D. Scott Meadows

Are you an enthusiastic Christian? Do you think you should be? Is it possible to be too enthusiastic? In the history of Christianity, the word “enthusiasm” has a long pedigree. Essentially, it means “intense zeal.” This reminds us of Paul’s wise words in Galatians 4.18, “It is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing.”¹ He also warned against misguided zeal in Romans 10.2, censuring Jews who “have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” Times of revival have spawned “enthusiasts” who have claimed special revelations from the Holy Spirit and attempted to justify all kinds of bizarre behavior on religious grounds, like some Pentecostals and charismatics today, “holy laughter” being one of the more embarrassing manifestations.²

THE STORY OF BILLY BRAY

Billy Bray (1794-1868) seems a premier example of one who was enthusiastic in the good sense without the heretical claims and bizarre excesses. Though not widely known today, his life remains a potentially profitable study.³

Billy Bray was born in Cornwall, England. He grew up as an uneducated person and went to work in the coal mines. He led a vile life, falling into a pattern of that age’s common vices, especially drunkenness, probably widespread among poor, ignorant miners. He came to realize he was a great sinner and dreaded that he would never find mercy with the Lord. Providentially a book fell into his hands that was to change his life forever; it was about heaven and hell.⁴ A biblical text which gripped him in those days was Matt 7.7-11. He testifies what it meant to him then.

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