The Lord's Day Bible Message Outlines
November 8,
2009
Pastor Dana Johnson
"By faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of
God...."
-Hebrews
11:3
By faith we understand that the
worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things
which are seen were not made of things which are
visible.
1. The visible,
physical universe had to have a beginning point. And it
didn't come into being from other visible
material.
a. The
subject here is not the composition of the physical
world, but, rather, its origin.
1) "Were
not made"
2)
"of"
b. Evolution's
answer is time, the Big Bang, and spontaneous
generation.
c. The popular, but
perhaps imprecise, term, "creation ex nihilo" (creation
out of nothing) is intended to mean that God made the
universe without the use of preexisting
matter.
2. Instead, God framed
the worlds by His word.
a.
"worlds" =
"things which are seen"
b.
The "word"
(rhema) refers to that which God has spoken.
Psalm
33:6, 9 - By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
9For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded,
and it stood fast.
c. The word
"framed" suggests the idea of construction. Accordingly,
God's command operates as the material, tools and labor
of the work of creation.
3. The amazing divine
origin of the universe is understood by faith.
a. Notice the
inseparable relationship between faith and
understanding.
b. How is this
understanding by faith different from the faithless
acknowledgment of creation by a pagan or a modern student
of science? The answer lies in a proper understanding of
God.
c. Faith in
creation does not stand alone. It is associated with
faith in the other revealed truths of the Bible,
particularly the truth of salvation through Christ.
Hebrews
10:37-39 - "For yet a little while, and He who is coming
will come and will not tarry. 38Now the just
shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul
has no pleasure in him." 39But we are not of
those who draw back to perdition, but of those who
believe to the saving of the soul.
d. At the beginning
of a chapter devoted to faith, faith in creation
establishes the proper standard or benchmark for the
faith that pleases God. It is a faith that needs no
supporting evidence but simply rests in the fact that God
is, and that is all the evidence and explanation we
need.
Hebrews
11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that
He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek
Him.
(All
Scripture quoted is from the New King James
Version)
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