| The Apostles' Creed, Part 3, "I believe in God the Father Almighty" |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, October 31 2011 00:00 |
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The creed continues to define the Christian belief in God: He is God, He is Father, and He is Almighty. Here the Jews and Muslims would agree with us. Unfortunately, many Christians do not really believe that God is Almighty. They may use the expression “Almighty God” in conversation or in song, but they fail to see its implications. Almighty indicates all power. If God has all power, then no one else has any power; it all resides in God. That means God is sovereign, that nothing happens apart from His purpose and counsel. Job realized this reality when, after all his trials, he confessed “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). Yet we hear people speaking about God wanting us to do something “if we let Him.” Let Him? As if God had to ask our permission. As if man were making the decisive and ultimate decisions. The Deist has such an idea, for he believes that God created the world and then backed away and let it operate by natural law. This natural law man apprehends by reason, and then he orders his life in accordance with it or disregards it. But if God is Almighty, then He not only has but exercises His power. He is intricately involved in everything that happens and in every being that exists for every moment. Pelagians teach that God creates us neutral and leaves it to our free will to decide to accept and obey God or refuse Him. Such a doctrine would make man autonomous and thus ultimately more decisive and thus more powerful than God. Arminians teach that God is truly Almighty, but He has left man with enough freedom to make the decisive step in salvation himself, without any direct impulse from God. Then in the last analysis, if one is saved, it is because of that person, not God. How can God remain Almighty and sovereign in such a system? Arminians teach that they believe in the omnipotence of God, but they become inconsistent when they add in this dimension of what they term “human freedom.” We confess that we believe in God the Father Almighty. Let us not only say the word, but understand what we are saying and genuinely believe it! |
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