Read John 1:1-4, 11-14.
Pastor and writer A. W. Tozer said (you’ve heard this before) “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Think about that for a moment. Our thoughts about God shape our worldview and give focus to our lives. Or at least they should.
When we think about the doctrine of God and how it relates to discipleship, there are two realities that come to mind. First, God is the uncreated creator. The apostle John, in the first verses of his gospel, reminds us of Genesis 1. When taken together, these accounts inform us of the doctrine of the Trinity. This means that the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are the same essence yet are revealed in three distinct Persons. All three are present at creation. Can this be comprehended? No. We can, however, apprehend the revelation of God’s Triune nature through what we see in creation and the Bible.
Not only is God the uncreated Creator, He is also on a mission to redeem sinful humanity. We see this not only in the first chapter of John, but in many places in the Bible. The apostles John and Paul both say that God offers salvation to all of humanity. None of us can merit or work hard enough to achieve salvation, it is the free gift of God, offered to humanity while we are still in our sinful state.
I believe that the message of the Scriptures is that God is not a “divine Watchmaker” who created everything then remains distant from His creation. He is not an angry Creator waiting on the edge of His seat to throw lightning bolts at us because of our disobedience. Instead, the Persons of the Trinity engage in the work to redeem and save all who will repent and believe. This God can be known through His revelations, in creation and the Word, and we can encounter Him through prayer and daily time in the Bible.
That is the Upward Priority that we’ve talked about for the past couple of weeks.
Mark Riser - Apologist 