I have been privileged to meet some other guys for a Bible study on Monday mornings at 6 AM.Yes that's right 6 AM its called "early bird gets the Word." Here is a quick summary of our first five study sessions.
Study session #1 – The sovereignty of God
Definition of The sovereignty of God
God continually oversees and directs all things pertaining to the created order in such a
way that;
1) He preserves in existence and provides for the creation He has brought into being
(see Neh 9:6; Matt 6:25-34; Acts 2:25; Col 1:16-17; and Heb 1:2-3; Jas 1:17), and
2) He governs and reigns supremely over the entirety of the created order in order to
fulfill all of His intended purposes in it and through it (see Deut 32:39; Psa 135:5-7;
Prov 21:1; Isa 45:5-7; Dan 2:21; 4:34-37; Eph 1:11)
Study session #2 – The self-sufficiency of God
Definition of the sufficiency of God - God possesses within himself, intrinsically and eternally, every quality in infinite measure.
In other words - God has no need for anything outside of who God is, in and of
himself. God needs nothing apart from himself, for he possesses every quality within
himself.
Rom. 11:33 ¶ Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
Rom. 11:34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?
Rom. 11:35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?
Rom. 11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Study session #3 – The glory of God
Definition of the glory of God – this means the visible splendor or moral beauty of God's manifold perfections. God's glory is the beauty of his manifold (not uni-fold) perfections (his infinite, eternal, and unchangeable being, and his wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth).
Vines defines the glory of God as the manifest perfection of His presence.
Is. 48:11 “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;
For how can My name be profaned?
And My glory I will not give to another.
Ex. 33:18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!”
Ex. 33:19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”
Jonathan Edwards writes:
So God glorifies Himself toward the creatures also in two ways: 1. By appearing to . . . their understanding. 2. In communicating Himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in, and enjoying, the manifestations which He makes of Himself. . . God is glorified not only by His glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it.
C. S. Lewis writes:
But the most obvious fact about praise-whether of God or any thing-strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless (sometimes even if) shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. The world rings with praise-lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game-praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars.
I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: "Isn't she lovely? Wasn't it glorious? Don't you think that magnificent?" The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can't help doing, about everything else we value.
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.
Study session #4 – The two wills of God
The Bible uses the term will of God in more than one sense, there are two main ways.
1. Sovereign will, will of decree, secret will, or will of decree
2. Moral will, will of command, revealed will
Deuteronomy 29:29 - The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law
1 Thessalonians 4:3 - For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; this is not His will of decree but rather His will of command
Study session #5 – The will of God in election
Definition of Election - Election is the loving and merciful decision by God the Father to bestow eternal life upon some, but not all, hell-deserving sinners. This decision was made before the foundation of the world and was based not upon any act of will or works of men and women, but solely upon God's sovereign good pleasure. One does not enter the ranks of the elect by meeting a condition be it faith or repentance. One enters the ranks of the elect by virtue of God's free and altogether gracious choice, as a result of which He enables us to repent and believe. Thus, election is both sovereign and unconditional.
Acts 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed (ordained) to eternal life believed.
Eph. 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
1Pet. 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen
1Pet. 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
