In the Beginning | The God Without Beginning

In The Beginning: (Part I)
THE GOD WITHOUT BEGINNING

Genesis 1:1 (ESV) 
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Psalm 14:1 (ESV) 
1The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.
Today, there are still some Christian churches that recite the Apostles’ Creed during their worship service. Although this “Creed” was not really written by the Twelve Apostles, the early Church Fathers during the second century (140 A.D.) accepted the title as such because it basically bears the teachings of the apostles in the New Testament. The Apostles’ Creed goes like this:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Time and again, I feel that we need to revisit this “Creed,” so that we become very familiar with what we consider as our basic doctrines. For example, it begins with this declaration – “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.”
How many of you believe this doctrine? I wonder if there are some of us here this morning who are struggling to believe this truth. I remember several years back when two major studies, one from the Barna Research Group and the other one from USA Today, both came out saying that 75 percent of Christian young people are falling away from the faith and are leaving the church after high school because of intellectual skepticism. Honestly, as a pastor, these studies scare me because I am well aware of the fact that our children are growing up in a society that is hostile to the Christian faith. And when they go to college, the majority of their professors are either atheists or agnostics who are critical to our basic beliefs. So, my biggest concern is whether or not we are preparing our kids enough to be able to handle questions against their faith. Of course, it is not only the church that must prepare these kids; their homes, certainly, must partner with the church in training them.
With this in mind, I wanted us to kick off 2020, studying some of these basic doctrines by going back to where everything really started—in the book of Genesis. We have entitled our sermon series, “In the Beginning.” The reality is that many of the critical questions we will encounter in life can be answered from this book. For example, the most fundamental question we need to answer is the existence of God, “Does God really exist?” How you respond to this question will definitely affect every precious doctrine you believe. Why? Well, if you fail to answer this, then, everything else in your faith is non-essential, right? So, it is necessary that we start here.
For this very first sermon, I would like us to highlight the opening statement of the Bible in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” What is significant here is that the Bible doesn’t really begin proving God’s existence. It simply presents it as an accepted truth. The question now is: “Are you willing to accept this truth as well?” In order to establish this doctrine, I would like us to explore three basic facts:

I THE REASONS WHY WE CAN BELIEVE IN GOD
Psalm 14:1 makes a very significant evaluation – The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Some may disagree, but as far as the Psalmist is concerned, it is foolishness to tell yourself that “There is no God.” Why do you think this is true? It is because there are solid reasons why we should believe in the existence of God. Many of us consciously or unconsciously are holding to these reasons:
The Universal Belief Reason
This argument lies in the worldwide recognition of a Supreme Being. Although the idea of some people, cultures, or civilizations about God may vary on the number, name, or nature of this Supreme Being, nevertheless, the idea still exists. Everyone seems to be hardwired to worship someone or something.
The Cosmological Reason
This argument is sometimes referred to as the “cause and effect” argument. Since we are well aware of the fact that the universe exists, then, its existence demands an explanation. And the only sensible explanation is that God is the cause of its existence. Well, Genesis 1:1 affirms this explanation with the statement – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
The Willmington’s Guide to the Bible provided this illustration regarding this argument. One of the great names of British science, mathematics, and philosophy is Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Sir Isaac had a miniature model of the solar system made. A large golden ball representing the sun was at its center and around it revolved smaller spheres, representing the planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and the others. They were each kept in orbit relatively the same as in the real solar system. By means of rods, cogwheels, and belts, they all moved around the center gold ball in exact precision. A friend called on the noted man one day while he was studying the model. The friend was not a believer in the biblical doctrine of divine creation. According to reports, their conversation went as follows:
Friend: ‘My, Newton, what an exquisite thing! Who made it for you?’
Newton: ‘Nobody.’
Friend: ‘Nobody?’
Newton: ‘That’s right! I said nobody! All of these balls and cogs and belts and gears just happened to come together, and wonder of wonders, by chance they began revolving in their set orbits with perfect timing!’
The truth is that it is definitely more logical to believe in the creator of the universe than deny His existence.
The Teleological Reason
This argument comes from the Greek word Telos, which literally means aim or purpose. So, another way we can prove God’s existence is by looking at the intelligent design and order in the universe. The fact is that the world is so intricate that it could not happen by accident; it was designed. For example, the cosmic constants (i.e., the mathematical values of certain physical features of the universe) must always be balanced to permit life on earth.
The Moral Reason
The conscience and moral nature of man demand a self-conscious and moral Maker. This built-in barometer supplies no information, and the information on which it passes judgment may be incorrect. But nevertheless, conscience tells us we ought to do what is right regarding the information we have.
These four reasons will help solidify our conviction that there is a Sovereign Person who created everything that exists, including us. I know more and more people are deceived into believing that God is just a myth, but I pray that we won’t be one those people. Again, it would be more unreasonable to deny His existence.
II THE REVELATIONS ABOUT GOD’S EXISTENCE
The next important truth about God that we need to understand is His initiative to make Himself known to us. Since we are finite creatures, we don’t possess sufficient capacity to understand a transcendent God like Him, so He Himself provided two ways to disclose Himself to us. Here they are:
Natural Revelation
Psalm 19:1 (ESV) 
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
When the Holy Spirit allowed King David to write this Psalm, He made sure to convey to us that heavenly bodies point to the fact that there is an Almighty God behind their existence. Of course, this reality can be applied in all creation. Every time we are awed with the beauty of creation, they help in telling us that there is a great God behind everything.
Special Revelations
Although God has revealed Himself in all creation, these revelations are incomplete because they only reveal His power. Therefore, God chose to fortify His revelation by giving us the written Word, which is the Bible, and the Living Word who is Jesus Christ. Let me give you two concrete verses to support these truths:
Written Word
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (ESV) 
9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
This Scriptural reference plainly states that the Holy Spirit who authored the Bible (2 Peter 1:21) is the main instrument in helping us understand the will and ways of God. Remember, the main reason why it is so important to keep reading and studying God’s Word is because they give us the limitless opportunities to go deeper into knowing God.
Living Word
John 1:18 (ESV) 
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
The apostle John introduces Jesus Christ as the Word who was with God from the very beginning and He became like us, dwelling among us, so that ultimately He can be the clearest revelation of the Father (John 1:1, 14, 18). Jesus Christ is the central theme of the Bible because through Him we will know that God loves us and He desires to have a personal relationship with us.
All of these revelations will help us see God as all–powerful, all-wise, and all-loving. We need to know Him more in order to truly appreciate Him. In the end, He wants to delight in our worship of Him.
III THE RECOGNITION OF GOD
Last but not the least, we need to be reminded that because there are sufficient revelations of God, humans won’t have any excuse for their failure to recognize Him. Here is what the apostle Paul has declared:
Romans 1:19-20 (ESV) 
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
I know that there is a growing number of people who profess that they don’t believe in the existence of God. But I trust that all of us who are here will clearly understand that one’s failure to know God is not in any way the fault of God. God, in His goodness, provided all the possible means for Him to be known. But do you know why many still don’t acknowledge Him? I believe that Paul also gave the reason why?
Romans 1:18 (ESV) 
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
We should not miss the last phrase of this verse – “who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” In other words, it is because of their sinfulness that they are trying their best to suppress or to clamp down this truth. Deep inside their hearts and minds, they know there is God, the creator of the universe, but they did their best to fight against this truth. This is truly tragic because when judgment day comes, they cannot give God acceptable alibis for their failure to recognize Him.
How are you today? Have you recognized God already? Remember, if you want to know Him more, we could begin in opening our heart to Jesus Christ. And then from there, get to know God more through the Bible. I guarantee you; you will never regret it when you exert the best efforts to learn more about Him. Let me finish this sermon by leaving you a beautiful verse:
James 4:8 (ESV) 
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Here’s what we should not miss - Our efforts to draw ourselves closer to God will surely be reciprocated by Him. If we desire an intimate relationship with Him, we will never be disappointed because He will meet us where we desire to go in our relationship with Him. Imagine, we have the potential of knowing the creator of the universe as our intimate friend!

Preached: (January 5, 2020)