25-0205wc Transcript

Teacher: Scott Reynolds

(0:04) Okay, good to see everybody. So we’re starting out with the handout that says, (0:12) tour guide notes. Why start with God? And this is lesson four.

Lesson four is entitled, (0:20) Who is God? Theology. Who is God? We did lesson one on what is true. We did lesson two that was (0:28) talking about the dangers of deceptive philosophy and ethics.

And then lesson three was anthropology. (0:40) Who is man? And now we’re on to who is God? Theology, the study of God. This will help us (0:50) as we listen to the video.

We’re going to watch about 27 minutes of it. That’d be about halfway (0:56) through. So when we get to 27 minutes, we’ll stop it.

Okay, so Del Tackett, the person who (1:08) created the truth project is going to talk about why he didn’t start. Why not start with the (1:13) study of God since, you know, that’s what we’re doing. And he gives an explanation in the video.

(1:21) And in this one, he says it was a little bit quick. I didn’t have a lot of time to talk about (1:29) it. So he thought it needed more information.

And that’s what this is about. So he’s going to (1:34) explain why he didn’t start with God as the lesson one. So we’ll talk about that.

And well, (1:43) we’ll read that. And the second handout is a lesson guide to the video. And lesson guides, (1:53) lesson four, theology was God as the introduction and the main themes.

It’s front and back, (2:00) by the way, points to watch for. And that’s as far as we’ll read in here. And then the last one you (2:08) might want to keep handy is the outline.

And if you look at the outline, we’re going to go through (2:14) the two major points, one and two, Roman numeral one and two, all the way down to two E, the (2:22) connection between knowledge of God and knowledge of self. And we’re going to stop when he starts (2:28) talking about the meaning of names. And that’s around 27 minutes into the video.

It goes another (2:36) 27 minutes after that point. So that’s a good place to stop it. All right.

So that’s what we’re (2:44) going to do this evening. Let’s get started with a prayer. Holy Father, we thank you for this time.

(2:51) We can come and study. Help us to learn your ways that we may walk in your ways. Help us to (2:59) learn the deceptive philosophies of the world that we may be aware of them and how then to keep (3:09) from being taken captive by them.

We pray, Father, that you’ll help us to transform ourselves from (3:18) the world’s thinking through the renewing of our mind. Bless our minds with your knowledge. (3:25) And we pray, Father, then that as we come to know you and Jesus better, we will conform to your son (3:33) and be like him.

These things we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. (3:39) So and the first one, why not start with God? Theology, who is God? And this is Dell.

(3:49) I’ve been asked this question a number of times. We attempted to answer it in the DVD, (3:57) but it was way too brief and it demands a more detailed response. We actually began with God in (4:05) two or one.

If you recall, we were dealing with the critical importance of truth, examining the (4:12) very clear declaration by Jesus that the reason he was born was to testify to the truth. (4:20) We established the reality that the primary battle that rages (4:25) around us and within us is the battle between truth and lie. John just came in.

(4:39) We have no more. All right. Can she share with you? Can Ellen share with you? (4:46) You want to move it over so she can see it too? Thank you.

All right. (4:58) So we pick up in the second paragraph of why not start with God? (5:05) John, why not start with God? Second paragraph. And we’re about the second or third, second (5:12) sentence in.

I’ll start back there. We established the reality that the primary battle that rages (5:20) around us and within us is the battle between truth and lie. We then made the point that the (5:26) ultimate source of truth is the very character, nature and being of God, and that the forces of (5:33) evil and reality are ultimately arrayed against who he is.

It is in this context that we pointed (5:42) out that all of our tours were going to follow one central theme, gazing upon the face of God. (5:52) And tour two, we took note of two presuppositions of our worldview. Number one, that God exists.

(6:01) And number two, that he has revealed himself to us. And that revelation through his (6:08) creation and through his word provided us the fundamental answers to all the critical (6:17) philosophical questions of life. We examined in contrast the wandering futility of those (6:24) who attempt to answer those questions without him, and the deep ethical consequences of that (6:31) position when you say there is no God.

We paused briefly to look at the nature of God to discover (6:38) that his laws are not capricious, but an expression of his character. (6:48) In tour three, we spent most of our time dealing with man, who he really is, the state that he is (6:56) in, and the true solution to his problem. We began with God’s creation of man, the separation (7:05) that occurred between God and man at the fall, the glorious work that Christ undertook to redeem us (7:12) from the curse of death, and the promised glory that awaits those who are his.

We ended by noting (7:20) the inability for those who deny God to have any basis for ethical notions, or even ethical (7:28) language. The problem of evil is a greater problem for those who stand opposed to the reality of God (7:37) than for us. In fact, every tour will focus upon God.

In tour five, we will deal with science, (7:46) but we will begin with the reality that the heavens declare his glory, and that all of (7:53) science is meaningless without the beginning notion that we live in a rational, ordered universe (8:01) rather than a random, purposeless one. In tour six, history, we will gaze upon the sovereignty (8:13) of God to comprehend that we are part of his larger story, and not just one of a billion (8:19) other pitiful creatures fighting to make our own little script successful. Tour seven through 12 (8:28) will take on a fascinating tour that will examine one jewel after another, each pointing (8:37) to some aspect of God’s nature.

Next page. So we did begin with God, and we will end with God, (8:47) and we will look upon him everywhere in between. But to be honest, tour four comes after one, (8:58) two, and three, primarily because we live in a culture that has so bought the lives of the world (9:05) that we are not able to deal directly with the question, who is God, without some preparation.

(9:15) As the Old Testament priests underwent a lengthy ritual before they entered the holy of holy, so (9:22) too we must often prepare our hearts and minds before we engage this awesome question. In the (9:31) end, my prayer is that we will daily ask this question and daily seek its answer, who are you, (9:39) O Lord? So let’s look at the lesson guide for this lesson, theology, who is God. We’ll go (9:49) through this and the first paragraph on the second page, and then we’ll start the video.

(9:55) So the introduction to who is God says, having explored the concept of truth itself (10:02) and examined the biblical view of human nature, two basic issues that had to be settled before (10:09) we could move on to the present discussion. Dr. Tackett now takes us to the eastern point (10:15) of the compass and proceeds to lay the third and most important foundation of our truth temple, (10:22) theology, or that branch of study and investigation that grapples with the question, (10:29) who is God? Knowing God, he argues, ought to be our passion and our highest goal, (10:35) for until we look upon his face, we cannot rightly know ourselves or begin to grasp the meaning of our (10:43) existence in the world. The theme of this lesson, knowing God, is absolutely central to the meaning (10:52) of human life, for it is only in the context of intimate personal relationship with him (11:00) that we experience eternal life.

And at the same time, there is no assignment more daunting, (11:09) no task more demanding, no challenge more overwhelming than that of seeking to understand (11:17) the being, nature, character, and attributes of the eternal creator, who is himself the ultimate (11:25) source of all truth, Colossians 2.3. So impossibly huge is this endeavor that we could not hope to (11:35) tackle it except for the fact that he has graciously revealed himself to us in his word. (11:44) Apart from this revelation, mankind gropes and struggles in the darkness to piece together (11:50) even the most flawed and rudimentary concept of God. In line with this thought, R.C. Sproul (11:58) asserts that ours is an era in which the knowledge of God has been eclipsed, not completely destroyed, (12:08) but obscured and shadowed by lies and misconceptions.

Given this situation, it is (12:15) essential that we establish two main points, that God exists, and number two, that the Bible, (12:24) the vehicle of his self-revelation, is utterly reliable. Following Sproul’s lead, Dr. Tackett (12:33) uses a significant portion of this tour to respond to attacks that have been leveled against God’s (12:42) word over the course of history, another aspect of the cosmic battle. He answers the objections (12:50) of Voltaire, Robert Ingersoll, and liberal theologians such as Julius Wellhausen and the (12:57) members of the Jesus Seminar.

He also illustrates that the Bible’s historical accuracy by helping (13:05) us resolve an apparent scriptural discrepancy concerning the dates of King Jehoram’s reign. (13:13) But the heart of this episode, I’m sorry, but the heart of this episode’s message (13:21) hits more closer to home, for in the end Dr. Tackett makes it clear that we cannot truly know (13:27) ourselves until we have begun to know God and his fullness and richness of his multifaceted (13:35) nature and character, not only as the God of mercy and grace, but also as the God who is a (13:44) consuming fire jealous for the purity of the covenant relationship, El Qahana. When this (13:53) knowledge dawns upon us, we can expect two things to happen.

First, the revelation of God’s character (14:01) will, like a mirror, reveal things to us about ourselves, so that we, along with the prophet (14:08) Isaiah, are compelled to cry, Woe is me, for I am undone, Isaiah 6.5. But then secondly, as he (14:19) raises us out of our despair and shows us who we are and who we can be in him, we will be granted (14:27) the gift of a new name, a whole new concept of our being, our identity, and our purpose in life (14:38) with God. Once again, the fruit of this experience will be personal transformation. One more paragraph, (14:48) points to watch for.

During the course of this tour, the theme of the cosmic battle is revisited (14:55) several times and from a number of different angles, and the cosmic battle is the battle (15:01) between truth and lies. As in the first three episodes, Dr. Taka consistently returns to the (15:08) point that fallen man resists the truth and that, as Christians, we are thus called to cast down (15:16) arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every (15:23) thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10.5. Man, says Dr. Tackett, (15:35) has a tendency to play fast and loose with God’s word, not because he is seriously interested in (15:42) ascertaining the facts about biblical history, but because he is unwilling to face up to the (15:49) power of divine revelation as it applies to his personal life. In the final analysis, (15:57) God’s word is the main thing standing in the way of self-actualization as it is promoted (16:05) by the gurus of contemporary culture, and some students may find it difficult to accept this (16:13) idea.

All right, so if you want to keep your outline handy, we’ll get started. Okay, (16:24) take these, look them over. I gave you the leader’s edition of the lesson, guys, (16:31) so if you want to take a look at that and help you meditate on the information that’s being (16:38) presented here.

So let’s close up there. Holy Father, thank you for this day, this time. (16:45) Thank you for this study.

Guide our minds in your truth. Help us to learn more about (16:53) you and Jesus, that we may know the truth, because you have told us, and we believe you, (17:00) that what you tell us is truth. And therefore, Father, we can compare the truth claims of the (17:08) world to what you say, and if what you say is true, and what they say, what their truth claims (17:16) say is contrary to what you say, we know that what they’re saying is not true.

Help us, Father, (17:23) to have the conviction to make that comparison and realize then who’s telling the truth, (17:33) and allow us then to receive your blessings for believing in you and have eternal life. (17:41) Be with us, in Jesus' name we pray it. Amen.