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The following is provided
as food for thought. It is
an exercise of the mind starting with the three main attributes of God
and then drawing conclusions. The information is provided here to provoke
your thought.
The 3
Attributes of God are:
Omnipotence - He has the power to do anything
He desires (Job 42:2; Luke 1:37).
Omnipresence - He is in all places, all the
time (1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 90:2).
Omniscience - He knows all things (1 John
3:20).
Out of these attributes flow His works:
Election - choosing who is saved (John
6:37-40; Eph. 1:4;11; Rom.. 8:29-30; Acts 13:48).
Creation - bringing the universe into
existence (Isaiah 44:24; Col. 1:16-18).
Providence - guiding and providing for His creation (Psalm
135:7; Ecc. 3:13; Acts 14:17).
There are natural conclusions to be drawn from God's
attributes.
A. If
He is omnipotent, then He has the power to accomplish anything He
desires. He can create, alter, or uncreate a universe and all that is in
it.
*** Therefore He is able to Create whatever He desires.
B. If
He is omnipresent, then nothing is hidden from Him - this means every
dimension; all time whether past, present, or future; and every form of
existence either thought, action, or substance.
*** Therefore He encompasses all He creates.
C. If
He is Omniscient, then He eternally comprehends all things actual as well
as potential.
1.
All things actual means all things that do exist.
i.
This includes all combinations of all objects and events that exist.
a)
This includes every dimension; all time whether past, present, or future;
and every form of existence either thought, action, or substance.
2. All
things potential means all things that could exist.
i.
This includes all combinations of all events that might exist but do not.
a)
This includes all that exists only in the mind of God but was not chosen
by Him (through His creative action) to exist outside of His mind.
*** Therefore, He knows everything about everything He
has created.
Conclusion: With all knowledge, God has absolute control over all He
encompasses.
In creation God brought into being a finite set of
actualities derived from an infinite set of potentialities. (By actuality I mean all that does
exists. By potentiality I mean all that could exist.)
A.
The combinations of the actualities are not infinite,
1.
because the actualities are finite to begin with and are, therefore,
incapable of infinite combination.
2.
because having been created and set in motion by God the actual number of
combinations has been decided upon by Him.
B.
None of the actualities are accidental, nor can they be accidental,
1.
since accident would suggest something beyond God's omnipotence,
omnipresence, and omniscience.
2.
since accident would imply another creator outside the knowledge,
presence, and control of God.
C.
None of these actualities can function in a manner that is outside the
knowledge, presence, or control of God
1.
because they have been brought into being by Him.
2.
because God cannot make something greater than He.
*** Therefore all that exists is under His knowledge and
control.
All that exists, exists not because of accident, but because
God has chosen it to exist.
A. including
any result of any combination of events.
1.
since that result would have been foreknown and, therefore, brought about
by God as He selected the causes that brought that result.
B.
Therefore, all results are foreknown; that is, they are known because
they are brought about by God, and, by logic, must be what God has caused
to occur
1.
therefore it is foreknown to occur.
C.
This includes those events which are the results of creatures with wills
because,
1. no
will could exist apart from the knowledge or control of God because God
created all wills and/or the condition that provides for the existence of
the will.
It follows then that evil is something permitted by God and
under His absolute control.
A.
Evil is the permitted rebellion against God, yet it is not greater than
He, nor is it out of the reach of His control, nor beyond His knowledge.
B.
God encompasses all that is, including evil. That is, evil is like a
circle within a circle.
1.
Evil, apart and separate from God, operates within His controlled realm.
2.
Since nothing could exist outside God's control.
C.
Evil, then, operating within the realm of God, can be used by God for His
good (Gen. 50:20; Acts 2:23).
Additionally, it also follows, then, that everyone is either
elected or not elected into salvation.
A.
This is because in God's infinite control of all things in all time,
nothing can exist that He has not brought directly or indirectly into
existence, through direct creation or the consequence of His creation.
1.
This includes the person with the will to choose or reject God.
i.
Each person is created by God with tendencies, preferences, and
abilities.
a) This includes the "tendency" to believe or
not as some maintain.
ii.
Each person is put, by God, in an environment that is helpful or not
helpful to receiving the gospel.
iii.
God is aware of all these variables, knows the outcome, and places the
person there.
iv.
Therefore, salvation is dependent solely upon God.
a) because God is in control of all variables of all
situations including the wills of His creation.
It could be no other way.
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