2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
If you were to grab a prospectus from a local community college you would see a list of options and topics that varies greatly, from ideas of how to learn and grow in the knowledge of science or the arts, from basketball to basket weaving–the list can be quite broad.
When we pick up God’s prospectus,(also known as the Bible), we can see a myriad of ways we can grow in knowledge and truth. Just like grabbing a college prospectus, the Bible reminds us of the majesty of the Creator and how we fit into His order. Through careful consideration and a mind toward the goal, we have the opportunity to enlist in the classes that God offers without the cost of tuition—it’s free! Jesus already paid our way, He only requires that we join Him.
So come along with me, let’s peruse God’s Holy prospectus and see what might be of interest…maybe we can learn together.
The Sciences
Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse”
The manifestation of God’s attributes are demonstrated within His Creation. The closer we look at all He has made, the more clearly He reveals the majesty of who He is.
Do you want to have a greater appreciation for God?
Consider the care and complexity by which He formed the Universe, the order by which it flows, and the way that He incorporated resiliency within it’s form. Take no aspect for granted, His image has been imprinted everywhere.
Colossians 1:17 “And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Do you ever wonder why we can observe the Universe or why planets and moons have order and don’t just collide or drift apart? —The Lord maintains their order.
The more science understands the mechanisms by which life is formed and exists, the more complex it becomes. Clear examples abound of design in living creatures. One example is the tendon that emerges from a chest muscle in most birds. It is threaded through a hole in the bird’s bone, wraps around a “pulley,” and then is attached to the top of the humerus bone, this way, when the muscle flexes, the wing moves up. Each specification involved is exactly fitted to perform its needed function. If only one of them failed to work, the bird would not fly.
God’s majesty is displayed in ways we cannot see.
Blessed Biology
1 Corinthians 15:39 “All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.”
For those who think mankind is on the same level of animals, they haven’t read the Bible. People were created in God’s image, they are body, mind, and spirit and they resemble their Creator who is perfect in form. God is One but is revealed in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each stroke of the master’s hand creates a masterpiece, each act reveals an element of His glory.
In recent decades, the incredible world of tiny machines inside living cells has been revealed. It demonstrates a supremely efficient, and in many cases perfectly specified collection of parts upon which each living cell depends. Large creatures were clearly designed, but it is even more certain that single cells must have had a Designer of unsurpassed engineering genius. There is no such thing as a simple living organism.
Awesome Astronomy
1 Corinthians 15:40-41 “There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.”
Each of the unique aspects in the Universe reveals depth of wisdom. Paul went on to describe how many of the elements of Creation parallels a greater depth of understanding of God’s universe spiritually.
Vs. 42-45 “So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”
We, like the myriad of stars and planets in the heavens, have a unique design and purpose within the spectrum of God’s plan.
The Lord(the last Adam) is the source of spiritual light and life, like the moon that reflects the sun, we are called to reflect His glory to others. By the way we live our lives we are to reveal Christ. As He places His Spirit within His people, they shine with the light of His glory and countenance. For those who walk in His glory, they appear like stars in the sky burning with a power that was formed in them.
The Arts
Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”
As the world turns on this rotating planet hung in space, the Lord turns His people on a sculptures wheel, forming them into His image. They come to him as a hideous lump of clay, misshapen by the world, a form that became repulsive in His sight because of sin. Then Jesus appears and finds beauty within the mess. He begins to mold and make them into an image that is acceptable, beautiful, and worthy to be presented before the Father.
People have nothing to offer Him on their own, since the clay cannot form itself. In the hands of the master we see a revelation of His glory within a people that He forms for His own keeping.
Romans 9:19-21 “You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?”
You see, whether the clay accepts the master or not is irrespective of His touch. The Lord intervenes in everyone’s life, for those who embrace His touch, they become vessels of honor. For those who reject His counsel and blaspheme His name, they become vessels of dishonor, having never taken the form that God originally intended for them.
The Humanities
Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
To study human thought and culture one must begin with the breath of life and then progress into those lives formed within the societies and people groups we see today.
To gain a better understanding of who we are as a people, we must first understand the Author of life.
The purposes by which the Creator formed the world collectively and the structures He implemented by which it will succeed demonstrates His glory.
Why did God form mankind? What is the purpose of life?
To answer these questions one must look beyond the superficial and into the divine. For those who look toward creation to gain knowledge and insight, they see only hints of the divine. The wise will look to the source because the creation points toward the Creator.
To know the Truth, you must seek the One who defines Truth.
John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
For the scientist or the theologian, all meaning and purpose is found in Christ alone. He knows His creation and He has purposed for it to function with Him, not apart from Him.
Psalm 139:13-15 “For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.”
Individually or collectively–meaning and purpose is found only in Christ.
You may ask how this reveals the purpose of life?
There is intentionality in everything we see. As plants thrive by the light that shines upon them, people thrive when the light of God shines in them. There is a different sensory understanding of all we see, feel, smell, hear, and taste when it is filtered through the light of God’s countenance…people are given the joy of experiencing Creation with a hint of things to come.
Marvelous Mathematics
Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Don’t you suppose that if the Creator made creation with an order and purpose that it would have measurability to it?
Within Creation there are measurable properties because there is intelligent order behind it. Formulas work consistently throughout the Universe and laws rule over all that was formed revealing intentionality and intellect.
Matthew 10:30 “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”
There is no aspect of creation that God overlooks, there is not one thing that exists that He is not aware of—including you!
Luke 14:28,33 “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—-So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
Godly Purpose is found in Everything.
As the Lord takes careful measure of all He does, we should take the same care in how we respond.
Pattern shows purpose. That purpose is found in the hands and heart of the Creator. A Creator who loves you and gave His life for you that you might be redeemed from sin. Sin corrupts and every person that has ever lived has experienced the magnitude of it destructive force. God not only creates, He heals. He is in the process of restoring that which He originally intended—you are in His plans for that restoration.
Allow the Lord to work in your life, to change you and make you new again.
—-It is by His salvation believers are made new.
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
If you want to know true life, know Jesus personally. Give your life to Him and allow His Spirit to fill you and transform you into the person He intended for you to be. You were not made in error, the very substance of your being has value in the Creator’s eyes and it is only in Him can you discover that purpose.
U.T. 