""
A TREATISE ON GOD
By George Foss
"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH." ( 2 Timothy 2:15)
Contents
Prologue and Introduction
Chapter 1. The Case For the Existence of God
Chapter 2. The Word of God
Part I God’s Self-Revelation
Part II God’s Final Revelation
Chapter 3. Eternity Past--The Plan of God
Chapter 4. Angels in the Plan of God
Chapter 5. The Humanity of God
Chapter 6. The Fall and Original Sin
Chapter 7. The Plan of Redemption
Part I Salvation through God’s Chosen people
Part II Salvation through Jesus Christ
Chapter 8. The Risen Lord
Part I Israel Set Aside
Part II Mysteries Revealed to Paul
Chapter 9. The Church
Chapter 10. Eternity Future-Heaven
Epilogue
Appendix I—-Certitude of Salvation
Appendix II—Catholicism-An Assessment
Bibliography
Introduction
This treatise is a systematic extensive discourse on the subject of God; an attempt to answer the deepest questions about the origin, destiny and purpose of God, humanity, and the Universe. The following treatise then, is an outline about who I think God is, what God has done, and what the plan of God is, based solely on Holy Scripture.
The general revelation of God is a concept that says man has always been made aware of something greater than themselves. It says ‘look around you, how did this happen, why are we here?’ It holds that all humans are born with an innate sense of morality, and that God instilled man with this sense of right and wrong. During creation God imprinted into the nature of man His Divine Image, which draws man toward everything that is morally good and averts him from everything that is morally evil. This inner law works through the voice of conscience, which justly is called the voice of God in man. Because it is an integral part of human nature, it is active in all people - regardless of their age, race, place of birth, education, or development.
Beyond the idea of a general revelation, everything we know about God and His Creation is derived from Holy Scripture--this is our only written prime source. No secular book witnesses about the existence of conscience in man as clearly as does the Bible. Thousands upon thousands of books have been written about God and His Creation. The world’s philosophers and theologians continue to expound, but after all is said and done, it all comes back to a single source-- Holy Scripture with God as its author. The Bible claims to be the Word of God and by staking this claim the Bible simply but plainly declares its divine authority, complete infallibility and absolute sufficiency.
This is a summary of my views on what I comprehend God is trying to convey to us through His written Word in Holy Scripture. Virtually everything we believe and practice religiously goes back to our perception of God; consequently, if our perception of God is skewed our beliefs will be too.
The following is what I believe are the essentials of faith: The Bible being the infallible, inerrant Word of God, and the only rule of faith; the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, His virgin birth and incarnation, the Body of Christ( His Church), the Gospel of Grace being the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and salvation by Grace through faith alone. I strongly believe that God’s Grace and mercy encompasses all believers so that within the Christian community where there is a wide range of beliefs, that as long as the essentials are not violated, then anyone who holds to those essentials but may differ in the non-essentials is my brother or sister in Christ.
I wrote this treatise for my own edification, and to share what I have I learned under the prayerful guidance of the Holy Spirit, and hopefully to instill in whoever reads this a hunger for more of God’s truth. I recognize that my own knowledge is quite limited, but this is not some remote nebulous work that one can read and then flippantly go your merry way. Rather, it is about the main purpose of our earthly existence and eternal salvation. Creating this thesis has been a blessing to me, but at the same time a convicting experience. Being immersed in these subjects has been edifying, and I pray will be for anyone who reads this as well.
Each fresh age or generation - as students of the New Testament - is challenged as they become acquainted with all those profound questions that never seem to be completely answered. Rather than accept on face value in faith the guidance of divinely inspired scriptural revelation, many scholars prefer to be guided in their approach by their own powers of judgment, and particularly by the prevailing standards and criteria both of philosophy and of natural science.
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, 20O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: 21Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. (1 Tim. 6:.20, 21)(KJV) Paul thus warned a young Christian worker against the presumptuous claim to know, a claim attractively but unjustifiably made in the name of some prevailing theory or philosophy not really worthy of credence; a claim which, once adopted, was bound to involve any who held it, and became held by it, in departure from the Christian faith.
This warning applies to all students of Scripture to this very day. One finds in the scholarly world prevailing theories are often treated as if they were fully established truths. As a result individuals so accept them as to allow their whole outlook to be governed by them. This stems from Satan’s ongoing program to create fatal prejudice against the Christian faith. He tempts individuals to prefer empty human speculation to substantial divine revelation; thereby losing their bearings as Christian believers, and to wander far from the truth.
I believe my prayers for guidance by the Holy Spirit will protect me from falling into that same trap. For they are dangers of which all who would hold fast to revealed truth concerning the Person and work of God incarnate need deliberately to beware.
In this work I have decided to approach the subject totally different from anything you would find in available theological literature. I’m not trying to produce something new and novel for its own sake, but for most people (including myself) the subject is sometimes difficult and overwhelming. Here, I have tried to separate the wheat from the chaff for myself, and hopefully, I have done the same for anyone else who reads this. What may seem clear to me may be not be clear to someone else, and I can’t bring myself to say that I have all the answers.
_________
How did this whole cosmos come to exist at all? Most rational people have asked themselves this question at some point in their lives. Perhaps our mother or friend dies or we suddenly face some crisis in our own lives: momentarily we find ourselves wondering "Why are we alive anyhow?" What's the point of it all--the eating and sleeping and struggling and working and dying--how did it all start in the first place?
The usual clichés satisfy the great majority who don't really make a serious attempt to seek an answer. You know them already. ‘It doesn’t make any difference what you believe as long as you live a good life and don’t hurt anyone else.” “eat, drink, and make merry, for tomorrow we may die.” "It all came about by evolution." Evolution of what? What evolved from what? Evolution from simple to complex forms may or may not describe how this whole system developed, but it certainly doesn't explain how it started. What power originated the first single-cell amoeba? What is life? If it all started from scum on a pond, where did the pond come from? If it all came from one proton, where did the proton come from?
In recent years we've tried through research in astronomy to suggest that it all started with a 'big bang' but even this attempt to explain an expanding universe begs the question "what exploded?" Somewhere, sometime, something or somebody had to make something out of nothing!
Theories like the 'big bang' look at the present facts and suggest probable explanations for them: does that method suggest anything about the origin of the cosmos? Well, the facts about our universe suggest one very obvious thing about its origin: it was not by chance or good luck! Why is that so? Because of the order that we find right from the smallest molecular structure to the orbiting of the largest planet. If our earth were any closer to the sun, we would all burn up. If air pressure were any greater, we would either explode or implode. Our environment is so carefully adapted to our existence and we are able so to adapt to it that it's obvious this order was built in from the beginning.
This order is what caused many of our greatest philosophers and scientists to declare that there is an illimitable Superior Being who reveals Himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms the concept of what we call God. This order, which enables the blood to carry at least 64 substances thousands of miles a day through our bodies and is evident in the chart of the elements and the structure of the DNA molecule, suggests that very reasonable hypothesis that the universe originated from an intelligence at least as developed as yours and mine. In other words, the existence and persistence of the seasons, the intricate connection between your eye and the object it photographs, the mystery of what maintains the electrical charge that makes your heart beat--these facts and millions of others suggest to common-sense this order did not result from chance plus time but from the conscious design and wisdom of an intelligent mind.
We all need the wisdom that comes from God rather than the wisdom of man. One cannot learn Godly wisdom in a University and get a degree in it. It can only come to a heart in right relationship with God, for one who is seeking it. The Holy Spirit dwelling within us as believers leads us into all truth. ‘…For the Holy Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God.’ Every time I sat down to search and write I prayed for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I always believed my prayers were answered. God has promised,
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
“God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen… so that no man may boast before God.” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24, 27-2)
Something that was always impressed upon me as I wrote this treatise was that the word of God, and His teachings, are spiritually discerned. A person cannot possibly understand spiritual truths, unless they have the Holy Spirit within, teaching them the hidden meanings(1 Cor. 2:13-14). The human mind, no matter how intelligent can comprehend spiritual truths unless guided by the Holy Spirit.
With so many different interpretations available, how is anyone supposed to know which is the correct one? By examining the nature of the Bible, the events it records and how it was written, it is possible to come up with a method of interpretation that is sensible and understandable.(at least to me).My approach to Scripture employed here is what is known as the grammatical-historical method, or (less accurately) the literal method. The grammatical-historical method is a Christian interpretation process that strives to discover the Biblical author's original intended meaning in the text. It is the primary method of interpretation for scholars in the major branches of Christianity. In concert with this I use as many Biblical themes, i.e. Scripture explaining Scripture, to interpret the text, which normally clarifies God’s meaning on a given subject.
The reason I subscribe to this method is because I believe it leads to the most accurate understanding of the Bible: that is how everyone normally communicates. Whether the text is narrative, an historical report, poetry, wisdom, preaching, or predictive prophecy, words are best understood when understood as their author meant them to be understood. Even when an author uses a figure of speech, or a symbol, he is communicating some literal fact to the reader. My objective here is to interpret the Bible in the way it is written, using semantics based upon syntax, contextual interpretation, consistency, possible versus probable interpretation. The objective is to try to understand what God meant based upon what He said. The Bible is assumed to represent actual history in those texts which use rhetoric one would expect in describing historical events. But it is also acknowledged that allegorical connections are often meant to be drawn from actual historical events. Without God’s self-revelation to man in His written Word, we would be living only on the pure speculation of man as to the what, whys, and wherefores of human existence.
A careful reading of Scripture reveals that God gives His message to man through a spokesman (Hebrews 1:1). The spokesman, in turn, gives God’s message to the world. God requires the world to listen to his progressive revelation through the various spokesmen He has chosen . A spokesman during one period of history does not necessarily carry that particular message into a succeeding time period.
This God is a talking God. God spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden. He spoke to Abraham, Moses, and the Apostle Paul. The importance of God’s speech as a fundamental means of His self-disclosure cannot be overemphasized. Doubtless He reveals Himself to us in many ways, but word is not the least of them. Creation itself is the product of God’s speech: God speaks, and the worlds leap into being. Many of God’s most dramatic deeds of revelation would not have been understandable apart from God’s accompanying speech.
I believe that the Apostle Paul is the one and only spokesman for the Risen Lord, and that everything Paul says is what our Lord wants us to believe and follow. We are Commanded to follow Paul:
1. 4:16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me; 4:17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. (1 Cor. 4:16-17)
2. Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. (I Cor. 11:1)
3. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for examples. (Phil. 3:17)
4. Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace shall be with you. (Phil. 4:9)
Paul says, you do as I do, you do what I say. These remain the orders for the Church today direct from the Risen Lord. God, the Holy Spirit says follow Paul and his words. When you follow Paul, you follow Christ.
Christ made Paul His spokesman for God's Gentile Age of Grace. Paul was chosen by the Risen Lord to reveal that gospel of grace to the Gentiles. Christ is at the Center, the Heart, and the Life of that Gospel. As for the man himself, we are to make no more of Paul than God makes of him. Jesus Christ is the One we are to love and serve. Paul is simply a dear brother in Christ who went before us and delivered God’s wonderful message of Grace. If you ignore the scriptures from Romans to Philemon you are bereft of the Will of the Risen Lord.
At some time in our lives thinking people require an explanation of the world and our place in it. There seems to be a deep human need to have something that can form our relationship to experience in a meaningful way. Questions like “What is life?" "what is life all about?” or “why am I here?” constantly arise to plague us. They drive us to form a personal worldview.
The more human beings know reality and the world, the more they know themselves in their uniqueness, with the question of the meaning of things and of their very existence which is so important. . This is why all that is the object of our knowledge becomes a part of our life. The admonition know yourself relates to a basic truth to be adopted by those who seek to set themselves apart from the rest of creation as “human beings.”
Throughout the entire world, throughout man’s entire history, with their different cultures, there has arisen at the same time the fundamental questions which pervade human life: “Who am I? Where did I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life? The answer given to these questions decides the direction which people seek to give to their lives.
As we study and find some answers to these questions, we come to realize that every truth attained is but a small step towards that fullness of truth which will appear with the final Revelation of God: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Cor.13:12).
We have, after all, no choice in whether to have a belief system, but the choice, rather, is what to believe, and how convincing a system we are to have. There are at least a couple of methods for generating greater knowledge of truth so that our lives may be ever more human. One of these methods is something the ancient Greek intellects termed philosophy, which is directly concerned with asking the question of life's meaning and sketching an answer to it. Basically, it is “thinking about thinking” which theists believe is an attribute of man, instilled in man when he was created in the image of God.
Philosophy and science are worldly sources of knowledge. Together they form a coherent world-view for the secularists of the world. They hold that the sciences are the windows through which philosophy views the world.
Here is a list of some questions posed by the secularists which represent basic elements that must be accounted for in every worldview.
1. What is the nature of our world? How is it structured and how does it function?
2. Why is our world the way it is, and not different? Why are we the way we are, and not different?
3. Why do we feel the way we feel in this world, and how do we assess global reality, and the role of our species in it?
4. How are we to act and to create in this world? How, in what different ways, can we influence the world and transform it? What are the general principles by which we should organize our actions?
5. What future is open to us and our species in this world?
The Big Questions can be organized into categories:
a. Cosmological – Why is there something, rather than nothing? What is the origin of the universe? What is the universe like? Does it make sense? What kind of sense? What is our place in the universe? Can we find it?
b. Biological – What is life? What is mind? Is there a soul? How did they originate?
c. Social and historical – What are human beings like? Why is there so much conflict within our species? What might be our long-range future? Is the world progressing? What is progress?
d. Theological and metaphysical – Is there a power, a will behind phenomena? Is there purpose and design in the universe? Does the human race have a special role or is it an illusion? Does human life have a purpose, a meaning? What is the nature of reality? Is this world all there is?
e. Ethical and aesthetic – Do we want the right things? What is the best way to live? What do we mean by good or bad, beautiful or ugly?
Theists ask exactly the same questions, but believe God is the source for answers to these questions that the secularists choose to ignore. Man’s access to God as the source to which I allude is the Holy Bible with God as its author.
In their search for a world model, secularists intend to use concepts such as "world," "nature," and "universe" in the most general way possible. They mean something like this: "the totality of all that exists, and with which we are confronted in one way or another we can ascertain through the five senses and our own intellect…”In recent times the spiritual world and the earthly world have become separated. The earthly world has become what is "real" and the spiritual world is the "hypothetical."
Today we still encounter in the consequences of this shift, especially when referring to a secular versus spiritual society. We have created a Christian sub-world that was never meant to exist. Instead of being in the world, we live in the hypothetical faith world. We fail to realize that everything is spiritual. Everything is bathed in God's touch and presence. “For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (KJV).
Secularists in their attempt to “understand,” gain “insight” into and explain them, continue to seek answers to the question “why?” The fundamental impossibility of a complete explanation has caused some to refuse any attempt at explanation. This attitude amounts to a rejection of reason itself and leaves in them a deep need for insight completely unsatisfied…in short, they are left in a state of unending despair.
God, in his self-revelation to man, has provided the answers we seek, and thus frees us of any despair. Because of God’s self-revelation, I know that knowing is possible, and that it is possible to know the Absolute Truth, and that it is possible to know the difference between what you know and don't know. One of the most compelling invitations and profound promises given by God is found in the simple biblical phrase "seek, and ye shall find." (Matthew 7:7 &8).
Socrates' famous pronouncement: "The unexamined life is not worth living” applies to all mankind, but secular man ends up looking for answers in all the wrong places….he fails to see the forest for the trees.
Science has a simple faith, which transcends utility. Nearly all men of science, all men of learning for that matter, and men of simple ways too, have it in some form and in some degree. It is the faith that it is the privilege of man to learn to understand, and that this is his mission. Knowledge for the sake of understanding, ultimately to prevail, that is the essence of our being as creatures of God.
Secularists claim there is no valid, rational way of deciding that what you think is the truth. Here we are clearly dealing with a “philosophical pride--or, what I call, the wisdom of men” which seeks to present its own partial and imperfect view as the complete reading of all reality. Quoting Cicero, “There is nothing so absurd but that it may be found in the books of the philosophers.”
In the New Testament, especially in the letters of the Apostle Paul, one thing emerges with great clarity: the opposition between “the wisdom of the world” and the wisdom of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Driven by the desire to discover the ultimate truth of existence, human beings seek to acquire those universal elements of knowledge which enable them to understand themselves better and to advance in their own self-realization. These fundamental elements of knowledge spring from the wonder awakened in them by the contemplation of creation: human beings are astonished to discover themselves as part of the world, in relationship with others like them, all sharing a common destiny.
The Humanity of God
As I attempt to present what I have learned about God and the meaning of my own existence, in a logical and meaningful way, I have concluded that Creation is about Man and God‘s relationship to Man.I have devoted an entire chapter to the humanity of God. This thesis is based on my interpretation of God‘s revelation to man through Holy Scripture.
Over time, and with much thought and study, I have come to realize that one of the outstanding attributes of God is His Humanity. The humanity of God has become the cornerstone of my theology as my concept of the deity of God. Further, God’s humanity is also manifested in His relationship to humankind through Jesus Christ. The result of God’s human attribute is His creation of man after His own Image, His free affirmation of man, His free concern for him, and His free substitution for him. The human attribute of God is the reason we exist, then God has led us to understand that we are what we are, and how we are to relate to Him. I have devoted an entire chapter(chapter 5) to the humanity of God.
According to Scripture, God tells us He created Man in His own image. I believe God’s Creation centers completely on Man and his relationship to God, Everything that man knows about himself, and God’s creation, is tied directly to God’s humanity and His plan for man. Man knows only what God intends for him to know, which He deems sufficient for man’s eternal salvation. God teaches that it is our knowledge of Him and His plan for our eternal salvation that should be our greatest concern during our short lifetime on earth.
God’s self-disclosure to Man is manifested in various manners, natural and supernatural, personally and propositionaly, historically and perpetually, During our earthly existence God never meant for us to understand His entire Plan completely, but a best guess leads me to conclude that God’s Plan to reveal Himself issues from a break in the relationship between Creator and creation, which obscured man from God. God is the object of His own self-knowledge, and revelation in the Bible means the self-unveiling to humanity of the God who cannot be discovered by humanity simply through its own intuition.
I have come to realize that the main theme of the Bible centers on God’s deity with all that entails, and His relationship to man. Only when we recognize this relationship can we fully understand the voice of God throughout both the Old and New Testaments.
The purpose of God's self-disclosure is to reconcile this in the ultimate salvific act of redemption so that his creation may know and enjoy Him, as I now believe was His original intent. My understanding, was derived from Scripture, reason, tradition and experience, based on my personal approach to interpreting the meaning of the biblical text.
I believe it is impossible for any earthly human to fully comprehend God. Instead of trying to discover the rational explanation for God’s various requests (or demands), the key for me is the acceptance of God. Accepting Jesus Christ, in particular, is my path to redemption and eternal peace. This is similar to both Blaise Pascal’s and Soren Kierkegaard’s “leap of faith” — they both hold that reason and faith are incompatible, so you either accept Jesus Christ as presented in Scripture, or you do not. It is a personal choice.
God’s final revelation to man, was to approach humanity through the Son and Savior, Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ there is no isolation of man from God, or of God from man. Here God and man meet together and are together. Jesus Christ is in His one Person, as true God, now man’s partner, and as true man, God’s. He is both, without their being confused but also without their being divided. Thus in this oneness Jesus Christ is the Mediator, the Reconciler, between God and man. It was always up to God, through His revelation in Christ, when and how to express Himself to humans. Not even the various churches or their clergy can help connect individuals to God. I believe it is a personal connection, offered by God and either accepted or rejected by the individual who hears the Word of God. God deals with each person individually. I believe the Bible is God’s divine offering of truth and salvation.
The world’s denominational Christian churches have no explicit divine power in themselves, but they do have a special connection to God as the home of the Body of Christ(His Church) on earth. Jesus said “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20 )(KJV). But the denominational church’s main function other than to offer the Word to congregations is to assist with the needs of every aspect of humanity: physical needs, knowledge and emotional needs involved in making moral decisions, and relational needs in society and with God. Ephesians 4:12-13 summarizes some basic functions of the church: preparing God's people for works of service, and working toward unity in faith and the knowledge of Christ and maturity in him. Physical service, education, social needs and worship are all within the responsibility of the churchThe church relates all vaspects of humanity – worship, social obligations, rational decisions, and physical assistance. The church teaches relationship with God, faith in Him, love for Him, holy living, and love for other humans, a love that leads to practical service. The church teaches the proper use of dominion, rationality, creativity, and personality.
Physical needs are important. Just as all humans have the duty to avoid bodily harm and cursing because of the image of God (Gen 9:6; Jam 3:9), Christians have the duty to take positive actions for others. The church not only teaches Christians to perform physical works of service that help the needy (Jam 2:15-17; Matt 25:31-46; Gal 6:10), it also sets an example of ministering to physical needs, as Jesus did. The church teaches social responsibility and morality to all who are being transformed into the image of Christ. It is often our failures in social areas that help us realize that our relationship with God is in need of repair.
The church preaches a message of reconciliation with God, which is a result of faith in Christ as Savior. The church teaches about God and Christ and exhorts people to accept the relationship with God that is offered through Christ and the Spirit. And a love-based relationship with God, in turn, carries with it obligations regarding our relationship with other humans.
I found in the Risen Lord’s chosen apostle, Paul, a man willing to accept miracles and divine inspiration as a gift that did not need explanation. Paul’s faith is an example of the pure faith which I believe should be the aim of all Christians. Today’s Christian churches do not seem to be inspired, nor passionately accepting Christ‘s New Testament. Through the revelation of the Risen Lord, Paul conveyed many secret doctrines of God never before known to man-- yet, in spite of Paul‘s inspired teaching, perhaps ninety-nine percent of their real content escapes today’s clergy. For me, authentic faith is not about logic or reason: it is about obedience to the teaching of Christ, even when those teachings might seem less than pragmatic in a particular situation. Remember, we are dealing with the wisdom of God, not man.
The "blessed hope" —the visible, physical return of Jesus Christ for His church— has become a central theme of my belief.
I believe in the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. One has to embrace such a view of Scripture, especially when believing in a prophetic plan yet to be fulfilled in history by a God who will keep His Word.
As previously stated, scriptures are to be searched from a historical-grammatical methodology or "literal" hermeneutic. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is interpreted by the same rules of grammar and language that govern the interpretation of literature in general.
I believe that God set forth His plan of the ages progressively; that is, not everything is explained at once. For example, the doctrines of the Trinity and the church were revealed "line upon line." The succeeding biblical generations were given an unfolding revelation until a doctrine was fully developed.
I believe God has dealt differently with mankind at distinct times in history. The Lord worked differently with Abraham than He did with Moses and Israel. He now works differently with His church than He did with the Jews under the Law.
I believe world history will not end suddenly with the return of Christ. For His own divine purposes, the Lord laid out a plan for end time events. This plan involves the calling out of the church(the Body of Christ), the restoration of the Jews to their promised King and kingdom, and the Tribulation judgment of the nations. Then follows a judgment of the lost and a new heaven and new earth.
I believe that although the salvation of the elect is part of the merciful plan of God, I hold the Scriptures teach that the outworkings of His providence will bring glory to Himself, not simply the salvation of the lost. What God has purposed for the angels, the lost, the nation of Israel, and creation itself will ultimately bring honor and glory to Himself.
If anyone wants to comment or correspond, my email address: georgedfoss@gmail.com
End of Treatise Introduction
Go to Chapter 1
A TREATISE ON GOD
By George Foss
"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH." ( 2 Timothy 2:15)
Contents
Prologue and Introduction
Chapter 1. The Case For the Existence of God
Chapter 2. The Word of God
Part I God’s Self-Revelation
Part II God’s Final Revelation
Chapter 3. Eternity Past--The Plan of God
Chapter 4. Angels in the Plan of God
Chapter 5. The Humanity of God
Chapter 6. The Fall and Original Sin
Chapter 7. The Plan of Redemption
Part I Salvation through God’s Chosen people
Part II Salvation through Jesus Christ
Chapter 8. The Risen Lord
Part I Israel Set Aside
Part II Mysteries Revealed to Paul
Chapter 9. The Church
Chapter 10. Eternity Future-Heaven
Epilogue
Appendix I—-Certitude of Salvation
Appendix II—Catholicism-An Assessment
Bibliography
Introduction
This treatise is a systematic extensive discourse on the subject of God; an attempt to answer the deepest questions about the origin, destiny and purpose of God, humanity, and the Universe. The following treatise then, is an outline about who I think God is, what God has done, and what the plan of God is, based solely on Holy Scripture.
The general revelation of God is a concept that says man has always been made aware of something greater than themselves. It says ‘look around you, how did this happen, why are we here?’ It holds that all humans are born with an innate sense of morality, and that God instilled man with this sense of right and wrong. During creation God imprinted into the nature of man His Divine Image, which draws man toward everything that is morally good and averts him from everything that is morally evil. This inner law works through the voice of conscience, which justly is called the voice of God in man. Because it is an integral part of human nature, it is active in all people - regardless of their age, race, place of birth, education, or development.
Beyond the idea of a general revelation, everything we know about God and His Creation is derived from Holy Scripture--this is our only written prime source. No secular book witnesses about the existence of conscience in man as clearly as does the Bible. Thousands upon thousands of books have been written about God and His Creation. The world’s philosophers and theologians continue to expound, but after all is said and done, it all comes back to a single source-- Holy Scripture with God as its author. The Bible claims to be the Word of God and by staking this claim the Bible simply but plainly declares its divine authority, complete infallibility and absolute sufficiency.
This is a summary of my views on what I comprehend God is trying to convey to us through His written Word in Holy Scripture. Virtually everything we believe and practice religiously goes back to our perception of God; consequently, if our perception of God is skewed our beliefs will be too.
The following is what I believe are the essentials of faith: The Bible being the infallible, inerrant Word of God, and the only rule of faith; the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, His virgin birth and incarnation, the Body of Christ( His Church), the Gospel of Grace being the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and salvation by Grace through faith alone. I strongly believe that God’s Grace and mercy encompasses all believers so that within the Christian community where there is a wide range of beliefs, that as long as the essentials are not violated, then anyone who holds to those essentials but may differ in the non-essentials is my brother or sister in Christ.
I wrote this treatise for my own edification, and to share what I have I learned under the prayerful guidance of the Holy Spirit, and hopefully to instill in whoever reads this a hunger for more of God’s truth. I recognize that my own knowledge is quite limited, but this is not some remote nebulous work that one can read and then flippantly go your merry way. Rather, it is about the main purpose of our earthly existence and eternal salvation. Creating this thesis has been a blessing to me, but at the same time a convicting experience. Being immersed in these subjects has been edifying, and I pray will be for anyone who reads this as well.
Each fresh age or generation - as students of the New Testament - is challenged as they become acquainted with all those profound questions that never seem to be completely answered. Rather than accept on face value in faith the guidance of divinely inspired scriptural revelation, many scholars prefer to be guided in their approach by their own powers of judgment, and particularly by the prevailing standards and criteria both of philosophy and of natural science.
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, 20O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: 21Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. (1 Tim. 6:.20, 21)(KJV) Paul thus warned a young Christian worker against the presumptuous claim to know, a claim attractively but unjustifiably made in the name of some prevailing theory or philosophy not really worthy of credence; a claim which, once adopted, was bound to involve any who held it, and became held by it, in departure from the Christian faith.
This warning applies to all students of Scripture to this very day. One finds in the scholarly world prevailing theories are often treated as if they were fully established truths. As a result individuals so accept them as to allow their whole outlook to be governed by them. This stems from Satan’s ongoing program to create fatal prejudice against the Christian faith. He tempts individuals to prefer empty human speculation to substantial divine revelation; thereby losing their bearings as Christian believers, and to wander far from the truth.
I believe my prayers for guidance by the Holy Spirit will protect me from falling into that same trap. For they are dangers of which all who would hold fast to revealed truth concerning the Person and work of God incarnate need deliberately to beware.
In this work I have decided to approach the subject totally different from anything you would find in available theological literature. I’m not trying to produce something new and novel for its own sake, but for most people (including myself) the subject is sometimes difficult and overwhelming. Here, I have tried to separate the wheat from the chaff for myself, and hopefully, I have done the same for anyone else who reads this. What may seem clear to me may be not be clear to someone else, and I can’t bring myself to say that I have all the answers.
_________
How did this whole cosmos come to exist at all? Most rational people have asked themselves this question at some point in their lives. Perhaps our mother or friend dies or we suddenly face some crisis in our own lives: momentarily we find ourselves wondering "Why are we alive anyhow?" What's the point of it all--the eating and sleeping and struggling and working and dying--how did it all start in the first place?
The usual clichés satisfy the great majority who don't really make a serious attempt to seek an answer. You know them already. ‘It doesn’t make any difference what you believe as long as you live a good life and don’t hurt anyone else.” “eat, drink, and make merry, for tomorrow we may die.” "It all came about by evolution." Evolution of what? What evolved from what? Evolution from simple to complex forms may or may not describe how this whole system developed, but it certainly doesn't explain how it started. What power originated the first single-cell amoeba? What is life? If it all started from scum on a pond, where did the pond come from? If it all came from one proton, where did the proton come from?
In recent years we've tried through research in astronomy to suggest that it all started with a 'big bang' but even this attempt to explain an expanding universe begs the question "what exploded?" Somewhere, sometime, something or somebody had to make something out of nothing!
Theories like the 'big bang' look at the present facts and suggest probable explanations for them: does that method suggest anything about the origin of the cosmos? Well, the facts about our universe suggest one very obvious thing about its origin: it was not by chance or good luck! Why is that so? Because of the order that we find right from the smallest molecular structure to the orbiting of the largest planet. If our earth were any closer to the sun, we would all burn up. If air pressure were any greater, we would either explode or implode. Our environment is so carefully adapted to our existence and we are able so to adapt to it that it's obvious this order was built in from the beginning.
This order is what caused many of our greatest philosophers and scientists to declare that there is an illimitable Superior Being who reveals Himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms the concept of what we call God. This order, which enables the blood to carry at least 64 substances thousands of miles a day through our bodies and is evident in the chart of the elements and the structure of the DNA molecule, suggests that very reasonable hypothesis that the universe originated from an intelligence at least as developed as yours and mine. In other words, the existence and persistence of the seasons, the intricate connection between your eye and the object it photographs, the mystery of what maintains the electrical charge that makes your heart beat--these facts and millions of others suggest to common-sense this order did not result from chance plus time but from the conscious design and wisdom of an intelligent mind.
We all need the wisdom that comes from God rather than the wisdom of man. One cannot learn Godly wisdom in a University and get a degree in it. It can only come to a heart in right relationship with God, for one who is seeking it. The Holy Spirit dwelling within us as believers leads us into all truth. ‘…For the Holy Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God.’ Every time I sat down to search and write I prayed for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I always believed my prayers were answered. God has promised,
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
“God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen… so that no man may boast before God.” (1 Corinthians 1:22-24, 27-2)
Something that was always impressed upon me as I wrote this treatise was that the word of God, and His teachings, are spiritually discerned. A person cannot possibly understand spiritual truths, unless they have the Holy Spirit within, teaching them the hidden meanings(1 Cor. 2:13-14). The human mind, no matter how intelligent can comprehend spiritual truths unless guided by the Holy Spirit.
With so many different interpretations available, how is anyone supposed to know which is the correct one? By examining the nature of the Bible, the events it records and how it was written, it is possible to come up with a method of interpretation that is sensible and understandable.(at least to me).My approach to Scripture employed here is what is known as the grammatical-historical method, or (less accurately) the literal method. The grammatical-historical method is a Christian interpretation process that strives to discover the Biblical author's original intended meaning in the text. It is the primary method of interpretation for scholars in the major branches of Christianity. In concert with this I use as many Biblical themes, i.e. Scripture explaining Scripture, to interpret the text, which normally clarifies God’s meaning on a given subject.
The reason I subscribe to this method is because I believe it leads to the most accurate understanding of the Bible: that is how everyone normally communicates. Whether the text is narrative, an historical report, poetry, wisdom, preaching, or predictive prophecy, words are best understood when understood as their author meant them to be understood. Even when an author uses a figure of speech, or a symbol, he is communicating some literal fact to the reader. My objective here is to interpret the Bible in the way it is written, using semantics based upon syntax, contextual interpretation, consistency, possible versus probable interpretation. The objective is to try to understand what God meant based upon what He said. The Bible is assumed to represent actual history in those texts which use rhetoric one would expect in describing historical events. But it is also acknowledged that allegorical connections are often meant to be drawn from actual historical events. Without God’s self-revelation to man in His written Word, we would be living only on the pure speculation of man as to the what, whys, and wherefores of human existence.
A careful reading of Scripture reveals that God gives His message to man through a spokesman (Hebrews 1:1). The spokesman, in turn, gives God’s message to the world. God requires the world to listen to his progressive revelation through the various spokesmen He has chosen . A spokesman during one period of history does not necessarily carry that particular message into a succeeding time period.
This God is a talking God. God spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden. He spoke to Abraham, Moses, and the Apostle Paul. The importance of God’s speech as a fundamental means of His self-disclosure cannot be overemphasized. Doubtless He reveals Himself to us in many ways, but word is not the least of them. Creation itself is the product of God’s speech: God speaks, and the worlds leap into being. Many of God’s most dramatic deeds of revelation would not have been understandable apart from God’s accompanying speech.
I believe that the Apostle Paul is the one and only spokesman for the Risen Lord, and that everything Paul says is what our Lord wants us to believe and follow. We are Commanded to follow Paul:
1. 4:16 Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me; 4:17 For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church. (1 Cor. 4:16-17)
2. Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. (I Cor. 11:1)
3. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for examples. (Phil. 3:17)
4. Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace shall be with you. (Phil. 4:9)
Paul says, you do as I do, you do what I say. These remain the orders for the Church today direct from the Risen Lord. God, the Holy Spirit says follow Paul and his words. When you follow Paul, you follow Christ.
Christ made Paul His spokesman for God's Gentile Age of Grace. Paul was chosen by the Risen Lord to reveal that gospel of grace to the Gentiles. Christ is at the Center, the Heart, and the Life of that Gospel. As for the man himself, we are to make no more of Paul than God makes of him. Jesus Christ is the One we are to love and serve. Paul is simply a dear brother in Christ who went before us and delivered God’s wonderful message of Grace. If you ignore the scriptures from Romans to Philemon you are bereft of the Will of the Risen Lord.
At some time in our lives thinking people require an explanation of the world and our place in it. There seems to be a deep human need to have something that can form our relationship to experience in a meaningful way. Questions like “What is life?" "what is life all about?” or “why am I here?” constantly arise to plague us. They drive us to form a personal worldview.
The more human beings know reality and the world, the more they know themselves in their uniqueness, with the question of the meaning of things and of their very existence which is so important. . This is why all that is the object of our knowledge becomes a part of our life. The admonition know yourself relates to a basic truth to be adopted by those who seek to set themselves apart from the rest of creation as “human beings.”
Throughout the entire world, throughout man’s entire history, with their different cultures, there has arisen at the same time the fundamental questions which pervade human life: “Who am I? Where did I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life? The answer given to these questions decides the direction which people seek to give to their lives.
As we study and find some answers to these questions, we come to realize that every truth attained is but a small step towards that fullness of truth which will appear with the final Revelation of God: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Cor.13:12).
We have, after all, no choice in whether to have a belief system, but the choice, rather, is what to believe, and how convincing a system we are to have. There are at least a couple of methods for generating greater knowledge of truth so that our lives may be ever more human. One of these methods is something the ancient Greek intellects termed philosophy, which is directly concerned with asking the question of life's meaning and sketching an answer to it. Basically, it is “thinking about thinking” which theists believe is an attribute of man, instilled in man when he was created in the image of God.
Philosophy and science are worldly sources of knowledge. Together they form a coherent world-view for the secularists of the world. They hold that the sciences are the windows through which philosophy views the world.
Here is a list of some questions posed by the secularists which represent basic elements that must be accounted for in every worldview.
1. What is the nature of our world? How is it structured and how does it function?
2. Why is our world the way it is, and not different? Why are we the way we are, and not different?
3. Why do we feel the way we feel in this world, and how do we assess global reality, and the role of our species in it?
4. How are we to act and to create in this world? How, in what different ways, can we influence the world and transform it? What are the general principles by which we should organize our actions?
5. What future is open to us and our species in this world?
The Big Questions can be organized into categories:
a. Cosmological – Why is there something, rather than nothing? What is the origin of the universe? What is the universe like? Does it make sense? What kind of sense? What is our place in the universe? Can we find it?
b. Biological – What is life? What is mind? Is there a soul? How did they originate?
c. Social and historical – What are human beings like? Why is there so much conflict within our species? What might be our long-range future? Is the world progressing? What is progress?
d. Theological and metaphysical – Is there a power, a will behind phenomena? Is there purpose and design in the universe? Does the human race have a special role or is it an illusion? Does human life have a purpose, a meaning? What is the nature of reality? Is this world all there is?
e. Ethical and aesthetic – Do we want the right things? What is the best way to live? What do we mean by good or bad, beautiful or ugly?
Theists ask exactly the same questions, but believe God is the source for answers to these questions that the secularists choose to ignore. Man’s access to God as the source to which I allude is the Holy Bible with God as its author.
In their search for a world model, secularists intend to use concepts such as "world," "nature," and "universe" in the most general way possible. They mean something like this: "the totality of all that exists, and with which we are confronted in one way or another we can ascertain through the five senses and our own intellect…”In recent times the spiritual world and the earthly world have become separated. The earthly world has become what is "real" and the spiritual world is the "hypothetical."
Today we still encounter in the consequences of this shift, especially when referring to a secular versus spiritual society. We have created a Christian sub-world that was never meant to exist. Instead of being in the world, we live in the hypothetical faith world. We fail to realize that everything is spiritual. Everything is bathed in God's touch and presence. “For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (KJV).
Secularists in their attempt to “understand,” gain “insight” into and explain them, continue to seek answers to the question “why?” The fundamental impossibility of a complete explanation has caused some to refuse any attempt at explanation. This attitude amounts to a rejection of reason itself and leaves in them a deep need for insight completely unsatisfied…in short, they are left in a state of unending despair.
God, in his self-revelation to man, has provided the answers we seek, and thus frees us of any despair. Because of God’s self-revelation, I know that knowing is possible, and that it is possible to know the Absolute Truth, and that it is possible to know the difference between what you know and don't know. One of the most compelling invitations and profound promises given by God is found in the simple biblical phrase "seek, and ye shall find." (Matthew 7:7 &8).
Socrates' famous pronouncement: "The unexamined life is not worth living” applies to all mankind, but secular man ends up looking for answers in all the wrong places….he fails to see the forest for the trees.
Science has a simple faith, which transcends utility. Nearly all men of science, all men of learning for that matter, and men of simple ways too, have it in some form and in some degree. It is the faith that it is the privilege of man to learn to understand, and that this is his mission. Knowledge for the sake of understanding, ultimately to prevail, that is the essence of our being as creatures of God.
Secularists claim there is no valid, rational way of deciding that what you think is the truth. Here we are clearly dealing with a “philosophical pride--or, what I call, the wisdom of men” which seeks to present its own partial and imperfect view as the complete reading of all reality. Quoting Cicero, “There is nothing so absurd but that it may be found in the books of the philosophers.”
In the New Testament, especially in the letters of the Apostle Paul, one thing emerges with great clarity: the opposition between “the wisdom of the world” and the wisdom of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Driven by the desire to discover the ultimate truth of existence, human beings seek to acquire those universal elements of knowledge which enable them to understand themselves better and to advance in their own self-realization. These fundamental elements of knowledge spring from the wonder awakened in them by the contemplation of creation: human beings are astonished to discover themselves as part of the world, in relationship with others like them, all sharing a common destiny.
The Humanity of God
As I attempt to present what I have learned about God and the meaning of my own existence, in a logical and meaningful way, I have concluded that Creation is about Man and God‘s relationship to Man.I have devoted an entire chapter to the humanity of God. This thesis is based on my interpretation of God‘s revelation to man through Holy Scripture.
Over time, and with much thought and study, I have come to realize that one of the outstanding attributes of God is His Humanity. The humanity of God has become the cornerstone of my theology as my concept of the deity of God. Further, God’s humanity is also manifested in His relationship to humankind through Jesus Christ. The result of God’s human attribute is His creation of man after His own Image, His free affirmation of man, His free concern for him, and His free substitution for him. The human attribute of God is the reason we exist, then God has led us to understand that we are what we are, and how we are to relate to Him. I have devoted an entire chapter(chapter 5) to the humanity of God.
According to Scripture, God tells us He created Man in His own image. I believe God’s Creation centers completely on Man and his relationship to God, Everything that man knows about himself, and God’s creation, is tied directly to God’s humanity and His plan for man. Man knows only what God intends for him to know, which He deems sufficient for man’s eternal salvation. God teaches that it is our knowledge of Him and His plan for our eternal salvation that should be our greatest concern during our short lifetime on earth.
God’s self-disclosure to Man is manifested in various manners, natural and supernatural, personally and propositionaly, historically and perpetually, During our earthly existence God never meant for us to understand His entire Plan completely, but a best guess leads me to conclude that God’s Plan to reveal Himself issues from a break in the relationship between Creator and creation, which obscured man from God. God is the object of His own self-knowledge, and revelation in the Bible means the self-unveiling to humanity of the God who cannot be discovered by humanity simply through its own intuition.
I have come to realize that the main theme of the Bible centers on God’s deity with all that entails, and His relationship to man. Only when we recognize this relationship can we fully understand the voice of God throughout both the Old and New Testaments.
The purpose of God's self-disclosure is to reconcile this in the ultimate salvific act of redemption so that his creation may know and enjoy Him, as I now believe was His original intent. My understanding, was derived from Scripture, reason, tradition and experience, based on my personal approach to interpreting the meaning of the biblical text.
I believe it is impossible for any earthly human to fully comprehend God. Instead of trying to discover the rational explanation for God’s various requests (or demands), the key for me is the acceptance of God. Accepting Jesus Christ, in particular, is my path to redemption and eternal peace. This is similar to both Blaise Pascal’s and Soren Kierkegaard’s “leap of faith” — they both hold that reason and faith are incompatible, so you either accept Jesus Christ as presented in Scripture, or you do not. It is a personal choice.
God’s final revelation to man, was to approach humanity through the Son and Savior, Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ there is no isolation of man from God, or of God from man. Here God and man meet together and are together. Jesus Christ is in His one Person, as true God, now man’s partner, and as true man, God’s. He is both, without their being confused but also without their being divided. Thus in this oneness Jesus Christ is the Mediator, the Reconciler, between God and man. It was always up to God, through His revelation in Christ, when and how to express Himself to humans. Not even the various churches or their clergy can help connect individuals to God. I believe it is a personal connection, offered by God and either accepted or rejected by the individual who hears the Word of God. God deals with each person individually. I believe the Bible is God’s divine offering of truth and salvation.
The world’s denominational Christian churches have no explicit divine power in themselves, but they do have a special connection to God as the home of the Body of Christ(His Church) on earth. Jesus said “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20 )(KJV). But the denominational church’s main function other than to offer the Word to congregations is to assist with the needs of every aspect of humanity: physical needs, knowledge and emotional needs involved in making moral decisions, and relational needs in society and with God. Ephesians 4:12-13 summarizes some basic functions of the church: preparing God's people for works of service, and working toward unity in faith and the knowledge of Christ and maturity in him. Physical service, education, social needs and worship are all within the responsibility of the churchThe church relates all vaspects of humanity – worship, social obligations, rational decisions, and physical assistance. The church teaches relationship with God, faith in Him, love for Him, holy living, and love for other humans, a love that leads to practical service. The church teaches the proper use of dominion, rationality, creativity, and personality.
Physical needs are important. Just as all humans have the duty to avoid bodily harm and cursing because of the image of God (Gen 9:6; Jam 3:9), Christians have the duty to take positive actions for others. The church not only teaches Christians to perform physical works of service that help the needy (Jam 2:15-17; Matt 25:31-46; Gal 6:10), it also sets an example of ministering to physical needs, as Jesus did. The church teaches social responsibility and morality to all who are being transformed into the image of Christ. It is often our failures in social areas that help us realize that our relationship with God is in need of repair.
The church preaches a message of reconciliation with God, which is a result of faith in Christ as Savior. The church teaches about God and Christ and exhorts people to accept the relationship with God that is offered through Christ and the Spirit. And a love-based relationship with God, in turn, carries with it obligations regarding our relationship with other humans.
I found in the Risen Lord’s chosen apostle, Paul, a man willing to accept miracles and divine inspiration as a gift that did not need explanation. Paul’s faith is an example of the pure faith which I believe should be the aim of all Christians. Today’s Christian churches do not seem to be inspired, nor passionately accepting Christ‘s New Testament. Through the revelation of the Risen Lord, Paul conveyed many secret doctrines of God never before known to man-- yet, in spite of Paul‘s inspired teaching, perhaps ninety-nine percent of their real content escapes today’s clergy. For me, authentic faith is not about logic or reason: it is about obedience to the teaching of Christ, even when those teachings might seem less than pragmatic in a particular situation. Remember, we are dealing with the wisdom of God, not man.
The "blessed hope" —the visible, physical return of Jesus Christ for His church— has become a central theme of my belief.
I believe in the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. One has to embrace such a view of Scripture, especially when believing in a prophetic plan yet to be fulfilled in history by a God who will keep His Word.
As previously stated, scriptures are to be searched from a historical-grammatical methodology or "literal" hermeneutic. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is interpreted by the same rules of grammar and language that govern the interpretation of literature in general.
I believe that God set forth His plan of the ages progressively; that is, not everything is explained at once. For example, the doctrines of the Trinity and the church were revealed "line upon line." The succeeding biblical generations were given an unfolding revelation until a doctrine was fully developed.
I believe God has dealt differently with mankind at distinct times in history. The Lord worked differently with Abraham than He did with Moses and Israel. He now works differently with His church than He did with the Jews under the Law.
I believe world history will not end suddenly with the return of Christ. For His own divine purposes, the Lord laid out a plan for end time events. This plan involves the calling out of the church(the Body of Christ), the restoration of the Jews to their promised King and kingdom, and the Tribulation judgment of the nations. Then follows a judgment of the lost and a new heaven and new earth.
I believe that although the salvation of the elect is part of the merciful plan of God, I hold the Scriptures teach that the outworkings of His providence will bring glory to Himself, not simply the salvation of the lost. What God has purposed for the angels, the lost, the nation of Israel, and creation itself will ultimately bring honor and glory to Himself.
If anyone wants to comment or correspond, my email address: georgedfoss@gmail.com
End of Treatise Introduction
Go to Chapter 1