1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,600 Hey, welcome to the Methodist Voice. 2 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:15,720 The purpose of our time together is to grow in the knowledge of God revealed in the pages 3 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:16,720 of scripture. 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:23,160 2 Corinthians chapter 3 tells us that when we contemplate the God revealed in scripture, 5 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:26,400 it transforms us into His image. 6 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:33,080 That transformation beautifies our minds and hearts and we then beautify the world together. 7 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:35,560 We think that's time well spent. 8 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:36,560 Thanks for joining us. 9 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:41,240 I hope you enjoy today's episode. 10 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:48,240 I am so glad that you are joining us on this first episode of the Methodist Voice. 11 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:54,120 The reason we're doing this podcast is because we want to grow in the knowledge of God by 12 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,760 growing in our understanding of scripture. 13 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:02,600 We kind of alluded to that in the intro, but I wanted to develop the intro just a little 14 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:07,560 bit reading the scripture that it is based upon because really it sets the tone for the 15 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:09,600 whole series. 16 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,160 In the intro, we cited 2 Corinthians chapter 3. 17 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:19,200 I'm going to start reading at verse 14 because it explains what is happening when we grow 18 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:25,480 in our knowledge of God, when we contemplate God through what is revealed in scripture. 19 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:31,740 It says in verse 14, but their minds, speaking of Old Testament Israel, the Jewish people 20 00:01:31,740 --> 00:01:40,200 were hardened for to this day when they read the old covenant, the same veil remains unlifted 21 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,200 because only through Christ is it taken away. 22 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:47,320 In other words, because their hearts are hardened, they have not been enlightened by the Holy 23 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:49,180 Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. 24 00:01:49,180 --> 00:01:55,360 They cannot see the meaning of the text and therefore they can't see the God who was revealed 25 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:56,360 through the text. 26 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,320 Here's what it says in verse 15. 27 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:07,120 Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, the books of the Old Testament, specifically 28 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:11,000 the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Old Testament, but this would apply to all of 29 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:12,600 scripture. 30 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:18,920 To this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. 31 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:26,020 Verse 16, but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 32 00:02:26,020 --> 00:02:29,800 Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 33 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:38,720 I'm now free to gaze upon the God who is revealed there without shrinking back, without getting 34 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:40,680 confused. 35 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:47,960 Verse 18, and we all with unveiled faces, I'm able to look directly at the God who's 36 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:55,600 revealed there and it says, beholding the glory of the Lord. 37 00:02:55,600 --> 00:03:00,920 We're being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. 38 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:07,520 So as we gaze upon the glory of God revealed in the pages of scripture with unveiled faces, 39 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:13,480 we're being changed, we're being transformed into that same image that we're looking at. 40 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:15,640 For this comes from the Lord who is the spirit. 41 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:21,320 The Holy Spirit is the one, His power is what makes it effective. 42 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,720 So that's what we're about in this series. 43 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:29,640 We're trusting that God is going to be working in this way specifically in our minds and 44 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:35,800 hearts as we submit them to growing in our understanding of the pages of scripture. 45 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,440 We're going to be influenced, we're going to be changed and we are going to not only 46 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:44,360 have our minds and hearts beautified by this transformation, we're going to be able to 47 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:52,480 beautify the world around us as we take that transformative grace out there wherever we 48 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:54,040 go. 49 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:57,880 So with that being said, we're going to kind of set the tone for our study. 50 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,680 We're going to be studying Genesis chapters one through 11. 51 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:08,200 It's an important block of scripture because it is the foundation upon which a supernatural 52 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,200 worldview is built. 53 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:16,600 Genesis chapters one through 11 are a block of scripture within the larger corpus of the 54 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:21,860 books of the Old Testament referred to as primeval history. 55 00:04:21,860 --> 00:04:26,960 So the word primeval is used because it refers to events that occurred long before history 56 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:29,700 was ever written down. 57 00:04:29,700 --> 00:04:31,920 Preval history means prehistory. 58 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:38,560 So in these chapters you'll find information that covers large swaths of history in only 59 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:40,360 a few simple stories. 60 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,640 That's what mythology functions to do. 61 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:49,960 To communicate larger than life truths in simplified stories that are compelling and 62 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:55,520 easy to remember and can be transmitted through storytelling to future generations. 63 00:04:55,520 --> 00:05:01,080 Now some people cringe when you use that word mythology or myths in reference to the Bible 64 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,120 because they think it renders it untrue. 65 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:04,920 It's just made up stories. 66 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,680 But that's not how we're using the word. 67 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,560 I'm going to quote to you from C.S. Lewis from his book God in the Dock. 68 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:16,880 Very good description of what we mean when we use the word mythology because we have 69 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,440 when we're covering what Genesis one through 11 covers thousands of years of history and 70 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:22,660 we're just telling a few stories. 71 00:05:22,660 --> 00:05:25,240 You know you're not getting all of the details. 72 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:30,680 So there's a lot of room for the imagination to take hold of this and really discover what 73 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,480 God is trying to reveal to us. 74 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:34,800 Not only about himself but about ourselves. 75 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:40,400 So here's what C.S. Lewis said from his book God in the Dock. 76 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:47,000 Now as myth transcends thought, incarnation transcends myth. 77 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:52,260 The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact. 78 00:05:52,260 --> 00:05:57,320 The old myth of the dying God, there were many myths, pause this is just Kendall speaking 79 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:07,000 now, there were many myths throughout antiquity that posited a dying God or many of the basic 80 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,720 precepts of the story of Jesus Christ are found in antiquity. 81 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:16,640 And so the old myth of the dying God without ceasing to be myth comes down from the heaven 82 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:21,560 of legend and imagination to the earth of history. 83 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:29,920 It happens at a particular date in a particular place followed by definable historical consequences. 84 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:39,320 We pass from a Balder or an Osiris, gods of antiquity, dying nobody knows when or where 85 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,420 to a historical person crucified. 86 00:06:42,420 --> 00:06:46,600 It is all in order under Pontius Pilate. 87 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:52,480 By becoming fact it does not cease to be myth, that is the miracle. 88 00:06:52,480 --> 00:07:02,160 We must not be ashamed of the mythical radiance resting on our theology, resting on our stories. 89 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:07,320 We must not be nervous about parallels and pagan Christs, they ought to be there. 90 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,120 It would be a stumbling block if they weren't. 91 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:17,920 Those stories paved the way for ancient peoples to receive the truths that God would eventually 92 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,440 reveal in the facts of history. 93 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:27,880 Carrying on with CS Lewis here, we must not in false spirituality withhold our imaginative 94 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:29,680 welcome. 95 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:37,880 If God chooses to be mythopoetic and is not the sky itself a myth, should we refuse to 96 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,360 be mythopathic? 97 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:46,000 For this is the marriage of heaven and earth, perfect myth and perfect fact, claiming not 98 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:52,840 only our love and our obedience but also our wonder and delight, addressed to the savage, 99 00:07:52,840 --> 00:08:00,400 the child, and the poet, in each one of us no less than to the moralist, the scholar, 100 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:02,640 and the philosopher. 101 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:09,160 I also wanted to read to you from an author, Justin Wiggins, from Christianity.com, and 102 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:14,720 he's commenting further on what Lewis says here in the topic of myth. 103 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:19,760 To an ancient mind, a myth was a story that conveyed an important universal truth about 104 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:22,160 what it means to be human. 105 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:26,160 This is rather difficult for a modern person to understand. 106 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:31,360 Our culture has been heavily influenced by what Lewis calls chronological snobbery. 107 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:38,120 If it doesn't fit how we think about things today, it can't be true. 108 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:45,880 Our culture has fallen prey to assuming that only the things we can prove are true. 109 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:49,360 The fact is we constantly learn how little we know. 110 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:52,080 Now listen, that's the end of the quote. 111 00:08:52,080 --> 00:09:00,880 But if the past three years hasn't taught us anything, it's that we know really very 112 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:05,000 little, not only about the natural world, but about the ancient world. 113 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:09,780 How much have we debated the science in the past three years? 114 00:09:09,780 --> 00:09:13,400 The facts the past three years? 115 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:15,560 We really know very little. 116 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:23,520 And myths can communicate truths way more profound than facts ever could. 117 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:30,840 And so when we think about things like genealogies in the book of Genesis, or whether or not 118 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:38,040 creation happened in seven literal days, it's not clear that those are intended to give 119 00:09:38,040 --> 00:09:44,120 us a timeline of human history or how many days it took God to create the earth. 120 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:50,840 They're just ancient peoples packaging a story in a way that was easy to remember and 121 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:55,240 communicated really transcendent truths. 122 00:09:55,240 --> 00:10:02,760 So because of the enigmatic nature of Genesis 1 through 11, we're often left with more questions 123 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:05,560 about the world than we have answers. 124 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:09,360 And so sometimes that's exactly the point of biblical revelation. 125 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:14,560 It intends to arouse in us a sense of the mystery of God, a concept the New Testament 126 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:16,400 calls Mysterion. 127 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:22,160 And so I wanted to read to you from a Wikipedia article about that word, Mysterion. 128 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:29,520 Although the term is not usually used equally by all Christian traditions, many of the basic 129 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:37,080 aspects of Christian theology require a supernatural explanation. 130 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:43,080 To name a few key examples, these include the nature of the Trinity, the virgin birth 131 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,080 of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus. 132 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:51,680 These are mysteries in the sense that they cannot be explained or apprehended by reason 133 00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:53,240 alone. 134 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:57,320 The word Mysterion is used 27 times in the New Testament. 135 00:10:57,320 --> 00:11:02,240 It denotes not so much the meaning of the modern English term mystery, but rather something 136 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,800 that is mystical. 137 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:11,600 In the biblical Greek, the term refers to that which awaits disclosure or interpretation. 138 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:18,120 In the Catholic Church, the Latin term is Mysterium Fidei, mystery of faith. 139 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:25,160 It is defined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church 1997 to mean a mystery hidden in God, 140 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:30,520 which can never be known unless revealed by God himself. 141 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:36,440 In the Roman Catholic Church, the First Vatican Council reaffirmed the existence of mysteries 142 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:40,000 as a doctrine of Catholic faith as follows. 143 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:46,680 If anyone say that in divine revelation there are contained no mysteries, properly so called, 144 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:53,600 but that through reason rightly developed, all the dogmas of the faith can be understood 145 00:11:53,600 --> 00:12:03,640 and demonstrated from natural principles, let him be anathema, or cut off from the faith. 146 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:11,040 The position, if not the terminology, of other Christian churches is essentially the same. 147 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:20,120 So the mysteries of God are intended to arouse in us a sense of wonder, awe, curiosity, delight, 148 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:26,920 fascination, all of that ultimately leading to ever increasing pleasure found in worship 149 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:33,080 of the uncreated being disclosed in the pages of scripture. 150 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:41,800 In Proverbs 25 2 it says, it is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of 151 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,360 kings is to search things out. 152 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:51,240 So as we go through this study, we're going to be using our imagination to explore the 153 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:55,440 meaning and the implications of these passages. 154 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,840 And in the process, our aim is to discover more about God. 155 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:03,560 We're going to allow our imaginations to be informed by knowledge derived from the natural 156 00:13:03,560 --> 00:13:10,240 world as well as other writings both inside and outside of scripture and that's okay. 157 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:14,600 Nobody's going to be tempted to worship demons because we read some ancient Near Eastern 158 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:19,720 text even if we're considering what's true about them. 159 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:24,520 So the information found in Genesis 1 through 11 is not unique. 160 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:29,960 Most of these stories have their parallels in the ancient Near Eastern world. 161 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:34,360 They were written down long before the stories found in the book of Genesis were written 162 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:35,640 down. 163 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:40,800 And so many times this has led people to assume that the early Jewish people copied from other 164 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:47,360 sources and that's not necessarily the case because if the events were real, if there 165 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:54,400 really was a flood and I believe all of these events were, then various cultures would have 166 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:59,680 retained memories of these events and the lessons they believed they were to have learned 167 00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:00,680 from them. 168 00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:05,720 So it would only be natural if the events really happened more than just the Jewish 169 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:09,400 culture would have a record of these events, right? 170 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:15,000 So what's unique about Genesis isn't the events that are recorded, but the unique interpretation 171 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:21,360 of the same events documented even in places like South America. 172 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:23,480 Isn't that crazy? 173 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:29,400 So before humans were ever thought to have crossed the ocean or the continents from more 174 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:34,160 advanced civilizations over to the Americas, they already had a record of these events 175 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:35,160 in South America. 176 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:39,480 It's difficult to explain, right? 177 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:44,840 So it might be helpful at this point to share my view of scripture as we move forward. 178 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,640 My view is the larger Methodist view. 179 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:53,040 I was originally ordained in the United Methodist Church, but now I'm a part of the Global Methodist 180 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:54,160 Church. 181 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:59,640 So most of us in those circles don't use words like inerrant or infallible because the scripture 182 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,140 doesn't use those words. 183 00:15:02,140 --> 00:15:10,280 We prefer words like truthful, trustworthy, authoritative, divine revelation, words like 184 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:16,680 inerrant we don't find useful because they're imprecise and even misleading. 185 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:23,840 So every manuscript of the books of the Bible that we possess contains errors from innumerable 186 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,920 scribal copies. 187 00:15:26,920 --> 00:15:29,200 Scribes would copy the text over and over and over again. 188 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,660 Inevitably they would make mistakes, maybe small spelling errors. 189 00:15:32,660 --> 00:15:36,200 Maybe they would repeat something that wasn't supposed to be repeated. 190 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,840 So there are lots of human errors that are made in the process of copying the manuscripts 191 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:41,840 of scripture. 192 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:48,320 So that's why people who insist on applying terms like inerrant to the scripture always 193 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,720 apply the qualifier inerrant in their original manuscripts. 194 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:59,880 Well we don't have any original manuscripts to know whether Moses or whoever made a spelling 195 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:02,820 error in the original copy or not. 196 00:16:02,820 --> 00:16:05,360 So what if they did? 197 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:07,160 Let me ask you a question. 198 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:14,040 What if Moses had made a spelling error in the original manuscript of scripture? 199 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,240 Would that make them any less true? 200 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:21,400 Or any less useful in revealing God to us? 201 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,740 Of course not. 202 00:16:24,740 --> 00:16:27,240 Would it make them any less authoritative? 203 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:29,240 No. 204 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:35,200 Furthermore, you do have events described in scripture that we know according to modern 205 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:42,480 science are not described precisely and accurately. 206 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:44,200 I'll give you an example. 207 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:50,160 Let's look at Joshua chapter 10, the story of the Jewish people entering the promised 208 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:56,080 land and they're engaging in warfare to take over the land. 209 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:00,800 Here's what it says in Joshua chapter 10 verse 12, starting in verse 12. 210 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:06,720 At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to 211 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:08,560 the sons of Israel. 212 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:17,400 And he said in the sight of Israel, sun stand still at Gibeon and moon in the valley of 213 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,360 Aijalon. 214 00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:26,240 And the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. 215 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:28,600 Is it not written in the book of Jasher? 216 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:35,600 The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 217 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:41,080 There has been no day like it before or since when the Lord heeded the voice of a man for 218 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:45,320 the Lord fought for Israel. 219 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:49,000 Did you catch the error? 220 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:55,840 Modern science proves irrefutably that this passage couldn't possibly be inerrant because 221 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:59,040 the sun doesn't move. 222 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:01,840 We know it's the earth that is moving. 223 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:10,080 The sun just appeared to be moving from a pre-scientific ancient perspective of early 224 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:11,080 humans. 225 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:12,080 That's how they saw it. 226 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:18,240 But that doesn't mean the testimony of the text is any less reliable or trustworthy. 227 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:23,120 Just because it's described imprecisely doesn't mean that something like that didn't really 228 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:24,120 happen. 229 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:31,200 And we shouldn't expect ancient humans to have advanced scientific information to faithfully 230 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:37,520 communicate the acts of God in history according to the knowledge that they had. 231 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:42,080 So yes, there are mistakes found in the manuscripts of scripture. 232 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:46,240 There are conflicting accounts of events in scripture. 233 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:50,820 There are probably even other inaccuracies in some other details, but that doesn't render 234 00:18:50,820 --> 00:18:58,280 them any less authoritative or trustworthy in what they bear witness to happening. 235 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:05,280 God has faithfully revealed His acts in history and enough of His nature to us through what's 236 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:11,520 recorded in scripture that we can come into a proper relationship with God. 237 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,960 And that's what the scripture intends to do. 238 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:22,000 That's the intent of all of scripture is to reveal to human beings who God is, what He 239 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,440 is like, and how to come into a relationship with Him. 240 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:32,920 The scripture does not intend to teach us science in modern 21st century scientific 241 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,760 precision like that even exists. 242 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:41,840 So as we approach Genesis, if that is true of scripture recorded in Joshua's day, how 243 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:47,040 much more would that also be true of what is described by the stories found in Genesis 244 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:54,880 one through 11, which would have been transmitted orally for thousands of years before they 245 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:58,200 were ever written down. 246 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:02,960 Scientific and historical precision like that attempted to be imposed on the text by words 247 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:07,640 like inerrant are not the goal of the stories in Genesis. 248 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:12,680 The stories in Genesis seek to explain to the entire world that their interpretation 249 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:16,200 of the events found there are correct. 250 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:20,240 You've got lots of different versions of these stories found all over the ancient near east, 251 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:27,760 all over the world, but the interpretation found in the pages of Genesis is the correct 252 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:28,760 interpretation. 253 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,560 It's a right take. 254 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:38,440 And that their one God is the only God truly worthy of the title God. 255 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:45,920 So the purpose of scripture is to disclose supernatural truths, not pinpoint natural truths. 256 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:51,760 We can discover natural truths all on our own through research and experimentation, but 257 00:20:51,760 --> 00:21:00,400 we can only know God in the supernatural realm if God reveals God by revealing Himself first 258 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:09,080 to men in history, both directly and indirectly, then by sovereignly and supernaturally guiding 259 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:15,360 them to faithfully record what they have seen and heard and witnessed. 260 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:19,360 That's why scripture is not only authoritative and truthful in everything it proclaims, but 261 00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:21,760 it is unique. 262 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:26,360 It stands unique in all of history. 263 00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:27,800 There's nothing else like it. 264 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:33,760 It is the only trustworthy means by which we can know and grow a relationship with this 265 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:35,680 God in eternity. 266 00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:39,820 He's ultimately a God who is unknowable. 267 00:21:39,820 --> 00:21:42,120 So that's the beauty of it. 268 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:43,640 God is infinite. 269 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:45,120 We are finite. 270 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:50,720 We will never, we will never know all of God. 271 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:54,120 But there are things found in scripture that are going to reveal Him to us. 272 00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:58,560 There are things about God that can be known in scripture and there are unknown things 273 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:05,960 that can be disclosed by the assistance of the Holy Spirit in our imaginations. 274 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:08,760 And we'll even be open to that. 275 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:15,600 So as we prepare to go through Genesis 1 through 11, I wanted to give you kind of an overview 276 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:21,340 of how we approach scripture, how we think about scripture. 277 00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:24,040 And I wanted to end with this. 278 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:31,240 It's a message of encouragement from Proverbs chapter 2 verse 1 about what we've been talking 279 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:33,320 about. 280 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,840 So I'm just going to read through this as we close. 281 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:44,120 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear 282 00:22:44,120 --> 00:22:52,640 attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding, yes, if you call out for 283 00:22:52,640 --> 00:23:00,880 insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for 284 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:09,080 it as hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge 285 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:11,160 of God. 286 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:16,640 There's knowledge that's been revealed and there's knowledge that's been hidden and it's 287 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:25,360 the joy of God to conceal a thing and it's the joy of Kings to search it out. 288 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:29,000 Let's keep reading in verse 6. 289 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,480 For the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 290 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,040 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. 291 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:41,620 He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, watching over 292 00:23:41,620 --> 00:23:44,060 the way of his saints. 293 00:23:44,060 --> 00:23:50,200 Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path. 294 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:56,840 You will be beautified for wisdom will come into your heart and knowledge will be pleasant 295 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:58,040 to your soul. 296 00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:05,240 You'll experience the pleasures of knowing and understanding God himself. 297 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:09,840 And I would say that is the highest pleasure a human being can experience. 298 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:14,560 It's being obedient to the first commandment, you are to love the Lord your God with all 299 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:17,840 of your heart, with all of your mind, with all of your strength. 300 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:19,040 This is your highest purpose. 301 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:24,040 It is your highest pleasure to grow in your ability to love God with all of your heart, 302 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:25,440 mind and strength. 303 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,960 That's what we're submitting ourselves to do as we go through this series. 304 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:33,520 I want to end with a quick prayer and then we'll go about our day. 305 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:41,280 Father, thank you for the power of your Holy Spirit that rests upon an authentic pursuit 306 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:45,960 of truth, an authentic pursuit of the knowledge of God. 307 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:51,760 We ask you Holy Spirit, as we submit our minds and hearts to your word, impart the knowledge 308 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:59,720 of God, reveal the God, both known and unknown, reveal the God to us as we seek him in the 309 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:01,100 pages of scripture. 310 00:25:01,100 --> 00:25:03,760 We ask this together in Jesus name. 311 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:04,760 Amen. 312 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:06,080 Well, thanks for joining us today. 313 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:11,400 We will dig in to Genesis chapter one, starting in verse one in our next episode. 314 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:12,400 Hope you choose to join us. 315 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:13,400 Have a good day. 316 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:34,400 Bye.