The God Who IS God - Part 1

Q: What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

The Bible asserts that God is sovereign, meaning He is the ultimate authority and controller of all things. The concept of God's sovereignty is foundational to Reformed theology, highlighting that God has absolute control and authority over all creation. Scripture affirms this in passages like Isaiah 45:5-7, where God proclaims His supremacy, stating, "I am the Lord, and there is none else." This sovereignty means that everything occurs according to His divine will, as seen in Ephesians 1:11, which declares that God "works all things after the counsel of His own will." Therefore, recognizing God’s sovereignty provides comfort and assurance to believers, reminding them that nothing can thwart His plans or purposes.

Q: How do we know that man is dead in sin?

Scripture clearly states that all humans are spiritually dead in sin due to the Fall. The doctrine of total depravity asserts that every human being is born with a sinful nature and is spiritually dead. Ephesians 2:1 emphasizes this, stating, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." This indicates a complete inability to initiate a relationship with God on one’s own. Romans 5:12 also corroborates this by explaining that sin entered the world through Adam, resulting in death for all humanity. Since a dead person cannot act or make choices for themselves, this reinforces the belief that spiritual resurrection is entirely dependent on God’s grace and intervention.

Q: Why is it important to understand that God chose particular sinners to save?

Understanding God's choice of specific sinners underscores the grace and sovereignty in salvation. The doctrine of unconditional election teaches that God, in His sovereignty, has chosen certain individuals for salvation according to His will and purpose. Ephesians 1:4-5 articulates this, stating that God "chose us in Him before the foundation of the world." This choice is not based on any foreseen merit in the individuals but solely on God's grace. This truth is vital because it assures believers that their salvation is not contingent upon their works or decisions but is a result of God's sovereign grace. Such assurance leads to profound gratitude and worship, acknowledging that salvation is entirely a gift from God to those who believe.

Q: What does 'I Am that I Am' mean in the context of God's identity?

'I Am that I Am' signifies God's eternal, self-existent nature and sovereignty. 'I Am that I Am,' revealed in Exodus 3:14, encapsulates the essence of God's identity and attributes. This declaration indicates that God exists independently and eternally without reliance on anything outside Himself. It asserts His self-sufficiency, authority, and unwavering nature, distinguishing Him from all created beings. This self-existent characteristic assures believers that God is the ultimate source of life, truth, and purpose. Furthermore, understanding God as 'I Am' reinforces His active presence in the lives of His people, demonstrating that He is involved in their salvation and daily affairs.

Turn with me if you would to Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3. We have been going through Old Testament stories and we have made it to Exodus chapter 3 so far. And I want us to look at something this morning from the next few verses in Exodus chapter three, but we are not going to look at an Old Testament story.

I have something specific that I feel very led to preach today. I feel very led to preach this today. It's something that I was, just recently talking to a brother about, and I believe that conversation was providential because the moment I read this, I came to Exodus three and I read the next few verses, I immediately realized, okay, this is the message. This is our message for today.

So let's read a few verses here and then I'll tell you what the subject will be. All right. Moses here in Exodus three has just seen the Lord in the burning bush. And if you look at verse seven, Exodus three, verse seven, the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people, which are in Egypt and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. Now look at verse 10.

And Moses said, come now, therefore, I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

And he said, certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee, When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. Moses said, Lord, when I go, tell your people what you have said, and they ask me who you are. Who should I tell them that you are? What should I tell them that you are?

And the Lord said, you tell them I am that I am. You tell them I am God. God. You tell them I am God like they have never known God or imagined God. That's what you tell them. The God who is God. That's what you tell them. The God who is God. Now that's what I want us to look at this morning. The God who is God. And we're going to see that and we're going to acknowledge that in this way.

We are going to consider six statements. What some men like to call six very stubborn statements. You know, if something is stubborn, it's like hitting a brick wall, brick wall statements. And through these six statements, we're either going to have to acknowledge that God is or he is not.

He said, I am. God says he is men by nature say he is not. That's what man says. He is not. We're going to confront this issue head on to the point that we're either going to have to bow to God's word or turn and walk away from it. It's going to be one or the other. What we look at today, there's going to be no middle ground in it. There is no middle ground, no gray area. We are either going to believe God's word or reject God's word, and we're going to use six statements to do it.

Now, as I got into this, I have preached these six statements before. Many men have. And as I got into this, I decided that rather than just stating this to you, it's a lot of information. And as I've done it before, I've just quoted scripture and stated truths and moved on, but I decided not to do that.

I want to really spend some time digging into the word. I believe this is so important. I want us to see this with our own two eyes. I want every person here to see this with their own two eyes, so I'm dividing these statements into a part one and a part two. I got through the first three and realized either I need to become an auctioneer or we need to do a part one and a part two.

And I don't have time to go slow, but I do want to Be very calculated. And I want this to be understandable. I don't want it to be overwhelming. But here's what I'm preparing you for. We're going to do a lot of turning. And if you can turn quickly, that would be great. I try to listen to when the pages stop. but we're gonna do a lot of turning. This is gonna be a turn, turn, turn part one and part two.

I don't have a warm and fuzzy story for us this morning, but I have God's truth. We're gonna declare God's truth concerning God, concerning man's relation to God, and concerning salvation. All right, six statements. concerning these truths. Here is statement number one.

Either God is sovereign or he is not. And what it is, is as the gospel goes forth and the truth goes forth, men hear this and they say, now wait a minute, that's not what I was told. What about this argument? What about that argument? Either this is where we're going to start.

Either God is sovereign or God is not. There is no gray area in this. None whatsoever. The word sovereign means absolute controller. Absolute authority. It means the ultimate in power. The word sovereign means he does what he wants with whom he wants and no one can stop his hand or question him. That is a sovereign. That is a sovereign. And either God Almighty is the sovereign God Almighty or he is not. And this can be great comfort to us. Those of us who know that he is, we say in our minds, well, we already know he is, but we don't put it into practice.

What about the economy and what about world whatever? Turn on the news. What about this? What about that? All right, either God is sovereign or God is not. I mean, this is for us. We think that's for the world of unbelievers. This is for us too. All right, either God is the sovereign absolute God almighty or not.

It's one or the other. It's not both. It's not, but well, he's sovereign except for in this moment over here and in that moment over there, it's one of the two. Either he is or he is not. Either he is God of all or he is no God at all. All right, so which one is it?

Turn with me to Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32 verse 39. It says, see now that I even I am he and there is no God with me. I kill. It is time we learn something about God. People say, well, God wouldn't kill. Not according to God. It's time we learned something about God. I kill and I make a life. I wound. God wouldn't wound somebody, but not according to God. I wound. I heal. Neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. That's a sovereign. God the I Am said that. Turn with me to Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43. Verse 11, I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior. I have declared and have saved, and I have showed when there was no strange God among you. Therefore, you are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.

Yea, before the day was, I am he, and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. I will work, and who shall let it?" He said, I will work, and no one can stop me. Man foolishly thinks that he has the ability to mess up God's plans. He said, I will work and no one will stop me. No one will stop me.

Look at Isaiah 45. Isaiah 45 verse five, I am the Lord and there is none else. There is no God beside me. I girded thee though thou has not known me. that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord and there is none else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. It's time we learned something about God, isn't it? What do you mean create evil? I don't understand, how does God create evil? By removing his presence. But he said, I the Lord do all these things. I the Lord do all these things. If it is done, he said, I'm the one who did it. If it is done, he is the one who did it.

I'm not going to make it. I'm talking, I'm filling in the blanks too much. Uh, I was going to have to stay to my notes. So I'm going to start skipping some things. I'm going to start quoting some things to you because I really do want to get through this. Um, you go to Ephesians one, turn with me to Ephesians one. And while you're turning there, I'm going to read Daniel 4. I quoted this, but I'm going to read this to you word for word.

At the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned unto me, and I blessed and praised the Most High. and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing." Turn on the news, you know what you're looking at.

Nothing. And he doeth according to his will. It's not man's will. It's His will. It is the sovereign God of heaven and earth's will. He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, what doest thou? None. All right, look at Ephesians 1 verse 8. It says, wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will. according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." That's a sovereign. That is a sovereign. Who is in control of all things? He is. That makes him sovereign.

Now, we're either going to bow to that completely or we're going to have to reject it completely. It's going to be one or the other. There is no middle ground. And that's what I want to get across today. There is no middle ground. There's no compromise on this. Well, I tell you what, you have your God and I'll have my God and we'll just all meet in the middle up there somewhere. There is no compromise. There is no compromise. All right. Statement number two. Either man is dead in sin or he is not. And we really need to get to the bottom of this. We really do need to get to the bottom of this. Either man is dead in sin.

You know, people, I believe if men and women got honest, I believe everybody would say, okay, yes, I have sinned. I think I could, I mean, you know, you got big, big lies and then little tiny white lies and things like that, but yes, I'm a sinner. Oh yeah, and I've sinned, I'm a sinner. All right, now, either man is dead in sin, and I mean dead, and I'm gonna try to make that clear, or man is not.

Either he's dead, in sin or he's not. If a man is not spiritually dead in his nature, then that man has the ability to do something before God. If he's not dead, he has the ability to do something. But if a man is spiritually dead in his nature, then there is absolutely nothing that man's spiritually dead corpse can do. I'm going to substitute the word dead for corpse. We need to think about a corpse. This is one or the other. All right. One or the other. Which one is it? Is man dead or not? Look at Ephesians two verse one.

And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Now this is man's true condition before God. True, natural condition before God. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Hold your place right here in Ephesians and go to Romans 5. Romans 5 verse 12, wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he didn't just receive a slap on the wrist. He wasn't just cast out. He died. He died. He spiritually died. And the proof of that is he eventually physically died. That's the proof. First Corinthians 1522 says in Adam all die. And where death is, nothing can be done. Where death is, nothing is produced. There is no life there. What can a dead man do?

Flip back to Ephesians 2. Verse 1 says, And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins? Verse 4 says, But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved. This comes down to works and grace. Either we were saved by our works or we were saved by God's grace. It's one or the other. We were dead. We were dead. It could not be our works. We were dead.

It had to be God's grace. Romans 11 verse 6 says, And if by grace, then it is no more of works. Otherwise, grace is not grace. It's one or the other. Either God had to do it or we had to do it. And we couldn't do it. We were dead. There could not be a cooperation. That's what all men and women by nature think. They think salvation is a cooperation between them and God. That's what people think. It could not be a cooperation between us and God. We were dead. We were dead.

Verse five says, even when we were dead in sins had quickened us together with Christ. By grace, you are saved. Verse eight, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves is the gift of God. It is the free gift of the sovereign God to dead centers. I'm not going to turn to Colossians two, but it says in you being dead in your sins. He took all of that sin and nailed it to his cross because you were dead.

He did all of that. Mankind by nature is dead. Man cannot do anything. Either the sovereign God is going to have to do it all or nothing is going to be done. That's the truth. That's the truth. Ezekiel 37, dead dry bones, can they live? The Lord said, here's what you tell them, I will, you shall. All right, so God is sovereign, man is dead. God is sovereign and man is dead. We either have to bow to that or reject God's word altogether. Number three, I have five minutes to give you 20 minutes worth of information. All right, number three.

Either the sovereign God chose particular sinners to save or He didn't. Either He did or He didn't. Either Christ died to save everybody or He didn't. Either this was selective and particular Or it wasn't. It's one of the two. Now, I can tell you that if Christ did die for everybody, did Christ die for everybody? Yes or no? That's what we're confronted with. Okay. What are we going to do with this? Did Christ die for everybody? Yes or no? Did God choose a people? Yes or no? If Christ did die for everybody, then I can tell you this, his death was a failure. If he did, his death was a failure.

And it's because the scripture says there are people in hell right now. So if Christ died to save them, but he could not save them and keep them out of hell, then his death was a failure. And there is not one soul in this room who has any hope. If Christ died for everybody, there is not one soul in this room who has any hope. And it's because if he died to save you, if I stand here and say, now Christ died to save you. If he died to save you. You have no guarantee that his death will keep you out of hell. No guarantee.

Now, thank God. Thank glory to God in the highest. Thank God. Sing psalms of praises. Christ did not die to save everybody. Thank God he did not die for everybody. Thank God he chose a particular people to adamantly save. And they are the ones that the Father placed in the hands of Christ to deliver them from the condemnation of hell.

Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians 2. 2 Thessalonians 2. Verse 13, it says, But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. He said, we give thanks for you because you were chosen to salvation. This was a sovereign work from a sovereign God. Turn to Ephesians one. I still have a minute and a half. Ephesians one.

Verse 3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. He chose us. He predestinated us. He adopted us. He accepted us. He did all those things. Fast, fast, go to Romans 9. Romans 9, verse 9. For this is the word of promise, at this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son.

And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we then say? What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth. You got men standing up telling people, you're gonna have to exercise your will. It's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth. Who are we to reply against God?

I was going to read Romans 8, 29 to 33. Somebody's listening to this on the internet. Go to Romans 8, not you, the internet later. Go to Romans 8, read verses 29 to 33. God's elect. God's elect. Oh, he did this for his elect. And then on the internet, not you now, go to John 17, read verses 1 and 2, read verse 6, read verse 9. Father, you've given me power over all flesh that I should give eternal life to as many as you've given me. I pray for them. I pray not for the world. I pray for every soul you placed into mine. All right, so here's what we have.

God Almighty is absolutely sovereign. Every natural man and woman on this earth is dead in sin. But thank God, he chose a particular number of sinners to save. And if you are a sinner, you can be included in that number. All right, these are three of the six truths that we must meet head on. Either we're gonna bow to these or we're gonna reject them. It's one of the two. Pause here a minute, we'll come back and look at three more. All right, you're dismissed.

The God Who IS God - Part 1

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

How do we know that man is dead in sin?

Why is it important to understand that God chose particular sinners to save?

What does 'I Am that I Am' mean in the context of God's identity?

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The God Who IS God - Part 1

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

How do we know that man is dead in sin?

Why is it important to understand that God chose particular sinners to save?

What does 'I Am that I Am' mean in the context of God's identity?

Sermon Transcript

About Gabe Stalnaker

Comments

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