Be Mature in Understanding

A Handbook of Theology for Jewish Believers in Messiah

Ben Midgley, Martin Pakula, Paul F. Morris

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781532697975, 9781532697982
• eBook ISBN: 9781532697999
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

This book has been written out of a deep concern to see Jewish believers in Yeshua-Jesus playing their part in the worldwide church of Messiah, using their knowledge of God's word, their Jewishness, their natural and spiritual gifts, and a humble, thankful heart. Knowledge of the truths of Scripture is a vital key to love for God and fruitfulness in his service, and this book focuses on both the Bible's unfolding story (biblical theology) and its specific doctrines and their interrelationship (systematic theology). Our aim is to build a biblical framework of thinking in the heart and mind. It is written from an evangelical understanding and in a way that interacts with the main forms of Judaism and Christianity. It is a study book, with questions to answer and further reading suggestions. Similar books of doctrine with the same scope have been written, but few if any take account of the context of Jewish readers and the issues which are important to them. The authors have attempted to achieve this within the context of the whole counsel of God. Error sets no one free but truth does; the hope of the authors is for readers to be free to love and serve the Lord with all their mind and heart.

BOOK TWO

Doctrines of God’s Revelation

Paul Morris

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Part 3

God

It should come as no surprise that these studies in theology should start with God. When God brought Yisrael out of Egypt and prepared them to be his people in the land he had promised them, he did not lead them straight there. His first priority for them was to reveal himself in his majesty, power, and glory at Sinai, and then show them how he was to be known, approached, and worshiped through the construction of the mishkan (tabernacle). Only when that was done, and Pesach celebrated, were they ready to move forwards with their God.

God is the high and holy One who inhabits eternity. In Isaiah he reveals, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:9). We are created beings, and unless our Creator reveals himself to us he is incomprehensible. We are sinners, with hearts and minds darkened by sin, widening the gulf between us. We must come humbly to learn of our great God; we are on holy ground.

God is; he can be known because he has revealed himself. He has told us what he is like and has names which underline that revelation. These are the themes we will consider in Book Two, Part 3.

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God’s Existence

God is the only self-existent, independent being. He declares of himself to Moshe: “I AM WHO I AM.” It is from the verb “to be” that the divine name YHWH is derived. God is because he is. The Scriptures never seek to explain or prove God’s existence; it is a simple, stated fact, as in Bereshit 1:1, “In the beginning God . . .” Scripture not only asserts his existence but also declares that humans know that he exists through what he has made—what we often term “nature” (Ps 19:1–3; Rom 1:20). However, the universal human response, due to sin, is to suppress this knowledge and refuse to honor God or be thankful (Rom 1:18, 21). Humans also know that there will be a reckoning for this behavior, “who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Rom 1:32).

Humanity is not in a position of neutrality on the question of God’s existence; human nature is in rebellion. Hence we can observe all the false, man-made, and demonic religions of the world, through which humans recognize the divine and the supernatural, but believe and respond as they please. Agnosticism and atheism are also willful and sinful responses to what is known.

Hence people will not believe purely on the basis of rational proofs, although such proofs may have a value in opening the mind to consider what God has revealed. This is not a book of apologetics, hence such proofs will not be considered in detail but some are listed briefly below.

•Israel’s unique history among the nations, the miracles, the moral teaching, their national preservation in their land, and the diaspora.

•The record in Scripture of fulfilled prophecies, especially in the life of Messiah Yeshua.

•The life of Jesus, his perfection, miracles, death, and resurrection.

•The continuance of the Christian church despite the many pronouncements of her imminent demise.

•The changed lives of Christians, especially virulent opponents like Saul of Tarsus.

•Humans’ inbuilt sense of purpose, requiring a Creator with a purpose.

•The design in nature, especially the human body, argues for a designer.

•Our ability to think, reason, and plan, and to contemplate ourselves, all point to a nonmaterial spirit within us, necessitating a Creator spirit.

•Our inner sense of moral values, many of which are universally held, implies a transcendent ground for such values.

•The unsatisfactory nature of the explanations of human experience given by false religions and nontheist philosophy.

Whilst traditional Judaism would agree with much that is written here about God’s existence, as is shown by the synagogue liturgy, and which has had a beneficial effect on the Jewish people, there have been those on the fringes, like the Kabbalists, who are so concerned to preserve the mystery of God’s existence that they have come perilously close to a dualism by the distinction they make between God as he is in himself and God as he becomes manifest to his creatures, the former being impersonal and the latter personal. We do indeed have to say that we do not know, and cannot know, all there is to know about God, but we must not say that there is something essential about God’s nature, further to what we understand and experience of him through his self-revelation, that can never be known by us. We can truly know God; and he is perfectly revealed in his Son, Yeshua.

Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!

Shout to God with the voice of triumph!

For the Lord Most High is...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Editor’s Preface
• About Authors
• Editor’s Introduction
• How to Use This Book
• Abbreviations
• Names and Terms
• Helpful Reference Books
• Book One: God’s Unfolding Revelation
• Book Two: Doctrines of God's Revelation
• Bibliography