Title: 13
Author: Joe Griffin
Last saved by: Matt Lawson
Company: GDC

The Church of the Living God

		09-06-11.FBC08-134 /

Operation Double Z; Rational Arguments for the Existence of God; Multiplexing of the Holy Spirit; Seizing Doctrine at Academic Knowledge; Applying “Bin” Doctrine, Prov 8:9
34.	Her message is said to be “right” to those who find knowledge: da‘ath.  The word right is actually “upright,” meaning that the speech of Wisdom does not deviate from the righteous standards of divine essence.
35.	This is realized and accepted by those who “find knowledge.”  The word find is Qal participle of ax*m* masa and puts stress on the desire of the individual to seize and hold something.
36.	When a person encounters God consciousness he becomes aware of the existence of God and at that point is accountable.  It is God’s responsibility to see to it that this person receives an objective presentation of the gospel.
Rational Arguments for the Existence of God
1.	The Religious Argument.  God exists because men universally believe in Him.  Among all people and tribes on earth there is a concept of the divine which manifests itself in some form of worship.  Man’s religious instincts indicate the reality of a Supreme Being.
2.	The Moral or Anthropological Argument.  The soul of man contains both volition and conscience, and has the ability to distinguish right from wrong.  The very existence of man’s moral nature suggests the need of a Higher Being who has set the standards for right and wrong.  Indeed, the structure of human society is based on the recognition of virtue, truth, and morality.  A material, ungoverned universe can know nothing of moral values and distinctions apart from the absolute righteousness of a Supreme Being.
3.	The Ontological Argument.  Since the human mind possess the idea of a perfect and absolute Being, such a Being must exist.  Apart from the religious and moral tendencies previously considered, the existence of God is a necessary idea to the human mind.  Beyond the relative which man measures, there is the absolute that gives character or value to the relative.
4.	The Teleological Argument.  The observation of the structure of the universe indicates the need for a designer.  Both microscopic and telescopic phenomena, from the structure of an atom to the configuration of galaxies, display order, design, arrangement, purpose, and adaptation that demand both a Creator and a Preserver (Col. 1:16-17).  (p. 16)
5.	The Cosmological Argument.  The intuitive law of cause and effect demands the existence of God as the initial cause.  Every new thing or change must have a cause.  In no sense can the universe be its own cause.  The universe presents an overwhelming demand for belief in the existence of God (Rom. 1:20).  (p. 17)

R. B. Thieme, Jr., Heathenism 3d ed. (Houston: R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, 2001), 16-17.

37.	When the message is presented and the person responds then he is saved, has eternal life, and possesses divine operating assets that will enable him to grow in grace.
38.	The system that enables this growth process to proceed begins with the message Wisdom is recommending, namely, the completed canon of Scripture.  We have the complete message of God to man in the Bible.
39.	In the Church Age, the place in which the believer advances is the local church where he submits to the authority of a man who has the spiritual gift of communication called, in Ephesians 4:11, pastor-teacher.
40.	The believer’s spiritual growth is facilitated by the multiplexing ministries of the Holy Spirit.  However, the Spirit cannot function unless He is able to do so from the command post of the believer’s soul.
41.	This requires being in fellowship with God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and positive to the instruction of the pastor.  If the believer has a desire to investigate the “deep things of God” (2 Corinthians 2:10) then the Spirit will fill the deficiency in his soul.
42.	To grow in grace there must be an interest in what the Bible says.  The verb masa means to reach out and take hold.  This is what happens when positive volition encounters knowledge: da‘ath.
43.	Doctrine communicated and perceived in the nous is what is seized and held by the positive believer because he is confident that Wisdom’s message is upright.
44.	For the believer to make an efficient advance in the inculcation of bin doctrine, his interest in the Word must not be hindered by distractions.  Positive volition eliminates distractions by means of the ten problem-solving devices.
45.	Concentration on the teaching of the Word is an imperative and therefore the believer must learn to isolate distractions.  This requirement is addressed by R. B. Thieme, Jr.:
Concentration is more than prolonged focus on the message; it includes good manners, poise and alertness in the assembly.  Concentration is affected not merely by your attitude toward the speaker but also by your attitude toward other people in the congregation.  For example, there may be some people in the congregation against whom you harbor antagonism or resentment.  When they are within your visual periphery, you may begin to think about them and become angry.  Or it might be the reverse.  When you see someone whom you love, your concentration on the message is disrupted, and you lose its continuity.  All such distractions must be handled by self-discipline and by a relaxed mental attitude, which is another by-product of the filling of the Holy Spirit.

R. B. Thieme, Jr., Grace Apparatus for Perception, rev. ed. (Houston: R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, 1974), 23-24.

46.	The mission of fulfilling Operation Double Z cannot advance if the believer is distracted by his own inability to manage interpersonal relationships by refusing to apply biblical problem-solving devices.
47.	To develop an inventory of wisdom, all of the first nine devices must be utilized habitually with emphasis on 7-9: personal love for God, unconditional love for others, and a disposition of happiness through fellowship with God.
Proverbs 8:9 -	“They—all the utterances of my mouth—are clear and obvious to those who are caused to understand [ Hiphil participle of /yB! bin ], and upright to those who desire to seize and hold revealed doctrine [ masa da‘ath ].”  (CTL)

© 2009 by Joe Griffin Media Ministries.  All rights reserved.	www.joegriffin.org