The Essentials. Indispensable Doctrines for Starting and Finishing Strong MARVIN R. KNIGHT

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1 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. JOHN 17:3 The Essentials Indispensable Doctrines for Starting and Finishing Strong MARVIN R. KNIGHT

2 February 24, 2017 The Church at South Mountain You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by The Church at South Mountain. Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: The Church at South Mountain. Website: casm.org While all reasonable attempts have been taken to trace the literary and biblical sources used by the author, due to the nature of some of the original materials (old audio/radio or live preaching events), some have been impossible to locate. Any information regarding the origin of any unreferenced statements or quotations is welcomed and will be included in the next revision of the study.

3 7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. PHILIPPIANS 3:7-11 This book is dedicated to my eldest son Jordan Jackson, whose impact on others will far surpasses my dreams.

4 CONTRIBUTORS CRAIG CUMMINGS Director of Mountaintop Resources (MTR) Craig serves as the Director of MTR and has been serving in that role since He has been attending CASM since Craig is originally from Clarksdale, MS. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Mississippi and an Associate of Computer Information Systems from Chandler-Gilbert Community College. He currently works as Director of Information Technology at Scottsdale Christian Academy. Craig and his wife, Verines, have two children: Craig Jr. and Camille. KEITH BRAZIER Director of Men s Ministry Keith serves as the Director of the Men s Ministry and has been serving in that role since He has been attending CASM since Keith is originally from Nutley, NJ. He received his Master of Education Administration from Grand Canyon University, Master of Bilingual/Multicultural Education from Northern Arizona University, and Bachelor of Science in Zoology with an emphasis in Chemistry from Northern Arizona University. He currently works as the Assistant Principal for Student Success at Metro Tech High School. Keith is married to Grace. GRANT NULLE Editor Assistant Grant has been attending CASM since April He is originally from Gillette, WY. He received his Bachelor of Arts in both Political Science and Economics from Buena Vista University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arizona, and his Master of Science and PhD in Energy Economics from the Colorado School of Mines. He currently works as Deputy Director at the Arizona Department of Revenue. Grant and his wife, Christina, have one son: Kristhoff.

5 HOLY HABITS This study will include an application section entitled Holy Habits. What are holy habits? John Wesley, the famous Methodist minister, called key practices of the Christian faith, holy habits. These are God-ordained ways to connect with God. They are like walking on pathways where God is often found. Holy habits are the biblical means or instruments that God has given to His people to aid them to experience His sanctifying grace. These means are: The Word personal devotion and study (John 17:17) Prayer (Heb.4:16) Obedience (John 14:21, 7:17) Service (1 Cor.15:10) The Lord s Supper (1 Cor.11:23) Giving (2 Cor.8:1-5) Humility (James 4:6) Meditation (Ps.119:97) Fasting (Matt.6:16-18) Journaling (Job 19:23-24) In this study, we will be encouraging participants to practice these holy habits of sanctifying grace to grow in the grace and knowledge of God (2 Pet.3:18).

6 CONTENTS 1. The Person of God Part 1 2. The Person of God Part 2 3. The Person of God Part 3 4. The Person of God Part 4 5. The Person of Christ Part 1 6. The Person of Christ Part 2 7. The Holy Spirit Part 1 8. The Holy Spirit Part 2 9. The Holy Spirit Part The Trinity 11. The Inspiration of Scripture 12. Salvation by Grace Though Faith 13. The Bodily Resurrection of Christ 14. The Second Coming of Christ 15. Resurrections 16. Judgments

7 THE ESSENTIALS The Person of God Key Doctrines for Starting and Finishing Strong LESSON 1 Part 1 To know God is to love Him. Therefore, deepening knowledge must precede deepening affection. DR. R.C. SPROUL, Theologian, Pastor, Founder Ligonier Ministries MAIN POINT IN THIS LESSON: God s Knowability Can God be known in a real and personal way?

8 Are the following statements true or false? (circle one) We can know God by looking at the world. T F The revelation of God in nature helps man to have relationship with God. T F God must reveal Himself to be known. T F Be on the lookout for the answers to these questions as we study the Word of God. God s Knowability The Bible does not argue for God s existence, it simply assumes and declares it in the first four words of Genesis 1: Genesis 1:1a In the beginning God Yet, who is this God? Has He revealed Himself? What can be known about Him? Can we as sinful, finite creatures truly know Him the way a father knows his son or a mother knows her daughter? Arthur Pink in the first chapter of his classic book, The Attributes of God, gives us this perspective: [When] there was no heaven, where His glory is now particularly manifested no earth to engage His attention no angels to hymn His praises; no universe to be upheld by the word of His power there was nothing, no one, but God self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied; in need of nothing under no constraint, no obligation, no necessity to create. That He chose to do so was purely a sovereign act on His part, caused by nothing outside Himself, determined by nothing but His own mere good pleasure; for He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph.1:11). From this we can safely conclude that God had no need to make Himself known, but He chose to do so by His own mere good pleasure. What do these passages teach us about God s knowability? Romans 1:19-21 Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Lesson: God can be known. Scripture ascribes a universal, constant, uninterrupted knowledge of God to all nations in the world. It is not only a faculty of knowing, but an actual innate knowledge of God, intelligible by reason, and manifested by general revelation, though man in his fallen condition does not care to know Him (Rom.1:18; Ps.8, 19:1-6).

9 Hosea 6:3 So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth. Lesson: Problems in life are due in part to a lack of knowing the Lord. Israel s problem was described back in Hosea 4:6 as a lack of knowledge of God and His ways. The prophet then leads the nation in a repentant correction of this problem by pursuing the knowledge of God through His Word. Isaiah 2:3 And many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths. For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Lesson: God must teach us who He is that we might know Him. The central truth of this Messianic promise is that Christ as the King of the Millennial Kingdom will teach us His ways (sacred doctrine) and His paths (sacred duty) that we might be holy as He is holy. Jeremiah 31:34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. Lesson: All of God s people will truly know Him. The new covenant brings a new relationship with God. Those connected to God by the new covenant have a warm, personal, and close relationship with God that they did not have before. The new covenant does not envision sinlessness but forgiveness of sin resulting in the restoration of fellowship with God. Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the LORD, Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things, declares the LORD. Lesson: The spiritual and saving knowledge of God is the greatest need of every human creature. Exodus 33:13-14 Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people. And He said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. Lesson: God makes His presence real to His people, which helps them to know Him. God answers Moses prayer, giving the promise of His Presence. God knew Israel and Moses and Moses wanted to know God. Do you?

10 These are just a small sampling of the many verses that teach us God is not only knowable, but He also desires we come to a knowledge of the truth. Underline the key phrases in these two verses that teach us about God s knowability. 2 Peter 1:2-3 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. Review: God can be known. Our problem is a lack of knowledge of God. God will teach us who He is. All of God's people will know Him. When an unbeliever says, I believe in God, what are they saying based upon what you have learned so far? Why is the lack of knowledge of God a problem? Identify one problem in your life that you can clearly trace to a lack of knowledge of God. In cults, only the privileged, the selected, or the anointed possess a certain knowledge of God. In Christianity alone, all of God s people know Him personally and savingly. Isn t that good news? Discussion: Let s go back to Dr. Sproul s quote about God s knowability: To know God is to love Him. Therefore, deepening knowledge must precede deepening affection. How has knowing God better influenced your love for Him? Be specific. It is the testimony of saints through the centuries that a faint understanding of God is enough to begin the heart to stir, but for the spark to rise into a consuming and lasting fire, our knowledge of God must increase. Dr. Sproul reminds us that nothing can be in the heart that is not first in the mind. Or, to say it another way, our hearts cannot be inflamed over something about which we know nothing. Since this is true, would you agree that unless we know God deeply, we cannot love Him deeply? If you agree, then the next questions that must be addressed are: How can we really know God? How does one acquire that knowledge? How much of God can be known and where is that knowledge to be found? Let s press it a step further and ask: How does the knowledge of God look?

11 Illustrated: Have you ever had the experience of being weak in a particular area or subject, yet that very thing eventually came to be a strength for you and something you now cherish very much. Why? Because you applied yourself in that area more than others. So it is with God. He has given us an innate knowledge of Himself in general revelation, but unless we apply ourselves in the seeking of who He says He is in his Word and through prayer and other means of grace, we won t come to love Him as deeply and as richly as He desires. Have you ever wrestled with some of these questions? The doctrine that unpacks the answer to these questions is what theologians call God s knowability. The story 1 is told of Augustine, the great thinker and theologian, who was once walking along an ocean beach greatly perplexed by the incomprehensible truth of the Trinity. Try as he might, he could not grasp the vast truth of the triune nature of God. Can you relate? Because he could not fully understand it, he was tempted, as we many times are, to reject it. This is true of both the saved and the unsaved person alike. Nevertheless, Augustine continued to walk along the shoreline until he came upon a little boy playing on the beach. As he watched the child, he saw him run to the ocean with a seashell, fill it with water, and then return to pour it into a small hole he had dug in the sand. What are you doing, my little man? asked Augustine. Oh, replied the boy, I am trying to put the ocean into this hole. Augustine smiled at the little boy s faith in the face of the impossibility of such a task. Then it struck him that when it came to God, he was guilty of exactly the same thing. That is what I am trying to do with God, he later confessed. I see it now. Standing on the shores of time, I am trying to get into my little finite mind things which are infinite. When it comes to the knowledge of God, this is something that we are all guilty of doing. Because of this tendency, we all face the same danger of trying to reduce God down to our level so that we can logically understand Him. This is the path of idolatry. The famous French agnostic, Voltaire, was right when he sarcastically said, God created man in His own image, and man has returned the favor. This sharp remark reveals the dark side of mankind s fallen tendency, which leans towards the Frankenstein mentality of creating a deity who looks like himself. The result of this is that when he looks at this self-made god, he sees what he wants himself to be. Yet the sad, but true, aim behind this activity is that man sinfully desires to be in the driver s seat where he rules God, rather than being ruled by God. How can we avoid this sinful tendency? The first step is to understand how God has made Himself known to us. The second step is to accept the very particular and limited character of God s revelation. And the third step is to humbly, but boldly, pray like Augustine, who said, Lord, hast Thou declared that no man shall see Thy face and live? Then let me die [to self] that I may see Thee. This was his passion. It must become and be ours as well! 1 Quoted from Max Anders and Steven Lawson, Holman Old Testament Commentary Volume 10 Job, pp

12 Closing: Application questions: Being a Doer of the Word 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching [what is right], for reproof [what is not right], for correction [how to get right], for training in righteousness [how to stay right]; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 1. What did I learn ( teaching )? 2. Where do I fall short ( reproof )? 3. What do I need to do about it ( correction )? 4. How can I make this a consistent part of my life ( training )?

13 Answer Key: Are the following statements true or false? T F T Review: Humans have an innate knowledge of God that has been given to them by general revelation. Problems in life are due, in part, to a lack of knowing the Lord. Further Resources: A.W. Pink. The Attributes of God R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God

14 Holy Habits Weekly Devotion This week s memory verse: Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path This week s holy habit: The Word "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Ps.119:105). Our starting place for understanding and knowing God is His Word. From the first verses of the Bible, we immediately meet God and receive a powerful preview of His love. As we continue reading, the Creator reveals more of Himself. He masterfully unfolds a plan backed by unbreakable promises. He initiates action and extends a glorious invitation to the highlight of His creation, man. Our purpose becomes apparent. His path, His plan, and our purpose can only be found in the pages of Scripture and full immersion in God s Word is the only way to understand His truth. DAY 1 Read Genesis 1:1-5. Reflect upon God's creative power. Consider the image presented and how darkness can only exist in the absence of light. DAY 2 Read Genesis 1:6-13. God's design is perfect and purposeful. Think about how everything is separated: the sky from the earth; the sea from the land. Why is this significant? DAY 3 Read Genesis 1: Marvel at the great lights that govern the sky. Reflect on all the ways they support and enhance our lives. DAY 4 Read Genesis 1: Take note of the variety of living creatures around you. Each and every one is here for a specific reason. Try to imagine what God had in mind when He created them (food, enjoyment, protection, etc.). DAY 5 Read Genesis 1: Consider why man was the climax of creation and what his original role was.