The Solitary God
Brian Kocourek
Pastor, Grace Fellowship
1 Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God…
John 1: 1…”In the beginning was the Word … and
the Word was God”…
And now from William Branham we read, WHO IS THIS MELCHISEDEC
65-0221E 46 Now, in the beginning God dwelled alone with
His attributes as I spoke of this morning. That's His thoughts. There was
nothing, just God alone. But He had thoughts.
2 Very
few people and only a handful of Elect who study the Word with a searching
heart are aware of the awe-inspiring, Worship provoking grandeur of God's Divine
Nature. We speak of a God who is Omniscient, yet we seldom stop to think in
terms of what that really means. We say our God is omnipotent and yet we place
limits upon Him and His power because of our limited understanding of what
omnipotent really means. We limit God because we are limited. We view God in
terms of our finite comprehension because that is what we know. We place
boundaries upon a boundless God because we ourselves are bound.
3 The
very first words god speaks to us in our Bible tells us "In the beginning
God”… in other words, in the Beginning,
God dwelled alone. And there was nothing but God, period. He dwelled alone.
There was nothing, Just God alone, but He had thoughts. For the Word of God
continues by saying, In the Beginning, God said…and therefore if He spoke, then thought must come before
the speaking. Therefore, we can rest in the knowledge that in the beginning God
dwelled alone with Himself and His Thoughts. Then to understand what it means
for God to dwell alone is so incomprehensible to the finite mind which we
possess, that our thoughts could never do justice to what that statement tells
us.
4 Therefore, God is Solitary. He is solitary in His majesty. In Exodus 5:11 we read, "Who is like unto the Thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who
is like Thee, glorious in Holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders."
5 Again in the book of Job 37: 23-38:41
we find many questions concerning God and His creation that can not
be answered. 23 Touching
the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in
judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict. 24 Men
do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart. 38:
1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind,
and said, 2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by
words without knowledge? 3 Gird up now thy loins
like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. 4 Where
wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast
understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures
thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon
are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the
sons of God shouted for joy? 8 Or who shut up the
sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? 9 When
I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for
it, 10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and
set bars and doors, 11 And said, Hitherto shalt
thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? 12 Hast
thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his
place; 13 That it might take hold of the ends of
the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? 14 It
is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. 15
And
from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm shall be broken. 16 Hast
thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of
the depth?
17 Have the gates of
death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of
death? 18 Hast thou perceived the breadth of the
earth? declare if thou knowest it all. 19 Where
is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place
thereof, 20 That thou shouldest take it to the
bound thereof, and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof? 21 Knowest
thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is
great? 22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of
the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, 23 Which
I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth
the east wind upon the earth? 25 Who hath divided a
watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of
thunder; 26 To cause it to rain on the earth, where
no man is; on the wilderness, wherein there is no man; 27 To
satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb
to spring forth? 28 Hath the rain a father? or who
hath begotten the drops of dew? 29 Out of whose
womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? 30 The
waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. 31 Canst
thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? 32 Canst
thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his
sons? 33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven?
canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? 34 Canst
thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? 35 Canst
thou send lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are? 36 Who
hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or 37 Who
can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven, 38 When
the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together? 39 Wilt
thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions, 40 When
they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? 41 Who
provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander
for lack of meat.
In Psalm
19:1 we read, "The Heavens declare the Glory of God; and the firmament
sheweth forth his handiwork, " and
yet how can any man know God intrinsically, or in His essentiality by His
creation?
6 A
man can pick up a hand crafted watch and study it in every detail, and yet through
the studying of that watch we could never know the maker. Now, there may be
certain attributes of that maker that show forth in that creative work; such as
it's precision, it's detail, it's beauty, it's craftsmanship, and these all
speak of the watch maker, but they do not describe him, though they may declare
his carefulness to detail ad his precision eye to hand control, or his artistic
talent or his ability to conceptualize and bring forth from his mind into a
finished product. But to know him? Impossible.
7 Yet
in the beginning we know by God's Own Word, that He lived in a solitary
existence. Genesis 1:1 In the Beginning God...
8 There
was a time when no time existed . There was a time when no earth existed. There
was a time when no universe existed. There was a time when no heaven existed.
Nothing existed. There was only God and He dwelled alone. God in His solitary
Excellency, dwelling alone with nothing but his thoughts, which is His Doxa,
His Glory. God alone in all His Splendor and Glory Alone, period.
9 There
was no heaven to contain Him. There was no earth to amuse him. There was no
universe for Him to uphold, and maintain by the Word of His Power.
10 There
was nothing. No One! No Thing! No Angels! Not even an atom to make anything. Not
even space, nor any dimension. There was nothing, period, except God Himself.
11 No
one or nothing but God, and not for a day. Not just for a week. Not even for a
year or a decade, or a century or a millennium. No, there was nothing but God
for an eternity. A past eternity. God dwelled alone for this past eternity, and
He was satisfied. He was self contained, self efficient, in need of nothing.
12 Had
God needed angels, humans, or even space in any way, he would have created them
an eternity ago. Therefore, creating them when He did added nothing to His
essentiality, for He changes not. (Malachi 3:6).
13 Therefore
His essentiality and intrinsicality can not be augmented nor diminished in any
way by anyone, or anything. God is Sovereign and he is solitary.
14 God
was under no obligation, no constraint, no necessity to create. That God chose
to create was purely a sovereign act on His part. Neither was there any reason
or cause outside of His own Will that pressed Him to do so. Ephesians 1:11 tells us His reasoning for doing so
was being predestinated according to the purpose of
him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
15 That
God created anything was simply out of His Own desire to do so. That this world
exists was out of his own desire to create it. That He maintains it by His Word
is of His own choosing, and not yours or mine. That we exist is because of His
desire that we exist.
16 God
is solitary. He is sovereign. You and I can gain from the praises of others,
but for God, what can He gain? God does not need your praises, and yet He
enjoys them, and He inhabits the Praises of His people. But they add nothing to
Him, and yet He is pleased by them. God does not gain from your worship, and He
doesn't gain from our praise. He does not gain from our good works, nor does He
gain from our holiness, or our righteousness. Then what is it that moved God to
predestinate His Elect to "The praise of
the Glory of His Grace?" His Own Word
tells us it was His Good pleasure of His Own will. (Ephesians 1:5)
17 It
is impossible for God to be brought under obligation to His own creation, for
He gains nothing from us. Job 35: 5-8 Look
unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. 6 If
thou sinnest, what doest thou against Him? or if thy transgressions be
multiplied, what doest thou unto Him? 7 If
thou be righteous, what givest thou Him? or what receiveth He of thine
hand? 8 Thy wickedness may hurt a man as
thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.
In other words, there is nothing you can
do that will hurt God or bring gain to Him. Therefore, He is entirely sovereign
and needs nothing out side of Himself. That ought to tell you then, that
everything we have is because of Him, and for our own good.
Luke 17: 7-10 7 But
which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by
and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And
will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself,
and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and
drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did
the things that were commanded him? I think not.
10 So
likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded
you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to
do.
In other words, all that we do, do to and for the Lord is not for His Good, but for our own. We praise Him, and worship Him, and do service to Him not that He will gain by it, but we are the ones who gain. For the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.
18 Let's
take this one more step. I know this will offend some who read this on the web,
but let me also say, Our Lord Jesus Christ added nothing to God in his
intrinsicallity, and His essentiality. He added nothing to God's innate nature
and Glory. Neither by what He did, nor by what he said. Nor by any sacrifice
that He performed even though He laid down His own Life. Nothing that He
suffered added anything to God. It is true that He manifested God's glory unto
you and me, but then what does that add to God? It adds to you and me, for we
are the beneficiaries of such words, and such deeds, and such suffering, and
such obedience even to the point of His own death. But to God, it added
nothing. In fact everything He did do and say He said He was either taught to
say it by the Father or He did it in response to the Father showing Him what to
do.
19 On
the other hand, let me ask you this. What did Jesus have that God did not give
Him?
20
His
Words were not his but the Fathers. His Doctrine was not His Own, but was the
Fathers that sent Him. His works were not his own original idea, but He simply
did what he saw the Father do. And let's face it, his own life was not his Own.
For the Father not only dwelt in Him, but did so pre-eminently. As the Apostle
Paul said, "I am a prisoner of Christ."
21 He
did not even bring forth His Own Will, for He said, "I came not to do my own will but the Fathers Who sent me." And the Apostle Paul said of the Son of God, "for it is written in the Book, "I have come to do thy
Will O God."
22 It
is true that God receives both honor and dishonor from man, but that speaks
only of man's recognition or lack of it. But it adds nothing to God
intrinsically. If God had no desire, He would still be dwelling alone and no
worse off for it. Let’s face it, God dwelt alone for an eternity in the past,
before He created any angels, before he brought forth an only begotten Son,
before He made the heavens and the earth. Before He created the Universe. For
an eternity in the past He dwelt alone and He was content to do so, or He would
have brought forth these things an eternity ago.
In 23 Isaiah 40:15-18 we read,
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a
bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh
up the isles as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon
is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt
offering. 17 All nations before him are as
nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. 18 To
whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
There is no
comparing of God to anything. God is God, and He is neither dependent upon
anything, nor is He at a loss by anything. He can not gain nor can He loose
from, by, or as a result of anything. And since he created everything, then He
did it for His own good pleasure.
We also read in Isaiah 40: 22-23 22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of
the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that
stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to
dwell in: 23 That bringeth the princes to
nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Then who
is going to argue against Him? Who can find fault with Him? Paul said, Can the
clay say to the potter, why hast thou made me thus? Truly all such railings are but vanity.
In 1
Timothy 6:15-16 we read, 15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is
the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16 Who
only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;
whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting.
Amen.
Such a God then is to be
feared. Such a God then is to be revered. Such a God then is to be Worshipped.
24 For
He is solitary in His majesty. He is unique in his Excellency, and he is
without equal in His perfection. Yet He sustains all, but is in need of none.
He gives freely to all, and yet is not enriched by any. You cannot find This
God by searching
25 Psalms
145: 3 Great is the
LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
Romans 11:33 33 O
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Ephesians
3:8-10 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints,
is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the
unsearchable riches of Christ; 9 And to make
all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of
the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10 To
the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might
be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
He can only be known and revealed to those He has chosen to receive such a wonderful revelation and knowledge. Though His creation declares Him, yet He is still the unknown God to most of the world.
26 Job 26:14 14 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how
little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can
understand?
Nor can God be known by the
intellect. Isaiah 55:8-11 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain
cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the
sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word
be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto
I sent it.
You
cannot know God by experience. You cannot know God by His creation. You cannot know God by intellect.
27 For
He is Spirit. John 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the
word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
28 And without having God's own Spirit life living in you, you will never know Him, nor perceive Him in anyway.
29 And
unless you have been chosen by God Himself to receive this great revelation of
Himself, there is no way you will ever know Him.
Matt
13: 10-17 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him,
Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He
answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For
whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but
whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore
speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear
not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them
is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and
shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For
this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and
their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be
converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed
are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For
verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see
those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things
which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Mark 4:10-12 10 And when he was alone, they that were about
him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And
he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of
God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That
seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not
understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins
should be forgiven them.
Luke
8:10 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to
know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables;
that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
30 Let's bow our heads once more in prayer. Dear gracious Father, the giver of Life and of all good things. We recognize this morning Lord, that we are but dust and You alone are the All in All. For out of you and by You and For you we have come forth to manifest your will and desire in our life. Grant to us a small portion of understanding we ask, that we might know how to live in this hour of darkness and grant to us a glimpse of the glory we shall share with Thee in the ages to come, for we ask it in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, Amen.