Who Sinned First, Adam Or Eve?

There is sometimes confusion over who committed the first sin.  Was it Adam or Eve?  

(1 Timothy 2:13-14)"For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." (ESV) 

This verse shows plainly that it was Eve who sinned first.  Eve was deceived and became a transgressor.  She was created to be a helper for Adam, but she usurped his role as head and leader and was deceived.  

(Romans 5:12)"Therefore just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" (ESV) 

Sin came into the world through Adam even though Eve sinned before Adam did.  Adam had a leadership role with humanity that Eve did not have.  Death came into the world through the sin of Adam.  In a sense all humans were in Adam when he sinned, therefore all humans sinned and so death spread to all mankind.  All humans are born sinners, therefore we sin because we are sinners.    

Are People Basically Good?

 Most would answer yes, people are basically good.  But let us look at how the Bible answers the question of the basic goodness of man.  

(Psalm 51:5)"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did by mother conceive me."  

(Ecclesiastes 7:20)"Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." 

(Isaiah 64:6)"We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment." 

(Jeremiah 17:9)"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" 

(John 3:19)"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil." 

(John 8:34)"Jesus answered them, Truly, Truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin." 

(Romans 3:10-11)"as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God." 

(Romans 3:23)"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," 

So we see that people are not basically good, but basically sinful.  We are all sinners in need of a savior.  Salvation is found in Christ alone.  

(All Scripture quotations from the ESV)

Understanding A Christian Worldview

 A worldview is your philosophy of life and the world.  It is composed of the foundational beliefs you hold, that shape how you see everything else.  We will take a brief look at the basics of a Christian worldview.  

Metaphysics

-What is ultimate reality?

-(Genesis 1:1)"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (ESV)

-Here we see the Creator/creature distinction.  God is the Creator and everything else is creation.  God is God and you are not.  

Epistemology

-How do you know what you know?

-(Proverbs 1:7)"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (ESV) 

-True knowledge depends on God who knows all things and controls all things.  We must think God's thoughts after him.  

Ethics

-How should we live?

-(Exodus 20:1-17) The Ten Commandments

-(Matthew 5-7) The Sermon On The Mount

-Ethics and morality are rooted in the law and character of God.  

What Are The Keys To Defending The Christian Faith?

 The defense of the faith is known as apologetics.  So what are the keys to doing Christian apologetics?  

(1) Learn the Bible

(2) Learn how to think

If you know the Bible and you know how to think, you can be a good Christian apologist. 

The Origin Of The Soul

 There are two main views held by Christians in regards to the origin of the soul.  They are creationism and traducianism.  Both of these views are held by fine Bible teachers.  

Creationism- This view holds that God creates the human soul directly, out of nothing, and joins it to the body sometime between conception and birth (most would say at conception).  In this view God is the primary cause and he does not use the secondary cause of human procreation in creating the soul.  Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin held this view.  

Traducianism- This view holds that the soul as well as the body is transmitted from parents to children through the procreation process.  God is the primary cause of the creation of the soul but he uses the secondary cause of human procreation to bring it about.  This view was held by Martin Luther and Jonathan Edwards.  

In support of creationism Psalm 127:3 says, "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward." Psalm 139:13 says, "you knitted me together in my mother's womb." And Isaiah 42:5 says, God gives breath and spirit to people.  

I favor traducianism myself.  Genesis 5:3 says Adam fathered a son in his own likeness and image.  This probably includes the soul.  Genesis 2:1-3 says God finished and rested from his creation work.  This would seem to indicate that he would not create the human soul out of nothing.  Finally there is the transmission of sin from Adam to all other humans (Romans 5:12-21).  Traducianism explains this better than creationism.  In creationism God would seem to directly create a human soul that is sinful.  In traducianism the soul and body which are both sinful, are transmitted through human procreation.  God often uses secondary causes to accomplish his purpose. 

How Do You Answer An Unbeliever Who Rejects The Bible?

 How do you answer an unbeliever who rejects the Bible?  The book of Proverbs provides us with a wise answer.  

(Proverbs 26:4-5)"Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.  Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." (ESV) 

The unbeliever is called a fool because of his rejection of God, not because he is deficient as a person.  These verses provide a two step process in answering the unbeliever.  

In the first step we are told not to answer a fool according to his folly.  It is often said that Christians cannot use the Bible when doing apologetics (defending the faith).  This approach is actually answering a fool according to his folly.  

The unbeliever is not operating on neutral ground because there is no neutral ground.  He is assuming or presupposing a foundation of unbelief.  One must have a starting point of belief or unbelief.  The Christian must operate on the foundation of belief upholding the authority of God and his Word.  The Bible is the ultimate and final authority, it is not dependent on any other authority for it's validation.  Scripture is self attesting, there is no greater authority to which it can appeal.  

In the second step we are told to answer a fool according to his folly.  For the sake of argument we are to assume the worldview of the unbeliever and do an internal critique.  All worldviews based on unbelief will ultimately end in contradiction, nonsense, and absurdity.  

Only the Christian worldview provides the necessary preconditions for intelligibility.  It is what must be in place in order for anything else to even be.  Apart from the Biblical worldview nothing even makes sense. 

A Christian View Of Death

 With the recent death of my mother I have thought a lot about death recently.  The prevailing secularism of our society tells us death is normal and natural.  Some believe this world is all there is, while others hold to some vague notion of heaven.  For the right answers we turn to the ultimate authority, God and his Word.  

Death is not normal or natural as the secularists teach us.  Man was not created to die, death was not part of God's good creation (Genesis 1-2).  Death came into the world because of the sin of man (Romans 5:12, Genesis 2:15-17, Genesis 3).  Death is an intrusion into God's good creation and an enemy to be defeated.  

How did Jesus view death?  At the death of his friend Lazarus we read that, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).  We also read that Christ was, "deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled" (John 11:33).  From this passage we see that Jesus mourned the death of his friend and that he was even angry at the evil of death.  Jesus is God and he was without sin so these reactions to death are correct.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26).  Christ through his life, death, and resurrection has defeated death, sin, and the devil.  

(1 Corinthians 54b-57)"Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (ESV) 

At death the soul of the true Christian goes to heaven and then at the last day the believer receives a resurrection body that will be united to his soul (1 Corinthians 35-49).  Christians will be in heaven where there will be no more pain, suffering, sin, or death (Revelation 21:1-4).  Unbelievers will go to hell and face the wrath of God for eternity (Matthew 25:41, Revelation 14:9-11).     

Can God Create A Stone That Is Too Heavy For Him To Lift?

Skeptics sometimes pose this question to Christians in order to try to disprove the existence of God who is omnipotent (all powerful).  If the Christian answers no then the skeptic says there is something God cannot do. If the Christian answers yes then the skeptic  also says there is something God cannot do.  

First of all this question does not take into account God as a whole.  It tries to isolate one characteristic of God from all his other characteristics.  God is omnipotent but he is also good, righteous, just, holy, and immutable (does not change).  God can do anything he desires to do.  He does not desire to violate his own character.   

Of course this question also violates logic and reason.  Logic and reason come from the mind of God.  God does not contradict his own self.  God cannot cease to be God.  The skeptic's question is basically saying that if God cannot cease to be God, then it proves that he does not exist.  Of course this is just nonsense and absurdity.  And this is what the skeptic is left with when he rejects the Christian God.  

What About Those Who Never Hear The Gospel?

 So what happens to those people who never hear about Jesus?  Do they go to heaven or hell?  Some Christian leaders have said they will be judged on the amount of light or religious knowledge they have received.  But is this view the right view?  

(Romans 1:19-20)"For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse." (ESV) 

We see that all people have knowledge of the one true God, so they are without excuse.  Worshiping Allah or following the teachings of Buddha or anyone else is not acceptable light,instead it is idolatry.  

(Acts 4:12)"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (ESV) 

(John 14:6)"Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." (ESV)  

Scripture clearly teaches that salvation is found in Christ alone.  All other paths lead to hell, not heaven.  

(Romans 10:17)"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (ESV)

The answer for those who have never heard the gospel is to send missionaries to them.  Jesus is there only hope.  Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

Knowledge And Foolishness

 (Proverbs 1:7)"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."  (ESV)  

This verse provides the central teaching of the book of Proverbs.  In Proverbs we have the constant contrast between wisdom and folly.  

God is sovereign and omniscient.  He is in control of all things and he knows all things. Therefore God is the foundation of all knowledge.  

If one does not presuppose the God of the Bible then he cannot even have knowledge.  Without God it would be impossible to know anything.  Sinful man tries to set himself up as the ultimate standard and authority but this is an impossibility.  

Unbelievers must leave their own worldview and borrow from the Christian worldview in order to have a basis for knowledge.  They cannot live consistently within their own worldview. 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom.  The rejection of God and the exaltation of the self is the height of foolishness.    

Why Should I Care About Theology?

Many people including many professing Christians find theology boring.  Frankly the reason they find theology boring is because they are bored with God.  The liberals of old proclaimed Christianity is life not doctrine.  Unfortunately many modern evangelicals seem to echo those sentiments.  

Theology is basically the study of God.  Theology comes from two Greek words, "theos" meaning God and "logos" meaning word.  We might define theology as knowledge of God or knowing God.  Theology involves us learning to think God's thoughts after him.  

While the liberal slogan that Christianity is life not doctrine is untrue, the reverse is also not true.  Christianity is life based on doctrine.  True love for God involves a desire to know God and to know about him.  Theology is necessary to live a godly life.  We must know what God is like, what he desires, what he loves, what he hates, what he thinks.  Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God and this is impossible without knowledge of God.  

(Matthew 22:37, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5) "And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  (ESV)

We are to love the Lord our God with all of our being including our mind.  Being anti-intellectual is not pleasing to God and mindless emotionalism does not honor him.  We must love God with our mind in order to glorify him.  

We can know God because he has revealed himself to us.  He is there and he is not silent.  There is general revelation (the world) and special revelation (the Bible).  General revelation involves creation, the conscience of man, and our sense of morality. We all have a sense of the divine.  God's eternal power and divine nature are plain to everyone.  But general revelation is limited in what it reveals to us about God.  

God is more fully revealed to us in special revelation.  We learn much more specifically about God from the Bible.  We know God in a more personal way through the Scripture.  There we find man's problem and God's solution (the gospel).  In the Bible we discover truth and reality.  Our minds are set straight and we see things as they really are.  As we learn to think God's thoughts after him we should also grow in holiness.  

True worship, devotion, godliness, and morality must be based on sound theology.  So anyone who loves God and desires to glorify him must care about theology.    

You And God

Many people today seem to be confused about who they are and who God is.  A correct understanding of this matter is of the utmost importance.  You cannot know who you are if you do not know who God is.  So we will look at some truths about you and God.  


God is God and you are not.

God is the Creator, you are the creation.  

You are dependent on God, he is not dependent on you.  

God is in control of all things and you are not.  

God is all powerful and you are not.  

God judges you, you do not judge God.  

You must answer to God, he does not answer to you.  

You are accountable to God, he is not accountable to you.  

God knows all things and you do not.  

God is the ultimate authority and you are not.  

God is the source of truth, you are not.  

Right and wrong are determined by God, not by you.  

God is holy and you are sinful.  

Salvation is the work of God alone, it is not you and God working together.  

In salvation God chooses you, you do not choose him.  

The glory belongs to God alone, he does not share the glory with you.  

God is God and you are not!  


For a correct view of God and ourselves we must turn to the Bible which is God's revelation to us.  Only then will you see clearly who God is and who you are.  

The Problem Of Evil

The problem of evil can be stated in the following way.  
(1) God is all powerful
(2) God is all good
(3) Yet evil exists

Unbelievers often say the existence of evil proves that Christianity is inconsistent and untrue.  They state that if God was all powerful and all good then evil could not exist.  But the Bible does teach that God is all powerful and all good while the existence of evil is a reality.  If we add another statement we can remove the inconsistency found here.  

(1) God is all powerful
(2) God is all good
(3) Evil Exists
(4) God has a morally sufficient reason for allowing evil

When we add statement 4 we now have the total picture of what the Bible actually teaches.  The logical inconsistency is now removed.  Christianity is consistent and true.  We may not like this explanation but it is reality. We do not fully understand why evil exists because we do not see the entire picture as God does.  We must trust God and realize that the existence of evil brings glory to God.  There is a good reason for the existence of evil it has just not been fully revealed to us.  The secret things belong to the LORD our God (Deuteronomy 29:29).  A good example is the crucifixion of Christ.  With the crucifixion a great evil was committed by men.  But God brought about a greater good, namely the salvation of his people, which also brought him glory.  

We must point out that the real problem of evil does not belong on Christians but on unbelievers.  The unbeliever has no basis for anything even being good or evil in his worldview.  He has no ultimate moral authority or standard by which to determine good and evil.  The unbeliever could not be consistent with his worldview and even call murder or child abuse wrong.  In order for the unbeliever to speak in terms of good and evil he must jump out of his own worldview and jump into the Christian worldview.  He must borrow from Christianity in order to live his life and deal with reality.  

The Christian has a basis for good and evil. The ultimate moral authority and standard is God and his Word.  Good is that which is consistent with God's character and law.  While evil is that which violates God's character and law.  Unbelievers can offer no more than a mere opinion because they have no ultimate authority to which they can turn.  If the unbeliever was consistent he could only say "so what?" to everything that happens.   

Every time an unbeliever speaks of the problem of evil he actually proves the existence of God.  He could not even talk about a problem of evil if God did not exist.  When the unbeliever speaks of the logical inconsistency of Christianity he again proves the existence of God because there is no basis for logic without God.  If God did not exist you would not be able to prove anything.  You would be left with nothing more than absurdity.  

The unbeliever cannot escape the fact that he is made in God's image and lives in God's world.  In his heart of hearts he knows that the God of the Bible exists.  The unbeliever simply suppresses the truth about God in unrighteousness.  All unbelievers need to repent (have a change of mind) and trust in Christ alone for salvation.  Then their minds will be renewed and they will be in line with reality.  

Only Christianity provides the necessary preconditions for intelligibility.  In other words only the Christian worldview makes sense of you world and fits reality.  Christianity is true because of the impossibility of the contrary.  All other worldviews are inconsistent, contradictory, and reduce to absurdity.  

What Is A Worldview?

Everyone has a worldview whether they realize it or not.  Our worldview comes from how we answer the most important questions in life.  A worldview is composed of three basic elements.  They are metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics.  This is not as hard to understand as it may seem.  We must learn to think in terms of worldview, and of course having the right one is of the utmost importance. 

First of all metaphysics or ontology deals with ultimate reality, our view of God, and the nature of man.  Epistemology deals with knowledge, that is how do we know what we know.  Ethics deals with morality, what is right and wrong, what is good or evil.  How we answer these basic questions then determines our worldview.  Our worldview shapes our life and thought.  We interpret all our experiences through our worldview.  

Christians must learn to think in terms of worldview instead of just in bits and pieces. We must see Christianity as an entire thought and life system that gives us true answers and reality.  People reject Christianity and hold different views on issues because they have a non Christian worldview.  They operate on different assumptions that they have made regarding ultimate reality, knowledge, and ethics.  

The Christian worldview is the only worldview that provides the necessary preconditions for intelligibility.  In other words only the Christian worldview makes sense of your world.  All other worldviews ultimately collapse because they do not fit reality.  They cannot be lived out consistently.  Christians need not fear those holding other worldviews because all non Christian worldviews are false and the Christian worldview is true.   

Jesus Is The Only Way To Heaven

Jesus is the only way to heaven, yes the only way.  Exclusive truth claims like this are not popular in our modern culture.  In fact claiming that there is only one way to heaven is down right offensive.  But we cannot go by our own opinions or by what makes us feel good.  Since God is God he is the ultimate authority.  So we must look to him for the answers.  God has revealed himself to us in the Bible.  So we look to the Word of God to find the truth.  

(John 14:6) "Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." (ESV) 

We must notice that Jesus says I am the way, not a way.  We can only come to the Father through Jesus, all other ways lead to hell.  All roads do not lead to heaven.  

(Acts 4:12) "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (ESV) 

Salvation is found in Christ alone.  All other names such as Muhammad, Buddha, and Joseph Smith lead to hell.  Christianity is true therefore all other religions are false. 

(Romans 3:10) "as it is written:  None is righteous, no, not one;"  (ESV)

(Romans 3:23) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  (ESV) 

Many think that they will go to heaven because they are good people but this is not true.  As we can see there is no one who is righteous.  We are all sinners and even when we do good things they are not done for the glory of God.  

(Hebrews 9:27) "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,"  (ESV) 

We die and then comes judgment.  It is final, we will either go to heaven or hell for eternity.  All people will not eventually go to heaven.  

(Matthew 7:13-14) "Enter by the narrow gate.  For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."  (ESV) 

The majority of people are not going to heaven.  Salvation is found only in Jesus and this is the narrow way.  The wide gate includes all the other paths that people choose.  

(John 3:16) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (ESV)   

We can go to heaven, this is the good news.  God sent Jesus his only, unique Son to save his people from their sins.  All who repent of theirs sins and believe in Christ alone for salvation have eternal life.  

How Do You Answer A Fool?

(Proverbs 26:4-5) "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.  Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." (ESV)

First we must define what is meant by the term fool.  It is not name calling or a personal attack.  It speaks to a person's moral orientation and not to his intellectual orientation.  A fool is anyone who denies the existence of God and does not honor him.  We do not just mean someone who denies the existence of a god but anyone who denies the existence of the God of the Bible.  In other words all unbelievers are fools because they reject the truth of the Bible.  The God of the Bible is Trinity, he is the infinite, personal Creator.  

You should not answer a fool according to his folly or you will also be foolish.  You should not accept his presuppositions or basic assumptions about God, man, knowledge, and ethics.  Instead you must expose his worldview as false showing him his foolishness.  

The Christian must not compromise on the authority and truthfulness of Scripture.  He must presuppose the Bible as truth whenever he deals with the unbeliever.  The Bible defends itself, it is self attesting.  There is no neutral ground between the believer and the unbeliever.  The unbeliever rejects the authority of the Bible from the outset and instead assumes his own human reason or sense perception as authoritative.  He is worshiping false gods.

We should not set aside the Bible and try to provide evidence and make arguments for the existence of a god.  The unbeliever already has the evidence that God is there.  Creation itself and man's own constitution testify to the existence of God.  They testify not to the existence of a god but to the existence of the Christian God.  In their heart of hearts all people know that God exists,  unbelievers are simply suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.  They refuse to honor God as God, exchanging the truth for a lie.  Claiming to be wise they have become fools (See Romans 1:18-25).  

The Bible must be accepted as authoritative and true at our starting point.  Only the Christian worldview provides the necessary preconditions for intelligibility.  It is the only worldview that makes sense of your world.  Only the Christian worldview is livable and fits reality.  All other worldviews reduce down to absurdity.  Unbelievers cannot live out their worldview consistently.  They must borrow from the Christian worldview in order to live their lives.  

The unbeliever must be pressed to admit to what he already knows, namely that the God of the Bible exists.  The unbeliever needs to repent (have a change of mind) and place his faith in Christ alone for salvation.  Ultimately this can only be brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit.  

The Power Of Negative Thinking

Many modern evangelicals will be shaken by the mere thought of negative thinking.  The positive thinking of Norman Vincent Peale, Robert Schuller, and Joel Osteen is definitely not Biblical.  And positive, encouraging Christian radio often does not give you the entire picture.  It should be noted that the Bible does not really speak in terms of positive/negative.  It speaks more of right/wrong, good/evil, and righteous/unrighteous.  The positive/negative category probably comes more from our own therapeutic culture.  But in reality negative thinking is sometimes a good thing.  

The condition of man is definitely not a positive thing.  When Adam the representative of the human race sinned by disobeying God he plunged the entire human race under the sin curse.  We are all born sinners (Psalm 51:5, Psalm 58:3), love darkness instead of light (John 3:19), our righteous deeds are filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9), none is righteous (Romans 3:10), all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), and we were by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). 

This is what theologians call total depravity.  This does not mean we are as bad as we could possibly be, but that our entire being is effected by our sin.  Because we have sinned against a holy God we face his wrath and deserve to go to hell.  Because we are dead in our sins we have no desire for God and continue in disobedience.  

This sure is a lot of negativity, it is most definitely not positive thinking.  In fact it is downright discouraging.  If we were left here we would be in total despair.  But thankfully this is not the end of the matter. 

But God in his great love chose to save a people for himself.  He draws us to himself (John 6:44), has made us alive (Ephesians 2:5), and caused us to be born again (1 Peter 1:3).  God helps those who cannot help themselves.  When we are dead in our sins we are unable to respond to God.  Salvation is totally the work of God.  The only thing we contribute is our sin.  Salvation is completely by God's grace, he is sovereign over the entire process.  

All those God draws to himself respond with faith and repentance.  They believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  They trust in Christ alone for salvation.  Jesus lived a perfect life without sin, died on the cross to pay for the sins of his people, and was raised from the dead victorious over sin and death.  Jesus takes our sin on himself and his perfect righteousness is credited to us (2 Corinthians 5:21).  

All this negative thinking actually leads us to the most positive thing of all, that is truth and reality.  We realize we are all sinners in need of a Savior.  We realize that Jesus is the only way to heaven.  We realize our true condition as sinners who are totally unable to save ourselves.  We are totally dependent on God to save us.  It is by his grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.   And to God alone be the glory.    

Jesus Is God (The Gospel Of John)

The Gospel of John proclaims Jesus is God.  Throughout it is very strong on the deity of Christ.  We will look at a few verses from John's Gospel.  

(John 1:1-2) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God."  (ESV)  

"The Word" relates to the Old Testament in the sense that God spoke, he spoke things into existence.  He is a personal God.  "The Word" is also superior to the Greek concept of an impersonal force that orders the universe.  

The Word is Jesus.  He has existed eternally, has a personal relationship with God the Father, and Jesus is God.  We see that two different persons are referred to as God.  We begin to see the teaching of the Trinity.  There is one God in three persons. That is three persons of one essence (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).   The Jehovah's Witnesses translate the phrase as "was a god" instead of "was God".  But the context clearly shows that the correct translation is "was God".  

(John 1:3) "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."  (ESV) 

Jesus was not created, all things were made through him.  All that exists besides God was created.  Jesus is the Creator, therefore he is God.  

(John 1:18) "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known."  (ESV) 

In this verse God is spoken of as two persons just as he was in John 1:1.  We see both the Father and the Son.  Some translations have "only Son" instead of "only God" but "only God" is found in the earliest manuscripts.  Jesus became man (see John 1:14), he has most fully revealed God to us.  Jesus is both fully God and fully man.  

(John 20:28) "Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"  (ESV) 

Thomas had doubted the resurrection of Christ but when Jesus appeared to him and showed him the marks in his hands and side he proclaimed, "My Lord and my God!"  Jesus accepts being called Lord and God because that is who he is.  This verse is one of the strongest affirmations of the deity of Christ in the New Testament.  Some cults who deny the deity of Christ have tried to say it was just a statement of astonishment by Thomas.  Basically saying that Thomas was taking the name of the Lord in vain.  But this interpretation is of course nonsense.  John's purpose in writing the book is that others will proclaim Jesus is their Lord and God.  

(John 20:31) "but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."  (ESV) 

Does God Ordain Evil?

Does God ordain or decree evil?  Most modern American Christians would immediately say no.  But is the view of much of modern evangelicalism actually correct?  We will focus on the crucifixion of Christ to find the answer.  

(Acts 2:23) "this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men." (ESV)

(Acts 4:27-28) "for truly in this city there were gathered together against you holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." (ESV) 

There has been no greater evil than the crucifixion of Christ.  Yet it was foreknown and foreordained by God, he predestined it to take place.  It was God's sovereign will that the crucifixion of Jesus take place.  Yet at the same time humans were responsible for crucifying Christ.  He was crucified by the hands of lawless men.  Herod, Pilate, Gentiles, and the peoples of Israel were all held responsible.  The miscarriage of justice, the mockery, the beatings, and the crucifixion were all evils that humans were responsible for even though God ordained them to take place.  

It is important to distinguish between the two wills of God.  First there is his sovereign will which cannot be violated or thwarted.  Whatever he decrees will happen.  Second there is his moral will which can be violated.  God's moral will is violated whenever anyone sins or does evil.  

With the crucifixion of Christ we see God's moral will being violated while we see his sovereign will being carried out.  We see Judas Iscariot, Herod, Pilate, Gentiles, and peoples of Israel committing great evil by their own free choice and being held responsible for it.  While at the same time it was all part of God's predetermined plan. 

So God ordains or decrees that evil take place and yet he is not responsible for it. God is not the author of evil, men are responsible for their own evil acts.  We see that the Bible presents the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of humans as being fully compatible.  

So how can God ordain evil and not be responsible for it?  How can God be totally sovereign over everything and humans still make free choices and be held responsible for them?  We cannot fully understand, it belongs to the mysteries of God.  The finite cannot fully grasp the infinite.  God uses human agents to accomplish his plan and purpose.  There is an ultimate purpose for the existence of evil and it brings glory to God. 

(Deuteronomy 29:29) "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." (ESV)    

Is God In Control Of All Things?

Introduction
Do things just happen?  Is it just luck, fortune, or fate?  Do things happen for no reason?  Does God just deal with the major things and not care about the small things?  Is God dependent on what human beings do?  Does he just react to the free choices made by humans?  For the answers we will turn to the Bible to see what God has revealed to us.

Small And Insignificant Things
In (Matthew 10:28-31) we are told that a sparrow does not fall to the ground apart from God and that the hairs of our heads are numbered.  The sparrow was considered to be of little value and God is even in control and concerned with it.  The hairs of our head are even numbered showing that God is concerned with even the smallest details.  God is in control of even the things we consider small and insignificant so we should have no fear.  

The Elements, The Weather
(See Job 37:9-13, Psalm 147:8, Psalm 148:8)
The rain, snow, ice, storms, and even tornadoes and hurricanes are under the sovereignty of God.  None of these things happen without God decreeing that they happen.  

Pain, Suffering, and Physical Disabilities
(Exodus 4:11) "Then the LORD said to him, Who had made man's mouth?  Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind?  Is it not I, the LORD?"  (ESV) 

This verse may be shocking to many modern evangelicals.  But it is indeed God who is sovereign over physical suffering and pain. All these things ultimately bring glory to God in some way even though we may not understand it.  (See also John 9:3)

Luck, Fortune, Chance
(Proverbs 16:33) "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD."  (ESV) 

Saying the lot is cast into the lap is basically equivalent to the rolling of the dice today.  Things like these are even under the sovereignty of God.  We would consider the roll of the dice as luck but there is no such thing as luck, or fortune, or chance.  God is in control so things do not just happen for no reason. 

People And Plans
(Proverbs 19:21) "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand." (ESV)

(Proverbs 21:1) "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD, he turns it wherever he will." (ESV)   

God is sovereign even over people and the plan that they have.  No matter what the plans of a man are, the purpose of the LORD will prevail.  God's will cannot be thwarted by humans.  Even a king who was considered to be sovereign on earth is under the control of God.  

Good And Bad Things
(Isaiah 45:7) "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things." (ESV) 

(Lamentations 3:37-38) "Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?  Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?" (ESV) 

God is in absolute control of good things and even bad things.  We easily credit God with the good things that happen but we act as if God does not really have control of the bad things.  We should keep in mind that none of us deserve good from God but only his judgment because we have all rebelled against him.  Even the bad things ultimately bring glory to God.  

God's Will And Purpose
(Isaiah 46:10b) "My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose." (ESV)

(Isaiah 46:11b) "I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass, I have purposed, and I will do it." (ESV) 

God's purpose and will cannot be thwarted by anyone or anything.  God is not dependent on humans and the choices they make, he does not just react to what they have done.  God never has to resort to plan B.  All that happens is under the sovereignty of God.  

Conclusion
God is sovereign over all things both big and small.  Humans, nations, the elements, pain and suffering, events and history are all under his control.  Everything that happens is part of God's plan and purpose.  His sovereign will cannot be violated.  We are wrong to think that things happen for no reason.  There is no such thing as luck, or fortune, or chance, or fate.  Saying we need to let go and let God is wrong also.  Think about this statement, do humans let God do anything?  God is the one who is in control of all things at all times.  It is also wrong to say it is in God's hands now.  It has been in God's hands all along.  God is absolutely sovereign over all things, they ultimately work for the glory of God.  The world is God's theater of glory as Calvin said.