gods?

Seattle Bible open up to 1st Corinthians chapter 8

So today can feel like a lot of 1st Corinthians text like a somewhat controversial text part of it's because of our lack of good use of language and English translations a part of it. Maybe just things that we are taught growing up that didn't have that great intent but maybe didn't really do justice to what was being said and so in order to get into an impact what I want to talk about here this morning, I do want to just briefly give a very long run-on sentence of who is God as we asked last week who is capital g o o d God he has a name anybody remember Yahweh. Awesome. Thank you. Okay. So who is this God that we worship and I'm going to read this to you. So we get it down. So we get it well for us when we use the word god capital G. We are talking about Yahweh identified in Genesis. Chapter 2 verse 4 as the Supreme God creator from him all things exist raining as Lord of lords king of kings and God of gods. That's Deuteronomy. 10:17 father son. Holy Spirit. There is none like our Yahweh. Listen to Isaiah 43 12. This is still my sentence before me know God was formed north of the Indian after me. I am the Lord and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved for claim when there was no strange Gotham on you. You are my Witnesses declares the Lord. I am God. All right redeemers. Do we have a working definition of who God is Alright, so what are we going to talk about today? Don't throw tomatoes right? I'm just going to ask for that this morning so back when I was in Bible College in Hawaii my friends and I borrowed our friend Inez car and we were making our daily Costco trip for weekly cost of trip whatever it was and we packed Five Guys into this like 1985 Ford pinto hatchback, you can get the vision skeet are hanging out the windows were just crammed in and we were about three or four miles away from our apartment when we saw a hitchhiker on the side of the road and it was just kind of that like Dumb and Dumber moment. They're going to my room for one more of those already 5. What's 6 for breaking every law possible? So the guy in the front and this guy Martin who's The Hitch-Hiker we pick him up and we can have this conversation with Martin and we say where you going. Well, I'm headed to Little Beach familiar with Maui. Oh, you're with little teacher. Maybe you're not familiar with little beach. We said we're going to go were shipped and given to my gods. And we kind of looked at each other like this is weird.

And then he goes, do you guys want to come with us we're going to dance we're going to pour out drink offerings to them and we're going to worship these guys on little beach was also implies. A lot of other stuff is going to go down. It's not good. And here's my question to you. What do we do with that church are we allowed to participate in that? Maybe maybe some of it maybe none of it? Should we participate in that are those Idols? What are they are they real and they would or they just for me as fabricated. Is there a real presence behind them? And Paul was to answer that question here for us this morning if I want to read this text, and then I want to go to the early Beginnings a scripture to help give us some insight as well in a car in 1st Corinthians chapter 8. We're just going to pick up right inverse for There for us to be eating food offered to Idols. We know that I don't have no real existence for the first part of that verse that we're going to come back to that next week, but he says they have no real existence and that there is no God but one God for although there be many so-called or better way to actually phrase that would be there. Maybe call the Gods in the heavens are on earth as indeed. There are many gods and many lords a casual reading of this would let you think Paul is schizophrenic are there gods are there no Gods. What are these guys what's going on? And it's just casual reading give us an idea. What is Paul getting that? He said there's one God the father from whom are all things for whom we exist one Lord, Jesus Christ through him are all things and through whom we I want to unpack this and get into it and then begin to apply how this is going to relate into our lives. But before I do that, if you want, you can flip over to Joe be kind of your place in the Old Testament pretty big book. If you'll find any just flip open in the back and Joe chapter 1 verse 6. Another was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came among them. Who are the sons of God?

Who would you imagine who does the scriptures talk about the sons of God to beat again in jove to one again? There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came among them twice this happened. And so there's this big question that we need to answer because in 1st Corinthians chapter 8 ball says, there's only one day off the Greek word for God. And then again, he says what there are many they are they are they off and rulers they are these gods and they have power it's so what has happened to sort of light in the blow to make sure that we are as a monotheistic as we can get in the Christian faith. We just simply written this off and said, you know who he's talking about. He's talking about angels and demons we can maybe we talk about seraphim and cherubim, but Paul had perfectly good word. You could have been sertich if you wanted to talk about those things specifically yet. He says there are many gods. Half of you might want to get up and leave now. What does that mean? And where does that come from with evident in the beginning of creation the supreme god, Yahweh. He creates and made all things exist from him all things flow from him along to him. This. Yahweh is make her everything that we look at see and know to be true, right? This is who Yahweh is he has done this last week. It's a fun word to say is Genesis chapter 1. It says in the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the Earth your English translators did a lot of hard work for you and they decided rightly. Who is it the Creed of the heavens and the Earth will it was Genesis 2:4 identified in Genesis chapter 2, so they went ahead and put a capital G. In front of that word God if you are anybody reading through the Bible this year. You are the worst ever. Alright next year going to challenge you all to read through the Bible. If you read through the Bible you were going to come through multiple passages that talk about Elohim Elohim Elohim. And in my upbringing I always thought and believed Elohim was reserved solely for God Yahweh. However, that word Elohim is a big bucket word that the Hebrews used talk about any spiritual being Go look at it. Go. Look at I believe it's in the second Samuel when the witch of Endor Sol's not supposed to conjure up any Spirits you put a ban on all that but he goes to her to find out what his face and it says that she saw and Elohim the spirit of saw in the spiritual realm you can read that he is the god of gods Exodus chapter 15 The God of all Elohim says understand from the Old Testament is that Yahweh is an Elohim, but there is no Elohim like Yahweh. So when we can do the sort of lessen, the blow is use this world that God created Spiritual Beings and the spiritual Dean's live in a realm that which we are. Steam we certainly in some fastest can participate in a non visible way in it as we pray and pursue Jesus, but that they're real they exist and they're powerful therefore in Deuteronomy chapter 6 for where it says Lord. Your God is one there's three different ways that passage can get translated and one of the ways in which it can be translated points out that it's not something something to say in the Lord. Your God is one and he's referring to this idea of Trinity or not Trinity, but he is the one CC cream God of all gods you guys following me with this is important Bible nerd stuff. So if you want to take your Bible serious and you want to be a Bible nerd you have to have this category in which there is Yahweh supreme god, and there are created Spiritual Beings that have been given power and authority. Some of them are under the Service of Yahweh. While others rebelled against Yahweh and they wreak havoc on this world and they influence is World towards evil against the ways of Jesus. It may seem like we're splitting hairs hairs here. If we're talking about Spiritual Beings want to just call them Angels and Demons. Why not? Just call them cherubim and seraphim. Why not go down those roads because when you read your Bible the Bible does not actually do that. It creates this category for these thoughts. He is good. We okay. Can we take a deep breath? So who are these God's will Paul says that would but you made my friend not my friend was my friend. He's a horrible person Martin man. Those were made out of wood and posting. Those aren't going to get you guys a adapter 42. He says out of the same piece of wood. Somebody will carve a God and then burn the other half to make food out of existence in the sense that they won't hurt or harm you but what is going to get at is there is a reality and a power behind them. There's something real in which we as followers of Jesus should not subject ourselves to in participate in and we live in a culture and a world that wants to Simply say why not are why can't I shouldn't I be able to go to a seance should not be able to go join my friend, even if they're sacrificing to some other Idol or God. It's just in the name of fun and food and fellowship. We we do it as Christians to Yahweh. Why can't we just go ahead and hang out? They're not real. We know they're not real positive. Here's the deal if there is a realness behind them and some of those Idols actually represents something terribly dark Spears. Evil that can influence and take control and will bring detriment and harm to you. Do we have this passage that says beware of this this morning? And it says Yahweh took his place in the Divine Council a month to it turns to a plural word amongst the Gods. Who are those gods in Psalm? 82 some people want to say at the Trinity the problem with that is that the gods are being judged for the evil they're doing and if any member of the Trinity is committing evil that is heresy apocracy and not Christian truth or just the rulers and leaders of Israel yet. And they what participated in the Divine Council in the heavens the very Council that job chapter 1 and chapter 2 is discussing and talking about and then in Psalm 82:6. It says you are sons of God is that reference ever used of humanity can be but is it explicitly used of those in the heavenly host and Jobe chapter 1 and Joe chapter 2. Absolutely. It is within the context of Psalm 82 what it's done is it said look there is a spiritual reality and you need to wake up and be aware. We okay with that understand that I'm not saying we're okay that it exists at the evil. That's real and present who won Paul uses this language. And when he talks about God's it's not something outside the realm of which God created but none is like Yahweh. There are none in comparison to who he is. This is not polytheism. There is one true God who Reigns above all other gods. That's how we unpack 1st Corinthians chapter 8, what does that mean for us? Vote for us today we need to realize is that these Evils are at the evil behind the evil that we see themselves as we don't wrestle against flesh and blood but against powers of darkness and principalities rulers. And so we tended to do is sort of rationalize the evil that we see no evil can exist within us and flow from us not everything that happens in this world comes from the Devil is it last week? We're having a bad car battery in our car died twice in one week. I thought the kids just left the lights on we got a tested know. You've got a battery problem. Guess what? It wasn't Satan was a bad battery, right? That's a real thing that can happen. If you don't make it to Bible study, that's not what was taking place. We can tend to overemphasize some sort of spiritual darkness. That actually isn't existent or we can under Emphasize it because of a post-modernism the Age of Enlightenment that is so influenced her thinking and we can begin to think none of this is because of Satan none of this because of evil in the world and then we just become incredibly passive to the evil going on saying, you know what to do. We should make more rules. We should legislate we should just learn to be kind of work towards a greater Utopia of mankind and the reality is we're never going to get there without Jesus as king because it's Jesus as King Alone who can bring that transformation into our lives. Can we look around at the evil today has taken place and going on? understand this morning There's a spiritual realm and there's often an evil behind the evil. Do you know what we need to join in and combating? That's how do you do that? Well, we pray we engage in that World We Gather as the Saints and we sing and we declare that Jesus is King Jesus is Lord in that Satan has no influence in this place that the demons and those that are against the ways of Jesus have no foothold in this building in our lives and our families. We come together in prayer and worship in community and in declaring and evangelism. The Christ is Lord that Christ is King. We are being invited in to participating in fighting against the evil of this world redeemers. I don't take that lightly. And there is an evil in this world and as we close out this morning, I just want to highlight as we seen this last week. We seen some pretty horrible footage that's come out of Minnesota and we seen some pretty horrible reactions that's happened all across the United States of America and for you to think for one second that is not being influenced by other evil even outside of ourselves is wrong and for us to take a passive stance and not to engage in battling in prayer and praying for Rightly dividing Justice and truth and love and mercy and kindness and compassion and where to sit back and little old white old Redmond, Oregon and think that some of these big problems that are happening out there with racial divide aren't part of our problems is missing. It is missing that yes, there is an evil and there are powers at work. And yes, we can engage through legislator legislation sees me we can engage through processes. We can also engage spiritually in prayer praying for the anger the animosity the hatred and the pain subside of the love of Jesus to move in we can engage in the conversation. We can realize that not everybody acts in ways that should have acted. For that we need to look to Jesus who is King who is Lord redeemers? We can't just be passive about that evil or any other evil that we see in this world. We must engage be participants in the kingdom of God as he's called us to rejoice in the very fact that he has saved us to change the transformed up agents of mercy and Grace to bring the kingdom of hope and love to other people. Don't invite you into that to what we're going to do. Is that band just kind of band person in Michael. Alright Ford. I want you guys to take just a little bit of time and just to pray that he first locally has been in justices in your own life. It's any forgiveness right now to those that have hurt and harmed you and wronged you. I mean for in Redmond movie theater, there's an injustice that happened in taken place and then expand that into America praying that our eyes would be open to see the desperation for King Jesus ever him to rule and him to rain in to take crisis and turn crisis into opportunity to share the love of Jesus with others. Don't you go ahead just take 30 seconds. Now if you're with somebody, you're not social distancing with you can pray with them. You can pray quietly under your breath, but I'm going to have you guys do that and I'm going to read a scripture to you before we enter into time of worship again.

Revelation 7 verse 9. It says after this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number. Memory Nation from all tribes and peoples and languages standing Before the Throne and before the lamb clothes in white robes with palm branches in their hands right now the loud voice salvation Belongs To Our God who sits on the throne and the lamb all the Angels were standing around the throne around the elders the four living creatures, they fell on their faces before the throne and worship saying amen blessing Glory wisdom Thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our god forever and ever amen. Lord we join in. the Heavenly song knowing that around the globe today. Different ways brothers and sisters of every tongue and every nation of every color are worshipping Yahweh the true God the one who is able to save. That we may feel like a small Outpost here in Redmond, Oregon, but we're a part of a much larger choir that sings into you. But even the heavens are declaring your majesty and that you are God and that you And we join the songs of angels. With others in your praise God we pray for our nation right now. We pray for how distraught it is. We pray for our leadership in our nation pray for our president in our nation asking for there to be wisdom and how to navigate multiple different Waters right now. Decisions on health and safety on Justice when to speak not to speak God help our leaders federally locally. Give them wisdom from you got a break for Revival in our lands. use us in this local community to spread the Hope in the love of Jesus who says who gives new life that has invited us in to a new way to truly be human follow after you God help us change us and use us in Jesus.