Worldview 02 from New Covenant Fellowship on Vimeo.

Developing a Biblical Worldview – Part Two: Prime Reality

Last week we started a new series entitled “Developing a Biblical Worldview.”

We started by defining worldview as

Sire’s definition:  “a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic construction of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being.”

So this sermon series is important because it will help us to sharpen up our worldview and define our beliefs, which will in turn have a huge impact on our decisions and actions on a moment by moment basis.  How we believe affects how we behave.

A worldview seeks to answer 7 questions:

(1)   What is prime reality?  (ontology)

(2)   What is the nature of external reality – the world and things around us? (cosmology)

(3)  What is a human being?  (anthropology)

(4)  What happens to a person after death? (metaphysics)

(5)  Why is it possible to know anything at all? (epistemology)

(6)  What is right and wrong and how do we know? (morality)

(7)  What is the meaning of human history? (teleology)

Each week we will spend some time on one question at a time. This morning we will focus in on the first.  What is prime reality?

As we seek to develop a Biblical worldview, we find that the Bible’s answer to that question is God.  God is the prime reality.

However, we are not alone.  Many other worldviews would answer that the prime reality is God.  Any worldview that says this is theistic.  Worldviews that don’t consider God are “a” theistic.  (Put an “A” in front of something and it means without – amusement)

Again, there are several worldviews that are theistic in nature; they would all say that God is the prime reality.  But each worldview will define God differently, so the real question is what do we mean by God?  Who is this God?  Is he alone?  Are there multiple gods as Greek mythology says?  Is there one God?  If so, who is he, what is he like?

Is he like a genie in a bottle who exists to grant us wishes and to serve us?  Is he a mean and capricious god?

As we seek to develop a Biblical worldview, remember that our sources are revelation, reason, experience, and tradition.

I mentioned last week that our prime means are reason and revelation (the Bible itself and logical assessment of the Bible through reasoning).  Tradition can be helpful in the following way.

When we are wrestling with a concept, we might say, “What did the early church fathers say about this topic or doctrine?  What is the traditional view?”  We might find that the answer is cohesive, coherent, consistent.  We would then be safe to embrace the traditional view.  On the other hand, if the traditional view is not cohesive, incoherent, inconsistent or contradicts scripture, we must reject it.

After all, this sermon series is entitled developing a biblical worldview, not developing a traditional worldview.  You will find that as we explore these questions one by one some of the traditional answers are problematic and we will offer alternative answers that seem to be more cohesive, coherent, and consistent.  We want to know the truth, so we will do as Jesus did.

But remember this: people like their traditions.  And when you challenge tradition, you poke a very big bear.  Remember when Jesus challenged the traditions of his day the religious elite replied…he said you nullify the word of God by your traditions.

This mornings question is not one of those.  This morning’s question has a traditional answer that I currently adhere to; one that seems to be the best explanation as I currently understand the scriptures.  So the answer I present this morning to question number one, “What is the prime reality” is consistent with tradition and most people will not want to crucify me or call me names in response.  I can’t say the same for the rest of them, however.

BUT, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a tricky topic, that I don’t have questions of my own still, or that I am the expert on this.  And it doesn’t mean that my view is not subject to change.

So let’s have some fun.

As we have already stated, God is the prime reality, but other theistic worldviews say that, so let’s sharpen up our answer and then answer a few other questions: who is god and what is he like?

YAHWEH – HE EXISTS

First of all, if we are going to define God as the bible defines him…no better yet, define sounds so impersonal.  Let me introduce you to my God, the god of the Bible.  His name is Yahweh.

The OT was originally written in Hebrew and uses three different Hebrew words for God.  The first is Elohim, which is comparable to our word “god” although, as I understand it, it is the plural form, which has an interesting implication.  I can’t speak for all translations, but when Elohim is used it is usually rendered as “God” in the NIV.

The second is Adonai, which is comparable to our word lord or master, and in the NIV it is rendered as Lord with a capital L.

And the third is Yahweh, which is God’s personal name.  Wherever the Hebrew used God’s personal name Yahweh, in the NIV, it is rendered LORD in all caps.

Names mean something and especially in Bible times.  Names say something about the individual and God’s name is no different.  We can gain insight into this by the story of the burning bush.  We have stressed the significance of the Exodus story in the bible.

In Exodus 3 we read of Moses’ encounter with God in the flames of a burning bush.  This is where God first commissions Moses and sends him to Pharaoh, king of Egypt to tell him to let the Israelites go.  Then in verse 13, we read, Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’  Then what shall I tell them?”  14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”  15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.”

In this passage, God is giving the interpretation of Yahweh as I am who I am or I am that I am.  In other words, “my name is the fact that I exist.”  He is.  He exists.  He just is.  He is self existent.  He didn’t need anyone or anything to bring him into existence; for, he is the prime reality.

MONO – ONE GOD

As I mentioned, other worldviews are theistic, but for us as Bible believing Christians, not only are we theistic, but we are MONO-theistic.  Mono meaning one.  We believe in ONE God.  Other worldviews may say that the prime reality is god but if they say there is more than one god, they are POLY theistic, meaning many gods.

Deuteronomy 6:4 is known as The Shema; it is one of, if not the most important verse in the OT to the Israelites.  The verse says Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You will probably have footnotes in your bible, which offer other possible interpretations of the text as: The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone

Regardless of the interpretation you choose, they all seem to point to the oneness of God, that there is one God, Yahweh.

MONO BUT TRIUNE

But, revelation is progressive.  As one moves through the Scriptures, more and more is revealed about reality.  More and more is revealed about the prime reality.  God revealed a lot about himself in the Law and the Prophets, but that revelation is furthered by the coming of the Messiah, Yeshua aka Jesus the Christ.

The book of Hebrews was written to the Israelites, the ones most familiar with Yahweh as theirs were the covenants and the scriptures.  The book of Hebrews opens with the following words: In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son who he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe.  The son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exa