Sermonette: If God Were a Formulaic Expression – Part I

A Sermonette by The Wandering Evangelist for Eternal Affairs Media

If God Were a Formulaic Expression: Part I

Revelation 13:18 “18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

Deuteronomy 7:9 (KJV) “9 Know therefor that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them the love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.”

Science is fond of formulas, and chief among all Science is the consistent use of Mathematics, which is also steeped in formulaic construct. And what is Science but the study of creation in all of its infinitely unknown aspects by significant use of Math, but the measuring and calculative tool, thereof. Ironic, then, that Science ignores the most beautiful and meaningful of all formulaic constructs, which is the force and power behind creation, itself, even to the very existence of numbers; God, and Faith in him. There is indeed a ‘math’ which can be found present within Science’s own data about their version of creation, which absolutely confirms and depicts God’s… everything.

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This was the basis of my Doctorate Thesis, wherein, though not the thrust, but rather as byproduct of the effort, was expressed a ‘new Science;’ one showing all things defined by God, as found in the Periodic Table, and thereby in turn, revealed God. It also perfectly and directly mirrored the Word, the Holy Bible, with mathematical and scientifically verified precision, essentially showing them quite interlaced. It becomes a Rosetta to understanding creation in a whole new light, but, alas… Science is blind to Faith almost exclusively, worshiping instead the METHOD of their MADNESS. Scientists are like an artist who attempts to paint by focusing exclusively on technique, without a natural perception of beauty… lacking any ability for creative expression, and ignoring the true nature (an purpose) of the subject they are putting to canvas. Clearly, they are not dumb, but they are quite foolish.

Now the heart of both Science and Math come from the Greeks. Interesting, then, is 1 Corinthians 1:22_~27 (parens added); “22 For the Jews require a sign (proof, rather than Faith), and the Greeks (also a stand-in for all of we Gentiles) seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and uno the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called (we Christian Elect), both Jews and Greeks, (are received of) Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called (do not heed the Word): 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”

But if we were wiser than the Greeks, and yet had Faith… and could perhaps boil God down to a scientific formula or expression, it would have to include all expressions Man has ever devised or discovered by Science, for God is, again… everything, which is to say, everything we deem of value. And, for the matter, God’s ‘formula’ would even need consider and calculate for us things which are not of value, that we may have due warnings. Exampled is the first of the opening verses, which provides us with a mathematical equivalency for the ultimate evil entity of all time, on Earth, to a number. Setting aside that darker example, let us think first of what we value, and ‘do the math,’ for that.

Foremost, perhaps, is Life, itself. We value our life, the act of living. This, of course, is a function of Time, for our life runs an unknowable span of time. God, on the other hand, having given us life in the first place, is not concerned only with our life on Earth, but our life after death, which many of us sadly do not think of at all, or often enough, as we wander through our corporal lives in the World. But God, being omnipresent in time and space, knew us before we were even born, and the number of our days, for our very life comes from him, as a precious gift. How then can we ignore what he has to say to us about life, either in the here and now, or the hereafter? Jeremiah 1:5  “5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thous camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” While this was God speaking to Jeremiah in preface to rendering him a prophet, it is true of us all.

Sidebar: to make the point, I ask: what was a prophet in that day, but a special kind of evangelist, one who, instead of calling one to Faith by citing tenants of Judaism, foretold of things mysterious, things often tied to Faith’s tenants in useful ways, or which were messages sent forwards in time with like value to those in the future, where the unfolding of the prophesy would have clearer import and impact? As such, they were often the ‘signs’ the Jews called for, and the ‘proofs’ the Greeks would have found hard to ignore. And so, as God called Jeremiah to evangelize, so does he call us all, as in 2 Timothy 4:2, “2 Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”

In this matter (life), then, we see it is a gift of God, and we have but a time to enjoy it, while we can; time is indeed an unknown but critical variable, as seen in James 4:14; “14Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” This being so, then, we should be very pleased to learn that there is an afterlife, one far better and without the troubles we find prevalent in this life. Indeed, the life and death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ (the events key-most to defining the Gospel), prove it so, as often summarized in Scripture, simply exampled in John 3:16, “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believers in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

What a wondrous thing, everlasting life — a future thing so precious that it ought be more on our minds than our daily problems. And of course, life cannot be without first being created, and our Lord, then, is the creator, not just of us, but of all things which exist, seen and unseen… an obvious descriptive of God, the Universe, and everything. The end of life is also part of life; death. We see this aspect of God in two of the names he is known by; the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. And while all material things are corruptible, decay, or destroyed over time, for us, there is indeed the physical ending, but with a choice of a spiritual eternal life in Heaven, or eternal death in Hell.

We have barely glimpsed the surface of a deep topic, and already, if paying attention with an inquisitive mind, we have before us many clues as to what constitutes life, in God’s view. It would behoove us to insure we grasp these things, because for us, God’s view is the only view of consequence, if we value eternal life. Our second opening verse is the wakeup call that sums this as being the case. Firstly, the Book of Deuteronomy (a Greek word which relates to ‘second law’) is Moses imparting final instructions and laws to the Israelites just before they are allowed to finally enter the Promised Land. The first ‘Mosaic Law’ was delivered with the Ten Commandments, and the second was to become the ‘exhaustive ordinances,’ thereof. A central tenant of all law, is always a binding agreement, also known as a contract, or a covenant, as seen in the verse.

Indeed, all laws in America are based upon a Covenant called a Constitution (be it of the United States, or of any individual State of the Union), which in turn can empower Cities to establish local Laws. God has always dealt with Man by exactly such a means, an agreement that he would provide for our general well being in the now and in the hereafter, if we would agree to love and obey him… which of course, we fail to do, exceedingly often… even on purpose, at times. How appropriate, then, that God specifies 1,000 generations:

The number 1,000 in Bible Numerology has a meaning: “Divine completeness, Father’s glory, Alpha and Omega.” Think of it as the seal placed upon the covenant; the authority and promise of God’s agreement with us, which certifies God’s faithfulness to the promise, to perfection. But alas… it also reflects the impossibility of our ability to meet our end of the agreement, due our imperfection. For not even one generation has ever kept the faith, as required. And, without going into detail, here, the Bible makes clear that we ought not expect to have 1,000 generations on Earth, before Judgment Day comes, for our having failed in the effort. We have broken that contract, and are in default. Our corporal lease on life as we know it is at risk, and foreclosure is imminent. The penalty due, is terrible, and quite final; DEATH, both carnal, and… for those not in Christ, spiritual.

So then, with Life, comes a responsibility to observe and heed several other key variables, many of which we don’t normally associate with life, directly, unless in deep thought . There are those we do associate: time as a critical limiting determinant, love, at least of self, and as a desire to enjoy the love of and by others, and from this, reproduction (generations) for a family of some useful lineage through time. But the less associated are far more important: obedience to the Law established by covenant, that we love and obey God, with the expectation of judgment and punishment for our failures. All these things help define a start for God’s ‘formula.’

By this, we see, Life is a minefield, amid which we are running with scissors, often wearing blindfolds.

We cannot hold up our end of the agreement, no matter how hard we try. This is the nature of sinners, a label we all justly bear. But God is merciful, by which comes the word, Grace, which is in simplest terms his forbearance of judgment’s wrath for a time, and which can include a means for outright forgiveness of any transgression, in his eyes. Grace, a critical factor in the formula, shows God’s perfect righteousness, in that it enables him to remain true to his side of the covenant regardless of our failures in our side. If nothing else, it all the more shows our due recompense for sin, and our unworthiness of his continued love and blessings.

In Mosaic law, grace was achieved through ceremonial blood sacrifice of perfectly unblemished (most valuable) livestock, in atonement. Those animals died to mediate or intervene, and bridge the impossible chasm between an earned death-debt to God, and the perfect righteousness demanded if to gain salvation. Death was due for the sins committed, and death was delivered, by substitute. And yet, of course, the Jews fouled that process; the Pharisees and Scribes became corrupt, and the Temples became a place for money changers and the selling for profit of unblemished animals. Even the very place and means for practice of the Faith had become a den for sin. No wonder Jesus overturned the money changer’s tables and shouted them down to their shame.

Then came the Gospel, where the prophesied Christ would become our substitute sacrifice: the unblemished Lamb of God who willingly sacrificed himself for all our sins. His holy blood was not only shed for us, but to become the seal of a new covenant with God, one we call the New Testament, wherein a new promise was made, one which provides an easier means to access Grace, and which offers a Sure Hope and Peace born of Faith in Jesus Christ, as our personal Savior.

In summary then, of Part I of this series, we see that merely contemplating the possibility of a formula for God, drives us back to the Gospel, and the greater body of the Word, for the New Testament has greatest meaning and yields greater understanding, when studied within the context of the Old Testament… they are quite tied together, and point to one another, for relevance, time and again. If we seek to know God, we best know him by the totality of his own revelations to us. In Part II, we will dig a little deeper, for there are other key things of value to consider, and each has a lesson to offer. If God does have a formula, it is far more complex, than we have glimpsed.

Our closing prayer is far more simple: “Dear Father in heaven, open our hearts through your Word, and drive us through the Spirit to seek, find, and treasure the true knowledge and wisdom, therein. Help us to then in turn testify of it to those in great need of such understanding, that we may all keep to the straight and narrow path, without blindfold, at a steady pace, with no dangers in hand.” Amen.

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About Scripture quotes: herein, unless otherwise noted, the King James Version of the Bible is employed (KJV).