*Due to illness, I was unable to post “Monday Minutes” on Monday (yesterday). I apologize for the tardiness, but here is the Monday Minutes post for this week.

Last week, we began looking at the Articles of Faith for Zion Primitive Baptist Church. Article One states as follows:

ARTICLE ONE: WE BELIEVE IN ONE TRUE AND LIVING GOD, AND THAT THERE ARE THREE PERSONS IN THE GODHEAD, THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY GHOST, AND THESE THREE ARE ONE.

Our God is the TRUE God. Every true church ought to have a “Big God” theology, and that’s what we believe here at Zion Church! If He is the true God, this means that He is TRULY God. Many cultures have set up many different gods, all of which are merely idols of man’s own creation. But the God of the Bible is the True God!

Incidentally, this means that HE is God and You are NOT! As Hosea writes, “. . . for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee. . .” (Hos. 11:9). The Psalmist tells that “our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased” (Ps. 115:3). Are you a “Big God” Christian or a “little god” Christian? The theology of the Church should be a “Big God” theology, not a little “god” who relies on man for His purpose to be fulfilled.

Out God is also a LIVING God. All the writers of the Old Testament affirm this, as these examples prove:

Moses:  Deut. 5:26 – For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived.

Joshua:  Josh. 3:10 – And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

David:  1 Sam. 17:26 (also 36) – . . . who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

The Apostle Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, affirms this: 1 Tim. 3:15 – But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. The Book of Hebrews (which I believe was written by the Apostle Paul) also affirms this: Heb. 10:31 – It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31).

Even more importantly, the Lord Jesus Christ affirmed this! Listen to these verses:

Mat. 16:16-17 – And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ,the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

John 8:58 – Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,Before Abraham was, I am.

Rev. 1:17-18 – And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:  18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

The fact that He is a LIVING God is essential to the Church! Without the Resurrection of Christ, He would be no better than the “little gods” of this world, and we would have little hope in the world. But the Resurrection is the operative fact of our existence, which proves to us that He is greater than all the other gods of this world! You see, all the other so-called gods of earth are dead; the gods of money, fame, pleasure, sex, drugs, alcohol, work, play, video games – even the ubiquitous iPhone – are made of material things. “But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased” (Ps. 115:3)!

And because He is a Living God, we have a refuge in Him. Ps. 42:1-2 – As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? (Ps. 42:1-2). Does your soul pant after God? My soul does not pant after the little so-called gods of this world, but it indeed pants after the One True and Living God!

Next week, we will take a look at another aspect of our God: God is ONE God, but He exists as a TRINITY. We will see that this truth about God is an essential Bible doctrine that every true church ought to believe.

May the Lord bless you is my prayer.

Elder Chris McCool, Pastor