God Speaks-- Today! Making Known the Unknowable: God's Greenhouse, #4

By Tom Swartzwelder

The three most critical questions of our age are, "Is God speaking to us? If yes, how is God making Himself known? How can I receive God's message?"

We don't have to wonder, though, because God has taken the initiative to communicate with each one of us. God the Creator not only wants us to know Him but also to know ourselves, our world, and our future. When we listen to God's words—not just hear them—they have the power to transform us, our families, and our churches.

Thoroughly researched and presented with clarity, God Speaks—Today! leads believers to discover how and why they should trust and treasure God's words above all others.

God has spoken. He is still speaking today, making known the unknowable. Are you listening? Do you know how? Serving God effectively depends on it.

The best place to learn and grow is in God's Greenhouse!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tom Swartzwelder
• Release date: Nov 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201561277

Book preview

Pedro, Ohio

God Speaks—Today!

Making Known the Unknowable

Visit Tom Swartzwelder's website: godsgreenhouse.net.

© 2021 by Tom Swartzwelder. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations (maximum of 500 words). Contact: [e-mail]

Many Scripture quotations are the author's own translation or paraphrase.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Used by Permission. HCSB ©1999,2000,2002,2003,2009 Holman Bible Publishers. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture marked NASB taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Flag To Follow © 1959 John W. Peterson Music Company. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Cover Design: Paula Wiseman

God's Greenhouse Books by Tom Swartzwelder

God's Greenhouse: How to Grow People God's Way

15 Spiritual Laws to Grow People

Sanctification: How God Creates Saints out of Sinners

God Speaks—Today!

Additional resources, including a daily devotional, are available at Godsgreenhouse.net.

Dedicated to my former pastors:

P. J. Dutch Brammer

Vernon Davis

Owen Dillon

Homer Webb

Ted Swartzwelder

Lee Roberson

God spoke through these men to my heart.

OVERVIEW OF GOD'S GREENHOUSE SERIES

Welcome to the fourth book in the God's Greenhouse series! Whereas each book has value as a stand-alone book, each book also represents a much-needed piece in the puzzle of how to develop Great Commission Christians that can truly change the world for Jesus Christ. More discipleship books have been written in the last twenty years than have been written in the entire history of Christianity. However, there have been few efforts to create a cohesive yet complete overview of the entire subject. This humble effort is a contribution to that endeavor.

The first book, God's Greenhouse: How to Grow People God's Way, develops the child of God into a leader with a Great Commission mindset. The book can be used for individual development, leadership training, or, most importantly, training the entire church body in Great Commission philosophy. The latter possibility makes this book much different from other leadership books.

Perhaps you are from the old school, and you remember the flannelgraph. The flannelgraph provided children with a visual of the spoken lesson. Its use was in line with the adage, If I can see it, I can understand it.

God's Greenhouse presents a visual for adults because it includes the construction of a small greenhouse in the auditorium. This how-to-do text walks the entire congregation through God's Great Commission plan for each local church and each believer. It is purposely designed to help people see the church as a spiritual greenhouse—that the church exists for the primary purpose of growing people spiritually into Great Commission Christians. Its goal is to transform the way people, especially leaders, think about the entire church experience.

The book includes numerous skits, handouts, and easy-to-use teaching material. Email me at [e-mail] for an editable copy.

The second book, 15 Spiritual Laws to Grow People, focuses on the role of the sower. Behold, a sower went forth to sow! Whereas the first book defines who we are and what we do, the second book develops how to keep doing it. 15 Spiritual Laws develops the psyche of God's sower. The sower may be a pastor, deacon, teacher, department leader, Gideon, missionary, children's worker, or, more broadly, anyone who knows anyone. This how-to-do book helps the sower think through his entire ministry—to realize his most basic calling is that of sowing his Christlike life in the lives of others. These pages provide an understanding of the principles associated with ministry . . . principles that are critical to a prosperous long-term walk with God.

The third book, Sanctification: How God Creates Saints out of Sinners, focuses on the believer as a saint. What does God intend to do with the believer both now and in the future? How does a believer grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior? This book provides a thorough overview of the believer's sanctification from the two vantage points of biblical doctrine and practical application. The theological (some might prefer the word theoretical) meets the experiential in this volume. That combination makes this book a very rare book indeed.

God Speaks—Today! develops the believer as a listener. Please pause a moment to consider the next statement: Serving God effectively begins with listening to God. Today's Christianity is so driven to do that it has neglected the most important step to first listen. Listening to the voice of God is paramount to a successful ministry.

With God's help, more pieces will be added to the puzzle over the next decade. The God's Greenhouse books and GodsGreenhouse.net belong to God and to Him alone. Making disciples or growing people spiritually has been my goal for more than forty years. I believe with all of my heart that God's Greenhouse provides a significant contribution to that goal.

INTRODUCTION

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness (Isaiah 9:2, CSB).

My wife and I recently watched an exciting Star Trek: Voyager episode (Night) in which the starship entered an expanse of space that contained, for lack of a better explanation, nothing but nothingness. There were no stars, no planets, no moons, no asteroids nor dust, no space stations nor other beings; there was simply nothing.

As one would expect, such an experience was extremely nerve-racking for the crew. The normally energetic and positive Captain Janeway even retreated to her living quarters for weeks on end, avoiding one and all, leaving her responsibilities to the second-in-command.

Nerves were on edge, even made raw by the experience. Arguments increased in number and intensity between crew members. Depression became a normal rather than rare condition. The monotony of repetitive days with no sign of progress became more demoralizing than engaging in a war with another species.

Then came the worst moment of all. Due to an undetected space phenomenon, the starship lost all power. All power! All lighting failed, computers failed, communications failed, emergency lighting failed, and all backup systems failed. The crew members found themselves in total blackness . . . total darkness.

The total darkness outside the starship was now equaled by the total darkness inside the starship. The experience was extremely unsettling for the crew, even horrifying. It was even unsettling for my wife and me!

Total darkness. Darkness so thick that it hides everything . . . oppresses everything like a heavy blanket. Absolutely everything. In such darkness, one is unable to know where he walks or what his companions do. He is unable to read. He may be able to reason, but even that ability is under siege. He is trapped in a world of absolute and total darkness.

I cannot imagine living in such a place.

And yet, that is where our world lives. They do not know or understand; they wander in darkness . . . (Psalm 82:5, CSB). Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them . . . (Ephesians 4:18, NASB). People need to be delivered from the power of darkness (Colossians 1:13).

What is the difference between God's people living in the light and the world's people living in the darkness? The difference is simply this: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness (Isaiah 9:2, CSB).

God Speaks—Today! identifies that light as all that God is, all that God represents, and all that God does. God, in His essence, is pure light and in Him dwells no darkness—not even one iota, speck, or particle of darkness (1 John 1:5). Jesus, God Incarnate, identifies Himself to a dark and dying world as, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me shall not walk in darkness but shall possess the light of life (John 8:12).

C. S. Lewis asks, Where, except in uncreated light, can the darkness be drowned? It is as if God, who is the uncreated light, even dazzling light, walks into our lives, and the darkness has no choice but to flee. What a difference He brings! For the first time, we are able to see that which has been hidden by the darkness. We are able to know, yes, know that which was previously unrevealed. The light blesses us with increased knowledge of our environment as well as increased confidence in our future decisions.

But how did this occur? It occurred when you, I, even all of us were living in the blackest darkness. God Himself was hidden to us by spiritual darkness. We were unable to glimpse even a sliver of truth about the identity, power, and limitations (if any) of this Being called God. There were no answers to the afterlife nor even to the meaning of the current life. There were no permanently established right and wrong values, but only relative values, even whims which could change from day to day. There was no explanation for our universe, our existence, our fallen character, or the tragedies we presently classify as acts of God.

Was one's life determined by mere chance or by providence? We did not know. Was there a source of absolute truth? Again, we did not know. Was anyone anywhere in control? We did not know. Was any religion reliable, or do all religions contain some truth? Sadly, we did not know.

Even more sadly, we did not even know all of the right questions because we were truly in the dark.

But then, one day, God spoke and, in so doing, shone the light of Himself into our darkened world. God freely chose, in and of Himself, to reveal Himself to His creation. God also chose to provide answers to life's most perplexing questions. That which was utterly unknowable could now become known.

God spoke!

Those two words have made an incredible difference to me. Had God not spoken, where would I be today? I would be living in a world of darkness with no knowledge of God, no concept of reality or truth, and no hope for my soul. Not knowing and only able to hazard a guess . . . but a guess based upon what?

However, God has spoken! As a matter of fact, God still speaks today!

God is making known what is otherwise unknowable.

How? And can I trust what God is revealing?

That is the subject of God Speaks—Today!

This volume contains three major sections. Section One delves deeply into the varied processes God has employed to communicate with man. Interestingly, God truly wants man to not only know about Him but also to know Him. Section One establishes the reliability of God's record . . . why God's record can be trusted or believed in any age and in any culture.

Section Two provides an examination of God's opinion on a variety of important subjects. Despite His omnipotence, God rarely forces His will upon man. On the contrary, God normally prefers to conduct a dialogue with man. From the opening words of Genesis to the last words of Revelation, God admonishes man, Come now and let us reason together . . . let us reason this issue to a righteous conclusion. God wants man to know His viewpoint and, based upon logic (Greek logike), respond accordingly.

Section Three enhances the believer's ability to listen intimately to the voice of God. The believer's daily, personal walk with God must be a close walk if it is to be a genuine, worthwhile walk. One Christian complained to his pastor, I pray, but God does not seem to listen, nor do I receive anything in return.

The pastor responded, Are you sure you are within calling distance?

Obviously, there is an art to listening. (Just ask the student who wishes he had listened better on test day!) We should never forget Jesus' words, He that has ears, let him hear (Matthew 11:15). We need to treasure God's opinion above every other opinion.

One story properly illustrates the purpose for this book. The event happened at the 1939 World's Fair; thus, it had to be big, and it was. The event? Create a large time capsule. The time capsule resembled a huge torpedo. It was buried beneath fifty feet of soil on Long Island. The goal is to exhume the time capsule in AD 6939—five thousand years in the future.

More than one hundred modern objects were enclosed in the time capsule, including microfilm and pictures of contemporary life. The designers intended the contents to acquaint future civilizations with the lifestyle of early twentieth-century earth.

Two books were enclosed; one book was small, but the other book was large. The first book explained the capsule's purpose and provided some technical information. It was quite small. The second book was a full-sized volume. It was an English version of the Bible.

A news reporter asked, Why include the Bible?

The authority answered, "The Holy Bible, of all books familiar to us today, is the most likely book to survive the next five thousand years. Therefore, we placed a Bible in the time capsule. That Bible will serve as a connecting link between the past, present, and future."

The Bible was selected because it has the greatest chance to survive five thousand years of world change. Will it accomplish that goal? Consider the evidence: The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) is 3,500 years old. The book of Job may be even older.

But, despite their age, those books are still ministering to people throughout today's world!

Even though God has already spoken, God is still speaking today!

What, though, does God have to say? And to reveal?

Let's begin.

OUR MAIN PREMISE

"Listen, heavens and pay attention, earth,

For the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 1:2, CSB)

God has indeed spoken! And He still speaks today!

SECTION ONE

THE GOD OF HEAVEN SPEAKS!

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

What more can He say than to you He hath said?

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?"

1

MAN'S DILEMMA—GOD'S ANSWER

The dilemma of all dilemmas.

The old Puritan said, There are just two things I desire to know: The first, does God speak? The second, what does God say?

Man is indeed smart, but not smart enough. Those words are true for early man, medieval man, contemporary man, and future man. They are true for the educated as well as the uneducated, the deep thinker as well as the never-thinker.

In ages past, a young man went to a well-known philosopher and said, I want to know all there is to know.

The philosopher took him to the shore and instructed him to peer closely at the ocean. He said, Tell me about the ocean.

The young man proceeded to tell him all that he saw. The philosopher grunted and said, Tell me about the ocean.

The young man answered, I just did. I told you about everything I see.

The philosopher said, "Tell me, though, about the ocean you do not see."

The young man struggled for a moment then confessed, The ocean is too big for me to see all of it. And it is. The would-be philosopher soon grasped not the ocean but the reality that the ocean was more than he could see, comprehend, or grasp. It stretched before him to the curvature of the earth. It stretched on either side of him farther than he could see. And if he walked either right or left for a full day or a full month or a full year, he would see even more ocean and still have more to discover.

"Tell me, though, about the ocean you do not see."

Mortal man can only see what is before him, but even much of that cannot be truly seen or comprehended.

The mighty ocean is just a tiny microcosm in this vast universe. If we struggle to comprehend the vastness and mysteries of the ocean, how can we ever comprehend the universe or the even greater Creator of the universe?

Some dilemmas are greater than man can comprehend: in particular, one very complex dilemma.

The Presbyterian James Boice presents that dilemma in this manner: Plato, we are told, once turned to that little group of philosophers and students that had gathered around him during the Greek Golden Age in Athens and said to his followers, 'It may be that someday there will come forth from God a Word, a Logos, who will reveal all mysteries and make everything plain.' (The Gospel of John, p. 34)

W. A. Criswell adds these words about the same seeker of truth: Plato, who probably had the most incomparable mind outside of the Scriptures, cried saying, 'Oh, that there were some sure word that like a raft could bear us across the seas to that unknown shore!' (Great Doctrines of the Bible Volume 1, p. 33)

So much was unknown . . . so much, even too much was unknown that it left the greater minds as well as the lesser minds with a question mark rather than a period.

Like all of us, Plato lived, laughed, learned, enjoyed life as well as endured life, passed on wisdom to others then died. He will be remembered best for his philosophic teachings. One of his contributions included founding the Academy, the first institution of higher learning in the Greek world. He died at the golden age of eighty-one.

But Plato and his colleagues died without ever realizing God had already provided a Word, a Logos, to explain the mysteries of the universe, man's origin, the human condition, the afterlife, the nature of God, the path to God, plus much more. This Word or Logos was not yet complete in Plato's day; indeed, the fullest revelation of all (Jesus Christ) was yet in the future, but such a Word or Logos or Truth already existed in sufficient form that Plato could have understood many of the greatest mysteries of all.

Plato and other Greek philosophers sought a Logos (translated as word or expression). That was around 400 BC. We now live in the twenty-first century AD and today's evidence shows that mankind is still seeking a Logos. It is currently estimated there are 4,300 distinct religions in the world. That implies 4,300 different paths even though many of them supposedly finish in the same place. Incredibly, each of those religions claims to be or have a Logos.

The moral dilemma of modern man is disturbingly profound and difficult to quantify. Theologian John Baillie of Scotland's Edinburgh University provided a talk at one of our American universities. Afterward, one of the university's faculty said to Baillie, You speak of trusting God, of praying to Him and doing His will. But it's all so one-sided. We speak to God, we bow down before Him and lift up our hearts to Him. But He never speaks to us. He makes no sign.

Are those words true? Or is it a case that God is speaking, but man is not hearing His words? Or even worse, is man rejecting those words?

The atheist contends there is no God or Deity to speak to man. The agnostic argues man cannot know if God speaks. The Deist insists that God is not interested in speaking. Confusion abounds!

Then again, does God speak but speak through the process of nature as if God Himself is nothing but nature (Naturalism)? Or is God just an animal of the field and content to speak silently through the animals (Eastern religions)? Could it be that God speaks through the stars and the universe (Astrology)? Or is man himself God and, therefore, speaks with the authority of a Divine Being (Humanism)?

Thus, man continues his search for a Logos that will make everything plain.

The Logos Concept

Why was Plato so focused on this concept of a Logos? The root of Logos actually occurs a few hundred years before Plato.

James Boice explains,

For the Greeks, the answer to this question is found, not in religion, but in philosophy. Almost 2,600 years ago, in the sixth century BC, a philosopher by the name of Heraclitus lived in Ephesus. He was the man who said that it is impossible to step into the same river twice. He meant that all of life is in a state of change. And thus, although you step into the river once, step out, and then step in a second time, by the time you have taken the second step the water has flowed on and it is a different river.

To Heraclitus, and to the philosophers who followed him, all of life seemed like that. But, they asked, If that be so, how is it that everything that exists is not in a state of perpetual chaos? Heraclitus answered that life is not a chaos because the change that we see is not mere random change. It is ordered change. And this means that there must be a divine reason or word that controls it. This is the logos . . .

Once he had discovered that the controlling principle of matter was God's logos, then it was only a small step for him to apply it also to all the events of history and to the mental order that rules in the minds of men. For Heraclitus, then, the Logos became nothing less than the mind of God controlling this world and all men. (The Gospel of John, p. 34)

George Ladd summarizes Heraclitus' approach in these words, . . . order and pattern can be perceived amidst the eternal ebb and flow of things in the Logos—the eternal principle of order in the universe. It is the Logos behind everlasting change that makes the world a cosmos, and an ordered whole. (A Theology of the New Testament, p. 238)

In so doing, the key elements of order, reason, control, and creator become practically synonymous with the Logos. The Logos, whoever or whatever it is, controls the universe! Logically, that control must extend into the affairs of man, too.

Thus, if a person discovers the Logos, he will also discover the source of order. Such order will, by necessity, include origin, purpose, events, and the ultimate conclusion. Isn't that what all men (not just Greeks) seek?

The Definition of Logos

Logos is one of the richest words in the history of civilization. Many definitions may be offered: thought, concept, expression or utterance of that thought. (The New Scofield Reference Bible, p. 1123)

Henry Thiessen states, A word is a medium of manifestation, a means of communication, and a method of revelation. (Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology, p. 286)

Detzler adds, "It is reflected in such English words as 'logical' (the science of reasoning as expressed in words), 'logistics' (the moving, lodging, or supplying of military troops in the most logical way), and 'logo' (a symbol which represents a word)." (New Testament Words in Today's Language, p. 402)

The noun logos appears 331 times in the Greek New Testament. The verb form I speak is found 1,320 times. The King James Version translates logos in the following ways: cause (Matthew 5:32), communication (Matthew 5:37), sayings (Matthew 7:24), word (Matthew 8:16), account (Matthew 12:36), talk (Matthew 22:15), matter (Mark 1:45), question (Mark 11:29), things (Luke 1:4), fame (Luke 5:15), rumor (Luke 7:17), treatise (Acts 1:1), preaching (1 Corinthians 1:18) and speech (1 Corinthians 2:1). Most notably, logos is translated word or sayings 277 times.

We may safely conclude that logos is a communication term. It involves a form of speech or communication that originates within the human mind or reason . . . not mere randomness or insensible babbling. The ability to express logos marks very important growth in the life of a child. The inability to express logos marks a very important decline in the life of a dementia patient. Logos is the primary means of expressing an idea or concept.

The Necessity of the Logos

The Apostle Paul encountered many strange items during his ministry, but one of the strangest occurred in the city of Athens. The Bible explains,

Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new. Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.' Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it—he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things . . . (Acts 17:21-25, CSB).

The Athenians' quest for something new, including a new revelation or new religion, led to the construction of an altar dedicated To an Unknown God. (A similar altar was unearthed in 1820 in the city of Rome, Italy.) This god might be described as a catchall god, that is, a god for anything not previously assigned to another god. Some cultures had a lengthy list of gods, each with an assigned responsibility. For instance, the Aztecs had fourteen gods specifically assigned to improve fertility throughout creation.

In addition, some gods were regarded as major gods, whereas other gods were considered minor gods. The Greek god Caerus was deemed a minor god; Caerus was the god of luck and opportunity!

But why would anyone worship the Unknown God or so many uniquely different gods? How can anyone devise such a wide variety of deities, both greater and lesser, and believe it is accurate? The number of such purported gods supports the idea that God remains an unknown entity . . . unknowable to the natural mind. Why else would the Athenians have altars for so many gods plus one for the Unknown God?

The uncertainty of the Athenians, along with the uncertainty of the Aztecs, Greeks, and other cultures, exists for a reason: Their god has never revealed himself to them. Their only option is to guess!

However, genuine revelation would identify true from false, right from wrong, and fact from fiction.

Has such revelation already occurred and somehow been overlooked?

Contemporary man is equally impotent because modern man cannot settle on a Logos. This condition is evidenced by the wide variety of religious views, some views searching for an answer but other views confused as to how to even begin the search.

Atheist Bertrand Russell says, Unless you assume a god, the question about life's purpose is meaningless. In other words, life is meaningless without a Logos.

Isaac Asimov, the science fiction author, shares, As far as I can see there is no purpose to life. How far, though, can he see?

Psychiatrist Karl Jung admits, I don't know what the meaning or purpose of life is, but it looks as if there were something meant by it. Remember now thy Creator might be a good place to start.

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, concludes, The idea of a purpose stands or falls with the religious system. But which religious system?

These four individuals are an accurate representation of contemporary man. Some people are searching but unable to find. Other people seem resigned to their fate and unwilling to find. Man is lost, knows he is lost, and has no solution . . . unless a Logos appears.

Logos and Deity

In the beginning was the Logos and the Logos was with God and the Logos was God (John 1:1).

How did logos become such an important word in Christianity? The New Scofield Reference Bible identifies the Aramaic equivalent word for logos as "Memra, used as a designation of God in the Targums, i.e., Aramaic translations of the O.T." (The New Scofield Reference Bible, p. 1123)

The Targums (Aramaic translations) substitute memra for God wherever God appears to man. Genesis 3:8 is rendered, "they heard the voice of memra. Genesis 2:3 reads, On the seventh day the Memra of the LORD completed his work. Memra plagued the people (Exodus 32:35). God said to Moses, I will cover you with My Memra (Exodus 33:22). Memra is a consuming fire" (Deuteronomy 9:3). The Targums clearly associate memra and its Greek equivalent logos with deity. This association, of course, may have guided the Apostle John in his use of logos in John chapter one.

Thiessen further explains that John " . . . most definitely took it [logos] over from the Old Testament personification of wisdom and the . . . term memra, but filled it with the Christian concept of deity." (Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology, p. 141)

Lewis Sperry Chafer observes that logos " . . . was especially employed by Philo (c. AD 40) to mean something in God corresponding to reason in man as well as something emanating from Him corresponding to speech in man." (Systematic Theology Volume VII, p. 227) Something in God . . . emanating from God captures the essential concept of the Logos and God being One.

But to what end? Merrill C. Teeney concludes,

The term Logos . . . includes more than its English translation word. A word is an idea expressed through a combination of sounds or letters. Without the idea or concept behind it, the medium would be meaningless. KXBZ might represent a radio station; but as a combination of letters or sounds, if it could be pronounced, it has no meaning whatsoever because no concept is attached to it. Just so the term Logos implies the intelligence behind the idea, the idea itself, and the transmissible expression of it. The term was used technically in the Greek philosophy of this period, particularly by the Stoics, to denote the controlling Reason of the universe, the all-pervasive Mind which ruled and gave meaning to all things. Logos was one of the purest and most general concepts of that ultimate Intelligence, Reason, or Will that is called God. (John: The Gospel of Belief, p. 62)

After all, who can better provide correct reasoning or logic than Deity?

Thus, it appears both pagan religions and the Judeo-Christian religion reach the same conclusion: The ultimate Logos must be a Deity or, at a minimum, closely associated with a Deity.

The Solitary Logos

Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? (Exodus 15:11, ESV).

God, the Logos, is solitary in His excellency. He is above everything and everyone. He is totally set apart from any other creature or any other thing. In brief, there is God, then there is everything else.

Arthur Pink barely scratches the surface when he writes,

In the beginning, God. There was a time, if time it could be called, when God . . . dwelt all alone . . . There was no heaven, where His glory is now particularly manifested. There was no earth to engage His attention. There were no angels to sing His praises. There was no universe to be upheld by the word of His power. There was nothing, no one, but God; and that not for a day, a year, or an age, but from everlasting. During a past eternity God was alone—self-contained, self-sufficient, in need of nothing. God was under no constraint, no obligation, no necessity to create. That He chose to do so was purely a sovereign act on His part, caused by nothing outside Himself, determined by nothing but His own good pleasure; for He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. (Eph. 1:11) (Gleanings in the Godhead, p. 11)

The Logos revealed in Scripture stands alone. He stands apart. He stands above. He stands all-sufficient. He stands in marvelous wisdom and knowledge. He stands in creative power. He stands unintimidated. He stands undefeated. He stands fearless. He stands either with me or without me. Incredibly, He gains not one iota from my worship, for He is all-sufficient within Himself. Absolutely nothing, including your efforts or my efforts, can add anything to His Being.

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen (Romans 11:36, ESV).

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God (Isaiah 45:5, ESV).

Many people are reluctant to accept the God of the Bible because of this characteristic. It is one thing to say the Bible's God is one of many gods; it is an entirely different belief to declare the God of the Bible is solitary or alone in Deity . . . is the one and only God and that all other gods are either false, imaginative gods or satanic impersonations.

James Boice provides the logical conclusion to such a position:

Gibbon (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) wrote of the first Christian century that all of the religions of the world were regarded by the common people as equally true, by the philosophers as equally false, and by the magistrates as equally useful. In this system, a system which, incidentally, seems to be reproduced in our day, all truth is relative and religious statements in particular are meaningless. Against these views Christianity holds a unique position. Christians believe that God has spoken, that He has spoken clearly, and that what He has said is true. (The Gospel of John)

Thus, Christians hold to a solitary Logos. In turn, that solitary Logos is also viewed as the solitary source of absolute truth. His truth is allowed to sit in judgment upon all other so-called truths.

The solitariness of God guarantees His words are the most important words of all.

The Sovereign Logos

The required perfections of the Logos must include the ability to fulfill His plan and bring His wise choices into existence. According to Charles Ryrie, the term sovereign includes the idea of "principal, chief, supreme. It speaks first of position (God is the chief Being in the universe), then of power (God is supreme in power in the universe). A