The Story of God

By Dave Outar

This book contains 269 pages of thought provoking expose regarding this person we call God. It unravels some of the mysteries, when that is possible from the bible text. It attempts to portray in practical ways the inscrutable God. It would be like telling someone about an alien from another planet far, far away. It is inspirational, and helps one to worship. The more we know God the more substantive our worship. I will not quote the many reviews, I just hope that you will be challenged as you read it. Many read books for enjoyment, this one could change your life. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dave Outar
• Release date: Jul 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781608622054

Book preview

A Scriptural Essay of God’s Purposes With Humanity

By

Dave Outar

All quotations in this book have been taken from the

New Scofield Reference Bible (KJV)

Oxford University Press

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO

MY CUSTOMERS AND MY FRIENDS

I have been an unfaithful witness and a poor testimony to our incredible God. He has given me such privileges, and opportunities, and I have squandered them. As I retrospectively look back, and introspectively consider my life, I have to confess much failure in sharing the truth which God has entrusted to me. From time to time I have had opportunity to share this subject with some of you, but I resisted the impulse for fear of rejection. I do so now with the hope that you will read this book in its entirety. My purpose is not to preach to you or to convince you, but to share with you what I believe to be the most profound subject in all of history, the story of God.

Many of the positions which I have espoused over the years are not popular in the Christian community, some may even find them radical; they are often contrary to the positions held by the great majority of evangelicals; but I believe they are biblical. I have spent a great deal of time pursuing truth. I find a great dichotomy existing between Christianity, as it is practiced today, and true biblical Christianity. The concepts and positions in this book can be easily discovered if the reader is willing to bow to the authority of God’s Word. My hope is that you will pursue truth, not from human instruments like me, whose opinions are shaped by many different factors, but that you will read the bible for yourself, and allow God to teach you truth.

Truth, as it is conceived in our culture, is fluid; it is constantly evolving. Absolute truth, on the other hand, never changes; it is a constant. It transcends time, culture, and conditions. It cannot be held hostage by any factors; it cannot be altered by one’s philosophy. Can you imagine if two plus two stopped being four, and became five instead? Can you imagine what would happen if the sun decreased her distance from earth by a few miles? Just like there are axiomatic physical absolutes, there are spiritual absolutes also. We are hemmed in by this system of spiritual absolutes, which a loving God created to ensure our existence. Modern man, in his attempt to free himself from God, is moving those boundaries of truth. This book is my attempt to explore some of these eternal absolutes. I trust that you will consider the implications.

Dave Outar

CONTENTS

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I

n retrospect, I realize that God the Holy Spirit was wooing me to salvation long before I came to know that Jesus Christ had died for me. Fragments of memories demonstrate that God was drawing me to the Savior. It was William Sewell, a missionary from England, who patiently, over a period of four years, told me about the work of Jesus Christ on my behalf. His gracious demeanor and willingness to endure my immature ways prompted my exploration of the bible. My eyes opened slowly to the truth, and the claims of Jesus Christ. Over the years, God has used many of His people to teach me. Most of these have been promoted to their place of honor, and their names would not be recognized, but the memory of their ministry still lingers with me.

The road of life is filled with numerous intersections and travelers walking. As one walks, he is joined by a stranger, and they walk together for a little while, sharing their lives and their stories. Their hopes, sorrows, disappointments, failures, all become subjects of their conversation. The stranger separates at one of the intersections and before long, the traveler is joined by another stranger, and they repeat the same routine. On this road of life, it has been my privilege to meet many who have added immeasurably to my life. Some have provided trials and discipline, others encouragement and hope, but all of these were necessary. Many have taught me, some I have taught. The Great Choreographer has orchestrated it all.

I would be remiss and grossly derelict, if I did not mention the value of the saints at Lawn Street Chapel, of Greenlawn, Long Island, for whose ministry I am perpetually indebted. The memory of their fellowship continues to provide me with a pleasant aroma, and the teaching I received there has been of inestimable value. 

M

any voices are clamoring for our attention. Between work, household chores, phone time, and a little rest and relaxation, we find ourselves busy, with no time to think about God. In our contemporary culture, most of us think of God as a theological issue, a figurehead, a mythological person, or a resource when we are in serious trouble. Some of us are afraid to think about Him, because we are afraid of what we will discover. Then, there are those who consider it a waste of time. They view it as a matter of opinion, a philosophical or intellectual issue with little relevance to daily life. Many of us have deceived ourselves into thinking that if we ignore God, or deny His existence, He will cease to exist.

The purpose of this book is to remind us of the wonder of our incredible God, and particularly, to engage one’s spirit to worship. The subject is so arcane that one feels completely inadequate to address it. From the very onset I would like to confess my ignorance, and to say that I stand in awe as I contemplate it. To cogitate on such divine themes, one must first muse about the Godhead. Such rumination is too profound; none can sound its unfathomable depths. Its profundity is the very reason why so many do not even venture to study the subject, while others spend a lifetime as students.

Speculation is rampant among men; almost everyone has an opinion about God, and most of those expressions are the psychobabble of darkened minds, resulting in a caricature of God, and a distortion of His ways. Occasionally, one finds a wise disciple whose questions serve as a catalyst for probing the depths of this vast ocean of mystery, and uncovering some of the secrets hidden in the Word of God.

It was God’s intent from the very beginning to reveal Himself to humanity. This is the reason why He inspired human authors to record the history of His dealings with men. God the Holy Spirit desires to reveal more about the Godhead to those who have a heart for God, who have a desire to know Him more intimately. I am not talking of knowing about Him, but of knowing Him. It is the journey of a lifetime. We cannot know God by reading a book, or by making Him the subject of a discussion group. This is akin to reading all the published material about some accomplished hero and thinking that I know the person, while all I have is knowledge about the individual. 

Great men and godly disciples have undertaken the study of God. Numerous books have been written on the subject of theology. Theologians wrestle with it; seminarians burn the midnight oil studying it; pastors and lay people alike diligently search the scriptures for more understanding. Monasteries, the world over, are filled with those who devote a lifetime to the pursuit of God. Because of the wide spectrum of students, and their varied psychosocial backgrounds, there remains much confusion about God. Some of this is no doubt due to the inscrutable nature of God. Many have sought to understand God by their individual subjective experiences. Most get their ideas about God from their local church group. Others have attempted to comprehend His infinitude by gazing up at the heavens or considering nature. Many have resorted to a monastic lifestyle in their quest for a relationship with God. Well might we say with the Psalmist:

"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it" (Psalm 139:6). 

This arcanum can only be uncovered by an unbiased exploration of God’s Word. Let us suppose that someone who lives many light years away suddenly appeared on our planet. He was going to speak at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly. He would speak once, and he would not entertain any questions from the press or dignitaries. We would have to listen carefully to his address in order to understand about his home and his people. We would have to be careful not to interpret his remarks or his actions in the same way we interpret those of our neighbors, because he would not have been programmed by the same stimuli as humans. All of his experiences would be different, and his reactions would be different. His civilization and culture would be so vastly different from our own, that a careful analysis of his speech would be necessary to properly understand his communication.

We would have to analyze every word, every inflection in his voice, every facial expression. The mood of his disposition when he speaks, his general deportment, his emotional constitution, and body language, would all have to be considered. Both his actions and reactions would have to be evaluated to determine how these affect his communication. We would have to analyze all of these factors to get the proper understanding of his message. In order to accurately interpret what he is saying, we would have to look at things from his perspective. We would not be able to superimpose our common understanding of words, clichés, expressions, and moods, upon his communication. We would not be able to isolate a single statement or sentence from his speech; the entire communication would have to be considered as a whole, to get its full meaning.

This is a feeble attempt to demonstrate that we must consider the perspective of the messenger in order to truly understand the message. Listening is the key ingredient in communication, not speaking. If the hearer does not listen well, the words of the speaker are futile. This is the reason why there is so much misunderstanding in our dialogue with others, and why statements are often taken out of the context in which they were used. We do not listen well; we are more interested in expressing ourselves than in listening.

God wants to reveal Himself to humanity. He wishes to let men know that although they are sinners, He has provided a way by which they can be redeemed and have a relationship with Him. This is why the bible was written. He chose men to communicate this message to humanity. He could have used angels, but in His wisdom He chose to use men.

These authors wrote by inspiration and under the direction of God the Holy Spirit. God did not attempt to mitigate the bad news of men’s disobedience, or their wickedness. He was not trying to curry favor with man or to ingratiate Himself with men. Instead, He declared the inexorable destiny of men who did not have a relationship with God. He used these human amanuenses to publish the good news that He had provided the only remedy. God the Son would actually visit planet earth in a human body, and He would ultimately be the source of their salvation. All of God’s revelatory communication has this as its objective. The bible is God’s bedtime story to put man to sleep, regarding his eternal destiny. Man can rest in undisturbed slumber with the confidence that God has provided a way to escape the penalty of sin.

God used some forty different persons, on three continents to record His message. It took about fifteen hundred years for God to complete His revelation. He used persons from all walks of life, from peasants to kings, statesmen and proletariat, farmers and fishermen, military men and civilians, prophets and priests, a doctor and a lawyer. God not only chronicled His majesty and greatness, but His great love for men. He spoke of Himself, His holiness, and man’s wickedness. Through the life of Jesus Christ God demonstrated practically, how a man would have to live in order to attain to God’s righteous requirement for salvation. In other words, if a man could live his entire life without ever committing one sin, then he could have salvation. He knew that this was not possible, but men needed the barometer; they needed the standard, so God gave it. It was Jesus Christ, God the Son. Those who hoped to have eternal life by performing acts of goodness throughout their lifetime now had the standard for salvation.

God had a purpose for everything. He is not capricious; He is never caught by surprise; He does not have to devise contingency plans. He had a purpose for creation, and also for redemption. He had a purpose for creating angels and men. He determined beforehand to allow both sin and suffering in His universe. He planned to create both the nation of Israel as well as the Church. He condescended to reveal all of this to human beings, who are temporary and fragile. He completed His revelation, and now He is waiting patiently to complete all of His plans.

Every development without exception, which occurs on this planet, works synergistically and inexorably to complete God’s purposes. The finger of God is active, whether it is in a coup d’etat, or a democratically elected government, whether in a devastating earthquake, or a period of unparalleled economic prosperity, in famine and in fruitfulness, from the more prominent news stories of the day, to the insignificant death of an old man, God is involved. His sovereignty pervades every station of life, every detail of our existence, every global development, and every incident in a hamlet, He is God; nothing escapes His omniscience or His sovereignty.   

To properly understand God we must be willing to listen carefully, by studying His Word. We have to consider the whole scope of His revelation; we must factor in who He is in all of His majestic glory, His holy Person, His immutability, His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. We must always bear in mind that He is not human, and that His ways are superior to our ways. Too often, in an attempt to fulfill our devotional commitment for the day, we rush through reading a bible passage, read the devotional text and besiege the throne of grace with all of our requests.

Most of us do not allow adequate time to meditate on the Word of God. We do not spend time worshipping God. We pray, we offer petitions and thanksgiving, we intercede on behalf of others, but we do not worship. Worship is the highest form of fellowship with God. It is, according to Jesus’ words, the thing that the Father seeks most from His redeemed ones (John 4:23). When we learn to truly worship God in spirit regularly, and according to His Word, by the Holy Spirit, then, and only then, do we begin to understand a little of this unfathomable person we call God.

Oh God, you are indeed unfathomable. I cannot comprehend a personality so inscrutable. Like David of old, I look up at the interstellar heavens, gazing in wonder at countless stars, and marvel, that even the Hubble Telescope can only peer into a small fraction of this vast universe which you have created. It is a testimony to how big You are. You are bigger than the universe You created; it is an understatement to say that You are brighter than a thousand stars! Truly, Your brightness eclipses the sun, it is only a physical manifestation of Your effulgence. When I think of Your omnipotence Lord, it defies even my imagination. I cannot imagine the power of someone who could just speak into existence billions of heavenly bodies which are so huge, and which move at such incredible speeds in their circuits. How powerful You are! Your omniscience is another matter for contemplation. When I consider just the creation with which I am vaguely familiar, I see a little of Your infinite wisdom. You use three trillion cells to make up my body, and just a single one is an enigma to the greatest of microbiologists. They are still trying to understand its complex functions. I am not even going to think of how You created the water cycle to provide rain for us, or the rotation of the planet around the sun to provide sunshine and seasons, or the influence of the moon on our tides in the oceans. Your wisdom, Lord, will forever be the subject of wonder and amazement, both among men and angels. I remember that the Psalmist said: "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom Thou hast made them all. And Lord, I stand aghast when I consider that You are everywhere at the same time. You are right here, right now, with me; but You are also a billion light years away in some distant galaxy. The darkness cannot hide me, and walls do not keep You from me. That is comforting Lord, for there is no barrier which can separate me from Your protective care. With the words of David I say: O Lord, my God, thou art very great. Yes Lord, this is another understatement of Your unimaginable greatness. You have no peers, no equals, and no rivals; You are in a class by Yourself. There is no hyperbole which can satisfactorily describe Your greatness. I cannot exaggerate it. Human language is too inadequate to express the majesty of Your Person. Habakkuk must have been contemplating the same thing when he said: Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall be fruit in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Yes Lord, I humbly bow, acknowledging Your supremacy, Your totalitarian authority, and Your autocratic sovereignty. I joyfully worship You while proclaiming Your indescribable Person, for You are God, and there is none else. Amen.

T

he very word conjures up a sense of awe and wonder; it invokes both fear and curiosity at the same time. There is probably not a single person who does not have an opinion about God. From the halls of academia, to the mud huts of primitive tribes, man has been challenged with the concept of God. It is, after all, that inner voice which witnesses to our individual human spirit. It summons us to acknowledge God. We will occupy ourselves with this inscrutable Person on the next few pages. As a prerequisite to understanding the purposes of the Godhead in His various actions, we must have a little appreciation regarding the Person of God. I do not mean to suggest that we must understand all there is to know about God, in order to comprehend His purposes in His various actions. We will never through several lifetimes be able to fully grasp the enigma of this Person, or the mystery of His purposes. They are too infinite for human intellect. We are only skimming the surface of an ocean of attributes of our inexhaustible God.

We must get some insight into this unfathomable Person before we can begin to unravel some of the mysteries concerning His purposes. We must try to consider the nature of God by the way He has revealed Himself in the bible. He did not use a particular chapter of the bible to give a dossier on Himself. We cannot learn all there is to know about God by reading a certain book of the bible, or a specific verse. God spoke about Himself in different places throughout the entire text. He is not human like us, captured in time, and limited by spatial dimensions. He exists outside of those created limitations. His person cannot be defined in terms of a material being, so He reveals Himself through His acts and pronouncements.

If we were describing a human or alien person, we could begin by giving some stats about his physical body. We could say he is six feet tall and weighs two hundred pounds. We could then describe his face, body parts, and any distinguishing marks. We could get an artist to sketch the person from our description, and that would give a fairly good representation of how he looks. This is a fairly accurate way of depicting the likeness of someone whom we previously saw; it is a physical representation, but God is not a physical being. He does not have a body; He is spirit; No one has ever seen God. The only definitive information we have about Him is found in the bible. All other ideas and concepts are erroneous, if they do not accord with the biblical text. They