How Great is God of the Bible [Part 1]
Content
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
WE ARE GOING TO STUDY ABOUT
the Bible. But, why do we need to study it? Should we use the Bible as a basis in everything that we do? Whenever we are to do something, must we always have a basis? A mother, for instance, cooks for the family because she has the obligation and the right to do so. What do I mean to say? In our house, not just anybody has the right to cook the rice. The one who should cook the rice must have the authority to do so. And who has the right to cook for the family? It could be the mother, the father, the housemaid, or any legitimate member of the family. But you just can’t allow anybody to cook for you. Who knows if that person wants to poison you all? If you are going to sweep the streets, you should also have a basis. Try to sweep the streets without being appointed by the rightful person, and you’ll not get any compensation. You cannot compel the government to pay you for your labor because you had never been deputized to be a street sweeper. A man who just wears the uniform of a policeman is not a real policeman even if he has the badge, the patches, and all the other paraphernalia that a real policeman wears. And because that man does not have a basis, not only in wearing the policeman’s uniform, but also in performing the duties of a real policeman, he is just considered as a mere impostor. In other words, we need to have a basis in everything we do. It follows that even in serving God and in invoking God, we should have a basis why we should do it. In the first place, there are people who do not invoke God at all. And if we are going to invoke God, how should we do it? Where should we base our faith in God? Wasn’t it that when we were just beginning to learn how to read, we started with ABC? And if we are going to study music, don’t we normally begin with do-remi? In our service to God, we also have to know the ABC of salvation. Will it be fine with you if we begin our studies from the lowest level, or the basics? Do you know of any lawyer who studied Law right away without going through the elementary, secondary, and tertiary level? It is only after an aspiring lawyer completes those levels that he could pursue Law. The same process applies in studying salvation. You do not instantly become a Christian, and become saved by just raising your hand! That is not so. Please, do not be misled. It will be fatal if you do not know the basics. Why? This is what Ecclesiastes 10:1 says, Ecclesiastes 10:1 says, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in the reputation for
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
wisdom and honour.” Try to kill flies and place them in a bottle of ointment, or perfume. Let them stay there for a week. After a week, open the bottle, savor it scent, and you will realize how a bottle of perfume could be spoiled by just a few flies. What was the Bible trying to tell us? A little folly spoils wisdom and honor. There is an English adage which says, “Little knowledge is dangerous.” That is true. A little folly could cause danger to a person. For example, no matter how good a surgeon is, the life of his patient could be endangered if the nurse assisting him is a simpleton. A sensible nurse makes an inventory of the number of cotton balls they used during the operation. So that before the wound is closed, she sees to it that the number of cotton balls she prepared reconciles with the number of cotton balls they used. But if the attending nurse is somebody who does not know the sensitiveness of her work, she would not really bother to check the cotton balls. Only to find out later that three pieces of cotton balls were left inside the patient’s body. There are cases like that. There had been an incident when, what was left inside was not an ordinary cotton ball, but a surgical scissors. Such serious damage happened because of the negligence of both the surgeon and the nurse. That is why it is very true that a little folly can be very damaging. That is, insofar as material things are concerned. But greater is the harm that a little folly can do in terms of godliness. When it comes to faith, there shouldn’t be any shade of folly. When it comes to faith you have to be very sure because what is at stake is either eternal bliss, or eternal damnation. Remember that we are heading for eternity, and eternity has two sides. One side is the eternal lake of fire, and the other side is life everlasting. Others, who do not want to listen to me, reason out that they do not want to confuse their minds anymore. Many say that they would rather stick to the faith that they grew up with, although they are not sure if their religion will lead them to salvation, or not. But the fact that you are uncertain of your salvation is a proof that your present religion did not even bother to teach you the ABC of salvation. Apparently, you are heading for something eternal without you having any direction. You do not even know the right thing to do. In religion, we should have the full knowledge of what we are doing. We should be certain of our actions. These are some of the things that we shall unravel in our discussion. First, let us find out, what should we use as a basis in serving God? How shall we serve Him? Why do we have to serve Him? Does God have any name? Is His name Jehovah, or Yahweh El Shaddai? Where is God? What are His physical attributes? Is He black or white? What is the color of His eyes? How does He smell? Some gods do not smell the same. Sometimes, their odor depends on the scent of the perfume, or cologne, sprayed on them. But what does the Bible say on this? Does His smell vary? James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” The Father in heaven does not have variableness. Whatever His odor 5,000 years ago is still His odor today. We can be very sure of that. Perhaps, you would ask, do we have to know God’s odor? Of course, so that if the god who is before you smells differently, that would mean that he is just a false god. Isn’t it that husbands and wives are familiar of each other’s scent? The husband knows if his wife is newly bathed, or if she has not taken a bath for three days. He can never be wrong because he has grown very familiar with her smell. Could a wife tell me that when she was raped, she thought that it was her husband who did it? That would be very stupid of her, because by the mere odor alone, she could already identify if it was her husband, or not. God gave us a sense of smell for us to identify who’s who, and which is which. Look at the blind, they have a very keen sense of smell. They can identify people thru their odors. There are people whose gods smell differently. Sometimes they smell of sampaguita, sometimes, of rosal. Whatever you put around them becomes their scent. This is the reason why we have to know Him. But, from what standpoint are we going to start in knowing Him? Or, shall we say, from what point of principle? What basis are we going to use in serving Him? What are we going to use in knowing the word of God? Let us begin by not using any book, nor any documented reference first. Is there a God, or is there no God? If you will ask the atheists, they will definitely deny God’s existence. They neither believe in God, nor in satan. They do not believe in anything supernatural. Their belief is confined only on the physical, or the material. But let us presume that we do not acknowledge any God either. Let us presume that we are not certain either if there is a God, or not. Let us play neutral first. Let us presume that we neither have any religion, too. Actually, even during the time when there was no Bible yet, there had already been similar talks. And to prove this to you, let us read Malachi 3:16-“Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD …” There was an incident in the past when God heard and listened to those who feared Him as they spoke to another. This shows us that, even if the Bible was not available yet, there were already talk about God. Let us presume that we are living in those times. We have no Bible; we are not certain whether, or not, there is God; we do not acknowledge any God. We are not saying that there is no God, only, we are not sure if He exists, or not. We neither have any religion, too. This is our opening scenario. We are all neutral, and we are all just beginning to learn. And in the studies that we will make, we will not use any book first.
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
Let us begin with this question: Who created you? Do you agree that you were created by somebody? Nobody in his right senses would claim that he was not created by anybody. Take the case of a chair, for instance. A chair became a chair because somebody created it. Otherwise, it would not have become a chair, right? The question is: Who created you? One time, when one person is asked the same question, somebody answered that, he was created by his mother and his father. At first glance, we may consider his answer as valid because, had his mother and father not mated, he would not have come to existence. But the question is, if his mother and his father were his creators, why is it that other husbands and wives could not produce any child? If his mother and his father were able to create him, it should follow that all other husbands and wives should beget children. But how come, there are couples that are childless? In other words, we cannot consider it to be a general truth that our respective parents are our creators, or makers. But granting that it was, indeed, our parents who created us. The question is, why didn’t they make you good-looking? Why did one mother give birth to a lame child? If that baby was, indeed, created by his parents, definitely, they should have created him without any deformity. If your parents were the ones who created you, they should not have given you the physique of a man and a heart of a woman. Why did they make you a homosexual? If they were your makers, then, they should also have to power to repair your deformities! Isn’t it that a carpenter who made the table can also repair that table should it gets broken? You are limping when you walk, why didn’t your parents give you legs of equal length, if they were your creator? And because they didn’t have power to do that, we are now led to a great and irrefutable conclusion that man is not the creator of man! If man is the creator of man, then, all men should be able to create man. And if man is the creator of man, he should have made a perfect man. But should his creation be defective, he should be able to repair the defect. But the glaring truth is, man is not created by man. There is “Somebody” else who created man. Every object that we see around us is made by man. The chair and the microphone were made by man. But the user of that chair and that microphone was not made by man. There isn’t any available proof that man created man. In fact, there was one laboratory in America, which took one cell from man. They studied it very well. They tried to find out what that cell contained, and they copied it. They took little water, little iron, little mineral, and they combined them all together. Until they succeeded in imitating a human cell. But there arose a problem – it was lifeless. So, they decided to stop. They had proven that, they can only imitate a human cell, but they cannot make a real one. Our physical appearance can be copied. A sculptor can make you a life size statue; he can also depict a specific facial expression. With the aid of modern technology, a sculptor can make your statue look real. But still, it is lifeless!
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
A flower can also be imitated. But no matter how well imitated it was, does it have any fragrance? None! Man can imitate anything that he sees, but he cannot make it as perfect as the original. And this only proves that another being must have created man. A man cannot create man. There is a higher, greater, mightier, more compassionate, and more merciful “Being” that created man. Why did I say that this Being is compassionate? I say that Being is compassionate because He is aware that, in this world, there are tiny creatures that give itch to man. And to prepare him for this, He equipped man with fingernails, which he could use in scratching the itchy part of his body. That Being knows that man will find it very difficult to dig the ground, so, he created a carabao, which will aid him in doing that job. All that he has to do is hold the plough firmly, and it’s up to the carabao, now, to drag it. Did you see the wisdom behind the creation of the carabao? I’m sure nobody will disagree with what I said. Remember, we are not using the Bible yet. I have learned to convince people in the existence of a powerful being, without using the Bible, but only thru physical evidences. We are now heading towards that inevitable conclusion that we are here on earth, not by our own choices, and neither because we were created by our parents, but because we were created by a powerful and merciful being. He knows that you will need water, so He made water for you. Actually, He made different types of water for us to realize how kind-hearted He is. He did not make all waters salty; otherwise, you’ll have no safe water to drink. It will be damaging to our health if we will drink saline water. This is the reason why He made tap water. Perhaps, you would ask why He created the seawater to be very salty. God knows that all waters are heading for the sea. He made the sea salty for it to be purified. Have you noticed that the sea never smells like garbage? Through the chemical reaction between the salt in the sea and the rays of the sun, the sea plankton and the other sea creatures will always be fresh. They will not rot, despite the fact that all sorts of trash are found in the sea. Do you realize now the essence of the sea? Why are some soils muddy, while some are sandy and loose? Why did He create gravel, pebbles, and sand? Because they are all needed by man. He provided man with everything that he needs that is why I consider Him to be very compassionate and very understanding. He knows what we want, He knows what we need, and He knows our limitations, so, He made everything available for us. Can you catch a mosquito that flies up to 12, or 25 feet high? Since He knows that you cannot leap that high, God assigned another creature to catch it for you – the lizards. And those which are able to escape the lizards are caught by frogs. Besides, if there are no mosquitoes, where will the lizards get their food? God gave the mosquitoes wings to fly up there in the ceiling, where the lizards are waiting for them. That is why, if we will just contemplate on this matter, we will realize that the One who made us is very intelligent. He created everything beautifully and orderly.
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
Is there a creator, or none? If there is, who is he? Do not say God yet. Remember we still do not know God. All that we know is, there is a creator. Who is he? We do not know yet. We are just unanimous in our belief that there is a Creator, and His creations were all beautifully made. And for that, we are very thankful to Him. We want to thank Him for giving us very obedient children and a very good husband/wife. But who must we give thanks to when we do not know Him? How should we thank Him? How can we acknowledge His goodness? How can we express our gratitude to Him? Like children, let us begin to ask questions. Let us reminisce our past. Do you know who your mother is? Of course! But what made you so sure that the mother you acknowledge is your real mother? Are you sure that all the things that your parents told you were true? Are you sure? We have to be sure! On my part, I am sure that I am a real son of my parents despite the fact that I was not around yet when my mother gave birth to me. Do you know why? There are different ways by which I can determine if my parents are my real parents. First, thru instinct; thru the physical features. My nose, for example, resembles the nose of my mother, and I got the shape of the legs of my father. Both my father and I do not have hair on our legs. My eyes are exactly the same with the eyes of my father – round. And because of those similarities in features, I am sure that I am a son of my parents. But aside from that, I also asked my aunt if she was around when my mother gave birth to me. She said, yes. In fact, it was to her that I was handed by the midwife who attended to my mother’s delivery. My aunt also recounted how red my skin was when I was born. So, now, I have a witness who attests that I am, indeed, a real son of my parents. In addition, I was born at home, so there was hardly a possibility that I was somebody else’s son. That is why I am very sure that my mother is my real mother because I have a witness. What do I mean to say? We do not know everything. All that we know is that “Somebody” created us. But how are we to know who created us? There should be a witness! One way of finding out the facts about the details of your birth is thru a birth certificate. It is indicated in the birth certificate the place, date, and time of your birth, the name of the attending doctor and midwife’ the name of the hospital, and the witness. Also, the birth certificate bears the signature of the midwife, or doctor. Now, our problem is, we want to serve God. We want to thank Him. We want to know Him, at least. We want to hug Him if only we could for all the goodness that He has done to us. But how can we know Him? How can we serve Him? Who is He, in the first place? What is His name?
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
How can we resolve all these things? So far, we have found out a way by which we can answer our questions. We will look for a witness. Christ said that He had talked with God. But there are also pastors today who have a similar claim. One said that he had talked with God also, while another said that he is also able to talk with God. Let examine each of those who have claimed to have seen and talked with God, and let us find out who among them is the most credible witness. Was it really God that they talked with? What is His name? This is the time when we will begin to refer to their writings. Do you know that the Apostles had their writings compiled in what we call Bible? Do you also know that those pastors, who claim that they had seen and talked with God, have their writings, too? Many claim to have talked with God. And because we do not have the chance to talk to these people, we will just have to make some inquiry. Do you know what is one of God’s commandments to man? Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls . . .” In other words, God commanded man to ask. There is nothing wrong with asking questions. My grandmother used to tell me that an inquisitive person could outwit the intelligent. Why? You might be intelligent but if you are too reluctant and too shy to ask questions you will surely be mislead. So, at this point, we will ask questions. And we will address our questions to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to all of those who had allegedly talked with God. After asking them questions, we will eventually be led to the answer the question we posed earlier: Who really created us? And definitely, we will be able to draw an honest-to-goodness answer because we asked all of them very objectively, and we did not take sides. In my humble, little way let me lead you in your search for the Being who created us. Who is He? Why are we here on earth? Have you ever asked yourself why you are here on earth? What is the purpose of our Maker for creating us? How come we were not even given the chance to choose our own parents? Why were we denied of the liberty to design the kind of face we want? Actually, we were not really given a choice so we just have to make the most out of the face that had been given to us. Why did it happen that way? Is there a reason behind it? . . . These are some of the questions that we will try to answer thru God’s help. Hopefully, we will be able to see where we came from and where we are heading for. Right now, we are here on earth, but why were we brought forth into this world? And for us to know the answers to our questions, we shall look for a credible witness.
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
WE ARE GOING TO STUDY ABOUT
the Bible. But, why do we need to study it? Should we use the Bible as a basis in everything that we do? Whenever we are to do something, must we always have a basis? A mother, for instance, cooks for the family because she has the obligation and the right to do so. What do I mean to say? In our house, not just anybody has the right to cook the rice. The one who should cook the rice must have the authority to do so. And who has the right to cook for the family? It could be the mother, the father, the housemaid, or any legitimate member of the family. But you just can’t allow anybody to cook for you. Who knows if that person wants to poison you all? If you are going to sweep the streets, you should also have a basis. Try to sweep the streets without being appointed by the rightful person, and you’ll not get any compensation. You cannot compel the government to pay you for your labor because you had never been deputized to be a street sweeper. A man who just wears the uniform of a policeman is not a real policeman even if he has the badge, the patches, and all the other paraphernalia that a real policeman wears. And because that man does not have a basis, not only in wearing the policeman’s uniform, but also in performing the duties of a real policeman, he is just considered as a mere impostor. In other words, we need to have a basis in everything we do. It follows that even in serving God and in invoking God, we should have a basis why we should do it. In the first place, there are people who do not invoke God at all. And if we are going to invoke God, how should we do it? Where should we base our faith in God? Wasn’t it that when we were just beginning to learn how to read, we started with ABC? And if we are going to study music, don’t we normally begin with do-remi? In our service to God, we also have to know the ABC of salvation. Will it be fine with you if we begin our studies from the lowest level, or the basics? Do you know of any lawyer who studied Law right away without going through the elementary, secondary, and tertiary level? It is only after an aspiring lawyer completes those levels that he could pursue Law. The same process applies in studying salvation. You do not instantly become a Christian, and become saved by just raising your hand! That is not so. Please, do not be misled. It will be fatal if you do not know the basics. Why? This is what Ecclesiastes 10:1 says, Ecclesiastes 10:1 says, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in the reputation for
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
wisdom and honour.” Try to kill flies and place them in a bottle of ointment, or perfume. Let them stay there for a week. After a week, open the bottle, savor it scent, and you will realize how a bottle of perfume could be spoiled by just a few flies. What was the Bible trying to tell us? A little folly spoils wisdom and honor. There is an English adage which says, “Little knowledge is dangerous.” That is true. A little folly could cause danger to a person. For example, no matter how good a surgeon is, the life of his patient could be endangered if the nurse assisting him is a simpleton. A sensible nurse makes an inventory of the number of cotton balls they used during the operation. So that before the wound is closed, she sees to it that the number of cotton balls she prepared reconciles with the number of cotton balls they used. But if the attending nurse is somebody who does not know the sensitiveness of her work, she would not really bother to check the cotton balls. Only to find out later that three pieces of cotton balls were left inside the patient’s body. There are cases like that. There had been an incident when, what was left inside was not an ordinary cotton ball, but a surgical scissors. Such serious damage happened because of the negligence of both the surgeon and the nurse. That is why it is very true that a little folly can be very damaging. That is, insofar as material things are concerned. But greater is the harm that a little folly can do in terms of godliness. When it comes to faith, there shouldn’t be any shade of folly. When it comes to faith you have to be very sure because what is at stake is either eternal bliss, or eternal damnation. Remember that we are heading for eternity, and eternity has two sides. One side is the eternal lake of fire, and the other side is life everlasting. Others, who do not want to listen to me, reason out that they do not want to confuse their minds anymore. Many say that they would rather stick to the faith that they grew up with, although they are not sure if their religion will lead them to salvation, or not. But the fact that you are uncertain of your salvation is a proof that your present religion did not even bother to teach you the ABC of salvation. Apparently, you are heading for something eternal without you having any direction. You do not even know the right thing to do. In religion, we should have the full knowledge of what we are doing. We should be certain of our actions. These are some of the things that we shall unravel in our discussion. First, let us find out, what should we use as a basis in serving God? How shall we serve Him? Why do we have to serve Him? Does God have any name? Is His name Jehovah, or Yahweh El Shaddai? Where is God? What are His physical attributes? Is He black or white? What is the color of His eyes? How does He smell? Some gods do not smell the same. Sometimes, their odor depends on the scent of the perfume, or cologne, sprayed on them. But what does the Bible say on this? Does His smell vary? James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” The Father in heaven does not have variableness. Whatever His odor 5,000 years ago is still His odor today. We can be very sure of that. Perhaps, you would ask, do we have to know God’s odor? Of course, so that if the god who is before you smells differently, that would mean that he is just a false god. Isn’t it that husbands and wives are familiar of each other’s scent? The husband knows if his wife is newly bathed, or if she has not taken a bath for three days. He can never be wrong because he has grown very familiar with her smell. Could a wife tell me that when she was raped, she thought that it was her husband who did it? That would be very stupid of her, because by the mere odor alone, she could already identify if it was her husband, or not. God gave us a sense of smell for us to identify who’s who, and which is which. Look at the blind, they have a very keen sense of smell. They can identify people thru their odors. There are people whose gods smell differently. Sometimes they smell of sampaguita, sometimes, of rosal. Whatever you put around them becomes their scent. This is the reason why we have to know Him. But, from what standpoint are we going to start in knowing Him? Or, shall we say, from what point of principle? What basis are we going to use in serving Him? What are we going to use in knowing the word of God? Let us begin by not using any book, nor any documented reference first. Is there a God, or is there no God? If you will ask the atheists, they will definitely deny God’s existence. They neither believe in God, nor in satan. They do not believe in anything supernatural. Their belief is confined only on the physical, or the material. But let us presume that we do not acknowledge any God either. Let us presume that we are not certain either if there is a God, or not. Let us play neutral first. Let us presume that we neither have any religion, too. Actually, even during the time when there was no Bible yet, there had already been similar talks. And to prove this to you, let us read Malachi 3:16-“Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD …” There was an incident in the past when God heard and listened to those who feared Him as they spoke to another. This shows us that, even if the Bible was not available yet, there were already talk about God. Let us presume that we are living in those times. We have no Bible; we are not certain whether, or not, there is God; we do not acknowledge any God. We are not saying that there is no God, only, we are not sure if He exists, or not. We neither have any religion, too. This is our opening scenario. We are all neutral, and we are all just beginning to learn. And in the studies that we will make, we will not use any book first.
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
Let us begin with this question: Who created you? Do you agree that you were created by somebody? Nobody in his right senses would claim that he was not created by anybody. Take the case of a chair, for instance. A chair became a chair because somebody created it. Otherwise, it would not have become a chair, right? The question is: Who created you? One time, when one person is asked the same question, somebody answered that, he was created by his mother and his father. At first glance, we may consider his answer as valid because, had his mother and father not mated, he would not have come to existence. But the question is, if his mother and his father were his creators, why is it that other husbands and wives could not produce any child? If his mother and his father were able to create him, it should follow that all other husbands and wives should beget children. But how come, there are couples that are childless? In other words, we cannot consider it to be a general truth that our respective parents are our creators, or makers. But granting that it was, indeed, our parents who created us. The question is, why didn’t they make you good-looking? Why did one mother give birth to a lame child? If that baby was, indeed, created by his parents, definitely, they should have created him without any deformity. If your parents were the ones who created you, they should not have given you the physique of a man and a heart of a woman. Why did they make you a homosexual? If they were your makers, then, they should also have to power to repair your deformities! Isn’t it that a carpenter who made the table can also repair that table should it gets broken? You are limping when you walk, why didn’t your parents give you legs of equal length, if they were your creator? And because they didn’t have power to do that, we are now led to a great and irrefutable conclusion that man is not the creator of man! If man is the creator of man, then, all men should be able to create man. And if man is the creator of man, he should have made a perfect man. But should his creation be defective, he should be able to repair the defect. But the glaring truth is, man is not created by man. There is “Somebody” else who created man. Every object that we see around us is made by man. The chair and the microphone were made by man. But the user of that chair and that microphone was not made by man. There isn’t any available proof that man created man. In fact, there was one laboratory in America, which took one cell from man. They studied it very well. They tried to find out what that cell contained, and they copied it. They took little water, little iron, little mineral, and they combined them all together. Until they succeeded in imitating a human cell. But there arose a problem – it was lifeless. So, they decided to stop. They had proven that, they can only imitate a human cell, but they cannot make a real one. Our physical appearance can be copied. A sculptor can make you a life size statue; he can also depict a specific facial expression. With the aid of modern technology, a sculptor can make your statue look real. But still, it is lifeless!
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
A flower can also be imitated. But no matter how well imitated it was, does it have any fragrance? None! Man can imitate anything that he sees, but he cannot make it as perfect as the original. And this only proves that another being must have created man. A man cannot create man. There is a higher, greater, mightier, more compassionate, and more merciful “Being” that created man. Why did I say that this Being is compassionate? I say that Being is compassionate because He is aware that, in this world, there are tiny creatures that give itch to man. And to prepare him for this, He equipped man with fingernails, which he could use in scratching the itchy part of his body. That Being knows that man will find it very difficult to dig the ground, so, he created a carabao, which will aid him in doing that job. All that he has to do is hold the plough firmly, and it’s up to the carabao, now, to drag it. Did you see the wisdom behind the creation of the carabao? I’m sure nobody will disagree with what I said. Remember, we are not using the Bible yet. I have learned to convince people in the existence of a powerful being, without using the Bible, but only thru physical evidences. We are now heading towards that inevitable conclusion that we are here on earth, not by our own choices, and neither because we were created by our parents, but because we were created by a powerful and merciful being. He knows that you will need water, so He made water for you. Actually, He made different types of water for us to realize how kind-hearted He is. He did not make all waters salty; otherwise, you’ll have no safe water to drink. It will be damaging to our health if we will drink saline water. This is the reason why He made tap water. Perhaps, you would ask why He created the seawater to be very salty. God knows that all waters are heading for the sea. He made the sea salty for it to be purified. Have you noticed that the sea never smells like garbage? Through the chemical reaction between the salt in the sea and the rays of the sun, the sea plankton and the other sea creatures will always be fresh. They will not rot, despite the fact that all sorts of trash are found in the sea. Do you realize now the essence of the sea? Why are some soils muddy, while some are sandy and loose? Why did He create gravel, pebbles, and sand? Because they are all needed by man. He provided man with everything that he needs that is why I consider Him to be very compassionate and very understanding. He knows what we want, He knows what we need, and He knows our limitations, so, He made everything available for us. Can you catch a mosquito that flies up to 12, or 25 feet high? Since He knows that you cannot leap that high, God assigned another creature to catch it for you – the lizards. And those which are able to escape the lizards are caught by frogs. Besides, if there are no mosquitoes, where will the lizards get their food? God gave the mosquitoes wings to fly up there in the ceiling, where the lizards are waiting for them. That is why, if we will just contemplate on this matter, we will realize that the One who made us is very intelligent. He created everything beautifully and orderly.
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
Is there a creator, or none? If there is, who is he? Do not say God yet. Remember we still do not know God. All that we know is, there is a creator. Who is he? We do not know yet. We are just unanimous in our belief that there is a Creator, and His creations were all beautifully made. And for that, we are very thankful to Him. We want to thank Him for giving us very obedient children and a very good husband/wife. But who must we give thanks to when we do not know Him? How should we thank Him? How can we acknowledge His goodness? How can we express our gratitude to Him? Like children, let us begin to ask questions. Let us reminisce our past. Do you know who your mother is? Of course! But what made you so sure that the mother you acknowledge is your real mother? Are you sure that all the things that your parents told you were true? Are you sure? We have to be sure! On my part, I am sure that I am a real son of my parents despite the fact that I was not around yet when my mother gave birth to me. Do you know why? There are different ways by which I can determine if my parents are my real parents. First, thru instinct; thru the physical features. My nose, for example, resembles the nose of my mother, and I got the shape of the legs of my father. Both my father and I do not have hair on our legs. My eyes are exactly the same with the eyes of my father – round. And because of those similarities in features, I am sure that I am a son of my parents. But aside from that, I also asked my aunt if she was around when my mother gave birth to me. She said, yes. In fact, it was to her that I was handed by the midwife who attended to my mother’s delivery. My aunt also recounted how red my skin was when I was born. So, now, I have a witness who attests that I am, indeed, a real son of my parents. In addition, I was born at home, so there was hardly a possibility that I was somebody else’s son. That is why I am very sure that my mother is my real mother because I have a witness. What do I mean to say? We do not know everything. All that we know is that “Somebody” created us. But how are we to know who created us? There should be a witness! One way of finding out the facts about the details of your birth is thru a birth certificate. It is indicated in the birth certificate the place, date, and time of your birth, the name of the attending doctor and midwife’ the name of the hospital, and the witness. Also, the birth certificate bears the signature of the midwife, or doctor. Now, our problem is, we want to serve God. We want to thank Him. We want to know Him, at least. We want to hug Him if only we could for all the goodness that He has done to us. But how can we know Him? How can we serve Him? Who is He, in the first place? What is His name?
How Great is God of the Bible (1st Part)
Bro. Eliseo F. Soriano
How can we resolve all these things? So far, we have found out a way by which we can answer our questions. We will look for a witness. Christ said that He had talked with God. But there are also pastors today who have a similar claim. One said that he had talked with God also, while another said that he is also able to talk with God. Let examine each of those who have claimed to have seen and talked with God, and let us find out who among them is the most credible witness. Was it really God that they talked with? What is His name? This is the time when we will begin to refer to their writings. Do you know that the Apostles had their writings compiled in what we call Bible? Do you also know that those pastors, who claim that they had seen and talked with God, have their writings, too? Many claim to have talked with God. And because we do not have the chance to talk to these people, we will just have to make some inquiry. Do you know what is one of God’s commandments to man? Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls . . .” In other words, God commanded man to ask. There is nothing wrong with asking questions. My grandmother used to tell me that an inquisitive person could outwit the intelligent. Why? You might be intelligent but if you are too reluctant and too shy to ask questions you will surely be mislead. So, at this point, we will ask questions. And we will address our questions to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to all of those who had allegedly talked with God. After asking them questions, we will eventually be led to the answer the question we posed earlier: Who really created us? And definitely, we will be able to draw an honest-to-goodness answer because we asked all of them very objectively, and we did not take sides. In my humble, little way let me lead you in your search for the Being who created us. Who is He? Why are we here on earth? Have you ever asked yourself why you are here on earth? What is the purpose of our Maker for creating us? How come we were not even given the chance to choose our own parents? Why were we denied of the liberty to design the kind of face we want? Actually, we were not really given a choice so we just have to make the most out of the face that had been given to us. Why did it happen that way? Is there a reason behind it? . . . These are some of the questions that we will try to answer thru God’s help. Hopefully, we will be able to see where we came from and where we are heading for. Right now, we are here on earth, but why were we brought forth into this world? And for us to know the answers to our questions, we shall look for a credible witness.
