Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Jeremiah 10:10-16
Jeremiah 10:10-16
New International Version
10 But the Lord is the true God;
he is the
living God, the eternal King.
When he is angry, the earth trembles;
the nations
cannot endure his wrath.
11 “Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the
heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’”
12 But God made the earth by his power;
he founded
the world by his wisdom
and
stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes
clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings
out the wind from his storehouses.
14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every
goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;
they have no
breath in them.
15 They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
when their
judgment comes, they will perish.
16 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is
the Maker of all things,
including Israel, the people of his inheritance—
the Lord
Almighty is his name.
-- one day,
this mother was walking through her living room and noticed her little girl
intently engaged in drawing a picture on the floor -- she asked her what she
was drawing -- the little girl said, "I'm drawing a picture of God"
-- the mother said, "Honey, no one knows what God looks like" -- and
the girl responded, "They will when I get done"
-- this
morning, we're continuing in our sermon series on the Nicene Creed – a synoptic
look at who God is and what we believe as the people called by His name
-- last
week we talked about creeds -- about these statements of faith that the early
church established for several purposes -- let me remind you what these major
purposes were
-- first, the
creeds were definitive – creeds served to define who is a believer and who is
not – by providing a concise statement of truths that the faith community
agreed in, the creeds defined who and what the early church believed and stood
for
--
secondly, the creeds were confessional – by affirming that they believed the
tenets of these creeds, the creeds became the standard of faith that all
Christians and the church believed and adhered to -- these creeds provided the
basic foundation of the church's faith and were unifying documents to confirm
that all who belonged to that church believed in the same God and the same
truths from Scripture
-- and,
finally, the creeds were normative -- they provided a framework for life -- One,
it defines the faith by including what Christians believe and excluding what
they do not -- Two, it establishes boundaries for conduct – giving individual
Christians a reference and a standard, based on the Bible, that they could use
to determine how they would live their lives in the midst of the pagan culture
they found themselves in
-- but, if
you were to sum up these three purposes, the main reason these creeds were
developed was for the same reason that little girl drew her picture -- the
church wanted to show the world what God really looked like and to make sure
they were not following the false gods presented by other religions or false
teachers
-- so, this
morning, we’re going to look at the first section of the Nicene Creed – I
printed it for you, so if you would follow along as I read that first section:
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
II. God the Father Almighty
-- if
you'll notice, this creed that defines who we are and what we believe begins
with God – we see in this opening section the echo of the Shema, that we looked
at last week and that we find in both the Old Testament and the New Testament –
“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”
-- any
statement of faith must start where this one does – as Rick Warren wrote in his
book, "The Purpose-Driven Life," -- "It All Starts with
God" -- and the very first line of the book says, "It's not about you”
– it’s about Him
-- “For
Christians there is one God, but the one God is made up of three distinct
Persons. Through Jesus Christ, the
oneness of God is revealed differently than in Judaism and Islam. God’s oneness has a three-ness about it.”1
-- so, the
Nicene Creed begins with a definitive statement – “I believe in one God” – and
then goes on to expound on our belief in a triune God – the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit
-- you
know, a lot of times, our churches tend to be more than Jesus-centric -- they
become Jesus-exclusive -- Jesus becomes the only One we talk about and sing
about and preach about -- I have friends who never read the Old Testament and
who never preach from the Old Testament because they think it is not relevant –
a few years ago, Andy Stanley, the nationally known pastor from Atlanta, was
criticized for saying just that and focusing only on the New Testament
-- people
who focus solely on Jesus to the exclusion of the Father and the Spirit will
proclaim, "We're New Testament Christians -- We're just all about
Jesus"
-- and
while Jesus is our redeemer and our Savior, we should never forget that God is
Trinity -- three persons in one Godhead -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- and
we need all three persons of the Godhead -- all three members of the Trinity --
in our lives today
-- the
thing I want you to remember this morning is that the Trinity was not an
invention of the early church – the Trinity was and has always been God – the
Trinity was there in the beginning and will be there throughout all eternity
-- in fact,
if you look at the Creation story in Genesis 1, you can see all three members
of the Godhead present – the writer of Genesis recognized that – and for that
reason, we see God referred to in the Old Testament in many places as Elohim,
which is a plural form used to refer to the Godhead and the entirety of the
Divinity
-- the Jews
may not have fully understood the Trinity as we do today, but their concept of
God was larger than we give them credit for – and I believe they recognized the
presence of God in multiple persons based on their descriptions of Him in the
Old Testament Scriptures
-- so, the
creed begins with “I Believe in One God” and goes on to affirm that we believe
in the “Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, of all things visible and
invisible” – in affirming this statement of belief in the creed, the Council of
Nicaea was trying to convey to the church the need to worship and praise the
Trinity, beginning with God the Father Almighty
-- as the Catholic Catechism
teaches, “By calling God ‘Father,’ two main things are indicated:” that God is
the first origin of everything and transcendent authority; and that he is at
the same time goodness and loving care for all his children.”
-- so, He is our Father because He
is our Creator and He is our Father because He loves us and cares for us and
protects us
-- Jesus taught us to call God,
“Our Father,” in the Lord’s prayer and He referred to God as His Father many
times in the Scriptures – Jesus’ use of the term, “Father,” for God was not
biological, but relational – He was not the Son because God was His biological
Father – He was the Son in relation to God the Father Almighty in position
-- the Father is not older than the
Son, for the Son was with God in the beginning and the Godhead has existed as
three persons in One from infinity – so, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit are relational terms that express how the Trinitarian Godhead exists and
functions in relation to each other and to us
-- we’ll expand on this further in
this study, when we get to the main reason why the Nicene Creed was formulated,
which goes back to the Arian controversy I mentioned last week
-- while we
are certainly familiar with the concept of God the Father Almighty from
Scripture, let's begin our study of the Nicene Creed by turning to this passage
from Jeremiah where we read of the Father Almighty and His relationship to
Israel and all Creation
-- just to give you the background
of this passage, Jeremiah was a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah right
before it was taken into captivity to Babylon
-- he began
his ministry under the reign of King Josiah, the last good king of Judah -- and
he watched as the nation began to backslide from the worship of One True God to
the worship of idols
-- the
prophet Jeremiah came from a priestly line -- his father was actually Hilkiah,
a High Priest -- but even though he came from this priestly line, God called
Jeremiah to condemn the priests and the people of Judah because they had quit worshiping
God with all their hearts and minds and soul and strength and were just giving
Him lip-service – in fact, they had begun worshiping and putting their faith in
idols more so than the God who created them and called them to be His chosen
people
-- so, God
called Jeremiah to remind the people of Judah of who He was -- to remind them
that He was their God -- their Father -- and their Creator – and that these
idols they worshiped were nothing
-- look
back at verse 10-11
Jeremiah 10:10 But the Lord is the true God;
he is the
living God, the eternal King.
When he is angry, the earth trembles;
the nations
cannot endure his wrath.
11 “Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the
heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’”
--
basically, what these verses are saying is “There is one true God – Yahweh – He
is the living God – He is the eternal King – He is the Creator and Father of us
all – He is the One and only God you should believe in”
-- ever
since the death of King Josiah, the nation of Judah had started making and
worshiping idols -- they had built altars to Baal throughout the land and on
the high places -- and they had even gone so far as to sacrifice their children
to these false Gods
-- so, God
is calling out to them through the prophet Jeremiah -- He is reminding them of
who He is and warning them to come back to Him
-- if
you’ll notice, the word, “Lord,” in verse 10 is in all caps – that means that
God is referring to Himself here as Yahweh, using the sacred name of God that
He gave to Moses for the nation of Israel – so that, when He brought them out
of the land of Egypt and into the Promised Land, they would know Him as their
God and Father, and would worship Him as the One True God of Israel
-- He tells
the people through Jeremiah, “I Am Yahweh, and these gods – these idols -- that
you worship today are not real gods -- they didn't make the heavens and the
earth -- they didn't bring you out of the land of Egypt with power -- they
didn't make you into a great nation -- they will perish from the earth, but I
will remain"
-- He tells
them that they have provoked His anger, for He is a jealous God who will not
abide by anyone or anything taking the praise and glory and worship He deserves
-- that is
why Jeremiah mentions in the second part of verse 10 that when God is angry,
the earth trembles – the nations cannot endure His wrath – as the Bible says,
“it is fearsome thing to fall in the hands of the living God”
-- the
people in Israel had forgotten their most basic commandment – they had
forgotten the Shema – they had forgotten God – and now He is reminding them of
their unfaithfulness towards Him
-- notice in
verse 10 that it says that God is the true God -- Jesus said the same thing in
the New Testament when He said, "I am the truth" -- if something is
true, that means that it is fact -- it is the standard or ideal -- it is what
all other things are measured against -- the opposite of truth is falsehood
-- when God
reminds the nation of Judah that He is the true God, He is reminding them that
the idols that they have turned to and are worshiping are not real -- they are
false -- they are the complete opposite of God and they can do nothing for the
people
-- this
verse goes on to say that God is the living God -- He is alive -- He is not
dead like the idols -- He wasn't made out of wood or hammered gold -- He is
alive and the source of life -- as it says in Acts 17:28, "For in Him we
live and move and have our being"
-- finally,
it says that He is the eternal King -- every single idol that was ever made has
passed away -- every single idol that was ever made was made with perishable
materials -- but God is not like an idol -- He was and is and ever shall be --
He was before time itself and has always existed and will always exist -- He is
the true and living and eternal God – the Lord God Almighty
-- with
these verses, Jeremiah is calling the nation of Judah to come back to their
faith -- Jeremiah says, "I believe in God" -- and calls them to do
the same
-- that is
the purpose of the first clause of the Nicene Creed – to remind us of who God
is and to lead us to affirm with the rest of the people of God that we believe
in the One True God – the Father Almighty – Maker of Heaven and Earth
-- verse 12
Jeremiah 10:12 But God made the earth by his power;
he founded
the world by his wisdom
and
stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
-- skip
down to verse 16 [read vs. 16]
Jeremiah 10:16 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not
like these,
for he is
the Maker of all things,
including Israel, the people of his inheritance—
the Lord
Almighty is his name.
-- God's
relationship to the people of Israel was unlike any relationship that the pagan
nations around them had with their so-called gods -- for Israel, God wasn't
just an impersonal god who resided in heaven and told them what to do and what
not to do – a god who had to be placated and bargained with so it would work on
their behalf and do good things for them and not send bad things their way
– that was not the God of Israel –
that was not Yahweh – that was not how the nation of Israel knew Him – they
knew God as their Father
-- in 2
Samuel 7, God reminded David of this relationship that He planned for the
nation of Israel -- "I will be his father, and he will be my son"
-- and in
Psalm 103 we read, "As a father has compassion on his children, so the
LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he
remembers that we are dust"
-- when we
call God our Father, it is a reminder that God created us and loves us in a
special way -- it is a reminder that we have a relationship with Him like no
one else
-- we owe
Him our life and our love and our allegiance -- and He guides us and protects
us and cares for us as an earthly father does the same for his children
-- look
back at verse 13-16
Jeremiah 10:13 When he thunders, the waters in the
heavens roar;
he makes
clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings
out the wind from his storehouses.
14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every
goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;
they have no
breath in them.
15 They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
when their
judgment comes, they will perish.
16 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is
the Maker of all things,
including Israel, the people of his inheritance—
the Lord
Almighty is his name.
-- when we
affirm that we believe in the Father Almighty, our use of the descriptor,
“Almighty,” refers to the power and majesty of God – literally, "Almighty,"
means "all powerful" -- and it is a reminder that not only is God
true and living and eternal -- not only is He our Father -- but He is all
powerful -- there is nothing that God cannot do -- and there is nothing that He
will not do for us because we are His children
-- speaking
of God's almighty power here, Jeremiah uses the image of a thunderstorm -- the
thunder and the lightning -- the rain and the clouds
-- if you've ever been caught out
in a thunderstorm, you understand why Jeremiah used this picture to convey the
awesome power of God the Father Almighty -- there is nothing more powerful and
more frightening than an uncontrolled storm
-- I
remember one time when I was hunting in central Florida and an afternoon
thunderstorm caught me unaware -- I was sitting in a metal tree stand about 15
feet off the ground, when all of a sudden, I saw a flash of light and thunder
rolled through the trees -- lightning was popping all around me and the thunder
was deafening and the sky got as dark as night
-- and I
remember thinking to myself -- if I don't get out of here, I'm going to get
killed -- I shimmied down that tree as fast as I could and beat a path for the
truck -- all the way the lightning was just hitting around me and the thunder
was just rolling and I was in fear for my life
-- that's
what Jeremiah is reminding us of here – God’s power is like that of an
uncontrolled storm – He is all powerful -- He is great and greatly to be feared
-- He is not like those idols that are senseless and without knowledge or power
-- He is not worthless like them, but
He is worthy of our praise and our worship for He is Creator -- He is our
Father -- He is our God -- and He is all powerful -- the Lord God Almighty
-- the
creed says, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and
Earth" -- it was by God's great power that He made heaven and earth --
when God spoke, the world was formed -- when God spoke, light was created --
when God spoke, the seas rolled away and the land was formed -- when God spoke,
life came into existence
-- Jeremiah
is reminding the people of Judah what they are doing by worshiping idols --
your idols have no power, he says -- they are worthless and useless and
inanimate – they are senseless and without knowledge – they are objects of
mockery, so why do you worship them?
-- Our God is the Father Almighty
-- our God is all powerful -- He has the power to create and the power to judge
-- and if you refuse to turn back to Him, He will pour out His wrath and
judgment on you – when judgment comes, you will perish along with these
worthless idols you worship
-- our God is not like these idols,
for He is the Maker of all things – He made Israel – the people of His
inheritance – and the Lord Almighty is His name
-- and this is what we affirm when
we proclaim together the first clause in the Nicene Creed:
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
III. Closing
-- I once
heard a story about this man who always fell asleep during the preacher’s
sermon -- well, his wife had had enough of this – so on this particular Sunday
morning, she was going to make sure that he stayed awake
-- when she
went to church, she took a large hair pin with her and put it in her Bible with
the idea that if her husband nodded off, she was going to stick him with it and
wake him up
-- and sure
enough, right in the middle of the sermon, the man nodded off -- It was just at
the time that the preacher was trying to make a point in his message -- he
asked the congregation, "Now who was it that made the heavens and the
earth?"
-- and as
soon as he said it, the woman jabbed her husband with the hairpin -- He jumped
up out of the pew and screamed, "GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY" -- The pastor
said, "That’s right, Brother, that’s right"
-- that is
the take-home message from this passage in Jeremiah and of the first section of
the Nicene Creed – there is one God and one God alone – He is a good God -- He
is our Lord -- our Father -- our Creator and our Maker -- He is almighty -- all
powerful -- and a loving and good Father to us all
--
sometimes we need a poke in the side to remind us of this – whether that’s from
an angry wife or from a prophet like Jeremiah -- and sometimes we just need to
sit down and remind ourselves of why we are here and of what we proclaim to
believe as followers of Jesus
-- I
believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth -- and I hope
that you do, too
-- let us
pray
----------------------------------
1 The Faith For Beginners : Understanding the Creeds, by
Stephen k. Ray and R. Dennis Walters, Catholic Answers
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