Replies

Something — heaven and earth — came into being out of nothing, solely by means of the Creator's creative Word, His Logos of the Beginning Whom the beloved apostle tells us "was God, and was with God." To me, the Big Bang is analogue of God's SPEAKING His Word into creation, whereby He created the universe, heavenly and physically (i.e., "the earth" of Genesis 1:1).

Thank you oh so very much for your incisive and informative essay-post, dearest sister in Christ! And thank you for bringing LeMaître to the discussion.

Evidently, while you were posting it I was in the process of confirming what you so accurately suggested was my testimony vis-à-vis Creation ex nihilo. And I was delayed getting back to this thread. So, my apologies.

From the beginning of the sidebar, my spiritual sense is that the present challenge centers on the Name of God, i.e. Who God IS.

And Who God IS is a revelation which is to say, it cannot be known by mere mortal reasoning, sensory perception or Bible reading.

Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, [The Son] of David. - Matthew 22:42

He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. - Matthew 16:15-18

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and [that] no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. –I Corinthians 12:3

Indeed, the people Jesus is addressing below were physically hearing Him, but they could not spiritually hear Him. They did not have "ears to hear."

Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word. – John 8:43

And again,

And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. - Deuteronomy 29:2-5

His Names, I AM, He IS (YHwH), Alpha and Omega, The Lord, The Almighty, God Almighty (El Shaddai) all reveal that God is One God, He has no ancestor. He is The Creator ex nihilo.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. - Revelation 1:8

"Hallowed be thy Name..."

And Who God IS is a revelation which is to say, it cannot be known by mere mortal reasoning, sensory perception or Bible reading...

"Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and [that] no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." –I Corinthians 12:3

AMEN. Yet Bible-reading, made knowable by the Holy Spirit, is the way God has chosen to reveal Himself to us.

"But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." -- 2 Timothy 3:14-15

Christ, the word of God made flesh. Scripture, the word of God made known.

Indeed, the people Jesus is addressing below were physically hearing Him, but they could not spiritually hear Him. They did not have "ears to hear."

Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word. – John 8:43

AMEN. I was just reading John 8 this morning...

"He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God." -- John 8:47

That's quite an indictment. But the glory of God is such that anyone with a contrite heart who asks for new ears to hear the truth and new eyes to see the truth will not be turned away because it is the Holy Spirit working within them to desire such things, and thus they were always "of God."

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me;
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." -- John 10:27-28

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. - Revelation 1:8

AMEN!

From the beginning of the sidebar, my spiritual sense is that the present challenge centers on the Name of God, i.e. Who God IS.... His Names, I AM, He IS (YHWH), Alpha and Omega, The Lord, The Almighty, God Almighty (El Shaddai) all reveal that God is One God, He has no ancestor. He is The Creator ex nihilo.

Indeed, dearest sister in Christ, contemplation of the holy Names of God is magnificently instructive! There is no better way to come to an understanding of the divine Power that made and continues to rule this universe and the world of men, from Beginning to End.

And indeed, His was/is indubitably an ex nihilo creation.

Thank you ever so much for your outstanding essay/post!

To God be the glory!