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Genesis 1:1a (ESV)
In the beginning, God
There was a beginning, and science has come around to agreeing with the Bible. Scientists now say that the universe began with a bang – the big bang.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
But there’s another big agreement between science and the Bible – one that may be more profound. Both say that time itself also had a beginning.
http://www.hawking.org.uk/the-beginning-of-time.html
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, – 2 Tim. 1:9b (NIV)
If God created time, He has dominion over time. That makes Him more powerful than we can even imagine. Give me dominion over time and a Swiss Army Knife and I can defeat every army that has ever marched.
Furthermore, God has unlimited do-overs. He can fix any mistake (not that He ever makes any).
God doesn’t need to use His do-over power because He is also infinitely wise. Still, the existence of this option (and all the other implications of His dominion over time) undermines many simple perspectives on predestination.
This is not something we’re wired to understand. Suffice it to say that a theology that limits God’s power is dangerous.
Then what is prayer? God knows what we’re doing before we do it. So, why pray?
Because He told us to. Regular cause and effect work the same as we always thought they did. You can’t stop praying (or doing anything else) just because God is sovereign. He created cause and effect too.
This raises a lot of tough topics. It is good to let them challenge you and to seek understanding, but don’t let your limited understanding get you down. These topics are basically beyond human understanding. We can’t do much more than try to get comfortable with that.
Ask God for help in this. The goal is to get to a point where tough issues don’t interfere with worship and service. It’s good to ask for understanding, but don’t get greedy.
Ultimately, we’re asking for humility. We need to be comfortable with who we are. He understands the things we don’t, and we’re privileged to be connected to Him.
The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:
https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies