Posts Tagged ‘Genesis’

A phrase began to jump out at me each time I ran across it in my reading of Scripture: “But God…” I noticed that the phrase illuminated a contrast with God’s plans and ways and the world’s plans and ways. I recognized that we could have eliminated the need for the “But God” phrase if we had just begun with God’s perfect plan.

I did a search for the phrase, “But God,” in multiple translations of Scripture and found over eighty examples; each shed light on God’s sovereignty, grace, justice, and mercy. Here are just a few cases in point.

Beginning in Genesis 3, the serpent is questioning, “Did God actually say…” and the woman’s response includes, “But God said.” That should have been enough; the serpent should have been silenced by God’s Word. But he wasn’t.

In Genesis 8, the wickedness of mankind had resulted in a worldwide flood. “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.”

In Genesis 17, Abraham is asking God to consider Ishmael as a solution to the problem of Sarah’s old age and her not being able to produce offspring, “But God said, ‘No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac…”

Genesis 20 finds Abraham attempting to pass Sarah off as his sister in order to protect her. Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah; “But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, ‘Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”

Genesis 50 contains one of the more famous “But God” phrases in Scripture. Joseph is putting his brothers at ease when he explains, “You intended to harm me, But God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Acts contains a few instances of the “But God” phrase concerning Jesus Christ, “But God raised him from the dead.”

Romans 5 states, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

One of my favorite “But God” phrases comes from 1 Corinthians 1:27. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”

Hebrews 12:10 declares, “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; But God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”

Our sin requires correction. Thank the LORD for all of the “But God” passages, where his will is proclaimed against the backdrop of our need.

“The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Genesis 6:14 (NIV)

“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” Genesis 6:9 (NIV)

Luke’s account of this time period indicates that the people were blinded to their own problems. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26-27 (NIV)

Are we “walking with God” or just going about our daily lives as if everything is okay?

Galatians 5:22-23 contains a list of attributes of the fruit of the Spirit, but what kind of plant can produce “Spirit Fruit”? God’s Word is full of information regarding fruit and plants and seed.

Beginning in the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1:11-12, “God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”

You will continue to run across the theme of fruit and seed all the way though Scripture until you get to the last chapter in the Bible, Revelation 22:1-2, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life. It was as clear as crystal. It flowed from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit. Its fruit was ripe every month. The leaves of the tree bring healing to the nations.”

In the midst of a teaching about trees and fruit in Matthew 7:18, we are told, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” The principle of each plant bearing seed or fruit after its own kind doesn’t change from Old Testament to New Testament. A plant can only bear the fruit that it is designed to bear.

So let’s go back to Galatians 5:22- 23 and look at what kind of plant can produce “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” That Spirit Fruit only comes by being in the Spirit. Galatians 5 informs us that a conflict is being waged between the flesh and its desires and the Spirit. Verse 24 tells us, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

Let us walk in the Spirit and produce Spirit Fruit.

Quotes in this post from (NIV).