Okay, we are going to take a trip back to first grade for a grammar lesson. Verbs…they describe actions. That seems simple enough; in fact we use verbs constantly everyday without thinking about it. But now I want to challenge you to think about verbs….God’s verbs. God always has, always is, and always will act. God did not create the world, set it in motion, and then stand back and watch things unfold. Quite the opposite. God acts. God acts in time. He acts in human history all of the time. There is not one sphere of life, one activity you can do where God in his providence is not acting or working. Let’s walk through some Bible verses and see just how God acts in salvation, real human decisions, and creation.
SALVATION
God’s Saving Work in Israel
Acts 13:16-33 God…chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm He led them out…He put up with them in the wilderness….He gave them their land as an inheritance…. He raised up David to be their king, …this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as He promised. He has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus.
God’s Action in Saving People from Start to Finish
Ephesians 1:4-5 He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…He predestined us for adoption
Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to hHs own mercy,
Romans 8:29-30 For those whom He foreknew He also predestined…And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.
God’s Action in Believers Good Works
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you, [He] will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then [because of God’s action] they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
HUMAN ACTIONS
God’s Action Over and Through Real Human Decisions
Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Daniel 4:35 He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, “What have you done?”
Ezra 1:1 The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom
Psalm 23:2-3 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
God’s Actions Over Kings and Kingdoms
Romans 9:17 Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you”
Isaiah 45:13 I have stirred [Cyrus the King] up in righteousness and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free,
Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will.
CREATION
God’s Action in Creating and Sustaining Every Molecule in the Universe
Psalm 147:8-9 He covers the heavens with clouds; He prepares rain for the earth; He makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food,
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth
Hebrew 1:3 He upholds the universe by the word of his power.
Nehemiah 9:6 You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.
Isaiah 45:7 I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity;
Wow, that really is an eye-opener. In those few verses, there were 55 God verbs. God always purposefully acts for the sake of His glory and the good of His people. So, I challenge you… as you do your Bible reading, don’t mindlessly look at the verbs. Revisit first grade. Look for the God verbs and let your heart fill with awe and praise as you see how God is always in action.
