Systematic Theology: Existence Of God (part 1) by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

What Is Systematic Theology?

Systematic theology is the organized, chronological study of what the Bible teaches about God and everything related to him, arranged topically. The major categories are:

1. Theology Proper — the doctrine of God: his existence, attributes and nature, the Trinity, and God's will and decrees.
2. Bibliology — the doctrine of scripture: inspiration, authority, canon, inerrancy, and interpretation.
3. Christology — the doctrine of Christ: his person and work.
4. Pneumatology — the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
5. Anthropology — the doctrine of humanity.
6. Soteriology — the doctrine of salvation.

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7. Ecclesiology — the doctrine of the church.
8. Eschatology — the doctrine of last things.

Biblical Evidence for God's Existence

The Bible begins with God as the creator of everything, seen and unseen. Genesis 1:1 — "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The seen world mirrors the existence of an unseen God who is yet alive.

Psalm 14:1 — "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Romans 1:19–20 — God's invisible qualities are clearly seen through creation. Every sunrise and every breath is saying God is real.

Three Classical Arguments for God's Existence

1. The Cosmological Argument

   Everything that begins to exist has a cause. The universe began — so it must have a cause. Hebrews 3:4 — "Every house is built by someone, but he who built all things is God." Psalm 90:2 — "Before the mountains were brought forth, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God."

2. The Teleological Argument

   The design and order in creation point to an intelligent designer. Psalm 19:1 — "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork." Isaiah 45:18 — "I am the Lord, and there is no other. I did not create it in vain. I formed it to be inhabited." It takes more faith to believe there is no God than to believe there is.

3. The Moral Argument

   The fact that every human being inherently knows not to kill another person shows that there is a lawgiver, and that this law is part of the human design. Romans 2:14–15 — "For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do the things in the law... they show the work of the law written in their hearts."

   • Disbelief is not requiring evidence — it is refusing to accept evidence. God does the miracle, and the disbeliever rationalises it away. Hardness of heart.
   • Unbelief is requiring evidence. Doubt is questioning what you already believe. These are three different things.

The Holiness of God

The Hebrew word for holiness is kadosh — set apart, in a class of its own. When the angels cry "holy, holy, holy" before the throne, they are not describing God's behaviour. They are saying: you are utterly distinct. You are the Most High. We are high, but not like you.

The holiness of God is based not on what he does — it is based on who he is.

The holiness he gives to believers is positional and conversational:

• Positional — you have been set apart. God has purchased you and separated you unto himself. This is done and cannot be undone.
• Conversational — this is usefulness and yieldedness. Holiness means being used by God. Whatever God is using is holy. Moses took off his sandal on holy ground not because the ground had become morally clean — but because God was using it.

The life in Christ is not a life of trying not to sin. It is a life of surrender.

When you yield your members to God consistently, you will sin more with sin-consciousness. The consciousness you are meant to carry is the consciousness of God's righteousness and of where you are positionally in him.