Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. (1 Corinthians 4:6)

Thinking Beyond God

The universe is an expanse of space that limitless. Scientists admit that all that is known and seen of the universe is only a microcosm of what is beyond the known worlds. The sun in the earth’s solar system is 92 million miles away from where light takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds to traverse and yet it would take a spacecraft months to arrive near the sun. This is not possible with modern technology as no provisions exist to come close. There are billions upon billions of stars in the known universe and the closest star, Proxima Centauri, is a short trip of 4.244 light-years away from the sun. A light-year is how fast light travels in one Earth year (nearly 6 trillion miles). An enormous blue star nicknamed Icarus is the farthest individual star ever seen and it takes light 9 billion years to reach earth.

Man has uncovered an immense system of stars and worlds that will never be explored. Through instruments like the Hubble Space Telescope, the human eye can gaze upon worlds never before imagined but that is all he will ever accomplish. Paul told the Athenians two thousand years ago the habitation of man is determined by the will of God. The earth and the expanse of the universe testify to the power of God, His determined will, and the nature of man. Gazing into the heavens is a canopy of the Creator’s eternal brush of who He is and how incredibly great and majestic He is. The universe is not given to man to show how huge the world is but how small man is. At the height of man’s wisdom, he knows nothing.

When the heart of man accepts his place in the world and that all that makes up the small blue dot in a vast expanse of black emptiness is his domain, God becomes so much greater. So why does man continually believe that he can go beyond the word of God? The amazing part of man’s failure is the exalted pride that he believes he is greater than the One who holds the known universe (and more) in the palm of His hand. Paul rebuked the saints at Corinth for changing the word of God. They sought to go beyond the will of the Father. Their carnal minds caused division, disharmony, and destroyed the word of God. They needed to learn to not go beyond what was written. How could a man have greater wisdom than the Creator who formed the universe and allows the world to continue by the command of His voice?

The nature of apostasy is the incredible audacity of someone to believe they know more than God. Critics of the Bible say it is corrupted, changed, perverted and there can be no reliance on its message. It must be remembered that anyone who charges the Bible with being a corrupted book does not believe in God. On the one hand, a man will say he believes in God but then teach the Bible is not the divine word of God. That is contradictory at its highest level and hypocritical as one believes in an eternal being that is not wise enough to create a book and protect it. If men can’t travel to the sun or even to Proxima Centauri, what makes him believe he can go beyond what is written? The Lord God Almighty is plenty powerful enough to give all men a book that can be read and understood and that His message remains uncorrupted through the centuries. Men need to stop believing the lie of Satan and embrace how great God is and perfect His book is. If you do not believe the Bible is the divine word of God you do not believe in God. When you go beyond what is written you are on an impossible journey that will not end well. Stay home and read your Bible.