A study into God’s invisible creation is not for the faint of heart. Everything visible constantly screams for our attention, yet the invisible is infinitely more important than the visible. Every Christian needs to see what the world ignores.
A Teenager’s Guide to The Invisible Creation by Jerry Ross is not your typical book for teens. Instead of rehashing the same issues once again, this book covers something unique—spiritual warfare.
Table of Contents
Our Invisible God
Ross begins by discussing not the invisible creation, but the invisible Creator. He recounts several ways God made Himself visible to man in the Old Testament, and the ways He reveals Himself to us now.
The author devotes one chapter to each person of the Trinity; I found the chapter about the Holy Spirit to be the most helpful. It is inarguable that the Holy Spirit is the most neglected member of the Godhead. The church at large doesn’t talk about Him and is definitely not filled with Him. We don’t tap into the power that we are freely offered.
The book lists seven ways the Holy Spirit works in the lives of Believers. If you, like me, grew up in church, all these things will be familiar to you. But it’s encouraging to remember the benefits God has promised us if we only walk with Him. Among these are that the Holy Spirit is a tutor as we study the Bible and that He guides us to appointments He has set.
The Invisible War
Whether we realize it or not, a war rages around us. It started thousands of years ago and will continue until the end of time. Satan and his demons are attempting to bring the world under the power of darkness; God and His angels are fighting back. To understand this war, we must first understand the combatants.
Most of the book is devoted to this discussion of spiritual warfare. Ross explores many scriptures about angels, demons, and Satan.
It’s interesting, and perhaps strange, to consider angels looking out for us and protecting us from harm, but the book makes the case that this is the Bible’s teaching exactly. The author writes that angels especially look after children, protecting them while they learn to avoid dangers. Angels, as well as God Himself, surround Believers at all times. Nothing happens to us without their (and His) knowledge.
God and the angels are invisible, but this is no great cause for concern. As long as we live righteously, we have no reason to fear unseen help. An unseen enemy, though? What are we supposed to do about that?
The book discusses several attributes of Satan; one is that he is a deceiver. It was surprising how many parallels exist between that first lie in Eden and the lies he tells today. Six thousand years after the Fall, he still has the same tactics.
First, he makes people doubt God’s words. This can manifest as atheism or even progressive Christianity. Many who claim the name of Christ do not believe the Bible’s every word is true.
He also makes people think God withholds good from them. Christians can struggle, feeling like they’re missing out on the fun and happiness the world offers. But as Eve quickly discovered, forbidden fruit is forbidden for a reason.
Perhaps the most effective lie in modern days is that humans are the arbiters of truth. The culture at large rejects absolute morality and everyone picks their own set of standards by which to live.
The Invisible Places
The book concludes with a look at two invisible places—Heaven and Hell. The chapters about Heaven contain mostly well-known information, but the chapters about Hell are both convicting and intriguing.
Ross paints a picture of what Hell is like, working through Luke 16:19-31. He shows how horrible of a place it is, full of physical as well as mental, spiritual, and emotional torment. He also answers common questions, like, “Why would a loving God send someone to Hell?”
His answer to this question was well thought out. He starts by listing everything that a loving God did do, then uses it to conclude what a loving God would do.
Overall
A Teenager’s Guide to the Invisible Creation is “a peek into God’s supernatural realm”. That subtitle promises exactly what Jerry Ross delivers—a brief overview of the invisible world around us. He does not go into detail on any one thing but succinctly mentions many related things. It’s an introduction of sorts but provides enough food for thought to stand on its own.
This book is free of content warnings. The chapters about demonic activity are the only thing I’d list as a concern. The book’s theology is also solid, and I only disagree with a couple of minor things.
At times, the book seems to have more scripture than original sentences. Some points consist of only a header and a verse. But then, other points go on for paragraphs.
With lesson goals at the beginning of each chapter and study questions at the end, this would also function well as a teen class curriculum.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into this topic, check out God’s War by Jerry Sheidbach.
Thanks for reading!
1 Comment
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[…] cover our relationship with the Holy Spirit, some information overlapping with his other book A Teenager’s Guide to the Invisible Creation. Whether you’ve read that book or not, this section will be helpful, with its discussion of the […]