Just to recap from last week, we’re talking about all things
God; who is He, what’s He look like, what’s He all about, and what does He want
from me. Who is He and what is He to me? We covered the fact that God is a spirit – He
doesn’t consist of flesh and blood; therefore, He doesn’t look like a Caucasian,
blue-eyed, blond hair man we see in pictures – because He’s a spirit! Even the pictures describing Jesus this way is in error as Jesus as an Israelite. We talked about His nature; how He loves us,
is caring and kind toward us. We also
talked about some of who He is like; He’s:
· Approachable
· Creative
· Forgiving
· Honest and
· capable
Let’s go back to relational for a moment. We know from the reading of His word that God strongly desires a relationship with us. When we think about God and just how great and wonderous and magnificent He is, it just begs the question, what could He possibly want with me? But then if we consider that if God created the entire world as a place to accommodate human beings – as we believe in our Hearts and in accordance with His word that He did – then He must have had some sort of plan in mind. The Bible says God wants as many people as will to choose to love Him and spend eternity with Him [John 3:15].
God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whosoever believes in Him will not face eternal destruction, but will have everlasting life. Get this, God didn’t send His Son into the world to judge it; instead, He sent Him to rescue a world headed toward destruction [John 3:16].
* God, the father, as He took on the form of a human being [Jesus Christ] and lived on this earth for a short period
of time and set himself as the perfect example: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: In other words, adopt the
mindset of Jesus. We should live with
His attitude in our Hearts. He was a servant in form – the very likeness of
humanity [compassion], He humbled Himself and He was obedient to death! Philippians 2:5-8
* And him teaching repentance and the kingdom of God. Jesus
main purpose was to provide the ultimate sacrifice for sins, by living a
completely sinless life, for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15
* And
dying on a cross
And He is the Head
of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should
all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by
him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things
in earth, or things in Heaven. And you,
that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now
hath He reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy
and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: Colossians
1:19-20
* And rising from the dead
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Romans 6:9-10
It’s through belief in Jesus and His sacrifice for sins that we’re declared righteous and free from sin. We who believe in Jesus follow Him, being indwelt by God’s Spirit, who guides us as we become conformed to the image of Christ: For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son . . . Romans 8:29
It bears repeating that if we want to have a real relationship with God, we need to know Him in His fullness, not just superficially or vicariously through others. We have to know Him and experience Him for ourselves. It’s called a relationship builder. In bible days God was described in many different ways by men who had relationships with God:
King
David describes Him as
righteous and holy. For the Lord is righteous, He loves
righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright. Psalm 11:7
Apostle Peter describes Him
as Holy: But as He who
called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is
written, "Be holy, for I am holy." 1
Peter 1:15-16
These men had
up close, intimate relationships with God.
What about you? One thing we can
all attest to is God’s love; how He demonstrates His love toward mankind. Even before the advent of mankind, God wanted
to share His love with others, He created the angels — spiritual creatures who
relate and worship Him.
Because God is
love, He wants us to love Him and love other people. Everything we read in the bible, which was
told by God, spoken of by the prophets and written by the apostles are based on
and are variations of the principles of love.
. . . Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto
it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all
the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40
There’s more!
We know God reveals who He is and tells us of Himself as recorded in His
word. This is what I want to share with
you today so we can better understand the ruler of the Kingdom; His majesty,
dominion and power:
¨ Who
does God claim to be?
Who is God? He's been described as everything from an impersonal life-force to
a benevolent, personal, almighty Creator. He’s been called by many names,
including: "Zeus," "Jupiter," "Brahma,"
"Allah," "Ra," "Odin," "Ashur," "Ahura
Mazda," and "the Great Spirit" to name
just a few. He's seen by some as "Mother Nature" and by others as
"Father God."
But
who is He really? Who does He claim to be? What has He revealed about Himself?
To begin with, whenever He refers to
Himself in parental terms, He always addresses Himself as "Father,"
never "Mother." He calls Himself “a Father to Israel," and in
one instance, when His "children" were particularly disrespectful to
Him, He said to them, "A son honors His father,
and a servant His master. If then I am the
father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence?" Malachi 1:6
The prophets acknowledged Him as Father by saying, “You are our Father,
we are the clay, and You, our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand," Isaiah 64:8
Malachi
asked the question: "Do we not all have one Father? Has not one God created
us?" Malachi 2:10
Never
once does God refer to Himself as "Mother" and never once is He
called mother by the prophets to whom He spoke. Calling God "Mother
Nature" is comparable to calling your earthly father "Mom." Prayerfully, we put that to rest, God is not
mother nature.
¨ What Does God
Care About?
So, who is God in terms of moral attributes? What does God have to say about
Himself in this regard? Justice and
equity are very important to God. But so are grace and mercy. And so, while God
will hold everyone accountable – each for their own lives – He extends His
grace to the repentant sinner. He promises that,
. . . if the wicked will turn
from all His sins that He hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that
which is lawful and right, He shall surely live, He shall not die. All His transgressions that He hath
committed, they shall not be mentioned unto Him: in His righteousness that He
hath done He shall live. Have I any
pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that He
should return from His ways, and live? But
when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth
iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man
doeth, shall He live?
God extends grace and mercy and we should take advantage of it because if we don’t, He has this to say: All his righteousness that He hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that He hath trespassed, and in his sin that He hath sinned, in them shall He die. Ezekiel 18:21:24
¨ God is
Knowable; He makes himself known to us.
Many religions
describe a being referred to as "God." Some of these religions
describe the being God as one of many other gods created by more powerful gods
or councils of gods. But the bible lets us know, but every believing child of
God should know:
· God is the Creator of not only the earth but the Heavenlies (matter, energy, space, and time), along with other principalities and beings.
However, God
did not just create the universe and leave it to its own fate as deists
proclaim. God is this personal life force who walked and talked with Adam and
Eve in the garden of Eden.
God is also Savior
of mankind, who came to Earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to provide the
ultimate example of holiness and the ultimate sacrifice for humanity's sins, in
order to restore our personal relationship with Him.
According to
Christianity, God is the self-existent One, having no need of being created,
since He has existed forever and is the cause of all things, including the
dimension of time, to which He Himself is not subject. God's power over the physical creation is
absolute, such that He can manipulate matter, energy, space, and time at will.
For this reason, God is said to be all powerful—able to accomplish any task He
wills to do. Along with being all powerful, God is also all knowing—having
knowledge of all things that are possible to be known, including the entire
History of the universe—past, present, and future. God is
a) all powerful (omnipotent) and
b) all knowing
(omniscient)
c) He’s also able to be present at all places at all times
(omnipresent).
d) God is all loving—according to the
Bible, "God is
love".
The love of God prompted Him to create human beings in His image, in order to share His love with us. The scriptures, Matthew 22:37-40, say that we can fulfill the entire law of God by loving Him and loving our fellow human beings.
God is absolutely holy—without any moral or character defect. In fact, the Bible says that God is incapable of doing any evil and despite being all powerful. God is unchangeable.
God said it: For I the Lord do not change . . . Malachi 3:6
In other words,
He doesn’t change any of His attributes or character at any time. Despite
humanity's tendency to change its definition of morality, God's moral character
does not evolve with the times, but remains constant. He’s not fickle; following every wind and
whim of man.
Lastly, the
Bible says that God cannot be contained within the universe. Solomon asked the question: But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the Heaven and Heaven of Heavens cannot contain the; how much less this house that I have builded? 1 Kings 8:27
In addition, the
Bible says that God fills both Heaven and earth: Can any hide Himself in secret places that I shall not see Him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill Heaven and earth? saith the LORD. Jeremiah 23:24
So, God is both
transcendent (Heavenly) and innate (natural).
In other words, God is present
at all places at all times (omnipresent).
God's normal
abode is in Heaven, which is not located within the physical realms of the universe.
According to the Bible, Heaven operates under different physical laws. And the Heaven departed
as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were
moved out of their places. Revelation 6:14
And all the host of Heaven
shall be dissolved, and the Heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and
all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a
falling fig from the fig tree. Isaiah
34:4
