God
GOD
The Bible reveals God as the only Infinite and Eternal Being, having no beginning and no ending. He is Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is the Supreme Personal Intelligence, and Righteous Ruler of His universe. He is life, and therefore, the only source of life.
[John 5:24-27 NT] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.”
Man is natural and cannot know God by wisdom. God is a person and can be known only by revelation. In the Old Testament He revealed Himself to and through His prophets. In the New Testament He reveals Himself through His Son Jesus Christ.
[Job 11:7-12 OT] “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. If He passes by or shuts up, or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him? For He knows false men, and He sees iniquity without investigating. And an idiot will become intelligent when the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.”
[Hebrews 1:1-4 NT] God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
[Hebrews 11:5,6 NT] By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
The Bible nowhere attempts to prove or argue the existence of God. “For he who comes to God must believe that He is.” The existence of God is a fact taken for granted by the writers of both the Old and New Testaments. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 OT). The Bible opens by announcing the sublime fact of God and His existence. There are arguments for the existence of God; they are not conclusive, but are food for thought:
(1) Universal belief in God comes from within man. It is innate in man,
and comes from rational intuition.
(2) The argument from “cause and effect” : everything that began owes its existence to a cause. We have a watch; we must have a watchmaker. We have a building; we must have a builder. We have a creation; then we must have a creator. This creation could not have come into existence without an intelligent, personal creator anymore than the alphabet could produce a book itself without an author.
(3) The argument from anthropology : man’s moral and intellectual nature
argues for a moral and intellectual creator.
(4) The Bible and the Christ that it reveals, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His vicarious death, and His bodily resurrection — all of this and much, much more — argue for the existence of God.
THE PERSONALITY OF GOD
[1 Thessalonians 1:9,10 NT] For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
The Bible reveals God as a personality. He is called “… a living and true God” — One possessing self-consciousness and self-determination. His personality is shown in what He does, such as:
(1) God loves. [John 3:16-21 NT] “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
(2) God hates. [Proverbs 6:16-19 OT] “There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”
(3) God cares. [1 Peter 5:6,7 NT] “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.”
(4) God grieves. [Genesis 6:5,6 OT] “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”
Only a personality can love, hate, care, and grieve; therefore, God must be a living, eternal, and personal being.
THE NATURE OF GOD
[1 John 4:8-11 NT] The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
There are four definitions of God in the Bible. Since God cannot be defined, they are incomplete. However, they do throw light upon the nature of God. They are:
(1) “God is love” (above verse 8). This is the nature of God is His divine compassion.
(2) “God is light.” [1 John 1:5-10 NT] “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
This is the nature of God in His divine character; in Him there is no darkness.
(3) “God is a consuming fire.” [Hebrews 12:25-29 NT] “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.” And this expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.”
This is the nature of God in His divine holiness.
(4) “God is spirit.” [John 4:21-24 NT] “Jesus said to her, `Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.'”
This is the nature of God in His divine essence.
The attributes of God reveal His nature. Do not think of His attributes as abstract, but as vital mediums through which His holy nature is unveiled — attributes ascribed to Him, such as:
(a) Life is ascribed to God. [John 5:26 NT] “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;” (b) All knowledge is ascribed to God. [Psalms 147:1-5 OT] “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and praise is becoming. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.” (c) All power is ascribed to God. [Revelation 19:4-6 NT] “And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, `Amen. Hallelujah!’ And a voice came from the throne, saying, `Give praise to our God, all you His bondservants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.’ And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, `Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. (d) Filling the universe with His presence is ascribed to God. [Psalms 139:1-10 OT] “O Lord, Thou has searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, and art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all. Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, and laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me, and Thy right hand will lay hold of me.”
God is everywhere present, but He is not in everything. If God were in everything, man could worship any object and he would be worshiping God. God is a spirit being. “And those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The Grace of God
[Ephesians 2:8-10 NT] “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Grace is the love and mercy of God in action. Mercy is negative, and love is positive; both together mean grace. To show mercy in love is grace. God showed mercy in love when He sent His Son to bear our sins in His own body on the cross.
(1) The grace of God saves forever. [Romans 8:35-39 NT] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR THY SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(2) The grace of God is sufficient. [2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NT] And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me–to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
(3) The grace of God makes no discrimination [Revelation 22:17 NT] And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
(4) The grace of God justifies [Romans 3:21-24 NT] But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe, for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
(5) The grace of God makes every believer an heir [Titus 3:3-7 NT] For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Saviour and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
(6) The grace of God teaches the believer how to live [Titus 2:11-14 NT] For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
The grace of God is nothing less than the unlimited love of God expressed in the gift of His Son, our Savior. It is the undeserved love of God toward sinners.
The Trinity of God
[Matthew 3:16,17 NT] “And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, `This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.'”
By the Trinity of God we mean His tri-personal existence as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — three distinct Persons in one God.
(1) The Father is recognized as God and is all the fullness of the Godhead invisible. [1 Peter 1:1,2 NT] Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure. [John 1:18 NT] No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
(2) The Son is recognized as God and is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested in the flesh. [John 1:14 NT] And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(3) The Holy Spirit is recognized as God and is all the fullness of the Godhead acting upon man, convicting him of sin and guiding the believer into all truth. [Acts 5:1-6 NT] But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostle’s feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God. And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came upon all who heard of it. And the young men arose and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. [John 16:7-15 NT] “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you.
(4) The doctrine of the Trinity is not explicit in the Old Testament, but is rather implied, “Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image …”
(5) The doctrine of the Trinity is revealed in the New Testament. In the above scriptures (Matthew 3:16,17 NT) we have Christ being baptized in water, the Father speaking from heaven, and the Holy Spirit descending as a dove. We are to baptize in the “name [not names] of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19 NT).
(6) Even creation implies the doctrine of the Trinity. In creation, we have space, matter and time in one creation. In space we have length, breadth, and height in one space. In matter, we have energy, motion, and phenomenon in one substance. In time, we have past, present, and future in one time. In man, we have body, soul, and spirit in one man. [1 Thessalonians 5:23,24 NT] Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
(7) In the Holy Trinity, we have Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in one God.