God

by Glen on 2002-12-24 00:26:10

Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive
about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to
present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy
2:14-151

God’s word will never come back without effecting a change of some kind in
those who hear it. The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is filled
with promises, prophecies, wisdom, encouragement, and much more.

Please allow me to share my “insights” (small though they may
be) with you on the following:

GOD

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen.
1:1)

The author of Genesis made no apologies or explanations of who God is or
the fact that He created everything. According to Nelson, the word
God in this scripture, is the Hebrew term for deity, Elohim.
Elohim is plural while the Hebrew verb for created is singular.
This tiny fact speaks volumes to me, even if I am misunderstanding
it. The Hebrew language seems to incorporate the very essence of God
in the word Elohim — our God is three in one — used with a singular
verb.

When Moses spoke with God “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.”
(Ex. 3:14) He was declaring Himself to be the Eternal
One–independent of anyone or thing, not brought into being by any
circumstance. Our God is awesome, impressive, exalted, grand,
majestic — there are not enough words to describe the attributes of
the Mighty One of Israel. Let me give Him praise.

God is personal. He wants a relationship with each person on this earth.
He knows me and I can know Him. God is spirit. He is the author of
life. He is eternal and self-existent — He always was and always
will be. He is unchanging — I can trust Him because He means what
He says and He is perfect in all His ways. He alone is God! There
is none like Him! He is One yet Three-in-One — incomprehensible!
He is everywhere present — He will never leave me or forsake
me. He is all-knowing — He knew me, yet He loved me. Our God is
almighty, He is strong, He is pure and separate from all that is
evil.

“. . . and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes
in front and in back . . . each having six wings, were full of eyes
around and within. And they do not rest day or night (from) saying:
‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to
come!’ Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and
thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the
twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and
worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before
the throne, saying: ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory
and honor and power; For You created all things, and by Your will
they exist and were created.'” (Rev. 4:6, 8-11) This
Holy God is Love. He preserves His creation. He looks out for you
and me. He sent Jesus so we can have a relationship with Him.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, mankind was separated from
God. Sin separates all of us from God because we are Adam’s
descendants. Leviticus 17:11 tells us

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it to you upon
the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”2
However, since God is God and we are not, the animal sacrifices
which were offered by the Hebrews were only a temporary solution to
the problem of separation. Fortunately for us, God had an
unbelievably loving and awesome plan.

Even in the Garden of Eden God spoke of His plan when He said to the
serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and
between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you
shall bruise His heel.” (Gen. 3:15) When Noah built the ark it
served as a precursor to God’s final plan because it saved His
people from destruction. God faithfully loved the people who loved
Him. The manna from heaven (Ex. 16) was God’s provision for
His people, as was the blood of the lamb (Ex. 12:21-30) which
protected the Hebrews from the death angel before they left Egypt.
God gave us the Law so we would know how far we are from His ways and
His thoughts. His loving plan, however, was to give us Himself, in
the flesh –Jesus — in order that the perfect sacrifice could
be offered as an atonement for our sins.

Merry
Christmas!

1All
scripture references in this paper are quoted from The Nelson
Study Bible, NKJV.

2
Ibid., footnotes p 204 This explains the basis of blood atonement.
The life of animals and of humans is in the blood. If a creature
loses its blood, it loses its life. This emphasizes that blood has
no intrinsic power to atone for sin. God appointed blood to have
this power because it represents the life of the creature. A life
may receive atonement only by the sacrifice of a life.