“He who comes to
God must believe that He is.” The only way that man can approach God is
by faith. “He who comes to God must believe at He is [no one has ever
honestly sought after God by faith and failed to find Him], and that He
is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Enoch sought God by
faith, found God by faith, walked with God by faith, escaped death by
faith, and was rewarded by faith. “For before he was taken he had this
testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to
please Him”—and without faith it is impossible to know Him (Hebrews
11:5, 6).
None of the patriarchs, prophets, or writers of the Scriptures attempted to prove or argue the existence of God. It is a fact taken by faith by those who wrote and spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, who is the one and only author of the Holy Bible (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
Although the Holy Spirit did not move the writers of Scripture to argue the existence of God, He did present some clear facts that will strengthen faith:
1) Creation. This fact demands a living personal Creator. Every effect must be traceable to an adequate cause. For example, if there is a building, there must be a builder. if there is an automobile, boat, or airplane, there must be a mechanical engineer. If there is a watch, there must be a watchmaker. There are thousands of “effects” in the world, such as electric typewriters, cameras of all kinds, power tools, television, radio, computers, word processors, and so on. And not one of them evolved; all had an intelligent, adequate cause. We have a creation; therefore, we must have an adequate, personal Creator. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge” (Psalm 19:1, 2).
2) The written Word, the Bible. “All Scripture [all sixty-six books of the Bible] is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). God the Holy Spirit is the Author of the Scriptures; therefore they are inerrant (2 Peter 1:21).
3) The living Word, Jesus Christ the Son of God and God the Son. “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus Christ], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Word did not have a beginning because He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8, 9).
3-1 God is a Personal Being
(Jeremiah 10:10-16)
“The Lord [Jehovah] is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King” (v. 10). He is not dead. He is the eternal, living God, King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16; cf. Daniel 2:47). He created the heavens and the earth and every living thing in His universe (Genesis 1:1; cf. Isaiah 45:18). “And: ‘You, Lord, in the beginning [the same beginning as in Genesis 1:1] laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail’ ” (Hebrews 1:10-12; cf. Psalm102:24-28). This messianic psalm, as quoted in Hebrews, attributes the act of creating all things to Christ, and is evidence that God is a living person (Colossians 1:15-19). In the light of the Scriptures, who can deny that Jesus Christ, the God-Man, is a living person seated at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3)?
Scripture reveals the fact that God is a person, possessing self-consciousness and self-determination. He is the true and living God. The personality of God was seen when He revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush. He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). To these words Jesus added, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:32). To be the God of the living, He must be a living person, infinitely greater than His subjects. “Then Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they say to me, “What is His name?” what shall I say to them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Moreover God said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: “The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. this is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations” ’ ” (Exodus 3:13-15). God said, “I AM WHO I AM”—the only uncaused, self-existing God (Exodus 20:1-6).
Personality consists of intellect, emotion, and will. The personality of God is seen in certain characteristics ascribed to Him in the Scriptures.
1) God grieves. “He was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:6).
2) God becomes angry. “The Lord became angry with Solomon” (1 Kings 11:9).
3) God is jealous. “For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:5).
4) God laughs. “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh” (Psalm 2:4).
5) God hates. “These six things the Lord [Jehovah] hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him” (Proverbs 6:16-19).
6) God cares. “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
7) God hears. “He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?” (Psalm 94:9).
8) God sees. “He who formed the eye, shall He not see?” (Psalm 94:9; 11:4).
Our God is an eternal, living personal being.
3-2 God is a Trinity
(Luke 3:21, 22)
By the Trinity, we mean that God is three persons in one Being. The Trinity is His tri- personal existence in one Godhead, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16, 17). They are three distinct persons in one God. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord [Jehovah] out God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4). The Father is Jehovah, the Son is Jehovah, and the Holy Spirit is Jehovah, and the three are a tri-unity, as the following passages demonstrate:
1) Peter speaks of the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:2). God the Father is the fullness of the godhead, unseeable. “No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18).
2) The Father says to God the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8). God the Son is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. “And the Word [Christ] became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
3) “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?…You have not lied to men but to God’ ” (Acts 5:3, 4). God the Holy Spirit is the fullness of the Godhead, convicting man of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:7-11).
The Trinity is also seen:
1) In the Creation:
a) “In the beginning God [God the Father] created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
b) “And the Spirit of God [God the Holy Spirit] was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).
c) “You, Lord [God the Son], in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands” (Hebrews 1:10). God the Son, Jesus Christ, “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him [Jesus Christ] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist (Colossians 1:15-17).
In the above verses we see the Trinity creating and sustaining the heavens and the earth.
2) In the baptism of the believer: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). We are to baptize in the name (not names) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, because the three are one God.
3) In the baptism of Jesus:
a) Jesus was baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist.
b) The Holy Spirit descended like a dove and alighted upon Him.
c) God the Father spoke from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:13-17).
The Lord our God is one God in three persons. Paul closes 2 Corinthians with a trinitarian blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
3-3 God is Light
(1 John 1:5)
The Scriptures contain four definitions of the nature of God. They do not fully define His infinite, spiritual nature; however, they do give believers reason to stand in reverential awe as, by faith, they touch the hem of His holy nature. The four definitions are:
1) “God is light” (v. 5). “In Him was life [eternal life], and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). There is life in light (even the house plant will lean toward the window to feed upon. God’s created light). “Light [Jesus] has come into the world” (John 3:19-21). Those who hate the light [Jesus] seek darkness, but those who love the truth will come to the light by faith and feast on eternal life that comes from God the Son, who is pure light. Jesus is “the light of the world” (John 8:12). He is the spiritual life of all who come to the light (John 9:5).
2) “God is Spirit” (John 4:24). God, in His spiritual nature, is without material substance, and therefore invisible to the world of matter. The things of this material world are temporal, while the things of the spiritual world are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Some theologians teach that when God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26), He did not mean that man’s physical likeness would be in the image and likeness of God’s spiritual essence but rather in the image and likeness of the Trinity of God. Man is a trinity, not three persons in one man, but three elements—spirit, soul, and body—in one person (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Other theologians believe that the image and likeness of God in man consisted of the moral and intellectual likeness rather than the physical. God in an infinite Spirit and is limited only by His own intrinsic character His unchangeable wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and truth.
3) “God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28, 29). We are to worship and serve God in reverential awe because He is the Holy God, and His holiness demands justice and judgment. As the lost of all ages stand before Him at the Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15), they will know that “our God is a consuming fire.”
4) “God is love” (1 John 4:8). It is God’s nature to love. The love of God is more than an attribute. It is the essence of His invisible, unchangeable nature. God expresses His love in that :
a) He is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9; cf. Exodus 34:6-9).
b) “He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God loved us before we were born. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jeremiah 31:3; cf. 1:4, 5).
c) He “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16, 17).
d) He sent the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts and lives with His love (Romans 5:5).
e) There is no separation of the saints “from the love of God” (Romans 8:38, 39).
Thus “light,” “Spirit,” “fire,” and “love” describe His eternal, immutable, and holy nature.
3-4 God is Immutable
(Numbers 23:19)
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent,” i.e., change His mind. Indeed, He does not change at all. Immutability—the quality of never changing or being changed—is one of His attributes that relates to all others. The attributes of God are characteristics that cannot be attributed to anyone but Jehovah God. They are fundamental powers or qualities of His eternal being, and because He is immutable, they are always fact. “For I am the Lord [Jehovah], I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). Our God is unchangingly
1) Omnipotent (almighty). He has all power in heaven and earth. “Alleluia! For the Lord [Jehovah] God Omnipotent reigns!” (Revelation 19:6). He has all power over all His universe. Jesus said, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
2) Omniscient (all-knowing). “His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). His knowledge is perfect (Job 37:16). He knows every word spoken by man (Psalm 139:4). He knows all our thoughts (Psalm 139:2). He knows all His works from the beginning of the world (Acts 15:18). God knows from eternity to eternity. He knows every minute detail of all things. There are no surprises to our God, who is perfect in knowledge.
3) Omnipresent (everywhere present at the same time). “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:7-10). He is omnipresent in His vision. “ ‘Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the Lord; ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:23, 24).
God is everywhere present in His universe, but He does not “indwell” material things; for if He did, we could worship stick, stones, or any man-made idol. Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). God gave Moses the commandments, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:2-6).
4) Holy. God is absolutely pure, undefiled, and undefilable. He is eternally free from all impurities (Leviticus 11:43-45). His holiness demands separation from sinners. “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1, 2). But “there is one God and one Mediator between God [the Father] and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, 6). Christ is the mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 8:8), which is better than all previous covenants:
a) The Edenic covenant (Genesis 2:16)
b) The Adamic covenant (Genesis 3:15)
c) The Noahic covenant (Genesis 9:16)
d) The Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:2)
e) The Mosaic covenant (Exodus 19:5)
f) The Palestinian covenant (Deuteronomy 30:3)
g) The Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:16)
This new covenant is better because it is sealed by the blood of the Holy Mediator, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who mediates the eternal rights of all believers who have, by faith, “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:13, 14).
3-5 God is Eternal
(Psalm 102:24-27)
God had no beginning, but “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). He has no ending. He is eternal. Our God exists totally from Himself
1) “Abraham…called on the name of the Lord [Jehovah], the Everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33).
2) Habakkuk asked, “Are You not from everlasting, O Lord [Jehovah] my God, my Holy One?” (Habakkuk 1:12).
3) Moses prayed to God saying, “From everlasting to everlasting. You are God” (Psalm 90:2).
God’s dimension is beyond geometric space, eternal, without bounds, without past or future. He is one eternal “Now.” He is not a being of time as we are. He is eternal, self-existent life, and therefore free from all succession of time. The clock never ticks for God. He was not created, so there is none greater. He was not born, so He will never die. The one and only true and living God is eternal; all other gods are false. The first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).
“Your years are throughout all generations” (v.24). our true and living God is ageless. But His creation will grow old like a garment, and He will re-create the heavens and the earth, making them new, without the curse of sin (Isaiah 34:4). After Satan and all of his followers are judged and cast into the lake of eternal fire, there will come “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Revelation 20:10-21:1).
“But You are the same [God is immutable], and Your years will have no end [God is eternal]” (vv. 25-27).
Master Outline 3 – Doctrine of God
[1] There is only one way a man can come to God and that is by what?
[2] The person who comes to God must believe what two (2) things about God?
1.
2.
[3] Enoch did five (5) things by faith with God. Name them.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
[4] What did the patriarchs, prophets, and writers of the scripture have in common?
[5] What three (3) facts did the Holy Spirit clearly inspire to strengthen faith?
1.
2.
3.
[6] What five (5) facts do we know about God?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
[7] Is God a personal being? YES or NO. Explain.
[8] Jesus Christ, the God – Man is a Living person seated where? Give scripture.
[9] Scripture reveals the fact that God is a person possessing what two (2) attributes?
1.
2.
[10] Is God the God of the dead or the Living?
[11] Personality consists of three (3) parts. What are they?
1.
2.
3.
[12] When Moses asked God what name he should use to tell the children of Israel who sent him, what did God say?
[13] What eight (8) characteristics do we find of God’s personality?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
[14] What does “Trinity” mean with God?
[15] Describe the Trinity as seen in creation.
1.
2.
3.
[16] We are to baptize in what three (3) names?
1.
2.
3.
[17] Describe the Trinity as seen in Jesus’ baptism. (List three (3) items)
1.
2.
3.
[18] Describe Paul’s Trinitarian blessing at the end of 2 Corinthians. (List three (3) items)
1.
2.
3.
[19] What are the four (4) definitions of the nature of God according to Scripture?
1.
2.
3.
4.
[20] What two (2) things can God not do according to Numbers 23:19?
1.
2.
[21] What three (3) attributes of God are characteristics that cannot be attributed to anyone but Jehovah God?
1.
2.
3.
[22] What are the seven (7) covenants of God we find in the Scripture?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
[23] What is the new covenant, and what makes it better than the other 7?
[24] Psalms 102: 24-27 established what three (3) facts of God?
1.
2.
3.
None of the patriarchs, prophets, or writers of the Scriptures attempted to prove or argue the existence of God. It is a fact taken by faith by those who wrote and spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, who is the one and only author of the Holy Bible (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
Although the Holy Spirit did not move the writers of Scripture to argue the existence of God, He did present some clear facts that will strengthen faith:
1) Creation. This fact demands a living personal Creator. Every effect must be traceable to an adequate cause. For example, if there is a building, there must be a builder. if there is an automobile, boat, or airplane, there must be a mechanical engineer. If there is a watch, there must be a watchmaker. There are thousands of “effects” in the world, such as electric typewriters, cameras of all kinds, power tools, television, radio, computers, word processors, and so on. And not one of them evolved; all had an intelligent, adequate cause. We have a creation; therefore, we must have an adequate, personal Creator. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge” (Psalm 19:1, 2).
2) The written Word, the Bible. “All Scripture [all sixty-six books of the Bible] is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). God the Holy Spirit is the Author of the Scriptures; therefore they are inerrant (2 Peter 1:21).
3) The living Word, Jesus Christ the Son of God and God the Son. “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus Christ], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Word did not have a beginning because He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8, 9).
3-1 God is a Personal Being
(Jeremiah 10:10-16)
“The Lord [Jehovah] is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King” (v. 10). He is not dead. He is the eternal, living God, King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16; cf. Daniel 2:47). He created the heavens and the earth and every living thing in His universe (Genesis 1:1; cf. Isaiah 45:18). “And: ‘You, Lord, in the beginning [the same beginning as in Genesis 1:1] laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail’ ” (Hebrews 1:10-12; cf. Psalm102:24-28). This messianic psalm, as quoted in Hebrews, attributes the act of creating all things to Christ, and is evidence that God is a living person (Colossians 1:15-19). In the light of the Scriptures, who can deny that Jesus Christ, the God-Man, is a living person seated at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3)?
Scripture reveals the fact that God is a person, possessing self-consciousness and self-determination. He is the true and living God. The personality of God was seen when He revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush. He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). To these words Jesus added, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:32). To be the God of the living, He must be a living person, infinitely greater than His subjects. “Then Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they say to me, “What is His name?” what shall I say to them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Moreover God said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: “The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. this is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations” ’ ” (Exodus 3:13-15). God said, “I AM WHO I AM”—the only uncaused, self-existing God (Exodus 20:1-6).
Personality consists of intellect, emotion, and will. The personality of God is seen in certain characteristics ascribed to Him in the Scriptures.
1) God grieves. “He was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:6).
2) God becomes angry. “The Lord became angry with Solomon” (1 Kings 11:9).
3) God is jealous. “For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:5).
4) God laughs. “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh” (Psalm 2:4).
5) God hates. “These six things the Lord [Jehovah] hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him” (Proverbs 6:16-19).
6) God cares. “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
7) God hears. “He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?” (Psalm 94:9).
8) God sees. “He who formed the eye, shall He not see?” (Psalm 94:9; 11:4).
Our God is an eternal, living personal being.
3-2 God is a Trinity
(Luke 3:21, 22)
By the Trinity, we mean that God is three persons in one Being. The Trinity is His tri- personal existence in one Godhead, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16, 17). They are three distinct persons in one God. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord [Jehovah] out God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4). The Father is Jehovah, the Son is Jehovah, and the Holy Spirit is Jehovah, and the three are a tri-unity, as the following passages demonstrate:
1) Peter speaks of the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:2). God the Father is the fullness of the godhead, unseeable. “No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18).
2) The Father says to God the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8). God the Son is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. “And the Word [Christ] became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
3) “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?…You have not lied to men but to God’ ” (Acts 5:3, 4). God the Holy Spirit is the fullness of the Godhead, convicting man of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:7-11).
The Trinity is also seen:
1) In the Creation:
a) “In the beginning God [God the Father] created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
b) “And the Spirit of God [God the Holy Spirit] was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2).
c) “You, Lord [God the Son], in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands” (Hebrews 1:10). God the Son, Jesus Christ, “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him [Jesus Christ] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist (Colossians 1:15-17).
In the above verses we see the Trinity creating and sustaining the heavens and the earth.
2) In the baptism of the believer: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). We are to baptize in the name (not names) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, because the three are one God.
3) In the baptism of Jesus:
a) Jesus was baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist.
b) The Holy Spirit descended like a dove and alighted upon Him.
c) God the Father spoke from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:13-17).
The Lord our God is one God in three persons. Paul closes 2 Corinthians with a trinitarian blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
3-3 God is Light
(1 John 1:5)
The Scriptures contain four definitions of the nature of God. They do not fully define His infinite, spiritual nature; however, they do give believers reason to stand in reverential awe as, by faith, they touch the hem of His holy nature. The four definitions are:
1) “God is light” (v. 5). “In Him was life [eternal life], and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). There is life in light (even the house plant will lean toward the window to feed upon. God’s created light). “Light [Jesus] has come into the world” (John 3:19-21). Those who hate the light [Jesus] seek darkness, but those who love the truth will come to the light by faith and feast on eternal life that comes from God the Son, who is pure light. Jesus is “the light of the world” (John 8:12). He is the spiritual life of all who come to the light (John 9:5).
2) “God is Spirit” (John 4:24). God, in His spiritual nature, is without material substance, and therefore invisible to the world of matter. The things of this material world are temporal, while the things of the spiritual world are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Some theologians teach that when God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26), He did not mean that man’s physical likeness would be in the image and likeness of God’s spiritual essence but rather in the image and likeness of the Trinity of God. Man is a trinity, not three persons in one man, but three elements—spirit, soul, and body—in one person (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Other theologians believe that the image and likeness of God in man consisted of the moral and intellectual likeness rather than the physical. God in an infinite Spirit and is limited only by His own intrinsic character His unchangeable wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and truth.
3) “God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28, 29). We are to worship and serve God in reverential awe because He is the Holy God, and His holiness demands justice and judgment. As the lost of all ages stand before Him at the Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15), they will know that “our God is a consuming fire.”
4) “God is love” (1 John 4:8). It is God’s nature to love. The love of God is more than an attribute. It is the essence of His invisible, unchangeable nature. God expresses His love in that :
a) He is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9; cf. Exodus 34:6-9).
b) “He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God loved us before we were born. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jeremiah 31:3; cf. 1:4, 5).
c) He “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16, 17).
d) He sent the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts and lives with His love (Romans 5:5).
e) There is no separation of the saints “from the love of God” (Romans 8:38, 39).
Thus “light,” “Spirit,” “fire,” and “love” describe His eternal, immutable, and holy nature.
3-4 God is Immutable
(Numbers 23:19)
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent,” i.e., change His mind. Indeed, He does not change at all. Immutability—the quality of never changing or being changed—is one of His attributes that relates to all others. The attributes of God are characteristics that cannot be attributed to anyone but Jehovah God. They are fundamental powers or qualities of His eternal being, and because He is immutable, they are always fact. “For I am the Lord [Jehovah], I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). Our God is unchangingly
1) Omnipotent (almighty). He has all power in heaven and earth. “Alleluia! For the Lord [Jehovah] God Omnipotent reigns!” (Revelation 19:6). He has all power over all His universe. Jesus said, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
2) Omniscient (all-knowing). “His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). His knowledge is perfect (Job 37:16). He knows every word spoken by man (Psalm 139:4). He knows all our thoughts (Psalm 139:2). He knows all His works from the beginning of the world (Acts 15:18). God knows from eternity to eternity. He knows every minute detail of all things. There are no surprises to our God, who is perfect in knowledge.
3) Omnipresent (everywhere present at the same time). “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:7-10). He is omnipresent in His vision. “ ‘Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the Lord; ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:23, 24).
God is everywhere present in His universe, but He does not “indwell” material things; for if He did, we could worship stick, stones, or any man-made idol. Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). God gave Moses the commandments, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:2-6).
4) Holy. God is absolutely pure, undefiled, and undefilable. He is eternally free from all impurities (Leviticus 11:43-45). His holiness demands separation from sinners. “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1, 2). But “there is one God and one Mediator between God [the Father] and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, 6). Christ is the mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 8:8), which is better than all previous covenants:
a) The Edenic covenant (Genesis 2:16)
b) The Adamic covenant (Genesis 3:15)
c) The Noahic covenant (Genesis 9:16)
d) The Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:2)
e) The Mosaic covenant (Exodus 19:5)
f) The Palestinian covenant (Deuteronomy 30:3)
g) The Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:16)
This new covenant is better because it is sealed by the blood of the Holy Mediator, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who mediates the eternal rights of all believers who have, by faith, “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:13, 14).
3-5 God is Eternal
(Psalm 102:24-27)
God had no beginning, but “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). He has no ending. He is eternal. Our God exists totally from Himself
1) “Abraham…called on the name of the Lord [Jehovah], the Everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33).
2) Habakkuk asked, “Are You not from everlasting, O Lord [Jehovah] my God, my Holy One?” (Habakkuk 1:12).
3) Moses prayed to God saying, “From everlasting to everlasting. You are God” (Psalm 90:2).
God’s dimension is beyond geometric space, eternal, without bounds, without past or future. He is one eternal “Now.” He is not a being of time as we are. He is eternal, self-existent life, and therefore free from all succession of time. The clock never ticks for God. He was not created, so there is none greater. He was not born, so He will never die. The one and only true and living God is eternal; all other gods are false. The first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).
“Your years are throughout all generations” (v.24). our true and living God is ageless. But His creation will grow old like a garment, and He will re-create the heavens and the earth, making them new, without the curse of sin (Isaiah 34:4). After Satan and all of his followers are judged and cast into the lake of eternal fire, there will come “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Revelation 20:10-21:1).
“But You are the same [God is immutable], and Your years will have no end [God is eternal]” (vv. 25-27).
Master Outline 3 – Doctrine of God
[1] There is only one way a man can come to God and that is by what?
[2] The person who comes to God must believe what two (2) things about God?
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[3] Enoch did five (5) things by faith with God. Name them.
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[4] What did the patriarchs, prophets, and writers of the scripture have in common?
[5] What three (3) facts did the Holy Spirit clearly inspire to strengthen faith?
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[6] What five (5) facts do we know about God?
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[7] Is God a personal being? YES or NO. Explain.
[8] Jesus Christ, the God – Man is a Living person seated where? Give scripture.
[9] Scripture reveals the fact that God is a person possessing what two (2) attributes?
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[10] Is God the God of the dead or the Living?
[11] Personality consists of three (3) parts. What are they?
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[12] When Moses asked God what name he should use to tell the children of Israel who sent him, what did God say?
[13] What eight (8) characteristics do we find of God’s personality?
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[14] What does “Trinity” mean with God?
[15] Describe the Trinity as seen in creation.
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[16] We are to baptize in what three (3) names?
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[17] Describe the Trinity as seen in Jesus’ baptism. (List three (3) items)
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[18] Describe Paul’s Trinitarian blessing at the end of 2 Corinthians. (List three (3) items)
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[19] What are the four (4) definitions of the nature of God according to Scripture?
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[20] What two (2) things can God not do according to Numbers 23:19?
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[21] What three (3) attributes of God are characteristics that cannot be attributed to anyone but Jehovah God?
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[22] What are the seven (7) covenants of God we find in the Scripture?
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[23] What is the new covenant, and what makes it better than the other 7?
[24] Psalms 102: 24-27 established what three (3) facts of God?
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