What Do We Believe About God? |
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If
you have not yet read the “What do we believe about the Bible” article, I
would suggest that you read it before reading any of the other articles in
this section. Since, everything in these articles is based on the Bible, it
is very important to know what we believe about it. If you have read it, I
would definitely encourage you to read this article immediately after it,
because it is about the author of the Bible. I. In the beginning God… The
first four words of the Bible are, “In the beginning God.” The Bible makes no
attempt to explain the existence of God, it simply states the fact that He
exists. God doesn’t need anyone or anything to justify His existence. His existence
itself is justification enough. In Exodus 3:14, in response to Moses’ asking
God what His name is, God responded by saying, “I AM THAT I AM.” God exists
simply because He exists. We
also see from those first four words that God is eternal. He has no
beginning. Psalm 93:2 says, “Thy throne is established of old: thou art from
everlasting.” God has no beginning. He is from everlasting. He predates the
heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1). Nothing exists outside of Him. Colossians
1:17 says, “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” John
1:3 says, “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made
that was made.” He was before all things, He created al things, and He holds
all things together.” So the first thing we see about God in the Bible is that He is eternal. We also see that He made all things. His existence needs no justification, just because He’s God. Besides, without His existence, nothing else and no one else could ever exist. II. I am holy. First
Peter 1:16 says, “Because
it is written, Be ye holy;
for I am holy.” God is holy. There is no sin in Him. In fact, II Corinthians
5:21 says this of Jesus Christ: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him.” God can’t sin. God doesn’t
know how to sin. Why? Because He is holy. Titus 1:2 says this: “In hope of eternal life, which
God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” God cannot lie. God
cannot do wrong. He is holy. He is righteous. He alone is good. Jesus said
this to the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:17: “And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good?
there is none good
but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” III. Omnipotent, omniscient,
omnipresent. Three words that we often hear in reference to God are
omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. These words tell us this: God is
all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. First, let us look at the omnipotence of God. God is
able to do all things. A very good example of God’s omnipotence is seen in
His creation. We see in Genesis 1 that God spoke the world into existence out
of nothing. God’s power is far greater than anything we can imagine.
Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”
In fact, though many things seem impossible to us, nothing is impossible for
God. Luke 1:37 tells us, “For with God, nothing shall be impossible.” Second, let us look at the omniscience of God. God knows
all things. II Samuel 16:7 says, “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on
his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him:
for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” God knows our very thoughts. God also knows how to make events work together for
what’s best. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.” Not only that, but God even knew who would be saved
through his foreknowledge (Romans 8:29); He even knows all about us before we
are even conceived (Jeremiah 1:5). Taking all of that into consideration, we
can see that God’s knowledge is not limited. Lastly, let us look at the omnipresence of God. God is
everywhere. Psalm 139:8 says, “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if
I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” There is nowhere you can go
to escape the presence of God. Proverbs 15:3 tells us, “The eyes of the Lord
are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” God see all things,
because He is everywhere. IV. These three are one. The last attribute of God that I want to consider in this lesson is the fact that God is a trinity. There is one God, but He is three distinct, separate persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, while three different persons are yet one God. This is something that I don’t think our finite minds can understand. Someone has said that it is like water, as water has three states. However, this can’t come close to defining the trinity, because if I have a container of water, it can only be in one of those three states at any given moment. The trinity is something that is beyond our comprehension, but because the Bible teaches it, we know it must be true. The verse that most clearly teaches about the trinity is I John 5:7. It says, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three aew one.” As I stated before, this is something that our human minds can’t comprehend, but because the Bible tells us that it’s true, we can trust it without having a second thought. If God tells you something, you can take it to the bank. He’s absolutely trustworthy. V. Conclusion It
would be impossible to discuss all the attributes of God here. There are
aspects of God that we will not know until we see Him face-to-face in Heaven,
but we should learn all we can about Him while we’re still on earth. We
should seek an intimate relationship with Him. |
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