1. Who is being referred to in these Scriptures and by what description?
a) 2Corinthians 4:4
.
b) Psalm 82:6
.
Today when we speak of 'God', we are not necessarily dealing with the same concept that others have.
2. What sort of views do others have about God?
.
.
Agnosticism - this view believes that no-one knows whether there is or isn't a God.
Polytheism - this view believes that there is many gods.
Pantheism - this view believes that God is impersonal, like an energy force, and is present in creation itself. Hence, pantheists believe that God is in nature, animals and the atmosphere.
As well as these popular views, others have adopted the views of well publicised philosophers. Plato believed that God was the 'eternal mind, cause of all being'; Aristotle - first ground of all being; Hegel - a spirit with consciousness only in the minds of men.
.
Immensity.
3. What do the following Scriptures tell us about God? 1Kings 8:27,
2Chron. 2:6, Psalm 113:4-6, Isa. 66:1
.
Eternity.
God is without beginning or end. He is the only being who lives in a
constant state of now. He is not subject to time - time is subject to
Him!
4. How is God described in Genesis 21:33?
.
5. What does Hebrews 1:2 tell us about God and time?
.
Often when the writers of the Bible described God's immortality they employed terms which could be understood only in relation to time. Such words as 'everlasting', and expressions as 'lives forever' (Isa.57:15) attempt to put God's eternal nature into a language we can cope with. Because no created being has experienced what it's like to be eternal, we will never fully appreciate what it means. The moment we were born-again God gave us 'eternal' life. This must not only be seen be seen as a statement of life beyond the grave, but as a quality of life that only the eternal God can give.
.
A. Omnipresence -
5. From Psalm 139:7-10, what do we know about God?
.
The prefix 'omni' means 'all'. Thus omnipresent means to be present everywhere at once.
6. How is the doctrine of God's omnipresence both comforting and daunting?
.
B. Omniscience -
7. What does Matt. 10:30 tell us about God?
.
8. Who really knows God? (Matt. 11:27; 1 Cor. 2:11; Rom. 8:27)
.
God has all knowledge. He knows everything about everything. He knows the beginning from the end. He knows exactly what you and I are thinking now - He knows everything!
C. Omnipotence -
God is all powerful and able to do whatever He wants, as long as it
is within His nature. Hence the Bible says there are things that God
cannot do -
9. What can't God do?
a) Habb. 1:13
.
b) 2 Tim. 2:13
.
c) Titus 1:2
.
d) James 1:13
.
10. What does God call Himself in Gen. 17:1?
.
God is so powerful that it's scary. When demons think of God they tremble! (James 2:19)
11. How is God's omnipotence a source of comfort to the believer? (Matt. 19:26; Jer. 32:17)
.
.
12. How is it a source of dread to those not walking in obedience to the Lord? (1 Peter 4:17; 2 Peter 3:10; Rev.19:15)
.
D. Immutability -
God is unchangeable. He does not grow old or change His purposes (James
1:17, Ps. 102:26, Mal. 3:6, Ps. 33:11). While Mormons teach that God
was once a man as we are and that even now He possesses a body of flesh
and blood, the Scriptures are plain that God has always been God.
.
.
13. Knowing this, how should we serve God? (Heb. 12:28-29)
.
B. Righteousness -
This is measured by a person's actions and particularly how they treat
others. In God's case, it's how He deals with and treats His creation.
Everything God does is right. Only those who are right before Him, can
approach Him or dwell in His presence.
14. What does the Psalmist declare about God in Psalm 89:14; 97:2?
.
Would God be righteous and just if He made a law with an appropriate punishment, but then decided not to go through with it? Certainly not. Closely linked with God's righteousness is His justice. God is a just God. His main reason for punishing anyone is not for their rehabilitation or reformation, but for the enforcing of justice in the universe.
C. Goodness -
This includes God's love, generosity, mercy and grace. He is the highest
expression of these. When the rich young ruler of Mark 10:18 was asked
by Jesus why he was calling Him good, he could/should have said "because
you are God". Jesus did not say that He was not good! Where the Old
Testament reflected and emphasized God's holiness, the New Testament
does the same for God as love. This is not say that God changed from
being holy to being loving, but each Testament reflects an aspect of
God's eternal and unchanging qualities.
D. Truth -
15. What was Pilate's question in John. 18:38?
.
16. How is Jesus described in John 14:6?
.
Jesus declared God to be the 'only true God ' (John 17:3). In this sense it not only means that everything God does is true and trustworthy, it includes a sense of genuineness and reality. Ultimately, only God is real. After Jesus was resurrected, He was able to walk through walls. Compared to Him (ultimate reality), that wall wasn't very real. Therefore when Reality met something that was temporal, that which was temporal had to give way.
What a God we serve! Paul cried out that God was unsearchable (Rom. 11:33), yet, also yearned with deep passion to get to an intimate knowledge of Him (Phil. 3:10). It can be said that God is transcendent (above all), but for the Christian with the Spirit of God within them, there is a craving to be in deep friendship with God, almost in a playful way. In fact, Jesus said that eternal life was actually found in getting to know God (John 17:3). God is God who loves us deeply, more than we even have the capacity to be loved.
Amen.
.
.