Lesson 4
| LESSON IV – LEARNING ABOUT GOD (Who God is and what God is like) Does God really exist? The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works; there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one. Psalm 14:1-3 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal men and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. Romans 1:18-25 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption – that, as it is written, He who glories, let him glory in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:20-31 Do you think this is right? Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s?’ Job 35:2 Yes, God exists, although people from past ages up to our present time have continued to deny it. Of course the existence of God is not dependent upon our believing, so the trouble is with humanity. Is there one God or are there many gods? So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.” Mark 13:32 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:4-6 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:1-4 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of god – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:10-13 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Matthew 5:18 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Matthew 24:35 Declare what is to be, present it – let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. Isaiah 45:21-22 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. 1 John 4:14-15 Copyright © 2004 Soul Winners for Jesus Christ non-denominational evangelistic association Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the father, so how can you say, ‘Show me the Father?’ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. John 14:9-10 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9 Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ Genesis 1:26 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. Mark 13:31 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 This is He who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in Heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and these three agree as one. 1 John 5:6-8 There is only one true and living God. All other ideas about gods are lies of Satan, incomplete or incorrect recollections from past generations, or the imaginations or fabrications of men; whether from ignorance or for innocent or evil intentions. Yet the Bible teaches us that this one God is manifested in three persons! These are identified as God the Father, God the Son (also called the Word), and God the Holy Spirit; which three-in-one together we call the Trinity. Christians have been accused of worshipping three Gods, but that is due to misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the Holy Scriptures. While you and I cannot understand completely the nature of God, we can believe Him when he says through His Holy Scriptures that He is one God in three persons. Whatever the full nature of God is, He is one and there is only one of Him. Is there more than one way to come to God? And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. John 1:10 He came to His own, and his own did not receive Him. John 1:11 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name… John 1:12 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus… 1 Timothy 2:5 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9 …who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:13 Blessed be the God and Father for our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. Hebrews 10: 11-13 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:4-9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:9-12 No, Jesus Christ is God’s only mediator for the reconciliation of mankind with God. Every person who ever lives is a part of His creation, but only those who are Born Again are his children. This cannot occur from enlightened learning, living a righteous life, through any religion, set of beliefs, or anything else whatsoever other than faith in Jesus Christ: God’s only provision for paying the penalty for sin and receiving eternal life. What is God like? And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punished the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. Exodus 34:6-7 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19 Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom. Job 36:5 No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides you, nor is there any rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Psalm 86:5 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. Psalm 102:25-27 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 139:8-10 Some Scriptures speak to His nature. Some Scriptures speak to His activities. We know of God only what He has revealed in His Holy Scriptures: The Holy Bible, which reveals much more than the few verses repeated here; but still very little overall. What is God’s name? 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.’” Exodus 3:14 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for YAH, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2 Men call Him many things; He alone knows His name, but the Bible gives us many titles with which to identify Him. How can I come to know all there is about God? Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon, ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways my ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’ Isaiah 55:6-9 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. John 1:18 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him? Romans 11:33 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. John 6:44-46 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ Matthew 19:25-26 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because what may be known of God in manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:18-21 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 You cannot. God is incomprehensible and unknowable. Because of this and since no one has ever seen God, it is impossible for humans, on their own, to truly know or understand anything about God. Yet what is impossible for man is possible with God. In His love, God, using two different means, has chosen to reveal to us all we need to know. The first means God has chosen to reveal Himself we call the General Revelation. This is all of nature. The second means is His Holy Scriptures that were written over a period of more than a thousand years by men inspired by God’s Holy Spirit. We call this the Special Revelation. Is God above the universe, or is He part of the universe and it part of Him? Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts; I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God. Isaiah 44:6 You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. Revelation 4:11 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in His works. He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the hills, and they smoke. Psalm 104:31-32 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since he gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, for we are also His offspring. Acts 17:24-25 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, and it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Genesis 1:1-5 Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear’, and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9-12 Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:26-27 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. Geneses 1:31 God existed before anything else was. He created everything else that is, but He is not part of creation. God is outside of our closed universe, yet He works in it, if and when He chooses. Creation cannot change its own basic nature, but God can change anything in our universe at will. God is not constrained by the universe or anything in it: He constrains Himself to that which is His true nature and will. He was not needy or lonely when He created us, since He is complete within Himself. Nevertheless, the Bible teaches that God conceived of us, created day and night and the universe and everything in it for us, and finally made each of us and pronounced it all to be very good. Will I ever be a god, or like God? Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself… Isaiah 44:24 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. Revelation 20:12 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Revelation 21:1 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. Revelation 21:3 There are many humans: there is only one God. God, Who alone is eternal, (He has no beginning or end) is the creator. Humans, on the other hand, were created. No human existed spiritually or physically until God breathed life into each of us at the moment we were conceived. So-called scientists may tell us that in the past we were less than human. Or perhaps these same or other men will attempt to redefine and even to succeed in some ways to pervert what it is to be physically human. Be assured that in the end God will prevail and, whether you choose to live forever with God or apart from God, you still are and forever shall remain what God intended and created us to be: human beings. Once created, we humans are all in one sense immortal: from now on we will all exist forever. God has already prepared the only two possibilities: heaven or the lake of fire. We cannot add to, subtract from, or change either of the choices, we can only choose to spend eternity, in one place or the other. Choose God, therefore, and live! Copyright © 2004 Soul Winners for Jesus Christ non-denominational evangelistic association |
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