know what you believe by paul e. little september 9, 2012

Know What You Believe

by Paul E. Little

September 9, 2012

Chapter 2, Session A

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

GOD

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

What I believe about God matters!

Chapter 2, Session A

The Main Thing

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

WHAT IS THE MOST

IMPORTANT THING ABOUT

YOU?

Chapter 2, Session A

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

“What we believe about God is the most

important thing about us.”

A.W. Tozer

Chapter 2, Session A

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

Chapter 2, Session A

Belief About God

Actions

Attitudes

View of the

World

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

What I do rather than what I say

shows what I really believe about God.

Chapter 2, Session A

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

Hebrews 11:7

Chapter 2, Session A

Hebrews 11:17-19

Hebrews 11:29

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

When I explore God through the Bible, I

build my own information bank.

Chapter 2, Session A

This helps me decide whether what I hear

about God is…True

False

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

What I believe about God doesn’t matter if it doesn’t

match what the Bible says.

Chapter 2, Session A

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

What I believe about God matters!

Chapter 2, Session A

Chapter 2, Session B

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is not limited and God is near.

The Main Thing

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God’s Natural

Attributes

Chapter 2, Session B

Chapter 2, Session B

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God’s Natural Attributes “Attributes” are the terms that describe

the nature of someone or something God has two types of attributes

Natural Moral

Chapter 2, Session B

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God’s Natural Attributes Transcendent

Excels above all Immanent

Near Omnipotent

All-powerful Omnipresent

Present everywhere

Omniscient All-knowing

Eternal Timeless

Infinite Unlimited

Immutable Does not change

Personal

Chapter 2, Session B

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is Omnipotent God is all-powerful

God has the power to do all that He wills to do

The universe reminds us of God’s eternal power

Romans 1:19-20 Jeremiah 32:17

Chapter 2, Session B

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is Omnipresent God is fully present everywhere

Psalm 139:7-10

When I go _______, God is there.

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is Omniscient God knows everything—including our

thoughts and actions Psalm 139:1-4

Chapter 2, Session B

God knows I _______ last week.

Chapter 2, Session B

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is Immanent God is near to us

Isaiah 57:15 Psalm 34:18

Chapter 2, Session B

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is Personal God is a person

He is spirit but has all the elements of personality—intellect, feelings, and will

We know that God is a person because He created people after His own likeness

Genesis 1:26-27 Since we are persons, God cannot be

something less than a person

Chapter 2, Session B

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is Personal Because God is a person…

I can communicate with Him I know that there is a meaning behind all

He does or allows

Chapter 2, Session C

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is 100% holy and loving.

The Main Thing

Chapter 2, Session C

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God’s Moral AttributesHoly

Loving

Chapter 2, Session C

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is Holy God is 100% pure and good

See Habakkuk 1:13a

God is the only one who is holy I Samuel 2:2

God is the standard of purity This means that God gets to decide what’s

good, bad, right, and wrong—NOT US!

Chapter 2, Session C

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is Loving God’s love is divine and perfect

How long has God loved us? Jeremiah 31:3

How did God show His love for us? I John 4:9-10

How did Jesus show love while on Earth? Mark 1:40-42 Luke 15:1-2 Mark 10:13-16

Chapter 2, Session C

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God’s Holiness

God’s Love

Chapter 2, Session C

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

Work Together

Love

Holiness and

Chapter 2, Session D

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

God is one being in three

persons.

The Main Thing

Chapter 2, Session D

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

The Trinity The word “trinity” is not in the Bible, but

the fact of the trinity is found throughout the Bible.

The Trinity is hard for us to understand, but it is still a reality.

Chapter 2, Session D

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

The Trinity

God is

one.

Three separate, but unified persons

are identifie

d as God in

the Bible.

The Trinit

y

Chapter 2, Session D

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

The Trinity God is one

Deuteronomy 6:4 Matthew 28:19

Jesus taught the disciples to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit If these three persons were not one—Jesus

would have told them to baptize in the “names”

Chapter 2, Session D

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

The Trinity Three persons are identified as God

God the Father Genesis 1:1a

God the Son (Jesus Christ) John 1:1, 14

God the Holy Spirit Acts 5:3-4

Chapter 2, Session D

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

“Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? […] You have not lied to men but to God.’”

The Trinity

“Then Peter said, ‘Ananias…you have lied to the Holy Spirit…. […] You have not lied to men but to God.’”

Acts 5:3-4 Peter equated lying to the Holy Spirit with

lying to God—meaning that the Holy Spirit is God

Chapter 2, Session D

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

The Trinity The three persons in the Trinity are

distinct All three present at creation

Genesis 1:1-2 John 1:1-3, 14

All three present at Christ’s baptism Mark 1:9-11

All three are spoken of separately John 14:1 John 14:26 John 15:26

Chapter 2, Session D

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

A Word Problem We call the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

“persons,” but they are not three individuals acting on their own.

No part of the Trinity ever acts independently or in opposition to the others.

Chapter 2, Session D

Know What You BelieveBy Paul E. Little

A Word Problem The Son and the Spirit are said to be

“subordinate” to the Father, but that does not mean they are inferior

Their subordination is a matter of relationship—not of nature