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


What I believe about God matters!


The Main Thing


WHAT IS THE MOST

IMPORTANT THING ABOUT

YOU?



“What we believe about God is the most

important thing about us.”

A.W. Tozer




Belief About God

Actions

Attitudes

View of the

World


What I do rather than what I say

shows what I really believe about God.



Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

Hebrews 11:7


Hebrews 11:17-19

Hebrews 11:29


When I explore God through the Bible, I

build my own information bank.


This helps me decide whether what I hear

about God is…True

False


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

match what the Bible says.



What I believe about God matters!


Chapter 2, Session B


God is not limited and God is near.

The Main Thing


God’s Natural

Attributes




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

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

Natural Moral



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



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



God is Omnipresent God is fully present everywhere

Psalm 139:7-10

When I go _______, God is there.


God is Omniscient God knows everything—including our

thoughts and actions Psalm 139:1-4


God knows I _______ last week.



God is Immanent God is near to us

Isaiah 57:15 Psalm 34:18



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



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


God is 100% holy and loving.

The Main Thing



God’s Moral AttributesHoly

Loving



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!



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



God’s Holiness

God’s Love



Work Together

Love

Holiness and

Chapter 2, Session D


God is one being in three

persons.

The Main Thing



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.



The Trinity

God is

one.

Three separate, but unified persons

are identifie

d as God in

the Bible.

The Trinit

y



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”



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



“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



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



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.



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

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

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