theology 1 - god father 1

GodThe Father

2/3 session EBI

Thursday 23 December 2010

Draw a picture illustrating what you think are the

three most important aspects

of what God is like


Draw a picture illustrating what you think are the

three most important aspects

of what God is like

You are allowed only three words - which would you use to describe

God?


God the Trinity

God the Father

Group Activity: Create a visual summary of the Names of God.


Study chapters 3-4 in Our God Is Awesome. Study chapters 5-7 in Major Bible Themes.

Print an article, chart, or illustration on the Trinity or the Names of God to share with your learning team.


The Nature of God

“It is important to know the nature of the one you are dealing with...with a lot of errant teaching about who God is, God has been so misdefined, tragically redefined and even dismissed that people do not understand His true nature...Knowing the nature of God as he reveals himself, rather than how we wish he were, can save us from a life of confusion and defeat ”

Evans


Talking about the nature of something means what is intrinsic to its being - rabbits hop, cows moo, students sleepSo what does God do naturally, what are characteristics which mark God out as God?Is he a tyrant, a joke, a grandfather, a better version of humanity or do you imagine something else?


1. God is a Transcendent Being

In saying transcendent we mean God is totally distinct (a synonym for transcendent) from his creation - he is unique, one of a kind - there is nothing you can really compare with God.If you imagine God then it is probably not what he is like - the only understanding we can get is from what God tells us of himself

The "Eye of God" is a composite of images taken by the Hubble

Telescope and the Kitt Peak National Observatory.


Isaiah 40:

With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? 19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. 20 A person too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot; they look for a skilled worker to set up an idol that will not topple. 21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?


22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. 23 He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing... 25 “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.


Isaiah 55:8-9“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.Some people say, “I like to think God is like this and does that...” The truth is God does not think in the same way as humans think.

1.a. Distinct in his thoughts


Isaiah 55:8-9“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.Some people say, “I like to think God is like this and does that...” The truth is God does not think in the same way as humans think.


Psalm 50:21“These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself.But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.”God is not like man - nor like Superman - he is totally utterly transcendent

Voltaire, “God created man in his

own image, and man returned the

favour”

1.b. Distinct in his person


Psalm 50:21“These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself.But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.”God is not like man - nor like Superman - he is totally utterly transcendent

Voltaire, “God created man in his

own image, and man returned the

favour”


There is no other god or person to compare God with.Psalm 97:9 - For you, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

Psalm 99:2 - The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.

1.c. Distinct in his deity


There is no other god or person to compare God with.Psalm 97:9 - For you, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

Psalm 99:2 - The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.


Ex 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”



What does this mean for us - how do we apply it?



What does this mean for us - how do we apply it?Can we paint pictures, can we use a cross in worship?



What does this mean for us - how do we apply it?Can we paint pictures, can we use a cross in worship?Is it right to say we can only use signs like the bread and wine which God has said is ok?



What does this mean for us - how do we apply it?Can we paint pictures, can we use a cross in worship?Is it right to say we can only use signs like the bread and wine which God has said is ok?Is doing anything other than this idolatry and therefore a way of limiting God’s glory? And, if we do this, do we make God smaller and therefore limit him?


When you reduce God to something you are comfortable with it gives you liberty to do what you want.The Israelites made the golden calf - and then...built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.


2. God is a Spirit Being

John 4:23-24Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit,What does that mean - how might we understand and apply this?


It means that God does not have a body - Jesus said this in Luke 24: 39 -a spirit does not have flesh and bonesJesus has a body because he became a man - it was not his essential natureGod uses anthropomorphisms - anthro pos = “man”, morphos = “form”Mention is made of God’s hand, back, eye, face ears...so that we might have some understanding of God - but it is only in partIn worship God is firstly concerned about our heart, then our body as a result of that

2.a. God is Immaterial[spiritual, rather than physical]


It means that God does not have a body - Jesus said this in Luke 24: 39 -a spirit does not have flesh and bonesJesus has a body because he became a man - it was not his essential natureGod uses anthropomorphisms - anthro pos = “man”, morphos = “form”Mention is made of God’s hand, back, eye, face ears...so that we might have some understanding of God - but it is only in partIn worship God is firstly concerned about our heart, then our body as a result of that


God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.This means he has the three aspects of being a person - mind, will emotions - he thinks, feels and choosesSo he is a person - but without a body - Ex. 3:14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

2.b. God is a Person


God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.This means he has the three aspects of being a person - mind, will emotions - he thinks, feels and choosesSo he is a person - but without a body - Ex. 3:14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”


John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Exodus 33:18, 22 -Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”... “When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by”Moses did not see God but only something of his glory

2.c. God is Invisible


John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Exodus 33:18, 22 -Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”... “When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by”Moses did not see God but only something of his glory


We might not see God, though in Jesus we have seen him, but we know he is there by what he does.God being spirit does 2 things:1. It frees us from materialism - we are freed from looking for life in the wrong places - a relationship with God is developed on a spirit-to-spirit basis2. Knowing God is spirit means we are complete in him - Col 2:9-10, Acts 17:24-25, Jer 29:13 - give him your heart in worship and see him act in your life


3. God is an Eternal Being

Ps 90:1-2Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.


Put simply there has never been a time when God did not exist.Somewhere we all encounter the problem of what, or who, came first.God, according to the Bible, exists from everlasting to everlasting - God is forever, history is meaningless to him as he exists outside of time. God is the I AM - he has no past or future, he simply is.

A parallel might be to think about looking at Niagara Falls - it is as if our view is from close up but God’s is from overhead, seeing where the river originates and where it concludes - He sees it all

3.a. He has no beginning


Put simply there has never been a time when God did not exist.Somewhere we all encounter the problem of what, or who, came first.God, according to the Bible, exists from everlasting to everlasting - God is forever, history is meaningless to him as he exists outside of time. God is the I AM - he has no past or future, he simply is.

A parallel might be to think about looking at Niagara Falls - it is as if our view is from close up but God’s is from overhead, seeing where the river originates and where it concludes - He sees it all


Everything which is created needs something else to exist - God doesn’t need anything to exist, he has always been. God did not need to create us - he is totally fulfilled in himself.God created us so that we could enjoy Him and participate in His world and all that He is doing.

3.b. He is Independent


Everything which is created needs something else to exist - God doesn’t need anything to exist, he has always been. God did not need to create us - he is totally fulfilled in himself.God created us so that we could enjoy Him and participate in His world and all that He is doing.


4. God is an Immutable Being

James 1:17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

immutable |iˈmyoōtəbəl|unchanging over time or unable to be changed


God cannot, does not and will not change.Ps 119:89 - Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.

4.a. Changeless in his Person


God cannot, does not and will not change.Ps 119:89 - Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.


Hebrews 6:17-18 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.

Hebrew 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

God’s plans do not change and his knowledge is the same now as it was on the day of creation

God is consistent - there is no shadow because he does

not move, or deviate from his

purpose

4.b. Changeless in his Purpose


Hebrews 6:17-18 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.

Hebrew 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

God’s plans do not change and his knowledge is the same now as it was on the day of creation



purpose


Exodus 32 10 leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

14 Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.Jonah 3

4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

4.c. Changeless in his Character






Does God change his mind?What does this say about

God’s character?


So what does this really mean? God’s character is entirely consistent - it never changes.

However, if a change on a man’s part affects another part of God’s character, God is then free to relate to that person out of that aspect of his character not the previous.God did not change his mind about Nineveh’s sin but in repenting they appealed to another part of God’s character, his grace. They then moved from God dealing with them on the basis of his wrath against sin, to being dealt with by his grace.God did not change - he was and is always perfect - he simply responds to the readjustment of man.


5. God is a Triune Being

This is a difficult truth!Dt 6:4 - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.Isa 45:5, 1 Cor 8:4




purpose


The One God is made up of three persons: Father, Son, Holy spirit.

We use the word Trinity to describe this - though it is not a biblical word it is useful to describe the threeness of God.Although it is hard to understand we have to remember God is transcendent - he is not like us.Images used to try to explain the trinity include:

5.a. One God in Three Persons


The One God is made up of three persons: Father, Son, Holy spirit.

We use the word Trinity to describe this - though it is not a biblical word it is useful to describe the threeness of God.Although it is hard to understand we have to remember God is transcendent - he is not like us.Images used to try to explain the trinity include:




purpose

Shell

Yolk

White




purpose

Water

Ice

Steam


Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

God = Elohim - a plural word

Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Gen 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Plural - singular - plural all in one chapter

5.b. The Trinity in Creation


Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

God = Elohim - a plural word

Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Gen 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Plural - singular - plural all in one chapterThursday 23 December 2010

The pre-incarnate Christ says,Isa 48:16 And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, endowed with his Spirit.

Matt 27:46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice,“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)The Father is God: Gal 1:1, 3 Eph 1:2-3The Son is God: John 20:28The Holy Spirit is called God: Acts 5:3-4

5.b. The Trinity throughout Scripture


The pre-incarnate Christ says,Isa 48:16 And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, endowed with his Spirit.

Matt 27:46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice,“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)The Father is God: Gal 1:1, 3 Eph 1:2-3The Son is God: John 20:28The Holy Spirit is called God: Acts 5:3-4


Simply put The Trinity is involved I working cooperatively in many areas, e.g.1 Pet 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

2 Cor 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.Creation is ascribed to God (Gen 1:1), Jesus (Col. 1:16), Holy Spirit (Gen 1:2, Ps 104:30)


“All three act in unity, one God in three persons, equal in essence though distinct in function”

Tony EvansEvans suggests the best image of the Trinity is that of a family:“...a woman and a man who are one, and children who bear the same essence as mum and dad”


ConclusionThis is the God we are learning of, the one we should long to know;1 Tim 1:17

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.(TM) Deep honor and bright glory to the King of All Time— One God, Immortal, Invisible, ever and always. Oh, yes!


Responding to the Nature of God

Evans makes 4 helpful points in how we respond to God’s nature - the transcendent, eternal, spirit, immutable, triune God:1. Let God be God - Let God do what God wants in God’s way - don’t say “God would never allow that”, “How could God bless that person?” etc.


2. Don’t make bargains with God - such as “I’ll do this if God does that” - don’t make deals with God.3. Don’t think that the better your performance the more God will love you - you are already complete in Christ, you don’t have to work harder for his acceptance - serve him out of love and gratitude


4. Make knowing God a priority - this might mean saying no to other things, even ‘good’ things - accept God’s invitation to come closer.


theology 1 - god father 1

Spiritual

god god

trinity god

names of god

god islikethursday

natureof god

canthe eye of god

ways higher

allthe earth