Sunday, July 19, 2015

GOD




Mankind is guilty of not knowing God. In order to live an unrighteous life man denies the truth which is evident, so manifested before him. For the heavens declare the glory of God (Ps. 19:1). Man is without excuse. The heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). Unregenerated man became so foolish because his heart was darkened that he imagined God to be like unto corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and even creeping things (Rom. 1:21-25). They worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator.

Egypt worshiped many gods of this sort in the days of Moses and they were the most advanced society in those ancient times. Even the people of Israel fashioned a golden calf and worshiped it, when Moses was up in the mount receiving the Law from God. Men make themselves idols, the work of their own hands and then worship it as their God (Ps. 115:4-8). There are so many so called gods in the world today.

Even among those who profess to believe in God, have a false image in their minds of God. Some picture God to be a man with a grandfatherly look. Some think he is a black man and some think God is a woman, etc. Num. 23:19 says, “God is not a man…neither the son of man.” God spoke to Israel in Hosea 11:9 and said, “I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee.” In Job 33:12 It is stated “that God is greater than man.” In Ps. 83:18 we are told God’s name is “Johovah, the most high over all the earth.” Jehovah means, “He is, He was.” It has two tenses in Hebrew, past and future, denoting what is continued even in the present. He is eternal (Deut. 33:27). “There is none other God but one” (I Cor. 8:4).

“God is a Spirit” Jesus tells us in Jn. 4:24. “No man hath seen God at any time” (I Jn. 4:12). Jesus said in Mk. 12:29, “The Lord our God is One.” David said in II Sam. 7:22, “Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee.” God is holy (Lev. 11:44). He is Omniscient, all wise (Ps. 139:1-6). He is Omnipresent, everywhere present (Ps. 139:7-12). He is Omnipotent, all powerful, the Almighty (Gen. 17:1). There are numerous scriptures we could read of God’s attributes, (unchangeable, incomprehensible, just, merciful, gracious, longsuffering, good, etc) which would be more than we could cover in this article. One citation I love, is found in Psalm 68:20, “He that is our God is the God of salvation.”

I John 5:7 tells us of the Trinity of Spirits in the Godhead, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” Sometimes people will say, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It is true they are God, but they are not three God’s. These three are one God, one in heart, in spirit and in aim. Each has their distinct office, fulfilling a distinct function. They were plainly distinguishable when Jesus was baptized (Mt. 3:16-17). Jesus came up out of the water and the heavens were open, the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. Then a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (the Father).

We also see all three in the first three verses of the Bible (Gen. 1:1-3). “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (V. 1). The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (V. 2). “And God said, the Word (V. 3). All three involved in creation. Also the Hebrew word for God in the first chapters of Geneses is plural – ELOHIM – meaning three personalities. Elohim is found 2500 times in Hebrew in the Old Testament. Consider Gen. 1:26, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” How are we made in God image? He made us a trinity, body, soul, and spirit, yet one.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Jn. 1:1). Verse 3, “All things were made by Him.” Verse 14, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus words in John 3:16, “God so loved…He gave His only begotten Son.” God’s grace, He had a plan to redeem His fallen creatures. Praise God! Our God is a God of salvation. Mankind is responsible to accept or reject God’s grace, for God has provided salvation for all. In Jesus is everlasting life. The Trinity is involved in our new birth. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins by the Word of God and our need of the Savior. The Holy Spirit plants the seed of the New Creation life, the life of Christ in us when we believe and receive Jesus as our Savior. We then are called the sons of God.
Earlene Davis