LET'S TALK ABOUT GOD

The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans 16:16)


Introduction:

Jesus is not only the Son of God, but also God the Son.  Since no greater truth is affirmed in the Sacred Text, one cannot read the Bible (especially the New Testament) without recognizing the One who is God the Son (cf. Heb. 1:8).  This doctrine in fact permeates the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation; only a materialist would fail to see it.

 
VI.  LET'S TALK ABOUT GOD THE FATHER

The Bible says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).  This is the first verse in the Bible.  All things begin with God.  The Bible begins with God.  A study of the Bible must also begin with God, for the Bible is God's book.
   
There is but ONE true God.  All true believers must therefore cast away their man-made gods, the gods of their imaginations.  All must turn to the one true God and submit to His directions for life.  You may not like what the God of the Bible teaches, commands, promises, and condemns, but do you really have another option?  NO!  There is but ONE true God!
   
A little boy was asked, "How many gods are there?" He quickly replied, "Only one!" "How do you know this,” the boy was asked?  Out of the mouth of a babe came this answer: "Because there is room for only One.  God fills the heaven and earth."  Let us find comfort in this simple understanding.  There is but ONE true God!
   
How can we know there is a God?  What is God like?  These are the most important questions anyone can ask.  Nothing is of greater importance than the answers to these questions. The answers we give to these questions will determine (decide) HOW we live on the earth.  The answers we give to these questions will determine WHERE we will dwell after this life on this earth is over.  We will now turn to the Bible, God's book, to learn the answer to the first question:
 
HOW CAN WE KNOW THERE IS A GOD?

We Know There Is A God because of the things which He has made.  "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork" (Psalms 19:1).  When we see a house we know that someone wise enough and strong enough built it.  A house cannot exist without a builder (cf. Heb. 3:4).
   
In the same way, when we see the sun, moon, stars, the earth, and all that is in the earth, we know they have a builder.  Someone wise enough and strong enough made all these things. Only God has power to create the heavens and the earth. Therefore, we know there is a God when we see the things He has made (cf. Rom. 1:19-20).
   
We Know There Is A God because our hearts or conscience tell us.  People have always believed in a God.  This has been true in every country and in every age.  People have often had false ideas about God but they have always believed in Him (cf. Rom. 2:14-16).
   
We Know There Is A God because He has spoken.  The Bible says: "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of glory, and the express image of his person..." (Hebrews 1:1-3).
   
God has spoken in time past by the prophets, “precept upon precept; line upon line...here a little, and there a little” (Isa. 28:10-11; cf. Deut. 18:18-19).  He now speaks by His Son (Matt. 17:1-3; John 8:24-29).  Yes, God does exist!  He is self existent (John 5:26).  He is eternal (Deut. 33:37; 1 Tim. 1:17).  He is infinite; being omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.  He is immutable (James. 1:17).
   
We Know There Is A God because He has revealed Himself to us in His Son, Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1-2).  Jesus told the Pharisees, “...If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also” (John 8:19; cf. 14:6-7, 9).  Jesus said that only those to whom He reveals the Father will know the Father (Matt. 11:27).  John the baptizer said that no man has seen God; however, the Son has made God known (John 1:18).
   
God reveals Himself in CHRIST only to those who SINCERELY seek Him.  The Bible says, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13; cf. 31:31-34).  Again, “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord...” (Jer. 9:24).
   
Jesus said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God...” (John 17:3). Only those who obey Christ will receive this eternal life (Heb. 5:8-9; cf. Rom. 10:17; Acts 15:7; Heb. 11:6; John 8:24; Acts 17:30-31; Luke 13:3; 2 Pet. 3:9; Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; Matt. 26:28; 1 Pet. 3:20-21).
 
WHAT IS GOD LIKE?

God is eternal!  God has always lived.  He will always live. The Bible says of God: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God” (Ps. 90:2).  All people who live on the earth will grow old.  All will die.  But God can never grow old or die.
   
Let us hear the Bible again:  "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak you will fold them up, And they will be changed. But you are the same, And your years will not fail" (Heb. 1:10-12).
   
God is all powerful!  "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Gen. 18:14).  We human beings are weak.  There are many things we do not have the strength to do.  But God has all power. He can do anything.  By His great power, God created the heavens and the earth (Jer. 10:12).  By His great power, God created man.  We can trust the promises of God, for He has the power to fulfill them.
   
God is all-knowing!  God knows everything, for God sees everything.  It is possible to hide things from the eyes of men, but nothing can be hidden from God.  The Bible says, "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders all his paths" (Prov. 5:21).  And again, "...God is greater than our heart, and knows all things" (1 John 3:20).
   
God is unchanging!  Everything in this world changes.  Governments change when nations become independent and new leaders replace old leaders.  Ways of living change.  Habits and customs of people change.  The weather changes.  Styles of clothing change.  Even our bodies change as we grow older.  But God never changes.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (cf. Heb. 13:8).  "For I am the Lord, I do not change..." (Mal. 3:6).
   
God is spirit!  God is not a human being as you and I are.  Our Mormon (LDS) friends are being taught and deceived into believing that "God the Father is a glorified and perfected man, a Personage of flesh and bones - see D & C 130:22 - in which tangible body an eternal spirit is housed” (Mormon Doctrine by Bruce McConkie, page 319).  However, no matter what the Mormons FALSELY teach, God is NOT a man nor has He ever been a man (READ Num. 23:19; Job. 9:32; 33:12; Hos. 11:9).  "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).  God does not have weaknesses and sicknesses of the flesh as you and I do, "...for a spirit does not have flesh and bones.... " (Luke 24:39).
   
God is light!  "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).  There is no darkness (sin) in God. Therefore (for this reason) we can trust Him for He will not deceive us (lie to or mislead).
   
God is love! "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8). God loves us.  He has proved His great love for us by giving His Son to die for our sins.  "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (to pay the price--His death on the cross) for our sins" (1 John 4:10).
   
God is holy! "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy" (Lev. 19:2; cf. Ps. 111:9). God is designated as the “Holy One.”  Peter told the Jews: "But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you" (Acts 3:14; cf. Mark 1:23-24; 1 John 2:20).  Job said: "I have not concealed the words of the Holy One" (Job 6:10). "The Holy One of Israel" is common in the Old Testament (Ps. 89:18; Isa. 1:4; Jer. 50:29).
   
God is true!  He is the True One. “But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king” (Jer. 10:10).  The Word of God is called "Faithful and True" (Rev. 19:11).  The souls under the altar refer to the Lord as the “holy and true” one (Rev. 6:10).  Being in the True One is being in Christ and in God: "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20).
   
God is faithful! “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son” (1 Cor. 1:9).  “He is faithful that promised” (Heb. 10:23).  If God is to protect His people from the devil and his temptations, He must be faithful (2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Cor. 10:13).  “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thess. 5:23-24).
   
God is righteous!  “For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright" (Psalms 11:7).  All His “commandments are righteousness” (Ps. 119:172).  God cannot do any wrong; therefore, He hates all sin (cf. Prov. 6:16-19).
   
God is merciful!  Although He hates sin, He loves us; therefore, He is merciful. "The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy" (Psalms 103:8).  He will forgive the sins of every alien sinner when their faith in God causes them to truly repent (make up their minds to turn away from practicing sin and turn back to God), and be baptized (immersed in water) for the remission (forgiveness) of sins by the blood of Jesus (Acts 2:38; Matthew 26:28).


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