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Who is God? - Sermon: 01


INTRODUCTION:

Mankind has worshiped some form of god as far back as recorded history. He has worshiped, animals, spirits, idols of every kind and description. There is a god of some kind for every imagination of man. This begs the question....how can all these be gods and who is the real God the Creator of the Universe which includes you and I? Who really is God? Introduction: Mankind has worshiped some form of god as far back as recorded history. He has worshiped, animals, spirits, idols of every kind and description. There is a god of some kind for every imagination of man. This begs the question....how can all these be gods and who is the real God the Creator of the Universe which includes you and I? Who really is God?

Romans 1:17 says the "just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 11:6 further says "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

Romans 10:12-17 explains this further "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

Did you note how God says we are to receive faith. Verse 17 says "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Faith comes when we hear God's word and believe it. Saving faith is not a "leap into the dark" as existentialism teaches, but is based on God revealed word to us which contains His promises to those who put their trust in what He says.

Clearly the Bible tells that forgiveness of sins, receiving of eternal life and salvation are received by knowing and believing in God as He has revealed Himself in His written word. Saving faith is based in knowing who God is, what He has revealed to us and believing and putting our trust in His word. God as our Creator and Savior has the responsibility to reveal Himself to those that would seek Him, and He must provide the way that one can know Him. Romans 10:17 explain how we can know it which is by hearing the God's preacher preach the word in truth.

The word "preacher" means a "herald" (kurusso - "kay-roo-so"). The word "preacher" in verse 14 is the same Greek word "preach" in verse 15. And in verse 15 the phrase "preach the Gospel" (euaggelizo yoo-ang-ghel-id'-zo) which means "to bring good news, to announce glad tidings." It refers to anyone who proclaims God's truth....the good news of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ who is God incarnate in flesh.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of gods that man is worshiping around the world. God shows the foolishness of man making his false gods in Isaiah 44:9-17 states. A man cuts down a tree, burns part of it to warm himself or cook his food, then takes the rest and makes him a god and bows down and says, "Deliver me; for thou art my god." Think with me about this. How could a god that a man makes save the man. Can a created man create the god that Created him? Can you see the foolishness of this.

Romans 1:22-23 says, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." Because man is limited to this material world man creates his false gods to be like himself. That is one reason so many people have such a problem in accepting the biblical truth of the Trinity. Man looks at his material world and says the Trinity is not true because it is impossible for God to be One God and at the same time exist as three individual beings. Yet, God says from His word that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One God. Not only one in purpose, but distinctively three Persons who are One. One of the carnal teachings of the Scriptures is the Oneness of God. Man is bound by the natural laws God created and therefore always makes his false gods like himself of something from nature which he can see. Yet, God is the Creator of all that is material and He is greater than His creation. (For a biblical explanation of the Trinity please go to http://bible-truth.org/Trinity.html on the Bible Truth Web Site.)

The preacher, pastor, SS or Bible teacher, or any born again believer must proclaim the truth as to who God is that men, women, boys and girls may believing in Him and receive everlasting life and forgiveness of sins. A false idea about God describes a false god and one that does not exist. A non-existent god cannot save because he is not there.

Let us then look at who is our God, who is "Theos."

 
The God of the Bible is the Creator of the Earth and the Universe.

Who can tell us better about God than Himself? Therefore to know who God is we must learn what God's word says. The following Bible references are passage in which God tells us about who He truly is:

1. The God of the Bible is the Creator. Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

2. The God of the Bible created the whole of the Universe. Exodus 20:11, "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

3. The God of the Bible of the Universe made it all by Himself. Nehemiah 9:6 , "Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshipeth thee."

4. Isaiah 45:12 , "I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded."

5. It is clear that to all that God of the Bible made the Universe. Job 12:9, "Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?"

6. The God of the Bible created even the space that the Universe exists in. Job 26:7, "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing."
7. The God of the Bible made the seas and oceans. Psalm 24:2, "For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods."

8. The God of the Bible spoke the Universe into existence. Psalm 33:6, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth."
9. The Earth belongs to the Lord who is the God of the Bible. Psalm 95:5, "The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land."

10. The God of the Bible laid the very foundations of the Universe. Psalm 102:25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
11. Isaiah 48:13, "Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together."

12. The God of the Bible says His creative work will never be undone. Psalms 104:5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

13. The God of the Bible is alive and superintending the existence of the world continually. Isaiah 40:28, "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding."

14. The first Christians knew that the God of the Bible Created the Heavens and the Earth. Acts 4:24, "And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is."

15. The God of the Bible is greater that all the Creation. Acts 7:48-50, "Hath not my hand made all these things? Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?

16. Man is not the creator and in order to be saved a man must turn to the true Creator for salvation. Acts 14:15, "And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein."

17. God is immutable, which means He does not change. Some religions teach that God was once lesser than He is now. Some claim that he was a man who through reincarnation, eternal progression, etc became the God He is now. Malachi 3:6 says "For I am the LORD, I change not." Further God's eternality precludes that He has changed because He says He is eternal in the heavens. Deuteronomy 33:27 expresses this truth say, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."
 
How can we know about god who is our creator?
God gave us the Bible to tell us about Himself and it is God's revelation to man. God has given us two kinds of revelation; (1) natural revelation and (2) special revelation. Revelation simply means what God has revealed to us about Himself.

Natural Revelation:

Natural revelation deals with examining the physical or material world we live in and seeing the order and design of it. Because of its design we must conclude that there was a Designer or Creator. Natural revelation gives us some incites into who God is but it is not specific. We look at nature, see His creative handiwork , and know He is there, but do not know who He is beyond the fact He made us and that He is greater than we are. Read what God has said about natural revelation and how man has perverted the knowledge God has given Him:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things" (Romasn 1:18-23)
One aspect of natural revelation is that it tells us there is a Creator. That leads us to know that as created beings we are responsible to our Creator. He made us therefore we are subject to Him. It show us also that this world is corrupted by sin and that the world is in the process of destruction because we can see all the evil that man is doing to each other.

There are 2 Laws of Thermodynamics that prove this to be true. This is natural revelation and can be seen outside the Bible.

The first is the First Law of Thermodynamics says that no new matter is being created. Thermodynamics is the science of physics of energy and mechanical actions: the branch of physics that deals with the conversions from one to another of various forms of energy and how these affect temperature, pressure, volume, mechanical action, and work (Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2004 Microsoft Corporation) This law of science tells us that the quantity of atoms, and sub-atomic particles upon which the Universe made is constant. This points to a Creator. This Law directly contradicts evolution. Evolutions says all matter always existed. That is contrary to reason. We live in a world that is subject to time and space. If time is active now and moving toward the future it must have a beginning. God tell us when the beginning was....when he created the heavens and the earth. Evolution says there is no beginning that all things exist as they always have. Yet, science that accept evolution must ignore the fact that if anything exists in time...it must have had a begining.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics says that everything in the Universe is going from a complicated and efficient state to a less complicated state and less efficient. In other words the Universe is running down.

Evolution however says that the natural process is that everything is getting better. As the late Carl Sagan said, "Man is evolving to the stars." Evolution then is suppose to be producing better and better life and man who began as some slime in which some amino acids came together in a primeval soup after the Big Bang is on the way to becoming a greater and greater being. He was primitive primate, an ape like creature and now is an intelligent man. That very reasoning is proof enough that man thinking is corrupted. Did you know that only within the last one hundred years to man believe this way. Before evolution was taught in schools it was generally accepted man was created by God. All men did not agree on who the Creator was, but they believed there was a Creator because of they observed and knew of man and the universe.

Special Revelation

Special revelation is what God specifically reveals to us about himself from the Bible. It tells us a great deal about Him. Therefore tet us look at the Bible and see what God tells us about Himself.

The Bible says God is Spirit. A state or essence of being a spirit means that one is immaterial. That means a spirit is not a material or physical being.

In John 4:24 the Bible says, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Literally all Greeks texts use the word "pneuma o yeov" - God is Spirit, in the same way the Bible says "God is Light" (1 John 1:5), "God is Love" (1 John 4:8).

God in John 4:24, explains that God's substance or essence as being spiritual. God has substance, but not a material substance and He is not a man nor ever was a man. (Num. 23:19, 1 Sam. 15:29) God Created Man....therefore clearly he is not a man. (Gen. 1:26)

When Jesus appeared after His resurrection he explained this to his disciples in Luke 24:39, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." Jesus specifically defined a spirit for us telling us that a spirit does not have flesh and bones.

God then is spirit and is not a material being. There are many expressions in the Bible which refer to God as having the body parts of a man, but these are all hyperboles and symbolic statements. For example, God is said to be a burning fire, an eagle, and other symbols which relate to his actions and not to his material essence.

The Bible says that God is invisible.

Deuternomy 4:1-19, says that at Horeb God appeared to Israel. God reminds them that they did not see any form of God, but only heard His voice. God commands them not to corrupt themselves by making any image of Him referring to Him as either male of female, or after the likeness of any animal or after the sun, moon and stars.

Isaiah 40:18 states the same truth, "To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?" God does not have gender as material men and women do. God not being like men cannot be compared to men.

John 1:18, says that "No man hath seen God" In Romans 1:20, Col. 1;15, 1 Tim. 1:17, Paul refers to God as being invisible.

1 Timothy 6:16, says, "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen." Thus the Bible is clear in teaching that God being a spirit is invisible and cannot be seen my material men.
The Bible does say in some passages that men did see God.

Is this a contradiction? The answer is no. God appeared to men in a physical form so that men could see him, but they did not see God in his true essence, but saw only a reflection or manifestation of God. John 1:32, says that Spirit can be manifested in visible form. In Genesis 16:7-14, the Bible says the angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar. This is referred to as a "theophany" which means an appearance of God in human form.

Exodus 3:1f says that the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush (Ex. 3:2). Thus, the flame in the midst of the bush revealed God's presence, but not His true essence. The flame Moses saw did not represent what God looks like anymore that when God appeared as a man. God used these forms so as to appear to men in some visible form they could see.

The God of the Bible is the Self-Existing God.

The Bible says that God is self-existence. Man's existence comes from God who is life and the giver of all life. Man exists because of God's power and did not exist before God. God "breathed" life into man and he became a living soul. God's existence is not dependent on outside forces. This is the meaning of God's statement about Himself in Exodus 3:14, "I am that I am."

John 5:26 "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself."

God was not created, but is "the" Creator and is the eternal God. "From everlasting to everlasting thou art God" (Psalm 90:2). He is self-existencing and does not exist because of some outside power. He is a power unto Himself. This is better understood by the next statement about God.

The God of the Bible had no Beginning and is Eternal.

The Bible says God is eternal. Genesis 21:33, says He is the "Eternal God." This means that God is not subject to time as are material men in a physical world. God created time when He made the heavens and the Earth (Gen. 1:1-2, Heb. 1:2, 11:3). Psalm 102:27, says "thou art the same, and thy years have no end" (see Heb. 13:18, James 1:17). God created time and space and exists beyond them, and He is not subject to either.

The God of the Bible is Infinite.

The Bible says God is infinite. Infinite means He is without limitations. This refers to God in relation to things that are material. God created the vastness of the space of the Universe and thus God must be greater that His Creation. Being infinite God is not limited to space in a material Universe.

Note how the following passages present this truth:

I Kings 8:27, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?"
II Chron. 2:6, "But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?"

Jeremiah 23:24, "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD."

Isaiah 66:1, "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?"

The God of the Bible is the Only God that Exists.

The Bible says God is the Only God. Note, what the Bible says about God in the following Scriptures:

Deut. 4:35, "Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him."

Isaiah 44:6, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel , and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."

Isaiah 43:10, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."

These verses teach that God is the only God and not other gods exist. The Bible clearly reveals that there in only one God and He is the Creator of the Earth and the Universe. This clearly precludes that God was once a man or was created by some other god.

God is Love.

The Bible says that God is love. 1 John 4:7-10 "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

God says that He is Love. The word is "agape" love meaning a love that seeks the other's best interest, that is freely given with out merit or worthiness on the part of the one who receives the love.

True love produces action. It is not just wishing or desiring the others well being, but actively providing the need. God's love is seen in that He came to earth and took the form of a man, that He might make salvation possible for man who is condemned by his sin. Man cannot save himself, so our perfect and sinless God became incarnate in man, that He would suffer for us and pay the sin debt we could not pay. That is what verse 10 states....He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

God's very nature is love and therefore He offers us salvation freely. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us this truth plainly "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

God's love is shown in that man as a sinner under the condemnation of sin could not save himself. God then came to He offers us salvation, a free and full pardon for our sins and eternal life, if we will only receive it. We cannot earn, merit it or ever be worthy of it, yet He loves us and seeks to save us.

Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

John 3:36 tells us "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

CONCLUSION:

This message has not looked at the Lord Jesus Christ, but will do so next week. However, this message clearly teaches us who God is and that we are responsible to Him, who is our Creator and God.

At the Jesus's Transfiguration God spoke from heaven and said, Matt 17:5 "While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."

Jeremiah. 15:16 "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

Paul said, Roman 1:16 " For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

God has told us in His word, He has reveal to us His plan of Salvation and that is simply to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16, 36).


SOURCE WITH THANKS FROM:
Pastor. Cooper Abrams
http://bible-truth.org/

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