God 101
Contrary to popular belief, simply believing in God does not make you a Christian. James 2:19 tells us that even demons believe in God. What separates you is a desire to know God on a personal level, to grow closer, to learn more about him, and to have a relationship with him.
The only reason we know anything about God is because he choose to reveal it to us.
The only things we can understand about God are what he helps us learn.
God makes himself know to us and reveals himself to us in three ways.
1 Through nature
2 Through personal experience
3 Through the Bible
Some people refuse to believe in God because the can’t see him. They believe in oxygen even though they can’t see it. They believe in gravity even though they can’t see it.
But if these things were suddenly gone, you would definitely believe that they had existed.
Let’s examine some of the things we know about God and how we experience them.
God In Nature
God is the creator of the universe. We know this by Gods word-the Bible in Genesis 1:1.
God has left his fingerprints all over the universe he has created.
You can see God in the sunset, in the stars, or in a beautiful babies smile.
The wonders of God’s creation are all around us if we simply take the time to notice them.
Consider how perfect God’s creation is. It the earth’s rotation changed by only a few degrees, Earth would be uninhabitable.
God In Person
Sometimes God can reveal himself to us in a more specific, personal way. He does this to demonstrate who he is. This of these things that may have happened in you life.
An unexpected check in the mail when you needed it the most.
Walking away unscratched from a car wreck you should have died in.
A disease or sickness you had suddenly gone.
Doctors telling you you’ll never be able to have kids and now you have 3 beautiful children.
Regardless of the situation, know it or not, God at one time or another has demonstrated his love, power, and protection to you. Look at your life and learn to listen carefully to things that go on. Learn to listen for the gentle whisper. Sometimes God doesn’t always speak to us with a thundering voice. The better you get a recognizing these things the closer you can grow with him.
Who is God and how do I get to know him?
The best source to learn from about God is his word-the Bible. The Bible has everything in it that God wants us to know about him. For starters, God tells us his name “I AM” in Exodus 3:14
The ancient Hebrew word for God is Yahweh which is literally translated as “The Lord”.
God has certain attributes and characteristics that are applied to him. When they are applied to him they become perfections. This means that there is nothing halfway or so-so about God. These perfections exist in complete harmony. One never out ways or overrules the others. Love never out ways his Holiness. His Justness never overrules his Mercy. Here are some of God’s characteristics followed by a more detailed list.
God is Love
God is Mercy
God is Compassion
God is Just
God is Holy
Understanding God’s help us in further understanding him.
God’s Perfections
God is Eternal
We as human beings cannot understand that God is eternal. We are bound our concept of time. We simply cannot imagine forever. Time, however does not apply to God. God had already existed before man started keeping track of time. He will exist even after time ends. Imagine God standing over a table looking at a maze. Time and everyones life are in the maze. God can see the past, present, and future. This is how God knows everything about you and what you will face in your life. There has never been a time when God did not exist. Unlike the universe, God was not created. God created us and we are alive because he is the life giver. God will always be around to protect you and watch over you. God will always be.
God is Holy
Sin cannot exist in god’s presence. The fact that God is Holy means that everything about him is good. Everything he does is good. Everything he commands is good. This means that when we truly trust God with our lives that we will never be led astray or asked to anything evil. If we follow his instructions, we are guaranteed to do right. We may not understand it at the time, but the reason will be revealed to us in the result.
1st John tells us to reject sin just as God does.
1st John 1:5-7
5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
1JN 2:7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.
This doesn’t mean that he demands absolute perfection from us. He knows that we will fail occasionally. That shouldn’t keep us from striving to achieve God’s standards for ourselves.
God is Immanent/Omnipresent
God is a “hands on” kinda guy. He’s always with us, always near, always present in our lives even if we choose to ignore him or cannot feel him there. Theres no place you can go where God is not there. God is everywhere but he is not everything. He is not part of his creation. He is involved in every part of it.
God is Just
God is perfectly just. That means that he cannot allow any sin to go unpunished. No one who has accepted Christ will have to face God’s judgment for there sins (Remember that simply believing in him is not the same as accepting him). God has forgotten them. Jesus has already faced God’s punishment on our behalf. Because of God being just, we know that everyone will someday get what they deserve.
Psalm 37:1,2
PS 37:1 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong;PS 37:2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
Read all of Psalm 73 for even more on the subject of not being worried about the wicked.
God is Loving
God’s love is a perfect love against which all other can be measured. Some people question how god can be a loving God with the following statements
“If God loves people why does he send them to hell?”
“How can God allow so much suffering in the world?”
“If God loves me why did my Mother die of Cancer?”
God’s perfect love for us involves instruction, correction, discipline, and allowing certain things to happen for us to learn some tough lessons. Hebrews 12:5-6 makes that clear.
Hebrews 12:5,6
And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, HEB 12:6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
He wants whatever is best for us. He will do whatever is necessary to make sure that we recognize and pursue only what is best for us. His methods may seem a bit harsh as times but that is only because we don’t understand the depths of his love. Think about a Father that corrects or disciplines his son when he does something bad. He doesn’t do it to be mean, but because he loves his son and wants him to learn so he won’t make the same mistake. First john 4:7-9 spells out what God’s love means for us.
1st John 4:7-9
1JN 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
First of all, it means eternal life. Second, it makes it possible for us to love others. God’s love should overflow from us into other peoples lives.
God is Omnipotent
The common definition of omnipotent is “all-powerful”. Can God do anything? The answer is no in a manner of speaking. Let me explain. God can’t do anything that is against his nature. Specifically God cannot-
lie-Titus 1:2
be tempted to sin-James 1:13
deny his nature-2 Timothy 2:13
These things don’t make him any less powerful. They make him true to his nature.
God can do anything that is within his nature. His power over the universe is limitless.
God has demonstrated his power through ought history by defying, suspending, and overpowering natural laws in ways that can only be explained as miracles.
Exodus 14:10-31-God parts the waters of the Red Sea so Israel can cross safely.
Joshua 10:1-5-God made the sun stand still.
Daniel 3-Three of his servants walk around unharmed inside a furnace.
God is all-powerful and the same God that did those things now has us in his hands.
God is Omniscient
God knows everything. He knows everything that has happened in the past. He also knows everything that is happening right now and in the future. He knows every choice we will make and he knows our true motives. Picture it this way,
Your life is like a maze on a table. Every event from birth to death in your life is in that maze. God stands above the maze/table looking down over you. He can see what is around every bend. Don’t you think you should trust him to guide you through that maze?
The greatest human achievements cannot compare to God’s wisdom.
1 Corinthians 3:18-20
1CO 3:18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness" ; 20 and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." 21 So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours,
That’s why he makes his wisdom, knowledge, and experience available to us if we only ask. God can and will give you the guidance you need for you life.
God is Sovereign
God has no boss and answers to nobody. He is the ultimate authority, no matter what the subject is. From time to time in our Christian walk, it may seem as though God asks a lot from us. One of the best ways to regain focus during those times is to remind ourselves that God doesn’t need us, but that he wants us anyway. We should be honored that the Creator of the Universe wants to have a personal relationship with each and everyone of his little creations.
God is Transcendent
God is not contained by the universe or anything in it. He’s distinct from his creation. He’s not subject to the laws of physics or any other constraints of our world. God is immanent also means that he’s beyond the grasp of our intellect. Some of us cannot comprehend 1,000 years ago let alone 1,000 years in the future, but God can. The true concept of who and what God is is simply beyond what we can imagine.
Isaiah 55:9
ISA 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God is ultimately involved in the everyday workings of the world because he chooses to be. He’s not compelled to , He wants to be involved.
God is Unchanging
This is the hardest one for some people to understand. James 1:17 tells us that God doesn’t change. Times may change, fashions, or whatever is popular, but God doesn’t change. His promises never fail. We can always count on God to be just who he says he is a nd do what he says he will do.
So how should we respond to a God that is all these things?
With a sense of wonder
Why would God want a personal relationship with me? Because of his love. Doesn’t matter who you are of what you’ve done in the past, it’s in the past. What matter is now and your walk with God. The opportunity of having a personal relationship with god should never seem commonplace. There should always be a part of us that is little overwhelmed at that privilege.
With frequent praise
We should respond by showing our appreciation and awe for who he is and what he has done for us. Praise and Worship are vital elements of our relationship with God. The more specific we can be in our praise, the more we see what he’s doing in our lives, the more sincere our praise will be.
With boldness
Jesus’ sacrifice and the salvation it brought to us means that those of us who believe in him don’t have to cower in the presence of God the way Adam and Eve had to after their sin. God welcomes everyone who claims the gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ. For that reason we can approach God with love and affection without fear of being turned away.
Hebrews 4:16
16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need
We can take our boldest request to him and worry about being tossed out of the room.
With a desire to put his power to work
God hears our prayers-all of them. The big ones, the small ones. He responds to our prayers.
John 14:13,14
13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
That doesn’t mean we can simply add “In Jesus Name” to the end of a prayer and it is guaranteed. We will talk about that in “Keys For Effective Prayer”.
He’s ready and willing to unleash his power for his purpose. All we have to do is ask. To unlock the secret of effective prayer, I suggest you read all the articles here associated with prayer.
With closeness
Hebrews 10:22 tells us to “draw near to God”. We do that by studying the Bible, learning all we can about God, and following th example of Jesus Christ.
In return, God will draw near to us by giving us his love, strength, and support, and guidance for our lives.
With obedience
Another hard one. If we truly believe that god knows everything and sees everything, it only makes sense to follow his instructions. God has given us written instructions on how to navigate through our little “maze”. It’s called the Bible. In addition to that, god gave us a 24 hour “hot line” to him. It’s called prayer. Both of these are available to anyone who ever needs guidance, direction, or hope. All we have to do is follow his directions and obey his directions. Sometimes his directions may not make sense to us, or we may question how we can accomplish what he wants us to do. We have to ask ourselves, “Who has a better perspective on things, me or God?”
That leaves us with a choice-allow ourselves to be angry with God for the failures in our lives or learn everything we can about him and take advantage of the wisdom and guidance that he graciously offers to us.
The choice is up to you.
