Who Is Your God? Series

October 15, 2017

Morning Worship

Text: Deuteronomy 6:4

Subject: The Foundation Series Part 2

Title: Who Is Your God

We began a new series Last week that we are calling the Foundation Series. How important is it to know exactly what you believe and then be able to articulate it to others. Unfortunately many church - goers cannot do that. Nor do they see the importance of it.

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV2011)

15 … Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…

Now the only way that you can do that is to be sure that the things you believe have a foundation set in truth. Let me give you an example: Our government operates under the false pretense that the best way to get out of debt is to borrow more money so they can spend more and somehow spend their way out of debt. But we know that the best way to get out of debt is to limit spending and quit borrowing until you can afford what you need to purchase; or at least until you can afford to make payments. That truth comes from common sense.

Now as Christians we have a set truth that comes by knowing that this bible is the inspired Word of God. “All Scripture is “God-breathed…” Isn’t that right? We established that fact last week and it is the starting point of everything that we believe.

Now starting from that point, with God’s word as our foundation, we can only surmise that everything that we need to know about God can be found by what His own word says about Him. So if we are going to grow in our relationship with Him, which should be our goal in this life, we want to try to find out as much about God as we can.

Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV)

4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!

I believe this is God’s word…

I believe it is for me…

I accept it as mine…

I will appropriate it to my life today…

I am going to begin this morning with a basic introduction to who God is by talking about the one thing that is probably the most difficult to understand. In fact, if you think you understand it then you are considerably more intelligent than any honest theologian that ever lived.

That one thing about God is this – the concept of the Trinity. We believe, because the bible teaches it, that there is One God and that in this Godhead we find three persons. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit.

In Deuteronomy 6:4, where it says that the Lord is one, that Hebrew word translated as “one” is actually a plural word…

'echad (ekh-awd')

1. (properly) united, i.e. one

2. (as an ordinal) first

It comes from the root 'achad (aw-khad') v.

1. to unify

Though the word “trinity” is not found in the scriptures, the concept of God in three persons is ever present.

Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…

Matthew 3:16-17 (NKJV)

16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.

17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Jesus Himself clearly understood that concept… John 15:26 (NKJV)

26 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

OK then. Let’s move on to what we can understand about God and what it can mean to us.

First of all the scriptures tell us that God is eternal… The name that the LORD told Moses to tell Israel was “I AM”. Literally “I BE”. The Lord has always been and will always be… Again, that is a concept that we may have difficulty in grasping. We are finite beings, living in space and time. Now, our understanding is often limited to that.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV)

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

There is something in us that desires to have that connection to eternity. The Lord has placed in everyone a desire to know Him that way. And that can only come through the work of the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit.