God Reveals Himself to Us
It is impossible to know everything about God, but there are some things that we can truly know about God. God Wants to Be Known. The infinite God finds ways to express Himself so that our finite minds can understand what He is saying. God spoke and is still speaking today because He is a self-revealing God. God is eager to communicate to us about who He is and what He is doing. He looks for those who know, understand, and seek Him (Isaiah 55:9, Matthew 25:24, Jeremiah 9:24).
Kingdom prophetic culture rests on the fact that God talks a lot and that He will go to any lengths to communicate with us. “He wants to fill the universe with… replicas of Himself."—C.S. Lewis
Five Attributes of God
God’s Five Attributes 1. God is the “I Am"—the Lord, the King. 2. He exercises kindness. God is in a good mood and His Kindness should be a hallmark of who we are in all of our relationships, with those in power, in leadership, to the poor, etc.
3. God exercises justice. God cares about justice for the prisoner and slave, justice in the marketplace, in relationships, etc. Justice is not always about punishment, but reconciliation. • Example: Solomon’s wisdom in finding the baby’s rightful mother True justice is not to focus on punishment, but rather on the reconciliation of relationships. Jesus took on our wrath so we can be restored as sons and daughters of the King.
4. God exercises righteousness. Righteousness is a right way, a holy way of living—making decisions that bring righteousness. Righteousness is thinking, “How do we bring the right way of thinking and doing things into relationships and into cultures?”
5. God is a God of delight. He delights in justice, righteousness and kindness both in the Godhead and among people, expressed in our relationship with people.
Contrast Between Knowing Him and Not Fully Knowing Him.
There is an invitation to continually know God.
"Right now we know darkly, but then I shall know fully even as I am fully known. (I Corinthians 13:12)". To know Him means to worship Him. God is omniscient and omnipresent. God is holy and has given Himself for us and calls us to Himself. To fully enjoy God is to glorify Him; to glorify Him is to enjoy Him. Rather than saying, “I was made to worship God,” believe you were created to know God, and to know God means to worship Him. You experience the wonder of God and cannot wait to tell others about Him. Experiencing the wonder of God brings a deeper knowing and praise of Who He is.
Evidence of God's Existence
God is known by an inner sense. Humans have an inner sense of God’s glory and He makes Himself known by creation as well. Romans 1:21-25 To accurately understand God in creation, you need the testimony of Scripture. People who do not use Biblical Scripture, tend to recognize that a higher power exists and then just create a god (fertility gods, etc.) to worship. The testimony of Scripture clarifies Who that higher power is (God) and His nature. Scripture shows that God does not bring destruction, but He is actually looking for ways to save a city.
In the Old Testament, God is known as:
a. Jehovah Shammah (God our companion)
b. Jehovah Nissi (God our Banner)
c. El Roi (God Who sees me)
Names or Attributes of God From the New Testament 1. Bread of Life; Light of the world; Water of life; the Way, the Truth and the Life; Comforter (Holy Spirit); Redeemer; Great High Priest. 2. Jesus—Yeshua—“God Saves”; Emmanuel—“God with Us”; Christos—“Anointed One”; Christ, Lord, Messiah, Savior; Corner Stone.
The Trinity
Creation of the word "Trinity" The word “Trinity” is the church’s attempt to state that God is One Being or Essence that exists eternally in three distinct and co-equal Persons. Each part of that definition is important. They are neither three gods, nor three parts nor modes of God, but co-equal and co-eternal God. The Trinity is the best way to describe the Godhead in a manner consistent with the Scriptures. The problem: how can God be both one and three? The Jews who thought of God as One had to come to grips with the fact that the awaited Messiah was God. Jewish scholars called Christians “tri-theists.”
History of the Trinity Doctrine. Charts of Christian Theology and Doctrine by H. Wayne House, is a helpful resource.
The doctrine of the Trinity climaxed at the Council of Constantinople of 381. In 33 to 100, the apostles accepted the full deity of Jesus and the Trinitarian baptism formula: baptizing in the name of the Father, son and Holy Spirit. In this council they stated that the Holy Spirit was truly God.
The apostolic fathers who came after the original apostles died, were not clear about the Trinity from 100 to 150, but were passionate about the pre-existence of Jesus.
From 150 to 175, church fathers had a part in forming doctrine about the Trinity: Justin Martyr, Athenagorus, Theophilus, and others. In 325, The Council of Nicaea was formed to address Arius’ heresy. Arius stated that only God the Father is eternal: the Son had a beginning and was the first created being; and the Son, Christ, was subordinate to the Father and is called God as an honorific title.
Athanasius countered Arius’ heresy by stating: Christ is co-eternal with the Father, had no beginning and was not subordinate to the Father. Out of this era, the Nicene Creed was created, which is what we believe today.
Nicene Creed: “We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, true God of true God…” In 381 the Council of Constantinople confirmed that Jesus and God are co-equal in existence and the same head; then the Holy Spirit was affirmed to also be fully God. Overall, the church did not create the Trinity, but rather discovered it.
Not being able to fully understand or comprehend God keeps us from seeing ourselves as master over the concept and therefore equal with Him—He is infinite.
Trinity Doctrine Is Limited as an Explanation Trinity is the best description we have of the Christian doctrine, but trying to explain God is still tricky (difficult)
Example: an egg • The shell, egg white and yolk are more distinct than the persons of the Trinity. Example: water • Water in its three forms as a liquid, solid (ice) and gas (steam) is still an erroneous illustration. It springs from a heresy that God took on different modes; that He started as Father, turned into Jesus and then the Holy Spirit when Jesus went to heaven.
God existed alone, but laughter, love, loyalty, justice and kindness all existed in God before He created us, and those things existed in the Trinity in the perfect relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God desired to point those attributes towards something—towards us. We are made in His image; we are relational beings who love to have honor, love and laughter.
The Culture of Honor Exists In the Godhead The Father is constantly honoring the Son and the Holy Spirit is constantly honoring God the Father and God the Son. Jesus said, When I go, the Father, Whom I love, will send the Spirit (John 14:16, 15:26). They were involved in each Other’s actions. God saying to Jesus, “I will put all things under Your feet” (Ephesians 1:21–23), and Jesus saying, “I only do what I see the Father do,” should be viewed though the culture of honor. We did not create a culture of honor; we tapped into the one that is in God.
The Trinity of God Is Jewish.
The Tri-Unity of God Is Jewish by John B. Metzger. Author believes God could have used singular nouns for Himself, but He did not. Elohim is plural. In Genesis 1:1, God violated Hebrew grammar by using the plural noun Elohim with a singular verb meaning “to create.”
God uses the word Elohim 2,350 times to refer to Himself. God had singular words He could have used but He purposefully chose to use a plural. Adonai is plural, meaning “Lord.” God shows Himself to be a plural compound unity, while confirming that He is one. God confirms that He is compound unity; both singular and plural even in the language and grammar He uses in His Word. Some scholars think God is speaking about Himself and His courts but this is not a strong argument. Understand that there is opposition to all of these thoughts.
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