Who is God?
- "... God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM." (Exodus 3:13-18)
His name in the original Hebrew as given by Moses is Yahweh or Jehovah, and it means "I
am". The entire Bible is His revelation of who He is. God has many names
that describe who He is. He is all of the
names he has revealed to us in the Bible and more. (Recommended
-- See Lambert Dolphin's extensive discussion: The Names of God.) He is one God
in the persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deut. 6:4 & Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 48:16; Prov. 30:4; Acts 8:29;10:19,20) He is the creator of the
universe (cosmos). (Rom. 14:9) He is holy. John writes that "God is love." (1 Jn. 4:8,16) He is everywhere, is all powerful, and is all-knowing. He is holy, infinitely good,
eternally existent, perfect in love, righteousness,
and justice.
- Jesus, the Son of God, is the Christ (Messiah), the
Word of God who was with God the Father from the beginning. (John 1:1) The prophet Micah
wrote around 400 BC that "...His goings forth are from long ago; from the days of eternity." The prophet
Isaiah (700 BC), "...His name shall be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of
Peace." (Micah 5:2, Isaiah 9:6) Jesus is fully God and fully man, the 2nd person of the Trinity. He is the Bread
of Life, the Light of the World, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 6:35-58, 8:12, 11:25, 14:6) He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature.
(Heb 1:3) When questioned as to how He could have seen Abraham who lived 2000 years before
Him, Jesus replied, "...Before Abraham was, I am." (The Pharisees then immediately tried to kill him.)
(John 8:52-58)
- The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity,
convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment, baptizes and fills believers, gives gifts as He
wills to believers for ministry to God and the body of Christ, and enables and empowers every true Christian by
His indwelling presence to serve and obey Jesus Christ, give witness of Him, and to live a life pleasing to Him. Growth
in obedience and holiness (sanctification) is a lifelong process orchestrated and accomplished by the work of the
Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit results in manifestation of His gifts, worship and adoration of
God and the fruit
of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self control) (Gal. 5:22,23). He gives power to
bear witness to the world of Jesus -- that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), risen from the dead, exalted and enthroned
with God over the nations, over heaven and earth, and that He is coming again (Acts 2, Rev. 3:21).
- God is the creator of the universe (cosmos), described in Genesis 1 & 2.
God created man and woman in His own image, and without sin.
- Because of the first man (Adam's) transgression (the
first rebellion), sin and death came. The whole world became subject
to sin and corruption. Consequently, all are born in sin, having no spiritual life (the eternal life of God) in
themselves, and suffer the consequence of sin which is death. (See
Genesis 3,
Romans 3, 5 & 6.)
- "God so loved the world [cosmos] that He gave
his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) God the Father sent his Son to be conceived and born of Miriam,
a virgin woman betrothed to Joseph in Israel, through the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Son of man, born
a Jew, who came to His own people, his own creation. Yet His own did not receive Him. He grew up in Nazareth, lived
a life of perfect righteousness without sin, taught and healed multitudes, cast out demons, and performed miracles.
He was crucified and died of His own free will, taking our sin and God's judgment for sin upon Himself, all according
to the Old Testament scriptures. Through His sacrificial death and His shed blood on the cross, He gave eternal
life to all who repent and believe in him. He rose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is presently
seated in glory as Lord and Christ (Messiah) at the Father's right hand. He will return from heaven to earth "as
lightning flashes from east to west", seen by all, to His city, Jerusalem, with all power and glory as Ruler
over the nations and cosmos, King of kings and Lord of lords. See Matthew,
Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.
- Salvation is provided by God by grace through faith
alone in Jesus Christ, and not by works. There is
no other way that one can be saved than through faith in God's Son. This comes through regeneration (rebirth)
by the Holy Spirit, repentance toward God, and belief in Jesus Christ alone as your risen Lord and Savior.
- One who has been saved, truly been born of God (born
again), and belongs to Him cannot be lost. Of all those whom the Father has given His Son, He loses "not
one of them." Not all who call Jesus Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the Father's
will as He reveals it to them through His word.
- The Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and
New Testaments, is the Word of God, given by the
inspiration of God. The Bible is the only infallibly written truth regarding all matters of faith and life to enlighten
us to the knowledge of God and as to how we may glorify and enjoy Him.
- Holy, elect angels are continually ministering in
heaven and among us as God directs them. Satan and demons are unholy, fallen angels who are evil, and they are
real. Got created all cherubs, sarafs, and angels, including Lucifer,
the most powerful cherub. Lucifer rebelled against God, taking many other angels with him. He and his angels (demons)
were driven out of heaven down to earth. In the Bible he is called satan (meaning adversary) and the dragon. He,
satan, is the enemy of God and mankind, and is the deceiver
of the world. He manifests himself and seeks to entrap through the appearance of good, and often appears as an
angel of light. His true purpose and practice is to steal, kill, and destroy. He is the source of all that is evil.
- God defeated and triumphed over satan through the
death and the blood of His Son on the cross and His resurrection from the dead after three days. God, through his Son working in His believers, will defeat satan utterly, finally
culminating in God's rule on earth through His Son, Jesus Christ (the Messiah). In the end, God will cast satan,
satan's angels, and all belonging to him into "the lake of fire," where they will be tormented day and
night forever. (Rev. 20:1-15.) Through the atoning work of Jesus
Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit is salvation, healing, and deliverance for all who come to Jesus Christ
in faith, who will enter into His glory forever. See Is. 14:12-20 (Called the "King of Babylon"),
Ezek. 28:12-19 (Called the "King of Tyrus") and Rev. 12:7-12.
And Rev. 20:1-15.
- At the end of the ages, there will be a Final Judgment. All who have been chosen by God from the beginning, who have responded
to His offer of salvation in Jesus Christ will be resurrected and will reign with Him forever. This is the first
resurrection.
All those who have died without Christ,
who have not responded to His offer of salvation will be brought to stand before Him "from whose face the
earth and heaven fled away." They will be judged according to their works. They will then be cast into the
lake of fire for eternity with Satan and his angels, which is called the second death. (This is the message given by Jesus in detail to John and in other places in Scripture,
e.g. Rev. 20:1-15.)
This will usher in a new heaven and new earth, and the new Jerusalem where "the tabernacle of God is with
men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their
God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Rev. 21:3-5)
"For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
(Hab. 2:14)
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