God *What is God? God is the creator of absolutely everything. Not only the creator of us and the sun moon and stars, but also gravity, light, the air we breathe and the water we drink. We know that God exists because of the evidence all around us that He has and is presently providing for us. The evidence of His creation should be enough (Romans 1:20), but we also have written information from people that He inspired to write (2Timothy 3:16). These people established God's Word [refer to "Holy Bible"] to tell us a lot more about Him, and yet it leaves a lot of information out. We are not told where He came from or how He came into existence, but we are told that He made everything (Colossians 1:16), holds everything together (Colossians 1:17) and a lot about whom He is. We are told that He is comprised of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and they are one and each play an integral part in His creation and His daily work. We are also told that He made us humans to resemble Him (Genesis 1:26), that He is not of our realm (Romans 1:20), and that He loves us more than we could begin to imagine (Romans 5:8). He is perfect in all respects, which means that the judgments made will be perfect with the perfect punishment (Psalm 96:13) [refer to "Sin"]. --- The Doctrine of God - Doctrines of the Bible "The Infinite Being we call God can only be described only in the language of infinity. His dominions are immeasurable, His wisdom unfathomable, His greatness beyond comparison, His riches "unsearchable," His ways "past finding out". We have reached the limit of our knowledge when we exclaim with the psalmist, Psalm 90:2 "Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou are God." (Doctrines of the Bible, Daniel Kauffman Editor, Mennonite Publishing House, 1928) --- *God's Name: God's name is very unique. It must be noted that God's Holy Bible expresses a multitude of names and references for God. But there is one name that stands out as significant. Most translations will either emphasize it by capitalizing the interpreted name "LORD", or using the Hebrew name Jehovah or Yahweh [refer to "Names of God"]. What ever way it is interpreted, it is the uniqueness in the way it was/is pronounced in the actual Hebrew that sets it apart. For example, there are no consonants, so saying God's name the lips will not touch. --- God - Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary One of the most important names for God in the Old Testament is Yahweh, or Jehovah, from the verb "to be," meaning simply but profoundly, "I am who I am," and "I will be who I will be,". The four-letter Hebrew word YHWH was the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). (provided by Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright ( 1986,Thomas Nelson Publishers) --- *The Scribes writing God's name: In the Old Testament times, it was Scribes who copied and re-copied the Old Testament scriptures [refer to "Holy Bible"]. Back then Scribes were very educated, for that time period, and extremely dedicated to God. If they made even the simplest of mistakes, the entire scroll was burned. Plus, any time they came upon God's name, they would spend time in prayer asking that God's name written would never be used in vein or in any kind of slanderous way. *Attributes of God: 1. Absolutely Self-sufficient - John 5:26 "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself." (from New International Version) 2. Eternal - Psalm 90:2 "Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." (from New International Version) 3. Omnipresent - Jeremiah 23:24 "Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD." (from New International Version) 4. Absolutely Unchangeable - Malachi 3:6 "I the LORD do not change." (from New International Version) 5. Absolutely Faithful - 2 Tim 2:11-13 "... If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. " (from New International Version) 6. Omniscient (all knowing) - Psalm 147:5 "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit." (from New International Version) 7. All Powerful - Job 37:23a "The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; ..." (from New International Version) 8. All Good - Matthew 19:17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." (from New International Version) 9. All Love - a. 1 John 4:7-8 "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." (from New International Version) b. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (from New International Version) 10. All Mercy - Titus 3:4-5 "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. ..." (from New International Version) 11. All Smart and Just - Romans 11:33 "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!" (from New International Version) 12. All Wrath - Ephesians 5:6 "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient." (from New International Version) 13. Absolutely Holy and Glorious - Ex 15:11 "... majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, ..."(from New International Version) 14. Is not bound by Time - 2 Peter 3:8 "... With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day" (from New International Version) *What is the Trinity? This is theological jargon for the embodiment of one God that is comprised of three entities fully united as one. This is God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit. God's Word [refer to "Holy Bible"] gives numerous examples of these entities doing different tasks yet all being united in their action and directly connected to God the Father. This is also referred to as the "God Head". --- Trinity - Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary The coexistence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the unity of the Godhead (divine nature or essence). The doctrine of the trinity means that within the being and activity of the one God there are three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (provided by Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright ( 1986,Thomas Nelson Publishers) --- *What is the Incarnation? Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. Before Jesus was born of Mary He existed [refer to "Jesus"]. So, the incarnation is theological jargon for the transformation of the Son of God into a human form. *Bible References: blank *Non-Biblical References: The existence of God is recognized and worshiped by a huge majority of our earth's population. The problem becomes, which god or for some "which gods" plural is the true and living god, creator of everything and master over all. And to what extent is this god in control? In the United States a major part of the population claim to be Christian yet may only step into a church only once a year and may open God's Holy Bible only once in a while. But, by their standard, they consider themselves as good people or basically "godly people". *Overview: The existence of god is recognized and worshiped by a huge majority of our earth's population. The problem becomes, which god or for some "which gods" plural is the true and living god, creator of everything and master over all. And to what extent is this god in control? In the United States a major part of our population claim to be Christian yet may only step into a church only once a year and may open God's Holy Bible only once in a while. But, by their standard, they consider themselves as "good people" or basically people that God loves. Plus there are a lot of those "so called" Christians that don't even believe that God is even here, but is somewhere out there not directly involved in the day-to-day life here on earth. *Additional Links: blank God - Bible References Genesis 5:1 "When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God." (from New International Version) Psalm 19:1 "... The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (from New International Version) Psalm 96:13 "... He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His truth." (from New International Version) Psalm 103:17-18 "But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-- 18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts." (from New International Version) Psalm 103:19 "The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all." (from New International Version) Psalm 103:22 "Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion." (from New International Version) Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (from New International Version) Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (from New International Version) Romans 11:33 "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (from New International Version) Romans 11:36 "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." (from New International Version) Colossians 1:16-17 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (from New International Version) 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (from New International Version) 1 Peter 1:15-16 "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."" (from New International Version) .../God/God.doc www.Smart-Flock.com/Knowledge/... 2/9/2014 page 7 of 7