OUR GOD

DISCIPLESHIP 05-18-2012

Stage 1: Living with God

Lesson 2: Our God

What is the importance of memorizing verses of the Bible? If we abide to His word, we should know His word. There are times when we do not have our Bible and this helps us so that the Holy Spirit can minister to us through the memorized verses.

Nehemiah 9:6

You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

Everything in the universe was created by God and that includes you. (Psalms 139:13-14). God is far too great for us to fully understand. He has no beginning and he has no end. But what is God like?

God is Infinite and man is finite. We cannot fully grasp into understanding about what He is.

THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD (The Macros)

· He is all-Powerful (Omnipotent). Matt. 19:26; Eph. 3:20

Matthew 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Ephesians 3:20

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us

There is no limit to His power, and He can use it to any way He can

· He is Everywhere (Omnipresent). Psalms 139:5-7; 8-10

Psalms 139:5-7

You hem me in—behind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

Psalms 139:8-10

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will

If we understand that God is everywhere, we can assume that He can always know what we do anywhere we are, we can never hide from God.

· He is all Knowing (Omniscient). Psalms 139:1-4

Psalms 139:1-4

O LORD, you have searched me

and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O LORD.

Hebrew 4:13

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Nothing we can keep from God that He doesn’t know. No secrets can be hidden from God.

IF FROM ONLY HERE IS OUR LIMITATION OF WHO GOD IS (His attributes) WE MIGHT FEEL SCARED THEN, WE MAY FIND IT A RELIEF IF WE TRY TO KNOW HIS NATURE INSTEAD.

THE NATURE OF GOD (The Micros)

· God is Holy. God is absolutely holy. God cannot do evil; nothing evil is allowed to enter into His presence. 1 Samuel 2:2; Exodus 33:20 – Perfect Holiness

1 Samuel 2:2

“There is no one holy like the LORD?

there is no one besides you;

there is no Rock like our God.

Exodus 33:20

But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

God is Holy, and heaven is holy, no one can go into His place that is not holy and with sin, he will die then if he does. But God gave Moses the opportunity to see His back while on a cleft in the rock.

· God is Love. He is perfect in love. He is moved by compassion for His creation. John 3:16; Ps. 145:17-18; Jas 4:8; 1 John 4:16) – Perfect Love

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.

Psalms 145:17-18

The LORD is righteous in all his ways

and loving toward all he has made.

The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

James 4:8

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

1 John 4:16

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

A BALANCED NATURE

It is important to see God’s whole nature, not focusing on just one part. He is Love but he is also Holy. He is compassionate but He is also just. Exodus 34:6-7; Jer. 9:23-24; Romans 5:8

Exodus 34:6-7

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,

maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24

This is what the LORD says:

“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom

or the strong man boast of his strength

or the rich man boast of his riches,

but let him who boasts boast about this:

that he understands and knows me,

that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,

justice and righteousness on earth,

for in these I delight,”

declares the LORD.

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

SEEING THE UNSEEN GOD

· In His Creation

Creation reveals the attributes and character of God. This is like a rough sketch of the image of God. Romans 1:20

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.

· In His Son

In Jesus, we see the nature of God expressed. He is the perfect image of God, not a rough sketch, but an exact likeness. In Christ, we see everything that God is – His love, His Holiness, His wisdom and His power – all in perfect balance. John 1:18; 2 Cor. 4:6

JESUS is the perfect expression and image of God.

John 1:18

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Be a disciple (student) of Christ

MEMORY VERSE: Hebrews 4:13

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.