CHAPTER OUTLINE:
A. God is a Person.
B God is Three Persons.
C. God is Masculine.
D. God is Spirit.
E. God is Infinite and Omnipresent.
F. God is Light.
G. God is All Seeing.
H. God is All Knowing.
I. God is All Powerful.
1. What God has done with Water.
2. What God has done with the Land.
3. What God has done with Light and the Earth.
4. What God has done with the Elements.
5. What God has done with Animals.
6. What God has done with People.
7. What God does with Satan and all Demons.
J. God is Eternal.
K. God is Righteous.
L. God is Love.
M. God is Just. ***
N. God is Merciful.***
*** (Court case analogy.)
O. God Never Changes.
WHAT IS GOD?
Having reached this point, you may now be puzzled over the arrangement of the chapters in this book. This chapter, no doubt, seems as though it would be more appropriately placed near the front. Logically, according to the flow of information, it should. It is here, however, for a reason. This is the order in which God revealed and illuminated all of this information to me. He wanted to ensure that I thoroughly understood Him as a father, and as a friend (which was accomplished through the information contained in the earlier chapters), before enlightening me as to some of His other attributes so foreign to our way of thinking. For this same reason, I ask you to read this book in order. If you have not already read all the preceding chapters, please do so before starting here.
As you continue, be aware that man will never totally understand God, at least not in this life. For us to totally understand God, we would have to become totally like God. (What would it require to teach a monkey all about human beings? How could we get them to understand our knowledge, education, creativity, art, music, technology, languages, desires, emotions, relationships, values, cultures, or our worship of God? The answer is, “We couldn’t!” The only way a monkey could ever understand a human being would be to become just like a human being.) So it is with us and God. We clearly have a much better chance of understanding God than a monkey does a human being, because we have been created in God’s image for the purpose of having a Father and child relationship with Him. He is still so far beyond us, though, that there are just some things which we are going to have to accept, without any expectation of a full understanding. Keeping this in mind, let’s begin.
A. GOD IS A PERSON!
The first aspect we need to understand about God is that He is a person. He does not have a physical body, like humans whom He has created, but He is a living, thinking, experiencing, and doing being, who has a personality, a will, desires, and emotions. He is capable of doing everything that His creation can do. The One who created sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell, who gave us the ability to laugh, cry, desire, to feel compassion, affection, joy, excitement, sadness, disgust, and anger is capable of doing and/or experiencing all of these same things Himself. (He does not, however, feel fear–an emotion which came to humanity with the introduction of sin.) He is also one with whom you could have a totally intellectual conversation in any language spoken by man. This is in direct contrast to one of Satan’s lies which says that God is not a person but rather an impersonal force, which is in and is a part of all things (ki, chi, prana, the force, life force, etc).
B. GOD IS THREE PERSONS!
More than just being “a” person, however, God is actually “three persons”–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Yes, He is only “one God” (singular), but within this one God are three separate parts–three totally distinct personalities. (Think of a tree: It has different parts–roots, trunk, limbs, and leaves–each with a different name and a different function, but still it is only one tree.)
C. GOD IS MASCULINE!
Notice also that God is “Father,” God is “Son,” and the Holy Spirit is “Him;” but God is not “mother, daughter, or her.” God is masculine! Another of Satan’s strategies is, after having led a man to be very unloving and uncaring toward his wife and children, to then turn around and tell them that a “Father God” would be the same way. If, therefore, they are in need of love and compassion, they will have a better chance of finding it in a “mother earth,” some type of female goddess, or even a statue of Mary (the mother of Jesus, who is now in heaven and cannot interact with us). Don’t believe this ridiculous lie. God has more love and compassion than any being He has created!
D. GOD IS SPIRIT!
God is also spirit. Like the angels whom He has created (and like a human being immediately after death), God exists without a physical body. He is an immaterial being–a being whom we cannot see with our eyes, feel with our hands, nor experience with any of our five physical senses.
E. GOD IS INFINITE AND OMNIPRESENT!
Unlike people and angels, however, God is not limited to a particular space; He is infinite and omnipresent! He is everywhere at once, and He has no boundaries. This means that the Lord does not have to choose where He is going to be. He can be up in heaven, here on earth, and inside the body of every Christian, all at the same time. (I believe that the only place where God is not present is inside the body of a non Christian–residing with the spirit of someone who has not accepted Him.) This means that if we go for a walk, we walk through God; if we fly in a plane, we fly through God; and if we move our arm, we move it through God.
God understands that this can be difficult to conceptualize, thus, He gave me the following analogy: Picture a body of water, an ocean for example. Living within this body of water are fish, living and swimming and spending their time. There are regular fish which can be seen and jellyfish which can escape visual detection. Now, imagine that these regular fish are people, the jellyfish are angels and demons, and the water is God. A regular fish cannot see the water, just as we cannot see God. In its limited knowledge, it may not even know that the water is there. It is still there, however, whether fish believe it or not (as are gravity, air, magnetism, electrical currents, radiation, ultra violet light, and sound waves with frequencies over 20,000 hertz)! The Bible tells us that, like fish in a body of water, we live and move and have our being inside of God. The Bible also tells us that when a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to reside with their spirit inside their physical body. It also says that anyone who does not have God living on the inside (like a fish without water flowing through it) is dead–“spiritually dead.”
God also understands the problem with us (finite, material beings) trying to relate to Him (an infinite spirit) as our Father. This is one of the reasons He became human, to show us what He is like. This is also one of the reasons He has given us the Bible. It not only teaches us all about life, death, and eternity, it teaches us about Him. Both the Bible and Jesus are referred to as the “Word of God” (the “Message of God”). They are His messages to us, to show us what He is like, so we can relate to Him in love.
It’s interesting to note that even though God is an infinite spirit–boundless and invisible–He can and has manifested Himself visually (apart from becoming human). I’m also extremely happy to say that we will be able to see Him in heaven. He has not, however, allowed any human being–while living on this planet–to see Him in His complete glory, for the Bible says that no one may do this and live.
F. GOD IS LIGHT.
The Bible also says that God is “light” (i.e., comparable to the effect that a light bulb has when it is turned on). There is really no other way to say this, nor a more feasible way to explain it. Nor can it be simplified by suggesting that God is a being of electromagnetic radiation (light as we know it), as electromagnetic radiation is something He created. For this reason, this aspect of God’s being is something we can acknowledge but will have to wait to understand. Regarding this aspect of the Lord’s being, an interesting phenomenon occurred each time He spoke face to face with his servant Moses. (Moses was the one to whom He gave the Ten Commandments, and who led the Israelites out of Egypt.) Each time God would speak to him, Moses’ face would also shine like a light.
G. GOD IS ALL SEEING!
Through understanding that God is omnipresent–that “in Him we live and move and have our being”–it is a simple step to the understanding that He would also be “all seeing”–that nothing can ever happen which is hidden from His view. (For what can a fish do which is not exposed to the water?)
H. GOD IS ALL KNOWING!
What is not so easy to understand, however, is that God is also “all knowing.” He knows everything there is to know about everything there is to know. This not only includes knowing every intricate detail from the past and the present, He knows everything there is to know about the future. In order to truly grasp this, let’s consider His knowledge in regard to a future event in each one of our lives (assuming that we will not be raptured out): God knows everything there is to know about our coming physical death. He knows when it’s going to happen, where it’s going to happen, and what will be the cause. He knows the thoughts and emotions we will experience, the last feelings we will receive from our bodies, and the number of hairs we will have on our head. He knows how it will be reported, the eulogy which will be said at our funeral, and the effect it will have on our family. He knows where our bodies will be buried, the epitaph which will be written on our tombstone, and the effect we will have on the soil.
I. GOD IS ALL POWERFUL!
God is also all powerful! “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them – and the rest was as easy as pie!” This verse—taken from Exodus 20:11—doesn’t really include the part ‘and the rest was as easy as pie,’ but, if anything, this is an understatement. When we truly grasp the fact that in only six days God created the entire universe–all time, energy, space, and matter (quarks, protons, neutrons, electrons, atoms, molecules, cells, plants, animals, people, planets, moons, stars, galaxies)–as well as all of the systems by which it operates, then we should have absolutely no trouble accepting the fact that He is also able to control His creation. (Being surprised by a miracle of God is about as logical as being surprised by a house builder who fixes a house.) I personally believe that it takes infinitely more knowledge, wisdom, and power to simply keep the universe up and running than it could ever take to perform some isolated miracle somewhere. So, with the understanding that God is all powerful, that He can easily control the universe which He has created and maintains, let’s take a look at some of the things which He has done with it.
1. WHAT GOD HAS DONE WITH WATER.
He has changed it to wine, changed it to blood, stood it up like a wall, walked on it, floated an axe head on it, caused it to pour out of a rock, and used it to flood the earth.
2. WHAT GOD HAS DONE WITH THE LAND.
He has blessed it with fruitfulness, cursed it with thorns, dried it up, shaken it, and opened
it to swallow people. He also used a forest to destroy an army.
3. WHAT GOD HAS DONE WITH LIGHT & THE EARTH’S ROTATION.
He has stopped the earth’s rotation, causing a certain day in the past to last approximately forty-eight hours. He has reversed the earth’s rotation, causing the sun to go backward relative to its normal “path.” He has kept the sun from illuminating specific areas of a kingdom while allowing it to light other areas. He is also going to cause the sun to scorch people during the tribulation. It’s important to note that God created light (electromagnetic radiation) before He created a light source (the sun and stars). We should not be surprised, therefore, that He is able to exercise control over it without regard to its source. Remember, also, that heaven has no need of a “sun,” as it is lighted by the glory of God.
4. WHAT GOD HAS DONE WITH THE ELEMENTS.
He has created storms and stopped storms. He has rained down fire from the sky, shot it out of a rock, consumed people with it, and protected others from its effect. (He is also going to consume the present earth with fire before He makes the new earth.) He has rained down burning sulfur destroying cities, and has sent hail as judgment on nations and armies.
5. WHAT GOD HAS DONE WITH ANIMALS.
He has multiplied insects and frogs as plagues on a nation and sent hornets to drive others out. He has sent bears to maul people, snakes to bite people, and a fish to save a man’s life. He has sent birds to bring food, birds to become food, and fish to overfill nets. He changed a stick to a snake, enabled a donkey to talk, and kept lions from eating a man. He also sent at least two of every kind of land animal on board Noah’s ark–before He flooded the earth–and this included dinosaurs. (You will see how totally feasible this was in the second half of this book.)
6. WHAT GOD HAS DONE WITH PEOPLE.
Before looking at some of the things God has done with people, let’s review what He has done for people — in addition to giving us life, love, the beauty and provision of creation, and an invitation to live forever in heaven. He stepped into our world to be ridiculed, scorned, spit upon, slapped, punched in the face, pierced with thorns, beat with a staff, shredded with a whip, and to be physically nailed to a cross–where He hung until He died–to take the justly-required punishment for all that we have done wrong.
What God has done with People: With the exception of eight people, He destroyed the entire population of the ancient world, which had become totally, continuously, relentlessly evil.
He later caused the (replenished) human race to speak different languages in order to end an organized and prideful, humanity-wide rebellion, thus avoiding having to bring another judgment.
He has raised up nations, brought them down, and used them to destroy each other. He has destroyed armies, caused others to attack and destroy themselves, and killed every firstborn male in ancient Egypt. He has struck people with disease, cured people of disease, brought dead people to life, and turned a woman into a pillar of salt. God has also dealt with some prideful kings in incredible ways. He humbled the most powerful and prideful king of the ancient world, King Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon, by giving him the mind of an animal for a period of seven years. Nebuchadnezzer was actually made to eat grass like a cow, and took on some of the physical characteristics of a bird. (He was restored to both his senses and his position–a much humbler man.) God also struck another extremely prideful king down, causing him to be eaten by worms and then to die.
7. WHAT GOD DOES WITH SATAN AND ALL DEMONS.
He sovereignly uses them to accomplish His will, and when He’s finished with them, He’s going to consign them to eternity in hell. This isn’t going to end like some adventure movie, either, where God ultimately faces Satan in the final showdown. He will simply send one of His angels to do the job.
J. GOD IS ETERNAL!
Another thing the Bible tells us about God is that He is eternal–ageless and timeless, without beginning and without end. It does not explain the “how” or the “why” of the being of God. It simply says that He is, He has always been, and He will always be. Any problems we have being able to fully grasp the fact that something can exist “beyond time” come not only from the fact that we had a beginning, but from living in a world constrained by time. Everything physical (everything we can experience with our five senses), had a beginning and will have an end. God, on the other hand, is not only beyond time, He created it. Yes, God created time! He created the stars and the planets and then used them to create time. He set these celestial bodies in space, determined the speed at which they would rotate, the path (orbit) which they would travel, and the velocity at which they would do it, and set them in motion. He then said that this movement would constitute time. One rotation of the earth would be a day, and one trip by the earth around the sun would be a year. He also orchestrated this movement to bring about the seasons. Later, after Adam sinned, He also determined the length of time (the number of planetary cycles) that man–as well as everything else–should live. So, while we may not be able to fully grasp the concept of timelessness, we can at least understand that time is simply another part of God’s creation.
K. GOD IS RIGHTEOUS!
The rest of this chapter may seem to be more about God’s character than about His being–more about what He does than about what He is–but it’s really not. When we truly gain an accurate understanding of God’s nature, we come to the realization that most of His attributes are traits, not choices. For instance, the Bible tells us that He is righteous–pure, sinless, eternally good, unable to accept, commit, or even be tempted by evil. It doesn’t say that He “acts” righteous, it says that He “is” righteous. Describing God as righteous is like describing a person as tall. It’s not how He acts, it’s what He is.
L. GOD IS LOVE!
The Bible also tells us that “God is love.” Notice again that it doesn’t say “He chooses to love,” rather “He is love.” Before we can truly understand this statement, we must first have an accurate definition of the word “love.” We, at least in the United States, have really distorted the meaning of this word. When we hear it spoken or even look it up in a dictionary, the first thing that comes to mind is an emotion–“a feeling.” We are also disadvantaged by the limitations of the English language, as there are actually three ancient Greek words which we translate “love” (Agape, Eros, and Phileo). God’s definition is this: He says love is patient and kind. It does not envy or boast. It is not proud, rude, or self seeking. It is not easily angered and does not remember offenses. It does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth. It always protects, trusts, hopes, and preserves. This is not emotion, this is action! Love is a way of living, of being, of treating others, and this is what God is! This is one of the problems facing marriages today. Many people base their commitments upon emotions, thinking that love is a feeling. When the euphoria dies, so does the marriage. God tells us to base our marriages upon obedience to Him and the emotions will follow. If they don’t, we can ask Him for help.]
M. GOD IS JUST!
N. GOD IS MERCIFUL!
I have combined these two traits into this one section for an incredibly important reason. This combination is the key to life! It is the mystery of the ages, the combination which resulted in Almighty God becoming a human being to die on a cross to save humanity! When the Bible tells us that God is just, it is saying that He is totally and perfectly fair in all of His dealings with mankind, as well as with angels and demons. There is absolutely nothing that He has ever, will ever, or can ever do which is unjust, and this includes judging the human race. God absolutely must judge fairly. For some people who have “lived a pretty good life,” this may appear to be a reason for rejoicing, knowing that they have done much more good than bad. In reality, it means that God absolutely must punish their sin. What we need to understand is that in order for God to remain just, He must not only avoid committing any type of injustice Himself, He must correct (which means “punish”) all that He sees. To more easily explain this point, let’s examine how this same condition is true even when applied to human law and a human judge.
*** Imagine for a moment that one of your neighbors is a judge and your neighborhood is in his jurisdiction. This means any crimes committed on your street will be tried in his court. (Actually, for the purpose of this analogy, we are going to imagine that he is the only judge available and he unconditionally presides over all cases, regardless of the circumstances.) Now imagine that a crime has been committed — against you. Somebody has broken into your house and robbed it, and the judge saw who did it. He (the judge) now has a legal, moral, and professional obligation to report this crime and to do all that he can to see that justice is served. Even if he were not a judge, he would still be legally and morally responsible for reporting it as well as for testifying about it in court. If he fails to do this–if he knowingly and willingly allows this wrong to go unpunished–then he will literally be promoting injustice and will become an accomplice to this crime. This is called “aiding and abetting a criminal,” and a person who does this becomes criminally unjust himself.
This is how it is with God. He absolutely cannot allow any sin (any injustice) to go unpunished, or He becomes a party to that injustice and, thus, becomes sinful Himself. (This, of course, will never happen!) So, He must punish them all–every sin which has ever been committed. He cannot allow the smallest one to be overlooked. (Asking God to overlook a single sin, in the otherwise perfect life of an individual, would be like asking a police officer to overlook the stealing of one item because “everything else had been paid for.”) For the human race, this judgment should mean eternal separation from God and eternal punishment in hell. God cannot spend eternity with injustice–with unpunished sin. Justness cannot exist with injustice any more than dryness can exist with water.
So, understanding that God is “just” and that He absolutely must punish all sin, let’s now take a look at His other trait–“mercy” (His desire to forgive us)–and see how He is wonderfully able to apply both of them at the same time. In order to do this, let’s go back again to our story.
*** It has been about a month since the burglary. The judge did everything according to the law, and the criminal was both identified and arrested. The time has now come for the trial, and we are about to begin. We are at this point, however, going to enact a major change in the story. You are no longer the victim; you are the criminal! You are the one who broke into the other person’s house and stole their possessions. You are the one now standing before the judge, subject to his authority to declare you guilty, and to determine your punishment.
How did you get here?
You had at some time in the past rejected your father’s provision, because receiving his provision required obeying his rules, and you tried to make it on your own. You attempted living for yourself, doing things your own way, and providing for your own needs. It didn’t work! Many things happened which were beyond your control, and many things you didn’t expect. In addition, you made some mistakes, bent some rules, and broke some laws. And now, here you are: a law breaker ready to be judged. You wish you could go back somehow, turn back the clock and start over. You would really do it differently this time, accepting your father’s authority and provision and becoming what he wanted you to be. How great that would be, how wonderful, but it’s not reality. You can’t go back and you know it. You are here, the time is now, and you are facing judgment, knowing you are as guilty as sin. The judge reads the charges: “You are charged with injustice and unrighteousness!,” and then asks, “How do you plead?” (Do you say you are guilty or innocent?) You know he saw you robbing the house, so it would be utterly foolish to lie. Also, you are tired of all the mess, tired of the rebellion, the self-centeredness, of doing things your own way and knowing you’ll never make it. You tell him, “I am guilty!” You also tell him how sorry you are for the way you have lived and you really want to do it right from now on. The judge bangs his gavel on the desk and proclaims, “Guilty: Ten-Thousand Dollars or Ten Years in Prison!” He asks if you have the money. (Naturally, of course, you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t have been robbing houses.) The judge then does the most amazing thing. He stands up, walks over to the bailiff, and pays the ten-thousand dollars for you. He pays your fine so you won’t have to go to prison.
Why? Why would he do this? Why would this judge offer such an incredible sacrifice for you? The reason — because “He” is your father! He absolutely must punish your sin in order to remain just and to retain the right to remain Judge. Yet, He can also be the one to suffer. He can be the one who pays the price for what you did wrong.
This is what God did for us on the cross! He stepped into time and space and became a human being in order to die for our sins. He suffered for all the unjust things which we have ever done, or ever will do, so we won’t have to pay the penalty ourselves. He (pure, sinless perfection) is also the only one who could do it, as every one of us have sinned and we are all guilty. We are all subject to eternal punishment in hell and the only one who could possibly take our punishment for us is someone who is not subject to the same judgment. A person sentenced to death or to life in prison cannot serve another’s sentence for him. He is already there for his own crime.
So here it is — the method of forgiveness. God has paid the penalty for our sins and now offers it to us free. All we have to do is accept it. All we have to do is receive it. We simply have to confess our sins (admit to Him that we have broken His laws and are in need of His forgiveness), turn from them (accept His authority over our lives and start living the way He wants us to live), and receive this free and wonderful gift. If we fail to do this, then there is no one to pay for our sins except us, no one to keep us out of hell.
So do it! Become a forgiven child of God instead of a sinner condemned to hell! Make Jesus your Lord, God, and Savior instead of your Judge, Jury, and Executioner. It’s your choice. Do it!!! You will be forever happy if you do, and forever sorry if you don’t.
Oh, and if you’re wondering how God feels about us, having to suffer for all of our evil, let’s go back and finish our story according to the way God says it would end if He were the judge. [This story is actually a combination of two different stories: (1) an actual court case, involving a judge, his daughter, and a traffic ticket, and (2) a parable which Jesus told called “The Prodigal Son,” designed specifically to answer this question.]
*** Your Father has just paid your fine and ordered that your case be closed permanently, never to be re-opened for any reason, ever! You have now stepped out into the hall and are waiting to talk to Him before He goes back to his office. You are wondering what He’s thinking; how He’s going to react. Is He mad? Disgusted? Is He ready to pound you with an I-told-you-so, the way He hit the desk with that gavel? Does He want you back home again? As you sit there wondering, He suddenly steps around the corner and begins excitedly searching the hall for you. As soon as He sees you, He literally runs down the hall, throws His arms around you, and hugs you with all of His might. There is such excitement in His eyes! He then turns to His secretary and tells her, “Cancel all my appointments for the day; my child has come home!” He then joyfully introduces you to her. He then tells her to take you to the mall and buy you the best suit of clothes that you can find. He also tells her to call the catering company to order “their best meal” and then to call all your friends and family and invite them to “One Major Homecoming Celebration!”
O. GOD NEVER CHANGES!
This is God! This is what He is like according to His own Word and as verified by all my experience. He is absolutely the most loving father and the most wonderful friend you will ever find, and He will be like this forever. Nothing about God will ever change or ever end. Unfortunately, your opportunity to accept Him will. It is here and now, but you have no guarantee about tomorrow. But why would you wait? Why would you put off for even a day, life the way it is meant to be lived, love from the Source of it all, and the comfort of knowing that if you die tonight, you will still be with Him tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and forever?
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