Christianity 102 - Knowing God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

WHO IS GOD?

People approach the question of who is God from different perspectives.

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Some conclude there is no God (atheism).
Some are unsure whether God exists or can be known (agnosticism).
Some believe a creator exists but remains distant (deism).
Some believe God exists and has made Himself known (theism).
Christians believe the one true God has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ and offers salvation through faith in Him.

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Many ask not only whether God exists, but who He is. The Bible reveals God not merely as an abstract force, but as the living Creator, sovereign Ruler, righteous Judge, and loving Father.

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CREATOR

Science has not disproved the existence of God. It has explained many processes within creation, yet many assume those discoveries remove the need for a Creator.

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• Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

• Isaiah 44:24 "This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord,     the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself,"

• Revelation 4:11 "“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

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see Creation of Universe and Creation of Humanity

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So why does anything exist at all? It exists because it was willed by an eternal Creator to give Him glory and for His purposes to have relationship. The majesty of the universe points to its Creator. Yet above this, God desires relationship with humanity He created. The earth and its fullness were made as humanity’s dwelling place, a place of interact.

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• Psalm 8:1, 6-8 "LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the lips of children and infants you have ordained [words of] praise [to God] against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
  the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas."

  • Praise and worship of the living God is the foundation of creation. From the lips of the weak can come praise to God with the power from God to silence the lips of those opposed to God and His will.

  • Humanity is given authority over creation by God.

• Isaiah 43:7 "everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

• Isaiah 45:18 "For this is what the Lord says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: “I am the Lord, and there is no other."

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God is not merely an explanation for what science has not yet solved. He is the reason anything exists and has its being.

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SOVEREIGN RULER

​He is not a passive observer of creation. He rules over heaven, earth, nations, kings, history, and the future. Nothing exists outside His authority. Human rulers govern temporarily, but God reigns eternally.

His sovereignty means that events are not ultimately random, and no power can overthrow His purposes.

God permits human choices and real responsibility, yet His final will stands above all.
 

• Psalm 103:19 “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all [creation].”

• Daniel 4:35 “All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”

• Isaiah 46:9-10 “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’”

• 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 "Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all."

• Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

• Romans 13:1 "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."

Kings rise and fall, nations appear and fade, but God remains the true ruler over all.

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JUDGE

Because God rules, He is also Judge. To oppose his sovereign rule is rebellion. He sees all actions, motives, injustice, hidden evil, and every deed done in secret.

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Human courts are limited, corruptible, and incomplete. God judges with perfect truth, perfect knowledge, and perfect justice.

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Judgment means evil will not continue forever. Wrongs ignored on earth will not be ignored forever. God’s judgment also reveals the need for mercy, forgiveness, and salvation.

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• Genesis 18:25 “Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

• Psalm 96:13 “Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.”

• Ecclesiastes 12:14 “For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

• Acts 17:31 “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

• Romans 2:5-6 “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”

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God’s judgment means wickedness, evil and rebellion have a deadline.

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FATHER

​God reveals Himself not only as Creator and Ruler, but also as a Father. This does not mean He is merely like earthly fathers; rather, earthly fatherhood is a shadow of His care, authority, provision, and identity.

As Father, God gives life, instruction, discipline, inheritance, protection, compassion, and belonging.

He desires not only obedience, but relationship.

Sin damages that relationship, yet God calls people back to Himself.

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• Deuteronomy 32:6 “Is this the way you repay the LORD, you foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?”

• Psalm 103:13 “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;”

• Isaiah 64:8 “Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

• Joel 2:12-13 “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.”

• Malachi 1:6 “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty ...”

• Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,”

• John 1:12 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”

• 2 Corinthians 6:18 “And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

If God created all things, rules over all things, judges all things, and desires relationship with humanity, then the greatest question becomes: How has He entered human history and made Himself known? Christianity answers with one name: Jesus

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