God

CORE PASSAGE: Genesis 1:1

God has always existed. He existed “in the beginning” and created all things (Genesis 1:1).

One way we can learn about God is by looking at what He has created (Psalms 19:1, Romans 1:19-20).

The greatest revelation of God is through the Bible, and through His Son, Jesus Christ. God has given us the Bible, which records what He has done and what His plans and purposes are. God revealed Himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, who said that to know Him is to know God, and “he who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:7-9). When we love and obey Jesus, God promises to live in us by His Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17).

The God of the Bible is the one and only God (Mark 12:29) who has revealed Himself to us as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:10-11). Although we cannot fully understand God, we can know Him through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (John 3:16, John 15:14-15). When we invite Him into our hearts, God will live in us and help us through His Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17).

God may be described in terms of His attributes or characteristics:

• God is All-Powerful (omnipotent) (Luke 1:37, Job 42:2), All-Knowing (omniscient) (Psalms 147:5) and is Everywhere (omnipresent) (Psalms 139:7-12).
• God is Spirit – God has no physical body. He is invisible but became a physical human being — fully God and fully man — when He revealed himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 4:24).
• God is Changeless – God always has been and always will be the same (Hebrews 1:12, James 1:17).
• God is Eternal — God has existed before all things and will always exist (Revelation 1:8).
• God is Holy – there is no-one like Him (1 Samuel 2:2), and He is pure in all things (Psalms 24:3-5, Isaiah 6:3-5).
• God is Righteous and Just – everything God does is always right and fair (Isaiah 45:21, Psalms 116:5, Psalms 25:8).
• God is Love (1 John 4:8), Truth (Deuteronomy 32:4, John 8:31-32), Good (Nahum 1:7), Kind (Luke 6:35), Sovereign (Romans 9:20), Patient (2 Peter 3:9), Faithful (1 Corinthians 1:9), Wrathful (Nahum 1:2), and Merciful (Psalms 86:15, Lamentations 3:33).

God is a Creative and Personal being who created us to know Him and have a relationship with Him (Genesis 1:31, John 15:14-15, Mark 12:30, 1 Timothy 2:4, Genesis 17:1, Genesis 6:9, John 3:16).

As we read the Bible and spend time with God each day, we will discover many more of His wonderful attributes.

LIFE LESSONS:

• Understand that God created everything, and nothing exists without Him.
• God lives in relationship as God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit — and He created you to have a relationship with Him as well!
• God created everything in nature and called it good, so we should take care of nature and protect it.
• God is a Creator, and we are made in His image, so we can use our creative abilities to honor Him.
• In our relationships with others, we need to remember that every person is created in God’s image.