Title: In the Beginning God
Text: Gen 1:1-2:3
The Bible begins with "In the beginning God". It doesn't seek to
define God, nor present arguments to prove God exists, it just announces there
is a God.
Humanities conception of God varies. Some think of God as only a concept of
the mind, others as a white-haired bearded doting grandfather. Some see God as a
remote deity too far away to be concerned with human affairs. Many view God
simply as a heavenly tranquilizer used in times of tension, or anxiety such as
sickness or death.
God is conceived of in many different, and varying ways. Apart from the
biblical revelation, or self revelation of God in the Bible people have a
distorted concept of God. More often than not, apart from His self-revelation,
God is created in the image of mankind. But, what does the Bible reveal about
God?
I. God is a being.
A. God is real
When we say God is a being we mean the Bible reveals God is not simply an
abstract idea or concept, but is real being possessing the attributes or
qualities of personality such as the ability to reason, or express emotion.
Deut 4:24 "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
(NAS)
Deut 4:31 "For the LORD your God is a compassionate God;(NAS)
Ps 7:11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.
(NAS)
B. God is a Spiritual being
Jesus said in John 4:24: "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth." (NAS)
Because God is Spirit does not in any way change the fact of His reality.
That He is Spirit means God is not limited as we are. When the Bible speaks of
God as having hands, feet, arms legs and eyes it is using anthropomorphic
language. It is attributing to God human characteristics to enable us to
understand God and His actions in this world.
Also God self-revealed Himself in the masculine gender as King, as Father and as Son.
That self-revelation is made even more clear through the incarnation of God
in the historical person of Jesus Christ. John wrote in John 1:18: "No man
has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the
Father, He has explained {Him.}" (NAS)
In drawing a parallel with the Old Testament in defining God's existence and
equating the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New Testament John
began his gospel writing, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." (1:1-2)
He unites the eternal God of creation with the incarnation of Jesus in verse 14,
"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
This revelation of God coming in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ is
affirmed in any number of passages throughout the New Testament, but John
specifically ties them together in I Jn 4:2, where he wrote: "By this you
know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh is from God;" (NAS)
The God of creation is further untied with the person of Jesus Christ in Col
1:15-16 where Paul wrote: "And He [referring to Jesus] is the image of the
invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were
created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created by
Him and for Him. "(NAS)
C. God is a triune being
The word trinity isn't a biblical word, but the concept it teaches is clearly
revealed by God to mankind in the Bible. God has revealed Himself as God the
Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit the attributes of divinity are
ascribed to each. Each is recognized as God:
1 Cor 8:6 6 yet for us there is {but} one God, the Father, from whom are all
things, and we {exist} for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all
things, and we {exist} through Him. (NAS)
Titus 2:13 "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory
of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;" (NAS)
Acts 5:3-4 "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to
lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back {some} of the price of the land? While
it remained {unsold,} did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it
not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your
heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.'" (NAS)
And all three are united in Matt 28:19 where Jesus said: "Go therefore
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit," (NAS)
So we see God is a real being who is spiritual, and who has revealed Himself
as Father, Son and Spirit.
II. God is Absolute A. God is self-existent.
When we say God is absolute we mean He is not dependent on anything outside
Himself. He is not dependent on the world, rather the world is dependent on Him.
God can and did exist without the world, but the world can't exist without Him.
The Col passage we read earlier affirms the creations dependence on God. B. God is One.
This is the fundamental truth taught by both Old and New Testament. The fact
He has revealed Himself as a triune being does not refute the truth that God is
one, that He is indivisible. The doctrine of the trinity does not deny the
concept of monotheism revealed by God. There is one God, the one God has
revealed Himself to humanity in three persons, and the ultimate expression of
His self-revelation is Jesus Christ. There are three attributes of the absolute God:
C. God is Omnipresent
As we said earlier, God is spirit and is not limited by time or space.
Because of that He is present everywhere in space and time and is accessible to
all persons at all times.
Immanent - within
Transcendent - above
D. God is omniscient
Omniscience means that God is all knowing, He has all knowledge. God knows
all of the events of the world order, not just as isolated events, but in
relation to each other and to history. E. God is Omnipotent
God is all powerful. He alone has the ability to create from nothing and the
power to forgive sin and restore the broken relationship created by sin. The
only limit to God's power is self-imposed The truth of these attributes are most clearly taught as a whole in the 24
verses of Psalm 139. III. God is moral
God is a moral being. Morality has to do with the concept of right and wrong
good and evil. One of the unexpected outcomes of the recent terrorist attacks is
how it refutes the idea of moral relativism. It has brought to view or refocused
on the moral concept that some actions are in fact evil and not relative. There
is good and there is bad. God exhibits four moral attributes:
A. He is Holy
As we have seen a number of times holy means separated. God is separated from
humanity His nature is perfect without flaw.
B. God is Righteous
His character is upright, in Him there is no evil. John described His
righteousness as light and that in Him there was no darkness at all. (1 Jn 1:5)
Because His nature and character is holy and righteous God He calls all of
those who would follow Him to be holy and righteous as well. His holiness and
righteousness also requires that He condemn sin and require justice.
C. He is Love
God is also love. We saw in 1st John that love is active. He not
only is love but demonstrates love as well. His holiness and righteousness
require condemnation and justice, His love grants grace and mercy. The supreme manifestations of these attributes is Jesus Christ.
IV. God is at work in the world A. He was at work in the creation of the world- All things Ex Nihilo from
nothing God brought everything into being. B. He is at work in the preservation of the world - everything we call the
laws of nature God created to preserve creation - but even they do not subsist
without His presence in the universe. C. He is at work in reconciling the world - When sin entered into the world
all of creation suffered the curse of sin. God is continually at work within the
world to bring about its complete and full redemption (Rom 8:20-22) through
Jesus Christ. We are called to be agents of that redemption. Proclaiming the gospel of
Jesus to all the world. The Bible affirms the truth "God is." He is real. He is absolute.
He is moral and He is at work. Are you allowing Him to be those things in your
life? Our Hymn of invitation asks Him to take our lives and lead us. Will you
allow Him to take your life and lead you ?
