The Bible admonishes us to prove all things. Each of us is convinced by different proofs for whatever we are trying to prove or establish. Anther Bible study in our series will include the proof of the existence of God, and this is primarily from creation. We look at radioactive materials, biogenesis, man's mind coming from a superior mind, man's living food, the timing of the universe, prophecy fulfilled and miracles. All of these things and the details are found in the Bible study on the existence of God.
Once a person proves the existence of God, he is then going to want to know how does this God communicate with humans? Another Bible study will show you that the Bible is inspired by God primarily looking at prophecies that already have been fulfilled, for example Babylon and Egypt. Next, what does the Bible say about God? What does God say about Himself in the Bible? Today let us see who and what is God.
There are many concepts of God. We have already proven that the Bible is inspired by God, so that is where we need to go for that type of information. Turn to John chapter 1 verses 1 to 3: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” This could be a difficult verse to understand. The most clear understanding that I have ever seen was in a book called, “Mystery of the Ages”. It was written by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong who founded the Church that the Great Lakes Church of God has come out of.
As he wrote, he substituted names. Substitute the word “John” for “the Word” and substitute the last name “Smith” for “God.” So what we have is: In the beginning was John and John was with Smith and John was Smith. This can be true because John is the son of Smith. Smith is the family name, but they are two separate persons. You can call them persons or personages. One is called the Word which comes from the Greek word “Logos”, which means “spokesman”.
Let us read verse 14 of John chapter 1: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” So this Word became a Man. Verse 15: “John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, 'This was He of whom I said, “He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.”'” Verse 29: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, “After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.”'” These are the same words referring to Jesus in verse 30 that are used in verse 15 referring to the Word. This is all proving that the Word is Jesus Christ. We do this by just looking at verses 14, 15, 29 and 30.
In the Old Testament the word for God is Elohim. In the Strong's Concordance it refers to gods in a plural form. Adam Clarke's Commentary also calls it a plural form but the trouble there, however, is he starts going off in the direction of calling it a trinity which is not correct. I have heard other writers and speakers talk about that as being a trinity, and that is not correct. We will see that a little bit later.
Mr. Herbert Armstrong referred to it as a uniplural noun like family, group or church containing two or more members. Uniplural is an unusual term. Most people have not heard that term, but there is a term in English grammar called a collective noun. That is exactly what this is, like group, family and church. Elohim, this term for God, is a collective noun. Think of it that way if you like. It is the same thing. It allows for a God family with two members, as we have talked about in John 1:1 the Word and God.
John chapter 1, verse 18: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” So the Son, Jesus Christ, made the Father known. No one knew about the Father before Christ revealed Him.
Turn to I Corinthians 8:6. “…yet for us there is only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.” It is talking only about God the Father and Jesus Christ. Notice it does not mention the Holy Spirit as a person, and we will get to that later.
Turn to I Corinthians 10:1-4. “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” This is telling us that Christ was the God of the Old Testament. That is important because some people think that it was God the Father in the Old Testament and that Jesus Christ came to do away with God's laws. That is not correct because we just saw that the Rock that followed them in the Old Testament was Christ. Christ gave the Ten Commandments and then came later as a human. He did not come to do away with His own work.
We also know that the God of the Old Testament at times is considered to be harsh. That is not really true, but some people see Him that way. Then they say that Jesus Christ was so loving and merciful. That was all the same Being doing whatever was done in the Old Testament plus whatever He has done in the New Testament. God is a God of mercy. We must never forget that.
Turn to John chapter 14. Again, this is talking about a God family with two members. This is in Jesus Christ's last instructions to His disciples before His death. John 14:28 “'You have heard Me say to you, “I am going away and coming back to you.” If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, “I am going to the Father,” for My Father is greater than I.'” Here again it is showing that Christ and the Father are two independent Beings, but also showing that the Father is greater. Someone has to be the leader. In any organization, you are going to find someone is going to be the leader. Either they will be appointed the leader, or because of their own personality, circumstances, whatever, they will become the leader. In this case, the Father is the leader.
Turn back to John chapter 12, verses 49 to 50. “'For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.'” So the Father sent the Son and told Him what to say. Again, it is showing a position of leadership.
Turn to I John 2:22-23: “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” Again, this is talking about the Son and the Father. Part of the doctrine of the antichrist is denying the independent existence of the Father and the Son. You have to realize that they both exist.
Turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 30: “'I and My Father are one.'” Christ is talking about being one spiritually. He is not talking about being one entity like a trinity or something like that; because if you go on a little bit to John 17 in verse 11, we can see what this “oneness” means. John 17:11 “'Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.'” Christ is talking about “We” being the Father and Jesus Christ. They are one. We are to be one in the same way. We are not part of a trinity, so this is not a statement saying that the Father and Christ are a trinity either.
Go on to verse 20: “'I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.'” Again it is talking about the Church being one, as the Father and Christ are one. They are not a trinity. It is not proving that the Father and Christ are the same Being.
If you go back to verses 1-5 in John 17 we have Him talking to the Father as a separate Being. My New King James Bible has a reference here in verse 5. It says, “Together with Yourself”. The reference says “literally along side” Yourself. Again this proves that the Father and Jesus Christ are two independent Beings.
Here He talks about the glory that He had before the world was. That leads to our second point. The FIRST POINT was that God is a family with two members. The SECOND POINT is that Christ always existed.
Remember in John chapter 1 we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God”? The Word, Christ, was there in the beginning.
Turn to Genesis chapter 14. We have a little-known person mentioned here in the Bible. This will help us understand further that Jesus Christ has always existed. This was after Lot had been taken captive and Abraham took his personal army and rescued him. Genesis 14:18 “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.' and he gave him a tithe of all.” Abraham realized that Melchizedek was one that he should be paying tithes to. Who do you pay tithes to? You always pay tithes to God. So this is supporting evidence that Melchizedek was God. We will learn more in Hebrews chapter 7.
Hebrews chapter 7, verses 1-3. It is talking about Melchizedek who had no father, no mother, no beginning of days, and in fact no end of life either. He was made like the Son of God. Remember Jesus Christ often referred to Himself in the gospels as the Son of God. So here we find that this Melchizedek was none other than Jesus Christ. It said He had no beginning of days. This is further proof that Jesus Christ was not a created being but has always existed. However, at one point He did become human for us.
Turn to Ephesians chapter 3, verse 9. Jesus Christ was around for the creation. “…and to make all people see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ.” The Authorized Version, also known as the King James Version, says “created all things by Jesus Christ”. The Greek Interlinear says “by Jesus Christ”. In other words, Christ did the creating at the will of the Father.
Let us turn to Colossians chapter 1, verse 15 proving further that Jesus Christ has always existed. Colossians chapter 1, verses 15-17. In the King James in verse 16 it says, “All things were created by Him and for Him.” This is further proof that Jesus Christ created all things.
My THIRD POINT is the composition and shape of God. What is God made of? Man is made of the dust of the ground. God created all things. He surely cannot be made of the dust of the ground! What is God made of? Turn to John chapter 4, verse 24. “'God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.'” That is what God's composition is. It is spirit.
What does God look like? Turn to Genesis chapter 1, verse 26. “Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.'” If man is created in God's image then God must look like man. God has two arms, two legs, a head, etc., the same type of form as man.
Turn to Genesis chapter 5, verse 1. “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.” Again this is showing that we look like God. If you want to know what God looks like, He looks something like us!
Turn to John 14, again back to Jesus Christ's final instructions to His disciples. John chapter 14, verses 8-9: “Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, “Show us the Father?”'” If you have seen Me you have seen the Father is what Christ said. The Father looks like Christ. Christ was a typical looking human back then. He was able to disappear in a crowd at times when He needed to.
Moses knew something about what God looked like. Turn to Exodus 33. God had been talking to Moses for quite some time, but Moses never actually saw God. He wondered what does God look like, this Eternal One that I have been talking to all this time? Read Exodus chapter 33, verses 18-23. Now we are seeing that God has a hand, a back and a face. Again, He looks very much like us humans.
The prophet Ezekiel had a vision of God, too. Again this shows us what is the shape of God, what God looks like. It was not a clear vision. Remember no one could see God clearly and live! Ezekiel chapter 1, verses 26-28. Here he is describing what the Lord of the Old Testament looked like. He looked like a man but with fire all around! That was about as much as he could see.
In Revelation chapter 1 there is another vision. This time it is of Jesus Christ, being One of the God family, as He is now in His glorified state. Revelation chapter 1, verse 13: “…and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man…” (Remember the Son of Man was the term that Jesus Christ used for Himself in the New Testament.) “…clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.”
Here we have Jesus Christ, as I said, in His glorified condition. It is talking about Him having a chest, head and hair that are white like wool, eyes like a flame of fire, feet like fine brass and his countenance (His face) shining like the sun. That is what Jesus Christ looks like right now. In verse 16 it refers to seven stars. The first part of this description is intended to be taken literally, but often the Bible does speak symbolically. The Bible speaks in symbols. The stars are defined in verse 20. “'The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches…'” In other words stars can represent angels.
Back in verse 16 it says, “… out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword…” That is not intended to be taken literally either. Again, the sword is a symbol. In Hebrews 4:12 the word of God is compared to a sword. The word of God, of course, is the Holy Bible. Also in Ephesians 6:17 the sword is the word of God. Again, those portions are symbolic, and the rest is literal in that description of Christ. Now we understand what the Father and Jesus Christ look like.
POINT NUMBER 4: What is the Holy Spirit? We are going to find that the Holy Spirit is the power of God but yet not part of any kind of trinity, as people say. The word “trinity” is found nowhere in the Bible.
Genesis chapter 1, verse 2: “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” The Spirit is something that can hover.
Psalm chapter 104, verse 30: “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth.” These two verses, the one in Psalms and the one in Genesis, show that God's Spirit renewed the face of the earth. In fact, it is His Spirit that does the creating. It is by the power of God's Spirit that creation occurs.
Turn to Acts chapter 1 verses 4-5: “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, 'which,' He said, 'you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'” If the Holy Spirit was a person, how could you be baptized with a person. That would not make a lot of sense.
Verse 8: “'But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.'” So the Holy Spirit comes “upon” someone.
Turn to chapter 2. This is where the Holy Spirit was given on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus Christ in 31 A.D. Acts chapter 2, verse 4: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” So they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Again, you do not fill a person with another person. That would not make sense.
Peter gave an inspired sermon which caused people to realize they had been responsible for the death of Jesus Christ. Verse 38: “Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'” The Holy Spirit is a gift which is given to us upon repentance and belief and then baptism.
Turn to Acts chapter 10. This is where Peter is preaching to Gentiles, and in particular a Gentile by the name of Cornelius. Acts chapter 10, verse 44: “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.” The Holy Spirit could fall upon people. It was a gift, as described in verse 45, that had been poured out.
In I John 5 there is a verse that people often use to try to prove that the Holy Spirit is part of a trinity. Let us look at that verse a little more carefully here. I John chapter 5, verse 7: “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” According to the Companion Bible, Clarke's Commentary and other sources, portions of these verses were actually added centuries after they were originally inspired! The way it really should read is: “For there are three that bear witness in heaven.” Skip down to the middle of verse 8: “The Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” The rest in the middle that people use to try to justify a trinity is not even in the original Bible or early manuscripts! So now we can understand better what the Holy Spirit is as we are learning about God. It is the power of God.
POINT NUMBER 5: The Character of God. If we wanted to, we could stop at this point where we would have learned the “nuts and bolts” of what God is. Let's dig deeper into the nature of God and learn about the beautiful mind of God. What about His character? That is very important. In fact it is so important that in I John chapter 4, verses 7 and 8 it says a lot about God's character. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” God chose a definition for Himself here. God is love. Once you fully understand that, it is very important. Love is very important. God's character is very important.
Verse 9: “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (in other words the payment for our sins)
What is this word “love”? This word love is given so many definitions in society. So often it is lust; so often it is a sweet feeling without much depth to it. In the Strong's Concordance if you look it up you will find it means, “to love in a social or moral sense, the judgment and the deliberate ascent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety.” Love is a choice of behavior. It is not just a pleasant feeling. It is more than that. God does not want us to just have a pleasant feeling about Him or about other people. He wants us actually to love in this moral sense, in fact, according to how God defines love.
Turn to I John chapter 5, verse 3 where we find the definition of love. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” There is a way to define love that most people do not think about. It is not just a feeling; it is actually keeping God's commandments!
God's commandments tell us how to behave toward God and toward our neighbor. The first four commandments tell us how to have a relationship with God. The last six tell us how to have a relationship with our neighbor. Turn to Matthew chapter 5. It tells us a lot about the beautiful mind of God, how He thinks and how He wants us to think. The first few verses are often called The Beatitudes. Matthew chapter 5, verses l through 10. It continues on to other things that are important to God. Let us read verses 11 through 16. Verse 17 gets back into the subject of the law. “'Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.'”
Continuing in verse 19 of Matthew 5: “'Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.'”
Then you go into later verses which talk about the spiritual intent of God's law. Literally, of course, we are not to be murdering people, but also we are not to be even having anger without a cause. We are not to be looking down on people. That is breaking that same commandment. It talks about how we are not to be committing adultery, of course. But also we are not even to be lusting after people either, which is breaking the spirit of the law (the intent) for that commandment.
Matthew chapter 5, verses 44 to 45: “'But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.'” It is showing that we are to have love for each other and yet still be keeping the commandments of God because, in fact, those commandments define love.
Let us look at Luke chapter 9. At this time the disciples were still not converted. They did not have God's Holy Spirit. They were still learning. Here they had been traveling, and they went to a village. They thought they could stay there, but they were refused. They were not allowed to enter. Luke 9, verse 54: “And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, 'Lord do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?' But He turned and rebuked them, and said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.' And they went to another village.” This shows the mercy and out-going concern Jesus Christ had, as opposed to just wanting to destroy people. God is the same today. Contrary to what some believe, He does not want to destroy most of the population of the earth. He wants to open their minds when the time is right, and call them to be the innumerable multitude of Revelation 7. That is the kind of approach we need to be taking, too. We need to have mercy ourselves. We know that God is that way, as we are learning about God's character.
Turn to John chapter 13 again, back to His final instructions to His disciples. John chapter 13, verses 34 to 35: “'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.'” Again, the character of God is showing love. That is so important that Christ thought He had to mention it here. And men would know that people are His disciples if they have love one for another.
How does God know we are His disciples? Turn to John chapter 8, verses 31 to 32: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'” It says if we abide in His word, we are His disciples. That is how Christ knows that we are His disciples. He knows because we abide in His word. This shows how important the truth is to God. We believe what He says and obey Him. Of course, the fruits of our lives tell us if we are pleasing God, too.
Now we understand more about God and who and what it is that we worship. We must develop that kind of love that the Father and Jesus Christ have and still keeping, of course, to God's truth, understanding very well the foundational doctrines of the Bible. We will have Bible studies on many of these items as time goes on.