Publication date Usage Public Domain Mark 1. Formerly it denounced Christ and the Bible; now it professes to accept both… A God of love is presented; but his justice, his denunciations of sin, the requirements of his holy law, are all kept out of sight… Christ is as verily rejected as before; but Satan has so blinded the eyes of the people that the deception is not discerned. October 8th, There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to write a review. The way we learn to know God from the Bible differs from all other methods of acquiring knowledge.
We cannot place ourselves above God and treat Him as an object to be analyzed and quantified. In our search for a knowledge of God we must submit to the authority of His self-revelationthe Bible. Since the Bible is its own interpreter, we must subject ourselves to the principles and methods it provides. Without these Biblical guidelines we cannot know God. Why did so many of the people of Jesus' day fail to see God's self-revelation in Jesus?
Because they refused to subject themselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures, they misinterpreted God's message and crucified their Saviour. Their problem was not one of intellect. It was their closed hearts that darkened their minds, resulting in eternal loss. The Existence of God There are two major sources of evidence for the existence of God. The book of nature and the Scriptures. Evidence From Creation. Everyone can learn of God through nature and human experience.
David wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork" Ps. John maintained that God's revelation, 19 including nature, enlightens everyone John And Paul claimed, "Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" Rom.
Human behavior also gives evidence for God's existence. In the Athenian worship of the "unknown God," Paul saw evidence of a belief in God.
Paul also said the behavior of nonChristians revealed the witness of "their conscience" and showed that God's law is written "in their hearts" Rom.
This intuition that God exists is found even among those who This general revelation of God led to a number of classical rational arguments for the existence of God.
The Bible does not prove God's existence. It assumes it. Its opening text declares, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" Gen. God's revelation through creation is so powerful that there is no excuse for atheism, which arises from a suppression of divine truth or from a mind that refuses to acknowledge the evidence that God exists Ps. There are enough evidences for God's existence to convince anyone who seriously tries to discover the truth about Him.
Yet faith is a prerequisite for "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" Heb.
Faith in God, however, is not blind. It is based on sufficient evidence found both in God's revelations through the Scriptures and through nature. God's Names. At the time the Scriptures were written, names were important, as they still are in the Near East and Orient. There a name is considered to reveal the character of the bearer, his true nature and identity. The importance of God's names, disclosing His nature, character, and qualities, are revealed in His command "'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain'" Ex.
These names emphasize the majestic and transcendent character of God. Other names reveal God's willingness to enter into a relationship with people. On occasions God even revealed Himself more intimately as "Father" Deut.
Except for Father, the New Testament names for God carry equivalent meanings to those of God's Activities. Bible writers spend more time describing God's activities than His being. He is introduced as Creator Gen. He makes plans Isa. He forgives sins Ex. His actions confirm that He is a personal God.
God's Attributes. The writers of Scripture provide additional information on the essence of God through testimonies about His divine attributes. God's incommunicable attributes comprise aspects of His divine nature not given to created beings. God is self-existent, for He has "life in Himself" John He is independent in will Eph. He is omniscient, knowing everything Job ; Ps. God is omnipresent Ps. Yet He is fully present in every part of space. He is eternal Ps.
God is all powerful, omnipotent. That nothing is impossible to Him assures us that He accomplishes whatever He purposes Dan. He is immutableor unchangeablebecause He is perfect. He says, "I am the Lord, I do not change" Mal. Since, in a sense, these attributes define God, they are incommunicable. They include love Rom. These gifts come only with the Giver Himself. No one can restrain His hand" Dan. So Solomon could say, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes" Prov.
Paul, aware of God's sovereignty, wrote, "'I will return again to you, God willing'" Acts ; see Rom. Predestination and Human Freedom.
The Bible reveals God's full control over the world. He "predestined" people "to be conformed to the image of His Son" Rom. What does such The verb to predestinate means "to determine beforehand. But study of the context of these passages shows that Paul does not speak about God's capriciously excluding anyone. The thrust of these texts is inclusive.
The Bible clearly states that God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" 1 Tim. He is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" 2 Peter There is no evidence that God has decreed that some persons should be lost; such a decree would deny Calvary, where Jesus died for everyone.
The whoever in the text, "'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life'" John , means that anyone can be saved. Bible predestination consists in the effective purpose of 22 God that all who choose to believe in Christ shall be saved John ; Eph.
The context of these texts shows that Paul's concern is mission and not salvation. Redemption is available to anyonebut God chooses certain persons for special assignments. Salvation was equally available to Jacob and Esau, but God chose Jacob, not Esau, to be the line through whom He would take the message of salvation to the world. God exercises sovereignty in His mission strategy. When Scripture says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart it is merely crediting Him with doing what He allows, and not implying that He ordains it.
Pharaoh's negative response to God's call actually illustrates God's respect for his freedom to choose. Foreknowledge and Human Freedom. Some believe that God relates to persons without knowing their choices until they are made; that God knows certain future events, such as the Second Advent, the millennium, and the restoration of the earth, but has no idea who will be saved.
They feel that God's dynamic relationship with the human race would be in jeopardy if He knew everything that would transpire from eternity to eternity. Some suggest that He would be bored if He knew the end from the beginning. But God's knowledge about what individuals will do does not interfere with what they Just as a camera records a scene but does not change it, foreknowledge looks into the future without altering it.
The foreknowledge of the Godhead never violates human freedom. Dynamics Within the Godhead Is there only one God? What of Christ, and the Holy Spirit? The Oneness of God.
In contrast to the heathen of surrounding nations, Israel believed there was only one God Deut. This monotheistic emphasis does not contradict the Christian concept of the triune God or TrinityFather, Son, and Holy Spirit; rather, it affirms that there is no pantheon of various deities. The Plurality Within the Godhead. Although the Old Testament does not explicitly teach that God is triune, it alludes to a plurality within the Godhead.
At times the Angel of the Lord is identified 23 with God. Various references distinguish the Spirit of God from God. In the Creation story "the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" Gen. The Relationship Within the Godhead. The first advent of Christ gives us a much clearer insight into the triune God. John's Gospel reveals that the Godhead consists of God the Father see chapter 3 of this book , God the Son chapter 4 , and God the Holy Spirit chapter 5 , a unity of three co-eternal persons having a unique and mysterious relationship.
A loving relationship. Sin broke humanity's original relationship with God Gen. In His last hours, Jesus, the One who knew no sin, became sin for us. In taking our sin, our place, He experienced the separation from God that was our lotand perished in consequence. Sinners will never comprehend what Jesus' death meant to the Godhead. From eternity He had been with His Father and the Spirit.
They had lived as coeternal, coexistent in utter self-giving and love for one another. To be together for so long bespeaks the perfect, absolute love that existed within the Godhead. Love is defined in 1 Corinthians Some may wonder how the qualities of longsuffering or patience would apply within the Godhead, who had a perfect loving relationship. Patience was first needed when dealing with rebel angels, and later with wayward humans.
There is no distance between the persons of the triune God. All three are divine, yet they share their divine powers and qualities.
In human organizations final authority rests in one person a president, king, or prime minister. In the Godhead, final authority resides in all three members. While the Godhead is not one in person, God is one in purpose, mind, and character. This oneness does not obliterate the distinct personalities of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Nor does the separateness of personalities within the Deity destroy the monotheistic thrust of Scripture, that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God.
A working relationship. Within the Godhead an economy of function exists. God does not unnecessarily duplicate work. Order is the first law of heaven, and God works in orderly ways. This orderliness issues from and preserves the union within the Godhead. The Father seems to act as source, the Son as mediator, and the Spirit as actualizer or applier. The incarnation beautifully demonstrated the working relationship of the three persons of the Godhead.
The angel's testimony to Mary clearly indicates the activities of all three in the mystery of God becoming man. Each member of the Godhead was present at the baptism of Christ: the Father giving encouragement Matt.
Toward the end of His earthly life Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit as counselor or helper John In those climactic moments for salvation history the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were all part of the picture. Today the Father and the Son reach out to us through the Holy Spirit.
The Father and Son send the Spirit to reveal Christ to each person. The great burden of the Trinity is to bring God and a knowledge of Christ to everyone John and to make Jesus present and real Matt. Believers are elected to salvation, Peter said, "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" 1 Peter The apostolic benediction includes all three persons of the Godhead.
Christ heads the list. God's point of contact with humanity was and is through Jesus Christthe God who became man. Though all three members of the Trinity work together to save, only Jesus lived as a man, died as a man, and became our Saviour John ; Matt. But because "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself" 2 Cor. Titus , for He saved us through Christ the Saviour Eph. Titus In the economy of function, different members of the Godhead perform distinct tasks in saving man.
The work of the Holy 25 Spirit does not add anything to the adequacy of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made at the cross. Through the Holy Spirit the objective atonement at the cross is subjectively applied as the Christ of the atonement is brought within. Thus Paul speaks of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" Col. But since it was through Jesus that God's love and purpose were revealed, the Bible focuses on Him. He is the hope foreshadowed in the Old Testament sacrifices and festivals.
He is the One who occupies center stage in the Gospels. He is the Good News proclaimed by the disciples in sermons and writingsthe Blessed Hope. Christ, the mediator between God and us, thus unites us to the Godhead. Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life" John The good news is centered in a Person and not merely a practice.
It has to do with a relationship, not just rulesfor Christianity is Christ. We find in Him the core, content, and context for all truth and life. Looking at the cross, we gaze into the heart of God.
On that instrument of torture He poured out His love for us. Through Christ the love of the Godhead fills our aching, empty hearts. Jesus hung there as God's gift and our substitute. At Calvary God descended to earth's lowest point to meet us; but it is the highest place where we can go. When we go to Calvary we have ascended as high as we can toward God. At the cross the Trinity made a full revelation of unselfishness.
There was our most complete revelation of God. Christ became man to die for the race. He valued selflessness more than self-existence. There Christ became our "righteousness and sanctification and redemption" 1 Cor. Whatever value or meaning we have or ever will have comes from His sacrifice on that cross. The only true God is the God of the cross.
Christ unveiled to the universe the Godhead's infinite love and saving power; He revealed a triune God who was willing to go through the agony of separation because of unconditional love for a rebel planet. From this cross God proclaims His loving invitation to us: Be reconciled, "and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Phil.
See, e. These arguments do not prove God's existence but show that there is a strong possibility that God exists. Ultimately, however, belief in God's existence is based on faith. In time, out of fear of profaning God's name, the Jews refused to read this name aloud. In the seventh or eighth century A. The combination produced the word Jehovah, which is used in the KJV. See Siegfried H. Neufeld, ed. G: Review and Herald, , p.
He is just and holy, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. The qualities and powers exhibited in the Son and the Holy Spirit are also revelations of the Father.
Fundamental Beliefs, 3. God the Father 29 The great day of judgement begins. Fiery thrones with burning wheels move into place. The Ancient of Days takes His seat. Majestic in appearance, He presides over the court. His awesome presence pervades the vast courtroom audience.
A multitude of witnesses stand before Him. The judgement is set, the books are opened, and the examination of the record of human lives begins Dan. The entire universe has been waiting for this moment. God the Father will execute His justice against all wickedness. The sentence is given: "A judgement was made in favor of the saints" Dan. Joyful praises and thanksgiving reverberate across heaven. God's character is seen in all its glory, and His marvelous name is vindicated throughout the universe.
Views of the Father God the Father is frequently misunderstood. Many are aware of Christ's mission to earth for Is He, in contrast to the gracious Son and Spirit, totally removed from our world, the absentee Landlord, the unmoved First Cause?
Or is He, as some think of Him, the "Old Testament God"a God of vengeance, characterized by the dictum "'an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth'" Matt. A God who stands in utter contrast to the New Testament's portrayal of a loving God who stresses turning the other cheek and going the second mile Matt.
God the Father in the Old Testament The unity of the Old and New Testaments, and of their common plan of redemption, is revealed by the fact that it is the same God who speaks and acts in 30 both Testaments for the salvation of His people. What the New Testament says of Christ's role in Creation and the Exodus suggests that even the Old Testament often conveys to us its portrait of God the Father through the agency of the Son.
No sinful human being has ever seen God Ex. We have no photograph of His features. God demonstrated His character by His gracious acts and by the word picture He proclaimed before Moses: "'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation'" Ex.
Yet mercy does not blindly pardon, but is guided by the principle of justice. Those who reject His mercy reap His punishment on iniquity. At Sinai God expressed His desire to be Israel's friend, to be with them. Because it was God's earthly dwelling place, this sanctuary became the focal point of Israel's religious experience. A Covenant God. Eager to establish lasting relations, God made solemn covenants with people such as Noah Gen.
These covenants reveal a personal, loving God interested in His people's concerns. To Noah He gave assurance of regular seasons Gen. A Redeemer God. As God of the Exodus, He miraculously led a nation of slaves to liberty. This great redemptive act is the backdrop for the entire Old Testament and an example of His longing to be our 31 Redeemer.
God is not a distant, detached, uninterested person, but One very much involved in our affairs. The Psalms particularly were inspired by the depth of God's loving involvement: "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold" Ps.
A God of Refuge. David saw God as One in whom we can find refugevery much like the six Israelite cities of refuge, which harbored innocent fugitives. The Psalms' recurrent theme of "refuge" pictures both Christ and the Father. The Godhead was a refuge. The psalmist expressed a longing for more of his God: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" Ps. From experience, David testified, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved" Ps. A God of Forgiveness. After his sins of adultery and murder, David earnestly entreated, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. He was comforted by the assurance that God is wonderfully merciful.
As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust" Ps.
A God of Goodness. God is the One who "executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow" Ps. What a great picture of God is given in the Psalms! A God of Faithfulness. In spite of God's greatness, Israel wandered away from Him most of the time Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy God is depicted as loving Israel as a husband loves his wife. The book of Hosea poignantly illustrates God's faithfulness in the face of flagrant unfaithfulness and rejection.
God's continuing forgiveness reveals His character of unconditional love. Though God permitted her to experience the calamities caused by her unfaithfulness attempting to correct Israel's waysHe still embraced her with His mercy. He assured her, "'You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand'" Isa. In spite of their unfaithfulness, He tenderly promised, "'If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me.
I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you'" Isa. No wonder He could say, "'Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other'" Isa. A God of Salvation and Vengeance. The Old Testament description of God as a God of vengeance must be seen in the context of the destruction of His faithful people by the wicked. Through "the day of the Lord" theme the prophets reveal God's actions on behalf of His people at the end of time.
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All books are the property of their respective owners. But God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself and by His Spirit restores in penitent mortals the image of their Maker.
Created for the glory of God, they are called to love Him and one another, and to care for their environment. The Great Controversy : All humanity is now involved in a great controversy between Christ and Satan regarding the character of God, His law, and His sovereignty over the universe. This conflict originated in heaven when a created being, endowed with freedom of choice, in self-exaltation became Satan, God's adversary, and led into rebellion a portion of the angels.
He introduced the spirit of rebellion into this world when he led Adam and Eve into sin. This human sin resulted in the distortion of the image of God in humanity, the disordering of the created world, and its eventual devastation at the time of the worldwide flood. Observed by the whole creation, this world became the arena of the universal conflict, out of which the God of love will ultimately be vindicated. To assist His people in this controversy, Christ sends the Holy Spirit and the loyal angels to guide, protect, and sustain them in the way of salvation.
The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ : In Christ's life of perfect obedience to God's will, His suffering, death, and resurrection, God provided the only means of atonement for human sin, so that those who by faith accept this atonement may have eternal life, and the whole creation may better understand the infinite and holy love of the Creator.
This perfect atonement vindicates the righteousness of God's law and the graciousness of His character; for it both condemns our sin and provides for our forgiveness. The death of Christ is substitutionary and expiatory, reconciling and transforming. The resurrection of Christ proclaims God's triumph over the forces of evil, and for those who accept the atonement assures their final victory over sin and death. It declares the Lordship of Jesus Christ, before whom every knee in heaven and on earth will bow.
John ; Isa. The Experience of Salvation : In infinite love and mercy God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might be made the righteousness of God. Led by the Holy Spirit we sense our need, acknowledge our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions, and exercise faith in Jesus as Lord and Christ, as Substitute and Example. This faith which receives salvation comes through the divine power of the Word and is the gift of God's grace.
Through Christ we are justified, adopted as God's sons and daughters, and delivered from the lordship of sin. Through the Spirit we are born again and sanctified; the Spirit renews our minds, writes God's law of love in our hearts, and we are given the power to live a holy life. Abiding in Him we become partakers of the divine nature and have the assurance of salvation now and in the judgment. In continuity with the people of God in Old Testament times, we are called out from the world; and we join together for worship, for fellowship, for instruction in the Word, for the celebration of the Lord's Supper, for service to all mankind, and for the worldwide proclamation of the gospel.
The church derives its authority from Christ, who is the incarnate Word, and from the Scriptures, which are the written Word. The church is God's family; adopted by Him as children, its members live on the basis of the new covenant.
The church is the body of Christ, a community of faith of which Christ Himself is the Head. The church is the bride for whom Christ died that He might sanctify and cleanse her.
At His return in triumph, He will present her to Himself a glorious church, the faithful of all the ages, the purchase of His blood, not having spot or wrinkle, but holy and without blemish. The Remnant and Its Mission : The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
This remnant announces the arrival of the judgment hour, proclaims salvation through Christ, and heralds the approach of His second advent. This proclamation is symbolized by the three angels of Revelation 14; it coincides with the work of judgment in heaven and results in a work of repentance and reform on earth.
Every believer is called to have a personal part in this worldwide witness. Unity in the Body of Christ : The church is one body with many members, called from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. In Christ we are a new creation; distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor, male and female, must not be divisive among us.
We are all equal in Christ, who by one Spirit has bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one another; we are to serve and be served without partiality or reservation. Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures we share the same faith and hope, and reach out in one witness to all. This unity has its source in the oneness of the triune God, who has adopted us as His children.
Baptism : By baptism we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify of our death to sin and of our purpose to walk in newness of life. Thus we acknowledge Christ as Lord and Saviour, become His people, and are received as members by His church.
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