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Is God a Trinity? Nicates a True Picture of God

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Is God a Trinity? Nicates a True Picture of God THIS PUBLICATION IS NOT TO BE SOLD. It is a free educational service in the public interest, published by the United Church of God, an International Association. page 1 © 2001, 2010 United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. Scriptures in this publication are quoted from the New King James Version (© 1988 Thomas Nelson, Inc., publishers) unless otherwise noted. 2 Who Is God? Introduction 3 Contents Introduction “One of the fundamental questions of the Hebrew religion is, ‘Who is really God?’”—Helmer Ringgren, 3 Introduction Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament 5 The Grandeur of Almighty God ost people have their own distinctive opinions of a Supreme Being. But where do these impressions come from? Many are simply reflections 7 The Personal Nature of God Mof how people perceive God. As a consequence the word God has come to embody a spectrum of meanings, many of them quite foreign to the Bible. But which meaning is the true one? How does the Creator reveal Himself to man? 11 A Family Relationship The answer is, of course, a matter of debate. But we will state unequivo- cally here that the principal way God reveals Himself is through His Word, 15 How Is God One? the Bible (for proof of its authenticity, download or request our free booklet Is the Bible True?). The Bible is a 21 Who Was Jesus? book about God and His relationship with human beings. The Scriptures contain a long history of God’s revela- 30 Understanding God Through Christ tion of Himself to man—from the first man Adam to the prophet and law- giver Moses down through the apos- tles of Jesus and the early Church. 34 What Does Christ’s Resurrection Teach Us? In contrast to many human assump- In contrast to many human tions, the Bible communicates a true assumptions, the Bible commu- picture of God. This remarkable book 38 Is God a Trinity? nicates a true picture of God. reveals what He is like, what He has done and what He expects of us. It tells us why we are here and reveals His little-understood plan for His creation. 43 The Holy Spirit Is Not a Person This handbook of basic knowledge is fundamentally different from any other source of information. It is genuinely unique because it contains, in many ways, the very signature of the Almighty. The Creator tells us in His Word, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, 47 Understanding “the Image of God” and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand’” (Isaiah 46:9- 10). He tells us that He alone not only foretells the future but can bring it to pass. 51 Partaking of the Divine Nature 123RF What a powerful testimony to the mighty God of the Bible! 4 Who Is God? The Grandeur of Almighty God 5 But, great as He is, God is not unapproachable. He is not beyond our reach. We can come to know this magnificent being! As noted author Karen Armstrong observed: “Throughout history, men and The Grandeur women have experienced a dimension of the spirit that seems to transcend the mundane world. Indeed, it is an arresting characteristic of the human mind to be able to conceive concepts that go beyond it in this way” (A History of God, of Almighty God 1992, p. xxi). She expressed our innate longing to know and understand things beyond our “Thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity . .” (Isaiah 57:15). physical senses. We want to know why we are here, what our purpose is, whether some sort of higher power works in our lives and the world around us. Inspired by God working through His Holy Spirit, the Bible itself gives n this ungodly, secular age many people—even professing Christians—seem us the master key to knowing Him: to have lost sight of the divine majesty of God. Many behave with unrecog- “Scripture speaks of ‘things beyond Inized shallowness and irreverence, lacking respect for our Creator. It seems our seeing, things beyond our hear- His name is uttered more often in profanity than in respect. ing, things beyond our imagining, all But what about those who have glimpsed the majesty of God? How have they prepared by God for those who love reacted? Scripture shows that their response has nearly always been one of pro- him’; and these are what God has found humility. When the prophets of the Old Testament scriptures and the apos- revealed to us through the Spirit. For tles of the New Testament experienced God, to a man they saw themselves as the Spirit explores everything, even utterly inadequate in comparison. the depths of God’s own nature” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10, Revised Close encounters with the divine English Bible, emphasis added The patriarch Job, for example, became acutely aware of his own profound throughout). lack of understanding when God revealed to him some aspects of the magnifi- We need to know—from inspired cence of His creation (Job 38-41). Job’s humble reaction was immediate: “Then Scripture itself—who God is and Job answered the LORD and said: ‘I know that You can do everything, and that no how He relates to and reveals Him- purpose of Yours can be withheld from You . I have uttered what I did not self to us. We need to understand the understand . Listen, please, and let me speak . I have heard of You by the “Throughout history, men and very nature of our Creator—to know, hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in the words of Albert Einstein, “the in dust and ashes’” (Job 42:1-6). women have experienced a mind of God.” That, in a nutshell, is When Moses first met with God at the burning bush, he “hid his face, for he dimension of the spirit that seems the purpose of this booklet. (The even was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:6). In Joshua’s encounter with the to transcend the mundane world.” more fundamental question of God’s divine, he “fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, ‘What existence is addressed in depth in does my Lord say to His servant?’” (Joshua 5:14). our free booklets Life’s Ultimate Question: Does God Exist? and Creation or In vision Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne amid the angelic host Evolution: Does It Really Matter What You Believe?) (Isaiah 6:1-4). The prophet immediately reacted by lamenting, “Woe is me . Never has humanity so desperately needed true knowledge about God. One because I am a man of unclean lips, . for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD writer aptly described our world as “crowded with bewildered souls: jaded, adrift of hosts” (verse 5). men and women desperately looking for hope.” Our Creator wants us to under- When Ezekiel saw “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD,” stand Him much better so we can have hope and confidence in the truthfulness he, like Joshua and many others, fell down on his face (Ezekiel 1:28). Experienc- of His Word, which describes His plan and purpose for humanity. ing firsthand the revealed majesty of God’s splendor instantly humbled these Let’s begin our study by seeing what Scripture reveals about the glory and prophets and patriarchs of old. Theirs were dramatic, life-changing experiences. magnificence of God. This provides us with the proper background—the right The New Testament reveals the great God of the universe in the person of attitude and approach—to comprehending the majestic nature of our Creator. photo illustration by iStockphoto/Shaun Venish Jesus Christ. On the momentous occasions when Christ’s disciples caught a 6 Who Is God? The Personal Nature of God 7 glimpse of God’s majestic powers as revealed through Jesus’ miracles, their reactions reflected an awesome encounter with an unseen and powerful world far different from ours. The Personal On one occasion Peter and the others had caught nothing after an entire night of fishing. Yet when Christ told them to drop their nets in a different spot, they suddenly caught so many fish that their nets began to break and their boats started Nature of God to sink (Luke 5:4-7). Peter was overwhelmed. “He fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from “God was a somewhat shadowy figure, defined in intellectual me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’” (verse 8, New Revised Standard Version). abstractions rather than images.”—Karen Armstrong, A History of God Later, Peter—along with James and John—briefly witnessed a preview of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. God afforded them the marvelous opportu- nity to see a vision of Christ transfigured in glory with Elijah and Moses. When they heard a voice from heaven, they reacted by falling on their faces. They as God always existed? If not, who created God? Is God one person, were “greatly afraid” (Matthew 17:6). two or three? What did Jesus reveal to us about the nature of God Many years later, when the apostle John wrote the book of Revelation, he Hwhen He continually referred to a being He called “the Father”? The reacted to his vision of the resurrected, glorified Christ by falling “at His feet as answers will become evident as we progress through the Scriptures.
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