Theology 1 - God Father 1

God
The Father
2/3 session EBI

Thursday 23 December 2010

Draw a picture
illustrating what
you think are the
three most
important aspects
of what God is
like

Draw a picture
You are allowed
illustrating what
only think are the
you three words -
which would you
three most
use to describe
important aspects
God?
of what God is
like

God the Trinity
God the Father

Group Activity: Create a visual summary of the
Names of God.


Study chapters 3-4 in Our God Is Awesome.
Study chapters 5-7 in Major Bible Themes.

Print an article, chart, or illustration on the
Trinity or the Names of God to share with your
learning team.


The Nature of God

“It is important to know the nature of the one you
are dealing with...with a lot of errant teaching about
who God is, God has been so misdeﬁned, tragically
redeﬁned and even dismissed that people do not
understand His true nature...Knowing the nature
of God as he reveals himself, rather than how we
wish he were, can save us from a life of confusion
and defeat ”
Evans


Talking about the nature of
something means what is intrinsic to
its being - rabbits hop, cows moo,
students sleep
So what does God do naturally, what
are characteristics which mark God
out as God?
Is he a tyrant, a joke, a grandfather, a
better version of humanity or do
you imagine something else?


1. God is a
Transcendent Being
In saying transcendent we mean
God is totally distinct (a
synonym for transcendent) from
his creation - he is unique, one
of a kind - there is nothing you
can really compare with God.
If you imagine God then it is
probably not what he is like -
the only understanding we can The "Eye of God" is a composite
get is from what God tells us of of images taken by the Hubble
himself Telescope and the Kitt Peak
National Observatory.

Isaiah 40:
With whom, then, will you compare God?
   To what image will you liken him?
19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,
   and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
   and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
   selects wood that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
   to set up an idol that will not topple.
21 Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
   Have you not understood since the earth was
founded?

22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
   and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
   and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He brings princes to naught
   and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing...
25 “To whom will you compare me?
   Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
   Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one
   and calls forth each of them by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
   not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As
1.a. Distinct in his
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than
your thoughts. thoughts
Some people say, “I like to think God is like this and
does that...” The truth is God does not think in
the same way as humans think.


Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than
your thoughts.
Some people say, “I like to think God is like this and
does that...” The truth is God does not think in
the same way as humans think.


Psalm 50:21
“These things you have done,
and I have been silent; you
thought that I was one
like yourself. 1.b. Distinct in his
But now I rebuke you and lay
the charge before you.” person Voltaire, “God
God is not like man - nor like created man in his
Superman - he is totally own image, and
man returned the
utterly transcendent
favour”


Psalm 50:21
“These things you have done,
and I have been silent; you
thought that I was one
like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay
the charge before you.” Voltaire, “God
God is not like man - nor like created man in his
Superman - he is totally own image, and
man returned the
utterly transcendent
favour”


There is no other god or person to compare God
with.
1.c. Distinct in his
Psalm 97:9 - For you, LORD, are the Most High over all
the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
deity
Psalm 99:2 - The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted
over all the peoples.


There is no other god or person to compare God
with.
Psalm 97:9 - For you, LORD, are the Most High over all
the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
Psalm 99:2 - The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted
over all the peoples.


Ex 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself an
image in the form of anything in heaven above or on
the earth beneath or in the waters below.You shall
not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the
LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the
children for the sin of the parents to the third and
fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing
love to a thousand generations of those who love me
and keep my commandments.”


What does this mean for us - how do
we apply it?
Ex 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself an
image in the form of anything in heaven above or on


we apply it?
Ex 20:4-6 “You pictures, can yourself an
Can we paint shall not make for we use a
crossin the form of anything in heaven above or on
image in worship?


we apply it?
image in worship?
Is it right to say we can only useI,signs
not bow down to them or worship them; for the
like the bread and wine which God has
said isfor the sin of the parents to the third and
children ok?


we apply it?
image in worship?
Is it right to say we can only useI,signs
not bow down to them or worship them; for the
like the bread and wine which God has
said isfor the sin of the parents to the third and
children ok?
Is doing anything other than this
idolatry and therefore of those who love me
love to a thousand generations a way of
limiting God’s glory? And, if we do
this, do we make God smaller and
therefore limit him?

When you reduce God to something
you are comfortable with it gives you
liberty to do what you want.
The Israelites made the golden calf - and then...
built an altar in front of the calf and announced,
“Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” So
the next day the people rose early and sacriﬁced
burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings.
Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up
to indulge in revelry.


2. God is a Spirit
Being
John 4:23-24
Yet a time is coming and has now come
when the true worshipers will worship
the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for
they are the kind of worshipers the
Father seeks. God is spirit,
What does that mean - how might we
understand and apply this?


It means that God does not have a
body - Jesus said this in Luke 24: 39 -
a spirit does not have ﬂesh and bones
Jesus has a body because he became
a man - it was not his essential nature
God uses anthropomorphisms -
2.a. God is Immaterial
anthro pos = “man”, morphos = “form”
Mention [spiritual, rather than physical]
is made of God’s hand, back,
eye, face ears...so that we might have
some understanding of God - but it is
only in part
In worship God is ﬁrstly concerned
about our heart, then our body as a
result of that

It means that God does not have a
body - Jesus said this in Luke 24: 39 -
a spirit does not have ﬂesh and bones
Jesus has a body because he became
a man - it was not his essential nature
God uses anthropomorphisms -
anthro pos = “man”, morphos = “form”
Mention is made of God’s hand, back,
eye, face ears...so that we might have
some understanding of God - but it is
only in part
In worship God is ﬁrstly concerned
about our heart, then our body as a
result of that

God is spirit, and those who
worship him must worship in
spirit and truth.
This means he has the three
aspects of being a person - mind,
will emotions - he thinks, feels
and chooses 2.b. God is a Person
So he is a person - but without a
body - Ex. 3:14
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I
AM.This is what you are to say to the
Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”


God is spirit, and those who
worship him must worship in
spirit and truth.
This means he has the three
aspects of being a person - mind,
will emotions - he thinks, feels
and chooses
So he is a person - but without a
body - Ex. 3:14
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I
AM.This is what you are to say to the
Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”


John 1:18 - No one has ever
seen God, but the one and only
Son, who is himself God and is in
closest relationship with the
Father, has made him known.
Exodus 33:18, 22 -Then Moses
2.c. God is Invisible
said, “Now show me your glory.”...
“When my glory passes by, I will
put you in a cleft in the rock and
cover you with my hand until I
have passed by”
Moses did not see God but
only something of his glory

John 1:18 - No one has ever
seen God, but the one and only
Son, who is himself God and is in
closest relationship with the
Father, has made him known.
Exodus 33:18, 22 -Then Moses
said, “Now show me your glory.”...
“When my glory passes by, I will
put you in a cleft in the rock and
cover you with my hand until I
have passed by”
Moses did not see God but
only something of his glory

We might not see God, though in
Jesus we have seen him, but we
know he is there by what he does.
God being spirit does 2 things:
1. It frees us from materialism
- we are freed from looking for life
in the wrong places - a relationship
with God is developed on a spirit-
to-spirit basis
2. Knowing God is spirit means
we are complete in him - Col
2:9-10, Acts 17:24-25, Jer 29:13 -
give him your heart in worship and
see him act in your life

3. God is an Eternal
Being
Ps 90:1-2
Lord, you have been our
dwelling place throughout all
generations. Before the
mountains were born or you
brought forth the whole
world, from everlasting
to everlasting you are
God.


Put simply there has never been a time when God
did not exist.
Somewhere we all encounter the problem of what,
or who, came ﬁrst.
God, according to the Bible, exists from everlasting
3.a. He has no beginning
to everlasting - God is forever, history is
meaningless to him as he exists outside of time. God
is the I AM - he has no past or future, he simply is.
A parallel might be to think about looking at
Niagara Falls - it is as if our view is from close up
but God’s is from overhead, seeing where the river
originates and where it concludes - He sees it all


Put simply there has never been a time when God
did not exist.
Somewhere we all encounter the problem of what,
or who, came ﬁrst.
God, according to the Bible, exists from everlasting
to everlasting - God is forever, history is
meaningless to him as he exists outside of time. God
is the I AM - he has no past or future, he simply is.
A parallel might be to think about looking at
Niagara Falls - it is as if our view is from close up
but God’s is from overhead, seeing where the river
originates and where it concludes - He sees it all


Everything which is created needs
something else to exist - God
doesn’t need anything to exist, he
has always been. God did not need
to create us - he is totally fulﬁlled
in himself.
3.b. He is Independent
God created us so that we could
enjoy Him and participate in His
world and all that He is doing.


Everything which is created needs
something else to exist - God
doesn’t need anything to exist, he
has always been. God did not need
to create us - he is totally fulﬁlled
in himself.
God created us so that we could
enjoy Him and participate in His
world and all that He is doing.


4. God is an
Immutable Being
immutable |iˈmyoōtəbəl|
unchanging over time or unable to be changed

James 1:17
Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father
of lights with whom there is
no variation or shadow due to
change.

God cannot, does not and will
not change.
4.a. Changeless in his
Ps 119:89 - Forever, O LORD,
Person
your word is ﬁrmly ﬁxed in the
heavens.


God cannot, does not and will
not change.
Ps 119:89 - Forever, O LORD,
your word is ﬁrmly ﬁxed in the
heavens.


Hebrews 6:17-18 Because God
wanted to make the unchanging
nature of his purpose very clear to
the heirs of what was promised, he
conﬁrmed it with an oath. God did this so
that, by two unchangeable things in
4.b. Changeless in his
which it is impossible for God to lie, we
who have ﬂed to take hold of the hope
Purpose
set before us may be greatly encouraged.
God is consistent -
Hebrew 13:8 Jesus Christ is the
there is no shadow
same yesterday and today and forever. because he does
God’s plans do not change and not move, or
his knowledge is the same now deviate from his
as it was on the day of creation purpose

Hebrews 6:17-18 Because God
wanted to make the unchanging
nature of his purpose very clear to
the heirs of what was promised, he
conﬁrmed it with an oath. God did this so
that, by two unchangeable things in
which it is impossible for God to lie, we
who have ﬂed to take hold of the hope
set before us may be greatly encouraged.
God is consistent -
Hebrew 13:8 Jesus Christ is the
there is no shadow
same yesterday and today and forever. because he does
God’s plans do not change and not move, or
his knowledge is the same now deviate from his
as it was on the day of creation purpose

Exodus 32
10 leave me alone so that my anger may burn against
them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you
into a great nation.”
14 Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his
4.c. Changeless in his
people the disaster he had threatened.
Jonah 3
Character
4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city,
proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be
overthrown.”
10 When God saw what they did and how they turned
from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on
them the destruction he had threatened.

Exodus 32
people the disaster he had threatened.
Jonah 3
4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city,
proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be
overthrown.”

Exodus 32
people the disaster he change his mind?
Does God had threatened.
What does this say about
Jonah 3
4 Jonah began by going character?the city,
God’s days and Nineveh will be
a day’s journey into
proclaiming, “Forty more
overthrown.”

So what does this really mean? God’s character is
entirely consistent - it never changes.
However, if a change on a man’s part affects another
part of God’s character, God is then free to relate to
that person out of that aspect of his character not the
previous.
God did not change his mind about Nineveh’s sin but in
repenting they appealed to another part of God’s
character, his grace. They then moved from God dealing
with them on the basis of his wrath against sin, to being
dealt with by his grace.
God did not change - he was and is always perfect - he
simply responds to the readjustment of man.


5. God is a Triune
Being

This is a difﬁcult truth!
Dt 6:4 - Hear, O Israel:The LORD
our God, the LORD is one.
Isa 45:5, 1 Cor 8:4


God is consistent -
there is no shadow
because he does
not move, or
deviate from his
purpose

The One God is made up of three
persons: Father, Son, Holy spirit.
We use the word Trinity to describe
this - though it is not a biblical word
5.a. One God in Three
it is useful to describe the threeness
of God.
Persons
Although it is hard to understand we
have to remember God is
transcendent - he is not like us.
Images used to try to explain the
trinity include:


The One God is made up of three
persons: Father, Son, Holy spirit.
We use the word Trinity to describe
this - though it is not a biblical word
it is useful to describe the threeness
of God.
Although it is hard to understand we
have to remember God is
transcendent - he is not like us.
Images used to try to explain the
trinity include:


Shell

Yolk

God is consistent -
there is no shadow
White because he does
not move, or
deviate from his
purpose

Steam

Ice

God is consistent -
there is no shadow
Water because he does
not move, or
deviate from his
purpose

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth.
God = Elohim - a plural word
Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make
mankind in our image, in our likeness, so
5.b. The Trinity in Creation
that they may rule over the ﬁsh in the sea
and the birds in the sky, over the livestock
and all the wild animals,and over all the
creatures that move along the ground.”
Gen 1:27 So God created mankind in his
own image, in the image of God he created
them; male and female he created them.
Plural - singular - plural all in one chapter

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth.
God = Elohim - a plural word
Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make
mankind in our image, in our likeness, so
that they may rule over the ﬁsh in the sea
and the birds in the sky, over the livestock
and all the wild animals,and over all the
creatures that move along the ground.”
Gen 1:27 So God created mankind in his
own image, in the image of God he created
them; male and female he created them.
Plural - singular - plural all in one chapter

The pre-incarnate Christ says,
Isa 48:16 And now the Sovereign LORD
has sent me, endowed with his Spirit.
Matt 27:46 About three in the
afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud
5.b. The Trinity
voice,“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which
means “My God, my God, why have you
throughout Scripture
forsaken me?”)
The Father is God: Gal 1:1, 3 Eph 1:2-3
The Son is God: John 20:28
The Holy Spirit is called God: Acts
5:3-4

The pre-incarnate Christ says,
Isa 48:16 And now the Sovereign LORD
has sent me, endowed with his Spirit.
Matt 27:46 About three in the
afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud
voice,“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which
means “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?”)
The Father is God: Gal 1:1, 3 Eph 1:2-3
The Son is God: John 20:28
The Holy Spirit is called God: Acts
5:3-4

Simply put The Trinity is involved I working
cooperatively in many areas, e.g.
1 Pet 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,To God’s
elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have
been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be
obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
2 Cor 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
Creation is ascribed to God (Gen 1:1), Jesus (Col.
1:16), Holy Spirit (Gen 1:2, Ps 104:30)

“All three act in unity, one God in three
persons, equal in essence though
distinct in function”
Tony Evans
Evans suggests the best image of
the Trinity is that of a family:
“...a woman and a man who are one,
and children who bear the same
essence as mum and dad”


Conclusion
This is the God we are learning of, the one we
should long to know;
1 Tim 1:17
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible,
the only God, be honor and glory for ever and
ever. Amen.
(TM) Deep honor and bright glory to the
King of All Time— One God, Immortal,
Invisible, ever and always. Oh, yes!


Responding to the
Nature of God
Evans makes 4 helpful points in how we
respond to God’s nature - the transcendent,
eternal, spirit, immutable, triune God:
1. Let God be God - Let God do what God
wants in God’s way - don’t say “God would
never allow that”, “How could God bless that
person?” etc.


2. Don’t make bargains
with God - such as “I’ll do
this if God does that” - don’t
make deals with God.
3. Don’t think that the
better your
performance the more
God will love you - you are
already complete in Christ, you
don’t have to work harder for
his acceptance - serve him out
of love and gratitude

4. Make knowing God a priority - this
might mean saying no to other things, even
‘good’ things - accept God’s invitation to come
closer.


Theology 1 - God Father 1

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