(February 05, 2016)
God is the single, eternal, self existing, pure & completely righteous spirit being!
This subject is one of the most controversial in all of history. Aside from debates about the existence of God, human beings contend for and against God in form and substance, character and integrity, and yes representation through religious interpretations.
This first On-Point for Christ article will speak about who God (the Father) is based on what we know. These are foundational truths.
We understand who He is based upon the word He has spoken about Himself and that word is our authority.
We will not discuss who God is not.
With the correct information a person can know who God is or is not.
Recognize that these evidences which we are providing must come from a source; in other words; if they are simply “made-up” then there would be no reason for them to be taught.
The Holy Bible is, and must be our reference material.
The Holy Bible is the only “word” of God. It consists of two “books” or testaments; the first being the Tanakh (which includes the Torah or “teaching”), the second book is the New Testament (which includes the Gospel or “good news”).
Let no one deceive you; if you want to know God, the Jewish / Christian Holy Bible is the only source; it is Gods’ letter to mankind. Note, that some people would state that the Bible can tell us everything we want to know; it answers all questions. I would offer that the Bible tells us everything God wants us to know, about Himself, the world we live in, and how we are to conduct our personal lives.
Let us replace skepticism with a desire for truth, and pride with humility; come with me and learn.
To begin with here is a short-list to facilitate an orderly account of some of the things God has told us about Himself.
1. The statement below the title of our article is affirmed in the Holy Bible (Exodus 3:14). God declares His self existence in the ultimate form of conscious affirmation “I am”. No human being has ever been able to proclaim this. Perhaps after many years of living and learning a person might presume to say that they know themselves; however I would challenge this as wishful thinking. We certainly are not born with complete self consciousness. Anyone who has seen an infant exploring in amazement their own hand knows that a process of learning is in effect; their hand is a foreign object until they realize that they have control and authority over it. God has never had the need to learn anything great or small about Himself. He has always comprehended fully who He is.
2. God is the only completely “true” (pure) spirit being (Deuteronomy 32:4) ever to exist, and He has existed, and will exist forever… He is eternal (Psalm 90:2). This is one of many attributes offered from God about Himself that goes beyond our ability to reconcile it to our own understanding.
3. God is a “spirit being”; He has all the attributes of a living, thinking, feeling individual. Many modern theologians and scholars have tried to balance Gods’ existence within the limits of our physical domain, and since they cannot achieve this there is a strong tendency to come up with a compromised definition. The framework for such a definition is a permutation of human ideas that have been an element of our own processes of learning. The spiritual realm is hidden from our eyes, and our current corrupted condition prevents us from seeing through the veil that blinds us from the truth. With a veil impeding our understanding of the spiritual reality around us, the facts we need to understand in order to know who God is are incomplete and our learning is tainted.
4. God is the creator “being” of everything that we humans know to exist. There is not one element found or unfound, no particle seen or unseen, or any dimension real or perceived that God did not bring into existence (or not!). All that is seen or realized has been brought into existence through God, and for Gods’ purposes… Including the human race. (Genesis 1:1 & Revelation 4:11)
This is a strong starting place with statements that offer clarity if we do not add to them and assurance if we accept and believe them.
These are foundational truths and when left intact they dispel many false claims and teachings that are being promoted by high-thinkers in our modern world. These want to teach us their great wisdom and as stated above this knowledge is human born; it has many elements that are opinion based and is limited in its depth.
The equation has many missing parts so the science is incomplete and faulty. The basis for understanding who God is comes completely from Him and the only requirement for this comprehension is a form of respect that we know as “faith”. Even the words I am sharing with you in this article will cause some people to bock and rebel in their hearts which closes the (God given) door to understanding. The Holy Bible is a mysterious and masterful gift to mankind; it is capable of revealing the nature of a persons’ spiritual condition… are they alive, or dead? Do they desire a relationship with God or their own independence apart from Him?
God is self aware; He needs no one to affirm Him so as to prove His existence. God is completely true, which means He is not only devoid of any falsehood in any way, he is also entirely complete. God does not need to grow physically or in wisdom, He does not lack in any single thing… He is Holy! God is a “spirit being” in every way that we humans are “beings” with major important differences; God has attributes that are completely pure, completely true, and completely just. Gods’ attributes exceed the created universe that He has brought into existence…
We cannot fully comprehend the very small realm of existence that God has assigned to us, let alone the depths and majesty of the sovereign of all things. There are many aspects of who God is that He does not reveal to us, and it is in our nature to desire answers to all of our questions. Often times without an answer to certain questions we become rebellious in our hearts and minds, and this rebellion is not going to fly with God… He demands a relationship which is in-line with His own means and methods. God has a right to demand certain things from His creation; we humans need to accept this… He is God, we are not!
God has brought about (created) everything that humans have ever perceived and everything that is in existence.
We humans imitate Him in our own efforts to be creator beings with many major disparities. Two of these are that we lack perfect wisdom and are inherently unrighteous!
The purpose for offering this testimony is to entice others to desire the same blessing I myself have received; this is the joy of being a member of Gods’ family.
The command of God is not so much as to “believe in Him”; as it is to “believe Him”. Belief in God is planted deep within the hearts of every human He has ever created… Believing God is a gift given to the person who does not deny the first truth; God Is!
We will further explore these truths in “Who is God? (Part Two)”