“Who Is God?”

Introduction to Bible Study Outline #2

The Bible reveals God as the only Infinite and Eternal Being, having no beginning and no ending. He is Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is the Supreme Personal Intelligence, and Righteous Ruler of His universe. He is life, and therefore, the only source of life (John 5:26).

Man is natural and cannot know God by wisdom. "Can you discover the depths of God?" (Job 11-7 OT). God is a person and can be known only by revelation. In the Old Testament He revealed Himself to and through His prophets. In the New Testament He reveals Himself through His Son Jesus Christ (Heb. 1 1-3).

Proceed to the Index of Bible Study Outline #2 to continue your study.

Index of Bible Study Outline #2

  1. The Existence of God
    Read: Heb. 11:5, 6
  2. The Personality of God
    Read: I Thess. 1:9
  3. The Nature of God
    Read: 1 John 4:8
  4. The Grace of God
    Read: Eph. 2:8, 9
  5. The Trinity of God
    Read: Matt. 3:16, 17

I. The Existence of God
Read: Heb. 11:5, 6

The Bible nowhere attempts to prove or argue the existence of God. "For he who comes to God must believe that He is.” The existence of God is a fact taken for granted by the writers of both the Old and New Testaments. "In the beginning God" (Gen. 1:1 OT). The Bible opens by announcing the sublime fact of God and His existence. There are arguments for the existence of God-they are not conclusive, but are food for thought:

  • Universal belief in God comes from within man. It is innate in man, and comes from rational intuition.
  • The argument from "cause and effect.” Everything that began owes its existence to a cause. We have a watch we must have a watchmaker. We have a building; we must have a builder. We have a creation; then we must have a creator. This creation could not have come into existence without an intelligent, personal creator anymore than the alphabet could produce a book itself without an author.
  • The argument from anthropology. Man's moral and intellectual nature argues for a moral and intellectual creator.
  • The Bible and the Christ that it reveals, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His vicarious death, and His bodily resurrection, all of this and much, much more, argue for the existence of God.

II. The Personality of God
Read: I Thess. 1:9

The Bible reveals God as a personality. He is called "... a living and true God", One possessing self-consciousness and self-determination. His personality is shown in what He does, such as: God loves, "God so loved the world ..." (John 3-16).

  • God hates. "There are six things which the Lord hates ..." (Prov. 6:16 OT).
  • God cares. "He cares for you ...” (1 Pet. 5:7).
  • God grieves. "He was grieved in His heart ..." (Gen. 6 6 OT).

Only a personality can hate, care, and grieve; therefore, God must be a living, eternal, and personal being.

III. The Nature of God
Read: 1 John 4:8

There are four definitions of God in the Bible. Since God cannot be defined, they are incomplete. However, they do throw light upon the nature of God. They are:

  • "God is love" (1 John 4:8). This is the nature of God in His divine compassion.
  • "God is light" (1 John 1:5). This is the nature of God in His divine character; in Him there is no darkness.
  • "God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). This is the nature of God in His divine holiness.
  • "God is spirit" (John 4:24). This is the nature of God in His divine essence.

The attributes of God reveal His nature. Do not think of His attributes as abstract, but as vital mediums through which His holy nature is unveiled, attributes ascribed to Him, such as:

  • Life is ascribed to God (John 5:26).
  • All knowledge is ascribed to God (Ps. 147:5 OT).
  • All power is ascribed to God (Rev. 19:6).
  • Filling the universe with His presence is ascribed to God (Ps. 139:1-10 OT).

God is everywhere present, but He is not in everything. If God were in everything, man could worship any object and he would be worshipping God. God is a spirit being. "And those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

IV. The Grace of God
Read: Eph. 2:8, 9

Grace is the love and mercy of God in action. Mercy is negative, and love is positive; both together mean grace. To show mercy in love is grace. God showed mercy m love when He sent His Son to bear our sins in His own body on the cross (John 3:16).

  • The grace of God saves forever (Rom. 8:38, 39).
  • The grace of God is unconditional; that is, we are not saved on the condition that we "hold out unto the end" or that we “fail not" or that we “do our best.” We are saved by the grace of God, apart from works.
  • The grace of God is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9).
  • The grace of God makes no discrimination (Rev. 22:17).
  • The grace of God justifies (Rom. 3:23, 24).
  • The grace of God makes every believer an heir (Titus 3:7).
  • The grace of God teaches the believer how to live (Titus 2:11,12).

The grace of God is nothing less than the unlimited love of God expressed in the gift of His Son, our Savior. It is the undeserved love of God toward sinners.

V. The Trinity of God
Read: Matt. 3:16, 17

By the Trinity of God we mean His tri-personal existence as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three distinct Persons in one God.

  • The Father is recognized as God (1 Pet. 1:2) and all the fullness of the Godhead invisible (John 1 18).
  • The Son is recognized as God (Heb. 1:8) and is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested in the flesh (John 1:14).
  • The Holy Spirit is recognized as God (Acts 5:3, 4) and is all the fullness of the Godhead acting upon man, convicting him of sin (John 16:7-11) and guiding the believer into all truth (John 16:12-15).
  • The doctrine of the Trinity is not explicit in the Old Testament, but is rather implied, "Then God said, Let Us make man ...” (Gen. 1:26 OT).
  • The doctrine of the Trinity is revealed in the New Testament. In the above Scripture (Matt. 3:16, 17) we have Christ being baptized in water, the Father speaking from heaven, and the Holy Spirit descending as a dove. We are to baptize in the "name (not names) of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19).
  • Even creation implies the doctrine of the Trinity. In creation, we have space, matter, and time in one creation. In space, we have length, breadth, and height in one space. In matter, we have energy, motion, and phenomenon in one substance. In time, we have past, present, and future in one time. In man, we have body, soul, and spirit in one man (1 Thess. 5:23).
  • In the Holy Trinity, we have Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in one God.

Proceed to Bible Study Outline #3