Hi, I'm David Feddes. And this is lesson two, in our course on Christian basics, and this lesson  is about God. I'm David Feddes, the presenter of the material and I'm presenting material  written by Dr. Ed Roels along with some comments and observations of my own. Introduction.  For many people, the word God does not mean very much, they do not know who God is or  what he has done. They do not know whether there is only one God or many gods or whether  there's any God at all. They may have some general ideas about God and may even use his  name in their ordinary conversation. But they definitely do not know Him. And they aren't at  all sure that there is that it is even possible to know anything about him. They are not terrified by his awesome holiness, they are not afraid of his perfect justice, and they are not comforted by his gracious promises. They have no idea whether or not God knows any more about them  than they know about him. And they have no idea how to find out whether God truly exists or  not, he definitely does not have a significant place in their present life, or in their plans for the future. In this lesson, you'll learn some of the things the Bible teaches us about the one true  God, whether or not you believe what the Bible says, you'll at least learn what the Bible  teaches.  

Question one, who is God? God is the creator of the world and the source of all life. There are  many things that can be said about God, but that is among the most basic, he is the one for  whom all things come. Scripture references, Acts 17:24-25, the God who made the world and  everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, gives to all mankind life and breath and  everything. Nehemiah 9:6, You are the Lord you alone, you have made heaven, the heaven of  heavens, with all their hosts, the earth, and all that is on it, the seas, and all that is in them,  and you preserve all of them. And the host of heaven, worships you, the host of heaven,  being the angels. So God has made all of the angels he's made everything in the universe. He is the source of all, as it says, In Psalm 36. Lord, with you is the fountain of life. He is the  source of all that is and all that lives.  

Question two, how many true gods are there? There are millions of so called gods in the  world, but there is only one true God who is worthy of our worship and praise. Some religions  literally do have hundreds of 1000s, or even millions of Gods others have multiple gods if not  millions, others have no personal God, but only an impersonal power. But if you just ask the  question, how many true gods are there? The answer is one. Isaiah 45:5, the Lord says, I am  the Lord, and there is no other besides me, there is no God. Isaiah 44:6, Thus says the Lord,  the Lord of hosts, I am the first and I am the last besides me, there is no God. Isaiah 43:10-11, before me, no God was formed, nor shall there be any after me, I am the Lord. And besides  me, there is no savior. And God says this again, and again. And again. In this particular cluster of chapters. In Isaiah, He says, I am God, and there is no other I am God and there is none like me, turned to me and be saved all you ends of the earth for I am God, and there is no other.  

Question three. How has God made himself known to us? God has made himself known to  people in many ways. One of the ways he's revealed himself to people around the world is  through his work of creation. Scripture references, Psalm 19:1-4 says, The heavens declare  

the glory of God and the skies above, proclaim His handiwork, day to day pours out speech,  and night tonight reveals knowledge, their voice goes out through all the earth, and their  words to the end of the world. So no matter where you are in the world, God's works and his  skies and his Heavens are speaking of him. Romans 1:20, says, God's invisible attributes,  namely, his eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the  creation of the world in the things that have been made. So people are without excuse for not  knowing and worshiping God. God has displayed power, majesty, wisdom, splendor, glory, in  the things that he has made, and the creation is great evidence and pointer to the reality of  God.  

Question four, is there any other way in which God has made himself known to us? Yes, God  frequently spoke to prophets and others so that they would know His will for their lives. He  also provided them with comfort, encouragement, guidance and other information that he 

wanted them to have. Those who received messages from God often wrote them down so that others could also benefit from them. Many of those written messages were collected together  in the Holy Bible. So over a period of years, you had these revelations, these truths that God  revealed, and many of those were written down, and then collected in the scriptures,  Scripture references. Hebrews 1:1 says long ago, at many times, and in many ways, God  spoke to our fathers, by the prophets. In Luke 24:44-45, Jesus said, everything written about  Me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled, then he opened  their minds, to understand the scriptures. So before Jesus came, there was the law of Moses,  the Prophets, the Psalms, all these writings that were written down of God's revelation. And  then Jesus opened people's minds to understand those, John 14:26, Jesus says, The Helper,  the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and will  bring to your remembrance, all that I have said to you. So Jesus comes as the supreme  prophet, and revelation of God as well as the Son of God. And then his Holy Spirit is going to  teach and remind people of all that God has said in the past, and make it apply to them in the present.  

Question five, how has God revealed Himself to us most clearly, God has revealed himself  most clearly and fully in His Son, Jesus Christ. Scripture references Hebrews 1:2, remember  Hebrews 1:1 said, God revealed Himself to the prophets and many times in various ways, in  these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son, John 1:18 says, no one has ever seen God,  the only God who is at the father's side, that is Jesus, he has made him known Colossians  1:15, says Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. So Jesus is the  one who makes God known. Jesus is the one that is God's final word, the one whom he speaks through most clearly, he is the image, the one in whom God becomes in a sense visible to us.  

Question six, what does the Bible teach us about the holiness of God? God himself is perfectly holy free from imperfection or fault of any kind in his person, and in his dealings with others,  because of his own holiness, He also requires and demands that we also must be holy.  Further, His Holiness requires that all actions thoughts and words which are not holy, must be  punished, in one way or another. So God's holiness is His perfection, his absolute purity and  freedom from sin. There's another sense in which God is holy in the sense that he is just set  apart and totally different from anything that has been made. He is utterly other from  everything in the universe, but we understand God's holiness also to imply simply there is no  sin or any wrongdoing in him. Bible references in Isaiah 6 the prophet Isaiah has a vision of  God and his glory, and of his angel hosts worshiping Him and they never stopped crying, holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of Hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. Psalm 99:9 says, exalt  the Lord for the Lord our God is holy. I Samuel 2:2 says, There is none holy like the Lord.  Habakkuk 1:13, says, You who are a pure eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong. The  Bible says that without holiness, no one can see the Lord because God is holy, and he does  not allow what is unholy to come to know Him.  

Question seven, what does the Bible teach about the goodness and grace of God? God gives  us both material and spiritual blessings in abundance. All that we receive from God is given  because of his kindness and grace, and not because of anything we merit or deserve.  Sometimes in our life when something goes wrong, we say, Why me as though we deserved  all the good things that happened to us. But the fact is anything good that happens to us is a  result of God's goodness and giving us what we don't deserve. Scripture references, Psalm  103:2-5 says, Bless the Lord, oh my soul and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your  iniquity, who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the  eagle's. Psalm 145:9 says the Lord is good to all. And his mercy is over all he has made. Psalm 145:14,19 says, The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down he fulfills the desire of those who fear him. He also hears their cry and saves them. Acts 14:17  says of God, he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your  hearts with food and gladness. So the goodness and the generosity of God is revealed again 

and again in the Bible, and it is experienced again and again. Every time we eat a meal. Every time we see beauty. Every time we draw a breath, every time something enjoyable happens,  we are tasting a gift of God's goodness.  

Question Eight. Does God forgive the sins of those who truly repent? Yes, though God himself  is perfectly holy and wants us to live holy and obedient lives. He is also slow to anger,  merciful and forgiving. When we are genuinely sorry for our sins and ask God to forgive us. He graciously does so. Here are some scripture references for those wonderful truths. Psalm  103:8-12 says, the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast  love. He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever. He does not deal with us  according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are  above the earth. So great is His steadfast love toward those who fear him. As far as the east  is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 86:15, says, you,  oh Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and  faithfulness. Micah 7:18 says Who is a God like you pardoning iniquity and passing over  transgression? He does not retain his anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love.  

Question Nine, does God forgive those who do not love him? Or trust him, or repent of their  sins? No. God is a God of mercy and love. But he's also a God of justice and holiness, and will  punish those who do not repent of their sins. Here's a story about a person who was a  notorious unbeliever and lived a very wicked life. And then he was lying on his deathbed. And  someone asked him if he was at all concerned about what would happen to him after death.  And he said, No, the good, God will forgive me that is his job. No, for someone who does not  repent, and who does not seek God, do not plan on being forgiven, because God though is  quick and eager to forgive will not forgive the unrepentant. Scripture references. Exodus 34:6- 7, is a tremendous revelation of God's character and his kindness and and patience and love  but notice how it ends. It begins by saying the Lord the Lord, Yahveh, Yahveh, the I Am the I  am a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and  faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for 1000s, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.  But who will by no means clear the guilty? Romans 2:5 says, because of your heart and  impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's  righteous judgment will be revealed. Ephesians 5:5-6 says, you may be sure of this that  everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetousness, that is an idolater, has  no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words.  For because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience, that this  does not mean that anybody who commits those particular sins is lost forever. It is someone  who commits them will not repent of them persists in them, and then expects to get off the  hook. No. If you harden your heart and continue in your wicked ways, and do not ask God's  forgiveness, then you will not be forgiven.  

Question 10 What does the Bible teach about the love of God? Though God must punish the  sins of those who do not truly repent his love is far greater than we can measure, or even  imagine. Psalm 103:11, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His  steadfast love for those who fear him. Psalm 36 says, Your love oh Lord reaches to the  heavens, John 3:16, those wonderful words of Jesus, For God so loved the world, that He gave  His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  Psalm 86:5, for you, oh, Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who  call upon you. I John 4:8, and then repeat it again, a few verses later, God is love. In the last  part of Ephesians chapter 3, there's a prayer of the apostle Paul for all believers, and he prays that being rooted and established in love, you may have power together with all the saints to  grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that  surpasses knowledge. To know God, ultimately, is to know a love that is beyond all knowing.  When we talk about various truths and realities of God, much can be said, but nothing higher  can be said than the fact that God is love. 

Question 11. Was there ever a time when God did not exist? No, though we cannot  understand the eternity of God, the Bible clearly teaches that God did not have a beginning  and he will never have an end. He is from everlasting, to everlasting. Scripture references,  Psalm 90:2, Before the mountains were brought forth or ever you formed the Earth in the  world, from everlasting to everlasting. You are God. Isaiah 40:28, says, The Lord is the  everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. I Timothy 1:17, says, To the King of the  ages, immortal, invisible, the only God be honor and glory, forever and ever, amen. This is a  tremendous truth about God that he never started, he never ends, he is, always was, always  will be.  

Question 12 Is it possible for us to see God? No, at times God did assume a physical form  which made him visible to people he was talking to. But he is an eternal spiritual being that  cannot be seen by human eyes. Human eyes are designed to see physical things, and God is  not a physical thing. Therefore human eyes cannot see what is non physical. John 4:24, Jesus  says God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit, and in truth. I John 4:12,  says, no one has ever seen God. I Timothy 6:16, says God dwells in unapproachable light,  whom no one has ever seen, or can see. Now, sometimes God did appear in a visible form,  but those who saw that form should not think that that's really all there is to God. That there's also a sense in which we can be said to see God but that's language of word pictures or  metaphor in the Bible. There's a prayer in Ephesians chapter one, that God will open the eyes  of our heart. You can see God with the eyes of your heart, as your heart and your spirit are in  tune with him and perceive him, showing Himself to you and communicating with you but  that's not the same as seeing a physical object with your physical eyes. When you have that  spiritual enlightenment of the eyes of your heart. There is something that kind of can be  called seeing, but it is different to then seeing with your physical eyeball, the Bible says  Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. So we can perceive God. And we desire  to see him in that sense, but our eyes will not see God as He is in himself because God as He  is in himself is not a physical or bodily thing.  

Question 13 is God's power limited in any way? No, God is all powerful and is able to do  whatever he chooses to do. This attribute of God is referred to as His omnipotence. Omni  means everything. potence means power, power to do everything, or almighty. Now, some  people dream up stuff like could God make a rock that he can't lift? Well, you say, well, then I  just showed you something God can't do because if he could make the rock and can't lift it,  then he can't lift the rock. And but if you can't make a rock, you can't lift well, then he can't  do that. Well, the fact is, you're just talking nonsense. God can make a rock of any size that  he chooses to make. And it's impossible to describe or to even make sense of a saying of God  doing something that makes it impossible for him to do it. Another thing to keep in mind when we say that God can do anything, is that God can do anything he chooses to do. The Bible  says God cannot lie. Simply because he will never choose to lie. It goes against his nature  goes against his character, but there is nothing that limits his power. That's the point. The  only thing that directs God's power is his character, and his wisdom, not any limits on what  he's able to do. He is omnipotent. All my scripture references Psalm 135:6 says, whatever the  Lord pleases, he does in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all deeps, Mark 10:27, all  things says, Jesus are possible with God. Psalm 115:3, our God is in the heavens. He does all  that he pleases. Jeremiah 32:17, ah, Lord God, it is you who have made the heavens and the  earth, by your great power, and by your outstretched arm, nothing is too hard for you. There's a story at the beginning of the book of Luke, where we read about Zechariah, a priest, and the angel Gabriel comes to him, and says to him, that his wife is going to get pregnant in her old  age and have a son who is going to be John the Baptist, a great preacher, and a blessing and  a joy to many. And Zechariah says, How can this be? And Gabriel has Zechariah just struck  silent for the nine months of the pregnancy? Because I stand in the presence of God says  Gabriel, and you didn't believe this testimony? Is anything too hard for God? So God's  almighty power is absolute bedrock truth in the Bible, God can do whatever he wants. 

Question 14, is God able to be in more than one place at the same time? Yes, God is always  present everywhere. This too, is something we cannot fully comprehend. But the Bible makes  it very clear that there is no place where we can hide from God or flee from God. This  attribute of God is called his omnipresence. Remember, Omni means all and presence? Well,  that means he's there. Wherever you go. He's there. He's present, everywhere. Scripture  references, Psalm 139:7-8, where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your  presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed and Sheol you are there?  Proverbs 15:3, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the  good. Jeremiah 23:24, can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him  declares the Lord? Do I not fill heaven and earth? In the book of Jonah, we read about a  prophet who did not want to go to the city of Nineveh, because he hated that city, and it was  a very nasty city. And so Jonah fled, that he wanted to flee from the presence of the Lord and  he headed the opposite direction. And he went on a on a boat and sailed away, but he  couldn't get away from God and God sent a storm and a great wind. God eventually had Jonah thrown overboard, then God sent a great fish. The great fish came along and swallowed  Jonah, and he was in there for three days, and then he spit Jonah back out on the land Jonah  tried to run from God doesn't work. You can't get away from God, because God is everywhere. If you could take a spaceship if you had warp speed travel like they do in some science fiction, you couldn't get away from God because God dwells throughout his whole universe. He made  the whole thing and he upholds that every moment by His power so you can be sure he is  there.  

Question 15, Is there anything that God does not know? No, God knows everything about  everyone everywhere. He not only knows what we say and do, but he also knows our  thoughts and desires. He knows the past and he knows the future. There is absolutely nothing hidden from God. This attribute of God is called His omniscience, Omni, all science knowing.  God is the greatest scientist, he knows everything. Just absolute total knowledge of all things  past, present and future knowledge of everything. At a subatomic particle level. He knows the smallest elements of every atom, he knows the name of every star says the Bible. He knows  every galaxy, no matter how big, no matter how tiny, no matter how far in the past, no matter how distant in the future, no matter how much hidden in our heart, it might be, no matter  what we are thinking, God knows because God is omniscient. Scripture references Psalm  139:1-4, oh, Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know, when I sit down and when I rise up, You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down, and  are acquainted with all my ways, even before a word is on my tongue. Behold, oh, Lord, you  know it all together. Isaiah 46:9-10 says, I am God and there is none like me. I make known  the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come? You see what God's  saying there. He says, In ancient times, I tell you the future, nobody else can do that. Because I know everything. I John 3:20, God is greater than our heart. And He knows everything, pretty well covers it, he knows everything. Hebrews 4:13. No creature is hidden from God's sight.  But all are naked, and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. We read  when Jesus was on earth, that He knew what people were thinking, even apart from them,  saying it, Jesus disciples said to him, now we can see that you know, all things that you do not even need to have anyone asked you questions. Jesus just knew, because he had that divine  knowledge of God.  

Question 16 Does God rule over the entire world, or only part of it? God is the sovereign Lord.  That means he's the one in charge who rules over the entire world. Though there are many  human rulers who exercise authority over parts of the world. God has ultimate authority over  every person, every ruler, Every kingdom and every nation. He has always been Lord overall.  And he always will be. Scripture references Deuteronomy 4:39, the Lord is God in heaven  above, and on the earth beneath there is no other. I Chronicles 29:11, yours, oh Lord is the  greatness and the power and the glory and the victory. And the majesty, for all that is in the  heavens, and in the earth is yours, yours is the kingdom, oh, Lord, and you are exalted as  head above all. Psalm 47:2, for the Lord, the Most High is to be feared, a great king over all 

the earth. The Lord doesn't rule, just one patch of ground, or one area of life, he rules it all.  There's a story in the Old Testament in the time of the kings, where there's a battle, and God  helps his people Israel to win that battle. And the losing army gets together and their  commanders say to one another, what went wrong? And they say, Well, you know, what, we  fought in the wrong place. There. God is a God of the hills and mountains, but he's not a god  of the plains. And we were stupid enough to have this battle with those people in the hills.  What we're going to do is this, we're going to have exact same battle plan, exact same  formations, exact same number commanders, but we're going to engage them in battle, this  time on the plains where our God has more clout, and the God of Israel is weaker. So they got  together, they follow that plan on the plains, and they got pounded in that battle too. Because God is not just God of the hills, he's God to the plains, and he's God of everything else.  Sometimes people make the error of saying, you know, I want to have a patron saint who  looks after my country, or a patron saint who looks after this particular occupation. And so I'm going to pray to that patron saint. No, the Bible says we should never try to communicate  with the dead in the first place. But secondly, why would you talk to a patron saint when you  can go straight to the top? God is not just the God of this little area of life or that thing, and  he doesn't need a patron saint to tell him what to do. He's God overall. And when you pray to  God, you pray to him about anything whatsoever, because he's not just sovereign over this or that, but over everything.  

Question 17, May we make images or pictures of God to help us worship him? No, God does  not want us to make idols of any kind. No idol can begin to represent the eternal and invisible  God, or help us worship God in the way he wants us to worship him. Idols always lead people  away from God, and never draw them closer to him. The people of Israel after God delivered  them from Egypt got impatient, while Moses was up on Mount Sinai, receiving the 10  commandments, he'd been gone for 40 days. And so they urged Aaron Moses brother, to  make them a God. And so Aaron made a golden calf as an image. And then he said, This is the God who brought you out of Egypt. He didn't say this is a brand new god that you've never  heard of before. He said, Now this is a visible representation of that great God who brought  you out of Egypt? Did God feel good about that? Because they were saying, Yeah, you know,  we're not saying there's a different god, this is just kind of a picture or an image. But we're  still talking about the real God. God was furious about that golden calf, and later in Israel's  history, they did the same thing, where they would say they were worshipping the real God,  but then they would make images of him. And they did that to make it easier to visualize, to  see him and easier to control. Because the nice thing about an image is you can grab it, and  move it and force it to go wherever you want it to go. And God hates every attempt to  visualize his invisible majesty and to control him. 


Question 18. Is it possible for us to understand everything about God?

No. Though we are made in the image of God and in some ways are like God, God is a spiritual and eternal being who is far greater than we will ever be able to understand. We should therefore not reject or deny things which the Bible teaches us about God simply because they are beyond our human understanding.

Scripture references, Job 11:7-9, it says, Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty, it is higher  than heaven, deeper than Sheol the realm of the dead? Its measure is longer than the Earth  and broader than the sea? How can you make an image of that? Isaiah 55:9, For as the  heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts  than your thoughts. Romans 11:33-36, Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and  knowledge of God, How unsearchable are His judgments, and how inscrutable his ways For  who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor, or who has given a gift  to him, that he might be repaid, For from Him, and through Him, and to him are all things to  him be glory, forever and ever. Amen. 

Such a great God cannot be pictured except as he has  chosen to picture himself in the person of his son. As Jesus came and lived among us in the  flesh, and all these wondrous truths of God at the end of the day, we cannot understand them fully. We cannot grasp fully who God is. All we can say is Oh, depth, oh, the majesty. And when we stop trying to figure him out, we fall to our knees, and we worship.



Last modified: Tuesday, February 27, 2024, 9:25 AM