DISCIPLESHIP
3. Who Is God?
Concept:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God is invisible; He is a Spirit. God is eternal; He has been from all eternity; He has no beginning and no end. God has all power and all authority. There is no power in heaven or on earth that has more power than God. God is all wise and all knowing; He knows everything and He has perfect wisdom. Picture the most wise and powerful person on earth; then multiply it times a million and you still only have a tiny picture of a little fraction of who God is.
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His (God’s) lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:11-12
God Loves Us
The good news is this all powerful God is loving and kind. The Bible says God is patient; He is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” He cares for us just like a perfect and wonderful father would care for his own children. God loves us and is ready to forgive our sins when we sincerely ask Jesus Christ to be our Savior. God knows what is best for us; He will lead and guide us with His loving eyes on us. And most wonderful of all, He is ready to spend all eternity with us in heaven when we truly have accepted Jesus Christ. God has prepared a wonderful place for us in heaven forever.
"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Jesus speaking) Matthew 28:18
"To me God is like..."
One thing you are not going to do in this conversation is ask them "Who is God to you?" It actually does not matter who they THINK God is. Building your own perception of God outside of who God says he is, is a post-modern adaption of "syncretism" (creating your own version of God out of mashing various idea together). The bible calls this idolatry.
"Is God Still there?"
Another big but wrong idea about God is that maybe he got all this going and then went away for some reason. This is "Deism", and again is a false idea of God. You are going to show how God is very personal, intimate and interested in their life.
God is Creator
We will show how God is the creator of all and derserves our worship. How he created man and is therefore our "Father"
God is Father
Jesus referred to God as father. We will bring a focus on the fatherhood of God and his deep, deep love for us.
What about the angry God of the Old Testament?
We are going to point out that God is indeed angry with sin, but not with us. He hates sin, but loves his creation.
Conversation Points:
Lets talk about God, who he is and who reveals himself to be.
God the Creator:
Genesis 1:1;26-27; 31 (NLT)
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth....Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
So God created human beings[d] in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!"
Colossians 1:16 (NLT)
"for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him."
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God made everything and he made it good!
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God mad man in his own image
Question: What do you think it means to be made in the image of God.
Deism is not true
God did not just wind up the clock and walk away. Look at what the Bible says about how involved he is:
Acts 17:28
"For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’"
Matthew 6:26
"Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?"
Luke 12:7
"And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows."
Jeremiah 1:5
"I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
Just as God formed Adam out of the dirt - he also states that he forms us in our mother's womb.
God is intimately and intricately involved in our lives - far more than we appreciate.
God is our Father:
Jesus calls God "Our Father"
Matthew 6:9
"Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy."
As our creator he is Father to all of humanity. But for a father to be a real father there has to be relationship.
The father sent Jesus as his "Son" to become our "brother"
Galatians 4:4-7
"But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir."
There is only One True God:
Every other "god" is not a god at all. God declares himself "I am"
Exodus 3:13-15
"But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” God replied to Moses, “I am who i am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.
This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations."
Psalm 96:5
"The gods of other nations are mere idols,
but the Lord made the heavens."
Exodus 20:2-6
“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
“You must not have any other god but me.
"You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands."
What about the idea of many ways to God?:
There is only one way to God - through Jesus Christ.
John 14:6
"Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."
What about the "Angry God" idea:
God is indeed very angry with sin, He hates it and is angry with those who choose to live in it.
Romans 1:18-20
"But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."
But that doesn't mean that he doesn't love us.
Romans 5:8
"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."
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