An Introduction to God

Who is God ?          Who is your Creator ?              Who is your Life Giver ?                  Who is the Giver of Eternal Life ?                     The basis for our faith is the Bible, God’s Word                         WHY THE GOD OF THE BIBLE? Most religions can be traced back to one founder/writer. Some of these founder/writers claimed that they have been given a revelation by their god, gods, or by an angel. The Bible, however, was written by about forty writers (mostly prophets who came from a variety of professional backgrounds) not just one prophet or messenger. These writers told much about the God of the Bible, and of future events that He would bring to pass. Although written separately and over such a great period of time (about fifteen hundred years), the books of Bible present a balanced, unified work – it all fits together – as written by one author. A large collection of ancient scrolls was discovered near the Dead Sea which contained ancient books of the Bible and non-Biblical books. Through the process of carbon dating, it has been discovered that these scrolls were written long before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Textually and doctrinally, these books are the same as those which are in the Bible today. Thus, the Dead Sea Scrolls verify the authenticity of those Bible books which were written before the church age.

Some of these Bible prophecies:

Israel prophesied to be in Egyptian bondage for 400 years with the promise to return afterward.

Genesis 15:13 And He (the LORD) said unto Abram, Know assuredly, that your seed (children) shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

(Prophesied approximately 2,000 years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth)

Israel prophesied to be removed from the land and to be in Babylonian bondage for 70 years, with the promise to return afterward.

Jeremiah 25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, says the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. Jeremiah 29:10 For thus says the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

(written by the prophet Jeremiah approximately 585 - 627 years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth)

Israel prophesied to become a nation once again. Following the revolt against the Roman rule, Israel was again removed from the land, and dispersed, this time by the Romans. One of the most unbelievable of fulfilled ancient prophecies in the Bible is that Israel would become a nation once again:

Isaiah 66:8 “Who has heard such a thing? who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 9. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? says the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? says your God.”

(written by the prophet Isaiah approximately 680 – 740 years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth) (This prophecy was fulfilled on May 14, 1948 - after almost two thousand years of dispersion)

A Prophet like Moses.

Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD your God will raise up unto you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like unto me; unto him you shall hear:

(written by the Moses approximately 1440 years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth) (this is quoted in: Acts 3:22,23 , Acts 7:37)

Acts 7:35 This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. 36. He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. 37. This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall you hear.

(Jesus came to deliver us out of the bondage of sin by many wonders and signs.)

For many other prophecies, please see the study below:
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES AND FULFILLMENT.

The basis for our faith is the Bible, God’s Word – by inspiration of God ( dictated to, or breathed into, the writers ).

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at various times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, II Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. II Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

There are foundational principles and truths in the Bible which must be covered in order to really grasp other truths.

Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2. Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3. And this will we do, if God permit.

The first foundational principle and truth presented in the Bible is that God is the Creator, and He spoke everything into existance:

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

(written by Paul the Apostle about 1,500 years after Moses wrote the book of Genesis)

GENESIS 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

(This is the first mention of the Holy Spirit in the Bible)

1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament (sky) in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creeps upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

In the rest of 2nd chapter of Genesis, we learn more detail of how God made Adam and Eve, and how they sinned, and how He covered them in animal skins (the first blood sacrifice for sin).        BECAUSE:

Heb.9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (forgivness).

In Genesis chapters 6 - 8 we find the story of Noah. God cannot abide sin so He saved one family from the FLOOD, cleansing the earth from sin.

Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repents me that I have made them. 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Genesis 9 - After the flood was finished, and the ark made landfall, God made a covenant (legal agreement) with Noah that He would not destroy the with a flood again ! But sin was back into the picture before the end of the chapter ! Genesis 17 – God makes His covenant (legal agreement) with Abraham.

Genesis 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed (children) after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto you, and to your seed (children) after you. 17:8 And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land wherein you art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

Genesis 26– God makes His covenant with Abraham's son Isaac, then in chapter 28 makes it with Isaac's son Jacob.

Genesis 28:12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 28:13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed; 28:14 And your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in you and in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 28:15 And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you in all places where you go, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken to you of.

Jacob (whose name was later changed, by God, to Israel) and his descendants ended up in Egypt for 400 years God spoke to Moses from within the burning bush and called him to lead the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt back to the chosen land. God sent many miraculous plagues to make Pharaoh release Israel, and finally parted the Red Sea to get Israel to escape the Egyptians. He personally led them (His people) by a pillar of cloud by day and by a column of fire by night. Sinful man could not stand to be in God’s presence.     Once they saw Moses' face and heard all the noise coming from the mountain, the people told Moses to go talk to God, and they would wait for him . God gave Moses His Law, and God Himself carved the TEN COMMANDMENTS, with His finger, into stone!

Have you ever put anything before God in your life (a loved one, a job, money, a hobby?) Have you ever taken the Lord's name in vain? Have you always kept the Sabbath Day? Have you ever disrespected your parents? Have you ever taken something that didn't belong to you? Did you ever lie? Have you ever desired something that was someone else's?

These TEN COMMANDMENTS had to be kept without fail, or, ultimately, the judgement was death. So, God gave the Hebrews a way to have their sins covered. This was accomplished by a sacrifice of blood - the sin sacrifice. Also, there was the trespass offering for unknown sins, another sacrifice of blood. In addition, on the Day of Atonement, only once every year, there was the special sacrifice for all of sins of the entire nation:

Hebrews 9:7 But into the second (the Holy of Holies) went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

Some names of God in the OLD TESTAMENT signifying His character, and how He acts toward His people:

Jehovahjireh (the LORD who provides) - Genesis 22:14 … for I am the LORD that heals you. - Exodus.15:26 that you may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you (make holy) . - Exodus.31:13 Jehovah-shalom (The LORD is PEACE) - Judges 6:24 LORD of hosts - I Samuel 1:3 the LORD most high. - Ps.7:17 The LORD is my shepherd - Psalms 23:1

Various Attributes of God:

For I am the LORD your God: you shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy: … - Leviticus 11:44 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endures for ever. - I-Chronicles 16:34

repeated 40 more times in the Old Testament

I am the LORD, I change not - Malachi 3:6 Psalm 23 1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leades me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: you anointed my head with oil; my cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow* me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

*Follow in Hebrew - to run after, chase, pursue, hunt – God’s view and action in order to give you HIS goodness and mercy

God personally spoke to some people since the garden of eden. Over 100 times the prophets said something similar to "the word of the LORD came unto me, saying..." (most notably, to the prophets Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel.)

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at various times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

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The Gospel of John chapter one 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lightens every man that comes into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten (born) of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Colossians chapter one 16 For by him (Jesus - see verse 13) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Hebrews chapter one 1 God, who at various times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

We know that Jesus healed all who came to Him and asked – He made the deaf to hear, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, made the lame to walk, raised the dead, … He had compassion, and He forgave sins, but He also upped the level of understanding of what sin is.

Matthew chapter five – Jesus talking… 5:21 You have heard that it was said of them of old time, you shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca (you worthless thing), shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, you fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. I John.3:15 Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer: and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. Mt.12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. Mk.3:29, Lk.12:10 I CORINTHIANS 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Revelation 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.

Various Attributes of God

I Jn.4:8 … for God is love. II Pet.3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering (patience) to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Heb.13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Jn.3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. Jn.3:18 He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten (born) Son of God.

Jesus came to be the only acceptable sin sacrifice for everyone - sent by God the Father to be the perfect, required sacrifice of blood to wash us from our sin.

The Almighty Creator of the universe will, by His Holy Spirit, come inside of anyone who opens the door to Him. He will forgive all their sin, and will begin to have communication with them through His Word. The church has used this verse to bring the lost to Christ, but it was said by Jesus to the lukewarm church of Laodicea. This means that God (who doesn’t change) has, in His full power, taken residence in all believers. We tend to forget that and take our eyes off Him when we go through our daily lives or when things don’t go as we would like.

Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself also in the LORD: and he shall give you the desires of your heart. PROVERBS 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

God does not change and still talks to His people (through His Word). And, He still performs miracles for His people. God will not lead you with a pillar of fire and cloud, but will work in the lives of His people as we trust Him…..

If this is new to you, and if I have possibly stirred your interest, then you might want to check out some of our other Scripture Studies.

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