WHO IS GOD

WHO IS GOD?

Asking "Who is God" presupposes that there is a God and that may be a step further than you are prepared to go, so let's back it up here,

IS THERE A GOD?

You would be hard pressed to find a race of people, alive today or who ever lived, or a historical era, in which there is no clear acceptance of the idea of a god. From the farthest reaches of time, hidden in the murky shadows of a million yesterdays, the clues to the life of those ancient people that do come to light, whether in cave paintings, art or pottery shards, inevitably indicate a belief in a god or gods. Some indicate a worship of nature as a god. Some adopt men as gods. But whatever form this higher being takes men have always sought a god to fill this mysterious empty void born into the spirit of every human being.

Maybe it is looking at a newborn baby or a flower budding, maybe lightening splitting the sky with blinding flashes and booming thunder, but something causes men to wonder. Men know they can't create life. Men love nature but as to knowing or explaining where it came from or for that matter where they came from, they are and for eons have been, in the dark. Looking at nature and knowing that we couldn't create any of it, knowing that we can not control time or tide or wind or rain has had a humbling effect on the souls of men. We know that what or whoever did create this marvelous planet is much smarter and more powerful than we are, that knowledge brings a natural need to honor, thank, or just acknowledge the creator, even when we don't see the creator. In other words the Creation is so astounding we seek to know the creator of it. Our Creator.

Of all the gods that history brings to light, there is one God that stands out. One God that explains who He is and who we are. One God that gives answers to men's questions. One God that manifests himself and communicates to his people. One God that embodies the creative power and displays the physical evidence to make the claim to be the ONLY GOD.

Back to the original question.....

WHO IS GOD?

Merriam-Webster defines God as "the supreme or ultimate reality: : the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe"

God is the creator of the Universe and all of the material in it. God is Father to all life. The only God that has shown the least bit of interest in humankind, is the God of the Bible. The God of the bible has loved and cared for mankind from day one. Through all of mankinds sin and rebellion God has always been there coaching, and coaxing, teaching, and rescuing mankind from the terrible mess he started when he stepped out of obedience to God's simple loving command. (Garden of Eden)

God is a spirit and as such men have a hard time understanding him...In fact the idea of calling God "Him" is just one of Gods ways of getting mankind to understand. But God is not physical. God has no gender. God is a Spirit. So questions like Was God Born? or Can God die? or Where is God? or Who Created God? relate to the physical life we live and are not applicable when talking about God. You can not define Spirit with material measures. God says that he IS, and Always WILL BE, that we need to just accept and enjoy.

Men were made in the image and likeness of God so we can know a lot about God right up front, when we look at ourselves. All that is good or kind or self sacrificing about mankind is a reflection of God. All of the traits that we assign to male and female genders are an embodiment of Gods traits. But all that God intended us to be, was and is corrupted by what happened in the Garden of Eden, that and our own propensity (bent) to transgress against others, to get what we want. Sin is not of God. We acquired this sin nature from Adam and we freely exercise our sinful nature every day of our lives, before we come into contact with this All powerful Loving God, and allow Him to supernaturally change us!

God as Creator is Spirit. But God in dealing with mankind manifests himself in many physical ways. In the Old Testament we see God in many different physical manifestations. He came in the cool of the evening to the garden to fellowship with Adam and Eve, showing himself as a divine presence, a glory that covered and protected them. that talked and visited with them.Gods Presence was something that welcomed and delighted them before the fall, and Gods Presence was something they hid from and were afraid of after the fall. He came to Abraham, walking across the plains as a man/angel... God manifested as a Burning Bush to Moses, and as a Column of fire and cloud to the Israelites. God made a promise to mankind in the OT. That promise was that He would come as a Messiah, Saviour to men and do what was needed to save them from this terrible sin nature and the author of it satan. So it is natural for God to come to be among men. He had Moses make a place for him in the Tabernacle...On the Mercy seat of the Ark of the covenant and directed Moses to place the tabernacle (tent) that held the Mercy Seat in the very center of the 12 tribes camp. so that He could be close once again to man.

Now if I were talking about electricity instead of God and you wanted to know more about electricity, you would go to the library or search the net for all the information you could get, Right? So if you want to know about this God I am speaking to you about wouldn't it make sense to go to the written material that explains God...the Bible? God claims authorship of the Scriptures. He says they are not of Men but of His Spirit. He says He inspired all of it! So maybe we should look at what God says about God instead of what we hear men say about God, to get at the truth.

I think primitive men had an easier time accepting the nature of God as not definable, after all they lived in a world full of mysterious things that just were. They had no understanding of even the simplest events of nature! Like where Babies came from ....Read up on ancient cultures and you will be astounded at the silly ideas men have has about the "why" of nature! Even today this world is rife with superstitions that are just far fetched and ridiculous to an educated culture. But these superstitions were not silly to them, men lived and died according to what they"believed" much as men do today.

THE TRIUNE NATURE OF GOD

Actually to say God has a Triune nature is not exactly correct. We do not know how many aspects God has, and can not in all truth limit God. But we do know from the New Testament that God uses three aspects or personalities to deal with mankind. Those aspects are:

God the Father/ Creator

God the Son/ Saviour - Jesus Christ

God the Holy Spirit/ Teacher and Comforter

In the Old Testament we see God the Father/Creator clearly. We hear of the Promised Messiah or Saviour that was revealed in the New Testament as Jesus Christ and we also see in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit, not as an indwelling feature of men, as now, but as a gift given to men for a specific purpose for a specific time period. We also see the spirit of satan in the Old Testament, but often his works are mistaken for the judgment of God. This is a big hang up with many people. They look at the God of the Old Testament and say WHAT? You say God is loving but we see him as vengeful and angry. What people fail to see is this fact.....God has bound himself with His Word. God set a specific plan for mankind and gave mankind specific commands, while God CAN do anything He will not DO just anything, GOD remains bound by His Word. So when God says Obey and be blessed and Disobey and be cursed, He is not saying He is the one cursing you... He is saying when you disobey you move out of Gods protective covering of blessing and are subject to the ruling power of this world, Satan! Satan is the cursor! Satan is the deceiver of mankind! Satan's greatest deception perpetrated upon mankind is having God credited for his treacherous deeds!

God created man for one purpose. God wanted a family. Children who loved him and wanted to be like Him. God did not want pets or puppets, he wanted children by choice. Children that given a choice of accepting or rejecting Him, would choose to accept Him. God is all about choice, as nothing less than free choice will give Him his much sought after FAMILY!

God says in His Word that He loves those that love Him and that those that seek Him early shall find Him.

Why did God specify seek Him early? Could it be that at some point in time God will not be found, even when sought? God also says My Spirit shall not always strive with men. Is God telling us that we need to make our decisions NOW while we still have a chance to be reconciled to Him?

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