Where Were You When I Laid The Earths Foundation Tell Me If You Understand 5who Marked Off Its Dimensions Surely You Know Who Stretched A Measuring Line Across It 6on What Were Its Footings Set Or Who Laid Its Cornerstone7while The Morning Stars Sang Together And All The Angels Shouted For Joy Job 3: 4
Job was a righteous man, but the enemy wanted to test him and lead him to rebel against God, but God allowed it to happen so that He may reveal to Job and to us His great wisdom.
As Job eventually questions Gods wisdom, chapter 38 is God answering Jobs questions. Verses 1-4 says, 1 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: 2Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? 3Brace yourself like a man I will question you, and you shall answer me.
God continues by revealing His vast creation by asking Job about the birth of the earth. Nature reveals that God is beyond the capacity of our brains to understand. God is multifaceted, magnificent, and enormous!
God Is Righteous And Rules
The Lord is righteous, he loves justice the upright will see his face .
For the Lord is our judge the Lord is our lawgiver .
As King of kings, God is so righteous, and so holy, that any who rebel against His standard must, and will, be judged accordingly , for He is perfectly just, by no means able to clear the guilty .
And since the wages of sin is death and we all fall short , it is by Gods nature of forbearance, faithfulness, mercy, grace, and perfect love, man is offered a gift of forgiveness that results in the acquittal of all charges and guilt.
In we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of Gods grace .
The Nature Of God Is What Makes The Gospel Good News
This is nothing short of incredible that God, most holy and righteous, able to create and do as He please, knowing all things, chose to redeem those who could never redeem themselves. He did so by sending His son to fulfill the law, becoming a sacrifice of perfect blood, once and for all .
Truly, how can one fully appreciate Jesus atoning death upon the cross, without first having an understanding and appreciation for the timeless, full-spectrum, nature of God? Because of who God is, the Christian can live a life of great faith, trust, humility, and surrender.
Really, everything about the Christian faith rests on this identity and nature. Not just Gods loving, nurturing character, but also the equally important aspects of total righteousness and inability to excuse sin.
This is the pinnacle of Gods incommutable, sometimes incomprehensible nature the gospel that saves.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God .
That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life .
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God .
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They Speak Of The Glorious Splendor Of Your Majestyand I Will Meditate On Your Wonderful Works Psalm : 5 Niv
One of the last psalms of David praises Gods glorious splendor. He wrote that even nature speaks that glory and majesty. Nature can lead us to meditate on Gods works and also worship God. As Psalms 19:3-4 said, They speak without a sound or word their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.
What Is The Nature Of God
The Bibles Viewpoint
What Is the Nature of God?
GOD is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth, explains the Bible. This statement reveals a basic truth about Gods form, or naturehe is a spirit! Still, he is described in the Bible as a person, an individual. His name is Jehovah.Psalm 83:18.
Some Bible readers have expressed confusion regarding the nature of God. Since God is an invisible spirit, rather than a material being, why are there so many passages in the Bible that speak of God as if he had eyes, ears, nose, heart, arms, hands, fingers, and feet? * Some may conclude that God has human form because the Bible says that man was created in his image. A closer look at what the Bible says can eliminate such confusion.Genesis 1:26.
Why Human Characteristics?
To help humans to understand Gods nature, Bible writers were divinely inspired to use human characteristics to refer to the Almighty. Scholars call such terms anthropomorphic, meaning described or thought of as having a human form or human attributes. These terms reflect the limitations of human language to describe the true God, Jehovah. The intent was to capture the essence of the heavenly and convey this in ways that humans can comprehend. This does not mean that we should take these terms literally any more than we would Biblical references to God as the Rock, a sun, or a shield.Deuteronomy 32:4 Psalm 84:11.
Is God Male or Female?
Gods Dominant Quality
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You Alone Are The Lord You Made The Heavens Even The Highest Heavens And All Their Starry Host The Earth And All That Is On It The Seas And All That Is In Them You Give Life To Everything And The Multitudes Of Heaven Worship You Nehemiah : 6 Niv
Nehemiah 6 is the chapter where the people of Israel sang to God praise and repented of their sins. As the Levites lead the congregation to worship God, they begin by quoting Genesis 1:1 and Psalm 36:6. The story of creation for them is not a scientific discovery but a reality and hope.
It was embedded in their hearts that as they look at their present circumstances , they recall how God speaks life, beauty, and order out of darkness and a chaotic worldcreating a flourishing and beautiful world.
G The Goodness Of God
This attribute means that God is compassionate and gracious and slow to anger. He is unfailing in tenderness and forbearance. Psalm 145:9 says, The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. And several times in Psalm 107, the psalmist says, Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
God controls all that happens in the worldevery meal, every wholesome pleasure, every bit of sun, every night of sleep, every moment of health, and everything else that sustains and enriches lifeall these are gifts from God.
However, Romans 11:22 reminds us to behold the goodness and the severity of God. God sometimes uses severity to discipline us, to awaken us, and to remind us not to fall into complacencylest we take His goodness for granted.
In Luke 13:4, Jesus reminded His followers about the tower in Siloam, which fell and killed innocent people. Although it was a disaster, Jesus said this tragedy did not indicate that those victims were worse sinners than the people who lived in Jerusalem. No! Jesus said, Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish! . The lesson to be learned from that kind of disaster, Jesus says, is that death is coming to all of usand all persons need to repent and receive Christ as their Savior.
We dont know why disasters hit certain people but we do know that those disasters should push all of us toward repentance, and toward doing the works that God commends.
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The Father Son And Holy Spirit As One
Just before leaving the earth, Jesus gave his disciples their final instructions. He clearly communicated that they should baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In other conversations with his disciples, he reminded them of the unity between himself and the Father: I and my Father are one , and Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost .
As the other pages in this section make clear, there is equality in the nature of all three Persons of the God-head. However, as we consider the whole counsel of God, and by his grace rightly divide these Scriptures, we see the three Persons occupying different roles. Jesus acknowledged that his Father is greater than he , and the Apostle Paul wrote that the head of Christ is God .
Bible Verses About Nature Of God
Before the mountains were bornOr You gave birth to the earth and the world,Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.
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The Importance Of What Makes God God
Notice how some principles of Gods nature can be applied to more than just Himself. There are traits shared with the angels, for example. The angels being illuminated, spiritual beings, who never die .
Therefore, being of spirit or light or eternality, is not what makes God, God. For even Satan, a spiritual force of evil can come as an angel of light .
There are also the attributes we, as human beings, are able to partake in, albeit ever so imperfectly! For instance, our ability to love, comfort, create, have morals, and relationships, all come from the nature of the Image we are created in Gods nature and although God is the only one who is all these things to perfection, they are not what make Him God.
What does matter most: His supreme nature as the Giver of such things, as Creator of all things, having an everlasting spirit, all within perfect unity among Himself and His creation. Because of this, we can acknowledge that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below, that there is no other .
Still, there is much to consider and reflect on concerning who God is.
Below is a list of four things that are important to understand about Gods unique nature. Included are relevant scriptures to meditate upon to help us grow in this understanding.
Republicans And Democrats Have Very Different Beliefs About The Divine
Republicans and Democrats have very different notions about God. Among Republicans and those who lean toward the GOP, seven-in-ten say they believe in God as described in the Bible. Democrats and those who lean Democratic, by contrast, are far less likely to believe in God as described in the Bible , and are more likely than Republicans to believe in another kind of higher power . Democrats also are more likely than Republicans to say they do not believe in any higher power or spiritual force in the universe .
Additionally, while 85% of Republicans believe God loves all people, eight-in-ten believe God is all-knowing, and seven-in-ten believe God is all-powerful Democrats are less likely to express each of these views. Two-thirds of Republicans say they believe God possesses all three of these attributes, compared with roughly half of Democrats . Republicans also are more likely than Democrats to say God has protected, rewarded or punished them .
Among Democrats, the survey finds big differences between whites and nonwhites in views about God. Most nonwhite Democrats, who are predominantly black or Hispanic, say they believe in God as described in the Bible, and seven-in-ten or more say they believe God is all-loving, all-knowing or all-powerful, with two-thirds ascribing all of these attributes to God. In these ways, nonwhite Democrats have more in common with Republicans than they do with white Democrats.
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He Makes Grass Grow For The Cattle And Plants For People To Cultivatebringing Forth Food From The Earth Psalm : 14 Niv
This song of praise admires how nature and the created order reveal God’s glory by providing so abundantly for all living things. God is a provider, and He is unlimited. As the grass grows each season and trees bear fruit, God provides each season, making one’s soul satisfied and filled. The way God nurtures nature reveals how He cares for all kinds of animals, even for those that he has expressly forbidden the Israelites to eat.
Archaeological And Historical Research
Biblical archaeology is the archaeology that relates to and sheds light upon the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures . It is used to help determine the lifestyle and practices of people living in biblical times. There are a wide range of interpretations in the field of biblical archaeology. One broad division includes biblical maximalism which generally takes the view that most of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible is based on history although it is presented through the religious viewpoint of its time. It is considered to be the opposite of biblical minimalism which considers the Bible to be a purely post-exilic composition. Even among those scholars who adhere to biblical minimalism, the Bible is a historical document containing first-hand information on the Hellenistic and Roman eras, and there is universal scholarly consensus that the events of the 6th century BCE Babylonian captivity have a basis in history.
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Wine That Gladdens Human Hearts Oil To Make Their Faces Shine And Bread That Sustains Their Hearts Psalm : 15 Niv
The food and drinks that nature provides give a foretaste of how good God is. The wine that gladdens a human heart, God can renew our hearts that we may obey Him. The oil that makes ones face shine, Gods closeness to Moses made his face shine.
And a bread that sustains the heart, the Bible says, He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Attributes And Nature Of The True God
A Bible Helps Booklet No. 402
One of the great needs in the church, and in the world, todayis a new conviction about the greatness, majesty, holiness, and nature of the living God. Many people in Western society today say they believe in God, but their ideas about God are often almost pagan in content. Many people have no idea what kind of God they believe in.
I read about a group of younger people sitting around a table some time ago, discussing very seriously some of the deeper issues of life.
One young man asked, Who, at this table, believes in God?
There was a long silence.
Then, one said, I believe in a spirit of goodness that connects all mankind. Another said, For me, god is nothing more than kindness and happiness and all sorts of good things. Still another said, I think there are little chunks of God in everyoneand thats that!
Thats how many people in the Western culture are thinking today. One of our greatest needs is to build a conviction about who the true and living God really is! The loftiest thinking that can ever engage the human mind is thinking about the name, the existence, the person, and the work of the one and only true God.
I suppose that almost all who are reading this article would boldly say that they believe in the living God revealed in the Biblebut faith is sometimes put to a test. We believe in a personal God, but what kind of God is He?
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Religious Nones Are Divided In Their Views About God
Seven-in-ten religiously unaffiliated adults believe in a higher power of some kind, including 17% who say they believe in God as described in the Bible and 53% who believe in some other form of higher power or spiritual force in the universe. Roughly one-quarter of religious nones say they do not believe in a higher power of any kind. But there are stark differences based on how, exactly, members of this group describe their religious identity.
None of the survey respondents who describe themselves as atheists believe in God as described in the Bible. About one-in-five, however, do believe in some other kind of higher power or spiritual force in the universe . Roughly eight-in-ten self-described atheists say they do not believe in a higher power of any kind.
Self-described agnostics look very different from atheists on this question. While very few agnostics say they believe in God as described in the Bible, a clear majority say they believe in some other kind of spiritual force. Just three-in-ten say there is no higher power in the universe.
Respondents who describe their religion as nothing in particular are even more likely to express belief in a deity nine-in-ten take this position, mirroring the U.S. public overall in this regard. While most people in this nothing in particular group believe in a spiritual force other than the biblical God , a sizable minority say they do believe in God as described in the Bible.