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 Sermon > Cell Bible Study |
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Title |
Chapter 1-Who is God? |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
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1. Creator of everything
Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." God is the Creator who created all things in the universe. The verb 'Create' means to make something out of nothing. Hebrews 11:3 says, "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." It was the works of God's Word that created things from nothing.
God also let people believe that God is the Creator by looking at the order of the universe and all things in it and the wonders of the principles of the nature. Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." It means men will have no excuse that they did not have chance to know about God when they are at the judgment throne.
Even besides the teachings of the Bible, if we just think with our common sense, we can find that God surely exists and is the Creator of everything. If the apes evolved to become human beings, why have so many monkeys in the zoos not evolved until now? Why do they still have the same features as thousands of years ago?
As written in the Bible, only men have ration and conscience because they were created after God's image, and that is why they could have developed various civilizations.
Furthermore, even though they live in different continents, all men have two eyes, one nose and one mouth, and their locations are also the same regardless of race. The fact that all men have the same structure tells us that, if we go back on the genealogy, we will reach one ancestor finally. Therefore, we can see that the record of the Bible that says God created men in His image is more scientific.
If we examine human beings and animals on the ground, birds in the air, fish in the sea, and all living creatures, we find there is same shape in the same position. One nose is under two eyes and one mouth is under one nose. Two ears are on each side. Just by looking at this fact, we cannot deny all living things were created by one Creator.
Furthermore, No matter how far science and civilization develop, man cannot make 'life' itself. Creating something from nothing is the area that exclusively belongs to God only. With science, people just make, develop, and invent things from what God has already created.
Considering above reasons, if we just open our heart and look at the world, we will soon realize God created heaven and earth and all things and experience God the Creator. We will also be able to believe that God is the one who controls life and death, and fortune and misfortune of all mankind and human history.
2. He exists by Himself / "I AM WHO I AM"
Once people are interested in God the Creator, they wonder where He came from and what kind of being He is. With human thoughts and knowledge, we think there should be clear beginning and end to something, and thus, they would like to know about the beginning and end of God. However, God has neither the beginning nor the end; He exists beyond the dimension that we can understand. He has existed from before the eternity and will exist forever. He was not either born of or made by anybody. He exists by Himself as the Creator.
Exodus 3:13-14 explains about God. Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM."
God is not only "I AM WHO I AM," but also the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, the Beginning and End (Revelation 22:13). Alpha and Omega are the first and the last characters of Greek. Men invented letters and through this they could have added knowledge upon knowledge and developed science and civilizations. Even this knowledge is given from God and the development of science is controlled by God as well. Therefore, God is the beginning and end of scientific civilization, the Alpha and Omega.
Also, God let the first man Adam become the first and accomplished the providence of salvation through Jesus Christ at the end. Therefore, God is the First and Last (1 Corinthians 15:45). He also began the human history and controls it till the end, and therefore, He is the Beginning and the End.
3. Omnipotent and Omniscient
God is the Creator, exists by Himself, and thus omnipotent and omniscient. He knows everything. Thus, there is nothing He does not know. He is able to do anything; there is nothing He cannot do. God said, "I am almighty God," (Genesis 17:1) and even the patriarchs of faith confessed God is almighty (Genesis 28:13).
The omnipotent God testified to God who is living and at work by manifesting signs and wonders that cannot be done by human power and ability. When God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt through Moses, He showed many signs and wonders.
God performed many signs so that the people of Israel could believe Moses was attested by God (Exodus 4:30-31), and showed signs and gave the Ten Plagues in Egypt so that the Pharaoh would let the people of Israel go (Exodus 7:1-12:36). Also, even after the Exodus, while they were in the wilderness, God guided them with the pillars of fire and clouds, parted the Red Sea, changed bitter water into sweet water, gave them manna and quails, and gave them water from a rock (Exodus 13:21-17:6).
After Moses died, when God was leading the people of Israel to the Canaan land through Joshua, God stopped the flow of Jordan River, tore down the walls of Jericho, and stopped the sun and the moon (Joshua 4:1-6, 10:12-14). Through these signs and wonders that could not be done with human capability, God let them conquer the land of Canaan.
A wonder is when God controls the weather; He can make it rain or stop the rain. A sign is to do something that is beyond the level of human power and ability. Some examples could be reviving the dead and healing an incurable disease that is impossible to cure with medical science.
Jesus, who came to this earth as the Son of God, performed many signs and wonders; He healed many sick people and calmed down the wind and waves. It is because as said in John 4:48 people would not believe unless they see signs and wonders.
The omnipotent and omniscient God is testifying to His living through signs and wonders even today. Through these, many come to believe in God and are gaining salvation.
4. The Author of the Bible
The living God created the universe and everything in it with special plan and purpose. He created men, blessed them, and let them live with the authority of God's children as the lord of all creation. But due to sin, men's spirit died. The communication with God was disconnected and men now could not either see or understand God. Men came to a miserable state where they could not meet God unless God showed Himself and let them know about Him.
God of love revealed Himself in many ways to let Himself known, and the most extensive and perfect one that lets us know about God is the Bible. It is the Holy Bible where the Word of Holy God is written.
Isaiah 34:16 says, "Search from the book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them."
The Bible is made up of 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament. It is a complete work of God written by 34 writers for 1,600 years from 1500 B.C. to 100 A.D. The Bible was written by some dozens of people for a long time. But every book of the Bible has unity and completeness as if the books were written by one writer. It is like one necklace made up of many beads.
This proves that the Bible was written by people who received God's revelations according to His will (2 Peter 1:21), and people did not write as they wanted but it was written with inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16). We should certainly realize that the author of the Bible is God.
Then, why did God let His people write the Bible? John 20:31 says, "but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." 2 Timothy 3:15 says, "[Holy Scriptures] are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." As said, it is for us to believe in Jesus as our Savior and gain the wisdom to obtain life and salvation.
Therefore, we should know that the Bible is the Word of God and the Word is God (John 1:1), and thus, when we address the Bible, we should read, hear, and see as if we are meeting God Himself and gain eternal life (John 5:39).
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