Christianity 101: God

Last week, we talked about how the Bible is the standard for our worldview. We might have a lot of different ideas about God, but if we really want to understand Him, we should look to the Bible. In fact, we can learn a lot about God from the first words of the Bible. Turn with me to Genesis 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. -Genesis 1:1 We've read one verse of the Bible, and we can already answer some of the most important questions about God. For example, where did God come from? This verse tells us: God was already there. God is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. He didn't come from anywhere: He always was, and is now, and will be forever. Before there was anything else, there was God. That brings up another important point: God created the universe. Some religions believe that God is the universe -- that God is a part of everything, and everything is a part of God. That's not what we believe. As it says in this first verse of the Bible, God made everything. He's the Creator, separate from His creation. There's something else that this passage hints at, something very important. The word for God in Genesis 1:1 is elohim. The funny thing about that word? It's plural. In other places in the Bible, it's translated as "gods." This is a clue that points to the Trinity. We believe that there is only one God, and that He is made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Here's the best way I've heard it described: in one sense, He's one person, and in another sense, He's three people. This is a very difficult idea to get your head around. In fact, we can't fully understand it; and that's okay. I can't describe how it works, or how distinct each person is, or how the same they are, or what. But here's what I can do: I can show you evidence for the Trinity in the Bible. So, there's Genesis 1:1. There's also verse 26 of the same chapter, in which God refers to Himself as "we." Note that elsewhere, God is very clear that He is one person. Hear, O Israel, the LORD your God is one. -Deuteronomy 6:4 God is referred to as both singular and plural in very prominent passages of the Bible. Now, let's compare Genesis 1 to John 1. 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. -John 1:1-3 Both passages are describing God. But who, specifically, is John describing? Jesus. One reason John wrote his Gospel was to demonstrate that Jesus was God. But John wasn't the only one.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matthew 28:18-20 In this passage, Jesus tells His followers to baptize people in the name of the Trinity. He also says that He has been given "all authority in heaven and on earth." And as for the Holy Spirit, here's what Jesus says in the Book of Luke: 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. -Luke 12:10 Okay, let me just acknowledge that this is one of the scariest verses in the Bible, and very controversial. But I want to sidestep the controversy for a moment and look at the phrase "anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit." Consider: what does blasphemy mean? Who is the only person you can blaspheme? God. Jesus just said you can blaspheme against the Holy Spirit; therefore, the Holy Spirit is God. If any of you happen to be experts in Greek, you might notice that the word for blasphemes there is also occasionally translated to "speaks against" and applied to people other than God. So just to be safe, check out Acts 5, where Peter says that lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God. There. We have Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity. It's kind of confusing, but it also explains a lot. For example, it explains where love comes from. There is a loving relationship between the persons of the Trinity. That's one of the most important things about God: His nature is love. He is love, as it says in 1 John 4. As we read the Bible, we have to remember that. Remember that God always acts out of love, even when it doesn't seem like it on the surface. He's like the perfect parent -- which is one reason He has us call Him Father. He disciplines us when we need it. He guides us in how to live out His love. God's love determines the difference between right and wrong. God is the source and definition of morality. He is perfect. He is the standard by which we should compare our behavior and our attitudes. The fact that God is both loving and morally perfect can be hard to understand sometimes. It seems like if God loves us, He should want us to be happy all the time, but disciplining us doesn't make us happy. And if God is holy -- morally perfect -- then how could He stand us? We're not even close to perfect. We fail Him all the time, each of us. But He is indeed a God of holy love. Here's how He describes Himself: 5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” -Exodus 34:5-7 In this passage, we see love and justice together. Mercy and holiness. That's what God's like. Next week, we'll talk about what happens when we don't live in accordance with God's character. We'll talk about sin.