What you need to know about belief in God
The Bible is an amazing book that emphasizes the importance of God and the relationship God has with His creation. God is unique and a separate ‘being’ to other ‘beings’ that He created.
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." (Acts 17:24-5)
To help us understand God better, we will ask a few questions: Who is God? Where does God dwell? What is God’s relationship with Jesus and how does Jesus refer to God?
Who is God?
This is a question that we touched on in an earlier introduction about God What do Christadelphians believe about God? As an overview, it was stated that God is the creator of the universe, who created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), then on days 1-6:
- Light and dark (Genesis 1:3-5)
- Sea and sky (Genesis 1:6-10)
- Fertile earth (Genesis 1:11-14)
- Lights of day and night (Genesis 1:14-19)
- Fish and birds (Genesis 1:20-23)
- Land animals and mankind (Genesis 1:24-8) On day 7, God rested.
God is immortal, invisible, the only God as it is written in 1 Timothy 1:17. He is the one and only God (Isaiah 46:9), who anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit, which includes the power of God (Acts 10:38).
Where does God dwell?
In heaven: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9).
God is of a different nature to how we are; as not only is God immortal, invisible and dwells in heaven. Jesus also states that God is spirit (John 4:24) and that “no one has ever seen God” (1 John 4:12).
What is God’s relationship with Jesus and how does Jesus refer to God?
Jesus is God’s Son (Luke 1:35). God is only referred to as Father in the New Testament thanks to Jesus, who could fully reveal the Father because he was exactly like his Father. The first chapter of Hebrews tells us this:
"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being" (Hebrews 1:1-3).
God is the Father of Jesus and raised him up following the crucifixion (Acts 2:32, 4:10, 5:30, Romans 8:34, 9:10, Galatians 4:4).
God is described as being one in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
In the New Testament, Jesus reiterates the importance of this by answering what the greatest commandment is in Mark 12:29-30: Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
This is our first commandment in service to God. This should be a two-way relationship as God loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. This is why
John 3:16-18 is one of the most quoted passages in the whole Bible:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
This is one of the most encouraging passages written in the Bible because it offers hope, happiness, and a reason that our existence should be, to want to do what God wants of us.
In conclusion, we have looked at some of the evidence that highlights that God is one. We also looked at some scriptures about His relationship with Jesus, and who God is and where he dwells. With this information, we have set the tone for the next post where we look at God’s character further and why knowing Him gives us hope.
Article: Matthew Morris; Photo: Aaron Burden (pexels.com)
