XVDHMAK@VCUVM1 (Michael Kline) (01/17/90)
Part 1 - What does the Bible say about our God?
There is only ONE God. The God of the Bible tells us:
Isaiah 43:10 - "You are My witnesses, says the Lord, and My servant
whom I have chosen, that you may know me, believe me, and remain steadfast
to Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed,
neither shall there be after Me."
According to what our God tells us, He's the only one. No other god
every was, no other god will ever be. He wants us to "know" that, to
"believe" that, and to "understand" that. There have been those that say,
Christians think there way is the only way. Well, if there are no other
gods, then why should I worship some other god that isn't a god at all? In
our belief then, we can worship God, or worship a god. Doesn't seem to be a
whole lot of choice that I can see.
Those that say there might be other ways that God expressed himself. If
this were the case, it would be something similar to "For Budda so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten daughter that whosoever believes
in her should not perish but have everlasting life." This is not an attempt
to blaspheme God, but only to say that if He showed himself to others, He
would still be God, maybe a different name, maybe even a different sex
although the Eternal does not have a sex. Hopefully my point is made.
Another way of saying it would be, I live in Richmond. Washington DC is
north. If the Bible told me that I should go north to get to Washington DC,
and if the Koran, pulling an example out of the air, were about the same
God, would it not also say to go north to get to Washington DC. Instead
these other "road maps to the same god" tell us to go East, West, South, or
to meditate and we will get to DC.
Well perhaps God does allow for some "other way"...
Deuteronomy 32.39 - "See now that I am He, there is no god beside Me; I
kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can
deliver out of My hand."
Humph. Looks like He is pretty serious about it. Well, there is Father,
Son and Holy Ghost, but one God? How does the Bible handle that? First,
does the Bible say that our God has more than one part to Him, or give
clues to His being plural?
Deuteronomy 6:4 - "Here, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is
One!" (One = Echod = A compound unity of one).
Amos 4:10-11: "I have sent out among you the pestilence (which I made)
epidemic in Egypt; your young men I slew with the sword; and I took into
exile your horses; and I made the stench of your camp come up into your
nostrils; yet you did not return to Me, says the Lord. (11)I have
overthrown some among you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and
you were as a brand plucked out of the burning. Yet you did not return to
me, says the Lord."
"I have... as when God.." God as when God? Seems to refer to more than
one.
Genesis 19:24 - "Then the Lord rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah
brimstone and fire from the Lord out of the heavens."
Another scripture about the same event, but once again talks about "the
Lord... from the Lord."
I Corinthians 8:6 - "Yet for us there is only one God, the Father, Who
is the Source of all things, and for Whom we have life, and one Lord, Jesus
Christ, through, and by Whom are all things and through and by Whom we
ourselves exist."
Well, from Part 1 we have seen that as Christians, we worship the one
God, the only God. And, while God is one, there are "parts" of him, 3
parts, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. These parts make up the one
God. Some time I posted, "We don't need to understand, only believe". I
don't understand all of this, but this is how God tells me He is.
Along the same line, there are those that try to tell us that God is a
female using "s/he" and other such phrases. Now, we know that the heavenly
have no sex, and we have been told there is no marriage and the like in
heaven, so the resurrected have no "sex" as it were. My thoughts are that if
God CHOSE to show himself as male, then that is the way I worship Him.
Trying to change the sex of God seems to me to be the first step in
watering down the gospel. "I would love You more, or be able to understand
You more if You were female. I would love You more, or be able to
understand You more If You just didn't take such a hard stand on sin."
What shall we say then? What does the Bible say if we fail to worship
the true God or accept a philosophy that is not true?
Colossians 2:8-12 - "See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or
makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and
intellectualism, and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense),
following human tradition - men's ideas of the material (rather than the
spiritual) world - just crude notions following the rudimentary and
elemental teachings of the universe, and disregarding (the teachings of)
Christ, the Messiah. (9)For in Him, the whole fullness of Deity (the
Godhead), continues to dwell in bodily form - giving complete expression of
the divine nature. (10)And you are in Him, made full and have come to
fullness of life - In Christ you too are filled with the Godhead: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, and reach full spiritual stature. And He is the Head
of all rule and authority - of every angelic principality and power. (11)In
Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but
in a (spiritual) circumcision (performed by) Christ by stripping off the
body of the flesh (the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and
lusts). (12)(Thus you were circumcised when) you were buried with Him in
(your) baptism, in which you were also raised with Him (to a new life)
through (your) faith in the working of God (as displayed) when He raised
Him up from the dead."
Well, Part 1 is plenty long enough, let's go on to Part 2 and see how
God reveals himself to us, and how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit come
into play.
In His Love,
Michael A. Kline, Sr. SSE
VDH, Technical Support
(804)786-1559
XVDHMAK at VCUVM1