Who is God? Part 2: God's Revelation



What Everyone Already Knows About God


 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them;  for God made it evident to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes,  His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen,  being understood through what has been made,  so that they are without excuse."  
(Romans 1:18-20, NASB)

This passage tells us that God has revealed Himself to all people via the internal witness of their hearts and the external witness of creation so that His eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen.



To deny such is what God calls ‘suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.’  This is a losing battle, and the passage goes on to describe that path, which is eternally destructive.



We see then that to seek God is to our ultimate flourishing, but to deny Him is to our ultimate destruction.


What God Says About Himself

When God rescued the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and began to establish them as a nation, He said this to Moses:

"Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.""  
(Exodus 34:6-7, NASB, emphasis mine)

These dual themes of lovingkindness and truth are found throughout the text of Scripture, and are foundational attributes also reflected in God’s revelation of Himself as the man Jesus Christ (see John 1:14).

We also see throughout the Bible that God does everything for His own glory (e.g. see Isaiah 43:7).  Because He is awesome in nature and perfect in character, this is utterly appropriate and the very best thing possible for His creation!

We’ll explore this further as we dive a bit deeper into God’s attributes.



What We Must Know About God to be Believers

The following verses summarize the Christian Gospel:



"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;"  (1 Peter 3:18, NASB)



"that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."  (Romans 10:9-10, NASB)


(for more on the Gospel, check out the links on the left: 'Who is Jesus?' and 'The Story of His Glory')


This is where the idea of FAITH comes in.  Consider the following from Hebrews 11:

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.’



"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.’

(vv. 1-2, 6)



So we see that the existence of God is known within the heart of each person, who then must take a step of faith in the heart to experience salvation and a true relationship with God.

Next, we'll take a deep dive into the awesome attributes of God, communicable, incommnicable, and relational.
 
‘…He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,"  (from 1 Timothy 6:15, NASB)
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In His Grip,

Mark

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