13 January 2015 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE STUDY The Lord has given us His Word in order for us to know with certainty what life with Him is in reality. And with our world so far from God with endless mixed ideas of Who He is, and what is His Truth in all matters. We MUST do a responsible study of the Bible, relying on the Spirit’s leading (Romans 8:14), in order to learn God’s perspective of life – His Truth! 2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (The following is based on Mark Cambron’s, “Bible Doctrines”.) THEOLOGY The word “theology” comes from the Greek word theos, meaning God. Thus, theology is the doctrine of God. To begin the study of the many Bible doctrines we must begin with the Source of all things - God! We must begin with God — there is no one, nothing, before Him. The next thing we shall study is: III. THE NATURE OF GOD. 1. In Essence “God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). In Essence He is a Spiritual Being, which is invisible (“Who is the image of the invisible God” — Col. 1:15a). What is a spirit? A spirit is a being without flesh and bones. “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:39). A spirit has a body, a spirit-body; but it has no natural body, no material body. God cannot be seen by human eye; God, in His pure essence, has never been seen. “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18). Man cannot know God BUT in the way He has revealed Himself. This is a huge point! God, Who spoke our inscrutably complex world into existence is impossibly beyond human comprehension in what He is. Our limited minds simply cannot grasp exactly Who, and What our God is. And so the LORD reveals things about Himself that help us to know, and hold on to that are true about Himself. Things that will enable us to build a relationship with Him through. Things that we can hold to for our security, and peace of mind, and godly pleasure while still in this life and still away from Home. The Things That Are Revealed Can Be Divided Into Two Important Divisions THAT WHICH WE CAN UNDERSTAND We will see further in our studies that the Lord tells us that He has personality, just as we do. And here are truths about the Lord that we can understand, and we can identify with. Here is why we can build a relationship with Him, where other creatures cannot. Example: God loves, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The Lord has created in people the capacity in our personality to love. And so we can love God, and enjoy the fact that He loves us! This is because people are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-17). We are creatures with complex enough personalities that we may enjoy a meaningful relationship with the Lord. THAT WHICH WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND BUT MUST NEVERTHELESS BELIEVE BY FAITH There are certain truths that the Lord reveals to us about Himself that are inscrutable, that we cannot nor will ever in this life understand. Truths that He nevertheless wants us to know about Him. Example: The Trinity – God is one being, yet three persons who are one. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:” Deuteronomy 6:4. “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7. Most of what is revealed to us about the LORD is understandable, and gives us comfort in knowing things about the LORD for certain. And only a few things that the LORD reveals about Himself in the Scriptures we need to accept by faith. All in all, the Scriptures with the assistance of the Holy Spirit teach us the vital truths about the LORD that we must know in order to remove erroneous thoughts, and belief about Him. So that our thoughts about Him will be correct. Praise God for that! Revelation from God about Himself is the highest, most important knowledge that we can gain in this life! Don’t neglect to get your understanding, and therefore your thoughts about God to be accurate, to be correct! I think that you will if He is important to you. (If you would like these devotional daily studies to be emailed, or Whatsapped to you write to [email protected] or Whatsapp to 076 479 2445) kingswaybaptist.co.za
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 06:28:24 +0000
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