ESSENTIAL 40-1 What is God Like
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ESSENTIAL 40 #1 WHAT IS GOD LIKE?
VIEWS ABOUT GOD:
Atheism - No God!
Agnosticism - No knowledge about God
Pantheism - All is God (Hinduism, liberal theology, Christian
Science)
Polytheism - Many gods (early Greeks and Romans, Hinduism,
nature worship, idolatry, Mormonism)
Monotheism - One God
God is One (Jews, Unitarians, Jehovah Witnesses)
God is Three in One - a Triunity (Protestant Christianity,
Roman Catholicism) (The Father is God and a Person,
the Son is God and a Person, the Holy Spirit is God
and a Person, yet God is One)
Universalism - All ways lead to God.
Matterialism - Matter is all that exists or matter is eternal
How can we know what God is like?
Limited and imperfect sources of knowledge:
Perfect sources of knowledge:
Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1,2 John 1:1, 14; John 14:9 I Thessalonians 2:13; II Timothy 3:16,17 Is God personal or impersonal?
Genesis 1:1; John 3:16; Ephesians 1:4,5
Does God have an existence separate from the universe?
Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 3:4
What is God like? What problems or types of problems in your life are solved by a
knowledge of and a belief in who God is - unchanging, eternal, and the other attributes?
Unchanging - James 1:17 (Hebrew 13:8)
Problem solved:
Eternal – Exodus 3:14 (Revelation 22:13)
Problem solved:
Omnipresent (present every where) - Psalm 139:7-12 (Jeremiah 23:24)
Problem solved:
Omniscient – Psalm 139:1-6 (Psalm 147:5)
Problem solved:
Omnipotent (all-powerful) - Jeremiah 32:17 (Luke 1:37)
Problem solved:
Love - I John 4:8 (Romans 5:8)
Problem solved:
Truthful - Hebrews 6:18 (Numbers 23:19)
Problem solved:
Holy – Leviticus 19:2 (Psalm 99:9)
Problem solved:
Righteous - Psalm 11:7 (Romans 1:18)
Problem solved:
Gracious and merciful - Ephesians 1:6,7 (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Problem solved:
Sovereign - Romans 8:28 (Ephesians 1:5)
Problem solved:
RESOURCES: KNOWING GOD by J. I. Packer, KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY BY
Tozier, THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD by Tozier; THE ATTRIBUTES
OF GOD by Pink; CLOSE TO HIS MAJESTY by David Needham;
THE EXISTENCE AND ATTRIBUTES OF GOD by Stephen Charnock
ASSIGNMENT: Pick one attribute of God to focus on this week: Reflect on it each day
and be ready to share how it affected your attitude toward your life and the decisions that
you made this week. Memorize one verse on your chosen attribute of God from the list
above.
VIEWS ABOUT GOD:
Atheism - No God!
Agnosticism - No knowledge about God
Pantheism - All is God (Hinduism, liberal theology, Christian
Science)
Polytheism - Many gods (early Greeks and Romans, Hinduism,
nature worship, idolatry, Mormonism)
Monotheism - One God
God is One (Jews, Unitarians, Jehovah Witnesses)
God is Three in One - a Triunity (Protestant Christianity,
Roman Catholicism) (The Father is God and a Person,
the Son is God and a Person, the Holy Spirit is God
and a Person, yet God is One)
Universalism - All ways lead to God.
Matterialism - Matter is all that exists or matter is eternal
How can we know what God is like?
Limited and imperfect sources of knowledge:
Perfect sources of knowledge:
Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1,2 John 1:1, 14; John 14:9 I Thessalonians 2:13; II Timothy 3:16,17 Is God personal or impersonal?
Genesis 1:1; John 3:16; Ephesians 1:4,5
Does God have an existence separate from the universe?
Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 3:4
What is God like? What problems or types of problems in your life are solved by a
knowledge of and a belief in who God is - unchanging, eternal, and the other attributes?
Unchanging - James 1:17 (Hebrew 13:8)
Problem solved:
Eternal – Exodus 3:14 (Revelation 22:13)
Problem solved:
Omnipresent (present every where) - Psalm 139:7-12 (Jeremiah 23:24)
Problem solved:
Omniscient – Psalm 139:1-6 (Psalm 147:5)
Problem solved:
Omnipotent (all-powerful) - Jeremiah 32:17 (Luke 1:37)
Problem solved:
Love - I John 4:8 (Romans 5:8)
Problem solved:
Truthful - Hebrews 6:18 (Numbers 23:19)
Problem solved:
Holy – Leviticus 19:2 (Psalm 99:9)
Problem solved:
Righteous - Psalm 11:7 (Romans 1:18)
Problem solved:
Gracious and merciful - Ephesians 1:6,7 (Ephesians 2:8,9)
Problem solved:
Sovereign - Romans 8:28 (Ephesians 1:5)
Problem solved:
RESOURCES: KNOWING GOD by J. I. Packer, KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY BY
Tozier, THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD by Tozier; THE ATTRIBUTES
OF GOD by Pink; CLOSE TO HIS MAJESTY by David Needham;
THE EXISTENCE AND ATTRIBUTES OF GOD by Stephen Charnock
ASSIGNMENT: Pick one attribute of God to focus on this week: Reflect on it each day
and be ready to share how it affected your attitude toward your life and the decisions that
you made this week. Memorize one verse on your chosen attribute of God from the list
above.
