Christian Life Study Outlines

From The Open Bible (C) 1975 by Thomas Nelson, Inc, Publishers, Nashville TN

Number 2 God

The Bible reveals God as the only Infinite and Eternal Being, having no beginning and no ending.  He is creator and sustainer of all things.  He is the Supreme Personal Intelligence, and Righteous Ruler of His universe.  He is life, and therefore, the only source of life (John 5:26).

          Man is natural and cannot know God by wisdom.  "Canst thou by searching find out God?" (Job 11:7).  God is a person and can be known only by revelation.  In the Old Testament He 'led Himself to and through His prophets.  In the New Testament He reveals Himself through His Son Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1-3 ).

A.        The Existence of God (Hebrews 11: 5,6)

The Bible nowhere attempts to prove or argue the existence of God.  "For he that cometh to God must believe that He is." The existence of God is a fact taken for granted by the writers of both the Old and New Testaments.  "In the beginning God" (Gen. 1:1).  The Bible opens by announcing the sublime fact of God and His existence.  There are arguments for the existence of God; they are not conclusive, but are food for thought:

                           1.  Universal belief in God comes from within man.

it is innate in man, and comes from rational intuition.

                           2.  The argument from "cause and effect." Everything

that began owes its existence to a cause.  We have a watch; we must have a watchmaker.  We have a building; we must have a builder.  We have a creation; then we must have a creator.  This creation could not have co-me into existence without an intelligent, personal creator, any more than the alphabet could produce a book itself without an author.

                           3.  The argument from anthropology.  Man's moral and

intellectual nature argues for a moral and intellectual creator.

                           4. The Bible and the Christ that it reveals, His

virgin birth, His sinless life, His vicarious death and His bodily resurrection--all this and much more--argue for the exis­tence of God.

          B.  The Personality of God (I Thessalonians 1:9)

          The Bible reveals God as a personality, He is called "the living and true God" -- one possessing self-consciousness and self-determination.  His personality is shown in what He does, such as:

1.  God loves (John 3:16).

2.  God hates (Proverbs 6:16).

3.  God cares (I Peter 5:7).

4.  God grieves. (Genesis 6:6)

Only a personality can love, hate, care and grieve; there­fore, God must be a living, eternal, personal being.

C.  The Nature of God (I John 4:8).

There are four definitions of God in the Bible.  Since God cannot be defined, they are incomplete.  However., they do throw light upon the nature of God.  They are:

1. "God is love." This is the nature of God in His

divine compassion.

2.  "God is light" (I John 1:5).  This is the nature of God in His divine character; in Him there is no darkness.

                   3. "God is consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29).  This is the  nature of God in His divine holiness.

                   4. "God is a spirit" (John 4:24).  This is the nature of God in His divine essence.

The attributes of God reveal His nature.  Do not think of His attributes as abstract, but as vital mediums through which His holy nature is unveiled--attributes ascribed to Him, such as:

1.  Life is ascribed to God (John 5:26).

2.  All knowledge is ascribed to God (Psalm 147:5).

3.  All power is ascribed to God (Revelation 19:6).

4.  Filling the universe with His presence is ascribed

to God (Psalm 139:7-10).

God is everywhere present, but He is not in everything.  If God were in everything, man could worship any object and he would be worshipping God.  God is a spirit being.  "And they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

D. The Grace of God ( Ephesians 2:8,9).

Grace is the love and mercy of God in action.  Mercy is negative and love is positive; both together mean grace.  To show mercy in love is grace.  God showed mercy in love when He sent His Son to bear our sins  in His own body on the cross. (John 3:16).

           1.  The grace of God saves forever (Romans 8:38,39).

                    2.  The grace of God is unconditional; that is, we  are not saved on the condition that we "hold out unto the end" or that we "fail not" or that we "do our best." We are saved by the grace of God, apart from works.

                   3.  The grace of God is sufficient (II Corinthians12:9).

4.  The grace of God makes no discrimination (Revelation 22:17).

                   5.  The grace of God justifies (Romans 3:23,24).    

                   6.  The grace of  God makes every believer an heir  (Titus 3:7).

                   7. The grace of  God teaches the believer how to live (Titus 2:11,12).

The grace of God is nothing less than the unlimited love of God expressed in the gift of His Son, our Saviour.  It is the undeserved love of God toward sinners.

          E. The Trinity of God (Matthew 3:16,17)

          By the Trinity of God we mean His tri-personal existence as Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- three distinct persons in one God.

                   1.  The Father is recognized as God (I Peter 1:2) and is all the fullness of the Godhead invisible (John 1:18).

                   2. The Son is recognized as God (Hebrews 1:8) and is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested in the flesh (John 1:14).

3.  The Holy Spirit is recognized as God (Acts 5:3,4) and is all the fullness of the Godhead acting upon man, convicting him of sin- (John 16:7-11- and guiding the believer into all truth (John 16: 12-15).

4. The doctrine of the Trinity is not explicit in the Old Testament, but is rather implied.  "And God said, Let US make man . . . 11 (Genesis 1:26).

5. The doctrine of the Trinity is revealed in the New Testament.  In Matthew 3: 16, 17 we have Christ being baptized in water, the Father speaking from heaven, and the Holy Spirit descending as a dove.  We are to baptize in the "name (not names) of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).

6. Even creation implies the doctrine of the Trinity.  In creation, we have space, matter and time in one creation.  In space, we have length, breadth, and height in one space.  In matter, we have energy. motion, and phenomena in one substance.  In time, we have past, present and future in one time.  In man, we have body, soul and spirit in one man (I Thessalonians 5:23).

                   7.  In the Holy Trinity, we have Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one God.