A.W. Tozer, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
N.T. Wright wrote (in Simply Christian), “The Christian story claims to be the true story about God and the world. As such, it offers itself as the explanation of the voice whose echo we hear in the search for justice, the quest for spirituality, the longing for relationship and the yearning for beauty.”
The idea that we’re going to explain GOD in the next four weeks is laughable!
- But IF God wanted to reveal himself to mankind, how would he do it?
- He’d use simple words to describe the incredibly complex nature of his existence
- IF it is true, then we can expect that there are some things above our pay grade
THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD
“Listen, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your might.” [Deut. 6:4-5]
GOD IS DIFFERENT THAN US
More than different, he’s infinitely more complex, above, more than, and outside of anything that exists.
“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.” [John 1:1-5]
- God’s Word is something outside of Himself and is also Himself
- This is the first thing about God that we can’t wrap our heads around
- Our ability to understand something doesn’t determine the truthfulness of it
“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” [John 1:14]
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” [Gen 1:1-3]
“Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” [Gen 1:26-27]
God has never been alone, in the sense we think of it.
- He created a family for mankind to exist in
- This is why you can’t be healthy in isolation or live out your faith apart from a Church family
EVERYTHING IN EXISTENCE, CAME FROM GOD
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” [Gen 1:1]
- There never was a time in which God did not exist
- Where did God come from? His answer to Moses was that he always is
- That’s the second thing that we can’t wrap our heads around
“God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.” [John 1:3]
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