The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
Ps 111:10 - NIV
- Question:
By the scriptures we know what God has done and can do; but WHO IS God?
- Statement:
Christianity has the Holy Bible the only book that is directly
from God’s mouth to the pen of man that tells us about who God is. Although this information is available, we
have to spend time in the word for it to be revealed to us. To really get to know someone intimately,
you have to stay in constant contact and continuous conversations with
them.
- In Genesis 1:1 we are
told in the beginning God created everything; and goes on to tell us He
can speak things into existence with full detail. But this is what He does and not who
He is.
- Let’s check out what
was going on in eternity past, before
creation began. Before there was God the father
and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
- In the beginning God was God and the Word was God. They were the
- With this thought,
the stage is set to read what the scriptures say concerning who God is.
Isa 43:10 – GOD IS THE ONLY GOD – ALWAYS EXISTED
Before me no god was
formed, nor will there be one after me. NIV
Isa 44:6
John 1:1-4 GOD WAS BEFORE THE CREATION
1:1 In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in
the beginning.
3 Through him all things
were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. NIV
Isa 44:6
6 I am the first and I am
the last; apart from me there
is no God. NIV
Gen 1:1-2 GOD WAS AT THE CREATION.
1 In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was
formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the
Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. NIV
16 For by him all
things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things
were created by him and for him.
17 He is before all
things, and in him all things hold together
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in
spirit and in truth." NIV
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
over all creation.
Isa 46: 10 – GOD IS ALL KNOWING - OMNISICENCE
10 I make known the end
from the beginning, NIV
Jer 23:24 – HE IS EVER PRESENT- OMNIPRESENT
24 Can anyone hide in
secret places so that I cannot see him?"
declares the LORD. NIV
Rev 19:6 – HE IS ALL POWERFUL - OMNIPOTENT
6 And I heard as it were
the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the
voice of mighty thunderings, saying, alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. KJV
John 8:58 GOD AND JESUS ARE ONE
58 "I tell you the
truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I AM ! NIV
John 10:30 –
30 I and the Father are
one." NIV
Heb 1:2-3 – GOD LOOKS LIKE JESUS
3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory
and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his
powerful word. NIV
John 14:9
How can you say, `Show us
the Father'? Anyone who has seen me has
seen the Father. NIV
9 For in Christ all the
fullness of the Deity lives in “bodily form” NIV
Gen 1:26 – GOD LOOKS LIKE US
26 Then God said, "Let
us make man in our image, in our likeness,
NIV
Ex 32:3-4 – IMAGE OF GOD - THE GOLDEN CALF
4 He took what they handed
him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a
tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel Egypt
- Did you ever wonder
why the Israelites made a calf to worship while Moses was on
- Nobody
knew
what God looked like and somebody thought, well in Egypt, God was like
a bull, the symbol of strength and fertility, let’s build a pedestal like
that for our God to stand on.
- It was common
practice to build pedestals for their God to stand on to indicate He was
superior and a higher God. At
the entrance of Solomon’s temple are 12 bronze bulls supporting the
“molten sea. Somehow, I want to believe their hearts were
right, just misguided. Just saying.
- They did not have the Bible, Jesus or even the 10 commandment yet to guide them.
- Even if we did not
have the Bible to give us spiritual wisdom; just by observing our world,
we are able to see the invisible qualities, power and nature of a Divine
God.
- With great information and wisdom available today, men still do not honor God and therefore their minds are darkened and they have become fools concerning spiritual things.
Rom 1:19-20 – Men are without excuse
20 For since the creation
of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine
nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been
made, so that men are without excuse. NIV
Rom 1:22-23 – Men became fools
22 Although they claimed
to be wise, they became fools
Rom 1:25
25 They exchanged the
truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than
the Creator NIV
- It’s odd to me that
the Israelites had a desire to worship, even if it was the sun, stars or a
piece of wood. Today it does not
cross the mind of man to worship, they are self sufficient.
- Man is passive hostile to God, not caring
one way or the other about spiritual things, this is because of the sinful
nature of man. Without realizing
it, man is willingly ignorant
of God.
Rom 8:5-8
5 Those who live according
to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but
those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the
Spirit desires.
6 The mind of sinful man
is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's
law, nor can it do so.
8 Those controlled by
the sinful nature cannot please God. NIV
- It seems that in the
- It’s the valleys and
low points of our life that let’s us see our need for God in our lives.
Prov 30:8-9 – RICH AND INDEPENDENT
Give me neither poverty
nor riches! Give me just enough to
satisfy my needs.
9 For if I grow rich, I may become content without God. And if I am too poor, I may be forced to
steal, and thus insult God’s holy name.
LB
Matt 5:3 – DOWN AND OUT
3 "Blessed are the
poor (broken) in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. NIV
- The
real mystery
is why God even gives a rip about man at all. We are here today and gone tomorrow and
most reject the creator and embrace the creation of stuff, things, and toys.
- That brings us up God
making a way for man to enter into His Holy presence.
- God is invisible, has spiritual and divine qualities and man has no way to relate to Him. So God
divested all the divine and spiritual qualities and glory from “God the Word” and sent Him as
flesh and blood to live among us. (Man has the image of God in the
physical realm.)
- Through the Virgin
Mary God gave man a sign. A
man who would dwell among them - A
man who would save God’s people from their sins and bring them back into
fellowship with Him.
- God the
Word;
Jesus, became the only begotten Son of God .
Isa 7:14 – God gave man a sign
14 Therefore the Lord
himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give
birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. NIV
Matt 1:21
21 She will give birth to
a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his
people from their sins." NIV
Matt 1:22-23
23 "The virgin will be with child and
will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-which
means, "God with us." NIV
Ps 144:3-4 – WHY DOES GOD EVEN BOTHER WITH MAN?
3 O LORD, what is man
that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a fleeting shadow. NIV
1 John 4:8 – GOD IS LOVE
8 Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love.
1 John 4:16
God is love. Whoever lives in love
lives in God, and God in him NIV
John 1:14 – THE WORD GAVE UP HIS SPIRITUAL ATTRIBUTES
14 The Word became
flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of
the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. NIV
John 17:5
5 And now, Father, glorify
me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
NIV
- When Jesus became
flesh he became God the Son and
God became God the Father.
Melchizedek
- We can take a look at
Melchizedek to find out more about who God is. When we first meet Melchizedek, he is
introduced to us in Abraham’s time as the King of Salem (peace). Scriptures say he lived in “
- He was made like the Son of God.
He was a King and a high priest forever.
- He was without a
father or mother, no descendents, having neither beginning nor an ending. (Some
students of the word think there were just no records on the genealogy of Melchizedek.)
- Since he was made
like the son of God, then his characteristics is of the most High God.
- (Other students believe that Melchizedek and
Jesus Christ were the same person)
(Study on Christophany)
- The Dead Sea Scrolls refer to him as a
Devine Being, as Elohim and indicates he will be at the “Day of Atonement”
and will atone for the people predestined to him, He will also judge the
people.
- Obscure writings have been translated
to show that Melchizedek instructed Abraham in the Torah well before it
was brought forth on Mount Sinai and taught the concepts of one God, a
universal Deity; the Father of all.
He presented teachings about the conduct and organization of the
local universe and that another Son of God would come in the flesh, and
that he would be born of a woman. -
He blessed Abraham with prosperity.
Ps 76:2 – He dwelled in Zion
2 His tent is in Salem Zion Jerusalem 14:18 – He
was the High Priest of the most high God.
18 Then Melchizedek
king of Salem
Heb 7:1-2 – Salem
1 This Melchizedek was
king of Salem
2 and Abraham gave him a
tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness";
then also, "king of Salem
Heb 7:3 –.Without Father or Mother – No beginning or
end
3 Without father or
mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or
end of life, like the Son of
God he remains a priest forever.
- There are many
scriptures referring to the High Priestly “Order of Melchizedek”. This “higher order” Priesthood was
before Aaron and the Levitical Priesthood existed.
- Abraham gave tithes
to him, indicating Melchizedek was superior to him.
- This priesthood served as a “Type of
Christ” and foreshadowed the coming Messiah.
- Note: Melchizedek
resembled God’s son and not the other way around.
- Although Jesus was not
a Levite, nor a Levitical Priest, He was of a “higher order” of Priesthood,
that of Melchizedek. - Jesus is our
HIGH Priest forever.
Heb 5:10 – High Priest
10 Called of God an high
priest after the order of Melchizedek. KJV
Heb 5:6 – Priest forever
6 As he says also in
another place, you are a priest FOREVER after the order of Melchizedek KJV
Ps 110:4 – This commission is irrevocable.
4 The LORD has sworn and will
not change his mind: "You are a priest forever, in the order of
Melchizedek NIV
Heb 7:11 - Higher order than Aaron Levitical Priesthood
11 If perfection could
have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the
law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to
come-one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? NIV
Heb 7:14-16 A priesthood of power and an indestructible
life
15 And what we have said
is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears,
16 one who has become a
priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis
of the power of an indestructible life.
NIV
Heb 6:20 – God the Son is our High Priest
20 Whither the forerunner
is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. KJV
Heb 5:10 – He was designated by God
10 and was designated by God
to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. NIV
Heb 5:6 – Confirmed again
6 And he says in another
place, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." NIV
SUMMARY OF MELCHIZEDEK
Melchizedek was a Christophany
of Jesus Christ who appeared through out history.
SUMMARY OF WHO GOD IS
Looking through the
characterizes of Melchizedek
- There was no God
before God nor will there be after Him.
- He has no beginning
and no end
- He has no father or
mother
- God and Jesus existed
before all things that were created.
- God and “Jesus the
Word” are one – They are both God.
- He is our High Priest
- He is a spirit with
invisible qualities
- He is all powerful
- He is all present,
everywhere at once
- He is all knowing -
knowing the end from the beginning.
- He has a Divine
nature.
- God is love. He made man for His own pleasure and
gave him the world.
- We are made in the
physical image of our Spiritual God.
So God looks like us in the physical realm but totally different in
the Spiritual realm.
- Spirit is invisible
to mortal man unless manifested by God for a special purpose. (Christophany) One day we will see Him as He is.
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Prov 11:14
I
am grateful for those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical
information, and scripture verses. Because
of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further than I otherwise ever
could have.
A survey of the New Testament – Gunry
All the Miracles of the Bible - Herbert Lockyer
Bible Commentary – F. B. Meyer
Compact Bible Dictionary - Zondervan
Complete Bible Handbook – Lawrence
Dake’s annotated Bible - Dake
Halley’s Bible Handbook – H.H. Halley
KJV Bible
Mystery of the Ages – Herbert W. Armstrong
Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest
NIV Bible
The Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Tyndale
The Layman’s Overview of the Bible – George W. Knight
The Bible Almanac – Packer Tenney White
Vincent’s Word Studies of the NT - Mac Donald
What the Bible is all about – Henrietta C. Mears
What in the World is going on? – David Jeremiah
Wikipedia encyclopedia
Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner
Wikipedia Encyclopedia
Wycliff Bible Commentary, The
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