WHO IS GOD - JACOB GEORGE (good e books to read TXT) 📗

there is pain. When people who are great athletes are pushing through the limits of endurance to get to new records, there is constant pain. There is pain when you are running a mile or two at top speed, when your lungs are gasping and your body wants to quit. But there is also the overwhelming joy that comes when you finally do break through into that new dimension.

This kind of pain is not the same thing as suffering. Some people do not recognize the difference between the suffering that is caused deliberately by evil and the pain that comes about through striving to reach a new plateau of experience. Such suffering merely marks the transition period of going from one level of accomplishment to a higher level.

All suffering is temporary. It will all pass away when Jesus Himself returns to the earth. Revelation 21:4 reads: "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

Who is God?

"Who is God?" is a good question.  It is better than asking "What is God?"  This is because God exists as a Person who created us, loves us, is concerned for our being, desires to provide for us, and sent his Son to redeem us.  If we were to ask "What is God?" we might be tempted to say that God is the infinite being, the creator, a presence, or something like that.  In some respect this would be true, but the first question brings us closer to understanding more of who God really is in His character and His love for us as revealed in the Bible.

The Bible teaches us that in all existence, from all eternity, there has been and always will be only one God.  God was never created. He is, and always has been, completely loving, completely just, completely holy, and completely merciful.  God is holy and He can have nothing to do with sin, as the Bible says, "His eyes are too pure to look upon evil," (Hab. 1:13).  This does not mean that God cannot see what someone does that is wrong.  It is a way of describing how holy God is.  God cannot sin.  He is perfect.

God is a Trinity.  This means that God exists in three persons, not three gods.  Technically, the doctrine of the Trinity states that in the one God is the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Each is not the same person as the other; yet there are not three gods but one.  This is similar in analogy to the nature of time.  Time is past, present, and future.  The past is not the same as the present, which is not the same as the future.  But, there are not three times.  There is only one thing called time.

The reason the word "person" is used in describing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is because each exhibits attributes of personhood -- not in a body of flesh and bones, but in personality.  In other words, each has a will, and each loves, speaks, is aware of others, communicates with others, etc.  These are attributes of personhood and we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each demonstrate these qualities.

Because of the Trinity, God can become flesh in the form of the Son and still exist in such a way that He can run the universe.  Therefore, the Son can communicate to us on our level.

Following are a couple verses that hint at the Trinity.

Matt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."

2 Cor. 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."

The Bible says there is only one God: "I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God," (Isaiah 45:5).  Yet, the Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called God.

Below is a very brief chart showing that each of the persons in the Trinity share the same attributes that only God shares.  But remember, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each has a will, speaks, etc.  Therefore, we say there are three persons but only one God.

 

FATHER

SON

HOLY SPIRIT

Called God

Phil. 1:2

John 1:1,14;

Acts 5:3-4

Creator

Isaiah 64:8

John 1:3;

Job 33:4, 26:13

Everywhere

1 Kings 8:27

Matt. 28:20

Psalm 139:7-10

All knowing

1 John 3:20

John 16:30; 21:17

1 Cor. 2:10- 11

A Will

Luke 22:42

Luke 22:42

1 Cor. 12:11

Speaks

Matt. 3:17;

Luke 5:20; 7:48

Acts 13:2

 

Our Best and Greatest Love

Love is the greatest power, the most powerful force that ever exists.  It drives our lives, it motivates our actions, it stimulates our passion, it shapes our thoughts, it molds our thinking, it directs our behavior, it justifies our reactions.  Love determines our sacrifices, it sustains our endurance, it sharpens our choices, it dictates outcomes, it maximizes our care, it conceives our plans, it enhances our planning.  Love always seeks to please, to protect, to defend, to nurture, to care, to court, to charm, to dream, to beautify, to attract, to preserve, to persevere, to cover, to educate, to uplift, to promote, to respect, to liberate, to elevate, to build up, to repair, to pull up, to push up, to publicize, to market, to exhibit, to advertise, to talk about, to exalt, to valorize, to brag about, to display, to show off.

 

The dictionary defines “Love” (noun) as “a strong positive emotion of regard; any object of warm affection or devotion; a beloved person; used as terms of endearment.  “To Love” (verb) is to have a great affection and liking for, to get pleasure from, to be enamored or in love with; …

 

The Bible (New International Version / NIV),  in 1 Corinthians13:4-7, lists some attributes and virtues of Love: “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.”

 

The best example and the greatest lesson of Love is given to us by God the Father Himself who, out of His unthinkable kind of Love for the world (the human race) (John 3:16), sent His one and only Son Jesus Christ to die in order to save us and to redeem us from eternal damnation.  His evident gesture of Love through the death of His Son has therefore eliminated His intended wrath against us in terms of His anger towards us after the first man, Adam, disobeyed Him and sinned against Him in the Garden of Eden.  His Great-Creator’s Love for us has compelled Him to offer His own Son as the utmost sacrifice to save us all from the consequences of the original sin (Genesis3/Whole Chapter).

 

We truly thank God for His unique compassion and for His unmatchable mercy.  Otherwise, none of us would ever escape or dream to make it to Heaven.  It is written in 1 Peter 1:3:  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  And this is the greatest lesson of Love for us to study, to meditate upon, to learn from, and to practice on all occasions, at all times and towards all.

 

The topic of Love is the widest and the vastest subject that would take volumes upon volumes to develop.  For the purpose of this blog, we will focus, concentrate and remain within the context of what Jesus taught inMark 12:30-31 that states: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.”

 

To Love God is to obey Him, to respect Him, to revere Him, to veneer Him, to care for His people (our fellow humans).  To Love God is to do His will, to follow His instructions and to obey His commands.  In John 21:15, 16, Jesus instructed Peter saying (1) “Feed my lambs” and (2) “Take care of my sheep.”  In John 21:17, Jesus repeatedly asked Peter “Simon son of John,do you love me?”  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” 

 

To Love God is to diligently seek Him, to crave for and to create intimacy with Him, to be attentive to His voice, to be and to live in perfect synergy with Him through yielding to the Holy Spirit.  To Love God is to continuously watch ourselves not to anger Him, or to displease Him, or to offend Him, or to disrespect Him.  To Love God is to do our best to please Him with all our might.  As a result of our seriousness about loving Him, our lives become peaceful, productive, powerful, meaningful, prosperous and very successful.  We are then able to hear from Him, to walk and to behave in accordance with His expectations of us.  We are mindful and we strive to avoid making mistakes although they are an integral part of living.  We initiate breakthroughs with God in mind.  Great creations and great innovations come out of us because we are obedient, because we can hear from Him and follow through, and because He can trust us to carry out His plans for His world.

 

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:9: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” - the things God has prepared for those who Love Him.”  To Love God is to worship Him, and Him Alone.  John 4:23 says:  “Yet a time is coming and has come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”  God is the Only One who is worthy of our worship and who deserves all our praise.  He is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient.  We have been created to praise Him, to worship Him, to veneer Him, to serve Him.

 

To Love our neighbor is to care for the well-being, for the strong standing, for the welfare and for the good living of others.  We are happy for their progress, their advancement, their achievement, their accomplishment, their success.  We contribute joyfully to their happiness and to their advancement as much as we can.  We avoid at all costs harming them, and we do whatever it takes to protect them.  As a specific example that is generic and innate to their very nature, their commitment, their determination and their responsibility, a Firefighter would do and risk anything to rescue and to save a single life from a burning flame. And this is the kind of eloquent example among others that take place every day, that we take “routinely” for granted, and yet, this is exactly what God means when He says to “Love your neighbor like yourself”.  The Firefighter is a Professional who is educated and trained to perform and to fulfill their duty that is deeply rooted in altruism.  However, their mindset of willingness, of single-mindedness, of high personal (and work) ethics, of dedication, and of great sacrifice is what we have to learn from, to practice, to emulate and