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"Our Triune God"
When it comes to our understanding of God, the first place to begin is with His essential Character. Scripture presents God as a Trinity consisting of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. These three are one in essence, and yet unique in their personality and function. In this lesson we will be exploring this foundational and mysterious doctrine.
"The Attributes of God"
Who is God? What is He Like? What can we know about Him? In a sense we can say that God is simply beyond our ability to fully comprehend. And yet, as a personal God, He has revealed Himself to us through His attributes. These are those characteristics that help us know God and understand - within our limitations of course - how He works within His creation. In this lesson, we will be looking at those traits that help us answer the question "Who is God?"
"The Immensity of God"
In Psalm 86:8-10, David exclaimed: "Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone."
Have you ever stopped and pondered the immensity of God? Have you ever considered His power, His might, and His absolute authority over His creation? The truth is, if we ever just stopped to think of how great God is, we would exclaim with David: "Thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone!" When it comes to describing God, there are four words that we often use: Sovereign, Freedom, Immutable, and Eternal. And in this weeks’ lesson we are going to consider these four words and how they relate to Our Great God.
"God's Mysterious Working"
“O, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33)
Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever “occurred” to God? Has it ever occurred to you that, when it comes to the almighty, there are no such things as surprises? Even those things which seem to come at us from out of nowhere were foreseen by our omniscient God. But even in understanding that, we often still find ourselves wondering why things happen the way they do. We still find ourselves trying to fit all the little pieces together in this puzzle that we call life. And often, despite our best efforts, there are many things that still remain a mystery to us. But nothing is a mystery to God. Rather, everything that happens to us is merely a small part of His overall plan for us.
God's Work in History
For many, the study of history is boring. “What can I possibly learn from a bunch of ancient and dusty accounts?” Some say. And yet, when history starts affecting our everyday lives, those same people who wanted nothing to do with history all of a sudden find it very interesting. The apostle Paul reminded the church at Corinth that history can be both instructive and helpful. In regards to the history of Israel, written down in the Old Testament, the apostle said: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Cor. 10:11). As Christians who believe in the One True God as represented in the Bible, we believe that God is the absolute authority and controller of all human history – past, present, and future. And in this lesson, we are going to consider the history of the world in which we live from a biblical perspective.
God Communicates With Us
In psalm 8:3-4, David writes: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?” In this psalm, David highlights one of the ways in which God communicates to His creation – through nature. As David considered something as simple and common as the heavens, moon, and stars, he could not help but see God’s fingerprints all over them.
One of the characteristics of personality is the ability to communicate. Sometimes this communication comes in the form of “non-verbal” communication such as laughter, body position, and even facial expressions. Other times, this communication comes in a verbal manner, through both our spoken and written words. In this lesson we are going to consider how God communicates with us.
God's Work Of Redemption
When we began our study of the Person of God, we learned something of Who He is and what He is like by studying His attributes. Then we learned something of how He has acted in history by – by creating the world, preserving the world, and exercising sovereignty over the world. But God was not just interested in working in the world. He also wanted to communicate with man, so He revealed Himself to man through both general and specific ways. But above and beyond all that, God desires to relate to each and every one of us in a very real and personal way. In the next few lessons we will be considering how God works personally in the lives of individuals who place their trust in Him. More specifically, we will be looking at His work of redemption, sanctification, glorification, and eternal rest.
This week we are going to look at God’s foundational working in the lives of believer, and that is the work of redemption. This is the work for which Christ was sent and this is the work through which our relationship with God the Father is restored.
God's Work of Sanctification
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16).
For those of us who know Christ as our personal Savior, we realize the constant struggle to live up to God’s standard of holiness. The comfort in this, however, is knowing that God is working in us, clearing away the dross, and conforming us to the image of His Son. This conforming process is what we often refer to as “sanctification,” and it is the process whereby God produces holiness in the lives of His people. As God continues to set us further and further apart from the world and from sin, we start to look more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. However, part of the process of sanctification necessitates our obedience and our willing submission to the Lord’s leading. And that is what we are going to be focusing on in this week’s lesson.