Who is your god?

Who is Your God?

The Person of God The Power of God The Provision of God

It is common practice for us to store things in boxes because it is orderly and efficient rather than let items lie scattered. The same is true in our mind. We have “mental boxes” in which we store concepts about our government, other nations, the auto mechanic, the chiropractor, the dentist and the church along with many others. These "mental boxes" contain information based upon a mixture of fact, opinion and emotion.

Everyone has a "mental box" for God. Some insist God does not exist but the concept of god remains in their mind. For others it is filled with a god who has been fashioned by their own sinful mind after the likeness of man or animal. This false god is a chameleon that changes to match the mood and circumstances of the person and the prevailing culture.

The correct view of GOD must be outside the box and based upon scripture alone because GOD cannot be placed in a box. God cannot be made to fit into any box whether it is called reformed, evangelical, charismatic or any other religious designation. The one true God cannot be constrained, controlled, conjectured or contrived. He has revealed himself through his creation and his word. He reveals the truth about himself through his Spirit.

The great 20th century preacher A. W. Tozer said, “The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us. A whole new philosophy of the Christian life has resulted from this one basic error in our religious thinking.”

“When we try to imagine what God is like we must of necessity use that-which-is-not-God as the raw material for our minds to work on; hence whatever we visualize God to be, He is not, for we have constructed our image out of that which He has made and what He has made is not God. If we insist upon trying to imagine Him, we end with an idol, made not with hands but with thoughts; and an idol of the mind is as offensive to God as an idol of the hand.” [end quote]

Here I should remind the reader that A. W. Tozer's formal education only extended through the 8th grade. Fortunately for us he was not a seminary graduate. His understanding of the God of Abraham and the Bible came through the guiding of the Holy Spirit and not through education. This is always true whether a person has little or no education or is awash in higher educational degrees.

1 Corinthians 1:19 - 29 KJV "19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence."

Matthew 11:27 ESV "All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

A correct view of God and the ability to understand his word is 100% dependent upon God himself. Any other view arises from the mind and the pride of life, not from God. Let us consider a correct view of God from the Bible. Who is your god?

Romans 1:19-20 ESV "19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made."

Isaiah 40:25 – 31 ESV "25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:18 ESV "To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?"

Isaiah 46:5 ESV "To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?" To whom will you liken me asks the Lord. In this passage God speaks in the first person, "me"

Consider the person of God.

Can God be measured for size?
Can God be measured by weight?
Can God be measured by magnitude?
Can God be measured by time?

Can God be measured by space?

The creature cannot measure the Creator.

Our existence is constrained by TIME, SPACE and MATTER. We are born at a certain time, we live a certain amount of time and we die at a certain time. We travel a certain distance each day to reach another destination. It could be only feet away or miles away. It takes time for us to cover the space between where we begin and our destination. The world around us and our own bodies are made of matter which we can see and touch. God is not so plagued by these issues. He is not like us.

God does not exist within time.
In Isaiah 40:28 we read, "The Lord is the everlasting God, Jehovah the Lord"

God created time.
IN Genesis 1:5 we read, "God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day." Time, as we know it, began when God created the heavens and the earth.

God existed before time.
Psalm 90:1 - 2 "1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."

God is not constrained to a particular place, rather He is present everywhere.
Psalm 139:7 - 12 "7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you."

God does not consist of matter, rather He is spirit.
In John 4:24 we read, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

The laws of physics do not apply to God. Physics is a human science which gives some understanding of God's creation. God’s person is infinite, having no limits or boundaries in time or space or extent or magnitude.

We humans tend to think of God as if he is like us but this is not true.
Psalm 50: 21 "These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you."

Isaiah 40:28 "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord [Jehovah or Yahweh] is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable."

Consider the power of God.

Isaiah 40:26-27 "Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?

They spoke of God as if He were a created human like themselves. Psalm 50: 21 "These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you."

Isaiah 40:28 ESV "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord [Jehovah or Yahweh] is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable."

Exodus 3:15 ESV "God also said to Moses, Say this to the people of Israel, The Lord [Jehovah or Yahweh], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."

Exodus 20:11 ESV "For in six days the Lord [Jehovah or Yahweh] made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

Colossians 1:16 "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him."

Hebrews 1:10 "And, You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” We understand God’s power in creation by faith in God’s word not because of science."

There is a well intentioned movement that seeks to prove by scientific means that the world was created instead of having evolved over millions or billions of years. It seems appropriate to examine this movement here. They speak much about the creation and display scientific proofs that God is the creator. Does God want us to prove he is creator or simply believe He is the creator because He has so stated in the Bible and revealed in His creation? Can scientific proof cause a sinner to receive Christ? Is science a biblical standard for evangelism?

Hebrews 11:1, ESV “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11:3, ESV “by faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

Hebrews 11:6, ESV "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

Romans 10:17, ESV “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Acts 17:24 - 25, ESV “24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

Some within the creation movement use Paul’s sermon in Athens to authenticate the need to prove the earth was created by God. The evidence shows that Paul named God as Creator but spent the remainder of the sermon talking about the Creator NOT the creation. Our focus must be the Creator, our Savior, Redeemer and King. We should believe the word of the Creator and not seek a sign or wisdom to prove God is creator. Seeking scientific proof is seeking a sign through human wisdom.

Those who believe in evolution instead of the Creator do not need scientific proof to be converted but grace which brings the gift of faith whose consequence is the knowledge of the truth and results in redemption.

God’s Power cannot be annulled by anything or anyone for God is the Creator who has complete power over all HIS creation. Attempts to defy God’s power are ludicrous.

Psalm 2:1- 4, "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds [restraint] apart and cast away their cords [means of control] from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision."

Decrees of kings nor presidents nor dictators can annul God’s power

Laws enacted by legislative assemblies cannot annul God’s power.

Rulings by judges cannot annul God’s power.

Opinions cannot annul God’s power.

Traditions handed down by others cannot annul God s power.

Theology developed by men cannot annul God’s power.

John the Baptist declared in Matthew 3:9 "And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham."

Luke 19:36 - 40 "36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, "“I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”"

Matthew 28:18 "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."

Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."

Psalm 33:6 "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host."

God has absolute and total power over Mankind

Nebuchadnezzar Daniel 3:22 - 29 "22 Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”

Note that Nebuchadnezzar also was not hurt by the intense heat.

Pharaoh Romans 9:17-18 "17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills."

Exodus 7:3 - 5 "3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

Animals Obey God

Look at Exodus chapter 8 where you find;

verse 4 frogs obey Him — God covered Egypt with frogs

verse 16 lice obey Him — God covered man and beast with lice

verse 20 flies obey Him — God covered all Egypt except in Goshen with flies
Numbers 22:22 - 30 Donkeys obey Him -— God made Balaam's donkey speak

1 Kings 17:1-7 Ravens obey Him -— God used ravens to feed Elijah

Daniel 6:22 Lions obey Him — God closed the mouth of lions to protect Daniel

Matthew 17:27Fish obey Him — Christ directed a fish to bring tax money to Peter

Pestilence and disease obey God

Read Exodus 9 verses 3 – 11 and verses 22 - 25

Weather obeys God

Mark 4:39 "And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "“Peace! Be still!”" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."

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In the air
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On the land
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Under the water
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Invertebrates
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Fish
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Amphibians
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Mammals
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Everyone and everything everywhere obeys God when He commands.

Consider God's Provision
Isaiah 40:29 - 31 “29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

This passage in Isaiah describes the grace of God. Grace, God’s favor cannot be separated from His Power. God grace is common to all His creation but not in equal measure to all. All will not enjoy salvation but all will share, to some extent, in God’s grace.

Grace holds creation together
Colossians 1:17 “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist (hold together)."

Hebrews 1:3   "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down. on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
Jesus Christ holds all things together by the word of his power.

Grace feeds the animals
Matthew 6:26    "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

Grace brings the sunshine and the rain on all men
Matthew 5:44 - 45   “44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

Grace affords every person the knowledge of God
Romans 1:18 - 20   “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

God can withdraw Common grace.
He can withhold the rain -— Elijah 1 Kings 17
He can block the sun -— When Jesus died on the cross
He can send fire to destroy whom he wills - Nadab and Abihu Leviticus 10
He can open the earth to destroy whom he wills — Korah Numbers 26
He can destroy nations, Judah carried away by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon Jeremiah 21
He can destroy mankind if he wills — Genesis 6:7 So the Lord said, “I will blot [translated destroy in KJV] out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

God does not have an obligation to give grace
Jude 1:6   “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day”

2Peter 2:4 & 9   “4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,”

God gives particular grace to those who believe
Hebrews 2:16   “For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.”

Genesis 6:8   “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” KJV

Philippians 4:19   “And my God will supply every need of yours [all the saints in Christ Jesus chapter1:1] according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Particular Physical Provision
Matthew 6:25 – 30   "25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" 26 "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" 27 "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" 28 "And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin," 29 "yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"

Particular Spiritual Provision
God Loves His Elect
Romans 5:8   “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God Redeems His Elect (God buys us back from slavery to Satan)
Luke 1:68   “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people”

Ephesians 1:7   “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”

1 Peter 1:18 -19    “18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

God Adopts His Elect (God makes us legally his own children)
Ephesians 1:3 – 6    “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

God’s changes our family relationship.
Galatians 3:11 - 16 “11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”

The distinction between Jew and Gentile no longer exists because we are now one body in Christ. All believers, Jews and Gentiles are now Abraham’s children and part of the commonwealth of Israel.

God Reconciles His Elect (God makes us to be at peace with himself)
Colossians 1:21 – 22 "21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,"

God's Justifies His Elect (we become righteous in God’s presence)
Romans 3:20 - 24 “20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”

Christ will gather His elect to Himself
Matthew 24:29 - 31 "29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." 30 "Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." 31 "And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

After the tribulation Christ will return in the clouds to gather his elect to himself and we will remain forever with Him.

God particular grace is eternal
Romans 8:35 - 39 “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, [nothing in creation] shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Hebrews 5:9 “And being made perfect, he became the author of ETERNAL salvation unto all them that obey him;”

God’s provision is infinite, having no limits or boundaries in time or space or extent or magnitude
God is Infinite in His Person. Time, space nor matter are relevant to His Person.
God is Infinite in His Power over all His creation.
God provides common grace to all creation and particular grace to those who believe.

Jude 1 “24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” KJV

To whom do you liken God? Is your god the God of Abraham? Does your god have limitations? God is not what man wishes him to be but God is as He has described Himself.