SFRS: Becoming Spiritually Fit: Who is God? PT2

Pray

Recap:

To be spiritually fit, you have to know the God who created you.

Attributes of God:

God is Triune

God is a Person(s)

God is Eternal

God is All-Knowing

God is All-Present

God is All-Powerful

Who is God?

To be spiritually fit, you have to know the God who created you.

Romans 1:19-20

Head:

Who is God?

God is Sovereign. How do we know?

The Meaning of God’s Sovereignty

To say that God is sovereign is to affirm Him as the ruler of His creation who will ultimately accomplish all of His purposes. He is ultimately in control of everything — all resources, all authority, life and death, and every event.

God’s Eternal Rule over His Creation, His Redeemed People, and His Coming Kingdom

Sovereignty of God over Creation

Numerous Scriptures speak of God’s creation and describe God as the everlasting King (Psalm 135:13; Jeremiah 10:10; 1 Timothy 1:17) and the ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth (2 Chronicles 20:6). Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is called “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). The Scriptures also tell us that

God sits as King forever (Psalms 10:16; 29:10).

God rules forever (Lamentations 5:19).

God rules over all (1 Chronicles 29:12).

God is sovereign over all the nations (Acts 17:24–29).

God is in control of all authority (Romans 13:1).

Sovereignty of God over His Redeemed People

This mighty, sovereign God rules over His redeemed people, those who voluntarily submit to Him. In this sense God’s people can testify with the psalmist, “You are my King” (Psalm 44:4). When one becomes a Christian, that new believer enters into Christ’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13).

Sovereignty of God over the Coming Kingdom.

One day God the Son will rule after all rebellion is judged. Jesus taught His disciples to pray and anticipate His coming kingdom when His will “will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). One day He will rule the world with a rod of iron (Revelation 12:5; 19:15; 20:1–6).

The prophets wrote clearly of a messianic king who one day would rule the earth:

And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one. (Zechariah 14:9)

Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him. (Daniel 7:27)

There is a day coming when God will be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28) and every knee will bow to Jesus (Philippians 2:10).

God is Holy. How do we know?

The Meaning of God’s Holiness

The apostle John not only states that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16) but also that “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). “Light” is used to refer to the revelation of His holiness. The absence of any darkness refers to His complete separation from all sin. John frequently refers to darkness as sin (see John 1:5; 3:19; 12:35; 1 John 1:5–6; 2:8–9, 11).

God is holy in that He is not only “set apart” or exalted above all of His creation but also separate from all moral evil and sin. This also means that He is infinite in moral excellence and purity. For this reason the Scripture speaks of the “beauty of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4). You can adore God who is truly perfect in every way, and as you gaze intently at Him, you observe no flaw or imperfection in His character.

His holiness motivates His love for what is right, good, and pure. His love and devotion for what is truly beautiful and perfect give Him a corresponding perfect hatred for what is opposed to it. He can “take no pleasure in wickedness” because there is absolutely no evil in Him (Psalm 5:4). In fact, Proverbs 6:17–19 lists seven things “the Lord hates,” including wicked plans. Those seven are “haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”

Our holy God also hates hypocritical religious celebrations (Amos 5:21–22). As you respond to His holy love, He will develop in you a love for Him that is also accompanied by a hatred of evil (Psalm 97:10) and that in no way rejoices in unrighteousness (1 Corinthians 13:6). Habakkuk tells us His eyes are too pure to approve evil (1:13).

In His holiness He can never encourage sin or be blamed for it in any way. James writes, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone” (James 1:13).

When we are tempted, we are not to follow our forefather Adam and blame God as he did—“The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12). We will make progress only when we run to God in our temptation and seek His aid and accept full responsibility for our sin. James declares that each of us “is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust” (James 1:14).

The Testimony of Scripture

In a stunning vision, Isaiah beheld the Lord seated on a throne, “lofty and exalted,” and listened as one angel “called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory’” (Isaiah 6:1, 3).

In the Scriptures, each person of our triune God is described as holy—Father (John 17:11), Son (Acts 3:14), and Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). “There is no one holy like the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:2), for He alone is holy (Revelation 15:4).

The Scriptures also tell us the works of God flow from His holy character. Out of His holiness, He creates (Isaiah 43:15), redeems (Isaiah 43:14), chooses (Isaiah 49:7), and revives the hearts of the holy and contrite (Isaiah 57:15), and one day He will glorify His people (Isaiah 60:9). Out of His holiness, He speaks (Psalm 60:6) and swears to fulfill His promises of blessing (Psalm 89:35–37) and judgment (Amos 4:2).

While even saints in heaven wait for the complete vindication of His holy name (Revelation 6:10), it has been and will be manifested and vindicated (Numbers 16:5–7). Because His throne is holy (Psalm 47:8), those who fail to treat Him as holy will be judged (Leviticus 10:13; 1 Samuel 6:20). Even Moses was disciplined for failing to treat God as holy in his act of disobedience before the people (Numbers 20:12). When God’s people live in bondage, His name is profaned in the world (Ezekiel 36:20). God is concerned for His holy name (Ezekiel 36:21). Out of jealously for His holiness, He will restore and bless His people (Deuteronomy 26:15; Ezekiel 28:25; 36:22; 39:25). God tells us that there will be a future day when all will know that “I am the Lord, the Holy One” (Ezekiel 39:7).

God is Righteous. How do we know?

Righteousness: It’s in God’s Character

Jesus addresses the Father as “righteous Father” (John 17:25). Righteousness belongs to God alone (Isaiah 45:24; Daniel 9:7), though Jesus, God incarnate, is called the “Holy and Righteous One” (Acts 3:14). Only God is “righteous in all His ways” (Psalm 145:17). The prophets write that God “will do no injustice” (Zephaniah 3:5) and is the very “habitation of righteousness” (Jeremiah 50:7).

God’s righteous character is imprinted on His law (Psalm 19:9; Romans 7:12), and His wisdom yields the fruit of righteousness (James 3:18). His Scriptures are designed to train His people in His righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16), and He Himself will be righteous and will fulfill all the promises of His Word (Nehemiah 9:8).

The revelation of God’s righteous acts provoked wicked Pharaoh to temporarily acknowledge the Lord as “the righteous one” (Exodus 9:27). The proper response to this attribute is to continually give glory to Him (Isaiah 24:16), give thanks to Him (Psalm 7:17), joyfully sing to Him (Psalm 51:14), and to proclaim and continually declare the good news of His righteousness (Psalms 35:28; 40:9).

God is Good. How do we know?

Mark 10:18

Psalm 25:8

Psalm 52:9

Psalm 145:7

Psalm 135:3

Heart:

Questions

Based off our observations of who God is:

(Recap)

God is Sovereign

God is Holy

God is Righteous

God is Good

How would you summarize God?

As said at the beginning, To be spiritually fit, you have to know the God who created you.

Why?

As it is best explained by Dr. Art Azurdia, “Your faith instinctively strengthens in direct proportion to the expansion of the object of your faith. You expand your understanding of the object of your faith and faith itself will obediently follow. The object of your faith… is Jesus Christ and all of his promises.”

Hands:

Walk with God: What does cultivating a deeper knowing of God look like personally in your walk with God?

Keep Christ first: What does cultivating a deeper knowing of God look like personally when we keep Christ first?

Keep sin out of your life: What does cultivating a deeper knowing of God look like personally when you are keeping sin out of your life?

Personally,

Luke 6:40,

A warrior is only as effective as their perfect modeling of the teaching they’ve been given by their master.

The more a warrior follows in the footsteps of their teacher, the more effective they become in the Way of the Faithful Warrior

A warrior who shows up to the fight not knowing the King whom they fight for is more useful to the enemy than the King they serve

You don’t know that King’s:

Values

Goals

Enemies

Agenda

For me, ensuring that I am reading, engaging, and meditating upon Scripture ultimately ensures that I will better know the God who has called me to engage in spiritual warfare on His behalf.

Gospel Presentation:

Ask someone to explain the Gospel.

Summarize the Gospel, read Eph 2:1-10

John 8:24; 14:6