Last Wednesday, we saw something called a confession of faith. It was at the end of our magazine in the youth group Sunday school class. Often a confession is something we go through quickly without thinking too much about it, but it describes the basis of our faith. It says who we are, what we believe about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, man, the Devil, angels, sin, salvation, etc.
We reviewed it for two weeks in Sunday School, and I thought it would be good to bring this information to your attention as a church. Because it will help you and me know why we believe what we believe.
Last time, we saw Article 1 which says: We believe that there is only one God in his essence, but that he exists in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. All three have the same attributes and perfections. One of the proof texts we saw was Matthew 3:16-17 and the baptism of Jesus.
Tonight, we're going to look at Article 2, which states that: We believe in God the Father,
personal - This means that God has similar characteristics to us. Or we have attributes like him because we were made in his image. Some of these features are,
Life - 1 Sam 17:26, Psalm 36:9, Jeremiah 10:10
He has names - Ex 3:14, M 11:25, Psalm 9:2 the following names have several meanings:
YHWH, Eloah, Elohim, elohei, el shaddai, Jah, Adonai
spirit, Jesus told the Samaritan woman about God as Spirit in John 4:24 -
When Jesus says, “God is spirit,” He teaches that the Father is like--divine, unbounded by physical corporeality, and life-giving incomprehensible.
As human beings, we are defined by our location. We can be located in a particular place at a specific time. Although we are composed of body and spirit, our spirits are always where our bodies are, at least while alive. God, on the other hand, cannot be located. Therefore, when we say He is spirit, we say He is invisible, not contained.
Eternal, We are finite, which means that one day we will die. We had a beginning and we are going to have an end. God had no beginning and will never die. He is eternal. Psalm 90:1 Lord, You have been our refuge from generation to generation. 2 Before the mountains were born and the earth and the world were formed, from eternity to eternity, you are God.
infinite, God's doctrine of the infinite brings comfort and confidence to fear-filled hearts. He tells the "control freak": “You need to learn that you are not God. You are not enough for life's challenges, however finite.
Psalm 145:3 Great is the Lord, and most worthy to be praised; his greatness is unfathomable.
I alone am enough! ” This reminds the anxiety-ridden introvert: “You are right to feel your limits so keenly. But you are wrong to think that you can carry out all the tasks you have been given. You were never meant to be self-reliant. God is saying, “You should live depending on me. I alone am enough! My grace is sufficient for you, and My grace is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). ”
unchanging and unfathomable in His Being, He does not change in His nature, character, will, or purposes. However, He chose to reveal His person and plans progressively in the story of redemption through His Spirit and through His Son Jesus.
Creator, All things were created by God. He spoke everything to existence. Gen 1 - 2
preserver and finisher of all things; who revealed Himself to the world by the Son and by his works, making known Himself and all that He requires for our conduct and dealings here in the world: Psalm 9: 2 I will rejoice and exult in you; to thy name, O Most High, I will sing praises.
Psalm 139:7 Where shall I depart from Your Spirit? Where will I flee from your face? 8 If I ascend to heaven, there you are; if I make my bed in the deepest abyss, there you are too; 9 if I take the wings of the dawn and stop at the ends of the seas, 10 your hand will guide me still there, and your right hand will sustain me. 11 If I say, darkness will indeed overshadow me, and the light around me will become night, 12 even darkness itself shall not be dark to you: darkness and light are the same thing.
Conclusion
Therefore, with this new understanding in mind, we should be humble and happy to know that God loves us and wants to do His work in our lives. We know he can help us in all situations. When we are sad or lonely, feeling worthless or panicked, we can understand that God is near and we need to call upon him our all-sufficient God.
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