God, Who is He & What Does He Want?

God – who is He and what does He want? The author of the Bible The creator of the universe The only God Eternal and unchanging The character of God Manifesting God God's plan with the world God - who is He and what does He want?2

God is the author of the Bible “Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.” (2 Samuel 23:1-2) “Thus saith the LORD” > 400 times in OT 2Timothy 3:16 – The phrase ‘inspiration of God’ means ‘God breathed’. The prophets and apostles may have been writing the words down but what they wrote came from God See also: John 17:3-8; Ezekiel 1:3, Micah 1:1, Zephaniah 1:1, Jeremiah 1:1-9 God - who is He and what does He want?3

God is creator…and the Only God Genesis 1:1 “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” (Isaiah 45:12) See also: Isaiah 42:5: Psalm 33:6,9; Psalm 148:1-5 ; Revelation 4:11 Isaiah 45:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5 ) See also: Deuteronomy 4:39, 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11, Isaiah 44:8 ; 1 Corinthians 8:6 ; Ephesians 4:4-6 God - who is He and what does He want?4

God is eternal and unchanging “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalm 90:1-2) “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth…They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end” (Psalm 102:25-27) "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6) Eternal - See also: Gen 21:33; Isaiah 40:28; 1 Tim 6:16; Jer 10:10; Daniel 4:34; 1 Peter 3:8; Deut 33:27 Unchanging - See also: 1 Timothy 1:17; James 1:17; Psalm 33:11; Numbers 23:19 God - who is He and what does He want?5

The Character of God “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9) Exodus 33:18-22 Glory = character* Exodus 34:5-7 Merciful and gracious AND… … a God of judgement abundant in truth God - who is He and what does He want?6

The Character of God “Merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. …as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him…Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.” (Psalm 103:8-14) “The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:30-31) “The LORD is righteous in all his ways…preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy” (Ps 145:17-20) “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies” (Psalm 25:10) “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness” (Rom 11:22) He is both of these things – never one without the other See also: Psalm 33:4-5 & 89:14; Is 30:18 & 45:19 ; John 3:16; 1 John 4:8 ; Hebrews 12:29; Nahum 1:2 God - who is He and what does He want?7

A Problem…. “the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11) “Thou canst not see my face:for there shall no man see me, and live” (Exodus 33:20) “No man hath seen God at any time” (John 1:18) “Whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Tim 6:16) God - who is He and what does He want?8

The Solution - Manifesting God Exodus 3:4, 6, 2 Exodus 19:20 & 20:1-2 “This is he [Moses], that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us” (Acts 7:38) God - who is He and what does He want?9

Manifesting God Exodus 23:20-21 ‘manifestation’ = ‘To show or demonstrate; reveal’ “Hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father…the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me” (John 14:8-10) John 17:3,6,8 and Hebrews 1:1-3 “and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matt 1:23) God - who is He and what does He want?10

God's plan with the world “Thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:18) Genesis 1:27-28 & Numbers 14:21 “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9) “God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4) See also Habakkuk 2:14. God - who is He and what does He want?11

Author, creator and the only God Eternal and unchanging Thoughts and ways are much higher than our own He is mercy AND truth, goodness AND severity Revealed or ‘manifested’ by the angels and by Jesus He created us to manifest Him & fill earth with His glory God Himself will one day dwell on earth, and death, sorrow and pain will pass away God – who is He and what does He want? God - who is He and what does He want?12

God has revealed Himself to us through His word, His creation, His angels and through His son. He also calls upon us to manifest Him, so that we might fill the earth with His glory and dwell with Him on earth. God – who is He and what does He want? God - who is He and what does He want?13 How will you respond?