Friday, April 22, 2011

Who Is God?



1. Who is God?


The true God is the Creator of all things. The Bible calls him the "King of eternity," meaning that he had no beginning and will never have an end.

Revelation 15:3

  "And they are singing the song of Moses the slave of God and the song of the Lamb, saying: 'Great and wonderful are your works, Jehovah God, the Almighty. Righteous and true are your ways, King of eternity.'" 


Since God is the Source of life, we should worship only him.

Revelation 4:11

   “You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.”


2. What is God like?

No one has ever seen God because he is a Spirit, which means that he is a higher form of life than the physical creatures who live on earth.

John 4:24

   "God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.” 

God's personality is revealed in the things he has made.



Romans 1:20
   "For his invisible [qualities] are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship."



We can learn even more about God's personality from the Bible.



Psalm 103:8-10
"Jehovah is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness.
He will not for all time keep finding fault,
Neither will he to time indefinite keep resentful.
He has not done to us even according to our sins;
Nor according to our errors has he brought upon us what we deserve."



3. Does God have a name?



Jesus said: "Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified." (Matthew 6:9) Although God has many titles, he has only one name, which is pronounced differently in each language. In English, we usually say "Jehovah" or sometimes "Yahweh".



Psalm 83:18
   "That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth."


God's name has been taken out of many Bibles and replaced with the titles Lord or God. But when the Bible was written,  it contained God's name some 7,000 times. Jesus made God's name known by using it when he explained God's Word to people. He helped people to come to know God.



John 17:26
   "And I have made your name known to them and will make it known, in order that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in union with them.”







4. Does Jehovah care about us?

Jehovah shows interest in us by listening personally to our prayers.



Psalm 65:2

   "O Hearer of prayer, even to you people of all flesh will come."

Job 34:10
   "Far be it from the [true] God to act wickedly, And the Almighty to act unjustly!"


James 1:13
   "When under trial, let no one say: “I am being tried by God.” For with evil things God cannot be tried nor does he himself try anyone."


Genesis 6:5,6 
   "Consequently Jehovah saw that the badness of man was abundant in the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only bad all the time. And Jehovah felt regrets that he had made men in the earth, and he felt hurt at his heart. "


Soon, Jehovah will use Jesus to eliminate suffering and those who cause it.



5. What does God want us to do?


He wants us to learn the truth about him.


1 Timothy 2:3,4 
   "This is fine and acceptable in the sight of our Savior, God,  whose will is that all sorts of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth." 


If we study the Bible, we can come to know God as a Friend.


Proverbs 2:4,5 
   "If you keep seeking for it as for silver, and as for hid treasures you keep searching for it,  in that case you will understand the fear of Jehovah, and you will find the very knowledge of God."


Since Jehovah has given us life, we should love him more than we love anyone else. We can show God that we love him by speaking to him in prayer and by doing as he asks.



Proverbs 15:8
 "The prayer of the upright ones is a pleasure to him."


1 John 5:3   
"For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome."



(Source: The Watchtower, February 1, 2011, pages 16,17)


LEARN FROM GOD'S WORD: Why Learn From God?



1. Why learn from God?

God has good news of something better for mankind. He tells us about it in the pages of the Bible. The Bible is like a letter to us from our loving Father.

“‘For I myself well know the thoughts that I am thinking toward YOU,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘thoughts of peace, and not of calamity, to give YOU a future and a hope. " (Jeremiah 29:11)

2. What is the good news?

Mankind needs good government. No human ruler has ever relieved mankind of violence, injustice, disease, or death. But there is good news. God will give mankind a good government that will bring freedom from all causes of suffering.

“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite." (Daniel 2:44)







3. Why is it vital to learn from God?

Soon God will clear the earth of people who cause suffering. Meanwhile, he is teaching millions of meek people to enjoy a better way of life, based on love. From God's Word, people are learning how to cope with life's problems, how to find real happiness, and how to please God.

"Seek Jehovah, all YOU meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decision. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably YOU may be concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger. " (Zephaniah 2:3)

4. Who is the Author of the Bible?

Some 40 men wrote the 66 books of the Bible, but they wrote God's thoughts and not their own. So God is the Author of the Bible.

We know that the Bible is from God because it accurately foretells the future in details. It also bears the unmistakable stamp of God's loving personality. It has the power to change people's lives for the better.

“Now, look! I am going today in the way of all the earth, and YOU well know with all YOUR hearts and with all YOUR souls that not one word out of all the good words that Jehovah YOUR God has spoken to YOU has failed. They have all come true for YOU. Not one word of them has failed." (Joshua 23:14)

"Indeed, that is why we also thank God incessantly, because when YOU received God’s word, which YOU heard from us, YOU accepted it, not as the word of men, but, just as it truthfully is, as the word of God, which is also at work in YOU believers." (1 Thessalonians 2:13)


5. How can you understand the Bible?

Jesus helped people understand the Bible by referring to one Bible text after another and explaining "the meaning of Scriptures."

"And commencing at Moses and all the Prophets he interpreted to them things pertaining to himself in all the Scriptures....Then he opened up their minds fully to grasp the meaning of the Scriptures." (Luke 24:27,45)

This series, "Learn From God's Word", will use the same method to help us.

(Source: The Watchtower, January 1, 2011, pp. 16,17)