Who is God?

Who is God? What is He like? How did He come into existence? Why is He God? This paper is one in a series that focuses on God to better understand His identity, nature, and sovereignty. We will also examine and clarify the relationship between God and His Son, Jesus.

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Who is God?

The three major religions or faiths, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, all have their origins in a monotheistic God, that is, a trust that there is one supreme, Almighty being who alone is the origin and source of everyone and everything.

The Bible is clear that there is only One True God (Deut. 6:4; Mal. 2:10; 1 Tim. 2:5; Jn.17:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Ja. 2:9; Eph. 4:6).

1Ti. 2:5-6 (NET) For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human, (6) who gave himself as a ransom for all, revealing God’s purpose at his appointed time.

1Cor. 8:6 (NET) yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we live, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live.

He is The Almighty and the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth (Gen. 1.1; Neh. 9:6, Ps. 124:8; Isa. 40:26,28; 44:24; Acts 14:15; 17:24,25; Rev. 14:7).

Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father (Jas. 1:17). Everything belongs to Him (Deut. 10:14; Ps. 50:10, 12; Hag. 2:8)

Deut. 10:14 Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. (ESV)

There is no other God besides Him in power, authority, eternality, or goodness (2Sam. 7:22; 1Chron. 17:20; Isa. 44:8; Mat 19:17; Mk 10:18; Lk. 18:19). Scripture thus destroys the notion that God is made up of two or three entities.

2 Sam. 7:22 Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. (ESV; Emphasis added)

He is the Almighty (Mal. 1:11; Rom. 9:29). He is the Most High God (Dan. 4:17, 24; 7:25). All His ways are perfect, for He alone is perfect in every way (Deut. 32:4).

2Sa 22:31 (ESV) This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

Mat 5:48 (ESV) You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

God alone is immortal, invisible, and cannot die.

1Ti 6:16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (Emphasis added)

Jn. 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, He who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. (EMTV)

1Jn 4:12 NET No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us.

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must do so in spirit and truth.

Jn. 4:23-24 But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him (24) God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (Emphasis added)

Creation of Time

This God, or more to the point, the God, has no beginning. He is from everlasting to everlasting (Ps. 41:13; Ps. 90:2). Before time and space began, this One God existed alone, not needing anyone or anything to sustain or give Him life.

He is the only being who was not dependent on any other to be brought into existence. This God is unchanging (Mal. 3:6); therefore, He cannot cease to exist nor die in any form or state of being.

Time started when God began creating. But before anything came into existence, God reflected upon what He would do and how He would do it. He foresaw the outcome of everything before He commenced; it is eternally present within Him. God knew all His works from the beginning of the world (Acts 15:18).

God knows everything (1 John 3:20). He comprehends all things at once, be it their causes, conditions, relations, consequences, and progressions. He is also in total control of every facet, phase, and moment of time. Nothing is overlooked or goes undetected (Mat. 10:29; Lk. 12:6).

Nothing has happened or will happen for all eternity that God is unaware of. He even sees and knows the secrets of every person’s heart. (Jer. 23:24; Dan. 2:22; Josh. 22:22; Ps. 44:21). This is called omniscience, total awareness, and understanding.

Christ was the Beginning of God's Works

To many people's surprise, Christ has not always existed. The One true eternal God created or generated Christ into existence. Thus, he became the first of many sons of the spiritual realm who came into being.

Pro. 8:22 The LORD created me as the beginning of his works, before his deeds of long ago. (NET)

Some Bibles render the word 'created' as 'possessed'. However, the exact sbrew word, 'qanah', is used in Genesis 4:1, when Eve, saying of Cain's birth, 'I have 'produced' a man...' Strong's Concordance says the primary definition of qanah is produce, create, procure, purchase.

Rev 3:14 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. (ESV) (Emphasis added)

Col 1:18 BBE And he is the head of the body, the church: the starting point of all things, the first to come again from the dead; so that in all things he might have the chief place. (Emphasis added)

1Jn 1:1 RV That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life (Emphasis added)

Hebrews Chapter 3 verse 2 is often translated as, "Christ was faithful to Him that appointed him". Trinitarians have mistranslated the word appointed (SGD 4160) to disguise the proper relationship between the One True God and His Son, Jesus. A more accurate translation would read ‘… Christ was faithful to Him who made him”.

Christ is Dependant Upon God for Revelation

Unlike God, who knows all things, Christ revealed that he did not know when he would be sent to begin his rule over His Father's Kingdom with the saints. This knowledge only resides in the Father (Mat. 24:36; Mk. 13:32; Acts 1:7).

Mk. 13:32 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (NIV; emphasis added)

Act 1:6-7 They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? (7) And he said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within his own authority.

Even after Christ ascended back to the heavenly realm, he still did not know all things. God had to reveal to him truths about what would happen at the end of days.

Rev. 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, (ESV; Emphasis added)

Having died as a ransom for all, Christ cannot claim to be immortal (Mar. 10:45; Rev. 5:9; Tim. 2:5-7; Rom. 5:8, 6:9,10; 2 Cor. 5:14; 1Pet. 3:18).

1Tim. 2:5-7 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (6) who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (7) For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (Emphasis added)

1Thess. 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus has died and risen again, we also believe that, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who shall have passed away. (WNT)

God the Father Grants Eternal Life

It is God the Father who grants eternal life. He alone has everlasting life in Himself. Christ did not have that inherent (eternal) life in himself; he was dependent on His God and Father to be a recipient. Because Jesus was faithful, God granted him to have eternal life also in himself (Jn. 5:26; Rom. 6:4, 10; Rev. 1:18).

Jn. 5:26 For as the Father has life in himself, so HE HAS GRANTED the Son also to have life in himself. (ESV; Emphasis added)

1Jn 5:11 And this is the testimony, THAT GOD GAVE US ETERNAL LIFE, and this life is in his Son. (ESV; Emphasis added)

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift OF God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Emphasis added)

Christ is Anointed Above his fellows

The Lord God anointed Christ with His spirit, which is referred to as the oil of gladness, above that of his fellow angelic brethren (Ps. 45:7).

Ps. 45:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (KJV) (Emphasis added)

God appointed Christ as our king, Lord, Saviour, and high priest forever (Eph. 4:15, 1 Cor. 11:3; Php. 2:11; Jn. 13:13-14); Rom. 10:9, 14:9; Ps. 110:1, 4; Lk. 2:11; Heb. 6:20).

The Head of Christ is God

At the head of every woman and man is Christ. And the head of Christ is God.

1Cor. 11:3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. (NKJV; Emphasis added)

Who Sits Where

Christ cannot choose who will sit next to him in the kingdom. God the Father prepares and decides those positions.

Matt. 20:23 "I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen." (NLT; Emphasis added)

Psa 2:2 ESV The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, (Emphasis added)

When Christ has subdued the creation so that everyone and everything lives and operates according to the Will of God, then Christ will surrender the Kingdom to HIS GOD and FATHER and place himself along with everyone and everything else under Him.

Cor, 15:24-28 "Then will come the end- when he surrenders the Kingdom to his God and Father...the Son will place himself under God who placed everything under him, that God may be all in all!" (TCNT; Emphasis added)

One God and Father

Christ and the entire host, both spiritual and physical (i.e., mankind), all share in the fact that we have one God and Father who created us all.

Malachi 2:10 10 Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? (RSV) (Emphasis added)

Jn. 20:17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (ESV; Emphasis added)

Eph 1:17 The God of our Lord Jesus Christ--the Father most glorious. (WNT; Emphasis added)

Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour, Jesus said in a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, My God, my God, why are you turned away from me? (BBE; Emphasis added)

Rev 3:2 Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about to die, because I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. (NET; emphasis added)

Eternal Life

Our eternal life hinges on the fact that we understand that God the Father and Jesus Christ are two separate beings or entities. To merge the Father and Son into one being is of antichrist.

Jn. 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. (RSV; emphasis added)

The word Christ comes from the Greek; it means 'the anointed one' or 'the chosen one'. Christ was chosen from among all the other Sons of God, (of which there are many) (Gen. 6:2; Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7; cf. Rev. 22:16).

If we deny that Jesus was not 'chosen' or 'anointed' from his companions or fellows but instead claim that he is God, merging the Father and Christ into the same being or entity, we deny Jesus is the anointed of God.

1Jn 2:22-23 ESV Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he whonies the Father and the Son. (23) No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. (Emphasis added)

By merging God with Christ so that He is a dual god(head), or Trinity (if we make God's source of power, His holy spirit, and convert it into another personage), what we are then, in fact, embroiled in is antichrist.

God is truth; it belongs to Him (Prov. 30:5; Jn.. 3:33, 7:28, 8:26). He gives and takes it from whomever He chooses. To come to the knowledge and understanding that Christ is not God but a Son of God is a revelation given by God, who is in heaven.

Mat 16:13-17 ESV Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (14) And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (15) He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” (16) Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (17) And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Emphasis added)

He Who Sends is Greater

He who sends is greater than he who is sent.

Jn. 13:16 Truly, truly, I say to you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. (AKJV)

Mark 9:37 "Anyone who welcomes me is welcoming not me, but him who sent me as his Messenger." (TCNT)

Jn. 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (ESV)

Jn. 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (ESV)

Jn. 5:30 ERV "I can do nothing alone. I judge only the way I am told. And my judgment is right, because I am not trying to please myself. I want only to please the one who sent me.

Christ said God is Greater

Christ stated plainly that his Father is greater than him. A being cannot be split or divided in such a way that they have a portion of themselves that is greater or lesser than that of themselves. It is simply absurd.

Jn. 14:28 You have heard me tell you, 'I am going away, but I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father IS GREATER than I am. (Emphasis added)

Christ Directs Worship to God the Father

Christ pointed out that he is not, and should not be, the object of our worship and/or prayers. Christ instructed his disciples to follow his example to worship and offer prayers to his God and Father only (Mat. 6:9-13; Lk. 11:1-4).

Mat 6:6 ESV But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Emphasis added)

Mat 6:8-9 ESV Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (9) Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. (Emphasis added)

If Christ were the God in the flesh, he would not have to pray to himself and thank himself for hearing himself.

Jn. 11:41-42 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. (42) I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” (NIV; Emphasis added)

Only the One True God is the object of our prayers. He alone is the only being who does not pray or worship another being. That is why those who defend the concept of a Trinity being a viable explanation eventually appeal to ambiguity and that it's a "mystery".

God is not a mystery. Christ came to declare precisely who the Father is.

Jn. 17:3-8 ERV And this is eternal life: that people can know you, the only true God, and that they can know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. (4) I finished the work you gave me to do. I brought you glory on earth. (5) And now, Father, give me glory with you. Give me the glory I had with you before the world was made. (6) "You gave me some people from the world. I have shown them what you are like. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your teaching. (7) Now they know that everything I have came from you. (8) I told them the words you gave me, and they accepted them. They realized the fact that I came from you and believed that you sent me.

Jn. 17:25-26 GW Righteous Father, the world didn't know you. Yet, I knew you, and these disciples have known that you sent me. (26) I have made your name known to them, and I will make it known so that the love you have for me will be in them and I will be in them."

Mat 11:27 GW "My Father has turned everything over to me. Only the Father knows the Son. And no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son is willing to reveal him.

Christ, the High Priest forever

Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, after the order of Melchizedek forever; he was appointed to that position.

Heb 5:5-6 ESV So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; (6) as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” (Emphasis added)

Upon his resurrection, God made Christ a high priest forever. Thus, God, having elevated His Son to the position of high priest forever, means that the Son has never been and will never be co-equal with Him. One cannot be the object of worship and a high priest to oneself. It is illogical.

Physical Israel did not worship nor direct their worship to Aaron, the High Priest of the earthly temple. Nor are we, (spiritual Israel, so to speak) to direct our prayers and worship to Christ, the high priest of the spiritual Temple.

Jesus Learned Obedience and Made Perfect

Jesus, in the days of his flesh, offered prayers and supplications to his God because God was the only one who could save him from death. Christ was heard because of his godly fear.

Heb. 5: 7-10 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. (8) Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. (9) And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, (10) being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Emphasis added)

A true God does not need reverent fear or offer earnest supplications to hear oneself. One cannot shut off from oneself or distance oneself if one's self is not humble in one's own presence.

Christ learned obedience through what he suffered (v8). Not that Christ was disobedient, for he was tempted as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). The One True God cannot 'learn obedience' through suffering or be 'made perfect'. Christ, on the other hand, can and did.

Christ's growth came from untested or untried obedience. Meanwhile, the Father is unchanging, meaning He cannot learn more or grow in understanding, wisdom, self-control, holiness, truth, or strength in any way.

God cannot be a being who at all times has been good, perfect and all-knowing and somehow, at the same time, does not know all things, waits on himself to 'learn obedience' and needs the perfect part of himself to perfect the part of himself that isn't.

Even after Christ's ascension, having been made perfect and learned obedience, he still depended on his God to reveal future events. Christ is not all-knowing like the One True God.

Rev 1:1 MKJV A Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him to declare to His servants things which must shortly come to pass. And He signified it by sending His angel to His servant John, (emphasis added)

Turning Point

Christ, upon his resurrection, explained to Mary Magdalene a number of significant things that many seem to overlook.

Jn. 20:17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" (Emphasis added)

First, Jesus told Mary not to cling to him. We could understand this to mean that she was not to hold or cling to Christ and the role he had before his death and the life she and the others had with him. That somehow, everything would go back to the way it was. She had to let go of her misconceptions and see that Christ now had a greater role to accept and fulfil.

Upon his resurrection, Christ clearly stated to Mary that he was not God. Christ told her he must ascend to his Father and our Father, his God and our God.

Christ also saw the disciples as his brothers.

Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (KJV; Emphasis added)

Rev 21:17 ESV He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement.

Consequences for idolatry

One cannot elevate Christ to co-equality and/or co-eternality without consequence. The price is one's redemption and resurrection to eternal life, as we see in John 17:3. The apostle John makes the distinction, and clarifies the misconception that Christ had always existed, for John states that eternal life is predicated on the fact ‘that they know thee the only true God AND Jesus Christ whom thou sent.’

Even if you claim Christ has always existed, irrespective if you believe he is co-equal with the Father or not, you deny God the Father the status of being the ‘only true God’, and have by default, established two true Gods, thus committing idolatry.

Exo 20:1-6 ESV And God spoke all these words, saying, (2) “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. (3) “You shall have no other gods before me. (4) “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (5) You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, (6) but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Many don't realise that carving or making an image or likeness of anything in heaven above also extends to elevating Christ to co-equality and/or co-eternality with God. Many have carved or created a Christ who is somehow now equal to or greater than God the Father. The concept of a Trinity or Bintarianism is guilty of this sin.

Satan and his demons understood Christ to be the Son of God (Mat. 4:6, 8:29; Mk. 5:7; Lk. 4:34, 41, 8:28). Christ never corrected them to that fact.

Mat 4:6 ESV and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Mark 3:11 (NKJV) And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."

Mark 5:7 (RSV) and crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." (Emphasis added).

The demons also believe there is one God is one, and are terrified.

Jas 2:19 ERV You believe there is one God. That's good, but even the demons believe that! And they shake with fear.

God Alone is Perfect and All-Powerful

There is nothing that God cannot do or create to complete His plan successfully. He alone knows what is possible and the best way to do everything, every time.

God doesn’t guess or take chances. He is never in doubt or unsure of any outcome. This knowledge is truth; God is truth (Deut. 32:4). His will reflects perfection in truth. There is no error in His essence, character or actions.

God cannot make a mistake. By working out every probable outcome and avoiding any mishap through His omniscience, God alone is perfect (Mat. 5:48) and the source of all goodness.

When someone referred to Christ as “good teacher”, Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good” (Mat. 19:17; Mk. 10:18; Lk. 18:19). Christ would not have had to correct the person if he was indeed the God.

Trust in God

God wants all of us to be one with Him in the same way Christ is one with Him, in submitting our will and loyalty to the same degree. For this reason, God has established a covenant that He offers to mankind; It is a “covenant of love” (Neh. 9:32). Loving one’s God and neighbour ensures agreement and conformity, resulting in peace and harmony.

God wants all of us unified. He pleads to each of us to mend our ways and be in one accord and one mind with one another towards Him (2 Cor. 13:11).

By obeying the truth, we purify our hearts and minds so that we can love one another fervently and deeply (1 Pet. 1:22). God’s love is even able to cleanse us of secret faults that we harbour that we are not even aware of (Ps. 19:12). The love of God never gives up and endures through every circumstance.

God has ensured that every descendant of Adam who never received or accepted an opportunity to know Him will be given a second chance in the resurrection of the dead, otherwise termed the second resurrection (Rev. 20:11-15). Things then will be different. There will be no external pressures. Each person will be given the optimum environment to be healed and restored and offered God's covenant.

Once we understand more about God, we see that the idea of an eternal hell is one of terror and strife, stirred up by hatred (Prov. 10:12) against a loving God.

God is working towards freedom and perfection for all (2Chr. 8:16, 24:13; Mat. 5:48; Lk. 13:32; 1Jn. 2:5, 4:12; Jas. 1:4).

Only One Way

There are no loopholes in God’s creation. Only those who worship God and accept His Son as their Lord and Saviour will be granted eternal existence. No one will be granted an eternal existence without repentance and baptism in Christ (Jn. 14:6; Act 2:38, 10:48, 22:16). This offer of repentance is also opened to the fallen host.

Jn. 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (ESV; Emphasis added)

Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (ESV)

Act 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

1Pe 3:18-19 ESV For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, (19) in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, (Emphasis added)

God the Father has NOT set up an eternal life of punishment for those who reject Him or His Son or who have never heard of Him or His Son. The only ones who will live forever are those who worship God and accept His Son. There aren't two classes of eternal life.

Everyone resurrected for correction In the Second Resurrection will be taught the ways of truth.

Rev 20:5 ERV (The rest of the dead did not live again until the 1000 years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

Those who still reject the way to eternal peace will have their existence mercifully ended.

Many fail to grasp that God is a consuming fire, and what He ultimately consumes ceases to exist.

Deut. 4:23-24 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the LORD your God has forbidden you. (24) For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God (ESV; emphasis added).

Heb. 12:28-29 ESV Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, (29) for our God is a consuming fire. (ESV; Emphasis added)

When God consumes something, it ceases to exist. One cannot be consumed by God and live. God tells us in Malachi of the day when no trace of evildoers will exist, leaving neither root nor branch.

Mal. 4:1 For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch (ESV).

If we choose to cling to God in Christ, then all our sinful impurities must be burnt up like dross. Ultimately, this leads to the end goal when God will be all in all.

Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, (5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism, (6) one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. (RSV)

Our God will draw so close to us that He will dwell with us.

Revelation 21:3-4 and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” (RSV; Emphasis added)

God will provide us with a heaven and a new earth where the former things will no longer be remembered (Isa. 65:17). No person will be left to suffer torment for past sins or for having rejected God and His ways. God will see that there will be no more mourning, crying, or any type of pain. All the heartache, sorrow, misgivings, and all we did that was contrary to the expressed Will of God will be passed over and forgotten.

We are all required to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12).

There is only one body, one spirit that binds us, one appointed saviour by delegation, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and by His spirit, in us all.

Eph. 4:4-6 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; (5) One Lord, one faith, one baptism, (6) One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

1Jn. 4:14-15 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. (15) Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

We truly have a wonderful God who is creating and preparing a family to be united in a shared desire and with principles that lead to a perfect, peaceful existence with one another for all eternity.

The physical creation and His laws that are in place are a testament to His perfect, righteous character that leads us to understand more fully how holy and good God is.

When we are all humbled and obedient to God, subjugating our will to God the Father to the same depth of dedication Christ humbles himself before his God, we will learn one of the greatest things: just to love and be loved in return.

Christ says to the Angel of the Church of Philadelphia,

Rev 3:11-13 ESV I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. (12) The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. (13) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

A mark of this Church is that it understands Christ does not identify himself as God but that he has a God. We note that the temple also belongs to his God. Christ will write the name of his God on them, as well as the city of his God, the new Jerusalem, which will come down from his God out of heaven. Jesus will also write his new name on them. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

End.

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