God: Lesson 1 - Elohim

God as Elohim

As we have seen, "EL" is a term meaning elevated, lifted up, highest of the high, supreme.


"Elohim" is a plural term used to denote the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. These three clearly exhibit themselves in the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:16-17. But they are also clearly seen in the Genesis account of the creation of the world and especially of man himself.
 
The creation account tells how Elohim spoke everything into existence, but molded the dust of the earth to make man. This special relationship of Elohim with man is also seen as the breath life is breathed directly into man by his Creator.

If God is our creator and we are His children, then we it explains how we also are able to be creative and productive. If He is our Father, than we should reflect His influence in our lives. Are we a creator or a destroyer? Are we a producer or a consumer? Are we a peacemaker or a trouble maker? Who is our Daddy? Do we bring peace and unity or are we like the ruler of this world…causing disunity and chaos?

Elohim has attributes of being all knowing, all loving, all present, and all powerful. This is the great “I AM” – “Yahh”. All creation praises Elohim. If we have a relationship with the Highest of the High, then we also praise and give glory to all that is provided for us.

We see that there were 3 beings: one is the architect who planned the world before the world existed (Ps 139:13-16); one is the builder through which nothing was made without Him (John 1) and one is the interior decorator who makes order out of disorder (Genesis 1:2). All three have a singular purpose and a singular goal: bringing men back to their original purpose – having a close and abiding relationship with God.

In these three we live and move and have our very being (Acts 17:26-28) and without them nothing is possible. If we walk away from our purpose, to glorify the God of Heaven and Earth, then we walk away from all love, joy, peace, comfort, and wisdom.

In 2 Thess 1:7-9, we are told that we must know God and obey the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ or be very disappointed at his appearing. Learning to KNOW God is why we have begun this study so that He will come to know us (Matthew 7:21-23).

We recognize the word “name” actually means position, rank, authority, characteristics, attributes

Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of your Lord your God in vain” Actually means, “You shall not take the position/authority/rank of  The Great “I AM” your “EL”, the Supreme Almighty and destroy His glory or make it useless or idolatry.

Tozer p.3 “The idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is—in itself a monstrous sin—and substitutes for the true God one made after its own image….The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unwarothy of Him.

We can do this with our tongues or in our hearts.

Waiting on God,  Andrew Murray p. 21

“And so the Christian needs ever, when he has studied or heart God’s word, to ….. from his thoughts and waken up his heart to open itself before God, and seek the living fellowship with Him.

This is now the blessedness of waiting upon God, that I confess  the impotence of all my thoughts and efforts, and set myself still to bow my heart before Him in holy silence, and to trust Him to renew and strengthen His own work in me.”

“EL” –elevated. An old word that has been used in many languages. Elevations that we see in civilizations that raise up monoliths, like Stone Hinge, mountains, towers (turrets) and  church spirals. The pleural form is used by the Holy Spirit to express whose power and words created the world.

P6 -7  “Let us meditate on the divine glory of God who purposes working out in us  until we know the truths it implies. Our heart is the scene of a divine operation more wonderful than Creation (Col 2:12) We can do as little towards the work as towards creating the world, except as God works in us to will and to do (Phil 1:6; 2:13)

God only asks of us to yield, to consent, to wait upon Him, and He will do it all! Let us meditate and be still until we see how blessed it is that God alone will do.  There can be no good but what God works; to wait upon God, and have the heart filled with faith in His working, and in that faith to pray for His mighty power to come down, is our only wisdom. Oh for the eyes of our heart to be opened to see God working in ourselves and in others, and to see how blessed it is to worship and just wait for Hm.”

Does God truly work in our lives as He did in creation?

Handouts:

(1)    Calling upon God (Acts 22:16)

(2)    I believe in the Power of God – “miracles”

Be Still and KNOW that I am God (Elohyim).  I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.  Psalms 46:10-11

In truth, we find that God has no “name”. Instead, we find that he has “rank”, “attributes”, “characteristics” which He hopes to reveal to those who have faith in Him. He has traits and descriptions of His nature. Christ has the” name above all names”, rank above all ranks, King of Kings and Lord of Lords--Immanuel (With Us is “EL” or God with Us)

A Need for Reverance

He wants us to realize His Power, Majesty, Might, and to approach Him with a need for reverence.

The need to glorify our Maker, to acknowledge Him, not in some of our ways, but in all our ways. This is the goal of this class. Acknowledge who He is to the dying world. Acknowledge His love, mercy, grace, and plan for all men.

Yet, we hear the name of Jesus used in jokes, irreverent comments, swearing, vainly using His name and attributes in blasphemous conversations.

Define Blasphemy

Define Reverence

Define Glory, Praise, Honor

Being a witness to those who do not know God.

During the Olympic games the gymnast that won our first gold medal, Gabby said, "I give all the glory to God. Its a win-win. As the glory goes up His blessings come down".

What is your witeness. Each of you, in the light of these lessons, should begin to compose your own witness, a desire to give God glory, honor, praise, with reverence through your own lips and life by proclaiming His charcteristics.

We are often a brotherhood that diminishes the ability of the saints to declare their faith through faith talk-- statement before the presence of many witnesses. We are fooling ourselves if we believe that our silent, quiet lives are pleasing to God or beneficial to a dying world.

We say we "contend" for the faith. We fight for the clarification of basic tenets of faith like baptism which really only has two scriptures telling us that it places us in Christ (Col 2:12 and Galatians 3:24-25. Yet how many Scriptures are there which tell us to declare God's glory among the nations.

1 Chronicles 16:24

Ps  86:9, 12; 96:3

Ps 97:6

Is 24:15; 25:3; 42:12

Is 66:19

Romans 1:9; 15:6, 9*

1 Cor 6:20

Hebrews 13:15

Rev 15:4 If not on earth...then not in Heaven

What is the Good Confession? 1 Tim 6:13

We all have a testimony: John 3:11; Acts 10:42; 20:21, 24; Gal 5:3; 1 John 4:14; 3 John 1:3, 6, 12

The Lord is Near Phil 4:4-7 - Rejoice in the Lord always...because the Lord is near. In everything be prayerful always giving thanks to the Lord and the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds

 

LOOKING INTO THE WORD

Characteristics of God

 

	Lesson		Scriptures	Discussion
	God's "Name"			We need to know how God describes Himself
	The Nature of God
	-- God is Creator		Gen 1:1-26 2:4,7 5:1-2 Neh 9:6 Job 38-41 Ps 89:47 90:1-2 104 (all) Is 40:28 42:5 45:12,18 64:8 65:17 Acts 14:15 17:24 1 Pet 4:19
	-- God is Everlasting, Eternal		Ex 3:14-16 Deut 33:27 Is 40:28 51:6,8 57:15 Amos 4:13 Mal 2:10 Jn 18:24 Eph 3:9 1 Tim 1:17 Heb 1:10-11 Rev 4:11 5:13 10:6
	-- God is Omnipotent		Gen 11:7-8 Job 11:7-12 42:2 Nahum 1: all esp 2,3,5,7,14 Rom 9:20-23 1 Cor 1:24
	-- God Renews		Gen 6:3 Deut 32:39 1 Sam 15:29 1 Chron 29:14 Is 40:28 66:1-2 Matt 5:45 2 Cor 9:10-11 1 Tim 6:13	God creates our life support system, renews the earth, never tires or grows weary, and is unchanging
	-- God is God of all (Jew and non-Jew) through faith in His power		Deut 32:6,8 Rom 4:29 9:24-33
	-- God is Multi-personality		Gen 1:26 2:all 3:22 11:7 Job 26:13 Is 9:6 Jn 1:1-5,10,14 12:44-45 14:7, 10-11 17:5,21 Acts 17:25,28 1 Cor 8:6 Heb 1:1-4,10-11	Three beings exist with all the characteristics of Deity: God, the Father who conceived creation, God, the Son, through whom all things were created, God the Holy Spirit, who organized creation with law and purpose.
	-- God is awesome in Power		Gen 1:1 17:1 Deut 10:17 Job 9:22 Is 40:23-24 Dan 2:20-22 3:17,29 4:17,25 6:26-27 Matt 10:28 Lk 8:24-25 12:5,32 Jn 10:29
	-- God is Impatient		Gen 6:3,6 Ex 32:4-13
	-- God is Exacting, jealous, wrathful		Gen 6:12-13 Lev 10:2 Num 3:4 11:1 12:3-14 Deut 4:24 32:35 Judges 9:53-57 1Chron 13:10 Ps 11:5-6 Is 57:18-21 Matt 18:34-35 Lk 18:7-8 Jn 15:2 Acts 5:1-10 17:30 Rom 11:21-23 Eph 5:6 Heb 10:30-31 12:15-17, 26-29
	-- God is faithful, reliable, compassionate, merciful, graceful, generous, just		Gen 7:1 8:1,21-22 20:17 Ex 2:24 9:15 19:4 20:18-21 33:20-23 Deut 4:31 7:9 8:18 Num 14:18 23:19 Josh 11:20 2 Chron 12:7 Neh 1:5 9:6-8,17b,19,31-33 9:35 Ps 25:6 145:17-20 Matt 7:11 Lk 1:68-69 6:35-38 11:13 Jn 3:33 6:40 Acts 14:16-17 Rom 1:2 2:4 3:25 8:32 9:14-16 10:3 11:29-33 15:5 1 Cor 1:9 1:30 10:13 2 Cor 1:3-4 5:21 Eph 1: all 2:4, 20 1 Tim 2:4 6:17 Titus 3:4 Heb 6:10 10:23 James 2:5 4:6 1 Pet 2:3 2 Pet 1:3 3:8-9 1 Jn 3:1
	-- God is All Knowing		1 Sam 16:7 2 Chron 2:9 Job 11:11 31:4 Is 57:15-21 66:2 Matt 24:36 Mk 13:32 Acts 2:23 1 Jn 3:30
	-- God is Blameless, Righteous		Ps 11:7 2 Sam 22:31 Rom 4:25-26 Titus 1:2
	-- God is Omnipresent (The “I AM”)		2 Chron 2:9 Ps 139:8-12 Acts 17:27 Heb 4:13 Ex 3:14 Deut 33:27 Mk 12:26 Jn 8:24, 58 (“He” added by translators) 18:5,6,8 (“He” added by translators)
	-- God is Shield, Dwelling place, Rock, God of Peace		Gen 15:1 Deut 33:29 1 Sam 2:2 2 Sam 22:47 1 Cor 14:33
	-- God discerns men’s hearts, will judge world through Christ, justifies through Christ, gives victory through Christ		1 Sam 16:7 1 Chron 28:9 2 Chron 16:9 Ezra 8:22 Ps 11:5-7 139:1-5 Acts 17:31 Rom 2:16 3:26 5:1-2, 8-11 6:23 7:25 8:3, 29-30 1 Cor 15:57 2 Cor 1:21 Eph 2:5-10 Phil 2:9-11 1 Pet 1:3 1 Jn 9-10
	-- God exists and controls physical environment		Josh 10:12 Job 28:23-27 Ps 19:1 Acts 14:17 Rom 1:20	Physical earth evidence of God’s existence
	-- God is a revealer of Mysteries		Dan 2:28 Acts 15:18
	-- God makes all things possible		Gen 18:13-14 Matt 19:26 Acts 2:22-24,36
	-- God is God of the Living		Matt 22:32 Mk 12:27 Lk 20:38 Acts 3:13
	-- God is Spirit		Jn 4:24
	-- God is giver of all Spiritual Blessings including the gift of the Holy Spirit		Lk 11:13 Jn 14:16 Acts 5:32 Rom 5:5 1 Cor 2:12 6:19 2 Cor 1:22 5:5 Gal 4:6 Eph 1:3, 13-14 3:16 1 Thes 4:8 Titus 3:5-6
	-- God's Ways are not Our Ways		1 Sam 15:29 16:7 Lk 16:14 Rom 11:33 1 Cor 1:25, 27-28 2:14 Titus 1:2
	-- God controls destinies of nations and peoples		Gen 11:7,8 Deut 7:21-23 Josh 10:10-14 Acts 17:26 Rom 13:1
	-- God is author and architect of plan of salvation from the beginning of time		Rom 8:29-30 9:23 1 Cor 2:7-9 Gal 1:4 Eph 2:10 1 Thes 5:9 Titus 2:11
	-- God Inspired all Scripture		2 Tim 3:16-17
	-- God Raises the Dead – Delivers us from Death		2 Cor 1:9-10 4:14 5:18-19 1 Pet 1:21
	-- God is Builder and architect of the Heavenly City		Heb 11:10, 16
	-- God is Impartial Judge		Deut 10:17 Rom 2:11 3:22-31 1 Pet 1:17 Rev 18:8
	-- God is Light		1 Jn 1:5
	-- God is Love		1 Jn 4:8, 16,19
	-- God Hears & Answers Prayers
	WHO IS GOD?		Evidence of Inspiration þ God created Matter: God speaks matter into being! (Gen 1:1) In modern physics we learn that pure energy can create matter, but how did the writer of Genesis know about modern physics? þ God created ORDER: The order God created is still seen today. Man can not break the bonds of order found in nature – no matter how far out into space he travels. God’s order rules the universe. Even the stars function according to the rules established by God. o God gave each thing in nature a boundary and a place (science calls this a niche). (Job 14:1-6) o God gave each thing in His creation a purpose (to bear fruit, to shine in the day, etc.) (Ps 199:89-91) o God created time for man (Gen 1:14) and seasons (Gen 8:22) (Do you know why it was so long before seasons were created?) Remember, God created time and He is not bound by it. A thousand years is as one day to the Lord. (Ps 90:4; 2 Pet 3:8) Christ is the beginning and the end of all (Rev 1:8) God IS. God can see the beginning and the end of time on earth. Time comes and goes but God just IS. “Even from eternity I AM” (Isa 43:13) God explains when Moses asks who He is, “And God said to Moses, “ I AM the AM”; Ex 3:14a (Ex 6:3; Jn 8:24, 28, 58; Heb 13:8; Rev 4:8) He always HAS BEEN, IS, and will ALWAYS BE. He exists in the “IS” state. IT is difficult for us to grasp with our human understanding. þ God gives us KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WILL; God walked with man in the beginning. (Gen 3:8) When man had no sin the presence of God was not frightening. When man sinned the presence of God as unbearable and man hid himself from the holiness of God (Just as darkness flees at the first sign of light) o When man sinned he became aware of SELF. Man began at that moment to put SELF on the throne of his heart. Man reasoned with SELF in the center of his reasoning instead of God in the center. The tree of knowledge of good and evil opened man’s eyes to a new standard, the standard of our carnal nature. Man judged good and evil with SELF as the standard instead of God. This is now the standard we must overcome in order to be pleasing to God. We must fight against our nature (flesh) in order to walk in the Spirit (God’s standard). o God drove man out of the garden in order to keep man from partaking of the tree of life. This was to save man from becoming an eternal being. It was God’s grace that kept an evil and corrupt man from living forever in his evil and corrupt state. Can you imagine never dying while suffering, in pain, in sorrow, corrupt and decaying? That would be Hell on earth. Instead God promises in Gen 3 to send a remedy for this terrible situation. He begins to reveal His will to man as man must deal with his new state of corruption and sin. God’s Word brings wisdom as to how we can be at peace and joy while still on this earth. þ God is OMNIPRESENT: God is every place. He is not restricted by location. We must be thankful that our God is a Spirit and not flesh. As Spirit it is possible for Him to be unrestricted by this world. (Is 40:28; Ps 146:10; 90:1-2; Job 36:26; Jere 23:23; Heb 1:12; 1 Tim 1:17; Acts 17:24-31) þ God is RIGHTEOUS, JEALOUS, WRATHFUL JUDGE: As surely as there is a God, there will be a day when He will judge the world. The world will glorify its creator. (Job 13:20-22) Job knew the awesomeness of God as frightening and all the more so to sinful men. Since all of us have sin in our lives, we are unable to stand before God. Sin separates man from God just as Adam and Eve were separated from the presence of God (Is 59:1-2) Because sin cannot stand before God, fear and trembling arise in a sinful heart. Those who stand before God full of sin on that last day will plead for the mountains to fall on them to hide them from the wrath of God. A few men on earth had righteous hearts as we read in the Bible. There were able to walk and talk with God and craved to be in His presence. o Enoch was such a man. He was righteous in all his ways and God walked with him (Gen 5:22) Enoch did not claim citizenship on this earth and was taken up by God to the eternal world to enjoy a far better life (Heb 11:5) o Paul craved to be in the presence of God. He did not fear the end of this life and looked forward with great anticipation to it. Indeed, he claimed his citizenship in Heaven. (Phil 1:21-24; 3:7-21) o God always seeks HUMBLE men to walk with Him. (Micah 6:8) Righteous men seek God and are not afraid of His awesomeness and yet have reverence for His mighty power. Wicked men shy from His presence. How can sinful man become righteous in order to stand joyfully in the presence of God? (1 Cor 15:51-58; 2 Cor 5:9-10; Col 3:2-6; 1 Thess 1:10, 3:13, 4:14-18; 2 Thess 1:7-10; 2 Tim 4:7-8; Heb 9:27-28; 2 Peter 3:3-15; 1 Jn 2:28-29; 4:17-18; Rev 22:1-5, 12-20)