God is. , ,

372 god isIf you could ask God a question; which one would it be? Perhaps a "big one": according to your destiny? Why do people have to suffer? Or a small but urgent one: What happened to my dog ​​that ran away from me when I was ten? What if I had married my childhood sweetheart? Why did God make the sky blue? Or maybe you just wanted to ask him: Who are you? or what are you or what do you want The answer to that would probably answer most of the other questions. Who and what God is and what he wants are basic questions about his being, his nature. Everything else is determined by it: why the universe is the way it is; who we are as humans; why our life is the way it is and how we should shape it. Original riddle that everyone has thought about. We can get an answer to that, at least in part. We can begin to understand the nature of God. Indeed, as incredible as it sounds, we can partake of the divine nature. Through which? Through God's self-revelation.

Thinkers throughout history have formed a wide variety of images of God. But God reveals himself to us through his creation, through his word, and through his Son, Jesus Christ. He shows us who he is, what he is, what he does, and even, to a certain extent, why he does it. He also tells us what kind of relationship we should have with him and what form that relationship will ultimately take. The fundamental prerequisite for any knowledge of God is a receptive, humble mind. We must heed God's word. Then God reveals himself to us. (Jesaja 66,2)And we will learn to love God and his ways. “Whoever loves me,” says Jesus, “will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (Johannes 14,23)God wants to make his home with us. When he does this, we will receive increasingly clear answers to our questions.

1. In search of the Eternal

Since time immemorial man struggles to clarify his origin, his being and his sense of life. This struggle usually leads him to the question of whether there is a God and which being is his own. At the same time, man came to the most varied images and ideas.

Meandering paths back to Eden

The ancient human desire for an interpretation of being is reflected in the diverse buildings of religious ideas that exist. From many directions one sought to get closer to the origin of human existence and thus to the presumed guide of human life. Unfortunately, man's inability to fully grasp spiritual reality has only led to controversy and further questions:

  • Pantheists see God as all the forces and laws behind the cosmos. They do not believe in a personal God and interpret the good as the evil as divine.
  • Polytheists believe in many divine beings. Each of these gods can help or hurt, but no one has absolute power. Therefore, everyone must be worshiped. Polytheistic were or are many Middle Eastern and Greco-Roman beliefs as well as the spirit and ancestor cult of many tribal cultures.
  • Theists believe in a personal God as the origin, sustainer and center of all things. If the existence of other gods is fundamentally excluded, it is monotheism, as it shows itself in pure form in the faith of the patriarch Abraham. Abraham invokes three world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Is there a god?

Every culture in history has developed a more or less strong sense of God's existence. The skeptic who denies God has always had a hard time. Atheism, nihilism, existentialism - all these are attempts at world interpretation without an all-powerful, personally-acting Creator who determines what is good and what is evil. These and similar philosophies ultimately do not provide a satisfactory answer. In a sense, they bypass the core issue. What we really want to realize is what kind of being the Creator has, what he's up to and what needs to happen so that we can live in harmony with God.

2. How does God reveal himself to us?

Imagine yourself, hypothetically, in God's place. You created all things, including humankind. You made humankind in your own image. (1. Mose 1,26-27)...and gave him the ability to enter into a special relationship with you. Wouldn't you then also tell that person something about yourself? Tell him what you expect from him? Show him how he can achieve the relationship with God that you desire? Anyone who assumes that God is unknowable presupposes that God hides himself from his creation for some reason. But God does reveal himself to us: in his creation, in history, in the Bible, and through his Son Jesus Christ. Let us consider what God shows us through his acts of self-revelation.

Creation reveals God

Can one admire the magnificent cosmos and not want to admit that God exists, that he holds all power in his hands, that he maintains order and harmony? Römer 1,20"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made." The sight of heaven amazed King David that God concerned himself with something as insignificant as man: "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" (Psalm 8,4-5).

Also famous is the great confrontation between the doubting Job and God. God shows him his miracles, proof of his boundless authority and wisdom. This encounter fills Job with humility. God's words can be read in the Book of Job, chapters 38 to 41. "I know," Job confesses, "that you can do all things, and nothing you set your mind to is too difficult for you. Therefore I spoke unwisely, what is too lofty for me and what I do not understand... I had only heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you."Hiob 42,2-35) From creation we not only see that God exists, but we also see aspects of his nature. This implies that planning in the universe presupposes a planner, natural law a lawgiver, the preservation of all being a preserver, and the existence of physical life a life-giver.

God's plan for man

What was God's intention when he created all things and gave us life? Paul explained to the Athenians, "...from one man he made all humankind to inhabit the whole earth. He determined how long they should live and the boundaries within which they should live, so that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. And surely he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'" (Apostelgeschichte 17:26-28)Or simply, as John writes, that we "love because he first loved us." (1. Johannes 4,19).

History reveals God

Skeptics ask, "If there is God, why does he not show himself to the world?" And "If he is truly omnipotent, why does he allow evil?" The first question assumes that God has never shown himself to mankind. And the second, that he is numb to human distress or at least does nothing about it. Historically and the Bible contains numerous historical records, both assumptions are not tenable. Since the days of the first human family, God has often come into direct contact with people. But people usually don't want to know anything about them!

Isaiah writes: "Truly, you are a hidden God..." (Jesaja 45,15)God often "hides" himself when people show him through their thoughts and actions that they want nothing to do with him or his ways. Later, Isaiah adds: "Behold, the Lord's arm is not too short to save, nor his ear dull to hear; but your iniquities have separated you from God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that you will not be heard." (Jesaja 59,1-2).

It all started with Adam and Eve. God created them and put them in a blooming garden. And then he spoke to her directly. You knew he was there. He showed them how to relate to him. He did not leave them to their own devices. Adam and Eve had to make a choice. They had to decide whether they wanted to worship God (symbolically: eat from the tree of life) or disregard God (symbolically: eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). You chose the wrong tree (1. Mose 2 and 3). Often overlooked, however, is that Adam and Eve knew they had disobeyed God. They were overcome with guilt. The next time the Creator came to speak to them, they heard "God the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of God the Lord among the trees of the garden." (1. Mose 3,8).

So who hid? Not God! But people from God. They wanted distance, separation between themselves and him. And that's how it's remained ever since. The Bible is full of examples of God extending a helping hand to humanity, and humanity rejecting that hand. Noah, a "preacher of righteousness" (2. Petrus 2:5)He apparently spent a full century warning the world of God's coming judgment. The world did not listen and perished in the Flood. God destroyed sinful Sodom and Gomorrah with a firestorm, the smoke of which rose as a beacon "like the smoke from a furnace." (1. Mose 19,28)Even this supernatural rebuke did not bring about change in the world. The greater part of the Old Testament describes God's dealings with the chosen people of Israel. Israel, too, refused to listen to God. "...let God not speak to us," the people cried. (2. Mose 20,19).

God also intervened in the affairs of great powers like Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, and Persia. He often spoke directly with the highest rulers. But the world as a whole remained stubborn. Worse still, many of God's servants were brutally murdered by those to whom they wanted to bring God's message. Hebräer 1:1-2 Finally, it tells us: "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son..." Jesus Christ came into the world to preach the gospel of salvation and the kingdom of God. The result? "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him." (Johannes 1,10)His encounter with the world brought him death.

Jesus, God incarnate, expressed God's love and compassion for his creation: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthäus 23,37)No, God does not keep away. He has revealed himself throughout history. But most people have closed their eyes to him.

The biblical witness

The Bible shows us God in the following ways:

  • Self-statements of God about his nature
    So he reveals in 2. Mose 3,14 His name to Moses: "I AM WHO I AM." Moses saw a burning bush that was not consumed by the fire. In this name, he reveals himself as a being that exists and lives from himself. Further aspects of his being are revealed in his other biblically mentioned names. God commanded the Israelites: "Therefore you shall be holy, for I am holy." (3. Mose 11,45)God is holy. In Jesaja 55:8God tells us clearly: "...my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways..." God lives and acts on a higher plane than we do. Jesus Christ was God in human form. He describes himself as "the light of the world" (John 8:12), as the "I am" who lived before Abraham (verse 58), as "the door" (Johannes 10,9), as "the good shepherd" (verse 11) and as "the way and the truth and the life" (Johannes 14,6).
  • Self-statements of God about his work
    The essence of something includes action, or rather, action springs from it. Statements about action therefore complement statements about essence. "I make the light... and create the darkness," God says of himself in... Jesaja 45,7I bring "peace... and create disaster. I am the Lord who does all these things." God created everything that exists. And he rules over creation. God also foretells the future: "I am God, and there is no other; there is no other God like me. From the beginning I made known the things that would come to pass, and from ancient times the things that were not yet to come. I say, 'What I purpose will be done, and whatever I please, I will accomplish.'" (Jesaja 46,9-10)God loves the world and sent his Son to bring salvation to it. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (Johannes 3,16)Through Jesus, God brings children into his family. Offenbarung 21,7We read: "The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God and he will be my son." Regarding the future, Jesus says: "Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done." (Offenbarung 22,12).
  • Statements of people about God's nature
    From time immemorial, God has interacted with people whom he has chosen to carry out his will. Many of these servants have left us details about God's nature in the Bible. "...the Lord our God, the Lord is one," says Moses. (5. Mose 6,4)There is only one God. The Bible upholds monotheism. (Further details can be found in chapter three.) Of the psalmist's many statements about God, here is just this one: "For who is God but the Lord, or the Rock but our God?" (Psalm 18,32)Only God deserves worship, and He strengthens those who worship Him. The Psalms contain a wealth of insights into God's nature. Among the most comforting verses in Scripture is... 1. Johannes 4,16: "God is love ..." An important insight into God's love and his high will for people can be found in 2. Petrus 3:9"The Lord... does not want anyone to perish, but that everyone should come to repentance." What is God's greatest desire for us, his creatures, his children? That we are saved. And God's word does not return to him empty; it will accomplish what it intended. (Jesaja 55,11)The knowledge that it is God's firm intention to save us, and that he is also able to do so, should give us great hope.
  • The Bible contains statements of people about God's actions
    God "hangs the earth over nothingness," he says. Hiob 26,7 He directs the forces that determine the Earth's orbit and rotation. In his hand lie life and death for the inhabitants of the Earth: "When you hide your face, they are afraid; when you take away their breath, they die and return to dust. You send forth your breath, and they are created; you renew the face of the earth." (Psalm 104,29-30)Nevertheless, God, although all-powerful, as a loving creator, made man in his own image and gave him dominion over the earth. (1. Mose 1,26)When he saw that wickedness had spread on the earth, "he regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart." (1. Mose 6,6)He reacted to the wickedness of the world by sending the Great Flood, which swallowed all of humanity except for Noah and his family. (1. Mose 7,23)Later, God called the patriarch Abraham and made a covenant with him through which "all families on earth" were to be blessed. (1. Mose 12,1-3)This is already a reference to Jesus Christ, a descendant of Abraham. When he formed the people of Israel, God miraculously led them through the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptian army: "...horse and rider he hurled into the sea." (2. Mose 15,1)Israel broke its covenant with God and allowed violence and injustice to take hold. Therefore, God allowed the nation to be attacked by foreign peoples and ultimately led from the Promised Land into slavery. (Hesekiel 22,23-31)But the merciful God promised to send a redeemer to the world, to make an everlasting covenant of righteousness with all who repent of their sins, Israelites and non-Israelites alike. (Jesaja 59,20-21)And finally, God did indeed send his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus declared: "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (Johannes 6:40)God assured us: "...whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Römer 10,13).
  • Today God empowers his church to preach the gospel of the kingdom "throughout the whole world as a witness to all nations." (Matthäus 24,14)On the day of Pentecost, after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God sent the Holy Spirit to unite the Church into the Body of Christ and to reveal the mysteries of God to Christians. (Apostelgeschichte 2,1-4).
  • The Bible is a book about God and humanity's relationship with him. Its message invites us to a lifelong exploration, to learn more about God—about who he is, what he does, what he wants, and what he plans. Yet no human being can grasp a complete picture of God's reality. Perhaps somewhat discouraged by his inability to comprehend the fullness of God, John concludes his account of Jesus' life with the words: "There are many other things that Jesus did. If one thing after another were to be written down, I suppose the world could not contain the books that would be written." (Johannes 21,25).

In a nutshell, the Bible shows God as

  • being of itself
  • not bound by any time limits
  • not bound by any spatial boundaries
  • allmächtig
  • omniscient
  • transcendent (standing above the universe)
  • immanent (concerned with the universe).

But what is God exactly?

A religion professor once tried to give his audience a closer idea of ​​God. He asked the students to join hands in a large circle and close their eyes. "Now relax and introduce yourself to God," he said. "Try to imagine what he looks like, what his throne might look like, what his voice might sound like, what is going on around him." With their eyes closed, hand in hand, the students sat for a long time in their chairs and dreamed of images of God. "So?" asked the professor. "Do you see him? Each of you should have some picture in mind now. But," continued the professor, that is not God! No! he ripped her out of her thoughts. "That is not God! One cannot fully grasp him with our intellect! No one can grasp God completely, because God is God and we are only physical and limited beings." A very deep insight. Why is it so difficult to define who and what God is? The main obstacle lies in the limitation mentioned by that professor: Man makes all his experiences through his five senses, and our entire linguistic understanding is tailored to this. God, on the other hand, is eternal. He is infinite. He is invisible. Yet we can make meaningful statements about a God even though we are limited by our physical senses.

Spiritual reality, human language

God reveals himself indirectly in the creation. He has often intervened in world history. His Word, the Bible, tells us more about him. He also appeared to some people in the Bible in many ways. Nevertheless, God is spirit, his whole fullness can not be considered, touched, perceived by smell. The Bible gives us truths about a conception of God by means of concepts that physical beings can grasp in their physical world. But these words are incapable of fully rendering God.

For example, the Bible calls God "rock" and "fortress". (Psalm 18,3), "Sign" (Psalm 144,2), "consuming fire" (Hebräer 12,29)We know that God does not correspond to these physical things in a literal sense. They are symbols that, based on what is observable and understandable to humans, bring us closer to important aspects of God.

The Bible even ascribes a human form to God, revealing aspects of his character and his relationship with humanity. Some passages describe God with a body. (Philipper 3:21); a head and hair (Offenbarung 1,14); a face (1. Mose 32,31; 2. Mose 33,23; Offenbarung 1:16); eyes and ears (5. Mose 11,12; Psalm 34,16; Offenbarung 1,14); Nose (1. Mose 8,21; 2. Mose 15,8); mouth (Matthäus 4,4; Offenbarung 1,16); lips (Hiob 11,5); Agree (Psalm 68,34; Offenbarung 1,15); tongue and breath (Jesaja 30,27-28); arms, hands and fingers (Psalm 44,3-4; 89,14; Hebräer 1,3; 2. Chronik 18,18; 2. Mose 31,18; 5. Mose 9,10; Psalm 8:4; Offenbarung 1,16); shoulders (Jesaja 9,5); Breast (Offenbarung 1,13); Back (2. Mose 33,23); hips (Hesekiel 1,27); feet (Psalm 18,10; Offenbarung 1,15).

Often, when the Bible speaks of our relationship with God, it uses language borrowed from human family life. Jesus teaches us to pray: "Our Father in heaven!" (Matthäus 6,9)God wants to comfort his people, as a mother comforts her children. (Jesaja 66,13)Jesus is not ashamed to call those chosen by God his brothers. (Hebräer 2,11)He is her eldest brother, the firstborn. (Römer 8,29). In Offenbarung 21,7God promises: “The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” Yes, God calls Christians to a familial bond with his children. The Bible describes this bond in a way that is comprehensible to humans. It paints a picture of the highest spiritual reality that one might call impressionistic. This does not give us the full scope of the future, glorious, spiritual reality. The joy and glory of the ultimate relationship with God as his children is far greater than our limited vocabulary can express. Thus, the Bible tells us 1. Johannes 3,2“Dear friends, we are already children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” In the resurrection, when the fullness of salvation and the kingdom of God have come, we will finally know God “fully.” “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror,” Paul writes, “but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1. Korinther 13,12).

"Who sees me, sees the father"

God's self-revelation, as we have seen, takes place through creation, history, and Scripture. Beyond this, however, God also revealed himself to humanity by becoming human himself. He became like us and lived, ministered, and taught among us. Jesus' coming was God's greatest act of self-revelation. "And the Word became flesh." (Johannes 1,14)Jesus renounced his divine privileges and became fully human. He died for our sins, was resurrected from the dead, and founded his Church. Christ's coming came as a shock to the people of his time. Why? Because their understanding of God was insufficient, as we will see in the next two chapters. Nevertheless, Jesus told his disciples, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father!" (Johannes 14:9)In short: God revealed himself in Jesus Christ.

3. There is no god but me.

Judaism, Christianity, Islam. All three world religions refer to Abraham as father. Abraham differed from his contemporaries in one important way: He worshiped only one God - the true God. Monotheism that is the belief that there is only one God denotes the starting point of true religion.

Abraham worshipped the true God. Abraham was not born into a monotheistic culture. Centuries later, God admonishes ancient Israel: "Your ancestors once lived beyond the Euphrates River—Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor—and they served other gods. So I took your father Abraham from beyond the river and caused him to wander throughout the land of Canaan and increased his lineage..." (Josua 24,2-3).

Before his calling by God, Abraham lived in Ur; his ancestors probably lived in Haran. Many gods were worshipped in both places. In Ur, for example, there was a large ziggurat dedicated to the Sumerian moon god Nanna. Other temples in Ur served the cults of An, Enlil, Enki, and Ningal. It was from this polytheistic world of belief that God led Abraham out: "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you, and I will make you into a great nation..." (1. Mose 12,1-2).

Abraham obeyed God and went away (verse 4). In a sense, God's relationship with Israel began at this point: when He revealed Himself to Abraham. God made a covenant with Abraham. Later, He renewed the covenant with Abraham's son Isaac, and still later with Isaac's son Jacob. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshipped the one true God. This also distinguished them from their close relatives. Laban, a grandson of Nahor, Abraham's brother, for example, still had household gods (idols). (1. Mose 31,30-35).

God saves Israel from Egyptian idolatry

Decades later, Jacob (renamed Israel) settled in Egypt with his children. The children of Israel stayed in Egypt for several centuries. In Egypt, too, there was pronounced polytheism. The Lexicon of the Bible (Eltville 1990) writes: "The religion [of Egypt] is a conglomerate of the individual nomos religions, to which numerous deities introduced from abroad (Baal, Astarte, the grumpy Bes) appear, regardless of the contradictions between the various ideas that came into being ... On earth the gods incorporate themselves in animals recognizable by certain signs "(p. 17-18).

In Egypt the children of Israel grew in number but fell into the bondage of the Egyptians. God revealed Himself in a series of acts that led to Israel's deliverance from Egypt. Then he made a covenant with the nation of Israel. As these events show, God's self-revelation to man has always been monotheistic. He reveals himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The name he gives himself ("I will be" or "I am", 2. Mose 3,14), suggests that other gods do not exist the way God does. God is. You are not!

Because Pharaoh does not want to release the Israelites, God humiliates Egypt with ten plagues. Many of these plagues immediately show the powerlessness of the Egyptian gods. For example, one of the Egyptian gods has a frog's head. God's frog plague makes the cult of this god ridiculous.

Even after witnessing the terrible consequences of the ten plagues, Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go. Then God destroyed the Egyptian army in the sea. (2. Mose 14,27)This act demonstrates the powerlessness of the Egyptian sea god. Singing songs of triumph. (2. Mose 15,1-21), the children of Israel praise their almighty God.

The true God is found and lost again

From Egypt, God leads the Israelites to Sinai, where they seal a covenant. In the first of the Ten Commandments, God emphasizes that worship is due to him alone: ​​"You shall have no other gods before me." (2. Mose 20,3)In the second commandment, he forbids the worship of images and idols (verses 4-5). Moses repeatedly warns the Israelites not to fall into idolatry (5. Mose 4,23-26; 7:5; 12:2-3; 29:15-20). He knows that the Israelites will be tempted to follow the Canaanite gods when they come to the promised land.

The prayer name Shema (Hebrew for "Hear!", after the first word of this prayer) declares Israel's commitment to God. It begins: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." (5. Mose 6,4-5)However, Israel repeatedly succumbed to the Canaanite gods, including EI (a standard name that can also be applied to the true God), Baal, Dagon, and Ashtoreth (another name for the goddess Astarte or Ishtar). The Baal cult, in particular, held a seductive attraction for the Israelites. When they colonized the land of Canaan, they depended on good harvests. Baal, the storm god, was worshipped in fertility rites. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states: "Because it centers on the fertility of land and animals, the fertility cult must always have been attractive to societies like ancient Israel, whose economy was predominantly agrarian" (Volume 4, p. 101).

God's prophets admonish the Israelites to repent of their apostasy. Elijah asks the people: "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, walk in his ways?" (1. Könige 18,21)God answers Elijah's prayer to prove that he alone is God. The people recognize: "The Lord is God, the Lord is God!" (verse 39).

God does not simply reveal himself as the greatest of all gods, but as the only God: "I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no god but the Lord." (Jesaja 45,5)And: "Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, I am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior." (Jesaja 43,10-11).

Judaism - strictly monotheistic

The Jewish religion of Jesus' time was neither henotheistic (assuming many gods, but considering one to be the greatest) nor monoiatric (only allowing the cult of one god, but considering others to exist), but strictly monotheistic (believing that there is only one God ). According to the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, the Jews were united in no other than their belief in one God (Volume 3, p. 98).

To this day, reciting the Shema remains an integral part of the Jewish religion. Rabbi Akiva (who died a martyr in the 2nd century CE), who is said to have been executed while reciting the Shema, is said to have repeatedly sung the Shema in his agony. 5. Mose 6,4 said and took the last breath at the word "alone".

Jesus to monotheism

When a scribe asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment, Jesus answered with a quote from the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Markus 12:29-30)The scribe agrees: “Teacher, you have truly spoken rightly! He is one, and there is no other besides him…” (verse 32).

In the next chapter we will see that Jesus' coming deepens and broadens the New Testament church's image of God. Jesus claims to be God's Son and at the same time one with the Father. Jesus affirms monotheism. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament emphasizes: "Through [New Testament] Christology, early Christian monotheism is consolidated, not shaken ... According to the Gospels, Jesus even intensifies the monotheistic creed" (Volume 3, p. 102).

Even Christ's enemies acknowledge him: "Teacher, we know that you are a man of truth and that you do not judge by appearances, for you teach the way of God in truth" (verse 14). As Scripture shows, Jesus is "the Christ of God." (Lukas 9,20)"Christ, the chosen one of God" (Lukas 23:35)He is "the Lamb of God" (Johannes 1,29)...and "God's Bread" (Johannes 6,33)Jesus, the Word, was God. (Johannes 1,1)Perhaps the clearest monotheistic statement of Jesus is found in Markus 10,17-18When someone addresses him as "good teacher," Jesus replies: "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."

What the early church preached

Jesus gave his church the mission to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations. (Matthäus 28,18-20)Therefore, she soon preached to people shaped by polytheistic culture. When Paul and Barnabas preached and performed miracles in Lystra, the inhabitants' reaction still betrayed their strictly polytheistic thinking: "When the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices and exclaimed in Lycaonian, 'The gods have become like men and have come down to us!' And they called Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes..." (Apostelgeschichte 14,11-12)Hermes and Zeus were two gods from the Greek pantheon. Both the Greek and Roman pantheons were well-known in the New Testament world, and the worship of Greco-Roman gods flourished. Paul and Barnabas responded passionately in a monotheistic manner: "We too are mortal men like you, and we bring you the gospel to turn from these false gods to the living God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them" (verse 15). Yet even this could hardly prevent people from sacrificing to them.

In Athens, Paul found altars to many different gods - even an altar dedicated to "The Unknown God". (Apostelgeschichte 17,23)He used this altar as a "hook" for his monotheistic sermon to the Athenians. In Ephesus, the cult of Artemis (Diana) was accompanied by a thriving trade in idols. After Paul preached the one true God, this trade declined. The goldsmith Demetrius, who suffered losses as a result, complained that "this Paul is leading many people astray, persuading them and saying: 'What is made with hands is not gods.'" (Apostelgeschichte 19:26)Once again, a servant of God is preaching the futility of man-made idols. Like the Old Testament, the New Testament proclaims only one true God. The other gods do not exist.

No other god

Paul tells the Christians of Corinth very clearly that he knows "that there is no idol in the world and no God but one." (1. Korinther 8,4).

Monotheism determines both the Old and the New Testament. Abraham, the father of believers, called God out of a polytheistic society. God revealed himself to Moses and Israel and founded the old covenant on self-worship alone. He sent prophets to emphasize the message of monotheism. And finally, Jesus himself also confirmed monotheism. The New Testament Church he founded constantly fought against beliefs that did not represent pure monotheism. Since the days of the New Testament, the church has consistently preached what God revealed a long time ago: Only one is God, "the Lord alone".

4. God, revealed in Jesus Christ

The Bible teaches, "There is only one God." Not two, three or a thousand. Only God alone exists. Christianity is a monotheistic religion, as we saw in the third chapter. That is why the coming of Christ caused such a stir at the time.

A nuisance to the Jews

Through Jesus Christ, through the "radiance of his glory and the image of his being," God revealed himself to mankind. (Hebräer 1,3)Jesus called God his Father (Matthäus 10,32-33; Lukas 23,34; Johannes 10,15)...and said: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father!" (Johannes 14:9)He made the bold claim: "I and the Father are one." (Johannes 10:30)After his resurrection, Thomas addressed him with "My Lord and my God!" (Johannes 20:28)Jesus Christ was God.

Judaism could not accept this. "The Lord is our God, the Lord is one." (5. Mose 6,4)This verse from the Shema had long formed the foundation of the Jewish faith. But here came a man with a profound understanding of scripture and miraculous powers, who claimed to be the Son of God. Some Jewish leaders did acknowledge him as a teacher coming from God. (Johannes 3,2).

But what about God's Son? How could the one and only God be both Father and Son? "That's why the Jews sought even more to kill him," he says. Johannes 5,18"Because not only did he break the Sabbath, but he also said that God was his Father." In the end, the Jews condemned him to death because, in their eyes, he had blasphemed: "Then the high priest asked him again, 'Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?' Jesus said, 'I am; and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.' Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, 'Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?' And they all condemned him to death." (Markus 14,61-64).

Folly to the Greeks

But even the Greeks of Jesus' time could not accept the claim Jesus made. Nothing, they believed, could bridge the gap between the eternal and unchanging and the transient and material. And so the Greeks mocked the following profound statement by John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (Johannes 1,1, 14). But that wasn't all the unbelievable news for the unbelievers. God not only became human and died, he was also raised from the dead and regained his former glory. (Johannes 17,5)The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians that God had "raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heaven." (Epheser 1:20).

Paul clearly addresses the dismay that Jesus Christ caused among Jews and Greeks: "For since the world, although surrounded by the wisdom of God, did not through its wisdom know God, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks." (1. Korinther 1,21-23)Only those who are called can understand and welcome the wonderful message of the gospel, Paul continues; "to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, we preach Christ as the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the folly of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is mightier than human strength" (verses 24-25). And in Römer 1,16Paul exclaims: "...I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Greek."

"I am the door"

During his earthly life, Jesus, the Incarnate God, blew up many old, cherished - but false - ideas about what God is, how God lives and what God wants. He shed light on truths that the Old Testament had only hinted at. And he just announced, by
He is salvation possible.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life," he proclaimed, "no one comes to the Father except through me." (Johannes 14,6)And: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will quarrel greatly; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." (Johannes 15,5-6)Earlier he said: "I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved..." (Johannes 10,9).

Jesus is God

Jesus has the monotheistic imperative that consists of 5. Mose 6,4 He speaks of the law, which resonates throughout the Old Testament, and which is not invalidated. On the contrary, he does not abolish the law, but expands upon it (Matthäus 5, 17(21-22, 27-28), he now expands the concept of the "one" God in a completely unexpected way. He explains: There is only one and only God, yet the Word has been with God since eternity. (Johannes 1,1-2)The Word became flesh—fully human and at the same time fully divine—and of his own accord renounced all divine privileges. Jesus, "who was in very nature divine, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness."
He was recognized as a man in his appearance. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. (Philipper 2,6-8).

Jesus was fully human and fully divine. He commanded above all the power and authority of God, yet for our sake he submitted to the limitations of humanity. During this time of incarnation, he, the Son, remained "one" with the Father. "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father!" Jesus said. (Johannes 14,9)"I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just; for I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me." (Johannes 5,30)He said he did nothing of his own volition, but spoke as his father had taught him. (Johannes 8,28).

Shortly before his crucifixion, he explained to his disciples: "I came from the Father and entered the world; I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." (Johannes 16,28)Jesus came to earth to die for our sins. He came to establish his church. He came to begin the worldwide proclamation of the gospel. And he also came to reveal God to humanity. In particular, he made people aware of the Father-Son relationship that exists in the Godhead.

The Gospel of John, for example, largely recounts how Jesus reveals the Father to humanity. Jesus' Passover conversations are particularly interesting in this respect (Johannes 13-17). What an astonishing insight into the nature of God! Even more astonishing is Jesus' further revelation about the divinely ordained relationship between God and humanity. Human beings can share in the divine nature! Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and reveal myself to him." (Johannes 14,21)God desires to unite humanity with himself through a relationship of love—a love of the kind that exists between the Father and the Son. God reveals himself to those in whom this love is at work. Jesus continues: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me will not keep my words. The word you hear is not my word, but the Father’s who sent me.”
has "(verses 23-24).

Whoever comes to God through faith in Jesus Christ, faithfully submitting their life to God, God lives in them. Peter preached: "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." (Apostelgeschichte 2,38)The Holy Spirit is also God, as we will see in the next chapter. Paul knew that God lived in him: “I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galater 2,20).

The life of God in man is like a "new birth," as Jesus said in Johannes 3:3 explained: At this spiritual birth, one begins a new life in God, becomes a fellow citizen of the saints and a member of God's household. (Epheser 2:19)Paul writes that God has "saved us from the power of darkness" and "transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Kolosser 1,13-14)The Christian is a citizen of the Kingdom of God. "My dear friends, we are already God's children." (1. Johannes 3:2)In Jesus Christ, God has fully revealed himself. "For in him the whole fullness of the Deity dwells bodily." (Kolosser 2:9)What does this revelation mean for us? We can become partakers of the divine nature!

Peter concludes: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through this he has given us the precious and very great promises, so that you, having escaped the corrupting desires of the world, may share in the divine nature.” (2. Petrus 1,3-4).

Christ - the perfect revelation of God

In what specific way did God reveal himself in Jesus Christ? In everything he thought and did, Jesus revealed the character of God. Jesus died and was raised from the dead so that humanity could be saved, reconciled to God, and receive eternal life. Römer 5:10-11 It tells us: "For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

Jesus revealed God's plan to establish a new spiritual community transcending ethnic and national barriers — the Church. (Epheser 2,14-22)Jesus revealed God as the Father of all who are born again in Christ. Jesus revealed the glorious destiny that God promises his people. The presence of the Spirit of God in us already gives us a foretaste of this future glory. The Spirit is "the guarantee of our inheritance." (Epheser 1,14).

Jesus also testified to the existence of the Father and the Son as one God, and thus to the fact that in the one, eternal deity different essentials are expressed. The New Testament authors used again and again the Old Testament God names for Christ. In doing so they not only testified to us as Christ is, but also as God is, for Jesus is the revelation of the Father, and he and the Father are one. We learn more about God when we examine how Christ is.

5. One in threes and three in one

The Bible, as we have seen, uncompromisingly upholds the doctrine of one God. Jesus' incarnation and his ministry have given us a deeper understanding of the "how" of God's oneness. The New Testament testifies that Jesus Christ is God and that the Father is God. But, as we shall see, it also presents the Holy Spirit as God—as divine, as eternal. That is to say, the Bible reveals one God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For this reason, Christians are to be baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthäus 28,19).

Over the centuries, many explanatory models have emerged that may make these biblical facts more tangible at first sight. But we must be wary of accepting explanations that are "out the back door" against biblical teachings. For many explanations may simplify matters insofar as they give us a grander and more vivid image of God. But first and foremost, it depends on whether an explanation is consistent with the Bible, not whether it is self-contained and consistent. The Bible shows that there is one - and only one - God, yet at the same time presents us Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, all eternally existing and doing all things as only God can do them.

"One in three", "three in one", these are ideas that resist human logic. It would be relatively easy to imagine, for example, a Goth being "of one piece", without "splitting" into Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But that is not the God of the Bible. Another simple image is the "God family", which consists of more than one member. But the God of the Bible is very different from anything we could open up with our own thinking and without any revelation.

God reveals many things about Him, and we believe them even though we can not explain them all. For example, we can not satisfactorily explain how God can be without beginning. Such an idea goes beyond our limited horizon. We can not explain them, but know that it is true that God had no beginning. Similarly, the Bible reveals that God is one and only one, but at the same time also Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is God

Apostelgeschichte 5,3-4 Peter calls the Holy Spirit "God": "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the money for the field? Could you not have kept the field while you had it? And even after it was sold, could you not still do as you pleased? Why did you plan this in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.'" According to Peter, Ananias's lie to the Holy Spirit was a lie to God. The New Testament ascribes qualities to the Holy Spirit that only God can possess. For example, the Holy Spirit is omniscient. "But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." (1. Korinther 2,10).

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is omnipresent, not bound by any spatial boundaries. "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have received from God, and that you do not belong to yourselves?" (1. Korinther 6,19)The Holy Spirit dwells in all believers and is therefore not confined to one place. The Holy Spirit renews Christians. "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit... The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit" (Johannes 3,5-68). He foretells the future. “But the Spirit clearly says that in the last times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and demonic teachings.” (1. Timotheus 4,1)In the baptismal formula, the Holy Spirit is placed on the same level as the Father and the Son: The Christian is to be baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthäus 28,19)The mind is capable of creating from nothing. (Psalm 104,30)Only God possesses such creative gifts. Hebräer 9,14He gives the spirit the epithet "eternal". Only God is eternal.

Jesus promised the apostles that after his departure he would send a "Comforter" (Advocate) who would remain with them "forever," the "Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." (Johannes 14:16-17)Jesus explicitly identifies this "Comforter" as the Holy Spirit: "But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (verse 26). The Comforter exposes the world's sins and guides us into all truth; all actions that only God can perform. Paul confirms this: "We speak of these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words of wisdom." , taught by the Spirit, by interpreting spiritual things through spiritual things" (1. Korinther 2,13, Elberfeld Bible).

Father, Son and Holy Spirit: a god

When we recognize that there is only one God and that the Holy Spirit is God, just as the Father is God and the Son is God, it is not difficult for us to understand passages like... Apostelgeschichte 13,2 to understand: "But when they were serving and fasting the Lord, the Holy Spirit said: Separate me from Barnabas and Saul to the work to which I have called them." According to Luke the Holy Spirit said: "Separate me from Barnabas and Saul to the work to which I have called her. "In the work of the Holy Spirit, Luke sees directly the work of God.

When we take the biblical revelation of the essence of God at our word, it is great. When the Holy Spirit speaks, sends, inspires, guides, sanctifies, empowers, or gives gifts, it is God who does so. But since God is one and not three separate beings, the Holy Spirit is not an independent God, acting on his own accord.

God has one will, the will of the Father, which is equally the will of the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is not a matter of two or three separate divine beings deciding independently to be in perfect harmony with one another. Rather, it is one God and one will. The Son expresses the will of the Father. Accordingly, the nature and work of the Holy Spirit is to accomplish the will of the Father on earth.

According to Paul, the "Lord ... is the Spirit," and he writes of the "Lord who is the Spirit." (2. Korinther 3,17-18)Verse 6 even says, "The Spirit gives life," and that is something only God can do. We only know the Father because the Spirit enables us to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus and the Father dwell in us, but only because the Spirit dwells in us (Johannes 14,16-1723; Römer 8,9-11Since God is one, the Father and the Son are also in us when the Spirit is in us.

In 1. Korinther 12,4-11 Paul equates the Spirit, the Lord, and God. He writes in verse 6 that there is "one God at work in all people." Yet a few verses later it says: "All these things are the work of one and the same Spirit," and "just as he [the Spirit] wills." How can the Spirit will anything? Because he is God. And since there is only one God, the will of the Father is also the will of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

To worship God means to worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for they are the one and only God. However, we must not single out the Holy Spirit and worship him as a separate being. Our worship should not be directed to the Holy Spirit as such, but to God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in one. God within us (the Holy Spirit) moves us to worship God. The Comforter (like the Son) does not speak "on his own authority." (Johannes 16,13)He says, but rather speaks what the Father inspires him to say. He does not refer us to himself, but to the Father through the Son. And likewise, we do not pray to the Holy Spirit as such—it is the Spirit within us who helps us in prayer and even intercedes for us. (Römer 8,26).

If God himself were not in us, we would never be converted to God. If God himself were not in us, we would not know either God or the Son (he). That is why we owe salvation to God alone, not to us. The fruit we bear is the fruit of the Spirit-God's fruit, not ours. Nevertheless, if we want to, we enjoy the great privilege of being able to collaborate in God's work.

The Father is the creator and the source of all things. The Son is the Redeemer, the Savior, the executive organ through whom God created everything. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter and Advocate. The Holy Spirit is God in us, who leads us through the Son to the Father. Through the Son we are purified and saved so that we can have fellowship with him and the Father. The Holy Spirit works on our hearts and minds and leads us to faith in Jesus Christ, who is the way and the gate. The Spirit gives us gifts, the gifts of God, among which faith, hope, and love are not the least.

All this is the work of the one God revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is no other god than the God of the Old Testament, but more is revealed about him in the New Testament: He sent his Son as a man to die for our sins and be raised to glory, and he sent us his Spirit - the Comforter - who dwell in us, guiding us into all truth, giving us gifts, and conforming to the likeness of Christ.

When we pray, our goal is to have God answer our prayers; but God must lead us to this goal, and he is even the path on which we are led to this goal. In other words, to God (the Father) we pray; It is God in us (the Holy Spirit) who moves us to pray; and God is also the way (the Son) by which we are led to that goal.

The father starts the plan of salvation. The Son embodies the reconciliation and salvation plan for mankind and carries it out himself. The Holy Spirit brings about the blessings - the gifts - of salvation, which then bring about the salvation of faithful believers. All this is the work of the one God, the God of the Bible.

Paul concludes his second letter to the Corinthians with the blessing: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all!" (2. Korinther 13,13)Paul focuses on the love of God, which we receive through the grace that God bestows through Jesus Christ, and the unity and fellowship with God and with one another that he grants through the Holy Spirit.

How many "persons" is God?

Many people have only a vague idea of ​​what the Bible says about the unity of God. Most do not think deeper about it. Some imagine three independent beings; some a being with three heads; others one that can turn at will into the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This only as a small selection of popular images.

Many try to summarize the biblical teaching about God in the terms "trinity", "trinity" or "trinity". However, if you ask them more about what the bible says about it, they usually have to give no explanation. In other words: Many people's image of the Trinity has shaky biblical foundations, and an important reason for the lack of clarity lies in the use of the term "person".

The word "person" used in most German definitions of the Trinity suggests three beings. Examples: "The one God is in three persons ... who are one divine nature ... These three persons are (real) different from one another" (Rahner / Vorgrimler, IQ eines Theologisches Wörterbuch, Freiburg 1961, p. 79). In relation to God, the common meaning of the word "person" conveys a skewed picture: namely, the impression that God is limited and that his trinity results from the fact that he consists of three independent beings. That's not the case.

The German term "person" comes from the Latin persona. In the Latin theologian language persona was used as a name for father, son and Holy Spirit, but in a different sense, as it is the German word "person" today. The basic meaning of persona was "mask". In the figurative sense, it described a role in a play. At that time, an actor performed in one piece in several roles, and for each role he wore a particular mask. But even this term, although it does not give rise to the misconception of three beings, is still weak and misleading in relation to God. Misleading because Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are more than just roles that God takes on, and because an actor can only play one role at a time, while God is always Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the same time. It may be that a Latin theologian meant the right thing when he used the word persona. That a layman would have understood him correctly, is unlikely. Even today, the word "person", in relation to God, easily leads the average person on the wrong track, if it is not accompanied by the explanation that one has to imagine "person" in the deity something quite different than under "person" in the human sense.

Anyone who speaks in our language of a God in three people, can really do otherwise than imagine three independent Gods. In other words, he will not distinguish between the terms "person" and "being." But that's not how God is revealed in the Bible. There is only one God, not three. The Bible reveals that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, interpenetrating, is to be understood as a single, eternal way of being of the one true God of the Bible.

One god: three hypostases

If we want to express the biblical truth that God is "one" and at the same time "three," we must search for terms that do not give the impression that three gods or three separate divine beings exist. The Bible demands that we make no compromises regarding the unity of God. The problem is that all words that refer to creation carry elements of meaning from secular language that can be misleading. Most words, including the word "person," tend to connect God's nature with the created order. On the other hand, all our words have some kind of connection to the created order. Therefore, it is important to clarify precisely what we mean and what we do not mean when we speak of God in human terms. A helpful word—a metaphor used by Greek-speaking Christians to capture God's unity and trinity—can be found in Hebräer 1:3This biblical passage is instructive in several ways. It reads: "He [the Son] is the radiance of his [God's] glory and the exact representation of his being, and sustains all things by his powerful word..." From the phrase "radiance [or emanation] of his glory," we can derive several insights: The Son is not a being separate from the Father. The Son is no less divine than the Father. And the Son is eternal, just as the Father is. In other words, the Son relates to the Father as the radiance or emanation relates to glory: without a radiant source, there is no emanation; without emanation, there is no radiant source. And yet, we must distinguish between God's glory and the emanation of that glory. They are different, but not separate. Equally instructive is the phrase "example [or imprint, impression, likeness] of his being." In the Son, the Father is fully and completely expressed.
Let us now turn to the gliechish word, which in the original text stands here behind "essence". It's hypostasis. It consists of hypo = "under" and stasis = "stand" and has the basic meaning of "standing under something". What it means is what, as we would say, is "behind" one thing, making it what it is. Hypostasis can be defined as "something without which another can not be". You could describe them as "essential reason", "reason of being".

God is personal

"Hypostasis" (plural: "hypostases") is a good word to denote the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a biblical term and provides a sharper conceptual separation between God nature and the created order. However, "person" is also suitable, provided that the (indispensable) requirement is that the word is not understood in the human-personal sense.

One reason why "person"—properly understood—is also suitable is that God relates to us personally. Therefore, it would be wrong to say that he is impersonal. We do not worship a rock or a plant, nor an impersonal power "beyond the cosmos," but a "living person." God is personal, but not a person in the way we are persons. "For I am God and not a man, and I am the Holy One among you." (Hosea 11:9)God is the Creator—and not part of creation. Human beings have a beginning, possess a body, grow up, are individually different, age, and eventually die. God is above all of this, and yet he behaves personally in his relationships with people.

God goes beyond all that language can reproduce infinitely; nevertheless he is personal and loves us dearly. He has a lot to be open about, but not everything that goes beyond the limits of human knowledge, he conceals. As finite beings, we can not grasp the infinite. Wu · can recognize God in the revelation, but we can not comprehend him exhaustively because we are finite and he is infinite. What God revealed to us about himself is real. It's true. It is important.

God calls us: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2. Petrus 3,18)Jesus said: "And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (Johannes 17:3)The more we come to know God, the clearer it becomes how small we are and how great he is.

6. The relationship of humanity to God

In this brochure, we have begun by attempting to formulate fundamental questions that humanity might ask God. What would we ask if we were free to ask such a question? Our tentative question, "Who are you?" is answered by the Creator and Ruler of the cosmos with: "I will be who I will be." (2. Mose 3,14)...or "I am who I am" (Menge translation). God reveals himself to us in creation. (Psalm 19,2)Since the time he created us, he has been acting in and with us humans. Sometimes like thunder and lightning, like storms, like earthquakes and fire, sometimes also like "a still, gentle whisper." (2. Mose 20,18; 1. Könige 19,11-12)He even laughs. (Psalm 2:4)In the biblical text, God speaks about himself and describes his impression on people with whom he directly encountered others. God reveals himself through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

But we don't just want to know who God is. We also want to know why he created us. We want to know what his plan is for us. We want to know what future is prepared for us. What kind of relationship do we have with God? What kind "should" we have? And what kind will we have in the future? God made us in his image. (1. Mose 1,26-27)And for our future, the Bible reveals—sometimes very clearly—something far higher than we, as limited beings, can currently dream of.

Where we are now

Hebräer 2,6-11 It tells us that we are currently somewhat "lower" than the angels. But God has "crowned us with glory and honor" and subjected all creation to us. For the future, "he has spared nothing that is not subject to him [humanity]. But now we do not yet see that everything is subject to him." God has prepared an eternal, glorious future for us. But something still stands in the way. We are in a state of guilt; through our sins we are cut off from God. (Jesaja 59:1-2)Sin has erected an insurmountable obstacle between God and us, a barrier that we cannot overcome on our own.

However, the fracture has already been healed. Jesus tasted death for us. (Hebräer 2,9)He paid the death penalty we brought upon ourselves through our sins in order to bring "many sons to glory" (verse 10). According to Offenbarung 21:7God wants us to find ourselves in a father-child relationship with him. Because he loves us and has done everything for us—and as the author of our salvation, still does—Jesus is not ashamed to call us images. (Hebräer 2,10-11).

What is required of us now

Apostelgeschichte 2,38 He calls us to repent of our sins and be baptized, metaphorically speaking, to be buried. God gives the Holy Spirit to those who believe that Jesus Christ is their Savior, Lord, and King. (Galater 3,2-5)When we repent—when we have turned away from the selfish, worldly, sinful paths we once walked—we enter into a new relationship with Him in faith. We are born again. (Johannes 3,3)A new life in Christ is given to us through the Holy Spirit, transformed by the Spirit through God's grace and mercy, and through the redemptive work of Christ. And then? Then we grow "in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2. Petrus 3:18), until the end of our lives. We are destined to participate in the first resurrection, and after that we will "be with the Lord always." (1. Thessalonicher 4,13-17).

Our immeasurable heritage

God has "born again ... to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade," an inheritance that "will be revealed by God's power ... in the last time." (1. Petrus 1,3-5)In the resurrection we will receive immortality. (1. Korinther 15:54)...and receive a "spiritual body" (verse 44). "And just as we have borne the image of the earthly [human-Adam]," says verse 49, "so shall we also bear the image of the heavenly one." As "children of the resurrection," we are henceforth no longer subject to death. (Lukas 20,36).

Could anything be more glorious than what the Bible says about God and our future relationship with Him? We will be "like Him [Jesus]; for we will see Him as He is." (1. Johannes 3,2). Offenbarung 21:3. promises for the era of the new heaven and the new earth: "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with mankind! And he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God..."

We will become one with God—in holiness, love, perfection, righteousness, and spirit. As His immortal children, we will form the family of God in the fullest sense. We will share with Him a perfect fellowship in eternal joy. What a great and inspiring message of hope and eternal salvation God has prepared for all who believe in Him!

Brochure of the WKG