(To be translated into various African
languages)
God Is
Purpose of the Lesson
• Begin to understand who God is and what He is like
• Realize that God has always existed and always will
• Accept the Bible as the source of authoritative answers
Have 'Would You Believe
It?' booklets available.
Be prepared to guide effectively by reading Directions
for Guiding Stonecroft Bible Studies webpage.
Help participants become familiar with their Study Book.
Prayer
Dear God of the Universe, we want to study the Book You wrote
because we want to learn about You. Open our eyes, our ears, and
our hearts so we can understand the things we read. We come to
You in Jesus’ name, amen.
Guide’s Comments
To help us benefit from this Bible study, there are some Guidelines
which we will follow. They are located in the Study Book and online.
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Stonecroft Bible Studies Guidelines
Since this is a Bible study, our
goal is to learn what the Bible says and how it applies
to our lives. The Study Book and Bible will be the only
books we need for our study.
It is recommended that we prepare
for the lesson by completing the questions in our Study
Books prior to the study. This will enhance each discussion.
We’ll do Lesson 1 together.
Our Bible study will start on time
and last 60 to 90 minutes.
Since we are from various backgrounds
(possible including assorted churches) we will respect each
other’s opinions and beliefs.
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Who is God? This question has intrigued
people for centuries. They have searched deep into history,
hoping to unveil “the ultimate controller of the universe.”
They try to discover who God is and understand how He works.
The purpose of these lessons is—
• to learn what the Bible says about God;
• to realize how exciting life can be when we know God
and live in fellowship with Him;
• to apply what we learn and develop a deeper, more meaningful
relationship with God.
As you read the following, emphasize
the word “is.”
To stimulate our thinking, consider the
following:
God Is
The Bible simply states that God is.
There is no attempt to prove that He is. There is no great argument
or explanation. Anyone who picks up the Bible and reads its
first words can know without a doubt that God exists. God, the
true and Almighty God, is. He is the One who has caused everything
else to come into existence.
| God always
has been,
He always will be!
His eternal existence is powerfully
expressed by two words:
God is.
|
How do you react to that statement?.
. . . . (Discuss. Acknowledge and encourage their thoughtful
responses.)
| The almighty, always-present God,
who knows all things, is here. He always will be, because
God is.
“And
without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He
is,
and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
—Hebrews 11:6
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Our New Testaments express
the fact that "God is" by using another word instead of "is."
| 1. Turn to Hebrews
11:6. . . . . What word does this verse use to
express the fact that God is? (exists)
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God has always existed and
He always will. People exist and you exist. Your physical body
has a beginning and an end. But God does not have a beginning
or an ending. To say, “God exists” is correct, but
to say “God is,” has a more definite meaning. There
never was a time when God did not exist. He always was and always
will be. Do you see the deeper meaning in the statement “God
is” than “God exists?” It is always present
tense or now with God.
| God is Creator
Before time began, there was nothing
but God in all His fullness. Nothing else—no universe,
no earth, no sun, moon, or stars—nothing. God spoke
and began filling that emptiness, creating things out of
nothing. God is the Creator of all that exists.
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What do the Old and the New
Testament say about God the creator?
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2. Read the following Bible verses and state in your own
words the one main truth each verse teaches.
(Use your Bible of Arica Bible
Verse Handbook.)
Nehemiah 9:6 . . . . .
Colossians 1:15-16. . . .
.
The main truth stated in these verses is (God is the
Creator of all things.) |
God is the Creator of all
things. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, tells us that God
spoke things into being. His words are powerful. He spoke and
there was light. He spoke and things appeared that never existed
before. In fact, all that exists is here because God spoke it
into being or, as in the case of humanity, He formed us with His
hands. What a wonderful God we have! He created everything that
is—out of nothing.
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God is Eternal
The two words God is reveal that
God is eternal. Eternity is a concept that is hard to understand
because we live in time.
We are prisoners of time. The time
we were born was recorded. There will be a time when we
will die. All we do in our lifetime, from the beginning
to the end, is measured by time—years, days, hours,
and minutes. We are constantly made aware of time, so it
is hard for us to understand timelessness.
3. Read the following Bible verses
and state in your own words the one main truth they teach
us.
Psalm 102:12, 25-27 . . .
. . (God is eternal)
God is timeless. He never had a beginning
and He will never have an end. He lives in eternity, which
is another way of saying He lives in timelessness.
We live in three tenses—the
past, present, and future. We have lived in the past, we
are living in the present, and we will live in the future.
God has always existed and will continue to exist forever.
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God has no beginning or ending. We had a beginning, but the
amazing truth is that we will never have an end! Our physical
bodies will die, but our souls and spirits will live on forever.
The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:7 how
God made humans to live forever. It says when God breathed the
breath of life into the man, he became a living soul.
God made people so they could know Him.
That is the purpose of this study—to know God and learn
what He is like. In this lesson we have learned that—
God is. He has no beginning and will
have no end.
He is the Creator of everything in heaven and earth.
He is eternal—He always has and always will exist.
Another important thing the Bible tells
us about God is that He is the only One.
If a response to Question 4 reveals
unbelief about there being one God, allow the person to give
the reason for the answer. Continue by reading the verses and
do not argue.
| Only One God
4. Read the following verses and
answer this question. Do you believe there is one Living
God?. . . . .
Give the reason for your answer.
. . . .
Isaiah 44:6 . . . . .
Isaiah 45:5 . . . . .
(There is only one God because
the Bible says so, and because God says
He is the First and Last. There is no other God and never
will be.)
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Is the Bible True?
Since we have been answering
our questions from the Bible, you may be asking yourself why the
Bible is a dependable, authoritative resource for our answers.
The Bible writers claimed
that they were recording the very words of God. The amazing thing
is that, though this is not a claim writers make, the 40 men who
wrote the Bible all claim divine inspiration. Over 3,000 times
the different Bible writers said, in one way or another, that
they were giving people God’s words.
The unity of the Bible is even more amazing when we realize the
men who wrote the Scriptures wrote from three continents—Europe,
Asia, and Africa. Their writing spread over a period of 1,500
years. They were from different walks of life and wrote in three
different languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
The Bible is in perfect harmony
from beginning to end—even though it deals with many difficult
subjects. Each part needs the other parts to complete the story.
The Bible is the complete revelation of how God has provided salvation
for all who will believe and receive His wonderful gift.
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Some of the books of the Bible were written by prophets.
These were men who spoke God’s words to the people.
They told about coming events many years before they happened.
The purpose of prophecy in the Bible
is to let us know that God exists and that He has a plan
for this world and for each individual in it. By foretelling
persons, places, and events hundreds of years in advance,
God gives us a knowledge of His plan and what will happen
in the future. The fact of fulfilled prophecy is perhaps
the strongest argument for the divine inspiration of the
Bible. |
In his book Evidence that
Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell gives 61 different prophecies
found throughout the Old Testament concerning the birth, life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.1 The New Testament reports
the fulfillment of each of these prophecies in detail. We cannot
take time to look at all of them now. However, there are two prophecies
concerning Christ given in the next two questions.
| 5. We can test the reliability
of the Bible by seeing if its predictions came true.
The prophet Micah predicted the birthplace
of Jesus 700 years before He was born.
Micah 5:2 . . . . .
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah (EHF-ru-tha),
Though you are small among the clans of Judah,
Out of you will come for me
One who will be ruler over Israel,
Whose origins are from of old,
From ancient times.”
This prophecy was fulfilled. Read
Matthew 2:4-6. . . . .
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.' "
Where was Jesus to be born? . . .
. . (in Bethlehem)
Mary lived in northern Palestine
in Nazareth for most of her pregnancy. Bethlehem was in
southern Palestine. However, the Roman government ordered
a census to be taken for tax purposes. Everyone was to return
to the hometown of their ancestors to be registered. Joseph
and Mary were from the royal line of King David, whose hometown
was Bethlehem (1 Samuel 16:1).
Scripture was fulfilled because Jesus was
born while they were in Bethlehem, not Nazareth. Only God
could have brought all those different factors together
at the right time. Only God could do it. 6. David foretold many details of
the crucifixion in the poetry he wrote more than a thousand
years before Christ. For example, read
Psalm 22:18 . . . . .
“They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
We are told of the fulfillment of
this prophecy in John 19:23-24 . . . . .
What did the soldiers do?. . . .
.
(They divided his clothes into four parts and because
His outer robe was one piece, they threw dice for it.)
This prophecy was fulfilled by Roman
soldiers who would not have known about Jewish prophecy.
They would not have connected it with the man whom they
had just crucified. Only God could have foretold this detail
and caused it to be fulfilled.
7. Summarize what Jesus said about
the Old Testament read Luke 24:27, 44 . . . . .
(Everything written about Jesus in the Old Testament
had to come true.)
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The time of the coming of the Messiah,
His death, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the destruction
of the temple were prophesied in the book of Daniel hundreds
of years before they happened. These fulfilled prophecies also
confirm the fact that the Bible is a divinely inspired book.
8. What does 2 Timothy 3:16,
say about the inspiration of the Bible? . . . . .
(All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching
the truth.)
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Summary
At the end of each lesson, there is a
page on which we can make notes. We can use this page to write
things we want to remember.
Perhaps, as you study, you would like
to make notes about things God wants you to do. On this page,
you can also record ideas about how you will apply these biblical
truths to your life. It is your page—use it in the way
that means the most to you.
For example, we can write some of the
things we learned today.
What did we learn about God when we read
Hebrews 11:6? . . . . . (God exists or God is)
When we read Nehemiah 9:6, what fact
did we confirm?. . . . . (God is the Creator of everything
in heaven and earth)
God has no beginning or ending. What
is another word that describes His timelessness? . . . . . (Eternal)
The Bible repeatedly tells us how many
gods there are. How many are there? . . . . . (Only one)
One reason we can believe the Bible is
true is that one person who always spoke the truth confirmed
the fact that it was true. Who was that person in Luke 24:27?.
. . . . (Jesus)
9. What does the expression “God is” mean to you
since you have studied this lesson? . . . . . (Accept
all answers, but emphasize that God has
always existed and always will.) |
Next week, Lesson 2 introduces the Weekly
Bible Reading. Each day, read the Bible verses that explain
more about God and answer one or two questions. Make a note
of the new things you have learned about God on the page at
the end of the lesson.
In Question 1 of next week’s lesson,
you will be asked to write what you see when you think of God.
Write the first thing that comes into your mind. Write what
is real to you. What or who is God to you?
Some people think that God is—
• a great person far away
• nature
• a power or force in space
• a creator who made us and left us alone
• a bright, glorious light located in heaven
• a patriarch who sits on His throne in heaven and is
frustrated by all that is happening on earth
Next week, it will be interesting to
hear everyone’s answer to that question.
Closing Prayer
Almighty God, we are beginning to see
what a great God You are. Help us realize that, though You are
beyond our understanding, You want us to know You. Keep on teaching
us and helping us absorb the meaning of the truths we read today.
We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
