The character of God

[TreeOfLife]

I think people believe before their heads actually realize it. By the time we are conciously aware of the elements of faith, it has already arrived. What most of us call a "decision for Christ" is actually merely our minds trying to play catch up with something our hearts have already settled in and believed. Scriptures are important indeed. They help us flesh out those things the Spirit has imparted into our spirits. They are the medium of communication whereby we articulate and testify our faith. We use scripture to clothe our faith with words of doctrine. But the faith always comes first, faith comes by the living Spirit speaking words into our spirits, and faith gives reality unto a confession. But the faith always comes first.

Amen and Amen!

 

[KingZzub]

Amen to that Rocky.

 

[JimfromOhio]

Faith recognizes the fact that God is in control of our life. Whether we believe it or not, it's a fact that God is in control of the world. True faith is to attribute worth to a real Being, one who is truly there and who is truly worthy. Who God REALLY is, and not part of our images. The purpose of the Holy Scriptures, the Bible is we are to learn what God is like and to acknowledge him as who He REALLY is -- to ascribe worth to him, to reflect upon the value, beauty, and character of God. If we don't do that, we are NOT using our faith in God as God expected from us. We are to be in praising God all of His works and all of His attributes, NOT PARTS. We cannot ignore one part of God and focus only the other part of God, because if we do that, we are NOT following EVERY word of God as truth worshippers. God is absolutely powerful, that God is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, that God is immutable, never changes, that God is all wise, perfectly just, holy, righteous. God is causing all things to work together for our good, which means our eternal glory because we love God because He first loved us and purposed to bring us to His Great Glory.

The Book of Psalm is a GREAT book to study God's character and how we are to TRUST Him.
Psalm 4:5 (NIV) Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.

Psalm 9:10 (NIV) Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 19:7 (NIV) The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Psalm 28:7 (NIV) The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 31:14 (NIV) But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God."

Psalm 32:10 (NIV) Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.

Psalm 33:21 (NIV) In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.

Psalm 56:3 (NIV) When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

Psalm 56:4 (NIV) In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

Psalm 56:11 (NIV) in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Psalm 62:8 (NIV) Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah

Psalm 84:12 (NIV) O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Psalm 86:2 (NIV) Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.

 

[justinstout]

Jesus is still always the best example of God's true nature and character.

 

[franky67]

Jesus is still always the best example of God's true nature and character.

Right on,

I believe when He sent His son to earth, He was saying to His people, Israel, through the centuries, your perception of Me has become distorted, Here's Jesus, see me clearly again.

 

[JimfromOhio]

Concept of God

Exodus 20:4
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. Are we corrupting our thoughts with our wishful images of God? Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Acts 7:32 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. Revelation 15:3 and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Mark 12:26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' ? Romans 9:17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

When we worship God in image, we are to "Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy." (Psalm 99:9). I

 

[KingZzub]

Jesus is still always the best example of God's true nature and character.

And if you have seen Him...

 

[TreeOfLife]

And if you have seen Him...

...you are never the same again.

 

[KingZzub]

We become what He is.

 

[TreeOfLife]

We become what He is.

Astounding ain't it?

 

[foadle]

I suppose then the mistake must lie in the misunderstanding of the character of God, which comes from not being saved?


Unsaved + scriptures = delusion.

Unsaved + spiritual things = delusion.

Unsaved + religion = delusion.


Something like that?

But even those who are saved are a risk - that is why we are told to be on our guard always (1 Peter 5:8). Even those who know the character of God can be misled and that is why we need to be renewing our minds daily that our understanding of God is continually growing and remains accurate. Your right though many saved people are under many dilusions about the reality of God.

I think people believe before their heads actually realize it.

I would probably agree with you on that one as the Bible says that we know right and wrong because it is written in our hearts - really if there is no God can there really be any right and wrong. Right and wrong would then be based on what people think (which has infiltrated the God system anyway.)

 

[foadle]

We become what He is.

Yes but this is why I am asking this question - I want to know every aspect of God and Christ that I do become what they are. Jesus was a summing up but short of being there (which is not possible) I turn to the Bible for further guidance on this. As all scripture is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) we cannot deny its ablity to impart a better understanding of the nature and character of God and know the power that is guiding our every move.

 

[TreeOfLife]

Yes but this is why I am asking this question - I want to know every aspect of God and Christ that I do become what they are. Jesus was a summing up but short of being there (which is not possible) I turn to the Bible for further guidance on this. As all scripture is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) we cannot deny its ablity to impart a better understanding of the nature and character of God and know the power that is guiding our every move.

Relax. We are not responsible to renew our own minds, that would be impossible. We are only to keep our eyes fixed on Him. I only do what I "see" my Father doing.

 

[KingZzub]

Read the gospels. Read the gospels.

Read the gospels.

Read the gospels.

 

[TreeOfLife]

Read the gospels. Read the gospels.

Read the gospels.

Read the gospels.

Pray, and pray some more...

Read the gospels. Read the gospels.

Read the gospels.

Read the gospels.

Pray, and pray some more...

Read the gospels. Read the gospels.

Read the gospels.

Read the gospels.

Now go be.

 

[KleinerApfel]

Hey guys, great song - how does the tune go for that?

 

[KingZzub]

It goes to the tune of Greensleeves

 

[LittleRocketBoy]

One of my beefs with the mere theist is how he derives and defines the goodness of God.
The mere theist reasons that God is "bigger than we are," that "His ways are not our ways," and that because of sovereignty He can do "anything He wants."
From this they deduce that God could do things that would be sinful for us if we did them. If one of us were to intentionally inflict sickness or injury on our own children that would be sin. If we were to "allow"(sic) an enemy to have access to our family to kill and torture them based on a bet... that would be sin for us.
Yet mere theists have no problem assigning these character traits to God while completely ignoring or overruling the Jesus revelation of God. They define the righteousness and holiness God not by the standards He has delivered to us, rather they take the "omni factors" and contruct a God more like the Roman and Greek gods of ancient paganism. Bottom line is this... they not only walk by sight, they take what they see in the world and define God by what they see rather than looking at Jesus and believing that is what God is.
They see sickness in the world. What do they do? They take the "omni factor" that says "God is in control of everything" and insist that God must be in control of sickness and therefore His character must include that abnormality. They take the doctrine of "sovereigty" and conclude that God can do anything (and does not "have to" do anything) and therefore He does not have to keep promises, keep His word, or even be true to His own nature. Eventually they develop a God who is truely a monster... worse than any devil from hell.

Jesus is perfect and correct image of what God the Father is like. All else is walking by sight or mere types and shadows. If we be Christians, lets walk according to the Jesus image and repent from the old man's image of God.

 

[Girly3302]

We are made in the image of God (Gen 1:27) and we are to be growing in his character daily.
This thread is devoted to the fleshing out of the entire character of God. I know the Bible says that God is love (1 John 4) but in its entirety what is the charater of God?
I will gradually post here as I find stuff but I would appreciate any other scriptures and thoughts people could give me.

I don't think we can ever understand the complete character of God until we get to heaven.

 

[KingZzub]

One of my beefs with the mere theist is how he derives and defines the goodness of God.
The mere theist reasons that God is "bigger than we are," that "His ways are not our ways," and that because of sovereignty He can do "anything He wants."
From this they deduce that God could do things that would be sinful for us if we did them. If one of us were to intentionally inflict sickness or injury on our own children that would be sin. If we were to "allow"(sic) an enemy to have access to our family to kill and torture them based on a bet... that would be sin for us.
Yet mere theists have no problem assigning these character traits to God while completely ignoring or overruling the Jesus revelation of God. They define the righteousness and holiness God not by the standards He has delivered to us, rather they take the "omni factors" and contruct a God more like the Roman and Greek gods of ancient paganism. Bottom line is this... they not only walk by sight, they take what they see in the world and define God by what they see rather than looking at Jesus and believing that is what God is.
They see sickness in the world. What do they do? They take the "omni factor" that says "God is in control of everything" and insist that God must be in control of sickness and therefore His character must include that abnormality. They take the doctrine of "sovereigty" and conclude that God can do anything (and does not "have to" do anything) and therefore He does not have to keep promises, keep His word, or even be true to His own nature. Eventually they develop a God who is truely a monster... worse than any devil from hell.

Jesus is perfect and correct image of what God the Father is like. All else is walking by sight or mere types and shadows. If we be Christians, lets walk according to the Jesus image and repent from the old man's image of God.

Absolutely!

One of the most productive uses of my time was to do a word study on "good" in the Bible. It NEVER NEVER NEVER means anything other than what you or I would mean in a commonsense way of saying good.

Good means good.

It is the same with these people that mean God is sovereign. They mean something so far removed from a dictionary definition of the word they maul the language as well as a Biblical theology.

Rabbie Burns, the Scots poet, once wrote a poem about why he never followed Christianity. It basically ended with the conclusion that the Christian God was a monster.

Of course, being in Scotland, the "Christian" god was the god of Calvinism, the sovereign, good god of predestination.