God is God and we are not.
We’ve all, at some time, studied the attributes of God. Let’s take a quick look now.
· Omniscient - Possessed of universal or complete knowledge.
o Psalm 147:5 – “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”
o 1 John 3:20 – “If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”
· Omnipotent - Possessing virtually unlimited authority or influence.
o Genesis 18:14 – “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
· Eternal - Possessing infinite duration.
o Job 25:36 - "Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.”
o Psalm 102:12 – “But You, O LORD, abide forever, And Your name to all generations.”
· Omnipresent - Present in all places at all times.
o Proverbs 15:3 – “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.”
o Jeremiah 23:23-24 – “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD,“ and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.”
o Psalm 139:7-12 – “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
· Immutable - Not capable of or susceptible to change.
o Psalm 90:2 – “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
o Malachi 3:6 - “I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”
· Love - Unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another such as, the fatherly concern of God for humankind.
o 1 John 4:8 – “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
· Holy - Exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.
o Psalm 99:9 – “Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.”
o Habakkuk 1:13 – “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?”
Now that we have discussed some of the attributes of God, we should have in mind a description of who God is. So let’s dig a little deeper. We seem to consider the greatness of God only by those characteristics that fit into our current situation.
God is omnipresent when we need Him near us. He is love when we feel heartache. He us immutable when we need some stability in our lives.
But through our studies I have seen authors that try to second guess God. We do the same thing ourselves when we start discussions with statements like, “I think that in this Scripture God means ...,” or “I don’t believe that God would do …,”
I think about things like the debate of the age of the earth, carbon dating, thermodynamics, global warning, and the like and I consider the fact that we’re doing our level best to understand and relate the greatness of God, but it feels at times like we don’t take that greatness as seriously as we should.
So I want us to look at some of the differences between God and man. My hope is that this makes us both awestruck and humble before our God.
· God is the creator; we are the created.
o Isaiah 40:28 – “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”
o John 1:1-4 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
o Psalm 100:3 – “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his[fn]; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”
· How should we consider our relationship with God knowing that we are the created and He is the creator?
· God is the master; we are the slaves.
o Romans 6:18 – “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
o Psalm 16:2 – “I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.””
· How should we approach God as our master?
· God is the owner; we are the merchandise.
o Romans 14:8 – “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
o Isaiah 43:1 – “But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
o 1 Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
· How should we live before the Lord as our Owner, our Lord?
Let’s look at how God described to Job the difference between God and Job.
Job 38 – Please read – It’s a long reading.
I’d like to close with the words of Paul in Romans 11:33-36 –
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
We’ve all, at some time, studied the attributes of God. Let’s take a quick look now.
· Omniscient - Possessed of universal or complete knowledge.
o Psalm 147:5 – “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”
o 1 John 3:20 – “If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”
· Omnipotent - Possessing virtually unlimited authority or influence.
o Genesis 18:14 – “Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
· Eternal - Possessing infinite duration.
o Job 25:36 - "Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him; The number of His years is unsearchable.”
o Psalm 102:12 – “But You, O LORD, abide forever, And Your name to all generations.”
· Omnipresent - Present in all places at all times.
o Proverbs 15:3 – “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.”
o Jeremiah 23:23-24 – “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD,“ and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.”
o Psalm 139:7-12 – “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
· Immutable - Not capable of or susceptible to change.
o Psalm 90:2 – “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
o Malachi 3:6 - “I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”
· Love - Unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another such as, the fatherly concern of God for humankind.
o 1 John 4:8 – “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
· Holy - Exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.
o Psalm 99:9 – “Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.”
o Habakkuk 1:13 – “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?”
Now that we have discussed some of the attributes of God, we should have in mind a description of who God is. So let’s dig a little deeper. We seem to consider the greatness of God only by those characteristics that fit into our current situation.
God is omnipresent when we need Him near us. He is love when we feel heartache. He us immutable when we need some stability in our lives.
But through our studies I have seen authors that try to second guess God. We do the same thing ourselves when we start discussions with statements like, “I think that in this Scripture God means ...,” or “I don’t believe that God would do …,”
I think about things like the debate of the age of the earth, carbon dating, thermodynamics, global warning, and the like and I consider the fact that we’re doing our level best to understand and relate the greatness of God, but it feels at times like we don’t take that greatness as seriously as we should.
So I want us to look at some of the differences between God and man. My hope is that this makes us both awestruck and humble before our God.
· God is the creator; we are the created.
o Isaiah 40:28 – “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”
o John 1:1-4 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
o Psalm 100:3 – “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his[fn]; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”
· How should we consider our relationship with God knowing that we are the created and He is the creator?
· God is the master; we are the slaves.
o Romans 6:18 – “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”
o Psalm 16:2 – “I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.””
· How should we approach God as our master?
· God is the owner; we are the merchandise.
o Romans 14:8 – “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
o Isaiah 43:1 – “But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
o 1 Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
· How should we live before the Lord as our Owner, our Lord?
Let’s look at how God described to Job the difference between God and Job.
Job 38 – Please read – It’s a long reading.
I’d like to close with the words of Paul in Romans 11:33-36 –
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
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