ALL ABOUT JESUS
Chapter 3
A. His Father
Just as you have a father, Jesus also has a Father. His name is God. The Bible, God’s Word, tells us many things about Him.
God always was. No one made Him.
“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed
the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”
(Psalm 90:1-2)
He is the first and the last, and besides Him there is no God.
“Thus says the Lord the King of Israel, and his Redeemer the Lord of
hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside Me there is no God.”
(Isaiah 44:6 – Also see Psalm 93:2 and Proverbs 8:23)
Does God have a body? The Bible tells us that God is a Spirit.
“God is a Spirit: and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
(John 4:24)
His Spirit comes into us to live when we ask Him to forgive our sins.
B. His Attributes or Characteristics
It would be hard to understand God if He were just a Spirit floating around, so He made Himself visible as a person called Jesus (read John 1:1-14). Jesus demonstrated what God was like and told His disciples, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen my Father” (John 14:9). Jesus showed us what God is like. Here are some of the characteristics or likenesses that we call attributes. We see in them how human Jesus is and yet some of the attributes are only found in God, who is Deity. Jesus was both God (Deity) and man.
1. He is Omnipotent – all powerful. (Genesis 18:14, Matthew 19:26, Jeremiah 32:27, Job 42:2, Psalm 24:8, Deuteronomy 32:27)
2. He is Omnipresent – everywhere. (I Kings 8:27, Psalm 139:3-10)
3. He is Omniscient – all knowing. (Psalm 139:1-4, I Samuel 2:3, I Chronicles 28:9, II Chronicles 16:9, Isaiah 46:10)
4. He is perfect. (Deuteronomy 32:4, II Samuel 22:31)
5. He is righteous. (Ezra 9:15, Romans 9:14)
6. He is eternal – will never die. (Jeremiah 10:10, Psalm 90:1-2, Exodus 15:18)
7. He is sovereign – does as He pleases over all. (Deuteronomy 10:14,17, Deuteronomy 32:39, Isaiah 45:7)
8. He is immutable – Truth, never makes a mistake. (Numbers 23:19, I Samuel 15:29)
9. He is full of grace. (Psalm 84:11, Genesis 18:26)
10. He is good and merciful. (Psalm 69:16, Psalm 100:5)
11. He is love. (I John 4:7-8)
12. He is faithful. (Psalm 89:1, I Thessalonians 5:24)
13. He is holy. (Leviticus 19:2)
C. His other family – The Holy Spirit
God, Christ and the Holy Spirit are referred to as the Trinity (three). A great mystery is that all three persons are the same, and yet they are separate and distinct from each other. We see all three persons in action in John’s Gospel and one classic example from Matthew.
“Then Jesus, when he had been baptized, came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove and alighting upon Him: And suddenly a voice came from Heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’.” (Matthew 3:16-17)
This mystery may be better understood by a couple examples.
1. The egg – a shell, a yolk and egg white. Three distinct parts and yet they are one egg.
2. Water, snow and ice – all look different but ice melted is water and snow melted is water.
Throughout the Bible you will see these three persons and their activities. Generally, their work assignments can be remembered by these simple phrases:
1. God thought it (Genesis 1:1) – Creation
2. The Son bought it (Galatians 4:4-5) – Redemption
3. The Spirit wrought it (I Peter 1:2) – Sanctification
When we get to Heaven we will see all three Persons of the Godhead, the Trinity:
1. God the Father – Revelation 5:1, Revelation 4:3
2. God the Son – Revelation 5:5-7
3. God the Holy Spirit – Revelation 4:5
Since you’ve accepted Jesus, you are now part of His family. The Bible refers to Him as our “elder brother.” His family and yours reach all around the world.
Why not take a moment to thank Him for accepting you into His family. Look over these characteristics of God. Then make a list of His characteristics that you see being developed in your own life. Where you don’t see a likeness, pray that God will give you this characteristic. Remember, He lives inside you and you can become more and more like Him since we take on the characteristics of our parents. He is our heavenly Father and we become a New Creation in Him.
As Jesus’ holiness, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are worked into your life, they will produce the fruit of righteousness.
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