LESSON ONE: GOD

Objectives of the lesson

• Know God as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the Trinity
• Know God and His attributes
• Describe who Jesus Christ is
• Understand the Holy Spirit and His characteristics
• Believe in Having the Fruit of the Spirit

What is the Trinity?

This means that God exists in three distinct persons namely; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each is not the same person as the other, yet there are not three gods but one. The word "trinity" is a term used to denote the Christian teaching that God exists as a unity of three distinct persons. The three persons are identical in essence and share in all their attributes. This is similar in analogy to the nature of time. Time is past, present, and future. The past is not the same as the present, which is not the same as the future. But there are not three times. There is only one thing called time.

The reason the word, "person," is used in describing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is because each exhibits attributes of personhood - not in a body of flesh and bones but in personality. In other words, each has a will, and each love, speaks, is aware of others, communicates with others, etc. These are attributes of personhood, and we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each demonstrates these qualities.

Let’s look at the following verses which demonstrate that the teaching of the Trinity is indeed Biblical.

• Matt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
• 2 Cor. 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."
• 1 Cor. 12:4-6, "Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.  5And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.  6And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons."
• 1 Pet. 1:2, "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure."
• Jude 20-21, "But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; 21keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life."

The Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called God. Below is a very brief chart showing that each of the persons in the Trinity share the same attributes that only God shares. But remember, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each has a will, speaks, etc. Therefore, we say that there are three persons but only one God.

Who is God?

"Who is God?" a good question. It is better than asking, "What is God?" This is because God exists as a Person who created us, loves us, is concerned for our being, desires to provide for us, and sent His Son to redeem us. If we were to ask, "What is God?" we might be tempted to say that God is the infinite being, the creator, a presence, or something like that. In some respect this would be true, but the first question brings us closer to understanding more of who God really is in His character and His love for us as revealed in the Bible.

God is the only Supreme Being (Isaiah 45:5). God is the creator of the universe that is the heavens and the earth (Gen 1: 1; Isaiah 40:12, 22, 26). The Bible teaches us that in all existence and from all eternity there has been and always will be only one God. To understand about God we must look closely at His attributes and nature.

What are the Attributes of God?

• God is Holy (Rev. 4:8). He belongs to a class of His own. There is none like Him. God is not common. He is pure and righteous.
• God is Eternal (Isaiah 57:15, Psalms 90:2, Rev 1: 8). He has no beginning and no end. He is the One who is, who was and is to come
• God is Immutable (James 1:17, Malachi 3:6, Isaiah 46:9-10). He does not change
• God is Omnipotent (Jer. 32:17, 27). He is all powerful. He is the Almighty God.
• God is Omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-12). He is ever present everywhere at the same time
• God is Omniscient (1 John 3:20). He has a perfect knowledge of everything
• God is Spirit (John 4:24)
• God is Love (1 John 4:8, 16)
• God is Light (John 1:5)
• God is Truth (Psalm 117:2)
• He is to be worshiped (Gen. 24:26, Exodus 4:31, 2 Chron. 29:28, 1 Cor. 14:25, Rev. 7:11). To worship God is to serve and proclaim Him.

Who is Jesus Christ?

Jesus Christ is Lord. He claimed to be our lord in John 13:13

Who is Jesus Christ? John 13:13, 20:28, Ist Cor. 2:8, 2^nd Thes 3:16, Ist Tim 6:15

How has Jesus Christ earned the right to direct your life?

Philippians 2:8-11: “Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore, God has exalted Him above and gave Him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue shall confess that Christ is lord to the glory of God the Father. “Jesus Christ desires to direct your life. His direction can be experienced on daily basis as you:

• Recognize daily His right to direct your life Luke 9:23, Confess your sins consistently and accept His promise of forgiveness 1John 1:9, Trust Him completely as you allow Him to direct your;
• Time: -Ephesians 5:15-16
• Money: -1Corinthians 16:2
• Abilities: -Colossians 3:17
• Relationships: -Mathew 23:34-40
• Mind: -Romans 12:1-2
• Ambitions: -Mathew 6:33
• Morality: -1Corinthians 6:19-20

For sure you need to renew your commitment daily to allow Jesus to direct your life in order to experience the abundance of life He promises

Spend time in prayer and Bible study daily

Be faithful in your Bible study and worship at church, serve the Lord with gladness, be a good manager of your possessions and share Christ with others.

Who is The Holy Spirit?

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another helper, that he may be with you forever - John 14:16.

The subject of the Holy Spirit is of extreme importance, we all need his presence and his power, and without Him it will be utterly impossible for us to live the Christian life and serve God.

Yet few Biblical doctrines have caused more division within the church as this one, one of the most subtle tactics adopted by the enemy to paralyze the church, has been to make Christians get afraid of the Holy Spirit. He has driven groups of earnest believers to adopt extreme positions on the right and on the left, he laughs as he sees neither the group in complete enjoyment of the power and fullness the Spirit delights to bestow, thus we need to study the scriptures diligently  asking the Lord to guide us in our study by the Holy Spirit.

What is the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit?

Christ arose and now He lives! When He ascended into heaven, He did not leave his followers alone, He sent them the Holy Spirit according to the following verses: - John 14:26, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you

John 16:7-14, It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the helper shall not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is a person

We might think that the spirit is merely a power, a force or an “it.” However, the scriptures reveal that the Holy Spirit is a person. In fact, He is a person in the same sense as God the Father and God the Son i.e. He has a personality, He teaches –John 14:26, 1Corinthians 2:13, He testifies –John 15:26, He guides into all truth, He hears, speaks- John 16:13, He prays for us – Romans 8:26

He has the attributes of a person. What constitutes the essentials of personality? Usually three things; A person must possess: emotions, Intelligence and will. A thing lacks these, but the Holy Spirit is not a thing because He has Intelligence, Emotions and Will i.e. Intelligence-The spirit knows the things of God 1Corinthians 2:10-11,Emotions-The Holy Spirit can be grieved –Ephesians 4:30 and He loves Christians Romans 15:30, both emotions are experienced by a person not a thing or power, Will The Spirit gives gifts to men as He wills 1Corinthians 12:11.

He can be treated as a person since He can be:-Lied to -Acts:5:3,Tested -Acts 5:9, Resisted, Acts 7:51, Grieved - Ephesians 4:3,Outranged -Hebrews 10:29,Blasphemed - Mathew, 12:31, Called upon Ezekiel 37:9.

What is the relationship between the Holy Spirit and God?

The Holy Spirit possesses divine attributes; He knows all things 1Corinthians 2:11-12 and one, can never escape the presence of the Holy Spirit, in other words He is omnipresent Psalms 139:7-9, The Holy Spirit is associated with the Father and the son and placed on the same level as they are.

Read Acts 5:1-6, according to verse 3, who did Ananias lie to?, Verse 4, Ananias is accused of lying to who?, both verses are referring to the same person- Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit who is God.

According to John 4:24, who is God?

We have seen the Holy Spirit in a person and God, if the Spirit were merely a power coming from above, it would be at my proposal and I could use at will, but if the Spirit is a person and more than that if He is God Himself , it would be at His disposal and love and obey Him in all things. Besides receiving into our hearts not only a blessing but the presence of the Almighty God is to have within us the source of all grace and all possibility

What is the work of the Holy Spirit in our Salvation?

According to John 16:8-11, what three things does the Holy Spirit do to the non-Christian in the world? a). Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me, b). Concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer behold me, c). Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged

In John 3, Jesus shares how one can be born again, in verse 5, what must take place if a person is to be a born again Christian? He must be born of Water and Spirit.

Can anyone truly acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior apart from the Holy Spirit’s work in his heart according to 1Corinthians 12:3?

It is the Holy Spirit who impacts and makes effective within the believer a new nature, new nature is a total transformation of the believer’s make up and identity. The believer is at this point “Born from Above” John 3:3 and is actually “A new Creature” 2Corinthians 5:17.

This impartation of, or giving of eternal life is experienced by all who accept Christ as their Saviour.

What is the difference between spiritual gifts and Fruit of the Spirit in Gal.5:22 and 1 Corinthians 12:1-11?